In all honesty, she should probably have started missing Zach from the very moment she left Odessa, knowing that the chances of returning were minimal. Should have wondered about his well-being before running to Peter Petrelli's apartment asking answers and a safe place to hide. But really, in the grand scheme of things and with everything that had happened, Claire couldn't blame herself too much about forgetting the welfare of those she had no reason to fear for. The Company wanted her- she doubted that they would care about a boy whose memory they believed wiped some time ago, one who had no abilities of his own to speak of and didn't have a vendetta against the group to begin with.
But that didn't stop her from missing Zach like crazy, even after such a short time settling on the island.
So when she saw someone sitting on the couch in the rec room, a pie by his side and some bloody video game on the television, Claire was immediately drawn. Granted, the guy on the couch had hair that was too curly and limbs that were clearly too long to be Zach's, and her friend was more likely to listen to endless CDs than shoot at people on a television screen, but a nerd was a nerd and she would easily take what she could get, leaning on the sofa from behind and watching the screen.
"Something like that," Chuck said, not bothering to look up from his game at the unfamiliar voice. Sometimes, people trying to cheer you up when you were down just made things worse. And as it was, Chuck didn't know if he was up for making small talk with a stranger when all he really wanted to do was shoot at fictional soldiers and eat pie filling.
The response was cold, even if the person seemed to be anything but. Claire could tell from the smile lines, carefully drawn from the nose to the corners of his mouth- they weren't wrinkles, but still seemed to suggest that he used those cheeks pretty often. Maybe he had been happy before the island, maybe the rain got him down; in all honesty, Claire couldn't even hope to guess, but he didn't seem like the type of person who should have been left to his lonesome for too long. Or maybe, just maybe Claire was deflecting too much.
It was hard to tell.
Not wanting to step on toes, but not wanting to return to the nervous atmosphere of the crash room, Claire paused for a few minutes before speaking up again, voice soft and unsure. "Mind if I just watch?"
Silent companionship would have suited her just fine, too.
In all honesty, she should probably have started missing Zach from the very moment she left Odessa, knowing that the chances of returning were minimal. Should have wondered about his well-being before running to Peter Petrelli's apartment asking answers and a safe place to hide. But really, in the grand scheme of things and with everything that had happened, Claire couldn't blame herself too much about forgetting the welfare of those she had no reason to fear for. The Company wanted her- she doubted that they would care about a boy whose memory they believed wiped some time ago, one who had no abilities of his own to speak of and didn't have a vendetta against the group to begin with.
But that didn't stop her from missing Zach like crazy, even after such a short time settling on the island.
So when she saw someone sitting on the couch in the rec room, a pie by his side and some bloody video game on the television, Claire was immediately drawn. Granted, the guy on the couch had hair that was too curly and limbs that were clearly too long to be Zach's, and her friend was more likely to listen to endless CDs than shoot at people on a television screen, but a nerd was a nerd and she would easily take what she could get, leaning on the sofa from behind and watching the screen.
"Rough day?"
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It was hard to tell.
Not wanting to step on toes, but not wanting to return to the nervous atmosphere of the crash room, Claire paused for a few minutes before speaking up again, voice soft and unsure. "Mind if I just watch?"
Silent companionship would have suited her just fine, too.
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