Bitter Jealousy (Claire)

[CHEYENNE MCLEESTER]

Cheyenne hated the full moon sometimes. It wasn't even the full moon, but it sure as fuck felt like it! She had left her sister's boyfriends house the day before in a rage and had moped around her apartment all night long, whimpering because she couldn't really cry in lion form. Worst part was she had left the damn television on lifetime which was pretty much the stupidest damn thing she could do. She had even managed to open the freezer and tear apart her tub of rocky road, so not only was she a pathetic lump of yellow fur, but she was a pathetic lump of chocolate stained yellow fur.

How could her sister agree to go to Africa with GRIFFIN?! Suddenly Claire has a boyfriend and they just don't get to do special things together anymore? Not that they ever really did special things together, but that wasn't the point! Cheyenne was green with envy. When she found Brett she hadn't been trying to replace Claire. Even still if Cheyenne had the option, she would choose to just have Claire as her sister and that was it, but with Griffin it was different. Griffin wasn't her brother, he was her partner and she would want to do things with her partner. Since when did Claire want a stupid boyfriend anyway? It all depressed her more and as angry as she was, she was more sad that she was losing Claire to Griffin. She wanted to go to Africa with her! She realized she wasn't even really mad at Claire, just depressed and partially from the way things had been lately. Covered in ice cream she passed out on the couch with her depressing thoughts, unsure how to fix her relationship with her sister, since running over and apologizing clearly wasn't an option. Cheyenne wasn't the type to admit she was wrong easily, when it was clear she had been very, very wrong to do what she did.

When Cheyenne woke up she was lying on the couch, butt ass naked and covered in chocolate. It was everywhere and she silently wished she hadn't gotten into the ice cream the night before. She cleaned up the stick mess from the floor and the cushions first before getting in the shower and cleaning herself. Then she made breakfast and looked outside, noticing the light dusting of snow on the ground. "What the fuck, tree?" she hissed silently under her breath and rolled her eyes. She put her hands on her hips and looked around; laundry day.

It was late in the afternoon and Chey had watched a few movies while she neatened up her apartment and did some online shopping. Shopping always made her feel better and the dark was too depressing to go out in, so she did it from home. She was about to buy new hot pink throw pillows that she didn't really want when her bell rang. With a heavy sigh she climbed out of her chair and went to the front door, opening it and going down the steps to the front entrance of the house that had been converted to apartments. She opened the door and found Claire standing there. The blond jutted her jaw to the left and right and looked awkwardly at the redhead before averting her eyes. Chey let a long sigh heave through her lips before stepping outside and wrapping her arms around Claire, hugging her tight. "You're a pain in the ass." She said softly as if that was her apology before pulling back and stepping aside. "Get in before you freeze your bony little ass off." She waited for Claire to come in before smacking the other girls ass and shutting the front door behind them.

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

It had been a great internal conflict Claire had with herself that morning. Griffin had told her several times the night before while she was stumbling around tipsy on wine before shifting that she should go talk with her sister. And after shifting she couldn't say anything to Griffin so she was left with her stupid thoughts and her stupid anger at her stupid sister! She'd spent most of the night making weird animal sounds and trudging around Griffin's condo, rolling on the floor and on the bed trying not to scratch anything up too bad. Claire had the bad luck of being the one feline that didn't have retractable claws and sometimes she scratched things up but never intentionally.

The next morning she'd gotten ready to go for a jog but when she got outside it was freezing. Definitely should have checked the weather channel before she went outside in her jogging gear and made a B-line straight back up to Griff's to get changed. Since her morning was ruined and she was already miserable with a slight hangover she ended up going shopping instead. She hadn't decided whether or not she was going to go over to see her sister until after she'd finished her shopping. It was when she bought the hair dye at the beauty store that she knew she had to make good with her sister or ask Griffin to dye her hair.. as trustworthy as Griffin was she didn't think he would know how to dye hair. That and she just felt that was more of a sister bonding sort of thing. So that was the deal breaker for her and she gave in and decided to go see Cheyenne.

