When Claire woke up that morning, her first thought was that she should just go back to bed. It was the first day of her Fall reading week, and she'd just arrived in La Push the previous day, after a two month absence. She'd gotten in pretty late the night before, and she hadn't yet had time to greet anybody other than her aunt Emily and uncle Sam. She knew she had to get up. It was already 9:30, and she really couldn't afford to screw up her sleep cycle. Besides, she had to get out there and say hi to everyone. Nevertheless, she pulled the blanket up over her head, burrowing for warmth. Unfortunately, the action left her feet exposed to the chilly air.
Ugh, she thought. Why'd it have to be so freaking cold? It's freaking October for crying out loud. Temperatures below 0 should be illegal.
She pushed the blankets back violently and swung her legs around. Somehow she'd managed to completely turn herself around in her sleep, with her head at the foot of Aunt Emily's guest bed. Claire felt goosebumps rise on her legs, and walked over to her suitcase, cursing the she'd last spoken to Aunt Emily on the phone, she'd told her that it was unusually warm down in La Push. She'd been attending Stanford for chemistry for two years now, and had been pleased to hear that she would be able to just bring clothes from her own closet instead of buying new cold-weather attire. Unfortunately, Claire had packed accordingly. No one had predicted the cold front that had suddenly swept in, and as Claire's plane had gotten closer and closer to Seattle, she'd felt her heart sink more and more at the sight of the heavy clouds that filled her view. She'd been painfully aware that her selection of light clothes would be inadequate.
Claire stooped over her suitcase and stared down the neatly packed t-shirts and shorts, feeling dumber with each passing minute. Why didn't I pack anything fleece? she berated herself. Sighing in defeat, Claire grabbed the first clothes within reach, a lululemon tank top and loose drawstring shorts. She decided that she'd just suck it up and ask Aunt Emily to borrow some more appropriate clothes. Her aunt's fashion taste was surprisingly current, anyway. At least she wouldn't be doomed to frumpy track suits or- gag me- turtlenecks.
She bent over to stick her hair up in a messy ponytail, and from that angle she spied a collection of winter gloves, scarves, and hats that Emily had left out for her. On the top of the pile was a pair of earmuff headphones she'd purchased the previous winter, and left behind since she'd have no use for them in California.
Score! she grabbed them and pulled them over her head. She was sure she looked more than a little ridiculous, but hey, it's better than freezing. She sighed and opened the bedroom door.
Claire made her way down the hall into the living room, where it looked like the entire male population of La Push was waiting for her. They all looked up as she came in, but nobody jumped up to hug her or do something else embarrassing. Claire hated being the centre of attention, and the pack knew better than to make a fuss. Colin tried to exude coolness by giving her a 'sup' nod, and Brady gave her a small wave and a 'hey'. The other guys all gave her small greetings, but she wasn't paying any attention. She was staring over at Quil, a rare genuine smile on her face.
"Hey, Claire." Quil's face broke into a big smile, and Claire felt like there were a bunch of butterflies in her stomach. Ok, apparently I've become totally pathetic. she thought. Good to know.
Things between Quil and Claire had never surpassed close friendship. They'd been best friends for as long as she could remember, and Claire's fear of losing their close connection had led her to ignore her feelings. She'd chalked it up to a simple crush, and desperately insisted that there was nothing more to it. She'd become quite skilled at hiding her true feelings from everyone, and as a result nobody suspected the true depth of her feelings for Quil. Quil had been madly in love with Claire for years, but kept this secret from Claire out of consideration for her feelings. She was completely unaware that he had imprinted on her. It was a forbidden subject amongst the pack, who did their best to avoid thinking about it to spare Quil's feelings. In their minds, his was a tragic unrequited love that Claire did not return. They all felt it was unjust, but couldn't hold it against Claire- it wasn't her fault that she (supposedly) didn't have any romantic feelings for Quil. And if Quil himself didn't harbour any resentment towards her (on the contrary, he lived for her happiness, and was perfectly content filling whatever role she desired him in, even if it meant denying his love for her), who were they to feel otherwise?
Claire felt an unidentifiable tension in the room, and decided that standing in the doorway awkwardly wasn't helping at all. Swallowing her uneasiness, she walked up to the couch, stopped just in front of where Quil was sitting, and tilted her head to the side like she was making up her mind about something. She then stepped slightly to the side, turned around, and allowed herself to collapse into the seat, wedged between Quil and Embry.
"Hey!" Embry exclaimed, having barely escaped spilling his mango juice (which, by the way, Claire happened to think was an extremely pretentious beverage choice. She was quite vocal in this opinion. Embry still drank the freaking stuff anyway.)
She looked up at him and raised her eyebrow. After years of dealing with her sass, Embry knew it was better to nip any possible arguments in the bud. With a bemused expression, he picked himself up, shrugged at Quil, and walked away, his precious mango juice in hand. Claire eyed the vacant spot on the couch, briefly considered moving over to put some distance between herself and Quil, and decided against it. She pulled her bare legs up onto the seat, and tucked her feet under a throw pillow for warmth.
Quil looked over at her and noticed the fluffy pink earmuffs she was wearing.
"Claire?" He asked. "Why are you wearing earmuffs indoors?"
"They aren't earmuffs," she explained. "They're earmuff headphones."
"Ok, back to my original question... why?"
She looked up at him and it was clear she had a snarky response in mind. Claire had been using sassy comebacks to hide her feelings for years. And luckily for her (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), it always worked.
"Because, Quil. Unlike SOME PEOPLE, I am very sensitive to the cold." She sniffed in faux haughtiness and shifted a bit in her seat. A slight shiver emphasized her point, and she seemed to shrink in on herself slightly, reaching over Quil to grab the plushy turquoise blanket draped over the arm of the couch.
Embry snorted and shook his head, but Colin and Brady wore twin expressions of confusion. Brady opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, disbelief clear in his eyes, and finally decided to vocalize his thoughts. "... You're wearing shorts," he drew each word out slowly.
Claire whipped her head around and looked at him with a scathing expression. "You do not want to go down this road with me, man. Quit while you're ahead" she deadpanned.
Brady looked like he was about to say something further, so she cut him off, raised her hand, and said in a haughty tone, "no. Just no."
Claire smirked and pumped her right fist in the air victoriously. "VIVA LA RESISTANCE! PANTS ARE FOR LOSERS!"
"Besides," she looked up at Quil fondly. "I kind of have my own personal space heater right here."
Quil had never been the type to get easily embarrassed, but couldn't stop the heat from rising to his face in a faint blush. He turned away, coughed lightly, while Claire had a minor mental freakout.
WHAT DID I JUST SAY? WHY DID I SAY THAT? WAY TO MAKE IT WEIRD! Oh my god. That's just sad. Seriously dude? Why you gotta be like that. Be cool, yo!
Fortunately, Quil changed the subject to Claire's studies, and she quickly forgot her embarrassment and chattered away animatedly.
All the while, from across the room Emily looked on knowingly. Her niece had everyone else fooled, but she knew how Claire really felt about Quil. And by the look of things, it was only a matter of time before the truth came out. Hopefully they would be able to resolve their feelings quickly. And hopefully, Emily thought, this cold front sticks around to aid with the process.