Bend But Not Break

Who: Gabe and Claire
Where: Phoneland, then Gabe's house
When: Evening

The tongue lashing Gabe received from his mom was unlike any he'd gotten in a rather long time. While she'd always been annoyed with him for fighting, now it was different. She didn't wait to hear the explanation before ripping into him, and even after she insisted that he should have done a better job at getting away from the fight. Gabe thought it best to leave out the part where he'd thrown the first punch.

After dinner, he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as the day's events ran through his head. There really wasn't much that could have made it worse, so instead he tried to think of something that would make it better. Gabe sucked on his lip as he reached for his phone, hitting the speed dial for Claire. It would be nice to talk to her, just for a little bit, and maybe she'd be able to cheer him up.

When her phone rang, Claire glanced up from the book she was reading in bed, the noise a welcome change from the sound of her parents fighting downstairs. She saw Gabe's name and smiled, picking the phone up and climbing out of bed to go over and open her window. "Hey... I was wondering if I was going to hear from you today."

"Really?" Gabe asked with a little smile. He took that to mean that Claire had been thinking of him, which he could only see as being a good thing. "You should have called. I always like hearing from you." It didn't matter if he'd see her tomorrow at school. It felt like it'd been forever since he'd talked to her, rather than just a couple of days. "What're you up to?"

"I know... I've just been trying to keep up on homework and stuff," she explained, wincing at the sound of breaking glass downstairs. Turning, Claire slipped on her slippers and began to climb out of the window to the tree beside it. It was cold as hell, but she'd rather talk in peace. "I was reading," Claire said, her fingers wrapping around the branch as she used it to tug herself out the window. If she managed not to fall, and not drop the phone? Then awesome. "What're you doing?"

"What was that?" Gabe asked, frowning as he heard something in the background. It sounded like a crash, but it was hard to tell over the phone. If it wasn't for his increased hearing ability, he might have missed it. "I'm just laying around. It's been a shitty day." After arguing with his mom, she'd found the beer in his room and that only seemed to make things worse. He wasn't grounded, but steering clear of her seemed to be in his best interest at the moment.

"Huh? What was what?" Claire asked breathlessly, managing to get out on the thick tree trunk with minimal damage. The tree bark biting into her ankle stung like a bitch though. "Why'd you have a shitty day? What happened?" She settled back against the branch, thankful she hadn't fallen again.

"I thought I heard something crash or break," Gabe said, though now he didn't hear anything of the sort. It might have just been static on the line. He wasn't quite used to his crazy hearing yet. "I just learned some new things about what I am, and then Kyle came over and picked a fight. Mom's pissed at me now, since I should've known better, but I really tried to stay out of it," Gabe said as he twisted his legs so he could pull off his socks. He might as well make himself comfortable.

"How did you hear that?" Claire could barely hear it herself at the time... then again, Gabe was mister heightened senses now, wasn't he? "I think my mom dropped a glass downstairs. I can't believe you heard that." Weird. Concern seeped into her quickly and her parents fighting was quickly forgotten. "Wait, Kyle picked a fight? What the hell! Why would he do that? What happened?"

"I don't know. I can hear a lot," Gabe said with a tiny smile. Most of the time it annoyed the shit out of him, but occasionally it could be cool. It depended on if he was hearing something new that he actually wanted to hear. "I told him the other day that I'd been bitten by a werewolf and he didn't believe me. Apparently, he went and found out a bit about werewolves and learned that pissing me off could force a change. He was trying to prove I wasn't one, and I think he just got lucky. Which I'm hella glad for, but I wish he'd just believe me instead of trying to kick my ass."

"Oh my god..." Claire lifted a hand to her mouth and wobbled on the branch, so she reached down to grip it again. "That's so... not smart!" She didn't want to call his best friend 'stupid' but that's exactly what it had been. "Are you okay? How's your shoulder? Did you tear any stitches?" She could understand someone not believing Gabe's secret, if they had never experienced the supernatural before... but even thinking there was a chance? "How did it feel? You kept control of yourself?"

"I'm okay," Gabe said, reaching up to touch his lip. It had stopped bleeding a while ago, but it still hurt like a mother fucker. And that didn't even come close to how bad his stitches hurt. "My shoulder bled a little, but I didn't tear anything, thank God. And I've got another black eye and a bruised jaw. Wish I could say Kyle looked worse, but I was trying not to fight most of the time." If he'd seen it coming, he'd have thrown Kyle out before it could get out of hand, but he'd really been taken by surprise. Kyle was one of the few people he didn't really fight with. "It felt... weird. Like, there was a point when I was sure I'd lost control, and that I was gonna shift, but nothing happened. I don't know if I was just able to keep control, or if I wasn't pushed far enough."

That didn't sound good at all. She sighed and glanced back toward her window. "A black eye, bruised jaw and a bleeding shoulder. But you didn't shift? That kind of damage I would have thought you would... I mean, it's good for Kyle that you didn't. Are you okay, though? I mean... why would he do that? Just to see if you were telling the truth? He could have gotten some silver or something!" Claire winced and heard a door slam outside of hers, followed by more shouting. Christ. "Hey, do you mind if I come over?" Because her mom could handle her dad, but once her dad got drunk enough, that's when he started banging on Claire's door, and she wasn't up for that tonight. "I know it's like, a school night and everything..."

"That's what I told him," Gabe said, frowning. "Silver would've worked, or even waiting till the next full moon to see for himself. If I'd have shifted, I'd have killed him. And probably my mom when she got home from the grocery store." And who knew who else. Gabe didn't want to think about it, still freaked out about the entire thing, even if it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Gabe jumped jumped a little at the background noises he was hearing over the line, forgetting his own issues when she voiced her request. "Yeah, sure, come on over," he said, concerned about what was going down that he wasn't there for. "Long as you don't plan on beating me up, you're welcome anytime."

