Hotdog Bump-in Talk (Rodney)

[Claire Diastone]

Claire didn't usually go to the sport events of the university, but there were some occasions that she did, and this was one of them. For one she could really use a distraction, something fun, and the other was that it was still the football team that Wes was on too, so that was a pretty good distraction too even though she also knew that she was actually wasting her time with him, he only saw her for his homework for instance, but she still had him on her mind most of the time without being able to do something about it.

So first she had been sitting on one of the chairs on the stands, watching the game until it was finally half time and she had some time to spare so decided that she could actually use something to drink, or something to eat, she rather have something to eat by now honestly, but both could be good enough. Still it didn't take her long to walk through some of the people to the hotdog stand there and after luckily only a few short minutes, it was her turn and she ordered one before looking around her for a moment when she was waiting.

Claire smiled when she eventually got her hotdog that she ordered and the drink she got with it, luckily they had both so that spared some time too. She just took a bite from the hotdog when she turned around and bumped into the person that had been waiting or at least standing behind her and tried to catch her hotdog but it was already too late as it fell on the ground and she sighed annoyed and disappointed as she had only been able to take one small bite from it. She looked back up, opening her mouth to make a pissed remark about looking out and all that, but then saw that it was Rodney, also part of the football team with Wes and also the Assistant-coach.

She had seen him sometimes before, even knew his name and face, but hadn't really ever talked to him, great start to bump into him now. 'Sorry... I was a little... Lost in thought.' She apologized honestly now since she calmed down again when she recognized him, but still disappointed in losing her hotdog. So she looked at Rodney, also trying to figure out by looking at him quickly if she hadn't hurt him or something and he was okay. 'That was a waste of good money and hotdog deliciousness.' She murmered after that with a short look at the hotdog on the ground and back to Rodney, still hoping he was okay and not mad or something.

[mooshi]

Why couldn’t doctors just mind their own business? That was the main thing going through his mind as he waited in this long time to get a hot dog. The week before during practice, he was tackled by Wes and his stupid helmet smoked his knee, and of course, the doctor had demanded that he stay off of it for a few weeks until it healed. It wasn’t the first time Rodney got hurt on the job, so he didn’t understand why this time was any different. Apparently his knee had popped out of place and twisted. It had already been fixed, but now it had to heal. He was convinced that Wes did it on purpose just so Rodney wouldn’t be able to play in the home game tonight. Now he was stuck on the sidelines bored out of his mind. It would be different if he was watching a game that his high school students were playing, but watching a game that you would normally be playing really pissed him off. It just made his hate for Wesley Hunt even stronger. He was so bored and pissed that he had to step away for just a few minutes to clear his mind. And what was the best way to do that? Eating was a good start. So now he stood in a long line of a bunch of excited and hungry little football game goers. Luckily Melissa was the one running it. At least he didn’t have to wait that long.


When it was almost his turn to order, he limped forward just as the girl who had just received the items she had ordered spun around to leave. Rodney’s knee hurt to bad to step back, so he just let it happen as he stood there watching her hot dog fall to the ground. He moved his eyes from the hot dog to the girl when she began talking to him. “Oh, it’s fine. Thank god you didn’t have ketchup or something messy on that thing. My white shirt would have been in serious trouble.” He smiled at her. He had seen her before although couldn’t remember her name for the life of him.


“I can help the next person in line,” Melissa said from behind the hot dog stand window.


Rodney looked over at Melissa and then back at the girl in front of him. “How about I buy you another one? It’s the least I can do, considering the fact that I got in your way.” He moved up to the window. “Can I have two of whatever hotdog she just ordered?” Melissa nodded at him with a smile. “I’m Rodney by the way. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you around campus, just not sure of your name.”

[Claire Diastone]

Claire hadn't really expected to bump into anyone, especially not Rodney since she had actually thought that he'd be in the locker room or something with the rest of the team. But on the other hand, now that she thought about it, if he was really at full health and able to play, he'd probably have been able to avoid her a lot better than how he seemed to have just let it happen in this case. At least she felt a whole lot less awkward than if she had bumped into Wes, but that wasn't even possible when he had other things to do, and otherwise would be too busy with Kyra and her bitchiness.

She watched as Rodney looked at the hot dog on the ground back to her and smiled with a slight sigh of relief when he said it was okay but when he continued that it was good that she didn't have ketchup or something messy on it, she frowned and turned around back at the girl that was serving the hot dogs. 'You didn't even give me the ketchup on it I wanted?' She asked surprised, but wondered if she would even hear it over all the sounds and how busy it was now in half time.

