Even if it did feel good to get all of that off of her chest, Claire still felt bad about that little outburst. She stood leaned against the porch railing with her arms folded over her chest. She knew that Adira needed to have a fire ignited under her ass. Looking into Excelleron had been her idea, she needed to stand up and take charge. The same went for everyone else. For the most part everyone pulled their weight but that didnâ€™t change the fact that she felt like she was doing everything by herself most of the time. But had that been the right way to go about getting everything out? What if she had been a little too harsh; the truth is supposed to be harsh, right? Had she even managed to get everything of her chest that she wanted to say? Deep down, there was still so much she wanted to let out.<br/><br/>In fact there was so much it almost made her want to scream. She probably would have if Adira had not come out to meet her.<br/><br/>To be honest she wasnâ€™t sure she was ready to face her so soon. She was still pretty shaky, and was afraid that once she started talking everything would come pouring out before she knew it. As best she could, she listened to everything Adira had to tell her, with as best a smile as she could muster, and slowly began to slip back into that leader demeanor everyone was familiar with. In many ways she was proud of Adira for coming out here and saying she would take a stand. Part of her wanted to hug the girl. She was probably a lot happier than she knew at the moment. This took so much weight off her shoulders. Weight she wished would have been taken of weeks ago, so one could only imagine the relief on her face. In fact her posture in general seemed a lot more relaxed.<br/><br/>Claire placed a hand on Adiraâ€™s shoulder and squeezed it lightly. â€œIâ€™m proud of you for coming out here like you did. For a moment there, I was afraid youâ€™d run.â€ She smiled a little. â€œI justâ€¦ Itâ€™s tough being leader. For once, I just want someone else to take chargeâ€¦â€ For the first time in a few months, she felt like she could be herself in spite of continuing to show that leader side of her. Somehow it seemed a lot less intense right this moment. She felt like she could be a human being and, she had to admit, it was a nice feeling. There was no use being their leader if she didnâ€™t show them all everything that was Claire. Well, maybe not everything, but she was no professional. They all looked up to her and if she was not able to show different sides of her then she was of no use to them.<br/><br/>Even though she was still feeling emotional, she was doing her best to keep calm. The part of her that wanted to scream was becoming a part of her that wanted to cry. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as the leader personal seemed to vanish again. She never understood why people looked up to her. Why did they wish they were more like her? Was it because she was actually a decent leader? Was she really as good of a person as everyone said she was? Some days it did feel like a bit of a burden. Being forced to carry it all alone was beginning to tire her out, mentally, as she said before storming out here. Now, she wouldnâ€™t have to worry about that too much, right?<br/><br/>She hoped so.<br/><br/>â€œIâ€™m tired of doing everything,â€ Claire continued. â€œI just want this to be over, so I can go back to my old life.â€ She looked away from Adira, turning her gaze towards the city. â€œYou knowâ€¦ Iâ€™ve thought about leaving the city. But I canâ€™t. There are things I have to take care of before Iâ€™m able, thatâ€™s why Iâ€™m still here. I donâ€™t think I would get very far if I tried to leave anyway.â€ She gripped the porch railing tightly. â€œSome days, maybe I want them to get meâ€¦â€ she added in a whisper. Maybe it was true. She has had her own moments where she wished she could just die. Willing to give anything to end this, to make this nightmare stop, but dying was the easy way out, and people were counting on her. â€œBut whenever I get those thoughts in my head, I think of the groupâ€¦â€<br/><br/>Her words trailed off. She was starting to get emotional again, so she decided to change the subject before even more of herself poured out. â€œAnyway, we should head inside. A lot of work needs to be done before we put your idea into action.â€ For a long time, she met Adiraâ€™s gaze before moving to walk past her and heading back inside to speak with the rest of the group. She was hoping everyone was awake by now. As much as she wanted to trust Adira, she still couldnâ€™t help but wonder if she would back out of this. Was that wrong? She wanted to be able to trust everyone one hundred percent and she was having trouble doing that right now. Maybe she was just scared. They were about to take on a very powerful company after all. That wasnâ€™t something that everyone had the guts to do.<br/><br/>What if she didnâ€™t? Surely that would be terrifying to anyone, especially since she knew the group was counting on her to get them through this like she always did. No. No more of that, she was only one person, from this day forward she wanted the group to all become their own leader. Instead of turning to her for everything she wanted them to help each other out. Teamwork, that was the word, it would certainly take even more off her shoulders. Now, Claire was not necessarily implying that they have never been a team, they have always worked together. It was more like she was hoping that they could strengthen their ability to work as a team. She should have tackled this before. But she was no expert when it came to this kind of thing, which was why she was getting tired of people looking to her for everything.<br/><br/>â€œAlright. If everyone is awake, then weâ€™ll get started.â€ Claire said as soon as she stepped into their new hide out. Looking at the place now that there was adequate lighting made her scowl a little; this place was definitely going to need some cleaning up. She ran a hand over her face. â€œLetâ€™s start by cleaning up the place. If weâ€™re going to come up with a plan to get at Excelleron, I canâ€™t have our hideout looking like a pigâ€™s sty.â€