When Claire arrive at Chey's place, the weird building that was a house but really apartments in a house.. it always confused Claire and she thought it was weird, but whatever. Her sister was weird. She rang the doorbell and waited. She saw their shared VW Beetle parked so she was pretty sure that Chey didn't go out anywhere unless she got a lift from someone else. Maybe she was still sleeping. Claire liked to sleep in late the day after a full moon and she'd been getting up late a lot. "Come on answer your do--" Claire stopped when the door opened and she was greeted by her sister. She didn't say anything when she saw her sister's usual reaction to her when they'd gotten into an argument and hadn't spoken since. "You're a pain in the ass." Claire rolled her eyes knowing that was Cheyenne's way of saying hey, we're cool, and hugged her sister back awkwardly trying not to smack her with the bag that was in her hand.

"Get in before you freeze your bony little ass off." Claire did just what her sister said and stepped inside, greeted by a nice slap on her bottom making her jump and swat at Chey. She'd been there a bajillion times and headed right up the stairs straight for Cheyenne's place, opening the door and welcomed by her apartment which smelled like cleaning products and was warmer than it was outside. She shrugged out of her jacket and tossed it onto the couch before turning to look at her sister. She still had the bag in her hand with the beauty shop label and held it up giving the other girl a hopeful look.

Heading for the table she set the bag down but didn't take everything out yet. She'd bought everything, too! She didn't know what all they needed and so she'd bought boxed hair products, the bottled dyes with the solution that you mixed with the dye, a mixing bowl, latex gloves, brushes and some cute retro colored combs! She had no idea what all they needed and she wasn't sure what color blonde she wanted to go so she'd gotten three different kinds. She turned her back to the bag and leaned against the table gripping the end of it with her hands and watching Chey. She didn't know what to say to make sure she didn't set her off, but she knew she had to say something!

"I know I haven't been around much.. and maybe I should be. I mean things are crazy right now, right? They're just a total disaster! I mean look!" Claire pointed towards the window. She didn't know what to say so she was going to say everything. "It's practically snowing! SNOWING! In July! It is July.. and it is snowing!" You made your point dork, move on, she told herself in her head and then sighed.

"This whole boyfriend thing is weird. Like it's weird for all of us I think. I haven't had a boyfriend since what, sophmore year of high school? Or was that senior year? I forget. And it's not like you bring home boyfriends! And Griffin.. well I'm the first girl he's dated in EVER so it's just.. it's weird. And with the way the tree has decided to just hate us it just makes everything that much harder! I don't want us to fight. And yes.. maybe I am a little jealous that you have brothers now. Because I'm selfish and I want you to myself because you're my family!" Claire stood up straight giving her foot a light stomp on the floor and dropping her arms down to her sides as she practically pouted at Cheyenne.

"You're my best friend. And yeah we can be really sucky sisters to each other and hate each other at times but I still love you. This crappy weather isn't going to change that. Your dumb brothers aren't going to change that and boyfriends certainly won't change it.. now will you please dye my hair before I crawl under your table and cry?"

[CHEYENNE MCLEESTER]

When Claire showed her the bag from the beauty shop she knew exactly what was inside and rolled her eyes and nodded at the same time. Of course she would dye her damn hair. Though Chey knew she probably gave the impression she wouldn't when she stormed off yesterday. She was trying to think of something to say, something maybe funny or playful or apologetic without sounding too awkward or out of character. If she could let her guard down with anyone, it was Claire but that didn't mean she liked doing it.

She moved close as Claire emptied the entire hair dye section of the store onto her table. What the hell did she need all that crap for? She was just dying her damn hair, not performing hair surgery! Claire was such a fucking spaz. "I know I haven't been around much.. and maybe I should be. I mean things are crazy right now, right? They're just a total disaster! I mean look! It's practically snowing! SNOWING! In July! It is July.. and it is snowing!" Definitely a spaz. Cheyenne slipped her hands on her hips watching her sister babble on. She was so good at just talking and talking... Chey knew she should stop her but why? It would be like trying to stop a train going a hundred miles an hour. It just wasn't possible without disaster striking.

