Chapter 3 - CHAPTER THREE

A New Meeting Chapter 3.[br]

[br]

“Need help?” came a questioning voice from behind her, undoubtably Steve’s.[br]

“No thanks,” Claire replied, getting the key into the slot and turning it. She quickly opened the door, taking her key as she slipped in.[br]

Steve caught the door with his foot and slipped in as well, closing the door quietly. He got a glare from Claire before she went to go put the groceries away.[br]

Steve decidedly made himself comfortable on the couch, flipping through the tv channels. Claire came back into the main room, leaning over the back of the couch, her elbows propping her up and fingers weaved together under her chin, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.[br]

“What are you doing?” she asked.[br]

“What does it look like, beautiful?” he asked, smirking, “I’m watching tv.”[br]

“Go back to your own apartment.”[br]

“Don’t have anything set up yet.”[br]

“Why don’t you go set it up then? Put your time to good use.”[br]

“Can I spend the night?”[br]

Claire deadpanned, looking straight at him, “no, if my brother comes back he’ll have a fit over it. Oh, and its “‘may’ I” she corrected him.[br]

Steve frowned, “its only one night, and you said ‘if’ he comes back,” he pointed out, “that means he may not and you don’t have to worry about it!”[br]

Claire glared, “my brother IS coming back. I just don’t know when, he always keeps his promises though.”[br]

Steve shrugged and leaned his head back on the couch, “still doesn’t seem all that reliable...no offence, Claire.”[br]

Claire turned around, leaning her back against the couch, trying not to explode at him, “you’re wrong,” she said quietly, quickly going into her room to cool off.[br]

[br]

‘He really is the same Steve!’ she fumed, ‘like before he told me he loved me...he’s so self centered...course he was done wrong...” she ranted to herself. Burrowing her face into her pillow, she thought about him spending the night. Was it really wrong to just let him stay one night? Or should she make him leave, even though she had so desperately wanted to see him. She shook her head, “this is so confusing!” she muttered, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling.[br]

After a while she got up and went back into the main room, finding Steve still there, she sat beside him, easily grabbing the remote from his hand, blushing a little when she accidently brushed his hand.[br]

Steve made a funny face at her for, “mean.”[br]

She felt the heat in her face flush away, she shook her head at him and changed the channel.[br]

“For one night?” he tried again, staring straight at her with puppy dog eyes.[br]

She squiggled a little uncomfortably at him staring at her, the only words she could get out were, “I’m not feeding you...and you get the couch.”[br]

He smiled, “I knew you were a great person Claire!” he then leaned back on the couch with his arm outlining the back of it lazily.[br]

She rolled her eyes at this, “yeah, yeah,” she said a bit sarcastically as she found a movie she liked that was on.[br]

“Oh, a romance, what are you thinking of?” Steve tried flirting.[br]

“That I want you to shut up and let me watch my movie,” she replied grumpily.[br]

[br]

[br]

He chuckled at that and started to watch the movie, making comments every now and then. She hit him every time he did so.[br]
[br]

Claire had fallen asleep during it at some point, her head on the arm rest and the rest of her curled up in a ball.[br]

Steve looked at her for a few moments before getting up and laying the blanket she had left on the couch over her. He laid on the other side of the couch, watching the flashing screen and falling asleep himself.[br]
[br]

Claire blinked her eyes open drowsily, seeing that the tv had been shut off. She sat up slowly and stretched, yawning slightly in the process. She looked around, startled by the fact that she didn’t see Steve, she stood up and was going to start looking around before she heard a crash in the kitchen. She hurried, finding an empty pan laying on the floor, getting ready to be picked up by Steve. There were already different ingredients strewn about the kitchen.[br]

“Steve...what are you doing...?” Claire asked him, raising an eyebrow at the already mess.[br]

“Uh....” he paused for a second, “I was trying to make you breakfast...but I’m not very talented at this...”[br]

Claire sighed, “go sit in the other room...I’m going to go take a shower and then I’M going to make breakfast.”[br]

He blinked, “but I thought you weren’t going to feed me...”[br]

She facepalmed, “well I am now. Get your butt in the living room,” she sighed, pushing him out before putting all the perishables away.[br]

[br]

She quickly went to her room, getting a new outfit to wear and quickly heading to the bathroom. She undressed, and turned on the warm water, getting in and letting it run over her for a few minutes. She then washed her hair, quickly lathering her hair with shampoo and washing it out. She then used conditioner, letting it stay for a few moments longer, having heard it was healthier.[br]

After finishing the rest of her shower, she got out and fetched the towel she used the other day, drying herself off. [br]

“I wonder what I’ll make...” she pondered as she dried her hair a little, putting on her clothes afterward. She threw the towel on the floor before heading back out into the main room.[br]
[br]

Steve glanced at her, whistling at her low cut red shirt and flared black jeans.[br]

Claire rolled her eyes at him, “well isn’t THAT mature,” she said sarcastically before walking into the kitchen to fix pancakes.[br]

Steve followed her, watching her from the other side of the kitchen, examining her.[br]

Trying to ignore him, she did as she would normally do and got the ingredients out and started making the batter from scratch.[br]

“What are you making?” Steve asked loudly.[br]

“Food,” she stated, not faltering in stirring up the batter.[br]

“What kind?”[br]

She rolled her eyes, “you’ll see.” She put the pan on top of the stove after starting it up, soon pouring a part of the batter in. She set the bowl with the batter on the small counter she had and got a spatula out of a drawer. She watched the batter till it bubbled and flipped it over, getting it near perfect.[br]

[br]

[br]

Steve was at her side now, “cool...how do you do that?”[br]

She shrugged, “practice, a little butter and a good spatula....oh, and some epic skills.”[br]

