Title: I've Fallen Apart For You
Pairing: Elle/Claire
Rating: T but might have a small chance of being M
Disclaimer: No ownage. All characters and whatnot belong to NBC and Tim Kring. BUT if I did own Heroes, Elle sure as hell wouldn't be dead! And the Sylar/Elle thing would NOT have happened. There probably would have been some hooking up between Elle and Claire on the plane ride to Pinehearst.
A/N: I'm really not sure where this is going and it probably won't be long. But I'm stuck on this pair and I thought I'd give it a try. This is told in Elle's POV. Um in the new volume we will just pretend that Claire is 17-ish and in high school. Elle is 24 and apparently not dead. Claire doesn't know about Nathan rounding up people with abilities and she certainly doesn't know Noah is apart of it. I guess you could say this picks up after Claire left New York and went back to Costa Verde for a "normal life."
I can't exactly say I was living with the Bennet family, but to say I was "welcome" in their household might be more accurate. I often did stay at the Bennet's though, mostly to keep an eye on the cheerleader.
Babysitting (without pay) is what I liked to call it.
But according to Noah Bennet, there was more to the whole babysitting thing. I had to make sure Pom Pom didn't put her nose where it didn't belong, all while trying not to be obvious about what was really going on.
And what exactly was going on?
Well besides people with abilities being rounded up, taken to a facility, and basically falling off the face of the earth to all that knew them, not much at all.
But I knew that even though Claire was a cheerleader she wasn't completely dumb. She knew that her dad, well both of them, were hiding something. And I know that she knew that I knew she knew something was up.
I liked to consider myself one of the more fortunate ones. If Noah hadn't have offered for me to work with him, I would be in one of those orange suits being shipped off without hope of returning to civilization. So parting ways with Gabriel or Sylar seemed to work out for the best. I'm pretty sure the combination of getting his powers back after the eclipse and then finding out that the Petrelli's really weren't his family caused him to snap for the final time.
I really regret sleeping with him.
"Elle?"
Noah's damn voice.
I groaned and buried my face into the pillow hoping he would disappear.
"Elle!"
"What Bennet?!" I practically screamed sitting up to glare at the figure standing in the doorway.
"What's with the attitude?" He asked flicking on the light switch.
I clenched my eyes shut and let out a stream of profanities. Noah was annoying and even though he wasn't Cheerleader's biodad, it was apparent she picked up the trait from him. I reopened my eyes and although it was painful, my eyes adjusted to the brightness.
"Well Noah it's," I glanced at the clock on the nightstand before continuing, "5:46 in the morning and I was trying to sleep." Somehow I managed to say this in a fairly calm tone.
"Trying to sleep in the guest room that my wife and I so graciously agreed to let you use. But if you really want something to complain about then I'm sure we can fly you first class to a new well-suited place for you and your kind." He replied rather smoothly.
I rolled my eyes and mumbled an apology before putting on a falsely cheery smile.
"So what did you wake me up for?" I asked wanting nothing more than to lie back down and sleep.
"To tell you that I need you to be at Claire's game tonight."
A high school football game?!
"To...?"
"Make sure there aren't any disturbances."
"I thought you and me had an assignment thing today?" I asked feeling my anger rise again.
I didn't want to be cooped up in their house all day and then be forced to attend a football game.
"I can handle the assignment today. But I really need you here with my family."
I didn't understand. Bennet works for these people but he's still paranoid that they might take away his precious Claire-Bear? Wow.
"Great." I deadpanned as my head hit the pillow.
I heard him mumble something about a "next time" and I scoffed.
"I want a raise!" I shouted and turned over so my back faced him. "And turn off that light."
I heard him make some sort of chortling sound.
"Please?" I asked turning to face him and flashing my sweetest smile, which of course Noah Bennet didn't fall for.
"Get up and turn it off yourself." Was his reply and he disappeared from the doorway.
"Ass." I said and with much effort managed to get out of bed to turn off the light and shut my door.
Whenever I did stay at the Bennet's I never was up early enough for breakfast. And either they didn't want to disturb my sleep or my company wasn't really wanted first thing in the morning...
But after Noah had woken me up, I had trouble getting back to sleep. So I spent about an hour and a half tossing and turning still trying to force myself to sleep. With no such luck, I sluggishly pulled myself out of the bed and padded across the soft carpeted floor to the door. Once I opened the door I was instantly greeted with one of the most delicious smells. I followed the smell all the way down the stairs where the smell grew stronger and found myself in the kitchen.
"Oh!" Sandra Bennet exclaimed nearly dropping the plate of delicious-looking waffles everywhere. "Good morning, Elle. We weren't expecting you for breakfast."
"Sorry." I replied rather sheepishly. "I was thinking maybe I could give this family breakfast thing a try." I said with a small shrug of my shoulders.
"We're not your family." Pom Pom said shooting me a nasty look.
I feigned a hurt expression and turned to exit the kitchen but stopped when Mrs. Bennet addressed me.
