damned_institute | Day 56: Tasty Burger (Noon)

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Day 56: Tasty Burger (Noon)

Peter didn't know if he and Firo had left on the best terms, if only because the younger man was still so confused about what was going on in this place. The change in time period had a lot to do with it, but it had also sounded like he'd had a lot going on in his life before ending up here. Then again, who hadn't? Peter had just exploded before his arrival.

It was hard to think back to that night, to the way he'd stood in Kirby Plaza while burning up with nuclear overload, when he was in this quaint snow-covered town. This was the sort of image you'd see on the Christmas card; it wasn't supposed to exist.

Still, his walk with Firo had been rather long all things considered, and so Peter finally decided to leave the teen to his devices and go warm up somewhere. The best way to do that would be by putting some hot food in his stomach, and so he ended up backtracking to the Tasty Burger. He could have gone ahead to the Twin Pines, since the food was obviously better quality there, but the walk was longer and his face was starting to get numb.

Letting out a small sigh of relief as he stepped into the lively fast food place, Peter fished the proper coupon out of his pocket and went to stand in line, eyeing the two young girls at the counter as he waited for it to be his turn. Once he'd eaten, he could really start searching the shops for what to buy.

[Claire Bennet.]

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"Just this guy" already made it sound like bad news, though Peter had to wonder if maybe he was just being overprotective. Still, there was no one else to keep an eye (or two) on Claire here, so he was happy to take the position of the somewhat stifling adult figure in the girl's life. If he didn't put that effort in, he'd just feel horrible if something happened to her.

However, his thoughts were pulled in a completely different direction when she mentioned that Damon was part of a pair of brothers who had arrived here together. There was no way he couldn't think of Nathan in that moment -- and while part of him was jealous, the other part hoped that Damon and his brother would be able to stick together for as long as possible in this place.

He took his tray and followed after her, considering her question with a frown. "Not really," he admitted after a pause, "but I haven't really been paying attention. I don't have any important jewelry like that, so..." Though his thoughts went back to Nathan once more, since as far as he could remember his brother hadn't had his class ring when he'd been here -- and that thing never left his finger.

(The wedding ring, on the other hand, might have a couple of times.)

As Claire found a table, Peter took a seat across from her and sent her a look in response to her teasing comment about the pillowcase. "Look, at least I know that that's not gonna work for long. Now I just need to figure out where I can find a good duffel. And I'm guessing you're still figuring out what to do with your allowance?" he questioned with a crooked smile.

She nodded as she sat down at his jewelry explanation. It made sense -- she'd probably be better off talking to other girls about it. They tended to notice that thing more. After all, they had more of it. Still, she couldn't help but reach one hand up to brush at her collarbone where the heart necklace from her father usually hung. It dropped pretty promptly to her soda, though, which she picked up to take a sip before replying verbally.

"You're thinking ahead, it's a good thing. I'm kind of surprised you never got one before now. I mean, you were her last week, right?" She raised an eyebrow as she set her cup back down, beginning to tear open ketchup packets for her fries as she continued. "I hadn't really thought about it. I mean, I guess I was just distracted. Mostly by the way this whole thing just seems like a way to take the fight out of us. You know, so we think it's 'not so bad' or something."

She wasn't going to get into how she wasn't even sure that it was real for most of the bus ride. That definitely seemed safer as a road not touched on as to avoid any thoughts of crazy. And the standard overprotection. That wasn't something she really wanted to open the door to either.

At first Claire's question confused him. How could he have bought something last time? But then Peter remembered that this was her first time here, and he gave a shake of his head as he grabbed for a fry. "This is the first time they're giving us actual money." Well, it wasn't cold hard cash that they could try to date or analyze, but it was still some form of currency that they could use to buy things. "I don't know if they're trying to gain our favor or if they're just curious to see what everyone buys."

And there was no way of knowing, so Peter was going to do what he could to not dwell on it and just focus on getting himself something useful. At Claire's next comment, he took a moment to think it over and then shook his head. "The way I figure? You may as well make the best of things. As long as you have that thought in your head, you won't get complacent, and then you can at least enjoy the small things that we get."

Besides, it wasn't like this was all fun and games. Some of the townspeople weren't exactly friendly, and the realization that they all turned into something monstrous at night gave the town an eerie quality. It was probably best that Claire didn't know about that, since he didn't want to ruin her trip. Instead he grabbed for his burger and took a bite.

So, basically, keep calm and carry on. It was good advice, honestly, but that didn't make Claire's sigh any less disappointed by their unhappy fate. After all, it was hard not to let it put a serious damper on enjoying the little things, even if she knew she was going to need to learn how to if it meant keeping her wits about her when the bad inevitably came crashing down every night.

And it certainly didn't help that there was something suspicious to the fact that they'd been given money now that she knew it was a first, which made it a totally willing choice of the soldiers and their sketchy General. She tried not to think about it. Better to just use their money to spite them and worry about the why of it later. That was something she could take small enjoyment out of, at least. Maybe this little things mentality wouldn't be so hard.