"I won't hit you too hard," she promised with a small smile. "Hold on a sec." She held the phone tightly and climbed down the rest of the tree, landing on the cold ground seconds later. Lifting the phone back to her ear, she looked up at her open window and just hoped her door lock would hold up for awhile. At least until her dad passed out. "I'll be there in a couple minutes, okay?" She would have to walk, since her keys were in her bag in her bedroom. Before he could answer, she hung up and started around her house to the front. She got to Gabe's house in about fifteen minutes, realizing halfway through that she was in her slippers. Yeah, not the smartest thing. Thankfully she hadn't changed into her pajamas yet. Hoping his mom didn't answer, because that would be weird, Claire knocked at his door, shivering and clutching her phone.

"Okay," Gabe answered. "Want me to come pick you up?" It took a minute of silence for Gabe to realize she wasn't there to answer his question, and he set his phone aside, slowly rolling to his feet. His entire body ached, so he popped another round of painkillers, glad he had some on hand from the stitches he'd received. Pulling on a t-shirt, Gabe walked to the living room, lingering until there was a knock at the door. Like Claire, he didn't want to deal with his mom. "Hey," he said as he opened the door. "Good God, did you walk here in that? You don't even have a coat!" he said, cracking a little smile as he led her inside. "I would've come to get you, you know."

"You know, I didn't realize it until I was halfway here that I look ridiculous... and that you now have a car." She smiled weakly and stepped inside of his house, thankful for the warmth. She had been too eager to leave her house that she hadn't thought much of it. Claire wasn't too worried about that though, as she was busy studying his face now. "Yeah, you're definitely going to have a nasty black eye. It looks like it hurts... did you at least punch him once?"

"I'll drive you home later," Gabe said. With a glance towards the kitchen, Gabe took her hand and led her to his room, preferring to hang out there where he wouldn't have to deal with his mother. She might not be all that fond of him having Claire over so late on a school night, but he really didn't care. The solution, of course, was not to tell her. "I got a good one in," Gabe said, shutting his door behind them. "Split his lip open. And I have to admit, I got the first punch. I just really didn't want to fight, you know?" he asked, taking a seat on the bed and making himself comfortable. "It was just hard not to."

She was thankful for that, as she didn't feel like walking home in the cold. Claire followed him to his room, knowing better than to ask about his mom. It was late, a school night, and Gabe had been in a fight so somehow she doubted Gabe's mom would want him to have friends over. Once they were in his room, she relaxed and sat down beside him, her phone still in hand. It was warmer in here, so that was nice. "Well, when someone is trying to beat you up, instinctive reaction is to fight back... he's not going to try it again, is he?"

"No, we talked it out after. I just wish he'd given me that option in the first place," Gabe said, rolling his eyes. Even if he hadn't shifted, he didn't think he deserved the beating just so Kyle could conduct his little experiment. "So, how's things with you?" he asked, looking down at her hands clutching her phone. Thinking her fingers must be cold after the walk, he wrapped his hands around hers. "Is... everything okay at home?" He'd sensed for a while that there were problems there, but most of the time he'd let it slide. This time, he was worried. He'd been able to hear the yelling and doors slamming there at the end, right before Claire had hung up. Even if she never talked about it, he wanted to be there for her, if she'd let him.

"Well, boys aren't always think first, act later," she pointed out with a small smile. His hands were really warm against hers, so that was nice. It eased the chill a bit. When he asked about home, she tensed a bit, trying not to withdrawal too completely. "Things are fine," she said, forcing the casualness into her voice. "My parents were just having a disagreement and it gets tiring listening to it sometimes. And your house is generally nice and quiet," she added with a smile. "When there's no parties going on."

While he thought it sounded like a pretty heated argument, he could read enough in her body language to tell she didn't want to talk about it. There were little things he might have missed before, but now that he could hear her heart, Gabe knew better than to push. "If you ever wanna talk about it, I'm here," he said softly, just so she'd know the offer was open. She put up with so much of his bullshit that hers seemed like nothing in comparison. "But yeah, quiet here without the parties," he said, rubbing her hands gently. "And it's harder to get away with those when mom's home."

She nodded at his offer, though she didn't feel like opening up about things just yet. Claire didn't feel like dumping her crappy homelife on Gabe when he had enough to worry about. Besides, it was more than a little embarrassing to talk about. She glanced around, wondering what he had been doing before he called her. "It feels like it's been awhile since anyone had a party... understandably so. Would be nice to have some distraction these days though..."

"Charlotte had a Halloween party," Gabe pointed out, smiling at the memory. "Though that wasn't really a crazy, drunken party, if that's what you mean. And I think Kavin had one too, but the timing was a little off for me to attend." He'd actually spent that evening with her, drugged up on his couch. Getting bitten by a werewolf kind of changed the appeal of attending a party. Gently squeezing her hand, Gabe hissed, pulling his hand away-- now he knew how he'd managed to burn it last time. At least one of Claire's rings was silver.

"I saw that more as a small gathering of friends," Claire pointed out with a grin. "Not a loud, obnoxious beer fueled party. I didn't go to Kavin's, since if I remember, that was when you got bit. Actually, I think the last real party I went to was yours." The night she had kissed Joshua, and he had come close to knocking up Chrissy. Claire's eyes widened when Gabe pulled his hand away from hers, his face contorted in pain. "What? Did I do something? What's wrong?"

"You've got some silver somewhere on your hands," Gabe said with an embarrassed little smile. "I just forgot that I've gotta watch out for that now." Which meant he couldn't hold her hands? No way in hell that was going to stop him, even if it made him sick. He'd just... have to be more careful. "You know, I can't help but think how things might've been different if I hadn't had that party. Or if I'd had a little less to drink, or something... It doesn't exactly make me wanna have another."

"Oh! I'm so sorry," Claire said, looking down at the rings on her hands. She quickly pulled off the two silver rings on her hand and set them down on the bed beside her. "Are you okay? They didn't burn too badly did they?" stupid. She should have known better... putting on her rings was just a habit of hers, and she hadn't been thinking. She reached out to take his hand to examine it, wanting to make sure he didn't need any first aid. "It's probably best you did have that party... I mean, you learned something with Chrissy, didn't you? I think you know your limits now."