Then Claire looked back at Rodney and sighed before she smiled somewhat again and removed some loose hairs from her face. 'Well it still looks great, so I'm glad I didn't ruin that for you.' She told him friendly while still smiling as she was mentioning what he had said about his white shirt just before she had temporarily focused her attention on the girl behind the hot dot stand to speak up about the lack of ketchup while she had asked for it.

She actually figured she should start walking back to her now empty place again to sit down, just accepting the loss of her hot dog, not really wanting to spend anything for it again, but then looked surprised but with a thankful smile when Rodney offered to by her a new one as it was the least thing he could do after getting in her way, which was something she really appreciated. 'Don't mind if I do.' She said as she chuckled because she really liked the gesture and joined him back at the hot dog stand as he ordered for them.

Her eyes wandered behind them, toward the field and the entrance to the locker rooms, to check if she saw anything or especially Wes, but she didn't see anything that showed that, and it would still be a while before half time was over too, it was just something she did automatically when he crossed her mind. Still when Rodney introduced himself she looked back at him and smiled with a nod as she stuck out her hand to him for a moment. 'I have an advantage over you obviously, I knew your name.' She teased him and smirked before she continued. 'I'm Claire, I don't know if that rings a bell for you?' She continued somewhat teasing and curious to his reply to that as she waited hungrily by now for the new hot dog.

[mooshi]

Rodney laughed when she told him that his non-ketchup splashed shirt looked great. Rodney wondered if she was flirting with him. He still wasn’t certain when girls really were hitting on him or not. And his best friend and roommate Axel hadn’t been around in a while to give him pointers, so he still wasn’t for sure. He was always one to see things when it came to how people felt, but he was pretty oblivious when it came to girls. But when she introduced herself as Claire, he was pretty sure what she had said before was just her being friendly. This was The Claire, the one he had heard some of the guys in the locker room talking about. Apparently she had a huge crush on Wes, so the team said and joked around with Wes about all the time. He wasn’t sure if it was true though, and he wasn’t going to ask her about it. But when she asked him if her name rang a bell, it was almost like she was waiting for a specific answer. He hesitated, “Uh, yeah, I think I’ve heard some mention of a Claire with the guys.” He was pretty sure now that those rumors were true.

”Alright. Here you go guys!” Melissa said from behind the counter. "With ketchup too."

Rodney turned towards the counter grabbing both hot dogs and handing one of them to Claire. “Here you go. Try not to drop this one, okay?” He chuckled. “Hey, if you don’t already have a set seat, you should come sit with me. If I have to sit on the sidelines for the entire game, I’d rather sit with someone than by myself.” He watched her hoping she would say yes. Maybe he could figure out what the hell she saw in Wes. He couldn’t understand why girls liked him so much. To Rodney, he was a complete ass hole.

[Claire Diastone]

After Claire had said it about Rodney's non-ketchup splashed shirt, she knew it sounded partially like flirting, and maybe it was but then it wasn't even intentional, if she could by now, she would want to get her mind off of Wes, not having to think about how she could impress him, finally really get his attention instead of him only thinking of himself, or that bitch of a Kyra that was even a total bitch when they were fighting the demon bitch when she attacked the Circle. She just couldn't get her head wrapped around it how the heck Wes could think Kyra was so much more interesting and better than her, what did she have apart from mostly absolute bitchiness that Claire didn't have?

Still Claire quickly enough shook it off and focused on Rodney again as she smiled, awaiting curiously for what he might answer her about if it rang a bell with him when she introduced herself by name. So when he eventually answered, after she had a pretty strong feeling that he was hesitating for some reason, her eyes automatically widened slightly in more curiosity when he said that he had heard some mention of a Claire with the guys, was he talking about the guys of the team then? She was sure he was so she bit her lip, trying to keep the question in, but she eventually gave up on that battle and tilted her head slightly to the side. 'You have? Like what?' She asked somewhat simply but that also made it straight to the point at least.

