Day 56: Tasty Burger (Noon)
Peter didn't know if he and Firo had left on the best terms, if only because the younger man was still so confused about what was going on in this place. The change in time period had a lot to do with it, but it had also sounded like he'd had a lot going on in his life before ending up here. Then again, who hadn't? Peter had just exploded before
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Instead he put a hand to her upper arm and smiled warmly. "Good to see you're still in one piece." It was meant as a joke, since it was sort of impossible for Claire not to be, but... hopefully she'd realize that he was asking her how she was in a roundabout way. Not that Claire was ever that likely to tell him the truth about what she was going through, but he could at least try.
He realized that with her standing next to him like this, she had more or less cut the people behind him in line, though he was hoping they would all understand that the two of them were close. He did catch a glare from one guy, but he was quick to send him an apologetic smile.
"Yeah, this is the place," he replied to Claire with a nod. "This is the first time it's snowed. It's always a bit cold out, and it rained last week, but... yeah." Even the weather here was unpleasant.
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Luckily, the conversation kept moving, and she managed to ignore any apparent uneasiness on Peter's part over how she'd acquired her position in line beside him. Some things were just more important than the locals getting their burgers. They could just reassure themselves knowing that no one would be there to cut tomorrow other than the tiny number of people who actually lived there.
"Great. We're in some wacky, alternate universe version of Pleasantville where instead of sunny all the time, it's miserable. Unpleasantville." She hesitated, then offered him an almost begrudging but genuinely warm smile, like she had been trying to avoid being genuinely grateful that he actually looked pleased to see her. "You look a lot better."
It was clear from the way that she said it that there was something cheering about that fact. It wasn't particularly clear why she needed that positivity, because she was still working on how she was going to broach that topic -- if she was going to broach it. After all, it wouldn't hurt Peter not to hear about it. No one really needed to. It could be like it never happened. At least until she saw someone like Stefan or Natalia or Soma that had been dead in her drug-dream.
Or worse. Pete.
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With the way that she described the town, Peter could only raise an eyebrow. Well, she wasn't saying anything that was untrue, but the fact that she was in such a mood seemed to stand out. Maybe Claire just really hated cold weather. Seeing how she'd spent most of her life in Texas, that would make sense.
The comment she made after that about him took him by surprise, mainly because he hadn't put that much thought to it since waking up, though he should have. The only thing that had really put his fast healing into perspective was when he'd spoken to Firo earlier, and that was because just twenty-four hours before he'd talked to him while in a wheelchair. It was pretty remarkable.
"Thanks to you, yeah. Thanks again for all that. You got through the rest of the night without a problem, then?" It seemed that way, but then again, it was impossible to know when she healed up every time. Claire would be able to lie to him about all sorts of things if she wanted to, but he couldn't control that. He just hoped she wouldn't keep the really important stuff to herself.
"And have you been to any of the stores so far?" he asked as they neared the front of the line. He knew this town wasn't the most exciting place ever, but he was still curious to hear what Claire's experience had been beyond hating the cold.
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But she couldn't. Not here and now, and not when he seemed to be doing so much better. She couldn't bring him down like that or put it on him. He'd undoubtedly feel responsible somehow, and it would just make everything worse. So instead, she screwed up a smile that wasn't necessarily shaky, but definitely sad, and just nodded quickly, shutting her eyes briefly as he looked down to blink back the wateriness.
"I made it here, didn't I?" She realized it was too obvious to just say that much. She always defaulted to that when she was trying to excuse her follies and the danger of her life. So, she continued. "I just went upstairs to check some places out. Pretty uneventful, I mean, there was a library and some meeting room. I don't know. Nothing stair-shaped."
She took a few steps forward as the line moved, forcing herself not to feel bad for the flagrant lie. Most of it may have been true, but pretty uneventful wasn't a word for it. She hated herself. Peter would want to know if she ran into that same thing that had made them hallucinate before, but -- She just couldn't. And not just because she wanted him to think she was strong.
"Anyway, uh, not here, no. I mean, Damon and I walked around a little, but what's the point in actually buying anything if there's a good chance we'll just lose whatever's useful?" There wasn't a single doubt in her mind that they'd get searched on their way back. Security was way too tight these days.
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"I told you it wouldn't be that easy to find a way up," he said with a small frown. He was still trying to figure out how to ask her if she was really, truly all right, but then he heard a harsh tone coming from ahead of him and he realized he'd been holding up the line.
As he moved forward to turn in his coupon, he let the rest of Claire's words sink in, waiting for her to come join him at the other register before he responded. "Damon? Who's that?" Another boy she'd made friends with? She was allowed, of course, and he could see why a girl like her would be popular. Hell, she'd even been a cheerleader at one point. She was the sort of girl that Peter wouldn't have had a chance with when he was in high school. He didn't know if it made him proud or if he was just retroactively intimidated.