"Elle there is plenty of room at our table."
I spun around to give the older woman a hopeful look.
"Only if Claire-Bear here doesn't mind." I said offering the seventeen year old a sweet smile.
"Do NOT call me that and yes I do mi-"
"Of course she doesn't mind, Elle. Now please sit." Sandra said cutting off her daughter.
I grinned and took the empty seat across from the cheerleader. I tossed the younger girl a wink which she returned with a glare.
A stack of waffles was set in front of me and I nearly squealed with delight like a little child. After the first bite it felt as if my mouth was going to explode from the unbelievably wonderful taste.
"Mrs. Bennet, these are delicious!" I gushed and shoved some more waffles in my mouth.
I'd have to get up early for breakfast more often.
"Thank you, Elle."
"You're welcome." I replied curtly and practically inhaled the rest of the stack.
I failed to notice that the cheerleader's eyes had been on me and for some reason it made me feel uneasy. I suppose I shouldn't have eaten so fast, but who could blame me?
"Your table manners are impeccable." The teenager dryly commented.
So she had been sitting there scrutinizing my every move?
Regardless, I managed a strained smile.
"Don't you have school today, kiddo?" I asked failing to realize the blue sparks dancing around the glass of orange juice I was gripping.
Before she could get out a reply, Sandra interrupted her again.
"Claire go get ready for school."
She rolled her eyes in response but pushed herself back from the table to stand.
My eyes couldn't help but be drawn where the camisole she was wearing had rode up to expose part of her toned stomach. But once I realized that I let my eyes linger for too long, where they shouldn't have been lingering anyway, I averted my gaze to my empty plate. I quickly downed the rest of my OJ and grabbed my plate and made my way over to the dishwasher where Sandra was putting away dishes from the night before. Pom Pom appeared at my side and she seemed to be willing me to move with her mind.
Sheesh, she could have just asked me politely, we all know she doesn't have telekinesis.
"Yes Claire?" I asked feigning a concerned look and realized I was blocking her way to the sink.
She could have also just walked around the other way. Her expression clearly stated she was irritated and I had to stop myself from laughing. The cheerleader's buttons were so much fun to push.
"I'm trying to get to the sink. So if you could just move your sorry a-"
"Oh let me get that for you Claire-Bear. You'll be late for school if you don't start getting ready now." I replied and snatched the plate from her hands.
"Elle's right, Claire." Sandra said still putting up dishes.
"Whatever." Pom Pom mumbled and practically stormed out of the kitchen.
"Oh and wake your brother up!" Mrs. Bennet shouted. "Or else I'll send Elle up for a wake up call."
I grinned at the idea for a split second before I realized I was still standing with dirty plates in my hands.
"I'll wash these Mrs. Bennet." I said placing the plates in the sink. "Mr. Muggles looks like he wants to go outside." I said glancing at the little dog that was barking at the leash rack.
"Well thank you, Elle. You are a very sweet young woman." Sandra said before grabbing a leash and hooking it onto Mr. Muggles' collar to lead him out the front door.
I chuckled to myself once I heard the front door shut.
Me? Sweet?
It took about 3 minutes to wash and dry the two plates. I figured it wouldn't have taken so long if I hadn't made a mess of my plate with syrup. Finding where the dishes went was a different challenge. I wasn't really paying attention to exactly where Sandra put the plates, so after about 10 minutes I managed to find where to put them.
Just as I was ascending the stairs, Cheerleader decided to grace me with her presence. I did have to admit I was never one to complain when she wore her cheerleading uniform.
"What are you staring at freak?" She venomously spat.
I didn't notice that I had stopped to pretty much gawk at the younger girl, but I quickly snapped out of the trance at the sound of her voice.
Wait did she just call me a freak? Well whatever makes princess feel better about herself...
I made my way up the rest of the stairs so I was right in front of her. I wouldn't have been completely surprised if she had attempted to push me down the stairs then. I glanced at the expectant look on her face and merely raised an eyebrow at her.
Like I actually had to answer to her when she spoke to me.
"Nothing." I finally replied and flashed her a charming grin. "Have a good day at school Claire-Bear."
I reached my hand out to give her wrist a little zap.
She flinched and swatted my hand away.
"Why don't you just cut your little act? You're not fooling anyone." She said, her voice dangerously low.
I chuckled. "If you say so, Cheerleader." I simply retorted before tossing her another wink and made my way to the guest room.
I had never been to a football game and although I was dreading it, a small part and I mean very small part of me was looking forward to it. The game itself wasn't that terrific even though Costa Verde High was number one in their conference or whatever, but watching the cheerleaders, one in particular kept me greatly entertained. Claire was actually a pretty good pom pom waver and the way her face glowed while she was on the track with the other pom pom wavers was kinda cute.
The sound of a loud buzzer brought me out of the daze I was in and even though I knew little about sports, I figured it was halftime.
"I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want anything Elle?" Sandra asked me as she grabbed her purse.
As I was about to respond I noticed Pom Pom making her way over to the concession stand.