He shook his head at her, “that wasn’t funny.”[br]

She smirked, “wasn’t suppose to be.”[br]

Steve frowned at her and crossed his arms, “ha. Ha. Are you saying I don’t have skills?”[br]

[br]

Claire giggled and checked under the pancakes she had in the pan. She quickly went and grabbed a plate from the cupboard. She went back to the stove and got the pancakes off and onto the plate before starting a new batch.[br]

Steve pouted a little, quickly getting over it and watching her curiously as she made them breakfast.[br]
[br]

Claire got out two more plates, “you can take how ever many you want,” she told him, taking two for herself from the pile. She put butter on both of them and poured syrup on top of them, “make sure you put things back, okay?” She left to go watch tv.[br]

Steve got four pancakes off the original plate. He drowned the pancakes in syrup, putting the butter and syrup up quickly and heading back into the main room.[br]
[br]

“...Another chick flick?” he asked, raising an eyebrow curiously, going and sitting next to Claire.[br]

She rolled her eyes, “it’s a love tragedy.”[br]

“Yeah. A chick flick.”[br]

“If you don’t like it, leave.”[br]

“It’s fine.”[br]

“Then shut up.”[br]
[br]

They ate in silence for a while to the noises of people shouting each others name and more of the type of things a romantic tragedy had in store.[br]

“Why do you like this stuff?” Steve asked through a mouthful of food.[br]

“It’s entertaining.”[br]

“How?” he still had food in his mouth.[br]

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Claire scolded, taking smaller bites than he did.[br]

He swallowed the food whole, almost choking on it. He hit his chest a few times before asking, “how is it entertaining?”[br]

She rolled her eyes at his display of manners, “doesn’t matter...” ‘Reminds me of how I lost you almost,’ she added in her thoughts.[br]

[br]

More silence.[br]
[br]

“Can...MAY I spend another night?” Steve asked out of the blue.[br]

“It’s not even evening, I’m sure you can pull some things together before you get tired.”[br]

He pouted, “please?”[br]

Claire rolled her eyes, not wanting to argue, “fine...this just proves you’re lazy though.”[br]

He beamed at her, “thanks!”[br]

Not replying, she got up silently to go wash her plate.[br]
[br]
[br]

She scrubbed it throughly, ‘he made in implication of wanting to know me before...he’s just a freeloader. I should kick him out...no...I already said he could spend another night.’ She sighed, rinsing the plate off and putting it away in its proper place, she started on the pan and bowl she used for the batter. After washing everything besides the plate holding the few extra pancakes and Steve’s, she went back into the main room to see what Steve was doing.[br]
[br]

He was strewn about lazily on the couch, empty plate on the floor and the remote in hand.[br]

Claire moved his feet off of her side and sat down, “it’s my TV...” she frowned.[br]

He chuckled, “is that a ladies way of talking to a guest?”[br]

“....When its my house? Yes.”[br]
[br]

There were more awkward silences and random conversations of the like for most of the day.[br]
[br]

“I’m heading out...I need to go visit someone...” Steve told Claire as he got up to go put his shoes on, which were separated into two different locations in the room.[br]

Claire nodded, “okay...and you can’t stay at their house?”[br]

He chuckled at that as he pulled on one shoe, “no, they have a very special situation and are the only other person I know besides you.”[br]

“You don’t know me...” Claire muttered bitterly.[br]

[br]

Steve apparently didn’t hear her, already at the door by now with both his shoes on. His hair all astray though.[br]

“Hey,” Claire called over to him, noticing his hair.[br]
He looked back, looking slightly amused, “yeah?”[br]

“I’ll go get you a comb, you can’t go out looking like that,” she told him, getting up.[br]

He chuckled, “doesn’t matter, don’t bother...though it does feel weird.” He patted his hair down, it sticking straight back up again.[br]

She rolled her eyes and quickly fetched a comb, wetting it down with water before coming back. To her amazement, he waited, smiling at her with his hands in his pockets.[br]
[br]

She walked over to him and practically thrust it at him. He didn’t take it.[br]

Raising an eyebrow she asked him, “aren’t you going to comb your hair?”[br]

He shrugged, “I want you to do it,” he told her in a slightly suggestive manner. Claire stepped back, slightly shocked at that.[br]

He blinked, “you don’t want to? Then I’m going, see ya later!” he smiled, turning towards the door. Before he could turn all the way though, he was pulled back by the shoulder.[br]

“Fine. I’ll comb your hair, your such a child...” she muttered, going to comb it a bit uncertainly. He smiled at her and took the hand she had the comb in, starting her in on combing it.[br]

She huffed, “I can do it myself! You asked me to!” Steve let her hand go so she could prove she could. She got all the knots out easily and styled it slightly to how she had remembered.[br]
[br]

“There...you can get going now...” she said quietly, feeling as if she was a newly wed for some reason.[br]

“Thanks,” he quickly went to the door and turned the door knob. It didn’t budge. Steve looked back at her with a confused face.[br]

Claire burst out laughing at him, okay. So maybe she wasn’t suited for the newly wed title, [br]
[br]

hell. She would laugh at even a stranger who couldn’t tell that the door was locked.[br]

Steve blushed, “why won’t it open...?”[br]

Her laughter grew louder. She finally tried stifling it, covering her mouth with one hand and setting the comb down before walking over to the door.[br]

“It’s locked,” she managed to get out, giggling hysterically through her hand. She unlocked it and opened it for him. “Knock loudly when you come back, okay?” she giggled more, letting him through the door.[br]

Steve was frowning at her, his face obviously red, “y-yeah...” he answered, walking out the door quickly and down the hall.[br]
[br]

Claire shut and locked the door again, still giggling at his mistake as she walked back over to the couch laid down to watch some TV till he came back.

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