"Usually making the best out of things requires something that has an even remotely good quality, you know." She said it with a little bit of a petulant tone, like she was just arguing for the sake of being the devil's advocate and getting it out there. It was pretty clear that she was going to listen to his suggestion regardless.

"Maybe this is how they get those market research statistics. I mean, I always figured they were evil." It was hard to tell exactly, but the wryness in her tone and the barely visible smile in the corners of her mouth were telltale signs that she was joking -- well, mostly joking. It was worth thinking about, still, why they would want to cough the money up now of all times, but conspiracy theories weren't really her thing, as a general rule. The smile finally reaching her eyes, she shut up and just took a bite of her burger.

Peter didn't know if his advice really amounted to much, and Claire was pretty clear about the fact that she didn't buy it. Still, if they didn't try to look on the bright side of things at least sometimes, then where would they end up? Well, feeling pretty horrible all the time, that's where. Peter didn't know about Claire, but he personally wasn't a fan of feeling miserable, so he did what he could not to.

"Hey, the people here have some good qualities," he pointed out. "Look at Peter," by which he clearly meant the younger one -- it was just too weird to call him "Pete," -- "and that Damon guy who you said you were talking to." He could have mentioned Bella as well, but he honestly didn't know where Claire and her roommate stood at this point. It was probably better not to go there. "I know it doesn't really make up for the rest of it, but..." It was something.

It wasn't just the people, either. Being able to sit in a fast food place and sip on a soda and eat a burger while talking with his niece was a novelty all on its own. Yeah, they got served burgers back at the institute (or they used to, anyway), but it wasn't quite the same without the cardboard holders and bright colors.

Claire's last comment earned a laugh from him. "I'm just shocked you know what market research statistics even are. Did you take economics recently?" It was times like these that he realized that Claire was a pretty special girl just on her own, nothing to do with her ability. He felt pretty lucky to have her as a niece.

She nodded her agreement at his assertions about Damon and Peter. Yeah, they were nice, and she could suppose that it was a plus -- being able to meet them, no matter how unfortunate the circumstances were. But, that didn't really balance it out, did it? Besides, it was kind of hard to really trust someone enough to say you were glad to meet them when you'd only seen one side; the action, coping side.

Still. He made a good point, and she acknowledged as much with a forfeiting shrug of her shoulders and tilt of her eyebrows. An admission that she was wrong, however silent as she took another bite of her hamburger. The casualness of it all was nice.

Sitting here -- she'd never really gotten to do this with Peter before now, and it was a sad thing to realize. Her family was too caught up in its own self-generated dramatics for her to even get time to spend with her uncle. To really get to know him. In a moment like this, she could almost forget that she wasn't really feeling like his biggest fan back home these days. In her time. But, everyone had fights, right? And he seemed considerably more willing to let her do her own thing and learn how to fight back here.

Laughing at his last remark, she took a quick sip of her drink before answering.

"Last semester," she explained, looking much like she'd been caught out. "Apparently it's a requirement these days. But, I totally could have known it without econ. I'm a cheerleader, not an idiot." Still, she said it in an amused way that indicated she was far from offended by his surprise. Flattered, maybe. After all, most people heard cheerleader and thought Jackie. Peter had, once.

Economics as a requirement was probably a good idea, all things considered. People always complained about how young people these days didn't understand the value of the dollar, so Peter figured that was their solution. Still, the easiest way to learn something like that was to make your own money, but he'd struggled with that enough on his own, mainly because his parents had tried to fund too many of his endeavors. What was so bad about trying to make his own way?

"I know you're not an idiot," he said, his tone surprisingly serious even if she clearly hadn't taken that much offense in the first place. He still wanted to make it clear, because he'd never figured that being a cheerleader meant that and he didn't want Claire to think he'd implied as much. Prejudging is what caused so many people to not connect with each other when they had every ability to.

"Anyway," he continued, grabbing for some more fries and then washing it down with the soda, "what did you have in mind for tonight? I should be able to head out with you this time, if you'll have me." And now it was his turn to joke. It seemed like Claire had been making a lot of friends, though, so it was a genuine question in that way. She could have arranged to meet up with that Damon guy or the other Peter for all he knew.

And he was trying not to feel like an overprotective relative, but it was surprisingly difficult. He'd never really gotten this way around Simon or Monty, but that was probably because they'd always been cared for in one way or another.

The smile she gave him in response to that was quieter, more genuine. Because if there was anybody who's opinion meant the world to her, it was Peter, and while she knew full and well that he didn't think she was an idiot, it was still nice hearing it. She spent his next question hiding the smile behind a few fries, which was all in all a good decision, because the question would have given her an inexcusable pause otherwise -- this way, it gave her time to chew it over without drawing attention.

Going out at night. It sounded good in theory, but then it had sounded good in theory the night before too, when she'd been so damn eager and gotten herself humiliated a second time by the monster from before. So, instead, it just sounded a little scary, honestly. As bad as she wanted to get back at it, the fear of going up against it again was winning out. She swallowed down a drink of soda before answering, mind made up.