"It's okay," Gabe said, quietly happy that she'd removed the rings for him. "I'm-- I'm okay. Just like accidentally touching an iron." It stung, but it wasn't like he'd held on for a long time. It was forgettable compared to the fact that he could now hold her hands again, and he let her take his hand to examine it. "It was a hard lesson to learn for what I got from it," he said with a soft snort. "Not that it matters now." He couldn't drink because he needed to keep control, and casual sex was completely out. Though he'd pretty much made that decision prior to learning about werewolf mating habits, knowing the next girl he'd be with would be the last put an entirely different spin on it.

"It matters," Claire said, satisified when she didn't see any bad burns on his hand. "If anything, it taught you some self control, right?" She would have to avoid wearing silver jewelry around Gabe from now on. "At least when it comes to drinking and parties. And if and when you do decide to, er, do that again, to use something." Her cheeks flushed as she spoke, realizing she didn't really want to start talking about sex with him. That could prove to be weird for all sorts of reasons.

Gabe had learned more about self control in the last month than he'd ever really wanted to. Even today, he'd been tested, and he'd managed to fail. He'd tried, and he thought he'd done an okay job, but what he probably should have done was run and locked himself in his room. Oz had told him so, but he'd really not understood until he'd had to deal with it first hand. Kyle was just lucky to be alive. "Actually, it's not... it's not just about protection," Gabe said with a nervous little laugh that held no amusement. "I learned today that werewolves mate for life." While this wasn't exactly the best thing to discuss with Claire, he couldn't imagine not telling her. It was too big a topic on his mind right now, even if he didn't have to deal with it at the moment.

"They... what?" Claire's brows drew together curiously. She tried to remember what she had read on werewolves in the past, but hearing that from Gabe himself sort of jumbled her thoughts. "What does that mean, exactly? Who told you that?" Mating for life? Yeah, she was starting to remember reading about werewolves and their mating habits. She just never thought she would be dealing with them personally.

"Charlotte told me. This morning," Gabe said, his fingers casually linking back up with hers. "It means that the next person I'm with will be the only person I'll ever want." His issue wasn't with the wanting part, but the fact that the other person might not feel the same way. While Gabe would have liked to romanticize love and the idea of being together forever, it was so rare that he saw it in practice, that he felt doomed to be miserable eventually.

"That's... wow." Claire didn't really know how to react to that. There was a mixture of apprehension, and fear, for some reason. She couldn't imagine that for herself... being stuck... being miserable for life? "What happens if you sleep with someone and they don't want to be... I mean, are they tied to you too? Do they have a choice? Does it like, flip a switch on inside of you that you'll only want this person forever?"

"They have a choice," Gabe said, his focus on their hands as he thought about how much that meant to him, how much lesser signs of affection would have to mean more. "Which means if they ever decide they don't wanna be with me, I'm screwed. I'll want them, and only them, for the rest of my life." He didn't add in that death might break the bond, since he didn't think it was the sort of thing where a werewolf killed his mate to get out of deal. In fact, he was pretty sure that would be impossible. "So, yeah... I'm kind of feeling... alone? I dunno."

She wasn't sure she could really wrap her mind around this stuff. The next girl Gabe slept with he would want for the rest of his life? What if it was some brain dead cheerleader again? Or some girl who didn't want anything to do with him afterward? Then he was doomed to be miserable. Claire shook her head. This was why she avoided things like this. Gabe didn't have a choice but the outcome would be the same. Misery. "I'm sorry," she said finally, pained for him. "That's just... it's not fair. You should get a choice too. But maybe you'll get lucky and like... meet your soulmate prior to that." Yeah right. Soulmates was something else Claire refused to believe in.

The look Gabe gave her said just what he thought about that-- that it was all a bunch of bunk. While he'd been optimistic before, that hadn't been under the condition that he only got one chance to get it right. "I think what it means is I'll be practicing abstinence, at least to some degree, until I... I don't know. Until I find someone I trust enough not to leave me." It had already been a fear to begin with and this just made it exponentially worse. How could he give someone that kind of power over him? He'd never known anyone to care for him that much and he was starting to think it wasn't really a possibility.

God, that just sucked. She never wanted to be in a relationship that led to love and marriage and all that crap... but Gabe deserved to be happy and now she wasn't sure he would be. Not with something like that hanging over him. "I'm sorry, Gabe," Claire said quietly. "I know this whole thing has been tough for you enough, and now this... it's just... not fair." She reached over to hug him, wishing she had some kind of answer, or advice, to make it better, but she didn't.

Gabe sighed as he wrapped his arms around her, the feel of her body in his arms calming. There was no way to solve his problem, no easy answer but to wait and see, but her presence helped. "I just really sucks," he said softly, letting the silence hang for a moment. Eventually his arms loosened, though he didn't completely let her go. "I hate to whine about it cause... it's just sex. It's not like I can't do other things. There's just... a lot more to being what I am than I realized."

"It's not just sex... I mean, it is, but it also means if you find someone you love, or care about, you still have to... resist. It's almost like having to wait until you find someone you want to marry, you know?" And she realized she probably wasn't helping anything. Claire pulled back a bit. "You're different now. You have to adjust to that, I guess, and I know it's hard. But you have people to help you out." She smiled faintly. "And you don't have to worry about pregnancy scares now, right?"

"Yeah, but even then, how many marriages last?" Gabe asked, having already thought about what Claire was saying, only to realize it didn't help. "People think they're in love, and then things don't work out. They can leave me, but I can't let go of them." If it was just waiting till marriage, Gabe thought he could handle it, but he didn't know if he believed that was enough. "No, no more pregnancy scares," he said, returning the small smile. "I just hope, eventually, I get things figured out. I feel like I keep learning new things that throw me off balance every time I start to feel just a little bit stable."

