<div class="floatleft">(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x111/Lammy519/Models/Girl21/3df19d18.jpg)</div><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;"><strong>Claire Tang</strong></span></span><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">The Nurse<br/>Apartment Loft, open dining room<br/>With Taras, Nick, Adriano, Ally, Liza, and Piper</span><br/><hr/><br/>Claire gave Adriano a weak smile, lifting up her cup of sangria at him to say hello. She didn't have a problem with him, per se, but if there was anyone that epitomized that shady, 'negative' aspect of the whole crew, it was him. The suave, cool deal maker's presence always put the idea that the people she hangs out with aren't complete angels at the front of her mind. She did well enough to ignore that nagging feeling, though, neither of them really making a fuss about having the other around. Having another sip from her cup helped alleviate the worry, too.<br/><br/>It wasn't much longer after that did Alisa bust into the loft! Her entrance much more... dramatic than the others. The poor effort of a smile to Adriano grew much wider when the Alisa went this way and that, saying hi to whoever she could while finding a place to put down her groceries. Well, maybe chicken and alcohol would be a better way to put it. It was easy to laugh with her around, and Claire was sure she was going to laugh even harder when Alisa stood still, her arms outstretched looking for a hug from her and Ally.<br/><br/>The half-Asian girl dragged her sunglasses from the bridge of her nose to the tip, glancing over at Ally with a sly smirk. She shook her head a few times before gesturing to Alisa, as if to say to the young brunette that neither of them should bother hugging her, just to see how she would react. Confident that the younger girl got her signal, Claire pushed her shades back into place, her smirk fading to take a hold of the lip of her cup. It'd be a good idea to get a few sips in before her gut ached with laughter.<br/><br/>Before she knew it, her cup was empty, save for an orange rind and some ice. With a mock pout, Claire left the cup on the bench as she stood up and away from it. Catching sight of Piper, who made a relatively quieter (and surprisingly early) entrance than Alisa, Claire practically skipped the distance between the two and gave the girl a tight, warm hug. One that she'd imagine she'd give Alisa later when she realises that neither of the girls she was looking to embrace were going to indulge her.<br/><br/>"Hey girl," Claire said into Piper's ear while she pulled away from the hug. She tried to keep her voice down to indoor levels just to keep the joke on Alisa running for as long as she could. "It's been a while! I'm not sure how, but I think I've actually missed seeing you." Claire stuck out her tongue at Piper, making the sure that her words were taken clearly as a joke, if her tone wasn't enough. Her tongue stayed as it was for a bit, though now accompanied with a disgusted scrunch of her soft features, looking down at the blonde's drink. It looked dangerous, though she didn't say anything about it as she turned to face the rest of the crew and caught sight of Taras and Ally in conversation.<br/><br/>Claire wasn't sure why, but there was an undoubted pang of jealousy deep in her heart as she saw the two of them hit it off as they always do. It wasn't anything serious, she knew that, but the two of them had such a natural way of being around each other that she and Taras didn't seem to have. At times, Claire strained to think of anything to talk to Taras about, often turning to the relationship between himself and her brother, current events, or poor, basic car knowledge to keep the man engaged. For what she could only hope was a split second, Claire had a sullen look on her, thinking a little too much about the whole mess.<br/><br/>Quickly wanting to brighten her own mood, as if the atmosphere of the entire party was based on her own feelings, Claire reached over for Piper's drink, wanting to take a heavy sip from it, if the other girl let her. Either way, she turned to the dining room table, brushing up against Adriano who had come up to talk to Piper as she went by. In a bout of wastefulness and just generally not caring at the moment, she took another one of the cups Ally had poured full of sangria and wasted no time in taking a healthy gulp of it. She could hear Nick talking aloud about cars and engines, but the mix of emotion and alcohol was making it hard for her to really register it.<br/><br/>With a sigh, Claire just turned away from the dining room table, leaning her bottom on the edge of it. She figured watching Alisa freak would cheer her up, so she watched and waited for the inevitable.