Comments | amusebox: try to slip past his defense without granting innocence

autophoenix in amusebox

try to slip past his defense without granting innocence

Apr 28, 2011 04:17

A couple weeks had passed quietly for Claire since her less-than-venomous conversation with Edward. Between studying, juggling Jessica and Mike and the drama between them, and dealing with the secret that continued to grow increasingly complicated to keep, it was mostly a blur. A really unpleasant, cold and rainy blur ( Read more... )

who: claire bennet | autophoenix, [verse] dusk, who: edward cullen | likealocalgod

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autophoenix May 1 2011, 09:44:03 UTC

Somehow, despite how impossible it seemed, she felt the van move away from her before she even really saw Edward. Like in one slamming motion he'd shoved it aside and she wasn't even able to process it right away, coughing a little and choking on what was blood that was slowly creeping up her throat from the wounds in her internal organs. The wounds that, she now realized, weren't hidden by any van. At least not to Edward.

Her eyes slowly widened, brows drawing together in the distinct look of confusion as she forced herself to look away from that terrifying and all the same entrancing look in his eyes to where his hand was planted against the side of the van. To where the dent in the metal, freshly made, now fettered outwards from that point.

It wasn't possible. Simply put, it was absolutely impossible. She distinctly remembered, even in the state she was in (which, honestly, wasn't the worst that it had been, minus the onlookers) she could remember staring at him, watching him from across the lot. It was why she hadn't ( ... )

hotterthanzeus July 11 2011, 23:24:27 UTC

Luckily for Claire, one other thing Edward didn't inherit from Carlisle was his telepathy, and so the good Doctor was entirely immune to noticing if she stared a bit longer than was necessary. Plus, he was used to it. It came with being hotter than Zeus ( ... )

autophoenix July 11 2011, 23:36:25 UTC

The vague way he dismissed Edward as doing something for him had Claire's mind, which had been hardwired into conspiracy theories thanks to involvement with the Company, racing with paranoia. The corners of her mouth tugged downwards a little, despite her attempt to keep the casual smile up. And the deflation worsened when he made it clear that he knew what had happened ( ... )

hotterthanzeus July 12 2011, 00:12:27 UTC

That only set her further on edge, and his brilliant smile faded a bit into an anxious half-frown.

"The school's already called your father, and he should be on his way." He hesitated. Edward had said she was expecting an explanation, which meant she'd seen enough of whatever he had done to have suspicions about him. Potentially, then, about Carlisle himself. Maybe she was just afraid of him, and he couldn't blame her for that. Especially if she had her own secret on the line.

But the question, the real question, was whether she could be trusted not to say anything about them. If only Alice were here, she would have been able to counsel him on that ( ... )

autophoenix July 26 2011, 23:49:29 UTC

There was a long minute where she just stared at him, vulnerable and conflicted, trying to decide if she could trust that look in his eyes. He seemed so genuine, and so honest, and if he was really Edward's father then they should be able to trust him too, right? Edward had an ability. But the chances of him being with the Company were still there, and ( ... )

hotterthanzeus July 29 2011, 23:47:13 UTC

If Carlisle had to breathe, he would be doing it easier now that she'd apparently decided to be honest. His gaze remained open and understanding as she spoke, even as his natural curiosity swelled up within over what she was describing. It was undoubtedly more than just a medical miracle, that much was clear.

When she was done speaking, her anxiety obvious even if he were unable to hear her accelerating heartbeat, he stepped forward and laid one hand gently on her shoulder.

"You, Edward and I are the only ones who know right now, Claire. And if you'd like, we can keep it that way." He couldn't help but feel for the poor girl. He understood all too well about the difficulties of uprooting ones existence over and over again, and he tried to spare his family there whenever possible.

withhornrims August 2 2011, 21:47:06 UTC

There was a wealth of reassurance in the hand on her shoulder and she nodded mutely, eyes still fixed, steady and trusting, on his. She didn't have a choice, when it came down to it, but it was more than that. Carlisle seemed genuine. The same kind of warmth and earnestness to help that she'd seen in her uncle once, she could see in him now, and considering how secretive and hard to get close to Edward was to begin with … she wasn't exactly worried about him spreading her secret around the school.

But, that didn't say anything for how her father would feel about it. She reached a hand across her chest to rest it over his hand on her shoulder and opened her mouth to answer with gratitude, but was cut off by a noise in the hall.

"Claire!" She immediately snapped her eyes shut and cringed. Dad. Her reassured, trusting smile dropped into something of a grim frown and she turned to keep her eyes on the door of the exam room. There was some talking right outside of it that was too muffled, not shouted like her name had been, to ( ... )

hotterthanzeus August 7 2011, 04:42:43 UTC

Carlisle was infinitely grateful that they'd gotten to at least reach the point in their exchange where they could reach a sort of mutual assurance of how they would deal with her father before his sudden arrival. She might not have gotten to voice how she felt, but he had seen in her eyes a moment of decision, and knew she was going to at least choose to trust him... for the moment. It was better than nothing and might buy them some slim time to figure out how to deal with this situation ( ... )

withhornrims August 15 2011, 20:05:43 UTC

He'd known this situation was inevitable but he'd hoped to put it off for at least several more months. The idea that they could ever really stop running if he truly wanted to hide Claire was absurd. Still, he'd had that glimmer of hope. Now, though, his expression steeled a little. Reaching out, he clapped a firm grip onto Carlisle's hand and shook it, fixing him with an intent look ( ... )

hotterthanzeus August 24 2011, 18:51:12 UTC

"Of course," Carlisle said, still pleasant, despite noticing Claire's discomfort in the background. He felt a twinge of sympathy for the girl, afraid her father would be reading her the riot act the moment he got her home. He wished there was something he could do to make it even clearer that her secret hadn't been compromised, and he frowned to himself as he turned around out of view of Mr. Butler.