"This whole boyfriend thing is weird. Like it's weird for all of us I think. I haven't had a boyfriend since what, sophmore year of high school? Or was that senior year?" Yeah, that had been sort of a long time ago... Chey simply listened as Claire continued to ran, sighing. "maybe I am a little jealous that you have brothers now. Because I'm selfish and I want you to myself because you're my family!" Those words struck a nerve even in Cheyenne. As far as Cheyenne was concerned, Claire was the only real family she had. Sure, her mother was around but her mother was a cunt, and her father? Well, she hadn't met him yet and it wasn't like he had ever been in her life before. Brett... ugh. She didn't even want to think about Brett.

"You're my best friend. And yeah we can be really sucky sisters to each other and hate each other at times but I still love you. This crappy weather isn't going to change that. Your dumb brothers aren't going to change that and boyfriends certainly won't change it.. now will you please dye my hair before I crawl under your table and cry?" Chey felt closer to Claire in that moment than she had in some time. She wanted to hug her, wanted to tell her she loved her and all that sappy sister bullshit, but it was hard to do that because that just wasn't who they were.

"Sit down and take your damn shirt off. I have something you can get messy because I know you're going to get that shirt dirty and this stuff doesn't come out." She went into her bedroom and grabbed a ratty old button down and came back, tossing it at her sister. "Alright, let's see what you have here.." She looked at all the stuff Claire had picked out and eyed the dye's. She would need to bleach her hair first otherwise it would come out all fucked up again. "Okay, we'll bleach first, then pick a color." She offered and grabbed the bleach kit, opening it and finding the gloves.

"Just for the record I love you, too.." She grumbled almost under her breath, not looking at Claire as she got the hair stuff ready. "And... I shouldn't have freaked yesterday. I just.. I mean Africa, man.." She furrowed her brows and shook her head. "You're going to get to run with cheetah's. Real, fucking cheetah's." She sighed and bit her lip as she went to get a bowl to mix the chemicals in. "I can't pretend that doesn't drive me crazy jealous. To be able to just shift? Let your inner beast out like that? It's like a fucking dream come true. I guess I always thought if we were gonna do something like that it would be with each other. We haven't been able to really play in our cat forms since we were younger." She grinned thinking on how they used to have some REAL cat fights in the living room, often broken up by their mother. Cheyenne had been rebellious, even in cat form and had been larger than her mother and often defied her taking advantage of the fact their mother couldn't actually yell, only growl during the full moon.

"This whole force shifting bullshits just got me all fucked up. Carter sent me home early the other day because I couldn't get my shit together. The day before that I all but stripped in his office! The man won't budge, I wish he'd just fuck me so I can get over it. I seriously need to get laid, and don't you dare give me the guilt shit about him having a wife and kid. I'm well fucking aware, I just... it's card right now. I'm like a fucking cat in heat, its sick." She explained taking the comb and parting Claire's hair.

"Wait.. why are we dying your hair blond again?"

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

Maybe she was just ignoring everything that Claire just said or Cheyenne just didn't want to comment on it. That was typically how the two of them acted when it came to expressing how they felt about one another. Claire was a little more verbal because she would have a melt down and rant until she said everything that was on her mind but she wasn't great at acting on those feelings. Cheyenne was like the opposite, keeping it all in but at the same time she too didn't act on her feelings. They were polar opposites and the same all at once. What a twist.

"Sit down and take your damn shirt off. I have something you can get messy because I know you're going to get that shirt dirty and this stuff doesn't come out." At least Cheyenne wasn't yelling at her anymore because she didn't think she could take that right now. She breathed a relieved sigh and pulled her shirt up over her head, tossing it onto one of the chairs. Cheyenne was the only person that Claire felt comfortable just being in a bra around. How could she not? They'd been in less around each other and they were sisters.