"Marriages might last... in the technical sense. Not the emotional one." Her parents marriage was a testament to that. "I wish I had the right words for you. I'm too much of the mind that most relationships wither and die anyway..." Claire grimaced and lifted her hands to her face as she groaned. "God, I'm so not the person you should be talking to about this. You need to find someone optimistic and who believes in love and all that stuff. They could probably make you feel better."

"Maybe," Gabe said with a little shrug. "But I'd rather be with you." He knew that didn't help, had always known how she felt about relationships, and what if she was right? All optimism would do would lead him into something he couldn't get out of. It was dangerous to be optimistic at this point, even if he still hoped there was some chance for happiness out there for him. "I always feel better when we talk. You listen, which means a lot to me, and you're not going to sugar coat it just to make me feel better."

"I wish I could sugar coat things," Claire admitted, lowering her hands to look at him. "I want to be a sugar coaty kind of girl. I want to make you feel better. I just... this kind of stuff is so far out of my realm. I don't want you to be unhappy. And so far this werewolf stuff has just been... it's been hard, and I know that. You need something happy, or something to cheer you up." She paused and managed a small smile. "I'll see if I can find something that fits those requirements."

"You fit those requirements," Gabe said softly with the smallest smile. "You're here. In your slippers, and... that makes me happy." He didn't know if she could understand that, since he didn't think she'd feel the same way in reverse, but seeing her was the best thing that had happened all day. Sure, Charlotte had done her best to cheer him up, but it just wasn't the same as hanging out with Claire, even if all they were doing was talking. Her heart beat was soothing, the familiar scent of her hair, plus all the little things he couldn't distinguish quite yet. It didn't matter, because they made up her, and he was sure he could have found her with his eyes closed, just from that.

"My slippers were a happy accident," Claire pointed out with a small smile. "Maybe I could just keep your mind off of the werewolf stuff for awhile. I could talk about useless stuff... normal things, I guess. Something." Because trying to make him feel better about the mating for life thing? Probably wasn't going to happen.

"Useless, normal things are fine," Gabe smiled. "I like the cd you made me. Already started picking out songs for your next one." There were some songs that he didn't know how to take, hoped that there weren't messages inside, since they weren't exactly happy, but he still enjoyed them. Music had been playing softly in the background, from his computer, though he'd turned it off when she arrived. He didn't want it to distract him.

"Oh yeah?" Claire smiled. She had been worried about what songs to put on his CD, but had finally decided on putting on some of her favorites. "Well, then I look forward to it. Eventually when you get your guitar and learn and stuff, you can just make me a cd of Gabe Winter's originals."

"You still owe me a vocal performance," Gabe reminded her. "Don't think I've forgotten." Even if she really was horrible, Gabe still wanted to hear her sing. There was something very personal about it, just as she was probably the only one who'd heard him, unless he was singing along with the radio. "But I'll sing you something someday. Just gotta get the guitar first," he smiled. "I think it should arrive tomorrow."

"Oh, come on." Claire rolled her eyes. "I so can't sing... not by myself anyway. When you learn your guitar, and sing me something, then I'll sing for you. Or you can come see one of the choir concerts this winter and hear me sing with a bunch of other students." She smiled, still excited about him getting his guitar. "All I can really do well is shower you in natural fireworks... sort of. Or I could dye your hair multiple colors. That's really the extent of my talent."

"You never give yourself enough credit," Gabe smiled, but didn't argue with her. He was starting to understand how difficult it was for Claire to see in herself what he saw in her. "I always enjoy the fireworks, though, so I'll be happy with them until I can get you to sing with me. Does that make you tired?" he asked, not entirely sure he understood how her powers worked. They'd talked about it once, but it was before he really had a grasp on the supernatural. Not that he was an expert now, but he was certainly a lot more open minded.

"Yeah, because I'm releasing my energy," she explained. She didn't bother commenting on giving herself any credit. That was a conversation that would lead to nowhere. "So it tires me out. It's pretty much what I live on. It makes for a pretty powerful weapon though, as long as I don't extinguish all of it at once. If I feed off of a supernatural, it makes me stronger..."

He remembered her saying this now, that first time she'd shot her little fireworks in his room. It seemed like so much had happened since then. "That's right," he said with a small smirk. "You get a little buzz." Was it absolutely horrible that he was willing to feed her, just because? "At least you've got some control over your awesome powers. Mine just kill everything in sight." Well, that was uplifting. Nice one, Winters. "There's some perks, though," he said, smiling slightly as he remembered he could hear her heart. Now he was glad he'd turned the music off.

"I have control over them when I feel strong enough. It's when I don't feed for days and I start to get weak that I can't really keep my hands to myself anymore." And she fed from anyone in sight, really. Claire might feel down sometimes, but the last thing she was was suicidal. Claire smiled at him. "Right... heightened smell, sight and hearing. Those are definitely some perks, I think. You're stronger too, I bet."

"Ooo, that's sounds naughty," Gabe teased her with a smile. "Too bad I have to get you weak, otherwise that could be fun." He was joking, of course, based on what she'd said, but he really couldn't help it. Plus, he was hoping to make her laugh. "I don't know if I'm stronger, since I haven't really been in a position to test it out. Definitely yes on the rest, though," he said, lifting a hand up to feel her pulse at her neck. It beat perfectly in time to her heart, which still amazed him.

"Leave it to you to think something dirty," Claire said dryly. "I bet you're stronger though... maybe you haven't realized it yet, but I bet you do." She didn't move away when he touched the pulse point in her neck. She figured it had to be amazing for him, dealing with all these heightened senses. She knew if she had been in his position, she would be doing the same things. "You could be an excellent doctor, you know. You wouldn't need a stethoscope."

"At least you know I'm all talk," Gabe winked. So far, he hadn't the balls to actually make good on anything he said. Plus, it played off the fact that he could only go so far. Teasing about it seemed to make it better, at least when he was doing the teasing. "Maybe," he smiled, his fingers trailing slowly down her neck. "If I didn't freak people out. Does it bother you?" He wasn't sure how he'd handle that knowledge from the other side. There was a lot you could tell from someone's heart beat.

