Quil
"Claire! Claire, wake up!" I woke up, startled, when Quil called my name. He shook me.
I slapped him, but instead of hurting him, it hurt me. "Stop that! Ow!"
"Claire, you fell asleep during the movie."
"So? That doesn't mean you have to wake me up!"
"But it's morning."
"Oh, really? What time is it?" I asked sarcastically.
"It's six a.m."
"Then it's time for me to sleep! It's summer." I turned over and shut my eyes.
I felt him shake me again. "Claire,"
I love Quil – he's always been there for me, and I've known him since I was two, but I don't remember when I was that age – but he can get really annoying sometimes, like when he wakes me up at ungodly hours like five or six o'clock in the summer, when people are supposed to be sleeping. I'm okay with waking up at six when I have to go to school, but in the summer? No way!
I turned back over to face him. "Quil. Seriously. Stop."
"But Claire, don't you want to know what we're doing today?" he asked me with enthusiasm. How could he be so awake at these hours of the day?
"No." I snapped. "I want to sleep."
"Claire,"
"You're really whiney for a guy in his twenties."
I didn't really know how old Quil was; he just told me he was twenty-ish.
"Yeah, well, I'm bored. You sleep too much."
"No, you just sleep too less."
"We're going to the beach today. Don't you want to go?"
"Sure." I saw his face lighten up. "Later." I added, smiling.
"Fine," I could tell by his tone that he was using reverse psychology. He stood up. "Emily's gonna be there, but I guess you don't want to. I'll just have to tell her you don't want to see her. But she'd be so-"
I cut him off. "I'm getting up." I said. "But she's not gonna be there yet."
"She's coming at seven, but we're going now."
"Okay. Let me get changed." I rummaged through my dresser drawer for my swim suit when I realized he was still there. "Are you gonna get out so I can change?" He could be so strange sometimes. I'm fifteen, and I still couldn't figure him out.
"We're the only ones here, Quil." I said when we got to the beach.
"No we're not," he argued. "There are people jogging over there," He set a towel down for himself and one down for me.
"Quil, don't you ever get sick of hanging around with me?" I asked him as I sat down on the towel. I was pretty sure I already knew the answer, though.
"No, Claire, you're my best friend," he sat down too.
"But what about Sam, Jacob, Jared, Embry, Seth, Leah, and all those other people you hang out with so much?"
"I can still hang out with them. Oh, and by the way, they're all coming today."
"How's Jacob? Is he still depressed about Bella after all these years?"
"Yeah."
"How is Bella?" I never got to meet Bella Swan (who is really a Cullen since her and Edward got married), or Edward Cullen, or the Cullen family, but Jacob often talked about her. He said how much he missed her.
"She still calls Jacob, even though he's got Jenny. He never stopped loving her. But she says she's okay. I wish you would've gotten a chance to meet her. She's really nice."
"Why don't you all like the Cullens?"
"Um, it's… complicated."
I felt like there was something he wasn't telling me.
"Why is it complicated?"
"It just is."
"But what happened?"
"I don't know."
Yes, there was something he wasn't telling me.
"Quil, I can tell you're not going to tell me. It's a secret, isn't it?"
"No."
"Then why won't you tell me?"
He sighed. "'Cause it's a secret." He picked up a pebble and threw it. "I want to tell you, but I can't. Don't press me for any more information, 'cause you're not going to get it. Well, maybe you will, someday."
"But-" I was just about to ask him again, when Sam, Emily, Jacob, Jenny, Jared, Kim (his girlfriend), Seth, and Leah showed up.
"Hey, Claire," Emily greeted me. I loved my aunt. She was always so nice.
I got up to hug her.
I said hi to everyone. Now the party would start.
We all jumped into the water, and it started raining, as usual, in La Push, Washington.
"So, Emily, what are you planning to do tomorrow?" I asked her. We had just got done with a swimming race; I had won.
"Well, Sam's got to go out, so I'll mostly be alone." She replied, breathless, like me.
"Do you want to hang out? I guess Quil will be gone,"
"Sure, I'd like to hang out, but Quil won't be gone. Sam's going to visit his cousin in Seattle."
"Oh."
"You sound disappointed. Why? What's wrong with Quil?"
"Nothing. It's just… he kind of gets annoying. He wakes me up when I don't want to wake up, and then he whines and I get up. And then, when I talk about boys, he gets all frustrated and tells me I'm too young for that, but I'm not. I'm fifteen."
"He means no harm, Claire. He loves you." She looked at me, and added, "In a family way" so I wouldn't think of it like that. "He's always been there for you, Claire. He's your best friend. Don't take that for granted." I could tell she had a secret, too, but I didn't press her for it.
I thought about that. "I know, Em. He is my best friend."
We swam back to the shore.