Cheyenne headed towards the bedroom and when she came back she had an old shirt for Claire to put on which she did gratefully. It was cold outside and even if Chey's place was comfortable just the sight of the outdoors gave her chills. "Alright, let's see what you have here.." Claire looked down at all the things that she'd put out on the table and knew she'd gone over board but hey! She wanted to be prepared!

"Just for the record I love you, too.." Claire knew that Cheyenne wasn't going to look at her so she didn't bother to look at her sister. But she did give her a little shoulder bump with her shoulder. That was so much better than hugging it out for them. "And... I shouldn't have freaked yesterday. I just.. I mean Africa, man.." Claire turned her head and looked at the blonde, biting her lower lip. "You're going to get to run with cheetah's. Real, fucking cheetah's. I can't pretend that doesn't drive me crazy jealous. To be able to just shift? Let your inner beast out like that? It's like a fucking dream come true. I guess I always thought if we were gonna do something like that it would be with each other. We haven't been able to really play in our cat forms since we were younger."

Claire hadn't realized that was why Cheyenne had gotten so upset about Africa. She just thought that Chey really wanted to go and was jealous because Claire was going without her, but it all made sense. If they went together they would be able to be out in the wild in their animal forms and really play with the other animals. Suddenly she felt like a real jerkface for not realizing that sooner. "We could always go somewhere else, Griffin and I. I mean I always wanted to go to Greece. Maybe Rome? We could change our plans.." She was pretty sure that Griffin already ordered the tickets and it would probably cost a pretty penny to get them changed but if that was what Cheyenne wanted then Claire would do it for her. She loved her sister and she was just one of those people that were willing to change their plans if it would make someone else happy.

When Cheyenne started talking about her boss Claire just rolled her eyes. She'd been trying to get him to sleep with her for a while now and Claire could only imagine how she was now that she was shifting every night. It was hard on everyone, even Claire found herself uncomfortably aroused around Griffin. Didn't help that every morning she woke up naked in bed with him cuddling her from behind. Apparently Avisaille men got morning wood just like the rest of the male population. "Call up one of your other one night stands. What about Kit? You two always had this weird thing." She teased, knowing that the bar owner was always nice to the McLeester girls. Claire had gone to the bar more times than she'd like to count to pick up Chey when she'd gone on a bender. Kit must have Claire on speed dial.

"Wait.. why are we dying your hair blond again?"

"Change!" Claire piped up and sat down in the chair, watching Cheyenne getting all the product together. Claire didn't know the first thing about dying hair. Hell, she had a hard time using the microwave half the time! "I thought it was time to try something new. And you know how I am about getting haircuts," she cried the last time she got her bangs cut, "so I figured if I just dye it then if it turns out bad I can always just dye it back." You couldn't glue hair back on once it had been cut! Claire tried when she was seven.

"You know you could always tell Carter you need a vacation.. come with us?" Claire knew it wouldn't be the same with Cheyenne there in Africa with them, but she felt uber guilty now leaving her sister out of her traveling plans. And she really wanted to go to Africa. She bought a suit and everything! "Then you can see my African attire I bought at the thrift store."

[CHEYENNE MCLEESTER]

Cheyenne didn't want to cancel her stupid plans because then she would feel like a complete jackass when her sister didn't get to go to stupid Africa. She didn't want her to not go, she just wanted her to not have made those original plans! She WANTED Claire to go back in time and CHANGE shit, but no. That wasn't possible, and if it was, well she would rather her stop the Holocaust from happening or something. THEN she could go and change her mind and ask to go to freaking Asia or something.

As for her one night stands, Chey just rolled her eyes. She didn't want to just have sex with someone random. Actually, she did, but calling up Kit seemed desperate and she didn't want desperate. She wanted fresh meat, new blood, something she had to work for. It was always better that way, not that Claire would know that.

"Change!" Was Claire's answer to why she wanted to dye her perfectly fine red hair. Cheyenne liked the red, it was sexy. "I thought it was time to try something new. And you know how I am about getting haircuts, so I figured if I just dye it then if it turns out bad I can always just dye it back." She rolled her eyes. "You are the only person I know who tried to glue their hair back on. Dummy." She smiled at the taunt as she prepped the chemicals.