When Melissa said that their order was ready and she said that it was with ketchup now, Claire gave her a look and a smile now, still thanking her even if she had been very slightly pissed of earlier when she had dropped her hot dog and when she learned that there hadn't even been ketchup on it, she just didn't like it when people didn't seem to really listen to what she actually wanted. So when Rodney turned to the counter, grabbed the two hot dogs and when he turned gave one to Claire, she swiftly licked her lips, now having even a bigger hunger for the thing. As she decided not to take a bite just yet, she looked at Rodney and then laughed because of what he said. 'Only if you don't decide just bumping into me again, otherwise I'll be sure it was on purpose next time.' She said teasingly and also giving him a wink that was kind of teasing as she smirked as innocently as possible. Like she thought, she actually kind of liked Rodney, it wasn't that hard to talk to him and that was always nice to have with a person.

Once she heard his proposal, she smiled and nodded instantly. 'Sounds like a plan, I could use a good view too.' She blurted out admittedly before she even realized it and quickly looked at Rodney before starting to walk and taking a bite now from the hot dog.

[mooshi]

When Claire asked him exactly what he had heard from the guys on the team, Rodney was almost positive that that would be the next question she asked him. He wanted more than anything to just ignore it and move on. He didn’t want to tell her what was being said behind her back. It wasn’t just because what was said in the locker room was supposed to stay in the locker room. It was also because not everything was nice. And none of what was said was said by the person she wanted it to be said by. He sighed. He wasn’t one to lie at all, but telling her what was said wouldn’t make any sense at all. Wes wasn’t the one who said the things, so why did it matter? It was just stuff that would upset her to hear, and he didn’t want to upset Claire at all. Not when he was going to be spending time with her. “Eh, I don’t really hear much in the locker room, and I sure as heck don’t remember specifics. I just remember hearing the name Claire here and there. Nothing major.”

He chuckled. “Okay, I’ll make sure to be careful this time,” he said referring to him bumping into her again while she held her hotdog. And his chuckle got even louder when she blurted out that she could use a good view meaning him. He wasn’t sure exactly what to say to that either. He could feel his cheeks flush. “Man, Claire, you definitely know how to make someone feel uncomfortable,” he said with a goofy smile plastered across his face. He reached past her to grab his coke that was still on the counter. He brought it to his lips taking a sip. He was getting better at this flirting thing. He was able to notice some flirting if it was that obvious like Claire’s comment. But as far as flirting back? Yeah, he was still working on that one. “So, shall we go sit down so you can see this amazing view that you speak of?” He grinned at her.

[Claire Diastone]

Claire soon enough noticed that it took some time before Rodney answered her eventually with her question for what exactly he had heard about her, was it really that bad? That he didn't want to tell her? She wasn't sure, but she could also just be thinking too negative again, but the only time when she didn't was when she looked at Wes and she acted pretty differently, he just wanted to impress him, but she always seemed to sell short. When Rodney finally answered it shook her from her thoughts and she smiled and then shrugged. 'Okay... Not that I was really expecting much but still.' She said as she tried to smile as normal as possible while looking away shortly before looking back at Rodney.

She wasn't really sure if she actually believed his answer but the fact that if he was just trying to conceal some hard truth, a part of her was actually thankful for that, she'd rather have her hopes still on the way it had been for quite some time now then to have it be crushed even more. 'You better, otherwise I'll start thinking you just like bumping into me, or just girls in general.' She joked while smirking for a moment and then shaking her head automatically.

When Rodney's chuckle got louder when she had blurted that out to him, she wasn't really sure what to say right away or what to do, she could however see how there was an at least visible enough flush on Rodney's cheeks and she couldn't deny that there was a similar reaction from her because of it, because she had said it before really thinking about it, which she didn't usually do around others. 'I didn't know that, and it wasn't my intention, maybe it's just because I don't really get that much attention from anyone from the football team.' She said slightly thoughtful and also partially as a joke, but the rest was still serious. She moved slightly back when he reached past her to grab his own coke and kept her eyes on him for a moment with a smile as he did so.

So Claire kept quiet for a moment as he took a sip from it after bringing it to his lips and her own eyes started wandering around temporarily as she just taken a bite from her hot dog, swallowed it and took a sip from her own drink. She didn't necessarily mean anything by the flirting she threw his way, she just liked him, he treated her like an actual normal person, like an actual girl instead of just the girl that's also a member of the circle and just makes his homework for him or something, so she just didn't see any harm in it either, she could use the distraction too and have some fun. 'Well if I'm right I'll have more than one amazing thing to watch, when the game begins again.' She told him, partially teasingly flirting with him again but also referring to that she could look at Wes once he got out again to play, but that would still be some time she noticed when looking at the clock. 'But lead on Mr Bumpy.' She told him with a nod and wink, awaiting for him to start walking toward the spot he had talked about so they could go sit down, which would also make the talking, eating and drinking at the same time more easy for the both of them.

