Application for Claire Bennet (Heroes)

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

((Done with permission from the Heroes-muns. Spoilers for the whole first season.))



The door to the Sorting Room opened slowly, and a pretty blonde girl, about sixteen, poked her head around it. "Hello?"

Hitching her bag over her shoulder, Claire Bennet made her way inside, eyes wide as she took in the stone walls and suits of armor. "Wow. This is so just like the set to a movie." A kind of half-smile was on her face as she headed towards the table in the middle of the room. Setting her bag down, she sat, crossing her legs and glancing down at the application.

She'd come all the way to Scotland for a purpose. After the explosion, after Nathan (her bio dad, which was a concept she still couldn't wrap her brain around completely) and Peter (Uncle Peter? That just sounded weird) had disappeared - had died, probably - all Claire could think of was that she had to do something with the power she'd been given. Peter had saved her, then had died saving the world. He'd lived so brightly, so completely focused on his destiny, on what he'd been meant to do, and Claire wanted his death to mean something. She wanted her dad - her real dad, the man who had raised her - to not have taken a bullet for her for nothing. She wanted to help people.

Hey, even Nathan had come around in the end. The future wasn't set in stone. There was always hope.

Unfortunately, being a cheerleader in Odessa, TX, wasn't exactly the best background for a super hero. Unless saving people required a handstand or a human pyramid, she was going to need some help. Hopefully, she'd be able to get it here. Claire just had to remember that she was posing as a totally normal girl. Hey, she could keep cover. Not like she didn't have any experience in that.

"Um, hi," she said, not really sure what else to do. "I'm Claire Bennet. I'd like to apply for your school? Please?"

The quill jumped to life and Claire started back. At first she looked wildly around the room, heart pounding. She hadn't exactly had the best experiences with objects moving seemingly on their own. But when she didn't see anyone, Claire relaxed, looking down at the quill with a smile.

"Cool."

1. What is your favorite cheese? Why is it your favorite?

Wrinkling her nose at the question, Claire looked around the room. "This is kind of an...unusual question, don't you think? I mean, for a school application. Sounds like a question that would be on some internet quiz or something." She flashed a tiny smile, then shrugged and laughed a little. "Um, I feel like I should say brie or something, so I sound mature and sophisticated." Again she laughed, looking ruefully at the application. "But I guess the truth would be the nachos that they have at football games at my school? Even though I so shouldn't eat them. Or toasted cheese sandwiches with a glass of orange juice. I don't know, I guess I'm kinda simple."

2. Who would you kill first, Barney or Carrottop?

The smile on Claire's face faded slightly, and she looked up quickly. What kind of application was this? "Well, Barney has that annoying song," she forced a laugh, one shoulder rising and falling in a slight shrug.

But behind the friendly, if slightly bland, expression, Claire's mind was racing. Could they know? Or were they just trying to make her slip up? Or maybe this was just one of those personality things, like 'If you could only save one person from a burning building, who would it be?'. (Of course, Claire's answer to that would, in reality, be a lot different than most people's. Having the ability to heal yourself would do that.) In any case, Claire suddenly was a lot more wary of the application, and she proceeded with caution, smile frozen on her face, eyes darting around the room from time to time.

She had to be careful.


3. What time is it where you are?

Compared to the last question, this one was refreshingly normal. Taking a look at her watch, Claire said, "Well, I'm still set to Texas time. And..." she laughed. "God, I'm so bad at math. My watch says six oh-five. So whatever it would be to get it onto Scottish time."

4. If you were Albus Dumbledore returned from the dead, which member of the Order of the Phoenix would you sexually harass? How would you harass them? If you are Albus Dumbledore, please answer as if you were Sirius Black.

A look of repulsion crossed her face. "You can't force yourself on people. That's just wrong, no matter who you are. And you shouldn't encourage it, either. People who think they're above all that, they need to be stopped. You should be able to feel safe around people, especially people you think you could care about. Harassing them, forcing yourself on them, that's disgusting."

