Thirteen - such a memorable number. My thirteenth birthday was when it all began for me. It was on that exact day that I realized I had more than friendly feelings towards my best friend, Quil Ateara. The overwhelming sense of growth one feels when they turn thirteen – the beginning of teenage years – sent my mind into overdrive. I began thinking, from that day forward, thoughts that no young teenager should be thinking of yet. These thoughts were a bit too futuristic for any young person to consider too quickly, in all actuality. I promised my self that I would do everything in my power to have Quil see me in a different light – make him realize that he should be with me. I vowed that I would have him, and even if, at the end of the day he didn't feel the same, I could still say that I tried. Thoughts of rejection did not deter me – I, Claire Young, was set in my ways.
"Claire, you are quite strange, you know that, right?"
I turned my green eyes towards my best friend of six years, Aaliyah, and stared at her.
"What do you mean?"
"I've known you for six years, and not once have I seen you do something that is of normal teenager standard. For heaven's sake – you haven't even had a boyfriend and you're seventeen!"
"That's strange how?" I asked her with a hint of slight annoyance. So, I might not have a noticeable interest in boys and I may not be the typical partygoer, but how does that make me strange? Perhaps I'm just mature for my age.
"I'm just saying – you never act like a normal teenager. I'm worried that your brain isn't functioning properly."
I snorted. "My brain works just fine, thank you. I'm just working towards a goal."
Aaliyah rolled her eyes. Oh yes, she knew what that goal was; she was the only one who knew about that goal.
"I still find it strange that he hangs around you, Claire. The guy is what, twenty-five? He's so old. What's even stranger is the fact that he's always been around you, from little girl age to now. Any normal person would be screaming pedophile, even though Quil has never given me a reason to believe that he is one. I just think you should give some other guy a chance, ya' know?"
"Aaliyah, you know as well as I do that I'm not going to back down. I don't think it's even possible for me to be attracted to anyone else – that's how set I am in my ways. And, as far as I'm concerned, it's a good thing, in a way. At least I've been saved from multiple heartbreaks and possible embarrassing, or dangerous, situations."
She sighed, a clear sign that she was done trying to argue. We made our way out of the school doors and into the parking lot. The two of us let out a giggle of excitement – summer vacation was officially here.
I spotted the familiar, black Toyota Tundra sitting in the parking lot, with an ever-patient Quil leaning against the hood. I noticed, with extreme jealousy, might I add, that Quil was attracting a lot of attention, yet again. You would think that having to deal with hormone driven teenage girls staring at my Quil would fade into habit, but no – it got me every time. Somehow, though, Quil never noticed the scowl that would settle onto my face, not that it stayed there long.
As if on cue, his eyes met mine and he smiled at me. God, that smile is beautiful. I smiled at him in return.
"Aaliyah, I'll call you later, okay?"
"Sure, sure." She eyed Quil, then smirked at me.
I rolled my eyes and continued to approach Quil.
"Hey."
"Hey, Claire-bear. How was your last day of school?" He took my bag, throwing it in the back seat as I climbed into the passenger seat. I waited until he was sitting in the car.
"Alright, I guess. You know I don't work myself up over school anymore. I just go and get it over with. I'm glad it's finally summer, though." Of course I'm glad – more time to spend with you.
He chuckled lightly and his face went blank again. Something seemed off with him.
"Quil, you okay?"
"Hmm. Uhm, yeah, I'm alright. Just thinking, is all." He gave me a small smile and returned his focus on the road. The rest of the ride was spent in silence.
We pulled up in front of my house, where Quil sat in the truck. I turned to him expectantly.
"Aren't you coming in?"
"Not today Claire-bear. I have a few things I need to take care of, okay? I'll come by tomorrow, I promise." He let out a small sigh. There was definitely something wrong with him; I don't remember there ever being a last day of school without Quil.
"Okay. See you later, Quil." I gave him a tiny smile, obviously disappointed, grabbed my bag and headed towards my front door. I turned around to watch him drive off, but he was already out of my driveway.
I spent the next couple of hours cleaning my room, and putting away my school stuff. It was a normal end-of-school habit for me; I cleaned out everything to prepare for summer. After I was satisfied with what I got done, I ate dinner, showered and returned to my room. I laid on my bed for a while, thinking of what could be bothering Quil. I knew I would probably work myself into a panicked state if I thought about it any longer, so I opted for calling Aaliyah instead.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Aaliyah, what's up?"
"Oh, nothing really. I just finished cleaning up my room. I think I hang around you way too much – your weird habits are starting to rub off on me."
I laughed. "That's not necessarily a bad thing, Li. So, what are we going to do this summer? Maybe we should plan this out day-by-day – more spontaneity."
"That's a good idea. Hey, how about we drive down to Seattle tomorrow? I'm in the mood for some shopping, plus I heard a couple of stores are having major sales on summer clothes. New bikini, hello?"
"Sounds great. I'll call Quil and tell him not to come over." My voice saddened a bit at the mention of his name, and as always, ever-attentive Aaliyah caught on.
"Did something happen between you and Quil?"
"Well, no not really. But, there's something off with him, I'm sure of it. You know how he always spends the evening at my house when it's the last day of school?"
"Yeah, he didn't this time?"
"Right."
"Come on Claire, that doesn't mean something's wrong with him."
"That's not the only thing. All during the ride home, he didn't speak, except for asking me how my day was when I first got in the truck. Furthermore, his expression looked off too – it wasn't normal."
"Well, I'm sure whatever it is isn't serious. You work yourself up over him too much. Good thing we're going out of town tomorrow – some Seattle air might do you good. Anyway, I'll be at your house for eight, okay?"
"Yep. Night, Li."
"Night Claire."
I laid awake a couple minutes longer. I might overreact when it comes to Quil sometimes, but I couldn't help it – it was my nature. Quil has always been there for me, and I wanted to make sure that I gave him everything he needed.
I reached out for my phone from on the nightstand.
"I'm going with Aaliyah to Seattle tomorrow. Make plans for some other time, okay?" I texted the words quickly and sent it to Quil. I really loved my BlackBerry – it made life so much easier.
A few minutes later I received a text back from Quil. "Okay."
That bugged me a bit too. There was definitely something wrong. I tried not to dwell on it too much, though. I needed as much rest as I could get because tomorrow was bound to be tiring.