"You know you could always tell Carter you need a vacation.. come with us?" She rolled her eyes. "And be your third wheel? No thanks." "Then you can see my African attire I bought at the thrift store." Only Claire would buy an outfit at a thrift store for Africa. It was probably something very black seeming, like a pimp coat and chains. The thought amused Cheyenne. "I don't know if I trust this outfit." She said before clipping parts of Claire's hair up.

"Look, even if I wanted to be your third wheel, I couldn't afford to go. Unlike you, I'm not entirely okay with crippling debt. I finally got one card paid off and I'll be damned if I fill it up again. And you can't change your trip now because then I'll feel guilty and Griffin will probably think I'm a bigger bitch than he already does, and where I can really give a fuck how your boyfriend sees me, I would like to be on semi okay terms with him because if you marry his old sexy ass then I'm stuck with him as a brother-in-law and I'll be damned if I can't sit in a room with my brother-in-law and having him think, hmm, I wish I knew what Africa was like. Shame Claire couldn't go with me because of this blond cunt. No way." She ranted, Claire style, as she began to brush the chemicals into Claire's once sexy red locks.

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

"You are the only person I know who tried to glue their hair back on. Dummy." Claire had been so distraught over her hair! And stapling it didn't work so glue was the next best thing! She ended up needing it cut even more after that because they couldn't get the dang glue out! She had looked like she had a mullet for a good six months.

"I don't know if I trust this outfit." Claire laughed loudly knowing that her sister would hate the suit she bought. It was all the right kinds of tacky. She felt her hair being pulled up in sections off of her neck and shuddered, goosebumps creeping up her neck.

"Look, even if I wanted to be your third wheel, I couldn't afford to go. Unlike you, I'm not entirely okay with crippling debt. I finally got one card paid off and I'll be damned if I fill it up again. And you can't change your trip now because then I'll feel guilty and Griffin will probably think I'm a bigger bitch than he already does, and where I can really give a fuck how your boyfriend sees me, I would like to be on semi okay terms with him because if you marry his old sexy ass then I'm stuck with him as a brother-in-law and I'll be damned if I can't sit in a room with my brother-in-law and having him think, hmm, I wish I knew what Africa was like. Shame Claire couldn't go with me because of this blond cunt. No way."

Cheyenne was the one ranting this time. It wasn't the first time it was just rare compared to how often Claire did it. But something Cheyenne said didn't sit well with her and it showed in her face as her eyes fell. "Chey I really don't think we're going to hear wedding bells anytime soon. It's not like that." Not like that?! Claire wasn't sure exactly what their relationship was like! They were dating and Griffin wanted to experience everything with her but for how long? Claire wasn't a big fan of marriage or kids anyways so that didn't matter to her, she just wanted to have someone to share her life with besides Cheyenne. "You realize that when we're fifty he's probaby going to look the same? They don't age like us. He's going to outlive both of us." How depressing was that?! Claire knew it but she always pushed it to the back of her mind. It didn't bother her before but now that Cheyenne was giving a hypothetical situation it seriously brought her down.

"Anyways it doesn't matter. And Griffin wouldn't ever think that. I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know that word," Claire teased trying to lighten up the mood. She couldn't see Griffin saying or thinking of anyone as a cunt. That wasn't something even Claire thought of! Then again Claire was pretty PG-13 unlike her NC-17 sister. "Ew that stuff stinks," she wiggled her nose when she smelled the bleach that Cheyenne was getting ready. "Doesn't it burn? Oh my g-- Chey you better not fry my hair! How long do you keep bleach in for? You know, right? Right?!" Claire came with a full head of red hair and she was probably going to leave bald. She'd have to start a hat collection. And wigs. Itchy. Wigs. Horror struck and she looked over her shoulder just enough to catch her sister in her peripheral vision. "You know I'm trusting you with my hair, right? I really don't want to leave looking like I'd just undergone chemo, okay?!"

