A/N: This story was previously posted by 'keepthechange' who decided that she didn't have time to keep writing this story, so rather than completely abandon it she gave it to me and I'm gonna attempt to complete it. The first two chapters are ones that have already been put up and from C3 onwards will be mine. Hope you enjoy it...again!
"Jeez, Quil!" Jacob winced as he shut the front door to their shared apartment, kicking off his greased up boots into an old shoe tidy that sat wedged in the corner. "Have you moved at all today?"
Quil shrugged, his thumbs flicking wildly over the Xbox controller that sat nestled in his hands and his eyes never leaving the macabre scene on the screen in front of him.
He sat surrounded by various discarded food wrappers and cartons, dirty plates and glasses. His cropped black hair looked greasy and straggly and his clothes were crumpled and smeared with a number of sticky substances.
"Seriously dude, what the hell has gotten into you lately? You've been like this all week, I'm starting to worry." He glanced at the clock on the DVD player and frowned "Shouldn't you be at work by now?"
"You can't go to work if you don't have a job." Quil replied monotonously, his eyes still fixed on the TV.
"You lost your Job?" Jacob blanched and dropped on to the sofa next to him. "What the hell happened?"
Quil huffed and paused the game, dropping the controller unceremoniously onto the cluttered coffee table and shoving his fingers into his matted hair, "I fell asleep at the counter and a couple of things got stolen."
"What?" Jacob sat up straight in his seat "How could you do that? We need that money to make rent every month!"
"It's not like I did it on purpose Jake!" Quil pushed himself from the sofa and stalked into the small kitchenette to grab a beer from the fridge. "I was up all night last Thursday and all day Friday trying to get my head around that damn math work and they put me on the night shift at the store. I was up for over twenty four hours straight man, I put my head on the counter for a second and the next thing I know, Katie was ripping me a new one over some missing cigarette cartons."
"So you decided not to tell me about this?" Jacob grabbed the bottle from Quil's hand and swallowed half of the cold liquid in one go. "It sucks, Quil, I get that, but I can't foot the rent and utilities with what I make at the garage. You can't sit around wallowing in filth and eating us out of house and home, you need to get out and do something about this."
"I tried, none of the on campus jobs pay as much as the store did and everything else I found was full time hours, and I can't do that man, I'm struggling enough with my work as it is." He shook his head dejectedly.
"Hey listen man," Jacob leaned against the counter next to him "let me talk to George, see if he can throw you a couple of hours at the garage while you find a more permanent job. Okay?"
"Thanks man." Quil smiled stiffly.
Jacob dug into his jean pockets and pulled a piece of paper, shoving it at Quil "Someone handed me this earlier, maybe it'll help with your coursework."
He unfolded the flyer and scanned the text, "A study buddy?"
"Yeah according to the flyer they match your course information, strengths and weakness', that sorta thing, with someone else's so that you can help each other." Jacob explained, shrugging and chugging the last of the bottle of beer. "I think I heard Ness talking about it too, actually. Speaking of she'll be here in like, ten minutes so if you could at least shower that would be great, because you smell like shit!"
Quil pulled at his shirt and sniffed, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Sure, just let me pick this shit up and I'll jump in."
"No it's okay; I'll clear it just…go." Jacob dismissed him and pulled out an empty garbage bag, beginning the task of sorting the rubbish while Quil walked down the hallway to his room.
Once inside he sighed and glanced around his room, searching the organised chaos for clean underwear. He pulled open a large bag that contained the laundry he'd done a few days before and not bothered to put away and retrieved a clean shirt and shorts and then headed across the hall to the bathroom.
As he waited for the water in the shower to heat up he heard the doorbell ring and a pair of muffled voices and assumed that Renesmee had arrived. He peeled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it into the laundry basket and unbuttoned his jeans, letting them drop with his underwear into a pile on the floor before stepping into the tub and under the shower spray.
He audibly groaned as the heat, cascaded over the muscles of his back and neck and a loud knock on the door had him sighing.
"Hey Quil, you gonna be long? Nessie needs to pee." Jacob shouted and Quil reached blindly behind him and pulled the shower curtain closed.
"Well as long as she promises to resist the urge to check out my ass she can come in, the curtains closed." He shouted back, reaching for the shower gel. "Otherwise I'm gonna be a few minutes."
"Hi Quil, sorry about this!" Renesmee voice chirped as she stepped into the bathroom. "I came straight from the library and I'm absolutely dying here."
"It's fine." He replied, scratching his fingers through his now soapy hair. He heard Renesmee fumble and groan and chuckled to himself.
"By the way," She exclaimed, as she flushed the toilet and went to wash her hands "I've already seen your ass more times than I'd care too, and while it may be impressive you're no Jake so I think I can resist peeking at it!"
"Way to hit a man when he's down Ness!" He scowled, peeking his head around the curtain at her.
