First things first, the Breakfast Club is owned by John Hughes and I am merely borrowing his characters and hoping he wont mind. This fic is set when Claire is finishing college, I haven't decided whether to include any other characters from the movie yet, so watch this space. This idea kind of occurred to me one day and I had to write it.

I hope to start doing some more chapters for 'We are not alone' Soon. Sorry it's been neglected this long, life kind of got the in way. Any suggestions, comments and reviews would be more then welcome. Thanks x.

Claire sat in the lecture theatre examining her nails. She had long since given up trying to look interested. It was a complulsary lecture on computers and new technologies around the campus. Stifling a yawn herself, Claire heard a soft snoring coming from behind her. Turning around, she saw a boy with his head on his desk, whom, by the looks of him had just lost the battle to stay awake. She sympathised. Turning back around to the front and looking at the clock on the wall, Claire saw that there was still another twenty minutes of this hell to go yet. Her major was English Literature, so she didn't understand why had to sit through this, why did you need computers to read a book? She was a couple of weeks from graduating anyway which made it all the more pointless. It was not as if she would even be around to use these so called 'New technologies'.

Claire had turned twenty one a couple of months back. It freaked her out at the time, she knew it was still young, but when she was in high school, she had always envisioned turning 21 some kind of passage into adulthood. You would just wake up in the morning and be a level headed mature adult. She had been sorely disappointed to find that didn't happen in the real world. She thought that she would graduate with honours, find a fabulous job in Chicago, John would propose, they would get married, and have babies. It would be blissful.

Claire was starting to learn however that sometimes things don't work out the way you thought they would, and even if they do, its not always how you thought it would be. The whole 'be careful what you wish for' philosophy. It sucked.

Even now her life was different to how she imagined it a couple of years ago. She assumed that she would go out of state to college; escape the hell that was her parent's marriage (and eventual divorce). That didn't happen. Instead, she went to a good college but it was well within driving distance on Shermer. She thought that college itself would be three years of dating, parties and fun. She would join the best sorority and be popular. None of that had happened. She sacrificed parties to study, didn't join any sorority, hadn't really made any close friends and shared a small apartment just off campus with a course mate. She wouldn't say she was bordering on antisocial exactly, but sometimes she wished she had made more of an effort socially.

She hadn't had one date in the three years she had spent on campus. Not for lack of offers, she had been with John for just over three years now. She had met John Bender in a detention back in high school. Classic story really, cute girl + bad boy instant attraction. It hadn't been easy, the social politics of high school kept them apart for a few weeks, although they managed secret regular liaisons. She hadn't slept with him of course, that didn't happen until college, but they used to make out for hours in various dark corners of shermer high. They got rumbled in the back seat of Claire's car one day by a friend and went public. Her friends were furious and froze Claire out the group. Not that she minded, they weren't the sort of friends that would stay in touch anyway. Her mother went schizo, but that was expected, and her father expressed quiet disappointment in his 'Little girl' but never really spoke about it.

Johns friends didn't really care, they were too stoned to realise anything different was happening, and sadly enough his parents didn't care that much either. John's father had died two years ago, dropped dead in the house from a massive heart attack. Claire wouldn't say that John was glad exactly, but he hadn't shown any great remorse either. John hadn't changed much since high school, his grades, were nowhere near enough to get into college, not that academics were his thing anyway. He did some labouring jobs around town, earned enough to support his self and his mother, and didn't care enough to earn any more. He still had that long hair, the hair that used to make Claire go weak, when he pushed it slowly out of his eyes before he leant in to kiss her, when it was sprayed across her bare chest after he had fallen asleep in bed. She adored John, but lately she had been feeling things change in their relationship. She couldn't remember the last time she felt butterflies around him and that made her sad. He kept reminding her that she finished college soon, and had started to drop subtle hints about finding a place together. Hints that gave Claire a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't understand why she felt this way, she loved John, and surely this was the natural progression. The first step in the perfect life she had imagined.

Claire was snapped out of her thoughts by students gathering books and filing out of the lecture theatre. Thank god. She collected her books and stood up. She stood for a moment and looked at the boy still sleeping in the row behind her, she briefly considered waking him up but decided he looked so peaceful that she just couldn't do it. She walked out of the building and started to make her way across campus to the coffee shop. On her way she looked at the groups of friends scattered around the lawns and benches and felt a little twinge of envy. She knew now, that she had been way too wrapped in John when college began, and as a result she had sacrificed making any real friends. Something she regretted, having the gift of hindsight now. She had been to a few parties in her first year, but always snuck away and drove to Johns house. He was like her comfort zone. She never really fitted in at college, not that she made much of an effort, but she felt like she had belonged with John. Being now, a little older and a bit cynical, she was angry at the way she used to be. Running to John whenever she felt a little upset, out of place, angry. She should have given herself the space to stand on her own two feet. The few people she had kept in touch with from high school all loved college, had lots of friends, were always busy planning nights out and trips. Must be nice.

Claire reached the coffee shop and ordered herself a latte. Collecting her drink, she found a small empty table and sat down. She sat for a minute, drinking her coffee and willing the caffeine to kick in. Then she dug in her bag for the mail that she had collected from the mailman on her way to lectures that morning. She opened the first letter. Credit card bill, that could defiantly wait. She opened the second letter and scanned it quickly.

'Dear Miss Standish,

We at Highland and Hughes publishing were very impressed with your recent application and accompanying CV. Although there are currently no vacancies in our Chicago office, we would like to offer you an interview for the position of Junior Reader in our New York office……'

Claire stopped. She re read the beginning of the letter, and set it down. A couple of weeks before, to satisfy the career counsellor Claire started to apply for some jobs in various publishing houses. She wanted to be a literary agent one day, and she had been advised that the best way in was to apply for a reader's post and work your way up. She had never actually expected anything from it though, she had been told that the competion for these posts was fierce and it could be a while before a position arose. That didn't seem the case at Highman and Hughes though. For some unfathomable reason they wanted to interview her. As the news sunk in a smile crept across Claire's face, this could be a brilliant opportunity. A great job, a chance to live in New York.

She wondered how John would feel about this. She couldn't see him coming with her. He had always commented how he would hate living in the city, and besides his mother was still recovering from the death of his father and John had to support her.

Claire started to convince herself that she didn't want this job, but a small wave of resentment washed over her. She would be so good at this job, and yet her relationship would hold her back. She could almost feel the chains. She didn't want to lose John, but she didn't think she couldn't turn down this interview and honestly never hold it against him.

She drained the last of her latte, and collected her things together. It couldn't do any harm, to at least attend the interview could it? Then she could worry about things if she got the job, which she tried to tell herself was very unlikely anyway. Yet as she went to the payphone and dialled the number on the letter, something told her that she was making a bigger decision here then just whether to go to an interview or not…