"Actually, I was thinking of staying in." She briefly opened her mouth to prepare a full excuse, but shut it and just offered him a smile instead, accompanied by a shrug. She wasn't going to lie to Peter more than she had to, he deserved better than that, and wanting to stay in was at least the truth. Reevaluating, she canted her head a little, offering, "Raincheck?"

Peter hadn't been expecting that.

Up until now, Claire had always been the one who was pushing to go out and explore, to rebel against their captors, to do something. The two of them shared that determination, although Peter's had been curbed by his own concern for the girl. But for her to now want to stay in even though she was clearly in good physical condition could only mean...

Well, that something had gone on last night that she wasn't telling him. Peter didn't distrust the girl to the point that he thought she was lying about wanting to remain in her room so that she could go out without him bothering her, but that almost made it worse because it meant that something was really wrong and she wasn't willing to talk about it.

It was hard to know what step to take next, and suddenly Peter's food didn't look as appetizing. Despite that, he ate a few more fries, not wanting to let on how worried he was. He could either ask her directly what was happening with her, which might not get the best response, or he could just give her some space. It was hard to accept the second option, but if she was staying in her room then he could at least rest assured that she wasn't putting herself into any more upsetting situations.

So, after a pause that had probably stretched out for far too long, Peter nodded to the girl. "Sounds good. It's probably a good idea for you to get some rest."

The awkward pause didn't go missed. It was hard to pretend that she didn't realize just how weird Peter must have found her admission. She was so gung-ho for getting out and fighting, and now she was letting some big freaky hallucinatory bad acid trip -- okay, two big hallucinatory bad acid trips -- scare her into staying inside. But, it was one night, and it was better that she didn't get into Peter's way, right?

Still. She didn't like knowing that he realized something was off, mostly because that meant he realized she was hiding something. Not that she'd ever been the world's best actress, but … Peter knowing she was being dishonest was worse than someone else knowing, because she hated being dishonest with him.

It just happened to be the best option for this. He didn't need to hear that her first time out by herself ended in tears, because he'd never let her do it again. And she didn't need to tell him, because she needed to just … get over it. The monsters weren't real. Everyone she'd seen hurt in that hallucination was fine. Perfectly fine.

So, she just took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, I haven't exactly been feeling rested from the sudden curtain drop at the end of the night. Might as well get some real rest." A beat. She frowns a little. "But, tomorrow," she offered with a hopeful edge to her expression.

It was obvious that there was something going on, that there was a lot going unsaid between them, and yet the fact that Claire wasn't acknowledging it or saying much of anything made it clear that it was going to stay that way. Peter still felt like maybe it would be better if he pushed a bit harder and tried to get her to spill, but...

Like she'd said, tomorrow. Claire would be safe tonight. She could take that time to gather her thoughts and maybe recover from whatever was bothering her. Tomorrow, Peter would have another chance to try and get her to open up.

Not much of his food was left, but he couldn't bring himself to eat it. Still, it was such a small amount that it wouldn't seem strange that he was leaving it on the tray. This was a lot of food, after all.

"Well, I guess we can't hang around in here all day," he said with a small smile. It didn't have quite as much feeling to it as normal, but hopefully the girl wouldn't notice. At this point, Peter's thoughts were just all over the place since he was still trying to somehow work out what was bothering his niece. He wasn't coming up with much.

He was sure that Claire wanted to make the best of this trip and search the town some more, though, and so Peter grabbed his tray and dumped the rest of it in the trash, setting it down to be picked up by one the workers. "Take care today and rest well tonight, okay?" he said as he turned back toward the girl.

When Peter grabbed his tray, it worked as a good distractor for Claire. She didn't have to focus on that less than full edge to his smile -- the one that suspected her of the lie that she wished she didn't have to be selling. There was nothing like that half-hearted, tiny smile from Peter to guilt her. So, instead of fixating on that, she grabbed her tray and stood up with him, slurping down the rest of her drink and dumping the emptied paper cup into the trash can with the rest of her garbage before setting the tray atop Peter's on the stack.

She turned to shoot him a smile, nodding. A part of her was bummed that she couldn't just spend the day wandering with him, but he probably had other people he wanted to see, and it'd be less painful to have generally less contact, anyway. It meant lying less. So, she could pretty easily accept not getting to make up for the general lack of niece-uncle bonding time. After all, she'd seen more of him in the institute so far than she had her entire last year of school at Costa Verde.

That was kind of sad to think about.

"You too. Stay safe out there, Peter, I don't want to spot you tomorrow morning trying to work the wheelchair look again. No matter how indestructo I can make you afterwards." She fixed him with a serious almost mothering look, but it dropped away into a small smile. With that said, she moved to head out the front door of the burger joint, disappearing down the street.

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Day 56: Tasty Burger (Noon)

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We can wrap this up if you'd like!

sure!

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