I just thought this would be a cute moment for Quil and Claire.
Claire's POV (She's 9 years old here)
Disclaimer: The genius is not mine.
I laced my fingers through the dark brown. Chocolate. It always reminded me of chocolate.
I squeezed my knees against the muscular body and laid my head against his neck and my fingers were laced into tight fists of chocolate fur.
Speed.
Quil was running fast; the trees flew by us in a whir. But I was relaxed. So relaxed and warm I could fall asleep. The wolf tensed and stretched beneath me as it was in constant motion.
I sighed. I rarely had days that I could spend time with my best friend alone. Although, he wasn't alone. When Quil was a wolf any other werewolf knew where he was and what he was doing. They could feel his happiness and his excitement just as well as I could.
Quil slowed and my stomach slowly caught up with me. Dang. I closed my eyes as the dizziness slowed; I squeezed tighter to Quil's body. His large head spun around and a whine escaped his chest. I lightened the intensity of my squeezing even though I knew I couldn't hurt him.
The wolf underneath me slowly settled to the ground. I graciously rolled off onto the cool grass. I felt a slight breeze as the wolf bound away. I knew where Quil was going so I wasn't worried about being in the woods alone. He was going to phase back.
Sure enough about two seconds later, give or take, I heard Quil's voice. I would have recognized it even if we weren't all alone in the woods.
The gangly sixteen year old boy ran up to me, wearing nothing but his cut off jeans.
"Are you ok, Claire?" he asked. Genuine concern. That's why I like him, there is nothing fake about my best friend.
I had a flash back to second grade when we were asked to draw a picture of our best friend. I live in New York, but my family comes down to La Push every summer. Quil was the first person that popped into my head so I drew him, in his human form of course. At first it surprised me that I picked Quil, but then a girl asked me why I drew an older boy so I told her it was because he never lied.
I smiled at the memory. At the time it made sense but now I didn't think so. True, Quil never lied to me, but that was a stupid reason for being best friends. But I still couldn't tell why he was my best buddy.
"Just a little dizzy," I told him smiling.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone so fast," Quil said, he made a face like he was going to be kicking himself for the next month and a half. I stuck my tongue out at him as he sat down next to me and he smiled again.
"I try to get dizzy on purpose sometimes," I told him truthfully. "It's cool how the world feels like it's spinning." I felt better so I sat up.
Quil chuckled. His eyes were as chocolately as his fur.
He sighed.
"What?" I asked.
"Sam told me that we have to get back soon before I phased out," he pouted.
"Drat."
"It's just a council meeting, I thought you liked them," he almost sounded hurt.
"I do! It's just….." I paused. "Is Aunt Emily going to be there?" I asked.
Quil put on a "thinking face" trying to remember the conversation that went on in his head a moment before.
"I think so, Sam sounded pretty excited in the back of his mind," Quil shrugged. I rolled my eyes.
"She and Sam are kind of annoying when they get all mushy," I whined. Quil chuckled.
"Well that's what happens when a werewolf imprints," Quil said shrugging. His face turned red.
"What's an imprint?" I asked eagerly. I loved learning knew things about werewolves.
"Well the first time a werewolf sees a certain someone after he phases for the first time he imprints on her… or him as it may be the case with Leah some day," Quil said, his face screwed up in concentration. "And it's not just any someone, it's someone special. Someone that is meant to be…. partners with him or her….. forever."
"So Sam imprinted on my aunt?" It was hard to grasp. I knew that they where married, but now it seemed like it was almost forced upon my aunt.
Quil noticed my expression.
"Yes, he did. Is their something wrong with that?" His voice was wary; he was afraid of my answer.
"Did the imprint force them together?" I asked cautiously. Quil sighed.
He scooted closer to me; sitting cross-legged he took my hands. "Your aunt wasn't forced in any way. When a wolf imprints on that special someone, it means those two people were meant to be together, in some way. It wouldn't matter to Sam if Emily loved or hated him… or just wanted friendship, his love and loyalty to her would never change. He may not have a choice but he wouldn't want to change it for the world anyway. He loves loving her."
I made a face. "I just seems to perfect," I said. "The one person that he is totally devoted to loves him back with no strings."
Quil laughed. "Well they were made for each other. And it's hard not to… appreciate the unwavering loyalty. But when it first happened it was far from perfect. You know Leah?"
I nodded. "Leah and Sam were together before Sam met Emily," he explained. I rolled my eyes again.
"The classic love triangle?"
"You're too young to even know what a love triangle is," Quil teased. I shrugged.
"I read."
Quil nodded and smiled. Then he looked at me. Just looked at me. It wasn't new. He almost always did that when ever we were together. When I was little I used to make faces at him when he did that. For old time sake I did it again. I stuck my tongue out and crossed my eyes.
Quil laughed.
"Quil?"
"Yeah?" he answered quickly.
"Has anyone else in the pack imprinted?" I asked.
"Who hasn't you mean." He paused. "I think the only ones who haven't imprinted yet are Jacob and the Clearwaters."
"And you?"
Quil's face turned a deep red and he looked away.
"No. I've imprinted," he whispered.
"On who?" My best friend was completely and utterly devoted to someone and he never told me who. Why was I just finding out about this now?
Quil looked at me again. Chocolate eyes filled with caution.
"You don't know?" he asked slowly.
"I've got no idea," I told him plainly.
"I wonder if I should tell you then," he muttered, looking away again.
"No. Please, Quil! Tell me! I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to," I begged.
He laughed, "Girl, almost everyone knows but you."
"Why haven't you told me then? I thought we were best friends," I said confused. Best friends don't keep secrets of this magnitude.
"We are best friends. We are even more than that, Claire. You are my imprint," he said almost too quickly.
I giggled. "How does that work?" I asked.
"What?"
"How does that work. I mean you are like sixteen and I'm nine," I informed him. But I was smiling. It was me and I felt special. That special someone. I figured when we were both older though seven years difference wouldn't be that much.
"That doesn't bother you that I've imprinted on you?" Quil asked cautiously.
"If anyone was going to imprint on me, It makes sense that my best friend woul-" I stopped short.
"What's wrong," Quil asked.
"Are you only my best friend because you imprinted on me?" I whispered so he wouldn't hear my voice shake. "If you imprinted on someone else, or you weren't even a wolf, we would have never been this close….." I trailed off.
"Claire," Quil took my hands in his and smiled. "Don't play the 'What If' game. It doesn't suit you. Many, many things would be different if I wasn't a wolf or I didn't imprint on you. So many things would be different that it wouldn't matter. But you and I were meant to be this close. You and I are the best friends any too people can be. And I'm glad that my werewolf status made me imprint on you, Claire. I told you, I love loving you. I've been doing that since you were two."
"You imprinted on me when I was two?" I asked astonished. He grinned sheepishly.
"That's when I first met you after I phased," he shrugged. "I've just made sure I was always there when you needed me."
I smiled. He had been always there for me. I leaned forward and climbed into his lap. He had always seemed like my big brother. He was my best friend and, I grinned to myself at this new knowledge, nobody else's. I would be his best friend too.
Quil's arms wrapped around me and embraced me as he rocked me back and forth like he did when I was little. I came to realize just how much he loved me in that simple embrace. He was going to be there for me for what ever I needed him for. A brother, a best friend and maybe when I got to be Aunt Emily's age…. eww…. never mind. There will be time for that later.
Quil was right though. It was easy to "appreciate" the unwavering loyalty. As easy as breathing. Quil was easy for me to love. He always had been.
Sorry if there were any loose ties. I just thought of this and the fluffiness was too much for me to resist. I had to write it!