"Like I said, she only required a cursory examination, which she passed with flying colors. My son, Edward, happened to be there to pull her out of the way, which was quite a stroke of luck." Perhaps if he were convinced Claire hadn't been so much as touched, like her story was, he wouldn't consider this such an emergency.

withhornrims August 25 2011, 07:46:09 UTC

Claire was left behind to hurriedly swap back into her street clothes while Noah followed Carlisle out, intending to take care of the discharge process. The reassurance wasn't entirely odd to him -- after all, what worried parent didn't want to have repeatedly drilled into their head that their child was fine after an afternoon in the hospital? It didn't merit a second thought.

"Very lucky," he murmured his agreement with a certain amount of thoughtfulness. Because when it came down to it, there was something that merited a second thought there. Not Claire's condition, but Edward's. This boy. One that Claire hadn't seen fit to mention, apparently. "Here's to hoping that she doesn't need any more luck to keep out of these situations."

There was a stern implication in his voice that indicated luck or the help of Carlisle's son, but it went unspoken as they strode down the pristine white hallways.

hotterthanzeus September 8 2011, 08:32:07 UTC

Carlisle chuckled coolly at that observation, a dismissive compliment instantly ready to try and smooth things over further: "I think she's definitely learned a lesson today, if anything. A sharp girl like that will be sure to be on her guard from now on."

He did, however, also catch that other tone, which was a bit more difficult to address. And probably better to leave unspoken entirely. He gestured up ahead towards where Nurse Nancy was seated at the desk. "If you'd like to fill out the last paperwork with Nancy there, we can send you both on your way."

likealocalgod September 8 2011, 08:36:45 UTC

He knew he should be waiting in Carlisle's office, like he'd said, but he wanted to get a clearer read on Claire's father's thoughts, which involved getting a bit closer. Hence why Edward was standing to the side in one of the hallways branching off from the main walk, arms folded, watching the tiles on the floor as he attempted to glean what further information he might about the mystery of Claire Butler.

Her father was outraged. That much was obvious even without mind reading capabilities. He was impressed, as usual, with Carlisle's easy way of dealing with it, dispersing the anger with a gentle word wherever he could to try and keep it from boiling over.

It'd be easier for Claire that way, he hoped.

He didn't realize that he was actually hearing Claire until it was too late, so caught up was he in thinking about her. He attempted to take a step out of his obvious spot in the hallway, into the arch of a doorway, but didn't dare move with vampiric speed. Too much people observing him here - too many cameras and nurses walking

autophoenix September 8 2011, 19:05:47 UTC

Unfortunately, Claire had spent enough time avoiding the kinds of people who lurked around corners to try and stay hidden that she'd gotten pretty decent at spotting them. So, when she came out of the room with her shoes slipped back on and wearing some clothes that didn't allow for chilly, uncomfortable breezes due to a seriously absent back, she started at the sight of Edward.

He'd stayed? It had her mind freezing up a little bit from the sheer surprise, sufficiently distracting her from the worry about her dad. Her expression creased in confusion as she watched him duck into the arch of a doorway, like he was trying to keep her from noticing.

So, not only did he stay, but he didn't stay just to get the credit for it. That was enough to embolden Claire to head over to him. She stepped right up to the doorway, then glanced around, then pushed him lightly so that he'd head further inside the empty examination room that it belonged to. She followed him in, because lord knew she didn't want anyone else hearing what she was ( ... )

likealocalgod September 9 2011, 20:00:40 UTC

Suddenly, Claire was not just noticing him, but cornering him, so close that the heat of her seemed a tangible sort of thing. And then she drove him into the little room, that had, of course, no windows.

The scent struck him as powerfully as it ever had. He tensed slightly under her scrutiny, as his imagination ran wildly through him. A crack of bones, a river of blood, a satiation he hadn't experienced in years and...

And her apology acted as an appropriate slap out of that mindset. It was as surprising as anything else he'd experienced with her - even seeing her heal from the sort of injuries she'd sustained. It was even more surprising because of how sincere she was about it - her thoughts made that entirely clear.

He was entirely torn.

He knew what he should do here. Push her apology away. Her secret was safe now, but Edward was the keeper of it. It gave him power in this situation that he would need to exercise, if he meant to drive her away from uncovering his secret ( ... )

autophoenix September 10 2011, 18:55:28 UTC

"If I don't -- " Her tone took a turn for the confused and she slowly shook her head. "I don't care. I don't care about any of that, they can wonder all they want." He was being distant again. It was like there were two Edward Cullens. One who was nice, friendly, who she could talk to and get along with, one who saved her life through the kind of feat of strength that no regular person could manage. And then there was the Edward standing in front of her now. Cold. Hard. Distant. Like there was some invisible forcefield that she had to penetrate just to talk to him, let alone get more than one word answers. The Edward that she was so sure hated her from that very first day ( ... )

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