5. If you are pushing to be in:

A. Slytherin - please state the clever, witty name of the bar in which you bartend, in the dark.

"Um..." She paused, thinking. Then one corner of her mouth lifted in a sad little smile. "'Between a Rock and a Sponge'. It's...a play on the name of...of this guy I knew. He...he was a hero." Her smile was forced larger and Claire stuck out her chin, definitely not crying. "And hey, heroes get things named after them, right? I mean, a fictional bar isn't exactly a statue, but I think he'd laugh."

B. Gryffindor – Debate whether Harry should ultimately end up married to Fred or George. Use examples from a variety of world mythologies to bolster your argument.

Holding up both of her hands, Claire laughed and shook her head, eyes going wide. "Oh, no. I kinda think I'm the last person you should ask about all that. I've got, like, no experience, and the little I do have kind of...ended bad." But she considered the question for a minute, a smile playing out on her mouth. "But I guess, if I had to, I'd just say it should be whoever he loved. I mean, really loved. Like, the person he trusted and wanted to spend time with and made him feel safe. And butterflies and all that. If you're going to do the whole 'til death do you part' thing, it should be with your best friend, right?"

C. Ravenclaw – You guys are supposed to be smart. Explain why my desk is inundated with paperwork at all times, even though I’m constantly disposing of it.

"Um, I'm not exactly smart." Claire gave a self-deprecating laugh, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I totally barely passed Bio. But maybe you should just get a secretary or something? Or switch jobs? I guess I don't see paper as a huge problem. That's kind of what my dad does for a living." Claire paused, biting her lower lip, then smiled again. "He's the manager of a paper company." So far as anyone else in the world needed to know, that is.

D. Hufflepuff – Prove you are not useless.

"Me? I'm...just a cheerleader. I mean, I don't think anyone is worthless, but I'm not exactly anything special." Sticking her hands in her pockets, Claire stared down at the paper for a minute, not really seeing anything. Or, rather, seeing something very different than a rough, wooden desk and a large piece of parchment. "I've known some really extraordinary people, though," she continued quietly. "I mean, really, really amazing. There was this one guy, he saved my life. Even though he didn't even know me. He died saving the world. And there were other people, they gave up everything... I think that's special." Raising her head again, Claire blinked, then smiled softly. "I'm just a girl."

6. Offer a bribe to the members of this community so that they will not squib you. Items used in bribery do not necessarily have to belong to the person offering the bribe. Do not threaten us rather than offering a bribe. A threat indicates you either don't really want to be here, or don't have enough sense to answer the question properly. The hat will automatically squib you, regardless of other votes, if you do.

Oh. Um. Digging in her bag, Claire brought out a bag of gummy worms, a few pens (pink, glittery ones), a disposable camera, and a few paperbacks she'd bought at the airport. "Sorry, that's pretty much all I have." Glancing around, she tucked a strand of hair behind her hear, eyes questioning. "So - did I pass?"

Comments

[bantersucks.livejournal.com]

((Will be GLACIALLY slow because I'm doing this during D&D breaks, but OH MY GOD CLAIRE! Can't resist. Permissions post (http://reachoutblue.livejournal.com/620.html) is here but I'd prefer he not really notice anything.))

Okay, she was nothing like most of the blonde cheerleaders Jaime knew. A lot less shallow. He read over the app, hesitating on the Hufflepuff answer thoughtfully before he spoke. Okay, she'd been through something bad. Probably didn't want to talk about it.

"I think the questions are there to gauge your weirdness tolerance," he said, with a friendly smile. "And there's nothing wrong with nachos."

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

((XD I'm cool with him not noticing a thing. So is Claire, the sneaky ninja. :p))

"Well, then I know I passed," Clare returned with a grin. "I can do weird. And nachos are bad for you if you're trying not to look like an elephant and/or you have to be the flyer for lifts at halftime!" Duh!

Oh, yeah, manners. "Sorry," she gave him a slightly embarrassed smile and held out her hand. "I'm Claire. And I swear, I usually don't go into nacho rants with strangers."

[bantersucks.livejournal.com]

((I figure she'd ping as normal if she wasn't actually in the process of healing, and since I think he needs normal so much now he'd ignore it even if he was pinged.))