[mooshi]

Rodney watched her when she spoke about not getting much attention. He was immediately irritated at Wes. He knew that was the main person she wanted to be getting that attention from. How hard was it for him to even talk to Claire. Even if Wes didn’t like her like that, why was it a problem just to talk to her. She seemed like a really cool gal, but Wes probably didn’t give her the time of day. “Well, they are missing out then,” he gave her a smile. “And besides, I’m way cooler than them anyways.” He was just joking. Most of them were pretty cool guys even with them all being complete airheads. But Wes was too busy with his own life that he didn’t give a shit about this awesome chick he was talking to right now. It brought him back to a few moments before when she had told him that she wasn’t expecting much as far as the football team talking about her. He just wanted to ask her why the hell did she like him anyway. What was it about him that everyone just fell in love with? He couldn’t understand it one bit. Maybe later on he would ask her once they actually sat down and were watching the game.

When she told him to lead on and gave him that funny nickname for him bumping into her, he laughed. “Alrighty, Mrs. I Love Ketchup.” It was a stupid comment which probably wouldn’t get a laugh at all out of Claire. He did that sometimes. Made comments that he thought was funny but really weren’t at all. He turned towards the bleachers and headed towards them. It was nice to have someone to sit with. Coach wanted him to sit closer to the other players, but Rodney always sat higher up on the bleachers, so he could see everything that was going on on the field. Rodney made his way over to where the team was sitting. A few of them looked his way but didn’t say anything. He made his way up the bleachers slowly. After his little shopping errand with Mandy the other day, his knee was pretty much aching. He refused to walk with the cane and crutches the doctor had asked him to use. Those were just a bit much to be using around campus. It would heal. It always did. It would just take some time and then he’d be out on the field again. “Let’s sit right here,” he said nodding at a few benches up from the football team. There was just enough room for two in the middle of the bench. “Look okay?”

[Claire Diastone]

Claire really did her best to not sound grim or depressed because she really didn't actually think or feel like that, it was just that she felt disappointed, but also as if something was wrong with her, that she didn't do it right with Wes or something, that she maybe just wasn't a competent enough witch, or that he just had a thing for bitches like Kyra, she just didn't know and tried to think as least about it as possible and just... Enjoy for as far as that was possible when she could look at him at moments like this, or was close to him with circle meetings and stuff. She started laughing when she heard him say that they were missing out then and then also added, jokingly she thought, that he was way cooler than them anyway and she laughed a bit harder even at that. 'Well you are cool, but honestly Mr Assistant Coach, you're making it sound like you're flirting with me yourself.' She joked and teased him because she knew better but just pointed out how it sounded too.

Claire burst out in laughter a bit again when Rodney gave her a funny nickname back and she shrugged nonchalantly on purpose as she chuckled then. 'Who doesn't?' She asked dryly as if there was no person on Earth that didn't love ketchup like she did. 'You're lucky I'm an easy laugher, because we both know that was pretty lame, especially if you keep it, then I'll smack you.' She warned him before chuckling a little again and following him. She followed him up the bleachers and threw a few looks toward the rest of the team again on the bench, trying to spot Wes again but still couldn't really to her disappointment and focused on the following of Rodney until he eventually said to sit right there and looked at the spot he meant and smiled in agreement because it looked pretty good. 'It's perfect.' She told him with a smile and giving him an honest thankful smile for spending time with her and getting these places for them before she shortly grabbed his hand and pulled him with her to sit down and once she did, she took a bite from her hot dog again, smiled enthusiastically looking at the field and the team and then at Rodney, not knowing what she should say, or could say with Wes especially at this place so much on her mind.

[mooshi]

Rodney smiled at Claire when she suggested that he was the one who was flirting with her. Was he really flirting with her? Had he succeeded in doing that? Obviously not because he didn’t even know he was doing it. She was definitely not getting upset with him though, so at least he was doing something right. He was really just being nice though. Although flirting with her wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. She was very attractive. But she wasn’t Merry. Was it weird that he felt like he was cheating on Merry for hanging out with Claire at this moment? Rodney had to stop thinking that way. Merry only liked him as a friend and that was that. She was so into Connor anyways. He might as well just give up hope now.