She couldn't help but laugh softly. "Yes, I know." Which was probably for the best. She didn't mind him teasing her, since she teased him back. Or at least she used to. She tilted her neck just a bit, not enough to be obvious about it, so he could follow the pulse down her throat. She wondered how it sounded, what it felt like to him. "I don't think you would freak people out... they would say you're some kind of medical genius or something. It doesn't bother me, no. It's you... and I trust you."

"I trust you too," he said with a soft smile. He trusted her more than anyone else he knew, would tell her anything and everything. Even some of the things he really should keep to himself. "What if I wasn't? All talk, I mean?" Gabe asked, his finger dipping lower, along the collar of her shirt. Her pulse wasn't there to follow, but his mind had strayed elsewhere, likely some place it shouldn't be.

Claire blinked once, realizing his fingers weren't on her pulse anymore. Her brain was working overtime to try and think of a way to answer his question, but at the moment, everything was coming up fuzzy. She didn't know if he was serious or not, and she didn't want to say anything that would make her sound like an idiot. "I don't know," Claire said after a few moments of silence. The smile that followed was faint. "Then you would be a dirty minded medical genius?"

Gabe chuckled softly, really not surprised that she would dodge the question. She usually did, whenever he asked things like that, and he didn't know if it should disappoint him or give him hope. She wasn't actually pushing him away, which he supposed was something. "I don't think the two have to be mutually exclusive," he said with a small smirk, tracing back up her neck and along her jaw, his eyes meeting hers.

"Touche," Claire said with another soft laugh. She looked at him, a flush beginning to creep up her neck. She didn't like dodging his questions, but she really didn't know what else to do. Her brain never cooperated with her in times like those. She didn't know what to do about his fingers on her, since he wasn't doing anything inappropriate. "So what's my pulse doing now? You're going to be able to tell my mood without me even having to tell you."

"It's speeding up," he said softly, continuing to draw gently on her skin with his finger tip. She was warm, soft, and delightful to touch. He just couldn't quite believe she was letting him. "I can guess what that means, but... it's hard to know for sure." The rising blush led him to believe one thing, but there were so many variations that he could easily be wrong. While he'd always been so confident with girls, he felt completely lacking when it came to Claire. There was no show with her, no facade for her to fall for. There was just him, without his masks, and she seemed to like him anyways.

She wondered what he thought it meant, and then she wondered if she could somehow control her heart so it wasn't so obvious to him all the time. "I guess it's going to take some getting used to," Claire said. Her face felt hot, and a part of her wanted to reach up and take his hand so he would stop, but she didn't want him to take it the wrong way if she did. She just wasn't... used to this whole thing yet. "Eventually you're going to learn how to read heartbeats... to know when people are lying, or scared, or being sincere. There's a lot more to the heightened senses thing than you've experienced so far, I think."

Gabe almost pulled his hand away, the idea of her being scared of him not at all what he was hoping for. But this was Claire, and he didn't think the rest of what he was sensing added up to anything like fear. "Maybe we should try that sometime," he said with a little smile. "You can tell me things and I can try to guess if it's a truth or a lie." It could be an interesting little experiment, though Gabe's focus was really elsewhere at the moment. "I wish I knew what you're thinking," he whispered, then his hand dropped to rest on her own and he leaned in to press his lips to hers.

It could be a fun experiment, but then again she would probably be afraid of what he asked her if he started catching on to whether she was being sincere or not. But there wasn't much time to think about that because she realized Gabe was moving in and then his lips were against hers and... ohmygod. She lifted a hand to his uninjured shoulder with the intent to push him away. Her stomach was doing weird flip floppy things and for maybe a split second, she kissed him back. But then Claire jerked herself back and froze as she stared at him, wide eyed. That? Wasn't suppose to happen. "Why did you do that?" she whispered. He wasn't suppose to kiss her. That wasn't... he just wasn't.

For one single moment, Gabe was allowed to enjoy it, to hold the illusion that maybe he'd read her right and maybe he had a chance. For all the times he'd thought of doing it, the reality was far better, a more intense moment than he could have ever imagined. It was short lived though, and as she pulled away, Gabe was faced with a question he was sure she should know the answer to. "I..." Gabe started, his own heartbeat seeming far too loud now, his face bright red to match. It didn't really matter why, since it wasn't allowed, not while she was dating someone else. "I'm sorry," Gabe whispered back. "I thought maybe... you... does it matter?"

She stared at him, knowing that he could hear her heart racing in her chest. She had a boyfriend. She was with Joshua. Why did he have to want her now? He didn't want her in the two years they went to school, or while she was confiding in him about Josh, but now? Claire took a breath and tore her gaze from his face to stare down at her phone. "It matters," she said quietly. She didn't want this to happen because she knew it would lead to bad things and it was late, and she was too exhausted to try and deal with it. She was thinking maybe she shouldn't have come over. She should have just been content with talking to him on the phone and listening to her parents. Claire stood from the bed and wrapped her arms around herself, trying not to look too desperate. "I have to get home... can we just... talk about this tomorrow? When things aren't... like this?" He had her confused and riled up in ways she shouldn't be and she couldn't talk about this when she was feeling like that.

Though Gabe usually maintained a fairly confident facade, right now he was visibly flailing. Telling her why meant handing her his heart on a platter, and he wasn't all that sure that Claire would handle it carefully. Still, if it mattered, if it made a difference, he'd give it a shot. "I don't feel for anyone what I feel for you," he said. "I'd give anything to be with you." If there was ever a point that Gabe wanted to go run and hide, it was now. Obviously, Claire felt the same, since she was suddenly ready to leave. "Please don't," he said, reaching for her hand, but afraid taking it would make things worse. "I promise I won't do it again." Unless she wanted him to, but that would be another situation entirely, one that probably didn't make her want to get away from him as quickly as possible.