"Dealing with weird is kind of a requirement here." Jaime told her, aware of how much of an understatement it was. "I'm gonna have to take your word for it about the lifts." He was also fairly skinny, despite the fact he ate like a horse. Not that he was going to mention that - he'd learned better by now.

He shook the offered hand. "I'm Jaime. No problem, I was asking for it when I brought up the defense of nachos." Glancing back at the app, he noticed something he'd missed on the first read. "Texas, huh? You come from there, or was that your last stop? I was in El Paso before I got dropped in here." Literally.

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

((LOL Claire relishes the normal most days. And yeah, that makes sense - unless she's popping bones back in place, she's pretty average. XD))

"Hey, what do you know?" She gave Jaimie a little grin. "I'll fit right in." So, not bad - ten minutes in the school and she'd already met a relatively cute boy about her age. And he didn't seem like a potential rapist! Bonus points for that.

"I lived there. In Odessa. That's about, like, four hours away from El Paso." She tilted her head slightly to the side. "What do you mean 'dropped in here'? Didn't you come here on purpose?" Oddest school ever if the answer was no.

Then she leaned in, slightly conspiratorial. "I never fault anyone for defending nachos. Seriously, so good."

[bantersucks.livejournal.com]

((I did not drop this, real life dropped me.))

Weirdness magnet, yes. Potential rapist, no. He wasn't that kind of person and every female in his life except maybe his little sister topped him anyway.

"Yeah. Never been there, but we used to pass the exit going out to Midland. Used to have family out there." Oddest school ever, indeed. "Not really. One minute I'm trying to get home for dinner on time, next thing I know I'm in here. Some people show up by accident, some people intend to come here. I don't know why. What'd you come here for?"

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

((Well do I know that feeling. :p))

"Wow." She gave him a little, incredulous smile, her hands stuck in the back pockets of her jeans. "Aren't you worried or something? About getting home? Or did you just decide to stay?"

Oh. That was the question, wasn't it? Not that she didn't know the answer, but it kind of sounded stupid out loud, to someone who hadn't been there for what she'd seen, hadn't gone through the whole crazy thing. "I want to learn to help people," she explained after a minute of worrying her lower lip in thought. "I thought this would be a good place to do it."

No mentions of abilities or exploding men or saving the world. No reason to scare everyone off before she'd had a chance to make some friends.

[bantersucks.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I am. I'm good at hiding it. Besides, I already freaked out enough for a week when I got here," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. "I sent my folks a letter first thing. I don't know if they've gotten it yet; I don't want them to worry. Mom is probably freaking out. I'm trying to figure out if I can get a flight home or if magic'll work. Doesn't help I didn't have my wallet." He shrugged. "At least there's free room and board and most people around here are pretty helpful."

Actually, he could probably fly all the way back to El Paso if he tried, even though it might require having to go through reentry again. There was just that problem that this probably wasn't his Earth, but he wasn't about to mention that.

He grinned at her answer. "That's a pretty good reason if you ask me." The grin became smaller and there was something a little sad behind it. "I, uh, know what you mean about knowing some extraordinary people. Kind of hard to live up to that sometimes."

It would take a lot to scare Jaime off at this rate. Special abilities? Exploding men? Stuff like that would be just another chapter in the complete lack of normal that was becoming his life.

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

"Wow, that...kind of sucks," Claire summed up with a sympathetic laugh. "I mean, I'm lucky - my family's all pretty much here." Except Lyle, but he didn't count. She gave him a shy smile. "If you need anything, my dad is pretty awesome. I'm sure he could help you out."

She caught onto his look and nodded a little. "It's kind of intimidating. Like, I don't know if I could be that brave. I just know I have to...try, you know? Like, all this stuff can't just be happening for no reason."

She blushed a little, and ducked her head. "Sorry. I'm babbling or something."

[bantersucks.livejournal.com]

"It could be worse." He knew that all too well. "Really? Lucky you. They come with, or did they get here first? Maybe I ran into one of them already." He was already missing his parents and even his little sister, who did count. He might win in a weirdness contest, but she would win in a "Who's Got the More Obnoxious Sibling?" contest. "Thanks. I'm going to work on getting a hold of them first, but I appreciate it."

