Day 56: Bus 3

[rocksthecourt]

Waking carried a sense of disappointment along with it for the first time in a long time. Klavier actually sighed in irritation when he realized where he was. Damn it all. So they hadn't managed to move quickly enough to cover as much ground as they had hoped. It was a shame, really. Last night had actually proven to be relatively productive. If

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[autophoenix]

The first two buses were docked and loaded by the time she got outside, and she hurried up, looking flustered and distracted mostly from her own mental processes about the previous night and how she was going to explain that one when she broke it to Peter that she hadn't found anything worth mention -- other than whatever monster had been causing the hallucinations. Again. At this point, she wouldn't call it crazy if someone said the thing had it out for her.

Peter … She saw him as she climbed the stairs onto the bus and ducked quickly into a seat that was further toward the front. Sure, she wanted to talk to him, but not before she could decide if she was going to tell him about what she'd run into or not. On the bright side, seeing him had been enough to assure that he was looking a lot better. She could breathe easier knowing that. Now if only she could catch a glimpse at the younger one …

Finally, she looked at the seat beside her, realizing she'd dropped next to someone and saw …

Edward.

Great. This was going to end well.

"Uh. Hey," she greeted a little breathlessly, not even bothering to dig up a smile in her surprised look. She just didn't have the energy for it today -- she was too flustered, too distracted, and too bad of a liar. Slowly, her gaze drifted down to his arm and the various indicators of injury. "Do you ever make it through a night in one piece?" She didn't mean for it to come out, but it kind of got blurted anyway. What kind of monster prowled those halls that could actually get through his tough as nails skin, anyway?

[sanguinario]

Not having been acquainted with Claire for very long - and being trapped in a bus with a myriad of other chattering, loud voices - he didn't catch that it was her thoughts particularly until they were suddenly at his ear and a wave of heat was hitting the side of his body facing the center aisle. It didn't happen terribly often, but there were just some social situations in which the vampire would have been more than happy to crawl away and avoid the interaction altogether. This was definitely one of those moments.

It wasn't even his own feelings about the girl that were bothersome. This was someone who Bella liked, who she called a friend, and it was really his fault there was some rift between them in the first place. The difference between this and the humans in Forks was that, while those humans had been her friends, ultimately only one was really in it for the friendship. He hadn't cared about offending the others, and it had taken time for them to gradually become accustomed to his presence anyway.

Well. That, and Claire had been desperately close to discovering his true nature one-on-one. That sort of situation had not occurred in Forks. For good reason.

"Hello," he answered, wondering what her portent of a doomed conversation was for. Did she expect him to be particularly rude for some reason? At least he had the decency to fake a smile, even as the heat from her body made him shift uncomfortably, drilling in the fact he was, once again, stuck on a bus in winter with about twenty other warm bodies. "It's known to happen occasionally. Last night was a success, actually. This," he indicated his arm with a tilt to his head, "is from the night before." Edward considered his words a moment before speaking. He didn't really care about her opinion of him, but he felt the need to be kind to her anyway. It was better to nip any potential conflict in the bud while he had the chance. "Have you been keeping safe as of late? I'm sure you understand that it's a little hard to tell."

[autophoenix]

It took Edward's comment to remind her of the limp Bella'd been nursing when she came in for dinner the previous night. Of course, with how long her night had been, it was excusable, but not entirely. She should have realized -- she should have connected them. A twinge of frustration surfaced in the back of her mind, blaming Edward for putting her in danger. But that wasn't fair -- not really. She'd put Bella in juts as much, if not more danger in the past.

Still, she scrutinized him a little, not looking entirely happy with the response. Not that she'd expected anything less than a direct route to vague town from him. He'd made it pretty clear that he wasn't going to get all chatty Kathy to her and spill his life story if she asked real nicely. Even if she asked with her magical healing blood while he was near death. Not that she harbored any ill feelings over it, or apprehensive sentiments about him because of how Bella acted in regards to their whole relationship. No, not at all.

"You and Bella both, huh?" It seemed innocuous enough of a comment, but really she was hoping it would nudge him into being concerned enough that he'd be more forthcoming. She wanted to know what they'd run into, and she hadn't had a shot at asking her friend yet. Might as well grill her fiance who went through the same ringer. It was way more interesting, somehow, to know what had hurt him than what exactly he'd succeeded in, although that wasn't entirely out of her mind.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. You might have noticed," she couldn't help but bite back a little at his less than friendly suggestion towards her ability making it hard to tell if she was okay or not, "but I'm always fine." Honestly, she was pretty much the furthest thing from fine, but even on the surface of her thoughts she was determinedly trying to convince herself of it and doing a pretty good job of denial by now. She felt more confident in it without staring Peter down or thinking about the other one. Instead, she was trying to focus on Bella and Edward and their night before last.

Not the most highly encouraged coping mechanism, but an effective one nonetheless.

[sanguinario]

While normally the vampire would have argued his point in a surly manner - he hardly needed some nosy teenager telling him his own business - he knew she was right. He did put Bella in danger. She was always in danger because of him. And that night had been his fault, even though he hadn't been there. Even though Bella had lied to him and gone off on her own... it had been for his benefit. The blood he had smelled before being dragged off to the bus was just a reminder of that fact, and it still lingered in his senses.

Despite himself, he scrutinized the small, blonde girl beside him. She noticed too much, really, though there was no helping that. It would be so much easier to just remain rude and closed to her, but - Bella had to be considered.