Granted, Claire was hardly the typical popular girl. She was complex and kind and strong, and he needed to take care of her. That much Peter knew. "And about buying the stuff, well... they gave us this money for a reason, right? I'm going to see if I can get a bag to hold all my supplies. I'm sure you could find something around here that you like..." He had to admit, he couldn't even make a guess at what Claire would want to buy. Peter was good at putting himself into other people's shoes, but a teenage girl's was kind of a stretch.
Then again, he realized only after he said that that Claire probably had a measly five dollars to spend. He almost wished he could give her some of his twenty, but on the other hand, if he found a bag it was likely to be expensive.
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But, what was gonna be useful that wasn't a weapon or something to deal with those newer, sturdier locks that she could actually get on the bus? It was something to think about.
"He's just this guy," she responded promptly. "I'm friends with his brother. They got here after me -- on the same day as each other, too. It was really weird." She paused to consider them, trying not to think about the image of Stefan dead from her nightmare. The flashbacks were a little hard to avoid, but she battled around them in her brain long enough to realize she could ask Peter about something.
"They both got to keep, like, jewelry. Old heirlooms or something. Have you ever seen something like that before? I mean, I know Bella has her engagement ring, but …" She shrugged to indicate her uncertainty about it. It was still something worth asking -- seeing if there was a reason for it, at least, or some better common denominator than 'it's something they have emotional investment in.' After all, she had a lot of emotional investment in her freedom and she didn't get to keep that.
Moving on as the cashier pushed their food across the counter on two separate trays, she grabbed hers and turned to hunt for a table as she spoke.
"A bag would be nice. Definitely a big step up from the pillowcase, anyway." She shot him a weakly amused look over her shoulder.
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However, his thoughts were pulled in a completely different direction when she mentioned that Damon was part of a pair of brothers who had arrived here together. There was no way he couldn't think of Nathan in that moment -- and while part of him was jealous, the other part hoped that Damon and his brother would be able to stick together for as long as possible in this place.
He took his tray and followed after her, considering her question with a frown. "Not really," he admitted after a pause, "but I haven't really been paying attention. I don't have any important jewelry like that, so..." Though his thoughts went back to Nathan once more, since as far as he could remember his brother hadn't had his class ring when he'd been here -- and that thing never left his finger.
(The wedding ring, on the other hand, might have a couple of times.)
As Claire found a table, Peter took a seat across from her and sent her a look in response to her teasing comment about the pillowcase. "Look, at least I know that that's not gonna work for long. Now I just need to figure out where I can find a good duffel. And I'm guessing you're still figuring out what to do with your allowance?" he questioned with a crooked smile.
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"You're thinking ahead, it's a good thing. I'm kind of surprised you never got one before now. I mean, you were her last week, right?" She raised an eyebrow as she set her cup back down, beginning to tear open ketchup packets for her fries as she continued. "I hadn't really thought about it. I mean, I guess I was just distracted. Mostly by the way this whole thing just seems like a way to take the fight out of us. You know, so we think it's 'not so bad' or something."
She wasn't going to get into how she wasn't even sure that it was real for most of the bus ride. That definitely seemed safer as a road not touched on as to avoid any thoughts of crazy. And the standard overprotection. That wasn't something she really wanted to open the door to either.
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And there was no way of knowing, so Peter was going to do what he could to not dwell on it and just focus on getting himself something useful. At Claire's next comment, he took a moment to think it over and then shook his head. "The way I figure? You may as well make the best of things. As long as you have that thought in your head, you won't get complacent, and then you can at least enjoy the small things that we get."
Besides, it wasn't like this was all fun and games. Some of the townspeople weren't exactly friendly, and the realization that they all turned into something monstrous at night gave the town an eerie quality. It was probably best that Claire didn't know about that, since he didn't want to ruin her trip. Instead he grabbed for his burger and took a bite.
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And it certainly didn't help that there was something suspicious to the fact that they'd been given money now that she knew it was a first, which made it a totally willing choice of the soldiers and their sketchy General. She tried not to think about it. Better to just use their money to spite them and worry about the why of it later. That was something she could take small enjoyment out of, at least. Maybe this little things mentality wouldn't be so hard.
"Usually making the best out of things requires something that has an even remotely good quality, you know." She said it with a little bit of a petulant tone, like she was just arguing for the sake of being the devil's advocate and getting it out there. It was pretty clear that she was going to listen to his suggestion regardless.
"Maybe this is how they get those market research statistics. I mean, I always figured they were evil." It was hard to tell exactly, but the wryness in her tone and the barely visible smile in the corners of her mouth were telltale signs that she was joking -- well, mostly joking. It was worth thinking about, still, why they would want to cough the money up now of all times, but conspiracy theories weren't really her thing, as a general rule. The smile finally reaching her eyes, she shut up and just took a bite of her burger.
