The Way We Talk

Disclaimer: In no way do I own the Morganville Vampire series. Title is credited from The Maine's 'The Way We Talk' song. That is all.

"When we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours,

We join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness—

Call it love—true love"

—Robert Fulghum

Chapter One

Claire

"I hate you! I hate you so much!"

To add effect, she took one of his glass beakers and slammed it on the floor, breaking it into a hundred thousand pieces of glittering glass. The smashing sound was there as well, resonating all around the laboratory walls.

That was how mad she was.

He didn't even flinch. Instead, he inserted his hands in his lab coat pockets and looked at her as if she was a puzzle he could not understand.

"Oh, and in case you haven't figured it out yet, I quit!"

With shaky fingers, she hastily grabbed all of her things. Her books, her school papers, her dysfunctional pens, and stuffed them on her bag. Swiftly, she took off her lab coat and dumped them on the chair. She saw him watching her as she did all these, and it made her even madder that she had gotten no reaction from him. Not so much as a sorry or a pleading remark. This made her want to dump a chemical into his head and watch him burn

She enjoyed that vision very much.

With her heart pounding, she made her way out his lab.

"Claire" he said softly

Her hand froze on the door handle "What? Are you going to justify yourself for what you've done?"

"No" He looked away—in shame—then back at her, his eyes full of concern "Be careful out there"

If possible, that made her even more annoyed at him. Clearly, there are more words in the English dictionary that could help him calm her down or something. But no, he settled into four useless words. She hated that he was still so concerned of her safety even when she was chucking his laboratory apparatuses on the floor.

She should've aimed it at him, all those test tubes and microscopes.

"Screw you, Myrnin"

With that, she pulled the door open, not looking back even when she heard him say "Please. I need you"

She closed the door behind her with a slam and took off into the late afternoon sunset, not caring what she would encounter. All that matters was that she was mad as hell at her crazy vampire EX-boss. Oh, how she hopes that she would never see him again, she really did.

OOO

She managed to go home safely that dusk. It was only when she was in front of the Glass House that she realized she was crying. Her angry tears streaked her cheeks uncontrollably, and her breathing was quicker than normal.

In short, she's a mess. And there was no way Shane and the others would see her like this, like she was a little helpless being. So she wiped her tears, and calmed herself down. When she was convinced that she was feeling collected at least, she opened the door.

It was only Eve she spotted, eating in the living room with a big bowl in her arms.

"Hey, CB!" said Eve, motioning her to sit beside her. She did. "You're early today. Did Myrnin bang his head and gained a bit of sanity?"

Claire gave her a bitter smile "No, I let myself out early."

Eve, always a bit of a psychic, looked up from her bowl at the tone of her voice "Did something happen? Oh, God. What did he do?"

"Doesn't matter" Claire said "I'm not coming back to him anyway. Ever"

"Claire, what the hell happened?"

But Claire already stood up and hiked her bag back to her shoulder. "I'm really tired, Eve. I think I'm gonna go and rest for a bit."

Eve fixed her a 'you-must-tell-me-soon' look, before giving her a nod. She appreciated Eve's understanding. Yet she knew she could never resist not telling her. Eve would ask for it sooner or later, and she would require an answer from her. Soon.

"Oh, where's Shane?"

Eve rolled her eyes "In the freaking shower, for about an hour now. I wonder what the hell he's doing in there. Shaving his lady parts, I would guess"

Claire offered a polite snort, "And Michael?"

"Asleep in my room"

"Right" she walked away "Goodnight, then"

OOO

She curled on her bed after that. No matter how hard she tries though, she could never manage to erase the emotion bubbling deep within her. It just wouldn't go away. She couldn't even stop thinking about what Myrnin has done, up to this point.

Yes, she knew he had his moments, almost all the time. But what he tried with her was outrageous. It was only now when she realized that he could be meddling of her choices when he wants to be. This made her feel extremely insignificant, as if she was merely a toy to him, one that he can throw away.

She thought he was beyond those phases. Clearly, she thought wrong. She learned now that with Myrnin, anything goes. Every single, unpredictable, shameful, bizarre thing was to be expected when one is around him. He is mad.

Definitely mad

Speaking of mad, she remembered what she yelled in his face before she left. She told him she hated him. She still didn't know yet if she meant that, or if she was just caught up with her emotions. But back there in the lab, there was some kind of satisfaction as she said that to him, 'I hate you'. The way it rolled of her tongue and the way she threw his precious beaker with a loud crash.

God, she could've thrown it at him. She was dead serious. But he was too far from where she was standing, and her eyes were a bit blurry. So she aimed for the floor instead. She just wanted something to break, in the hopes of making her feel better in a way. She felt awfully empty and dissatisfied though, and she felt no contentment at what she did. But she wasn't guilty either. He deserved getting his things broken after what he'd done.

Heck, he deserved a lot more breaking than just his apparatuses.

A soft knock on the door broke her out of her reverie. She knew exactly who it was.

"Claire, you awake?"

Shane.

Tossing her covers aside, she jumped down her bed and opened the door in a rush. There he stood, with his wet hair and tight shirt, just out of the shower and looking like a model. He gave her a lopsided grin when he saw her. But she didn't just open the door to receive his smile. She pulled him in her room and hugged him with all the force she could muster.

She felt him chuckle against her "Whoa! This is definitely one warm welcome. Seeing as you're pressed against me and all"

"Shut up and enjoy the moment" she told him. Shane was just what she needed after all that has happened to her.

"Oh, I am" he said, squeezing her back "more than I could ever tell you"

They settled on her bed after a while, sharing kisses after kisses.

"So" Shane said his voice careful "Eve told me something was up with you. Is something wrong, babe?"

She curled at his sides "She probably told you who I was upset about, right?"

