my head huuurrrts.

Claire had agreed to meet Noah at the Kiborante today. She'd hung out with him quite a few times since the night at the ruins, and he'd become a really good friend. It was nice hanging out with guys, they had so much less drama in their lives. I mean, she still loved to hang out with Lily and Julie, but with Julie gone, and with Lily always hanging out with Rhint, it was nice to have someone else to chill with.

Anyway, she was just opening the door to the Kiborante. She knew Noah would always be there before her, because he was always early. When she stepped in, she looked around for him.

Like it said in Claire's post, Claire and Noah had been hanging out a lot since the ruins. With Claire's help, Noah had really been able to move on passed Julie. And while he still missed her, it was definitely a lot better than it had been at first.

Even though Claire was still as blunt and cynical as ever, Noah really enjoyed her company. He liked the way she told it like it was, and how she was never afraid to share her opinion. She was so strong and independent...it was all oddly appealing to Noah. They could have meaningful conversations with each other. It was nice, in a weird way.

When he saw her come in to the Kiborante, he waved her over enthusiastically. He was always excited for another date...er, meeting with Claire. "Claire, over here!" he called. He was kind of in the back so he had to call for her in order for her to see him.

Claire smiled and walked over to where Noah was sitting. "Hey Noah, what's up?" she asked, taking a seat across from him.

"Nothing much, I've just been really busy with work," Noah replied, smiling. It was hard work saving lives. "That's why I haven't been around lately. When I found out I had today off, I knew I had to see you."

Just the a waiter came over to take their drink orders. He gave Claire a familiar look, as if he recognized her but didn't actually know her. He soon left with their orders.

Today was Chloe's last day cooking at the Kiborante before her maternity leave. She was sad to go, but she knew it was necessary. She was getting pretty big, and her feet and back hurt really bad since she had to stand all day at work. Luckily the manager promised her that, since she was such a good cook, there would still be a job for her when she decided to come back. Yay!

Just then a waiter came into the kitchen and approached Chloe. At first she thought he was just giving her an order to make, but then he told her that her twin sister was here. Claire was here? CLAIRE WAS HERE! OMIGOD! YAY! Without another though Chloe rushed out of the kitchen as fast as her six months pregnant body would take her.

"CLAIRE!" she yelled excitedly, looking around for her.

Claire smiled at Noah. "I've missed you too," she said, because strangely enough, she sorta had. When the waiter came by he gave her a look that Claire would recognize anywhere. He knew Chloe.

"Oh..." Claire said in thought as the waiter left with their orders. She hoped that he knew Chloe from somewhere else and not--

Quote :

"CLAIRE!"

Claire hung her head for a second before looking up at her excited twin. "Hey, Chloe," she said with a slight smile. She tried to make her sister happy ever since that one fantastic (sarcasm) day at her and Teagan's house.

Noah also looked up when someone called for Claire. Pretty much everyone in the restaurant did, because whoever called for Claire called really, really loud...with a voice identical to Claire's. He saw a girl hurrying over who was identical to Claire, except for the fact that she appeared to be expecting. Oh, of course. This was Chloe. Claire had mentioned her twin sister a few times.

Chloe stopped at their table and smiled at Claire. Then she happened to notice Noah, apparently for the first time. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Before Noah could so much as introduce himself, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Claire!" she exclaimed loudly. "You have a boyfriend!!!"

Claire squeezed her napkin. "No, Chloe," she said stiffly, "I don't." Sometimes she wanted to strangle her sister.

Uh oh. Claire looked mad. Noah laughed nervously and tried to change the subject. "You must be Chloe. I'm Noah," he said to her holding out his hand for her to shake. He smiled."Congratulations, by the way. On your baby."

Chloe smiled back. Instead of shaking his hand, she grabbed it and put it on her baby belly. "Thank yew!" she replied cheerfully. She held his hand there until she felt Thloe kick. Then she released him and pulled up a chair uninvited.