Renesmee grinned. "Aww I'm sorry, but if you like I could give you the names of a couple of girls who would love to see it? I could even give you a couple of guys!"
"Gee thanks!" He disappeared back behind the curtain and turned off the water "Now get out of my bathroom unless you want to see everything? I forgot my towel."
"I think I can live without that, thanks! Oh, hey." She said half out the door. "Jake mentioned you lost your job that sucks."
"Not my best moment." He pulled the curtain back slightly, careful to keep the lower half of his body covered. "But I'll find something."
"Well I have a friend who works in a bar a couple of blocks away, and she said they're looking for someone, I can give her a call if you like?" She shrugged.
"That would be great, thanks!" Quil smiled. "Now could you please leave? Jakes gonna start getting jealous."
"See you in a minute." Renesmee shook her head and left, closing the door behind her and Quil jumped out of the tub. He grabbed the clothes he'd brought in with him and opened the door to peer outside quickly before running across the hall and back into his room. He found his towel on the back of his desk chair and scrubbed it down his body.
Quil pulled on his underwear and shorts and tucked his t-shirt into the pocket and walked down the hall with the towel round his neck.
"I'm just gonna step out for a minute." Jacob said as he rose from his seat next to Renesmee. "We're out of beer and bread. You need anything?"
"I'll go if you want?" Quil answered, dropping his towel onto the counter and pulling his shirt on. "Give you some 'alone time'" He wiggled his eyebrows.
"Subtle bro, real subtle." Jacob scowled.
Quil grabbed his tennis shoes from the rack and leant against the wall as he pulled them on. He fished his wallet and keys from a large bowl on the side.
"I'll be about fifteen minutes. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" He shouted as he left he apartment and descended the two flights of stairs to street level.
He curled into himself as he stepped out onto the street. The sun was long down, a chill wind had picked up and goose bumps popped up over his bare forearms. He picked up speed, rounding the corner and jogged across the street to the small store.
The owner of the shop greeted him with a curt nod and Quil waved as he disappeared to the back of the shop towards the fridge and pulled out two six packs of beer before turning back to the front of the store and picking up a loaf of bread on his way to the till.
Quil waited patiently as the clerk served the girl in front of him. She mumbled he thanks and pushed a hot pink purse back into her bag and left the store. He paced his purchases on the counter, and pulled a note from his wallet as they were rung up.
"Have a nice night." The clerk smiled and Quil cradled the bag under his arm and pushed his way out on to the street.
As the door shut behind him, his eyes were caught by an object on the floor. He knelt down and picked up the hot pink purse that he'd seen the girl before him put in her bag, glancing around he spotted someone about her size walking towards a car on the other side of the road.
"Hey!" Quil called as he quickly checked the road for on coming cars and ran towards her. Her head shot round and her eyes widened and she fumbled quickly in her bag. "Hey lady!"
"Leave me alone!" She shouted and dropped her keys, snatching them up quickly.
"But you…" He said catching her wrist and he was suddenly blinded by pain as her knee connected with his balls.
"Get away from me!" She screamed and jumped in to her car, barely waiting for him to crawl out of the way before she sped away.
"Fucking shit!" He growled sitting on the curb, his grocery bag and her purse forgotten in the road as he cupped between his legs, his eyes swimming with tears.
"Dude you okay?" A man asked as he walked past, shooting Quil a suspicious look when he noticed where his hand was placed.
"I'm fine," He winced, pushing himself to his feet and grabbing his things from the floor, and pushing the purse into his pocket. "I may never have children, but I'm fine."
Quil hobbled back down the street to his apartment building, dreading each step up to his front door.
When he finally managed to get the door open, Jacob was just coming from his bedroom in his boxers.
"Shit man what happened?" He exclaimed taking in the look on Quil's face.
"Need ice." Was all he said, discarding the beer on the counter and rummaging through the freezer, finally settling on a bag of frozen peas, before he limped to the sofa and sat with them in his lap.
"What's going on?" Renesmee asked, wrapping her arms around Jacob's stomach and leaning her head on his chest.
"Hey Ness you're pre med right?" Quil asked and she nodded. "Can you check my balls I think they may have popped?"
"She's not going anywhere near your balls, now what he fuck happened?" Jacob demanded.
"There was a girl at the store," He started "I saw her put a purse in her bag but she must not have put it in properly because when I got outside it was on the floor. I saw her going to her car so I ran over to her and she kneed me in the sac."
Jacob visibly shuddered, and Renesmee squeezed Quil's shoulder. "I don't think you've been popped, just keep the ice on it." She said. "But in her defence if I didn't know you, and I saw you running towards me I would be scared too. I don't know what they put in the water back on the Rez but you guys do kinda look intimidating."
"Hey! I just took a knee in the sausage for trying to be the good guy. If you're not going to examine me the least you can do is pretend to be on my side!" He scowled as she chuckled. "I'm gonna go take these shorts off and lay down. If you don't see me by tomorrow night assume I've died and tell my mum I love her."