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"Hey, the people here have some good qualities," he pointed out. "Look at Peter," by which he clearly meant the younger one -- it was just too weird to call him "Pete," -- "and that Damon guy who you said you were talking to." He could have mentioned Bella as well, but he honestly didn't know where Claire and her roommate stood at this point. It was probably better not to go there. "I know it doesn't really make up for the rest of it, but..." It was something.
It wasn't just the people, either. Being able to sit in a fast food place and sip on a soda and eat a burger while talking with his niece was a novelty all on its own. Yeah, they got served burgers back at the institute (or they used to, anyway), but it wasn't quite the same without the cardboard holders and bright colors.
Claire's last comment earned a laugh from him. "I'm just shocked you know what market research statistics even are. Did you take economics recently?" It was times like these that he realized that Claire was a pretty special girl just on her own, nothing to do with her ability. He felt pretty lucky to have her as a niece.
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Still. He made a good point, and she acknowledged as much with a forfeiting shrug of her shoulders and tilt of her eyebrows. An admission that she was wrong, however silent as she took another bite of her hamburger. The casualness of it all was nice.
Sitting here -- she'd never really gotten to do this with Peter before now, and it was a sad thing to realize. Her family was too caught up in its own self-generated dramatics for her to even get time to spend with her uncle. To really get to know him. In a moment like this, she could almost forget that she wasn't really feeling like his biggest fan back home these days. In her time. But, everyone had fights, right? And he seemed considerably more willing to let her do her own thing and learn how to fight back here.
Laughing at his last remark, she took a quick sip of her drink before answering.
"Last semester," she explained, looking much like she'd been caught out. "Apparently it's a requirement these days. But, I totally could have known it without econ. I'm a cheerleader, not an idiot." Still, she said it in an amused way that indicated she was far from offended by his surprise. Flattered, maybe. After all, most people heard cheerleader and thought Jackie. Peter had, once.
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"I know you're not an idiot," he said, his tone surprisingly serious even if she clearly hadn't taken that much offense in the first place. He still wanted to make it clear, because he'd never figured that being a cheerleader meant that and he didn't want Claire to think he'd implied as much. Prejudging is what caused so many people to not connect with each other when they had every ability to.
"Anyway," he continued, grabbing for some more fries and then washing it down with the soda, "what did you have in mind for tonight? I should be able to head out with you this time, if you'll have me." And now it was his turn to joke. It seemed like Claire had been making a lot of friends, though, so it was a genuine question in that way. She could have arranged to meet up with that Damon guy or the other Peter for all he knew.
And he was trying not to feel like an overprotective relative, but it was surprisingly difficult. He'd never really gotten this way around Simon or Monty, but that was probably because they'd always been cared for in one way or another.
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Going out at night. It sounded good in theory, but then it had sounded good in theory the night before too, when she'd been so damn eager and gotten herself humiliated a second time by the monster from before. So, instead, it just sounded a little scary, honestly. As bad as she wanted to get back at it, the fear of going up against it again was winning out. She swallowed down a drink of soda before answering, mind made up.
"Actually, I was thinking of staying in." She briefly opened her mouth to prepare a full excuse, but shut it and just offered him a smile instead, accompanied by a shrug. She wasn't going to lie to Peter more than she had to, he deserved better than that, and wanting to stay in was at least the truth. Reevaluating, she canted her head a little, offering, "Raincheck?"
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Up until now, Claire had always been the one who was pushing to go out and explore, to rebel against their captors, to do something. The two of them shared that determination, although Peter's had been curbed by his own concern for the girl. But for her to now want to stay in even though she was clearly in good physical condition could only mean...
Well, that something had gone on last night that she wasn't telling him. Peter didn't distrust the girl to the point that he thought she was lying about wanting to remain in her room so that she could go out without him bothering her, but that almost made it worse because it meant that something was really wrong and she wasn't willing to talk about it.
It was hard to know what step to take next, and suddenly Peter's food didn't look as appetizing. Despite that, he ate a few more fries, not wanting to let on how worried he was. He could either ask her directly what was happening with her, which might not get the best response, or he could just give her some space. It was hard to accept the second option, but if she was staying in her room then he could at least rest assured that she wasn't putting herself into any more upsetting situations.
So, after a pause that had probably stretched out for far too long, Peter nodded to the girl. "Sounds good. It's probably a good idea for you to get some rest."
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Still. She didn't like knowing that he realized something was off, mostly because that meant he realized she was hiding something. Not that she'd ever been the world's best actress, but … Peter knowing she was being dishonest was worse than someone else knowing, because she hated being dishonest with him.
It just happened to be the best option for this. He didn't need to hear that her first time out by herself ended in tears, because he'd never let her do it again. And she didn't need to tell him, because she needed to just … get over it. The monsters weren't real. Everyone she'd seen hurt in that hallucination was fine. Perfectly fine.
So, she just took a deep breath and nodded.
"Yeah, I haven't exactly been feeling rested from the sudden curtain drop at the end of the night. Might as well get some real rest." A beat. She frowns a little. "But, tomorrow," she offered with a hopeful edge to her expression.
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