Hey, I finally decided to come back to this story after a long time! I love Claire and Quil together, and I wanted to start this again (:. Obviously, I don't own Twilight. Enjoy and please review!

2:49 A.M.

That's what the clock read when I jolted up from dozing off on the sofa, my toes brushing against my sister's, who was sleeping peacefully on the opposite end of the couch. The windows in our now-empty apartment had been left open, and in rolled a warm and familiar California breeze, smelling fresh with salt. Just outside, the waves slapped gently against the Santa Monica shore and rolled out again.

I carefully peeled myself away from the couch without waking Julie, even though that was an impossible feat, and stared at the barren apartment around me. Everything was boxed up and stacked on top of each other, waiting for the move that we'd make later today. Just a week ago it had been full of wall decorations and scented candles galore.

Through the thin walls, I could hear our middle-aged neighbor shuffling around, his television droning on softly with some violent video game.

Tonight would be our last night in California.

I couldn't say I'd miss it.

"Julie," I whispered, and shook my baby sister's shoulder. Once this girl was out, it was near impossible to wake her up. She could sleep through anything. "C'mon, let's go to bed," I cooed at her, pushing a few pieces of her curly hair away from her face. She opened her eyes, giving me a sleepy, not-all-together-there kind of look, and just nodded.

I picked up the empty bowls of ice cream on the coffee table and closed my eyes for a moment. They floated out of my fingers and towards the kitchen sink, where they landed with a dull clunk. As I helped Julie up from the sofa, I made the faucet spout some water to rinse the bowls off. I pushed Julie towards the narrow hallway, where she stumbled into our bedroom and disappeared inside.

Before I went to follow her, I made my cellphone lift from it's place on the kitchen counter and land softly in my palm. I quickly dialed his number and anxiously waited to hear his voice on the other line. After a few rings, I got his voicemail. Normally he was up in the early hours like this.

"Hey, Quil. It's Claire. I was just calling to say it's almost three in the morning..." my voice got quieter and I plopped down on the arm of the couch, "And we're leaving tomorrow right after breakfast. Julie and me and have been up all night, watching one of her scary movies. I'm super tired, so I'm gonna head to bed. I'll see you soon. Love you. Bye."

I hung up and set my phone down, letting out a sigh.

Our orange tabby cat, Fatty, rubbed against my ankles.

I padded from the living room to the hallway, Fatty following not far behind, and stopped at my mom's bedroom door. I cracked it open and peeked inside to see her sprawled in her bed, arms and legs going every direction. She was supposed to have stayed up to have a soy ice cream party with me and Julie. But she was so stressed with work and life in general, she collapsed on her bed and passed out around nine. She looked so much younger when she slept. I smiled and closed the door again.

I stepped into my room, where Julie was already curled in bed, the covers pulled over her head. The room was strangely empty. Normally there was a thick layer of clothing spewed across the wooden floors, but everything was boxed and sitting in the corners. The mosaic of pictures and cut-outs from magazines that we had taped to our walls were long gone. The room was bare and white.

I climbed in my bed and turned off the light beside it, settling down in the mattress. Just as my thoughts were beginning to drift away, I felt someone get in beside me.

"Sleep over and Claire's," Julie muttered, snuggling in next to me. She pressed her cheek against my shoulder, "It's too empty in here,"

She felt the same.

I curled up and pulled the covers over our heads. We both liked to sleep this way. It felt safe and secure, somehow, underneath the covers. Like nothing could touch you when you were wrapped in its warmth.

I thought of Quil.

"Night, Jules,"

"Night, sissy,"

Three thirty in the morning. The sky was dark and the stars shone like millions of crystals in the sky. There was a cold wind against my back, despite the fact that it was nearing the end of June.

It had been a long night of patrol, and I was exhausted. We had chaseda few bloodsuckers all the way to Port Angeles. By the time we'd gotten back to the La Push limits, my shift was over. Jacob and I phased back, and I pulled the tattered jeans that I'd tied to my leg over my bare body.

