"Candle in the Dark: Claire's Story"
*Notes: Rosalie and Emmett do not appear in this story. At this point in time, they are travelling through Africa. The characters in this story are copyrighted to their respective authors. No harm is intended in their use and I thank them for creating such wonderful literary worlds for our enjoyment.*
***In Eclipse, Quil Ateara imprinted on Claire, the two-year-old niece of Emily, fiancée of Sam Uley. It is now 20 years in the future, and Claire is 22 years old. Quil has always been around Claire, but now things are getting interesting. ***
Chapter 1
Alone in her room, Claire prepared to get ready for her day. This was the first day of her senior year of college, and she was excited and dreading it at the same time. While deciding what to wear, there was a knock at the front door.
"I'll get it," yelled Claire from her room. Tearing through her dorm room, Claire bolted to the front door & wrenched it open.
"Hey, Claire," beamed Quil.
"Come on in, Quil," Claire responded.
Quil walked cautiously behind Claire, making sure not to knock anything off the shelves with his burliness. Claire was extremely at ease with Quil around. She walked into the front room and sat down on the sofa. Quil sat right next to her.
"So, are you ready for your senior year of college?" Quil questioned her.
"Yeah, it is gonna be a crazy year," Claire replied.
"You don't want just a quiet year back at home?" Quil inquired.
Claire sat quietly for a moment, and then said, "I've already made it this far, Quil. I'm not gonna go home now."
"Well, you better hurry up," Quil said as he checked his watch. "If you're not careful, you're going to be late. Don't want that on the first day of class."
"No, I guess you're right, Quil," Claire agreed. "I better get a move on, then."
Claire walked Quil to the door and as he passed, he swept her into a bone-crunching bear hug. Claire struggled for breath until Quil finally released her. Quil gave her a strange look, one that Claire had never seen from him before, and said, "Can I come by tonight?"
"Quil, my room mate knows you practically live here. There'll be a plate for you when you get here after work," Claire answered.
"Sweet, I'll see you tonight," Quil replied. Just before he stepped out the door, he hesitated, and then gave Claire a kiss on the cheek.
That was something new, Claire thought to herself as she closed the door. I wonder what that was for. Claire glanced at her watch, gasped, then darted back upstairs to finish getting ready for class. After throwing on her favorite pair of jeans and a long-sleeved thin cotton t-shirt, she brushed her straight ebony hair, pulled it into a ponytail, hastily brushed her teeth, sprinted back to the living room to grab her book bag, and was out the door.
As Claire got into her car, she had a strange thought about Quil. Why did Quil kiss me? He's never shown any affection like that before. A hug, maybe, but never this. The thought didn't sit right with Claire, but she pushed it out of her mind and started her car. Claire drove a 2009 Ford Shelby Mustang in Sky Blue. The car had belonged to her mother when she was a toddler. Claire's mother, Tina (short for Christina), is her aunt Emily's older sister. Aunt Emily is now married to Sam Uley, and they now have two kids, her twin cousins Nathan and Natalie.
Claire went to the University of Alaska instead of going to school in Seattle with everyone else. As she drove by the student parking lot, she noticed there was a silver Mercedes, vintage & very sleek, parked in the lot. Who could afford to drive something like that, living here??? She pulled into a parking spot, parking next to a black Volvo, which belonged to her best friend.
"Hey Nessie!" Claire called as she got out of her car.
A beautiful girl, with chocolate brown eyes, bouncing bronze curls and ivory skin that seemed to have a luminous glow, turned toward her and flashed her brilliant smile.
"Hey Claire," Renesmee called out. "I was wondering when you were going to get here."
Claire stepped around her car to meet up on the other side with Renesmee. "Sorry about that. Quil stopped by this morning. It was kind of weird."
"What made it weird?" Renesmee questioned.
"Well……" Claire hesitated. After a deep breath, she said "Quil kissed me on the cheek this morning."
Renesmee looked at Claire with a slightly surprised look on her face. Nessie finally asked Claire, "It took him this long just to kiss you on the cheek?"
Claire scoffed under her breath. As they headed into the building, Nessie kept pressuring Claire for details.
"What's the big deal? Was it sloppy?" Nessie asked.
Claire laughed aloud. "No, that's not it. Quil has always been around, for as long as I can remember. He's got to be quite a bit older than me, but he doesn't look like he's aged at all." Claire hesitated before she spoke again. "Quil has been acting kind of weird lately. Like he's been trying to work up the nerve to do or say something. I don't know what the deal is."
"Do you like Quil?" Nessie persisted.
They had arrived at their first class and Claire quickly changed the subject. "Who do you think drives that old Mercedes?"
"I already know," Nessie stated simply.
Claire stared after her as they walked into the classroom. As they went to their seats, Claire glanced over the classroom and, stepping over a vent in the floor, locked eyes with a gorgeous stranger.