[CHEYENNE MCLEESTER]

"Chey I really don't think we're going to hear wedding bells anytime soon. It's not like that." It's not like that? Who the hell did Claire think she was kidding? Cheyenne had never thought of her sister as much of the wedding type but Griffin? She wouldn't be surprised if he proposed. He was sappy and saps always were into that wedding bologna. "If you say so." She snorted. "You realize that when we're fifty he's probaby going to look the same? They don't age like us. He's going to outlive both of us." That didn't sound so bad... "Well, then more reason to marry him. You'll totally look like a cougar with a hot piece in forty years, and you don't have to worry about him dying on you first. Well, not of old age, anyway. There's accidents and stuff.." Chey didn't even want to think about what a mess Claire would be if Griffin suddenly dropped dead.

"Anyways it doesn't matter. And Griffin wouldn't ever think that. I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know that word," She snorted as she painted Claire's hair with the chemicals. Griffin would probably be too nice to think bad things about her. The sucker. "You would be surprised how much I could make him loathe me. I'm good at that." She grumbled, knowing she probably couldn't get under his skin that much, but she didn't want to take Africa away from them and risk it.

"Ew that stuff stinks. Doesn't it burn? Oh my g-- Chey you better not fry my hair! How long do you keep bleach in for? You know, right? Right?! You know I'm trusting you with my hair, right? I really don't want to leave looking like I'd just undergone chemo, okay?!"

"OHMYGOD, SHUTUP!" She snapped rolling her eyes. "I swear to Christ you are the biggest fucking spaz on the planet. Yes, it smells. Yes, it's going to burn a little and itch like a bitch. I bleach it for however long I fucking feel like and your hair won't fall out now chill the fuck out before I change my mind and pour blue kool-aid mix into your blond hair dye and make you cry all the way to Africa!" She scoffed and continued painting her hair. "Jesus, Claire." Only her sister could get her that worked up so quickly.

"Now if your done your damn panic attack.. you wanna tell me when you're leaving on this little trip? Since you're having me dye your hair NOW.. I would guess relatively soon. Which reminds me, we should go shopping for clothes for you. If you're nice I'll let you go through my closet if you want." She rubbed the chemicals into Claire's scalp knowing it would get itchy pretty soon. "Don't scratch." She warned softly. "How long you going to go for?"

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

"OHMYGOD, SHUTUP!" Claire shut her mouth and stared straight ahead. "I swear to Christ you are the biggest fucking spaz on the planet. Yes, it smells. Yes, it's going to burn a little and itch like a bitch. I bleach it for however long I fucking feel like and your hair won't fall out now chill the fuck out before I change my mind and pour blue kool-aid mix into your blond hair dye and make you cry all the way to Africa!"

Cheyenne could be such a downer sometimes! Then again Claire did just go spastic on her the way she did so often. She could tell her sister was getting annoyed but that was nothing new. But she really didn't want her hair to fall out because she was pretty certain she had an odd shaped head and she'd probably look like cone head without hair.

"Now if your done your damn panic attack.. you wanna tell me when you're leaving on this little trip? Since you're having me dye your hair NOW.. I would guess relatively soon. Which reminds me, we should go shopping for clothes for you. If you're nice I'll let you go through my closet if you want." Now that sounded like a great idea and she was going to ransack that closet when Chey finished applying the bleach to her hair.

Her head started to tingle and itch so she reached up getting ready to scratch but paused when Cheyenne told her not to scratch. "How long you going to go for?" Did she have to answer her? She didn't want to answer her because she was afraid that she was going to end up bleaching her eyeballs out of anger. Sometimes Claire couldn't tell when her sister was going to throw a fit.

"We're leaving by the end of the week and we'll only be gone a couple of weeks. We still have to work so it's not like we can go for too long. You know.. responsibilities and such. That really itches!" She reached up to scratch at her scalp again but stopped midway to her head and then shook her hand out and dropped it back to her side. "And I'm taking your shorts. The grey ones." She was SO taking those shorts! She always liked them and they made her look like she actually had some hips instead of all lanky and boyish.