He didn't like her implications, especially because they were wrong. "What hurt Bella was not the same thing that hurt me." Was it really necessary to explain their separation? This was enough information. If Claire wanted to know what it had been? Fine. He could answer it. It was better if the patients knew what they were all up against, anyway. He was more than willing to work with others when it wasn't endangering them. That was the biggest issue of Claire's interest in his explanations. The Volturi didn't seem to have the power that Landel had, but anyone knowing what he was - especially people who he couldn't trust entirely - was dangerous. Bella was bad enough. If he could keep one secret, it needed to be that.

I'm always fine. Maybe physically, at least. He really didn't need more drama in his life. Regardless, that was... worrisome. He didn't want to worry. Edward had spent so much time convincing himself that not caring was easier, but Bella had changed that. Permanently.

Which was why he added, with a hint of concern leaking into his voice, "Are you sure you're always fine?"

[autophoenix]

If Edward's signals got any more mixed, Claire was pretty sure she was gonna get whiplash and learn firsthand how much more hampered her abilities were during the day. There was something cold to the way he responded to her assumption (she couldn't blame him) and to his explanation. Curt and uninformative -- which, she had learned was pretty much par for the course with Edward, but wasn't any less frustrating because of it. But then, there was actual, genuine concern spilling into his tone when he repeated his investment in her wellbeing.

So, she fixed him with a bemused, wary look for a long moment, lips pursed tightly together as she tried to muster an apt response. That, or some way to figure out what had happened that led to Bella getting beat down by a completely separate monster. Did they get totally ambushed or something? This, she realized, was the primary issue she had with Edward. Everything he said and did left her questioning and uncertain due to the vagueness, which he had absolutely no interest in giving up. It was a serious problem.

Was she always fine? No. That was why even when she was screaming for the people she cared about not to get between her and the bad guys and put themselves at risk, she'd always appreciate when they did it -- regardless of whether or not she'd say it out loud. Waking back up didn't undo the pain of dying, it just meant you had to live through it. And, in a less dramatic degree, the same went for all the other trauma she'd seen the bad end of and come stumbling out of, miraculously in one piece.

The fact that the monster last night hadn't even cut her didn't change the fact that it had terrified her and shaken her grip on reality again. Even now, she was wary and second-guessing herself. The dream had ended so suddenly and Edward's concern was so suspicious that she had to wonder …

It was hard to pretend that his question hadn't made her give a little pause and consider it more before responding for a second time. Something briefly softened and passed over her expression before she steeled it again, stubborn will coming through.

"Always." It was firm and unrelenting -- there were a lot of things she didn't appreciate about Edward thinking he had any right to ask her that question when he had barely told her one true thing about himself. What did he know about her and how to tell whether or not she was okay? He didn't. "What my blood did to you, it does to me constantly. You do the math." There was something snide in the way she said it, but she moved on promptly after a beat.

"Besides," she scowled, "where do you get off grilling on if I'm okay when you wouldn't know honestly if it burned you to death?"

[sanguinario]

He probably shouldn't have laughed at that considering how it would look to her, but he couldn't help it. It was exactly what Bella had once said to him, and sometimes the similarities were striking. Actually, this whole situation was very much like his first few encounters with Bella as well as his subsequent attempts at avoiding her, except he was not obviously in love with Claire and she really was as angry as she seemed.

It reminded him of his encounter with Wally, in fact. Edward juggled the idea for a moment, humoring telling her what he could do in her mind just to be able to ask the questions that were burning his tongue. She did something with this power of hers. Something that sounded fascinating. Something that sounded like how Wally thought of his powers. At least Claire didn't seem to be ripped from a comic book, or not one Edward could ever recall hearing about or reading himself. It didn't take much juggling to decide against it, considering that he figured she would not take it as well as Wally. At the very least, it would only lead to more questions and more of her nosing about. The media representation of telepaths certainly didn't involve having cold, hard skin. She would know something else was wrong.

"I see," he said promptly, thinking it over. Something like what he used to be, then. Vampire regeneration in a human who didn't have the invulnerability to back it up. The idea just seemed... wrong. Even if he had seen it up close, it still made him uneasy. "My apologies, then. If you would rather I didn't inquire as to your welfare, I'll be more than happy to cease." She was wondering, which meant it was time to acquiesce to at least some of her questions so that wondering did not go in the wrong direction. "It was just courtesy. Regardless of what you think of me, I don't wish harm on anyone, physical or otherwise."

All right, slight lie. It was true for the most part.

[autophoenix]

His laugh caught her off guard, at first just because it wasn't the reaction she'd expected out of him, and then because it was rude. Where did he get off laughing at her calling him out on something like that? Was it funny to him, that he was lying to everyone and had Bella scared out of being open with her friends?

"I never said that I thought you wished anyone harm," she replied in a defensive way that was layered with suspicion and judgment. It was snide and prompt, her eyes narrowing a little as she fixed her gaze on him. She wanted to corner him with what she would rather is that he be honest with her and not act like she was some paranoia-inducing enemy when all she'd tried to do so far was save his life.

But, honestly? Arguments weren't worth it right now. Not when Claire still felt like she was in a daze from the rush of the morning and the taxing experience of the previous night. As she sighed in surrender, her gaze distanced a little and she stared past Edward out the window, then she reached up and rubbed her fingers over her eyes, fatigue evident.

It bothered her not knowing what she was supposed to make of Edward. It was like every time she spoke to him he managed to turn around and throw her off in one way or another -- make her question more, make her more suspicious, or just slam her in the face with something that made her think that she was totally wrong about him. It was frustrating as all hell, and by appearances, he didn't even seem to realize that he was doing it.