Clawen - Season 1

Chapter 6 - A Flash From The Past (Part 3)

While Owen had managed to fill in Barry about his and Claire's first meeting, another recollection ordeal awaited them. This time, it was Claire asking Owen. 

When Claire got home after telling the stories to Zara, she was tired. But she couldn't help but think that letting Owen go was a big bad blunder. Both the stories created a feeling of guilt in her, and she only wanted to see Owen. Her sleep was ruptured.

Owen was in a similar situation. While he had agreed to the deal because Claire was happy, and all he wanted was exactly that, he sensed that a lot had changed after their talk at his bungalow and at the raptor paddock. He too had a sleepless night. 

When he woke up in the morning at around 8 am, he heard a knock on the door. Claire was standing outside with a smile. "Hi Owen."

"Hi. Good to see ya. Come in."

She sat on the bed, Owen by her side. "What happened? Wanna talk about that?"

"No. It's just about... tell me any past incident between us."

This answer was fast, and surprising. And what followed it. "Except for the beach and the plane incident." 

Now Owen was stuck. He could smirk at the beach story, and laugh at the plane one. But his mind, already not out of the jetlag of the Indominus, Indoraptor and the dino-human coexistence adventures, had to work out another past incident between him and her.

After a silence which was getting longer and longer (and serious and more serious), Owen answered the demand with a story.

--

The same year of 2015. While the beach incident had taken place in December 2014, and they were on the plane together in January 2015, March 2015 was the time of this incident. Claire and Owen had become nice friends, with the raptor man leaving the organised person more or less speechless on both occassions. However, he didn't react with sadness or negativity when he learned that Claire was dating a man named Alex Martins. He was happy for her, and it was not that he didn't like her, but he was not quite serious about her.

One day, Claire and Alex decided to go on a date at a restaurant. Claire looked as beautiful as ever, and reached the restaurant at their planned time of 5 pm. However, Alex was nowhere to be seen. Claire knew that Alex's route was a route where the laws of traffic were rather ruthless as those in the jungle, and anyone could be late by a good 10-15 minutes. So she waited patiently.

But after 15 minutes of telling people, "Sorry, this seat is reserved for someone else," she was worried. She considered leaving, but 20 minutes past, she was still there.

Fortunately, Owen Grady was there as well. He knew Claire was on a date, but it was only now that he saw her, in an absolutely worried state. He decided to approach her, but no jokes tonight. Gentleman mode activated.

"Sorry to interrupt your date night, Ms. Dearing?" It was clear that Owen had never been so decent before. 

Claire was surprised alright. This was not their third meeting, but a major one. After chance meetings at the beach and in the plane, restaurants were the third place.

"Hi Owen! Didn't expect to see you here!" 

"Well, I'm glad you're glad. But, where's Mr. Late By 20 Minutes and Counting?" in his most polite voice, mind you that.

"Oh I don't know Owen. Maybe I should leave-"

"When I've just arrived? I'm reluctant."

"Well," said Claire with a smile, "maybe you should sit."

And that night was one of the best they ever had. It wasn't a date, rather a chance friends meet, but it felt like a date. No one could deny that.

When it was time to leave, Owen offered to drop Claire. She was all too willing for that.

15 minutes later, they reached. But for 5 minutes, Owen did nothing.

Claire was deep asleep. It wasn't that he didn't want to wake her up; her face had melted his heart before he could do anything. She woke up, and Owen was staring at her with a smile.

"What happened?"

"We're here." 

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You looked too beautiful for that."

They started closing the gap between them, and then their lips came in contact, and so did their arms. After 2 minutes, Claire went out.

"Goodnight Owen."

"Night Claire."

--

When Owen was finished, Claire just stared at him. And just when Owen was thinking that he may have blundered, Claire pulled him tightly and what followed was a very passionate crashing of his lips upon hers. "I loved that part a lot," she whispered. 

Owen was smiling, and as Claire got up to leave, she turned around.

"Claire."

"What?"

"How many times are you gonna turn and show me that smile which melts me down all the time?" 

"Maybe a lot.."

They both had a hearty laugh, and then Claire whispered, "Bye, Owen."

"Bye Claire."

That went well.