"It was Myrnin, wasn't it?" he growled "that jackass"

"I've decided never to come back. I don't care what Amelie will say. I'm set on this decision"

"But what happened? God, did he do something to you? Did he try anything with you?

Because I swear I'll kill—"

She felt his body go tense, his arms curling protectively around her.

"No, no, no. Not like that Shane. He...tried to turn me, almost."

She closed her eyes and waited for him to explode. 3...2...1...

"He did WHAT? I am going to kill that asshole this fucking instant!" Already, he made a move to stand

up. She stopped him with her arms and motioned him to stay beside her.

"He bit you, didn't he? He fucking bit you!"

"Almost" she said "He was in a state of lunacy, it was only later when he calmed down"

"Uh, he is always in a state of lunacy, Claire. Always." He let go of her hand as he shifted. "I am going to kill that mother—"

"No, Shane. It's fine. Let's just...forget about him." She cuddled him, burying her face in his shoulders, releasing her tension against his skin. God, he smells so good. "Let's just concentrate about us being together, alright? Shane?" She shuddered with fright, still.

She was almost tempted to let him go and find Myrnin. Almost.

Claire knew that it was in Shane's nature to find whatever reason or excuse there is to hurt Myrnin, and she'd presented him with what he wanted. She may be small, but she has not overlooked the fact that Shane and Myrnin would never get along. That she knew. But she is still puzzled of the exact reason until now. Shane could be very jealous, but Myrnin's hostility towards her boyfriend was, if possible, even more than Shane's hostility. She's guessing boys will always be boys.

He sighed and calmed his tense body at her touch.

"Please tell me you at least staked him or something"

"I wasn't able to. I did manage to break a few things before I left though"

"Attagirl!"

Claire frowned, then said "Although...surprisingly, I feel worse about it"

He caressed her in comfort "Hell no, Claire, don't you ever feel guilty about that. He ain't the boss of you" he blinked "anymore, that is."

"I'm not guilty" she said "I just wish I could have hit him with my bare hands." Not to hurt him, but to let him know how pissed off she was.

"Doesn't matter, It was a good thing he wasn't able to freak out on you and bit you or something. I would kill him if he so much as touches you"

"Of course you would, wouldn't you, Shane?" she nuzzled closer to him, binding her arms and legs around him. "You're my hero. Hmm..."

A lot has transpired after their conversation. But she had to admit that what they did together made her feel a whole lot better.

And there was no room for thoughts about Myrnin.

OOO

When she woke up that morning, her phone was buzzing in her jeans pocket. She craned her neck and saw Shane still sleeping beside her, mouth slightly open. With a small smile on her lips, she carefully got up and fished out her phone, checking to see who it was.

Amelie

Her smile slipped off her face

She debated on whether or not to answer. Claire wasn't in the mood to face the founder, after what she did to Myrnin. Oh she bet Myrnin came running to Amelie and told her every single detail of how spiteful Claire had been to him. And just for that, her anger came back creeping in. For a moment, she wished he was dead. Staked with silver, or burned under the sun.

Then she felt a tiny bit of guilt for thinking that, and answered her phone.

"Hello?"

"Claire" said Amelie's cool voice at the other line "I believe your sensible side has won and decided to finally answer."

"I..." she glanced at the sleeping Shane, before hurriedly walking out her room. She entered the bathroom and locked it behind her for privacy. "I'm sorry. I'd just been thinking..."

"Thinking of ways to avenge your boss, I infer." Amelie replied, coldly

Claire had no idea on how to reply to that one

"I'm right then" said Amelie

Claire was about to explain herself when Amelie cut her off.

"Forgive me if I woke you up on such short notice, but do try to get a move on Claire and meet me in Myrnin's laboratory in... fifteen minutes."

Her eyes widened "But—I...Amelie, you don't understand—"

"What don't I understand Claire?" suddenly demanded Amelie in a harsh, biting tone. "Could you possibly tell the queen a thing that she could, simply, not understand?"

Of course. How stupid of her for thinking that. Amelie just wasn't someone who was clueless. She is the founder, after all.

Claire cowered, but thanked fate that she was not in front of Amelie right now. She could just imagine Amelie's face when she'd say that.

But afraid or not, her mind was made up. She was determined to make a stand this time. No vampire, even the founder, could make her change her mind.

"I won't come" she said firmly

"Not even when your friends are at stake? You know what I am capable of doing Claire. One wrong move that I do not like and you just might find your precious Glass House burning. Together with your friends" A pause "Try me"

Claire clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, praying with all her might not to snap at the founder because everything might turn out worse. She knows very well what Amelie was capable of doing, especially when pushed. And blackmail towards her loved ones just might be the very thing that could change her mind into going. Amelie knew that very much, and used it to her advantage.

"But Myrnin tried to—"

"Not his fault" replied Amelie "I gave him a large dose of medication, thinking that he would work harder. It was a mistake, of course. Next time I expect you to be more considerate and not leave rashly. What you did last night was foolish. And Myrnin is entirely crushed from your departure."

"Good, I hope he's depressed as hell"

"Not good Claire. He is under a deadline. He cannot have distractions as of now. And if you will, I would appreciate it if you move right away. I will expect you here at the said time. If you are planning not to come, then I will see to it that you will regret that decision very much."

Claire unknowingly clenched her first, as she fought the tears that she was sure was coming. It's not fair!

"Oh, and one last thing, Claire" said Amelie "Myrnin—as far as I'm concerned—is still your boss"

Definitely not fair!

The phone was dead.

"Shit" Claire muttered, inserting her phone back in her pocket "shit"

OOO

A/N: I'll have you guys know that 'Shane Who' is only a one-shot. This, however, is the Myrnin/Claire fic that is multi-chaptered. Thanks for reading! More twists coming up soon!