"I think that's the kind of thing you only know until you're there and you're trying, you know? But you can't not try." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's cool. Babbling's the normal response, or so I'm told. You know where you want to get Sorted?" He was pretty certain she was a Gryffindor, but if she wanted to be Sorted with her folks he'd vote her there.

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

"I guess they got here first?" Claire shrugged, smiling a bit. "It was kind of a surprise. A good one though. They're Noah and Sandra Bennet." Pausing, she added with an exasperated laugh, "And Mr. Muggles, my mom's show dog. Trust me, you'd remember them."

Sharing a smile with Jaime, Claire arched one eyebrow. "Are you? Trying?" Because it would be pretty cool to have someone else on the same wavelength. Not like Zach was around, and she'd kind of gotten used to having a friend who let her express her inner freak. "Um...I don't know! My mom said Gryffindor, so that's good, I guess." She honestly would rather trust her mom's judgment than try to figure this place out on her own. "Where are you?"

[bantersucks.livejournal.com]

The names didn't ring a bell. "No, guess I haven't. Mr. Muggles? ...yeah, I think I would remember them."

Um. Would this lead to another info dump? He hoped not. Not that he was great at keeping secrets - telling it in detail was reliving it and it tended to creep him out all over again. Talking to Lola earlier had made him realize that. "Yeah, sort of. With, uh, varied results." See: the time he accidentally burned down that church. Not his best day. He wouldn't even blink at Claire's ability, probably.

"Gryffindor's not so bad. There's a bunch of pretty good people there." Really, everyone he's met in that house hasn't been nuts. Weird, but relatively sane. "I got Sorted there too, but it was kind of rushed. ...I'm still trying to figure out why." Why he wound up there and what was up with the Hat. "A lot of things around here don't make a lot of sense."

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

A small but genuine grin bloomed over Claire's face and she crinkled her nose. "Yeah. Me too." The varied results for her were more along the 'trying to shoot her uncle in the head' line. "Maybe we can, I don't know, have a future saving the world type people club." The smile grew slightly. "We could all have capes."

A slight shot of relief went through Claire's expression. Someone she knew and got along with relatively well in the same House was a godsend. She was a teenager of the sort that moved in packs. "Haven't you heard?" she said lightly. "Weird's the new normal. And I think I've come to the conclusion that pretty much nothing makes sense. If it does, it's probably not real."

[bantersucks.livejournal.com]

He returned the grin in spite of himself. "Yeah. As long as we stay away from jet engines. But I draw the line at tights."

There were teenagers that didn't move in packs of some sort? Even Jaime, who ignored (and was ignored by) the in-crowd at school, had been feeling a little lonely without his friends. "Normal's relative. Or maybe it just doesn't exist and someone made it up to trick people into conforming to something." He shook his head, still grinning. "I get that. This place kinda operates on a logic of its own. Which doesn't even resemble Earth logic. It almost makes you suspicious of stuff that does."

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

"Tights are out. But I'm kind of feeling the whole 'masks' thing. Could be cool."

Her smile turned rueful. "I don't know. I was pretty normal, before. Then again," she laughed. "I turned out like...well, like I am. So you're probably right - 'normal' is just a big conspiracy put out by clothing companies and MTV. Either that or we're normal and everyone else is just faking."

[bantersucks.livejournal.com]

"Or scary. But that would depend on the mask," he pointed out. He was just waiting for the day he rescued some little kid and the reaction was terrified screaming. Hadn't happened yet, but...

Jaime didn't ask what she meant by "before." He caught the unsaid part, the before the weird became my life. "I'm leaning towards the conspiracy theory myself. Although maybe everyone else is just ignoring what's really out there." Denial was really easy to fall back on without a constant reminder.

Anyway. This was getting way too deep to keep being vague about, so, subject change. "I'm thinking you ought to be in Gryffindor. You okay with that? I know your mom suggested it, but..." Hey. Parents. They could sometimes be clueless.