She clammed up when he spoke, wanting to protest and tell him he didn't know what he was talking about. Boys didn't say things like that to her. Didn't he know that everything fell apart once those kind of feelings got involved? And god, she didn't know how to handle this stuff. Claire knew if she spoke, she would make things worse... hurt him somehow, even if that wasn't her intent. She didn't know what to say. "Gabe," she began miserably. "You mean... a lot to me. I care about you. Maybe if I wasn't with... but I am. And you're my best friend. It's not... it's not good timing now... and I don't want to lose you." God, she was bad at this stuff. Claire lifted the back of her hand to press against her forehead. "I can't... I don't know if I can talk about this right now."

No matter how she said it, what it really came down to was the fact that she didn't want him like that. At least, that's what Gabe heard. It made him realize just how much being a 'best friend' really sucked. He got to know her better than anyone, but it meant nothing so long as the word 'friend' was attached. Gabe didn't understand how she could fear losing him when she was the one pushing him away. She was the one that didn't want him. "I didn't mean to upset you," he said softly. "I... I should have known better. I just... hoped... you know?" Or maybe she didn't. It made it difficult when she didn't even believe in the feelings he felt. "Let me drive you home. We don't even have to talk about it."

But they would have to talk about it. If not now, eventually. Things wouldn't be the same until then, and who knew if they would be after. "You didn't upset me," Claire told him, her eyes full of apology. She didn't want to bring up Joshua and make things worse. She believed that Gabe felt for her... as much as she wanted to deny it, she believed it. She just didn't know how to respond to it. Joshua was there, in the forefront of her mind, and that only aided in the confusion. He wasn't going to like this. Claire slipped her hands over her reddening face, even as she clutched her phone in her fingers. Crying wasn't going to help. Crying was only going to embarrass her and make her look like an idiot. But she couldn't help it now, because everything was screwed up, and even if they talked about it, he wasn't going to want to be her 'friend' anymore. Not like he'd been.

Oh, God. She was crying. He wasn't sure if he would have caught on so quickly if he couldn't hear an abnormal amount, but the change in her breathing, the way she covered her face, it all told him the same thing. "Don't cry," he said, stepping closer to her, then deciding that a hug was acceptable in this situation. His arms wrapped around her loosely, in case she wanted to pull away. "Please don't. It'll be okay. I promise." Though he couldn't really guarantee something like that, he would do everything in his power to make it happen. He'd been ignoring his feelings for her for a while, trying to push them aside, and he could just go back to doing so. So what if she knew? He'd already told her once, so it shouldn't have been a surprise.

Claire didn't pull away, instead she leaned into him, her face pressed against his shoulder. "It's not going to be okay," she managed between shaky breaths. And she was blubbering like a fucking loser. It made her angry, more so because she could hear her dad in her head yelling at her, calling her a useless, crying sack of shit, which was exactly what she was at that moment. She didn't even want to think about what Gabe was thinking of her now. Claire's throat burned as she tried to suppress what was flowing out of her. "I'm sorry... everything's just... I don't want things to change right now. I need this.... you and... I can't... " She trailed off into tears again, feeling exhausted and wishing the floor would just open up and swallow her. She was such an idiot.

He didn't think this was the appropriate time to argue with her, even if he felt differently. Reassure her, maybe, but not argue. Gabe wasn't especially good with crying girls, but when he cared about them, he went on instinct. His arms tightened as she pressed against him, holding her, hoping that would help. "I'm not going anywhere," he told her softly. "I won't leave you just because you don't want me. You'd have to... like... tell me to get lost. And even then, I'm stubborn." While true, he was hoping it might make her smile as well. Anything, but cry. A slap in the face would have been so much easier to take, but instead he'd gone and made them both miserable. "I need you too," he whispered. "And I'm a bitch to get rid of."

She didn't know if she believed him. She wanted to believe him, but she knew how people could get when they couldn't take certain things anymore. "Wouldn't tell you to get lost," Claire murmured against his shirt, which was probably soaked now thanks to her idiocy. Claire stayed against him for another few moments before she realized she should probably let him go. "I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling horrified at her behavior. "I shouldn't have... everything's just been hard... at home and stuff and... I don't want to lose the things that make me feel good about myself. And you're part of that. I know how... selfish that makes me sound." Claire pulled away from him to sit back down on his bed. "I don't know how to find a good balance to make everything work anymore."

Gabe rubbed her back, waiting until she began to calm down. He wouldn't even think about letting her go as long as she needed him. "You're not the only selfish one here," Gabe reminded her with a sad smile. "I knew better." He really did. She wasn't even single, which should have been enough, and had been for a while. It was just so hard to ignore how he felt about her. "We'll make it work. I don't know how, but we will, okay? I don't want to lose you, Claire. You mean too much to me." Taking a seat beside her on the bed, Gabe watched her for a moment, trying to decide what was the bigger issue-- her other problems or this. It felt wrong to ignore the other stuff now. "You know I'm here for you, right? When things are bad at home..." Even if he didn't know what to say, he'd try his best.

She shook her head, wanting to assure him that he wasn't selfish... that even if it scared the crap out of her, it was flattering to know he liked her that way. She just didn't understand why and a part of her wished he didn't since it would make everything so much simpler. Claire breathed in and wiped her fingers under her eyes impatiently. "I know. I keep telling myself everything will get better once I graduate... it just seems really far away sometimes." And now that her crying jag was slowing down, she was starting to feel it through her bones. She was just tired. "I'm sorry," Claire whispered again, shooting him a pained look. "I shouldn't have come over tonight and... been like this. It wasn't fair to you and you deserve more than... my spazzing out." None of this was fair to him, and she knew that. "I feel so stupid."