Her laughter brought him back from thinking about Merry. “Okay, okay. Laugh it up. My jokes suck. I get it.” He chuckled. It didn’t bother him. He knew his jokes were totally lame, and he sort of expected people to laugh at them just because of how stupid they really were. “Alright. We’ll have to think of a new nickname for you. One a bit more hip.”

When Claire approved the seats, she had grabbed his hand which was a bit unexpected. It was nice though especially when the last time he held a girl’s hand was his last girlfriend which was ages ago. Once they moved past all the people in the stands, both of them sat down at the same time and began to watch the field. The game still had two hours to go. He wondered if Claire would be the focused on the game. He hoped not. He wanted to do something more than just sit there and watch a game he couldn’t be a part of. He wanted to badly to ask her about Wes even though it wasn’t any of his business. And there wasn’t really much else he could think of at the moment that could be talked about. “So, any particular football player you’re rooting for? I know all the girls have at least one they want to score that touchdown to win the game. Who does Claire Diastone want that to be?” Well played. He wanted to pat himself on the back for how epic he was for bringing Wes up that way. Even though Wes was nowhere in the question he just asked. If Claire wanted to talk about him, she would now have a way to do so without feeling awkward. He took a bite of his hotdog and waited for her response.

[Claire Diastone]

Claire couldn't really say that there had been so many occasions where some guy was flirting with here that she was completely sure that he actually was flirting with her, but on the other hand she didn't really care, she just liked talking to him, he was friendly and he didn't look that way at here that a lot of jocks and stuff did in that way that clearly showed how below them they thought she was, or just weird or nerdy, just because she was smart and didn't screw with every guy that gave her the chance, if only those guy knew how much fun she could make... They would sound a whole lot different was what she always thought then with a smirk on her face, when it came down to it, Claire wasn't really so uptight and prude as everybody thought, she just mostly thought about things before doing it instead of the usual other way around.

'Don't worry, I've heard worse, and enough people have told me the same thing about my jokes so don't beat yourself up.' She reassured him but then also gave him a teasing wink to let him know she wasn't going to be ALL friendly all of a sudden. 'We'll just have to make sure you don't make too many other jokes like that.' She chuckled now before slightly nudging him in his side with her elbow in a teasing way. 'I almost can't wait to find out what you come up with.' She laughed about him saying that they would have to figure out a new nickname for her, one that was a bit more hip.

Claire honestly didn't really make a big deal of grabbing someones hand, especially not if it was someone she liked in a friendly way, she could honestly see herself at least becoming pretty good friends with Rodney, and she also had to admit that she liked that idea, so in that way she didn't really gave it much notice how she had grabbed his hand when she had approved the seats. As she had taken another bite of her hot dog and was chewing on the bite, she looked at the field again, knowing already that if Wes was in her view, she would mostly be focused on him for most of the time than actually on the game itself, but she would just have to hide that a little from Rodney right? That would probably be the best.

Still Claire's eyes shot back to Rodney in surprise with a blush starting to be visible on her face again when Rodney asked her which football player she was specifically rooting for and how he knew that all girls had at least one player that they wanted to make that touchdown that wins the game. 'So, you're pretty sure about that huh?' She asked him as she gave him a grin and then shrugged as he continued and asked her who Claire Diastone wanted that to be. 'I uhh... Honestly there's only one for me...' She admitted with a smile, but contemplating if she should tell Rodney this already or not. 'I'm just here for the amusement and... Wes...' She whispered that last part as she cleared her throat and quickly took another bite and started chewing on it, not really wanting to look at Rodney right now with the blush coming on her cheeks.

[mooshi]

Rodney smiled at her when she asked him if he was pretty sure about that. “Hell yeah I’m pretty sure about that. Almost every girl in this stand has at least one football player they gush over. You see how there are less girls in the stands now that I’m not playing?” He joked. That was definitely not true at all. He was pretty sure Mandy would be the only one who’d be in the stands for him if he was playing and of course Merry and Marina if they weren’t too busy. Most guys would probably be rooting for him just because he was a really good player.

