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She managed to glance aside at Shane, whose eyes were wide and fixed on Michael, as well. She nudged him. He gave her a dumbfounded shake of his head.
Eve was smiling, as if she'd known it all along.
Michael brought the song to a liquid, blazing finish, and as the guitar strings rang in the silence, the crowd was utterly still. Michael waited, just as motionless, and then the room spontaneously erupted in applause and cheers.
Claire thought that the smile that spread across Michael's face was worth everything about Morganville, right at that moment.
His next song was slower, sweeter, and Claire realized with a shock that it was a slowed-down version of the song he'd been writing the other night, when he'd been too busy to go to the store. It had lyrics, too, and Michael's voice transformed them into sad, aching beauty.
It was a song for Eve.
Claire realized her chest was hurting, both from the pressure of unshed tears and the fact that she wasn't breathing. She'd never known music could have that much power. As she glanced around the coffee shop, she saw the same thing in the others' faces - common rapture. Even Oliver, standing behind the bar, was transfixed. And in the shadows, Claire glimpsed someone else - Amelie, nodding thoughtfully, as if she'd known all along, like Eve.
Sam's eyes were full of tears, but he was smiling.
Michael's voice drifted to a whisper, and he finished the song. This time, the applause didn't stop, and the cheers were a full-throated roar.
Michael adjusted the mike stand again. "Save it, guys," he said over the noise, and smiled. "We're just getting started."
It was the best night Claire had ever had in Morganville. She'd never felt so much a part of something - never seen so much unity in a room full of people so diverse. Clueless students were backslapping Morganville natives with bracelets, vampires were smiling impartially at humans, and even Oliver seemed affected by the general euphoria.
When Michael came offstage, it was only after three encores and thunderous standing ovations. He made a beeline straight for Eve, folded her in a hug, and then kissed her so deeply Claire had to look away. When they came up for air, Michael was still grinning.
"So?" he asked. "Didn't suck, right?"
Shane offered his hand. "Didn't suck. Congratulations, dude."
Michael ignored the hand and hugged him, then turned to Claire. She didn't hesitate to embrace him. He was warmer than usual, and sweaty; she hadn't known vampires could sweat. Maybe they just usually didn't exert themselves that much. "You were amazing," Claire whispered. "I just - amazing. Wow. Did I say amazing?"
He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then turned away to the press of well-wishers coming to shake his hand. There were a lot of them, and many of them were pretty girls. Claire retreated back to Shane's side.
"See what I mean?" Shane said. "Good thing Eve's here. This can go to a guy's head."
"Even a vampire's?"
"Heh. Especially a vampire's."
It took about fifteen minutes for the rush of instant fans to die down, and by then the tables had cleared out, leaving just a few hard-core caffeine addicts to close out the evening. Claire and Shane grabbed chairs and fresh drinks while Eve helped Michael get his things together.
"Hey," Claire said, and got Shane's full attention. "Thank you."
His eyebrows rose. "What for?"
"For the best date I've ever had."
"This? Nah. Just average. I can do much better."
She cocked her head. "Really?"
"Absolutely."
"You willing to prove it?"
Somehow, his hand had taken hold of hers, and his warm fingers stroked shivers down her palm. "Someday, " he said. "Soon. Absolutely."
She found herself doing the not-breathing thing again, caught in all the possibilities. Shane smiled, slow and wicked, and she wanted to kiss him right then, for a very long time.
"Ready?" Michael was standing at the table, gazing down at them. Some of the brilliance he'd had onstage had faded, and he was just regular Michael again - a little tired, too. Claire gulped down hot cocoa and nodded.
Even the best nights had to come to an end.
Claire was getting ready for bed when she heard Eve scream - not the shriek of Stop tickling me, you jerk, but a full-out cry of alarm, one that went through the house like a buzz saw. She pulled on her pajama top, grabbed her robe, and pelted out into the hall. Shane was already there, heading downstairs, still dressed in a pair of jeans and a loose T-shirt.
When they got to the front hall, they found Michael sitting on the floor, holding a bloody girl in his arms. Eve was snapping the locks on the front door shut.
"Miranda," Michael said, and moved the bloody hair away from her face. "Miranda, can you hear me?"
Claire realized with a breathless shock that it was Eve's sometime friend Miranda - just a kid, really, at that gawky stage where girls both yearned to be and feared to be women. Mir had filled out a little since the last time Claire had seen her - not quite as scary thin - but she still looked like a waif.
A wounded one. There was a gash in her head, and blood dripping down her neck to patter on Michael's blue jeans and fingers.
"Ow," Miranda whispered, and began to cry. "Ow. I hit my head - "
"You're okay, you're safe now," Eve said. She dropped to her knees across from Michael and held out her arms; Michael quickly transferred the girl over. His pupils had gone to pinpoints, and he seemed - different. "Michael, maybe you'd better go - wash up."
He nodded stiffly and pushed past Shane and Eve, heading upstairs so quickly he was just a blur.
"Ambulance?" Shane asked.
"No! No, I can't!" Miranda sounded frantic. "Please, don't send me there. You don't know - you don't know what they'll do - the fire - "
Eve kept hold of the girl, somehow, though Miranda was flailing like mad. "Okay, chill, we won't. I promise. Relax. Shane - maybe the first aid kit? Towels and hot water?"
"I'll help," Claire said, and she and Shane took off for the kitchen. When she glanced back, she saw that Miranda had stopped fighting and was lying exhausted in Eve's arms. "What the hell happened to her?"
"Morganville," Shane said, and shrugged. He stiff-armed the kitchen door and went straight for the cabinets under the sink. The first aid kit was getting a lot of play, Claire thought as she turned on the hot water and gathered up some clean kitchen towels.
Miranda's first aid session wasn't as bad as Claire had feared - the head wound was bloody but superficial, and Eve fixed it with some butterfly bandages.