He was shaking his head, feeling awful that he'd brought this upon her, all because he wanted more than he knew he should. He'd known better, but there'd been such hope that maybe she felt the same. If he'd had any idea it would end up like this, he'd have never have taken the chance. "No, you're not stupid. I should've known you were upset and didn't need this. I knew I shouldn't, but-- I'm so sorry," he said, squeezing her hand. "Let me get you a soda, or some ice cream, and we'll put on a movie and just chill. We can talk, not about this, but just... I can deal with this." And if he couldn't, he'd just keep it to himself. As much as it hurt now, she'd be gone when school got out. If she actually gave him a chance, it'd only be worse when she left. That's what he could tell himself and maybe, just maybe, it would help.

Claire didn't want him to apologize... not when all of this was her fault. She just... wished she could change everything to make everyone happy. Sniffing, Claire wiped at her cheeks again, knowing she probably looked like a freaking mess. She should have just stayed home and dealt with things there. Looking up at him when he squeezed her hand, Claire managed a faint, watery smile. "A movie this late? Your mom would probably... freak out on you or something." She half expected her own mom to text her, since she was sure she would eventually figure out Claire was gone from her room. "I don't want to get you in trouble... or... make you uncomfortable or something." As nice as it would be to lay there and watch a movie, or even sleep, it probably wouldn't be the most appropriate thing now.

If anyone was making the other uncomfortable, Gabe was sure it was him. He'd been the one to kiss her when she didn't want to be kissed. Any inconvenience she caused him seemed like nothing in comparison. "I don't even think she knows you're here," Gabe admitted. "We had a pretty blow up fight, but you're my friend that she actually likes. Probably cause you haven't tried to beat me up." He was hoping for a little smile, anything that would stop the tears. Reaching up, he brushed a stray tear off her cheek. "You don't make me uncomfortable," he said. "Really, you don't. Too comfortable, maybe. We could even watch it in here, if you don't mind the television being half the size. I'll sit at my desk, or on the floor, if that'd make you feel better." He seriously doubted she'd want to stay with him on the bed, even if he knew nothing would happen there.

She knew she should just go home, hide under the covers and wait for sunrise. She did manage a small smile as she shook her head and let her gaze fall back to her lap. "I think I would probably fall asleep before the movie even started," she admitted. Crying always exhausted her, which was why she tried not to do it if she could help it. "And I wouldn't make you sit on the floor, Gabe." She sighed and rubbed her eye. "I should just go to bed. I shouldn't keep you up either."

"I just hate to see you upset," Gabe said, trying to think of anything he could do that might help. "I have a white chocolate Hershey's kiss I can give you. Perfectly harmless as far as kisses go, and it's white chocolate. That's gotta help, right?" He was stretching, but he didn't really care, so long as it worked. "At least let me drive you home," he said. "You don't even have shoes." He was still her friend, no matter what. He knew she'd have to see that he could handle it, and that that wouldn't be incredibly easy, but he'd try.

Claire couldn't help but chuckle softly in her throat, even as she sniffed again. "Offering a girl chocolate when she's upset... at least you know one of the ways to make her feel better." She looked down at her slippers and then tried to smile again. "If you can drive me home, that would be good... as long as you don't get in trouble." Being home and alone would be better for her now. She could mentally berate herself all night for this whole thing and then freak out about whether or not to tell Josh. God.

"Come on," Gabe said, rising to his feet then taking her hands to pull her up as well. "I don't really care what my mom thinks, even if I can't imagine her letting you walk home either." While he might have gotten in trouble with the whole movie thing, he was sure this would be fine. Slipping on his shoes, Gabe pulled on his jacket, then opened his desk drawer to grab a couple of white chocolate kisses. "I know it's not Godiva, but it's what I've got on hand," he smiled, handing them over to her. He wasn't all that much a fan of white chocolate; he'd bought them exclusively for her.

She took them from him and tried to smile again. She felt like she had screwed everything up, not only with Gabe, but Joshua too somehow. Did she have to tell him? Maybe if she just... pretended like it didn't happen, everything would be okay. She could sleep on it and deal with it in the morning and maybe everything would go back to how things were before. "These are good," she promised. "And... thanks for taking me home... I know you're probably tired and sore and everything..."

Gabe couldn't understand why she felt so bad when he was pretty sure he'd been the one to screw up. She had plenty of reasons to be upset, sure, but she wasn't to blame, at least not in his eyes. "It's okay," he said, still trying to reassure her. "Thanks for... not slapping me," he teased as he opened his bedroom door. He wasn't going to tell anyone about his fabulously unsuccessful move on Claire, that was certain. Kyle would just say he told him so... or something equally defeating. Kyle had told him so.

"I wouldn't do that," Claire said with a small smile. Maybe if he hadn't stopped, but she knew Gabe would never do something like that. She followed Gabe out of his bedroom and to the front door, hoping that they wouldn't run into his mom. Not with her being there late and well, looking the way she did. She just wanted things to be okay... to be normal again, if that was possible. "Thanks for not... hating me, or something," she said after a moment.

"I could never hate you," Gabe said as he quietly opened the front door and led her out to his car. Even if another werewolf hadn't been spotted since the full moon, Gabe kept his eyes and ears open, just in case. "You didn't do anything wrong. You'd already told me you weren't interested. I just..." Gabe didn't have a good excuse in his defense. He'd read the situation wrong, but he didn't want to say so, since he was a little afraid she'd take that to mean she did something wrong as well. "I'm really... really sorry for putting you in that position," he said, turning when he got to his car. "I won't let it happen again. And things will be okay."

She didn't know if things would be okay, but she wanted to believe they would be. She felt like this whole thing was her fault somehow. Only she didn't know how to remedy it. She buckled her seat belt and fell silent for a few minutes. "Thank you... for letting me come over and everything." Tomorrow things would be better... things would be clearer, and they would be all right. If she believed that enough, then it would have to be true, right?

He still felt bad that she'd come over to get away from something that upset her and all he'd managed to do was add to it. Maybe he'd provided an escape, but at this point, wasn't she running from him as well? Gabe didn't want to think about it like that, since he was fairly sure that it wouldn't help things. "Any time," he said with a small smile as he started the car. "Next time I promise a better distraction." One that didn't leave her in tears, preferably. "Maybe we can... watch figure skating or something."