"Oooh, Claire," she whispered loudly, nudging Claire. "He's cute. I'm so happy for you!"

"Chloe, Noah isn't my boyfriend," she repeated. "We're just friends." God, why did Chloe always have to do this?

"Really Chloe, we are just friends," Noah confirmed, because he could tell that Claire was mad. This wasn't going to end well, was it?

Chloe didn't believe them. She had seen the way they were looking at each other. "You don't have to be embarrassed about it!" she told them, looking back and forth between them. "It's cute! I never thought you'd get a boyfriend Claire."

Claire shook her head. "Don't you have something to do?" she asked in a strained voice. "Like your job?"

Chloe got the hint. "Oh, of course!" she realized. "Oh geez, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be interrupting your date like this! I'm being so rude!" She got up. "Have fun you two!" She winked playfully and retreated back into the kitchen.

After Chloe left, it was dead silent. Not only had it become incredibly awkward, but Noah was a little...frightened. Claire looked like she was about to tear her menu in half. "So..." he said lamely, needing to break the silence. "She seems nice."

Please don't hurt me, Claire.

"Yeah, nice would be the word," Claire sighed, shaking her head. Chloe was surely one of a kind.

Noah breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled a little. Maybe Claire wasn't as mad about the incident as he thought. "I guess I could kind of see why she would think what she did," he said without thinking.

Claire glanced up at him. "What do you mean?" she asked. She couldn't see that. At all. They were just friends, weren't they? Oh God, what if they weren't? Crap, this was why Claire didn't talk to guys!

Noah looked up at the tone of her voice. Uh...oops. "Nothing," he said quickly. He didn't want Claire to get the wrong idea. "It's just...you know, me and you, a man and a woman at a restaurant together...it would be reasonable to assume we were on a date." This conversation was getting a little uncomfortable. He quickly added, "Not that we are."

"Oh, right," Claire said, looking at her plate. Was it weird, that she was almost... sorry that that was all he had meant? "Yeah, I guess it's understandable."

The waiter came back out with their drinks, giving the two a few moments to regain their composure.

Noah was a little surprised by Claire's reaction. He had expected her to be miffed about the fact that they were mistaken for a couple, but...she almost seemed like...Nah, it couldn't be...could it?

"So, your sister is expecting a baby?" Noah finally said, changing the subject to a safe topic. "That's so amazing." He smiled, almost sadly but not quite. He wanted a family so bad.

Claire nodded, a smile back on her face. "She's so excited," she said. "She and her husband just got married, so they started a family pretty quick. "I dunno, I mean, I would want to wait a while to have a kid, long enough to get settled and everything as a couple, but she's happy, so I'm happy for her."

"Really?" Noah asked. "I would like to start a family anytime after I was married. Your sister is very lucky." He hoped every second of every day that he would have a wife and child someday. A family was what he wanted most out of life. It was a harder goal than one would think to achieve, considering the fact that he wanted to do it the proper way.

"I'm definitely glad she found someone that respects her. They're very happy together, they just live a while away, so I don't get to see them that often. Hopefully when they have the baby they'll come around more." Claire meesed her seester.

"You could always go to their house more," Noah suggested. "I'm sure it's harder for Chloe to get to place to place when she's so far along. I'm surprised she's still working." Half-seriously he said, "Hey, if her and her husband ever need a pediatrician, you should refer them to me." Noah was thinking of specializing in pediatrics because he loved kids so much. Not in a creepy way, of course. xD

"Maybe I will," Claire said to Noah. "But they live on Annerb," Claire explained, "and they might not want to travel that far." She knew that Noah practiced in Ughdarras, and while that wasn't that far from Annerb, Chloe and Teagan would probably find a doctor on their island.

"Ah, well," Noah sighed and shrugged. "I'd still maybe like to see the baby when it's born. I really love kids." He missed seeing Quill all the time. He hoped whenever Julie came back she would still want to be friends, and let him see Quill more.