Rodney’s eyes left her when she answered his question. He knew it was coming, so he was already expecting the answer she was most likely going to give him. He took a bite of his hotdog again and continued chewing trying to think of something to say. He didn’t want her to think he was annoyed by this. Although his pure jealousy of Wes was creeping up in him. Wes seemed to have everything Rodney didn’t. He had the girls. He had the looks. He had the position on the team. He even had the social personality to get pretty much anything he wanted. It sucked! While Rodney sat back and let all of it happen. But he was going to be nice about this because he did ask her, and he knew she’d be upset if he started talking smack about him. But even though he wanted to do that anyways, he wasn’t the type to do that at all. This was just going to be a nice conversation of getting to know Claire. There would be no bashing. Just an understanding.

When Rodney swallowed his food, he looked back over at her. “Ah, so you are a Wes fan too then.” He glanced up above their heads at the huge sign that two girls were holding up. It read ‘We love you, Wes’. “Have you joined the club yet? I hear the slots are filling up fast.” He gave her a joking smile nudging her a bit to show her that he was just messing around with her. “So, what is it about Wes anyway? I mean I really do want to know. He’s like the star player. It’d be nice to get a few pointers.”

[Claire Diastone]

Claire grinned while she listened to Rodney and she laughed again when she heard what he said last about himself which made her roll her eyes too. The first part had been something she could totally agree to, the second part she knew was just a joke from his side, but that was also why she rolled with her eyes with a laugh on her face. She looked around for a moment and then looked back with a teasing smirk on her face at Rodney. 'I'm sure there are still enough girls staring at you.' She joked with a wink to him before she looked in front of her again while taking a bite again of the hot dog in her hand.

Claire's eyes stayed on Rodney then as she tried to figure out what was going through him about her answer just now, probably where she just confirmed what he probably already knew or suspected even though he had said that there wasn't anything specific he had heard in the locker room. Once he had swallowed his food, he looked back at her and she tilted her head to the side with a smile on it, taking in what he said then. 'I guess, although I'm not holding a sign saying it... Although I could be and he wouldn't see it anyway, he doesn't see it with anything that I do.' She said, making her voice soft so he would only hear if he really focused on it, she didn't want to let him pity her or something. She chuckled a little when she heard his joke and felt the nudge that only showed her more that he was joking again.

Once Rodney's question rang through Claire's head a few times about what it was with Wes, she kind of shrugged her shoulders, looking in front of her for a few seconds before turning her head to face him again. 'Honestly? I don't know... He looks good and all, but I'm not really the type that bases everything on that, and I do admit I know he can be a real jerk, it's just that... I really feel like I know there's more to him, that it's just something that he's been made into, to act like that, to make him think like that toward others, I know it might just be a stupid thought but... I can't really get it out of my head.' She told him almost completely honest then before looking slightly down at the hot dog in her hands, trying to hide the blush that also came over her again.

[mooshi]

He smiled when she added that plenty of girls would be watching him. Why did people think that? Maybe he should just accept the compliment and move on. That was what he was probably going to have to do. Maybe just smile when people said that? Eh, it was a common thing people said, but he still wasn’t sure if it was just to make him feel better or if it was really true. If it was true, he never saw these supposed women who watched him all the time.

Rodney only caught a bit of her comment about her making a sign for Wes although it wasn’t enough to really comment back. He was pretty sure that she said something about him not noticing anything she did even if she did make a sign, but he didn’t want to ask her about it. That would probably make her feel crappy especially if that was what she had said. So, he decided not to say anything back to that just to save her the possible sadness and him seeing her sad.

When he didn’t hear a response from Claire right away, he glanced her way. She seemed to be lost in thought which would make sense. Any time Rodney thought of the good qualities in Wes, it took him a long time. So long that he would eventually give up and just decide that there was nothing good about him. But he was pretty sure that Claire was having such a hard time because she couldn’t come up with something that sounded right to say because there were so many things that she liked about him. When she finally spoke, her answer wasn’t what he was expecting. Most people just liked Wes because he was attractive to them and a complete jock face. But Claire seemed to like him because she had false assumptions that Wes had a better side underneath the wall of jerkishness that he put up to every single person in the planet including Claire herself. But what brought her to this very optimistic conclusion? Rodney really had no idea. Was he playing her? Was he seeing her behind Kyra’s back? He wouldn’t put it past Wes. Rodney cleared his throat and nodded. He really didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or make her feel ashamed of the way she felt. You couldn’t help who you loved. And Claire clearly loved Wes or liked him very very very much. “So, have you tried talking to him about it? Maybe seeing if he’d want to hang out or something? I don’t really know your situation with him. Are you guys on friendly terms?” The best thing he could do was ask questions at this point instead of assuming anything.