Jake had just spent a month in the foggiest places of Europe with the Cullens. They wanted their hybrid girl to see the world, and of course he went with her. He spent every goddamn moment he could with Nessie, and I couldn't blame him. He always smelled like crap when he came back, though. I had gotten used to it over the years, now that we were allies with them.

The Cullen's had come down to their old house in Forks, after spending a few years in Alaska. They were just visiting the area again, staying for the summer and leaving again in the fall.

We walked out of the woods together in silence. My house was only a little ways away from this point. Jake was crashing on my couch for sure, I could tell he was just as exhausted as I was. He'd probably eat half my fridge and leave in the morning to go see the Cullen's.

Despite our silence, I knew what was on Jacob's mind. I had heard him thinking about it during out patrol, no matter how hard he tried to keep his thoughts away from me. But I knew he couldn't stop thinking about how his relationship with his imprint was changing, from big brother to love interest. He knew it was a touchy subject, and I was grateful that he kept quiet. Embry had imprinted not too long ago, and if I had to hear anything more about love, I might spontaneously combust.

My apartment was just down the street from the auto garage that me and Paul worked at. It was a small complex where the neighbors weren't nosy, no one bothered to even ask our names during the five years we had been living there. It was alright, a two bedroom since I roomed with Paul. But nearly half the pack crashed there on a daily basis. When we walked through the door, I wasn't surprised to see Seth curled up next to the Xbox, sound asleep.

I made a beeline to the fridge and pulled out two cans of beer, tossing one to Jake. The alcohol didn't do anything to us. Our bodies just burned it off. I popped open the can and took a long drink.

I picked off my phone and saw I had a voicemail from Claire. I eagerly pressed the phone to my ear and listen to her soft voice telling me they'd be here, in La Push, tomorrow. Just that soothed my nerves. She was coming home. My world was coming home to me. There was so much that I had wanted to tell her that I hadn't gotten to since she'd left for California, with that douchebag that was her mom's boyfriend. She didn't know about the whole werewolf thing. I had wanted to tell her when she was thirteen and could understand, but it didn't seem right to say it over the phone or in a letter.

I just wanted her to be safe. When she was just a kid, I'd patrol the wood around her house. I couldn't do that when she was two states away. The passed five years had been the hardest years of my life. In the first year, I barely had any control of phasing anymore. I would explode, break things. I was one pissy bastard. But was was I supposed to act when the one thing that kept me going, the thing I was so connected to, my purpose, was gone?

The thoughts swirled around in my head endlessly, and I was finally broken from my trance by Jacob. I set my phone down.

"You okay, man?" he asked, getting up from the stool at the breakfast bar and walking towards the couch, where he was most likely gonna camp out for a few hours.

"Yeah," I said, but I wasn't so sure, myself. I shrugged it off and went to the fridge for another beer.

Once Jake's face hit the pillow, he was out like a light. The house was quiet and I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I wasn't tired anymore.

I tried to stop thinking about her, but I was shit out of luck with that one. I had been without her for so long, and now she was coming back to me, to her family here in La Push. I had always wondered what it would be like when she came back. We had sent letters back and forth since she'd left, I had been the one she called as she went through her rocky teenage years, when she got her first kiss, when she started high school. I was there for her, even though we were miles away. Where would our relationship stand now?

I started to shake, and crushed the empty beer can in my hand. She was so close, and my emotions were stronger than ever. It was overwhelming, almost suffocating.

I walked out of my apartment and towards the trees that lay behind the building. I felt my muscles rippling, beads of sweat forming on my body. I need to run, to clear my head.

Then, I burst, shreds of denim flying everywhere, and chocolate brown fur now coating my body. My hands and feet turned into massive paws that carried me through the trees, my face stretched into a long snout. I snarled, and trashed through the forest.

Her face was still swirling in my mind, the face of the little girl I was so deeply connected to.

My Claire.