One Shots - Claire Browne and Neil Melendez

Everywhere

So, I've been listening to a little too much Niall Horan, and this is the outcome:)

Neil had been avoiding Claire. She was sure of it. She just didn't understand why. They had gotten over the favoritism complaint months ago, and they had managed to stay more professional than ever at work. 

They had been doing great. Right up until a week ago where he had turned her down with the excuse that he was tired. She tried not to think too much about it, but they had only really exchanged a couple of formal words for the whole week. And it was driving her insane. 

She hadn't done anything, not that she could think of, and his sudden mood swing confused her. He had changed overnight. One day, they had been joking together, the next he had stopped talking to her. 

She also, unfortunately, had been working with Dr. Andrews that week, so she really didn't have a valid excuse to go see him at work either, and as soon as his shifts ended, he rushed out the door. 

She couldn't take it, his friendship was precious to her, and having him avoid her made her both angry and sad. 

She had just gotten out of a successful surgery on a young boy she had been working with Dr. Andrews on. It was late, the sky was dark outside, and she was tired. 

Going to grab her notebook she had left in the resident's lounge, she noticed Neil in his office packing his things. 

This was now or never, she needed to figure out why he had been acting that way. 

Within a few seconds, barely thinking about what she was doing, she had opened the door to Neil's office. 

"Hey," She said with something like a smile, even though it came off as more of a nervous expression. 

"Hey, I'm sorry, Claire, I'm in a hurry," He said as he picked up his coat, rushing past her. 

"No," She spoke determinedly, louder than she had intended. But it worked, and he stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at her questionably. 

"You don't get to do this again," She continued, and he opened his mouth to reply, probably come up with another excuse, but she was not done yet. 

"You have been avoiding me all week, Neil, and it's hurting me. You can't run away every time, because if this is not hurting you too, you're not the person I thought you were." She took a breath and barely paid attention to him, she just needed to get this out. 

"I suppose you don't really care about me after all," She scoffed. She could have cried, but her being stubborn as ever, she refused to. 

"I'm sorry, Claire, I never meant to hurt you," He met her gaze, regret in his eyes. 

"Then why did you do all this?" She questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Neil sighed. This was really not the perfect place for this, but with the way she was looking at him, he knew he had to do it right there if he wanted to keep her trust.

"Because you have no idea what you are doing to me," He spoke in such a low voice that Claire barely had managed to hear him. Her heart involuntarily skipped a beat at the possibility of what those words could mean. 

"I've tried to forget you, tried to forget what you mean to me, but that's hard as hell when I'm around you every day," He stated, his voice now louder and more certain, forgetting about who might hear. 

"You are everywhere, every time I turn a corner, you're there, over my shoulder, dammit, you're everywhere, Claire," He sighed. She was stunned and couldn't find the words to say anything, so he continued.