[CHEYENNE MCLEESTER]

"We're leaving by the end of the week and we'll only be gone a couple of weeks. We still have to work so it's not like we can go for too long. You know.. responsibilities and such. That really itches!" Cheyenne glared at Claire's hand and nearly threatened to tape it down to her body, but her sister dropped her hand so she dropped the comment. She didn't want to be mean to Claire right now. Well, she did, but only because she was jealous and she decided she could be a little more mature than that. Just a little..

"Only gone a couple weeks." She repeated, grumbling and moving to a new section of hair. "And I'm taking your shorts. The grey ones." Cheyenne opened her mouth to object since those were HER favorite shorts, but the weather was too damn cold for those shorts right now, and they were too damn cute to not get worn. Plus they looked good on Claire's ass. "Fine, but if you lose them or mess them up, you will die slowly and painfully." She promised, tugging on her hair a little, making it seem unintentional, but it totally wasn't.

"I don't know why you have to leave so quickly." Chey said softly, obviously pouting over the whole thing a little. She sighed and brushed the bleach on the front of Claire's scalp at her hairline. "I mean.. what, you just woke up one morning and were like, hey! Let's go to Africa. This weekend. And Griffin's all, yeah, cool, let's fuckin' do it because WHY NOT! I'm molting anyway and you're a cheetah all night, so let's go away and shirk our Guardian duties and ditch your sister." She realized she was on a bitter rant again and her fingers stopped moving and she shut her eyes, sighing. "Fuck, I'm sorry... this darkness crap is killing me. I'm on super bitch mode, just... don't fucking listen to me." She put the bleach brush down in the bowl and massaged the itchy, burny chemicals into her sister's head.

"Somewhere deep down I'm actually excited for you. When the sun comes back I'll show it more. Promise." She folded Claire's on her head. "Okay.. let's let that sit for a bit. I'm going to set the timer and you can go look over my clothes. Don't let your head touch ANYTHING, got it?" She gave Claire a stern look and peeled the gloves off, heading to the kitchen to turn the timer on.

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

"Fine, but if you lose them or mess them up, you will die slowly and painfully." Claire felt a sense of glee at winning Cheyenne's shorts. The best thing about having a sister was that they could swap clothes whenever they felt like it and they were the same size. Their bodies were a little different, Cheyenne had curves where Claire lacked but their clothes were easily tradeable.

"I don't know why you have to leave so quickly. I mean.. what, you just woke up one morning and were like, hey! Let's go to Africa. This weekend. And Griffin's all, yeah, cool, let's fuckin' do it because WHY NOT!" She was going to tell Chey that she was spot on but she didn't stop there and kept rambling. The more she went on the bitchier she got about it and as much as Claire wanted to just excuse it she couldn't help but get a little hurt by her words. Chey really knew how to be mean and she was one of the few people that could really hurt Claire to the point where she couldn't just shake it off and be fine. But she tried her best not to take it personally. The weather was a total pain and it had both of the girls on edge. Even Claire was moodier but she took her frustrations out by running.

"Somewhere deep down I'm actually excited for you. When the sun comes back I'll show it more. Promise. Okay.. let's let that sit for a bit. I'm going to set the timer and you can go look over my clothes. Don't let your head touch ANYTHING, got it?" "Got it! Sheesh, go take a vitamin." She teased and got up from the table. The bleach was making her scalp itch like crazy but she knew she couldn't touch it.

"Maybe you should get out of dodge for a bit too. Who knows, maybe if we get out of here we'll stop shifting!" It was a thought that had crossed her mind once or twice. If they got out from the strange looming overcast then maybe the shifting would stop. "Go to Mexico! Or California? Napa valley is pretty this time of year I hear. And who cares about Guardian responsibilities? Because honestly Chey? When have we ever had to do anything even close to these bull duties that we supposedly have? You hang out in the tree but does it make any difference? Really?" It was Claire's turn to start rambling and she sighed when she realized that she was starting to be the bitchy one.

