Author's Note: Thank you for my amazing reviewers! All THREE of them. Seriously, people, I should have at least half as many reviewers as I do hits. It WILL get better! Oh yes, and when I write relatively long stories, I like to have fun with the characters. Therefore, Claire will have frequent mental freakouts. Sorry if it gets annoying.
Having a somewhat organized breakfast was a feat in itself. Two picnic tables had been shoved together so all thirteen of us could fit. Absolutely all of our kitchen appliances were working full blast and I got dizzy just watching Aunt Emily and Leah flit back and forth between the tables and stove. There were at least seven platters piled high with pancakes, three pitchers of orange juice, two industrial-sized waffle makers, and countless plates of eggs. All were being emptied and refilled faster than I could imagine. Paul and Jared were fighting over the last plate of bacon. Jacob threw an apple to Embry, almost hitting Seth in the process. Collin yelled something to Uncle Sam before punching Brady in order to steal a few waffles and the syrup.
"Muffin?" Quil politely offered me a huge chocolate chip covered lump before shoving the whole thing into his mouth.
"Uh... Quil?" I asked. His tongue started swelling and his lips looked like they had gotten injected with Botox. "Are you feeling all right?"
"Oh man…..I forgot. Chocolate…" Quil turned sort of green and he dashed off to the bathroom.
I went over to help my aunt, but Leah shoved me into an empty space at the table.
"Oh no you don't. It's your birthday, Claire. We'll manage." I helped myself to a few steaming pancakes and tried not to spill my orange juice, which was hard considering all the pushing and shoving going on around me. A very warm, now natural-colored Quil slid next to me.
"Feeling better?" He shot a scowl over my head to Jacob, who was cracking up.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just remind me not to eat a gigantic chocolate muffin again."
"Where's everyone else?" I asked him. Normally when one of Quil's friends was here, their whole family came with them. It was a bizarre sight not to have little kids running around screaming.
"They had a sleepover at Kim and Jared's house. We figured that if everybody was here, the house would probably explode." He was right. It was chaotic enough without twenty extra bodies here. I dodged a flying piece of fruit and followed Quil outside.
"Air!" He gasped dramatically.
"Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad in there," But I had to agree, it was much cooler than in the house. "So do I get my birthday present yet?"
Quil smiled to himself.
"Nope, you have to wait until the bonfire."
"Will you give me a hint?" He smirked and ruffled my hair.
"Somebody's impatient."
"I have a right to be impatient. I'm a teenager."
"Should I be aware of sudden mood swings and constant whining?"
"Oh, shut it."
I tried to punch him, but ended up hurting myself instead. He just laughed, again, and gave me a hug. I tried not to freak out about it. It was simply a hug a brother would give his little sister. A hug I would give one of the kids. It was definitely not a hug Seth would give Katy. As I tried to convince myself to ignore the sparks running through my body and my irregular heartbeat, he broke away.
"We should probably go inside now; it looks like it's going to rain."
Personally, I would brave much more than just a few drops of water if that meant Quil could be with me, but I didn't say anything.
Everyone eventually cleared out to get ready for the bonfire tonight. I insisted on helping with the dishes, which, even with me, Katy, and Uncle Sam helping my aunt, took the easily two hours. We were in dire need of a functioning dishwasher, but Aunt Emily didn't mind the work, for whatever strange reason of hers. A few minutes before we left for the beach, Aunt Emily called me into her room.
"I have something for you, Claire."
"Aw, Aunt Emily, you really didn't have to."
In all honesty, the only gift I was expecting was from Quil, and that present wasn't going to be material. My aunt opened her closet and attempted to reach for something on the top shelf, but her huge belly restrained her.
"Let me get it."
I pulled down a small purple box and she nodded. Inside was a small star-shaped pendant covered in diamonds.
"It's so pretty! Thanks Aunt Em!"
She turned me around and fastened the clasp around my neck. I admired the sparkles in the mirror and turned around to hug my aunt.
"I'm glad you like it Claire," She whispered in my hair. "It was your mother's."
Tears welled up in my eyes and threatened to spill over. Mom. I missed her so much.
Four years ago, my mom, dad, sister, and I were driving home from a Christmas party. Some guy was drunk driving and hit us from the right side, instantly killing Dad and Kristie. The car skidded on black ice before rolling headfirst into a tree. Mom was in the front of the car and hit it the hardest. She held on for as long as she could, but she died in the hospital on New Year's Eve. Aunt Emily was the only relative that lived close to us, so she came and sorted out the financial stuff. When Mom died, my godmother became my legal guardian and I've lived in La Push ever since.
"Thank you Aunt Emily. A lot."
"She wanted you to have it."
I smiled and tried to think of happier times with my family. My aunt patted my shoulder.
"Try to have fun tonight. Quil will be there."
