"Then It Got Cold"
Title: Then It Got Cold
Author: Shea Pierce
Fandom: Lost
Prompt: "Then it got cold. I went home."
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: They aren't mine.
A/N: This was written for friend_fic on LJ, which I may or may not have been drugged to convince me to join. Just kidding, Chica, you know I love you. Also, the fic is slightly more depressing than I wanted it to be. Ah well.
"The friendship that can cease has never been real."
Saint Jerome, 374 AD - 419 AD
see her across a crowded conference room at a hotel just after dessert has been served. It’s the first night and I don't even recognise most of these people. I'm almost certain I know them, but it’s been ten years, and seeing them so completely out of the environment I know them from throws me off.
But I recognise her. Her hair is shorter, and she looks older, but I guess I'm not as young as I used to be, either. The awkward adolescent sitting with her must be Aaron. He looks like his mother.
"Excuse me," I say as I stand up. I was not particularly involved with the conversation, anyway, and it resumes as I exit the room.
I have no delusions regarding my relationship with Claire. We are simply friends. We parted on friendly terms, and moved on. I have, at least. I've not talked to her in nearly ten years. I want to, but I have no idea how to approach someone I have not seen for ten years. We emailed a bit at first, but that dropped off fairly quickly. Like real life got in the way.
How do you talk to someone when there is nothing to say? If we'd have fought, I could apologise, but we didn't. We just drifted apart, and I do not know what to say to her.
I open the front lobby doors and step out into the cool air. I light up a cigarette, a habit I started after the rescue. It is a cool night and I take my time to enjoy the cigarette. I don't need to feel guilty about this one.
"Hello Charlie," I hear from behind me. A voice I recognise instantly. I turn around.
"Claire!" I say as though I hadn't even noticed her here. We hug; a short and chaste embrace.
Claire's eyes glance from the cigarette back to me, but she doesn't say anything. Silent disapproval that doesn't make me angry, but makes me feel loved. Whenever it came up in emails, I could picture her face, this look. I laugh from seeing it in person after these long years.
"So what have you been doing?" I ask.
Claire gives me an exasperated look, but she smiles. "You know, raising a child on my own. He's nearly thirteen." Then more to herself, "God, he's nearly a teenager."
"You'll do a fine job. You always have," I say.
The rest of her answer is forgotten as she asked me the same question.
"Working. Working a lot. You knew about the record company?" She nods and I continue, "Long hours. And Los Angeles will never be home." Los Angeles is where the reunion is being held. "I got married."
"Oh?" I can't tell if Claire is feigning interest or genuinely wants to hear about it.
"Yeah. The wedding was about two months ago. Her name is Angela." I stop there, deciding that is really all the details Claire needs. She does not need to know that Angela is only twenty three, or that she is kind of ditzy, or a myriad of other facts that could be used against me.
Claire obviously senses that I don't want to talk about my personal life anymore. She changes the subject but I don't pay as much attention. She keeps talking anyway; to fill the silence, make it less awkward. Of course its still awkward. I am grateful for the cigarette, something else to concentrate on. I finish the cigarette and have no excuse not to pay attention. I try, but I can't. Claire slows down and we just lean against the hotel wall for a good fifteen minutes, the silence less smothering then when we were talking.
Then it got cold. I went home.
FIN
Author: Shea Pierce
Fandom: Lost
Prompt: "Then it got cold. I went home."
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: They aren't mine.
A/N: This was written for friend_fic on LJ, which I may or may not have been drugged to convince me to join. Just kidding, Chica, you know I love you. Also, the fic is slightly more depressing than I wanted it to be. Ah well.
"The friendship that can cease has never been real."
Saint Jerome, 374 AD - 419 AD
see her across a crowded conference room at a hotel just after dessert has been served. It’s the first night and I don't even recognise most of these people. I'm almost certain I know them, but it’s been ten years, and seeing them so completely out of the environment I know them from throws me off.
But I recognise her. Her hair is shorter, and she looks older, but I guess I'm not as young as I used to be, either. The awkward adolescent sitting with her must be Aaron. He looks like his mother.
"Excuse me," I say as I stand up. I was not particularly involved with the conversation, anyway, and it resumes as I exit the room.
I have no delusions regarding my relationship with Claire. We are simply friends. We parted on friendly terms, and moved on. I have, at least. I've not talked to her in nearly ten years. I want to, but I have no idea how to approach someone I have not seen for ten years. We emailed a bit at first, but that dropped off fairly quickly. Like real life got in the way.
How do you talk to someone when there is nothing to say? If we'd have fought, I could apologise, but we didn't. We just drifted apart, and I do not know what to say to her.
I open the front lobby doors and step out into the cool air. I light up a cigarette, a habit I started after the rescue. It is a cool night and I take my time to enjoy the cigarette. I don't need to feel guilty about this one.
"Hello Charlie," I hear from behind me. A voice I recognise instantly. I turn around.
"Claire!" I say as though I hadn't even noticed her here. We hug; a short and chaste embrace.
Claire's eyes glance from the cigarette back to me, but she doesn't say anything. Silent disapproval that doesn't make me angry, but makes me feel loved. Whenever it came up in emails, I could picture her face, this look. I laugh from seeing it in person after these long years.
"So what have you been doing?" I ask.
Claire gives me an exasperated look, but she smiles. "You know, raising a child on my own. He's nearly thirteen." Then more to herself, "God, he's nearly a teenager."
"You'll do a fine job. You always have," I say.
The rest of her answer is forgotten as she asked me the same question.
"Working. Working a lot. You knew about the record company?" She nods and I continue, "Long hours. And Los Angeles will never be home." Los Angeles is where the reunion is being held. "I got married."
"Oh?" I can't tell if Claire is feigning interest or genuinely wants to hear about it.
"Yeah. The wedding was about two months ago. Her name is Angela." I stop there, deciding that is really all the details Claire needs. She does not need to know that Angela is only twenty three, or that she is kind of ditzy, or a myriad of other facts that could be used against me.
Claire obviously senses that I don't want to talk about my personal life anymore. She changes the subject but I don't pay as much attention. She keeps talking anyway; to fill the silence, make it less awkward. Of course its still awkward. I am grateful for the cigarette, something else to concentrate on. I finish the cigarette and have no excuse not to pay attention. I try, but I can't. Claire slows down and we just lean against the hotel wall for a good fifteen minutes, the silence less smothering then when we were talking.
Then it got cold. I went home.
FIN