"I'll get it Mrs. Bennet." I said offering a smile.
"Well...ok. Here's three dollars. That should be enough for two sodas."
I nodded and squeezed my way through the people sitting on our row and headed down the bleachers with the money secured in my back pocket. I was relieved that Sandra had informed me about typical football game attire. If she hadn't have said anything I would most definitely have felt overdressed. So I settled for a pair of worn jeans and a blue Costa Verde High School tshirt that Sandra had gotten from Pom Pom's room. I spotted Cheerleader and her cheerleader friends and just as I was about to approach her, a few guys joined them in line. One of them I recognized as West, Pom Pom's flying ex-boyfriend, who's face actually did kinda resemble a bird of some sort. I chuckled to myself a little at the thought as I walked over to the group.
"Hey Claire-Bear!" I said rather gleefully.
Pom Pom turned to face me and her facial expression was nearly priceless. She shot me this look that I interpreted as her wanting me to turn into a pile of dust on the spot. I guess she wasn't exactly open about having a diagnosed sociopath "living" under her roof.
"Elle, right?" West said looking at me cautiously.
Damn right he better be scared.
"That's me." I replied with a grin and noticed the other two boys blatantly checking me out.
"This is..."
But I wasn't paying attention to their names. I was more focused on and slightly amused by the fact that Cheerleader looked unmistakably bothered by my mere presence. Her friends on the other hand didn't seem to mind. They threw a bunch of questions at me and suddenly I felt a little overwhelmed with the attention. But Claire wasn't having any of this. After harshly grabbing my arm and excusing us, she led me a little ways under the bleachers. I was almost grateful that Pom Pom had pulled me away from her overly curious friends.
"Something wrong, Claire?" I inquired innocently and glanced at my arm that she was still gripping.
"What do you think you're doing?" She hissed and yanked me closer to her. "Hey is that one of my shirts?!"
In response I let a strong current of electricity run down my arm to where her hand was. It served to startle her more so than hurt her, since she still couldn't feel pain. She ripped her hand away with a yelp of surprise and took a step back.
I glared and rubbed at my arm where her nails had nearly broken the skin.
"What do you think you're doing? I was having an innocent conversation with West and..." East and South? Were those their names? Whatever. "....whats-their-faces. Then you tried to rip my fucking arm off. And yes this is your shirt and before you start throwing tantrums about that, your mother let me wear it."
"If you think I'm gonna let a crazed person like yourself associate themselves with my friends-"
I let the "crazed person" comment slide.
"Um we were just talking Pom Pom. It's not like I was pinning them to the fence and mercilessly electrocuting them." I said and formed a tiny ball of electricity in my palm. "Even though the idea does sound kinda tempting..." I added as an afterthought.
That statement seemed to infuriate the younger girl even more...and I still wasn't sure what exactly caused her to be angry in the first place. The sparks from my hand gave off a small glow and it illuminated her face some. The blue sparks emitting from my hand danced with the green coloring of the cheerleader's eyes and I was truly mesmerized for a few moments.
"Stop that!" She said grasping my hand which held the electrical ball.
I snorted and doubled the size causing Pom Pom to tightly shut her eyes. Her grip on my hand tightened and I began to wonder what she was feeling since it wasn't pain. With my free hand I brought it up to roughly cup one side of her face. Her eyes snapped open and she gazed at me confusedly. With little effort I transferred the current from my hand that was in hers to the one holding her face and she attempted to withdraw from me.
"Tell me something." I whispered and made sure to give her a few zaps as my finger tips traced along one side of her face. "What do you feel when I shock you?"
She seemed taken aback by the random question judging by her even more confused expression. Her mouth opened and closed a few times and she didn't meet my eyes. I ran a finger down the bridge of her nose, giving her another shock and she hesitantly looked at me. Trying to see how much I could mess with the girl, I brought my face closer to hers.
"Claire." I breathed and with my thumb I outlined her bottom lip, not forgetting to elicit a tiny shock.
She gasped and I smirked bringing my lips closer to hers. I had to push down this new desire to press my lips against the younger girl's.
"Answer my question." I whispered and rested my hand at the base of her neck.
"I feel-" But she cut herself off and I groaned with impatience.
I concentrated and allowed a small current to pass from my lips to hers and if I didn't know any better I'd say she moaned and even tried to bring our lips together. I pulled away from the teenager all together and put a good distance between us. I watched her nibble her bottom lip and I fought the urge to continue what I had started.
"Elle I feel-"
"How long are halftimes?" I asked cutting her off.
She tilted her head a little but her eyes suddenly widened when she realized that she still had the 2nd half to cheer at.
"Ugh! I'm late and its your fault!" She shouted making her way back out to the open.
"My fault?!"
But she didn't reply and took off running towards the gates that lead to the track.
I shrugged it off after awhile and made my way to the concession stand line for the sodas I was supposed to have gotten sometime ago.
A/N: Review and let me know if anyone is interested in a continuation of this.