I lightly pushed her as I felt my cheeks redden. Only Aunt Emily and Katy knew that I liked Quil as more than a friend. But he was just so nice! Besides, I'd known him just about my whole life. I can't remember a visit to La Push that hadn't included Quil babysitting me or, when I got older, sitting at the kids table just so I wouldn't have to suffer the screaming children all by myself. I sighed and followed my aunt out the door.
As soon as the food was loaded into the truck and Uncle Sam was found, the three of us headed down to First Beach for my birthday bonfire. I don't think I ever saw as many people eating at once as I did at that party. Aunt Em had reclaimed the kids from Kim and my uncle rounded up the guys to help unload the truck. Cooler after cooler began to pile up around us, and we almost lost one of the little kids in maze of food. I don't know where these people got the money to buy out half the grocery store daily.
When it came time to bring out the food, faces literally popped up out of nowhere. Every person that had eaten breakfast at our house left to go find their significant other. Katy skipped over to me to wish me a happy birthday again and was followed by various husbands, wives, and girlfriends. After they made their rounds, I was attacked by eight screaming children.
"Happy Birfday Claiw!"
"Does this mean you and Quil won't sit at the kids' table anymore?"
"Are you still going to babysit us?"
"You have to babysit us! You're our favorite babysitter!"
I took a cooing baby from Melanie, who was ten and the oldest of the kids. I couldn't help but laugh when she said this because all she did when I came over was complain about how she was too old to have a babysitter.
"Chill, you guys. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
They were herded back to their parents while the last of the group caught up. Embry was the last person to join us. Poor guy. He tried so hard not to show how left out he felt; he was the only one there besides Quil that didn't have a girlfriend. I knew exactly how he felt. Maybe I could get him to talk to my uncle...
Quil snuck up behind me and poked me in the back. I screamed and almost fell into him.
"Woah there. Didn't think I'd scare you that bad."
Was it my imagination, or did he hold onto me for just a bit longer then necessary? Did his arms really need to be that tight against me? Not that I minded, of course. It was just cruel to play games like that with me. He had to be at least twenty five. And he knew how desperate I was to have a boyfriend. For an instant, a picture of us flashed through my mind. We looked so...happy together. Like Emily and Sam; an effortless love. I twisted in his arms and tried to look expectant.
"Can I have my birthday present now?"
He laughed nervously and his eyes shifted. I was pretty sure I heard his heart stop and then sputter erratically; as mine often did on the roller coasters I was scared to death of. Quil, scared? I didn't think that was possible. He locked eyes with someone behind me and nodded once.
"Later, when the bonfire's over," Quil unwrapped his arms and pushed me towards my family. "Claire," He warned. "I don't know what you think I'm going to tell you, but I doubt it's going to be what you expect." My face must have dropped visibly, because he immediately came back to me and hugged me somewhat awkwardly. "No, Claire... I..."
I didn't get it. Things between us had never been so awkward. Quil and I had always been so close; more like siblings than best friends. I just didn't understand how things had suddenly shifted.
To my dismay, tears started to well up behind my eyelids. He had just said that what he would tell me later wouldn't be what I thought it was. That meant...that he really didn't...like me...
My emotions ran totally out of whack. So what, maybe I was PMSing a little bit. I couldn't stand the thought that Quil didn't like me. Something in my head clicked. This was why he'd been so strange these last few weeks. Why he gave me a funny look whenever I saw him. Why he refused to drive me to Port Angeles so he could help me pick out a new swimsuit. He didn't like me. He thought I was getting the wrong idea, which I most definitely was, so he was going to set me straight. I couldn't bear it. Would we still be friends? Quil noticed my mental freak out and tried to comfort me.
"Come on, Claire," he whispered and pulled me even closer than before. "Claire, don't be like that. Please? Tell me what's wrong. Was it something I said? I'm so sorry Claire I didn't mean it. What did I say?"
I looked at him through the tears that were threatening to burst out of my eye sockets. "You...d-don't...like me." I sniffed.
He spent almost a full minute thinking about that, and then bust out laughing, which made me start crying. He thought I was funny. He thought I was just a dumb kid; an overly-dramatic, hormonally-driven teenage girl. He was too good, too mature for me.
"Aw, please don't cry! You'll get it later. I'm sorry Claire, I didn't know you thought that I... I didn't mean it... I mean, I do... But... I'm not supposed to... Um... I..."
He looked around desperately for help, rambling on about how he didn't mean it that way. I was confused out of my mind. He did like me? I think he did, but he said he didn't mean it. No, he said he meant it but he wasn't supposed to. I was still trying to straighten out this mess when Katy came up behind me.
"Quil, maybe I should—"
"No! I'll do it. Just... Later. After. Claire, come on. They're lighting the fire now, we have to go."
He wiped a leftover tear off my face and gave me that funny look again. My mind was seriously so muddled, I couldn't even move. He took my hand and literally dragged me to where my thirty closest friends and family members were waiting to bombard me with birthday songs and food.
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