Despite everything that had happened, Claire released a short laugh and ran her hands over her face. "Figure skating? I suppose that's a calming thing, right? Maybe... we could just settle on an action movie or something and watch things explode for a couple of hours." If he still wanted to do things like that with her, anyway.

Score one laugh! It might have been a short term solution, but it was better than seeing her upset. "It was the first thing that came to mind," Gabe smiled. "There were ads on for it earlier." And he'd thought of the time he'd taken her skating. "Action movies are always a good distraction. Would you put up with the new Fast and the Furious release?"

Claire felt her smile come a bit easier. "Yeah, that sounds like fun..." She was thankful that he wasn't upset with her. And that he was trying, because she was too. It made her want to hug him, even if it would probably be a bad idea. "Hot guys in fast cars... why not?" Claire brushed her sleeve over her nose, and she dreaded going back home. She wished she lived further away. "Maybe we could go skating again sometime soon too... rather than watching it on tv."

"I could care less about the hot guys, but if the cars are fast enough it doesn't matter," Gabe said, feeling better now that she was actually smiling. Maybe she was working at it, but that didn't matter, since she was trying. Gabe knew he was giving it all he had. "I'd love to go skating," Gabe said, brightening further. "It feels like forever since I've been on the ice. And you weren't all that bad, you know. A little more practice and you'd be pretty good."

"I doubt that," she said dryly while looking out her window. "But it would be fun to try anyway. Besides, you don't want to be rusty when you go back to the hockey team, so really, it's for you. I'll just tag along for the entertainment value." Despite his wolfy nature now, she was sure he would be able to play hockey again. Maybe as long as he didn't get into any fights.

Oh... crap. He forgot he hadn't told her about his absolutely miserable conversation with Oz. Gabe took a deep breath, not sure he wanted to add any more drama to the night, but not wanting to withhold information either. He never had before and he was afraid she might take it the wrong way. "I'm not sure I'll be able to play," Gabe said, his eyes on the road. "The guy I talked to, the other cursed werewolf? He said that any kind of injury or fight on the ice would trigger it. I... After today... I don't know if he's right or not, since I didn't shift in the fight with Kyle, but I'm worried about it."

"Oh." Claire frowned and turned away from the window to look at him. "That sucks, Gabe... I'm sorry. Maybe... you can find some way around it? I mean, Kyle really tried to beat you up and you didn't shift, so maybe a few hits here and there on the ice won't hurt? Though that's probably still pretty dangerous." She wanted to reach over and touch his arm, but withheld. "Uhm... so maybe figure skating is a good idea." Her lips twitched. "I can see you in a pair of tights."

"I'd be a bit more willing to test my limits if I had a cage and some tranquilizers," Gabe said, though that sounded just about as awful as he could imagine. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. "But even if I can't play on the team, I can play for fun. Kyle would play with me, and Drea's pretty good." In fact, Drea would probably appreciate having someone to play with more often, since she wasn't on the team. "You're crazy if you think you're gonna get me in tights," Gabe said, cracking a smile. "Otherwise, might be fun... who knows. Course, then I'll end up with the guys calling me a fag or something. All I need is to be known as twinkle-toes or some shit."

"That just means they're not in touch with their femininity like you are," Claire pointed out with a small grin. "And I'm glad you're not going to let this take away things you love doing. You could teach me hockey or something... after I learn to stay upright on skates." She didn't like picturing him in a cage, let alone with tranquilizers. It just sucked for him... so hard. Thankfully it seemed like he had people helping him, who would be there for him... that was better than going through it alone.

"I'd love to teach you to play," Gabe grinned, almost beaming. She didn't have to be good. In fact, she didn't have to actually succeed at learning. It was the offer that mattered to him, the fact that she'd even consider it. "I'm trying not to let it change me too much," he said. "Some things, I just can't help. It's not neccessarily changing me, but what I do or how I do things. Some of it might be good. It's just hard to tell when it's forced, you know?"

Relieved, Claire nodded. She was starting to maybe feel better about everything, because he wasn't shying away from spending time with her... that was a definite plus. "I think you're adapting pretty well," she said. "And you'll continue to, because you have people who know what they're talking about who will help you." She looked ahead and frowned again. "Can you park like, two houses down? I don't want my parents to notice your car pulling up." If they were still awake, anyway.

Gabe didn't really feel that he had any choice but to adapt. If he didn't, he'd probably end up hurting, even killing, the people he cared about. "And people who support me, even if they're learning at the same time," Gabe pointed out with a smile. A good portion of his friends fell into that category, even Claire. Gabe was quiet for a moment as he pulled over to the curb down the street from her house, looking ahead then turning to her. "I know I screwed up tonight, but if things are bad again, I want you to call me," he said. "Promise me you won't stay there."

Claire smiled softly at him, thankful that he knew she would be there for him. Once he pulled over, she looked at him, her smile fading just a touch. "You didn't screw up tonight," she said quietly. She had, but he hadn't. "And I will call you, I promise." Tonight had just been one of the bad nights. Unbuckling her seat belt, Claire leaned over to hug him, even if the position was awkward. "Thank you," she said before pulling back. "For driving me home and... being understanding, and everything else."

She couldn't possibly know how much it meant that she would still hug him, that she still trusted him not to do anything stupid. Gabe wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight-- or as much as he could with a hurt shoulder. "You're welcome," he said as he released her. He still felt like he should be the one apologizing, but they'd had enough of that already. "I'll see you tomorrow? In class?"

"Definitely. Drive carefully back home okay?" Claire turned away and pushed open the passenger door before shutting it. She waved at him and started off quickly on the dimly lit sidewalk to her house, and then into the darker backyard. She had a tree to climb, and a probably worried mother to answer to. And then she could fall into bed. At least she had exhausted herself enough that she knew she would fall asleep rather than stay up all night freaking out about things. But it seemed like they'd kept their friendship in tact, for the most part. That was the important thing... and she would hang onto that as tightly as she could.