☁ there's a monster growing in our heads raised up on the wicked things we've said

[yournewbff]

Who  |   Claire (autophoenix ), Edward (likealocalgod ), Jessica (yournewbff ), Mike Newton (teamhuman), Various Forksians (forksextras )
What |   The Girls' Choice Spring Dance approacheth...
Where | "Butler" residence / Forks High School; Dusk
When |  6 weeks after the accident.

Comments

[autophoenix]

The past six weeks had been hard on Claire. As the school as a whole's infatuation with her grew, thusly did her infatuation with Edward. Okay, so maybe infatuation was a little strong, but the fact was, there were some Swim Fan overtones to the way she was trying to force him to break down and give her something. There had been a lull there in the middle where she'd almost given up. Almost. But, since then, it'd been getting more stubborn as each week wore on.

She needed one little bit of sanity in her life, and that just became more and more clear as Tyler, Eric and Mike became increasingly ridiculous about their own obsessions. Claire at least had a reason for hers, but the guys, they barely knew her. All they knew was hey, Texan cheerleader, perfectly normal, happens to be good at dodging flying vehicles. What she felt tying her to Edward was stronger than any of that, and she wasn't going to give it up or let him try to keep dodging her like this

[yournewbff]

The voice that met her ears was definitely not him: for one, it was laced with so much false chipperness that it would have made almost anyone listening fit to gag. It was obvious Jessica wanted something. She never made an effort to sound so pleasant unless it was otherwise.

"Hi Claire! It's me, Jessica," she added, as if that were the best surprise Claire could ever hope to get.

[autophoenix]

Oh! Jessica, hey ... [ Claire tried to keep her voice from deflating, but it inevitably did. She couldn't help it. The hope had weaseled its way in. ] Uh. Sorry about Lyle, he's ... pretty much as obnoxious as they come. [ Yeah, apologizing when he picks up the phone is just instinctual. He's a troll. ] What's up?

[yournewbff]

Little brothers. Such a pain. [Though Claire would probably be fully aware that Jessica... doesn't have one]

Anyway. The girls' spring choice dance is in two weeks!

[autophoenix]

Yeah, I'm sure you know all about that. [ It's a quiet, snide aside. Yeah. Claire knows. But she just ... can't even curr right now. There's a long silence at the mention of the dance, and then she figures out that she's supposed to ... care. ] O-Oh! Right. The dance. Did you ask Mike already?

[yournewbff]

[Something in her tone stiffens slightly at Claire bringing him up right away] Not yet. I was... wondering if... you were going to ask him. [There's a slight bit, before she hurries on] Because I was going to.

[autophoenix]

[ Seriously? All this time, and she still hadn't figured out that Claire could care less about Mike Newton's attention. Great. She held back a sigh of exasperation. ]

What? No! Mike's not really ... You should ask him. You guys would be great together. [ A beat. ] Besides, I don't really think I'm gonna go.

[yournewbff]

[S-SO RELIEVED] Not go?? Why not? [now that you're not going with Mike, she wants you to come] I mean, it's like, one of the biggest events of the year, Claire.

[autophoenix]

I don't know, it's just ... all this school spirit stuff. [ There she went trying to be honest again. But she couldn't with Jessica. She sighs. She can't tell her about how homecoming kind of ruined her taste for it. She can't say how it's hard to be in the mood for it with how out of it she's felt since getting the shaft from Edward after the accident. ]

It's just, I need to focus on my grades right now. [ Except that she's ... doing great in all of her classes because she isn't allowed to have friends. ] My dad's really been riding me. And, I mean, everyone else is kind of already paired off anyway, and I just -- I don't know.

[yournewbff]

Awww, I'm sure there's gotta be someone. [Her tone heavily implies 'who is not Mike'. And she does not sound as if she's working overly hard at being convincing] It'll be fun.

[autophoenix]

Well, I guess you'll just have to have enough fun for both of us.

[yournewbff]

Well, you've still got some time to change your mind. I mean, it's not like there's anything else to do in this stupid town on the weekend.