Quil pushed himself from the sofa with strict instructions from Ness to keep his underwear on or risk frostbite and Jacob following behind him.
"I know this probably isn't a good time but Ness called about the study buddy thing for you. You've got you're first meeting tomorrow lunch time at the library." He said indicating a small post it note stuck to his alarm clock.
"Thanks man." Quil nodded and popped the button on his shorts, letting them drop to the floor. "Now if you don't mind I would like to cry without an audience."
"You'll live." Jacob grinned. "See you in the morning."
Quil flopped on his bed as his door clicked shut, and placed the bag of peas back in his lap, jumping at the coldness. He reached to the floor and pulled the purse from his pocket, flipping it open to find a drivers licence.
"Claire Young. You'd be beautiful if you weren't so sadistic." He grunted throwing it back to the floor and closing his eyes.
When Quil woke the next morning an uncomfortable feeling greeted him. He glanced down at his wet boxers and the squashed bag of defrosted peas that had split open under his weight at some time during the night.
He groaned and pushed himself off the bed and trudged towards the bathroom to brush his teeth and as he stared into the bathroom mirror with sleepy eyes, unable to brush off the niggling thought that he was forgetting something. He spat into the sink and replaced his toothbrush and went back to his room, eyeing the post it still stuck next to his bed.
Quil grasped hold of it, and skimmed the words.
'Study Buddy, 12.00, campus library. Claire Young. DON'T BE LATE!'
He glanced at his watch. "Shit!" He exclaimed noting that it was already eleven thirty, and slipped his boxers down, forgoing a fresh pair and pulling on the first pair of jeans he found and hopped around the room as he tugged on his shoes.
Quil looked for a t-shirt, giving up after a minute of searching and heading down the hall towards Jacob's room and knocking on the door.
"Jake you in there, I need a shirt?" He heard a grumble from behind the door and pushed it open, bringing a hand up to the side of his face to block his view of the bed.
"What the hell Quil, get out!" Jacob grumbled.
"Relax I can't see anything, I'm running late for that meet and I can't find a shirt…ah ha!" He exclaimed, pulling one from Jake's wardrobe and tugging it over his head. "I'll see you later, nice ass Ness!" He chuckled pulling the door shut just in time to block one of Jacob's shoes.
He pulled his bag from under his desk and swung it over his shoulder and rescued his wallet from last night's shorts, frowning when his eye caught the pink purse.
"Can't be?" He frowned deeper pulling the drivers licence back out and glancing at the name Jacob had scrawled over the note, before running from the apartment.
Quil was ten minutes late when he finally reached the library, his eye's searched the tables as he walked between the racks of books, finally spotting a girl sat on her own and looking at her watch.
"Claire?" He asked dropping his bag onto the table next to her making her jump.
"You're late!" She hissed.
"I apologize." He nodded rounding the table and sitting across from her. "But somebody kneed me in the balls last night so I'm not exactly walking at my fastest."
Claire's mouth fell open and she scowled. "That you was you following me? Are you stalking me or something?" She rose from her seat and began gathering her things.
"Yeah I was following you." Quil said snatching a book from her grasp and forcing her to look towards him as he reached into his bag and threw her purse on the table. "I found this outside the store and I though it was yours. I was just trying to return it."
"Oh!" Claire blushed and slipped back into her seat. She gingerly took her purse from the table and opened it.
"I didn't take anything!" Quil exclaimed. "I just checked your licence… And by the way this," He said gesturing around them "was pure coincidence. If I'd known for sure it was you I would've never turned up, you vicious harpy!"
"Hey! Could you keep the noise down? Some of us are trying to study here." A girl hissed from behind them.
"It didn't hurt that bad!" Claire frowned.
"Oh yeah? And when was the last time someone kicked you in the jewels?" He cocked an eyebrow, as she slunk down into her chair and mumbled to herself.
"You're welcome by the way." Quil stood from his seat and turned away from the table.
"I'm sorry!" A voice called from behind him. "It's just, a friend of mine was mugged the other week and I've kinda been on high alert ever since."
Quil sighed and turned back to face her. "I guess maybe I shouldn't have run at you like that." He shrugged and she blushed again and this time Quil took the time to study her. Her long face and high cheek bones, her wide brown eyes and her perfectly bowed lips. The tiny picture on her licence did her no justice.
"Come on I'll make it up to you." He nodded towards the door. "We can talk about this math somewhere else…"
"Please!" The girl behind him whined and he shot her a poisonous look.
"And I'll buy you a coffee, or a cake…" He bent his knees to look at her eyes. "I'll by you some mace, because even that shit is better than getting kneed in the nads and I wouldn't wish that on anyone!"
Claire giggled and shook her head. "I really am sorry!"
"Come on, I'll trade you. Mace for an ice pack." He grinned waiting for her to pick up her bag and putting his arm around her and leading towards the exit. "I'm Quil Ateara by the way."