Author's Note: Chapter 2 is here! Sorry for the weird formatting. It has now been fixed. I think I'm going to keep this first story pretty short. Again, reviews are appreciated. :)

QPOV

Claire had grown into a beautiful young woman. With deep, brown eyes; long, jet-black hair; and a petite hourglass figure, it was easy to see why she turned so many heads. In addition to her outward beauty, Claire was sharp, level-headed, and talented in all forms of art. She painted, drew, played guitar and piano, acted, and sang. I was proud at how well-rounded she had become.

Her popularity with the boys made me uneasy though. I wondered how long it would be before one of them would catch her eye. At the same time, I too had begun to fall for her. It was hard not to; after all, she was my imprint. I frowned, thinking about this. Claire still didn't know about the imprint, and she was now old enough to understand. At some point, I had to tell her, but I didn't know when the right time was. How would she take it? Would she think it was creepy? Would she reject me? Would she be mad I hadn't told her before?

"Quil," a voice broke through my thoughts. "Quil? Are you okay?" I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. Claire stared at me with a worried look on her face.

"Yeah, sorry," I replied. "I'm just tired." She smiled sympathetically.

"Me too. You ready to go?" I nodded.

After exchanging hugs and goodbyes, Claire and I walked toward her house a few streets over. Claire's mother, Faith, had moved down to La Push with Claire and her older sister, Liz, after her husband died in a car crash. The accident happened only a few months before I met Claire.

Claire and I spent a lot of time together, and Faith often let me babysit the girls. Faith accepted the imprinted without much conflict so long as I agreed not to tell Claire until she was of age. So I kept my promise, and finally, Claire was an adult. Now, my problem was finding a way to tell her.

Claire leaned against my bicep as we made our way to her house, my body heat keeping her warm in the cool night air.

"Quil," she asked.

"Hmmm?"

"If I go away to college, will you come visit me?" The thought of Claire leaving for college was excruciatingly painful, but I wanted her to get a good education and be happy.

"Of course, Claire-bear," I replied, using the nickname I'd given her.

"I don't know if I'm ready to leave La Push yet," she murmured. I gave her a small smile.

"You don't have to decide today," I reminded her. "And if you're not ready when the time comes, that's okay too."

"Thanks, Quil," she yawned. "What would I do without you?"

CPOV

"I'm telling you, Claire, he likes you," Natalie pointed out, taking another bite from her sandwich.

"But I just want to be friends," I groaned. "Why does it always have to be the nice ones?"

Natalie laughed. "Girl, most people your age wish for your problems."

"But I'm not most people, Nat. I don't do drama," I emphasized, pointing my fork in her direction. "I just want to be friends with Damon."

"No, you don't," she agreed, "And I know you do. Speaking of drama and friends, what is going on with you and Quil?"

I sighed, exasperated. "It's complicated. I like him, Nat. Like, really like him, but he's one of my best friends. I don't know what to do. If I don't tell him, I might explode, but at the same time, if I do and he doesn't reciprocate, I might lose him as a friend." She hugged me and rubbed my back.

"It'll all turn out," she reassured me. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it will." I nodded.

"Hey, Claire!" a voice called after me. "Wait up!" I turned to find Damon running towards me.

"Hey," I answered, "what's up?" He stopped and was breathing hard.

"I was wondering…if maybe…you'd like to go…for coffee with me…tomorrow?" he asked. He looked hopeful, and it hurt me.

I took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry, Damon, but I already have plans tomorrow." His face fell.

"Oh." He sounded hurt. "I understand. It's okay."

"Maybe some other time?" I offered, trying to repair the situation. "Tomorrow just isn't a good day."

"Yeah." He nodded, forcing a smile. "Okay, sounds good."

"Thanks for understanding," I emphasized. "I'll-"

"Claire!" Quil waved at me, standing next to his truck.

"I have to go," I said apologetically. "See you later!" I hurried over to meet Quil, leaning into his embrace. Breathing in his woodsy scent, I suddenly felt much calmer.

"Hey, how are you?" Quil smiled and took my bag, tossing it in the backseat.

"Pretty good," he answered, opening my door for me, as usual. Climbing into the driver's seat, the engine roared to life. "Who was that guy that you were talking to?"

"A friend," I replied casually, gaging his reaction. "He wanted to know if I could hang out tomorrow."

"Just you and him or other people too?" he asked, glancing at me as he watched the road.

"I told him I couldn't," I continued. "I already made plans with you." Quil gave me an impish grin, making me feel better about the decision I'd made.

QPOV

As Claire walked out of the building, I saw a guy run after her. He was medium height with light brown hair. I'd never seen him before. He stopped her, calling her name, and she turned to talk to him.

At this point, I felt my wolf begin to get agitated, wanting to intervene and protect her. She looked uneasy as she conversed with him, and suddenly, I saw his face fall. He just got turned down. My wolf huffed with irritation. I had to do something. I called out her name.

For the rest of the day, I was steaming with anger that that guy had asked Claire out. Who did he think he was? I paced the living room, ruminating.

"Quil, seriously," Embry asserted, "go for a run. You'll feel better. But for God's sake, you're driving me nuts!" I huffed indignantly and slammed the back door.

Phasing into the woods, I just started off, unsure of where I was going. I snapped into the pack mind, finding Jake and Leah.

"Quil, what're you doing? Is something wrong? You're not supposed to be on patrols," Jake communicated. I immediately thought of the situation with Claire, unwillingly revealing my conflict. I felt Leah roll her eyes.

"So a guy asks her out and you go berserk?" she replied dryly.

I growled. "She's my imprint, Leah," I snapped back. "How the hell do you think I'm going to react?"

"Both of you, enough!" Jake interjected. "Quil, you need to calm down. It's not like she said 'yes'. Leah, stop aggravating him." Leah snorted.

"I'm leaving," she announced. "My shift is over. I'll leave you boys to your drama." I waited for a second until she phased out, leaving Jake and I alone.

"Did this ever happen to you?" I asked him. "With Nessie?"

"Well, Nessie was a little bit different because she grew so quickly. She couldn't really go to school, but there were a few times when we were out that guys hit on her. I almost broke a few noses," he admitted.

"What do I do, Jake?" He ran through a few possible solutions. I caught a glimpse of Claire in his truck, but he quickly changed thoughts. Weird.

"You know," he threw out there, "you could just tell her you imprinted. I mean, she is eighteen now, so you're not breaking the 'Mom Rules'. And I know you're just being dense because the Quil Ateara I know can tell when a girl likes him." I mulled this over.

"It's just…I don't want to mess this up," I confided. "When I was younger, I didn't care if my relationships lasted a long time or not. I was just having fun. But, this isn't like that. This is Claire. And she means the world to me."

"Quil," Jake answered, "just think about it, okay?"