"All I'm saying is we've watched the tree for generations, right? Mom said that she did it and grandma did it before her, but what for? The only thing that the tree has ever done is screw our lives up.." She lowered her voice and moved towards the bedroom and straight for the closet. She was going to raid Cheyenne's closet good!

Of course Claire went for the bright colored clothing first. She loved wearing yellows and oranges more than any other colors. She found a burnt orange swoop neck blouse with little gems across the top that caught the light and made it stand out. Claire pulled it off the rack and held it up close to her chest. "Hey! Isn't this mine? I bought this for New Years last year!" How the hell did it get in Cheyenne's closet?!

[CHEYENNE MCLEESTER]

"Maybe you should get out of dodge for a bit too. Who knows, maybe if we get out of here we'll stop shifting!" It had been something she had thought if; if they left would they stop shifting? She suspected so. She was under the impression that it was the darkness doing all of this, but who the hell would she skip out of town with? The only person she would want to was already leaving the country, and she considered throwing that into Claire's face, but she had the feeling she had already been mean enough and she didn't want to be meaner than necessary. Chey couldn't handle Claire crying or spazing out again.

"Go to Mexico! Or California? Napa valley is pretty this time of year I hear." She shrugged and looked through her closet with Claire. "And who cares about Guardian responsibilities? Because honestly Chey? When have we ever had to do anything even close to these bull duties that we supposedly have? You hang out in the tree but does it make any difference? Really?" She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but now it's aliiivvee.." She teased playfully, wiggling her fingers like it was the boogy man or something.

Claire went on about having watched the tree for generations and Cheyenne listened, deciding her sister had decent points, but that didn't necessarily mean she was right. "The only thing that the tree has ever done is screw our lives up.." She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "True story." She grumbled. "Hey! Isn't this mine? I bought this for New Years last year!" She looked at the orange shirt and pursed her lips thinking about it. Suddenly her face brightened. "Ooohh... yeah I borrowed that, like, ages ago. Yeah you should take that back. It's very..African." She snorted and pulled out a white lace sundress. She looked at Claire and pursed her lips. "This might be nice, but you might get it dirty...and then I'd be mad so. Yeah, no." She went back to the closet.

Cheyenne couldn't help but think about Claire's trip again and she looked at her sister as she sorted through clothing. She'd really grown up.. a lot. "You better have sex with him in Africa. I want gory details when you get home, and don't even try that none of your business shit on me. We both know if you'd done the deed you would be gushing." Her smile was gentle and genuine. That's the only way I won't be mad at you for ditching me."

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

"Ooohh... yeah I borrowed that, like, ages ago. Yeah you should take that back. It's very..African." Claire rolled her eyes for the millionth time it seemed. "This might be nice, but you might get it dirty...and then I'd be mad so. Yeah, no." Sometimes her sister really sucked. They invented bleach for when things got dirty! But it wasn't like Claire wanted to wear white anyways and sundresses seemed like a bad idea.

"You better have sex with him in Africa. I want gory details when you get home, and don't even try that none of your business shit on me. We both know if you'd done the deed you would be gushing." She was going to go on about sex again!? Didn't Claire already tell her that it wasn't her business? Then again she was right.. if her and Griffin had done it then Cheyenne would definitely be the first to know. Even if she didn't tell her willingly it would be evident in her face. She couldn't hide something like that! She turned red as an apple! "That's the only way I won't be mad at you for ditching me."

Claire sighed and shook her head. "Fine! Whatever. We'll see what happens. Where are your gray shorts?! Fork them over!" She reached for a few other shirts and tossed them over to Cheyenne's bed. They'd probably have to fight over a few of them and she'd have to trade a pair of shoes but she was willing to let her sister borrow a pair of shoes as long as she didn't break them with her big feet!

"Okay, this stuff is starting to burn. Maybe we should -- Chey! It burns! Wash it out!" Her head felt like it was on fire and she started to flap her hands up and down by her chest and wiggle her fingers at her sister. Her hair was going to fall out she just knew it!

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