Treat You Better // SM

8

Chapter 8

The next couple of weeks, people continued to say mean things about Claire to her face or behind her back, but she didn't let it get to her because she knew she'd done nothing wrong. Reina had been spending a lot of time with her because most people were scared of her so didn't say anything to Claire when she was around.

Fiona had had a heart-to-heart 'girl talk' which Reina quickly declined being a part of, to help Claire talk about the abuse from Steven and realise that she'd done nothing to deserve it. When Jack got told the full story, he offered to go and 'teach that bastard a lesson' with Shawn, but Zjef told them it would make things worse. For once he was right and they left it. After a while people were fixated on a different drama and no one had been horrible to Claire recently.

Ever since Claire had broken up with Steven, Shawn and her were flirting, and their friends even assumed they were a couple. They'd never spoken about it but Shawn wanted to finally ask Claire to be his girlfriend. He'd given her enough time to get over Steven he thought, and people at school already believed they were together. They weren't but he wanted them to be so badly and decided to ask her. It was a school night and she was sitting on bed reading when Shawn walked through the door and sat on her bed carefully.

"Claire, I don't know if I'm reading this wrong, but I'm pretty sure you like me, and I like you too. So much. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"But I don't deserve you," she whispered.

"Why do you say that?" Shawn asked, cupping her face but she turned away. He thought she liked him too.

"It's true. You deserve someone so much better than me. I'm a mess and it's unfair on you to have to fix someone who's broken. You don't have to pick up the pieces," Claire told him sadly.

"But what if I want to?" Shawn's words made her heart flutter.

"Why would you want to?"

"Because I want you."

He pulled her face closer and slightly pressed his lips to hers, for once she didn't pull away and held his neck to kiss him deeper. His hand was cupping her cheek and the other was on her waist as they let out all of their emotions into the kiss.

"Did you mean it? What you said about me?" Claire asked him nervously afterwards.

"Of course. Claire, I like you a lot. I've had to hide my feelings for you since the day I met you on the stairs and watch you with Steven who broke your heart so many times. But now I can finally be with you if that's what you want."

"It is what I want."

"Then will you be my girlfriend?"

Claire said yes and they kissed again, smiling broadly at each other when they'd finished.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to ask that," Shawn laughed.

He crawled into bed next to her and they spent the night cuddled up, finally able to call themselves a couple. They told their friends straight away the next day at school, none of whom were surprised.
"I'm glad you two have finally admitted your feelings for each other," Reina smiled.

"You should see the way he looks at you!" Fiona squealed excitedly to Claire.