Chapter 2

Again, this is my first fanfic, so thank you for reviews and critiques! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.


QPOV

We decided to head back to Claire's house and hang out there. Her sister, Grace, was out of state attending college, and her mother worked long hours, so we had the house to ourselves. I was glad that I could be there for her. The thought of Claire spending all this time in an empty house made me uneasy.

We chatted as Claire rummaged around the kitchen, pulling out bread and meat for sandwiches. She was always fussing over my appetite, worrying that I was hungry. It was true; I could never eat enough.

As she talked, I noticed some letters on the counter, soliciting her to come to their colleges. I felt a pain in my chest as I stared at them, not being able to bear the thought of her living far away from me.

"Quil? Did you hear me?" Her voice snapped me out of my daze. She was staring at me, a concerned expression etching her face. "Turkey or ham?"

"Oh, um, ham," I replied, "thanks." I did my best to smile. I knew that Claire took notice though and wasn't buying it. We were silent for a couple minutes as she returned to the fridge.

"Don't worry," she said suddenly, opening a bag of lunchmeat, "I'm not going." It took me a minute to realize what she was talking about. "To be honest…"

"—Look, Clairebear," I interrupted, "if you want to go far away to college, I will support your decision." It took every ounce of courage I had to say that. But, if that is what she wanted, I would let her have it. I just wanted her to be happy. "You're too smart not to go to college, and you need to do what's best for you. I'll be fine."

Actually, I wouldn't be fine, but I would find some way to bear through it. Maybe I would follow her and get an apartment nearby. That is, if she wouldn't mind. I would miss the pack but being there for her was more important.


CPOV

"Do you want turkey or ham?" I asked, my back turned to Quil as I headed for the fridge. No response. "Quil?" Turning, I then notice he was in a daze.

Quil was staring at the pile of college ads I'd received in the mail. Most of them were from out of state and offered me opportunities to win scholarships, but I wasn't interested.

"Quil, did you hear me?" I asked gently, not wanting to make him jump, "Turkey or ham?" Was he worried that I'd just leave him here alone? No. That was silly. Why would that worry him? I asked myself. We were best friends, but that was just it. We were just friends. It wasn't like we were dating…My heart sunk.

"Oh, um, ham. Thanks." He cleared his voice as he snapped back to reality. An awkward silence filled the room as I took out the lunchmeat. Finally, I had to say something. If I was wrong, I could just wave it off. At least, I hoped.

"Don't worry," I said, breaking the silence, "I'm not going." Taking a deep breath, I continued, "To be honest—"

"Look, Clairebear," Quil suddenly interrupted, using my nickname he gave me. "If you want to go far away for college, I will support your decision. You're too smart not to go to college, and you need to do what's best for you. I'll be fine."

He might be fine, but I wouldn't be. I didn't want to move far away from Forks like Grace and only get to see Quil a few times a year. I'd hardly been a day without seeing him in my entire life, and I wasn't about to start that.

I sighed. "I want to go to college, Quil. I just don't think I'm ready to leave home yet. I…" I trailed off, not sure what to say next. I, what? I love you? I definitely couldn't say that. That would probably freak him out, and then I'd never see him again. I would be willing to go but only if you came with me? No. I could never ask Quil to follow me. He'd miss the pack too much and loved being a wolf. That would be like torture for him.

"I understand," he said, much to my relief. "You still have time to think about it. You know though that I would do anything for you, right? If you ever needed me, ever wanted me to, ya know, um, move somewhere nearby, I'd do it for you." He cleared his throat.

"No, no," I shot his offer down, "I couldn't ever ask that of you. But, thanks, Quil."


QPOV

"But, thanks, Quil," she said, the corner of her mouth turning up into a sad smile.

I hated seeing Claire upset, so I decided to fix it. Hopping off the bar stool, I grabbed her jacket from the coat rack by the door.

"Hey," I said, pulling two zip-lock bags from a drawer, "why don't you put those in these, and we'll hike up to our favorite spot. It's actually a nice day today." Forks, Washington had to be the rainiest place in the entire world, aside from London. An afternoon of sunshine was rare, so I always tried to take advantage of it.

"Okay," she said, returning to her normal, bubbly self, "sounds good." She smiled up at me.

A few weeks passed, and Spring Break arrived. I waited for Claire to come out of school as I leaned up against her car. Finally, the last bell rang, and I spotted her chatting with a group of friends. Among them were a couple boys, one of which looked at Claire attentively, too attentively. I bit back a growl as my jaw clenched.

Breathe, Quil. Just breathe, I told myself. It would be bad to phase in front of all Claire's classmates, so I tried to keep my cool.

She spotted me and started waving, a huge grin across her face. She ran to me, and I received her, spinning her around in a hug and setting her down. Her friends followed, whispering to each other.

"Quil! What're you doing here?" she asked eagerly. I immediately felt like a hundred dollars, happy that she was so excited to see me.

I laughed. "Jake gave me the afternoon off," I said. "There's a bonfire tonight at the Res. I thought you'd want to go visit Emily since you haven't seen her in a while." Her smile broadened.

"Eh-hem," her friend interjected, nudging her. Claire gave an embarrassed shrug.

"Sorry," she laughed, "Lydia, this is Quil, Quil Ateara." The small blonde fiddled with her hair and giggled. "Quil, this is Lydia, Georgie, Nate, and Drew." I nodded, acknowledging the other three. Georgie was a tall brunette and seemed more subdued than her friend. Standing next to her was Nate, who I assumed was her boyfriend since they were holding hands. Then, there was Drew. He had the build of a football or soccer player and was an average-sized guy. He looked at me as if he was sizing me up, and I made sure he felt threatened. There was no way he could have my Clairebear. He'd better not even think about her. Claire broke off our staring contest.

"Well, see you guys after Break," she said, tugging me towards the car and handing over her keys. Climbing into the driver's seat, I refocused my attention on Claire.

"What was that?" she asked. Dammit, I thought.

"Nothing," I mumbled as the engine roared to life. "Your friends. They seem nice."

"Oh, c'mon, Quil," she laughed. "You and Drew looked like you were going to get in a fight." She had me pinned. I sighed in frustration.

"I didn't like the way he was looking at you," I growled more than I meant to.

"You didn't like the way he looked at me?" Clearly, she was confused and oblivious to the fact that the guy had a huge crush on her. "Quil, Drew and I are just friends," she said, confirming my theory.

"Obviously, he wants to be more than 'just friends', Clairebear. I was just ensuring that he wouldn't try anything funny." The very thought of him appraising her body made me angry all over again. My grip tightened on the steering wheel.

"Quil," she asked quietly, "are you…jealous?"

"No." Hell yes. There was no way that that guy was going to get near my Clairebear. If he ever so much as laid a finger on her, I was going to break his arm off. The fact that he was around her the entire day while I wasn't able to be there irked me.

"Oh," was all she said. Claire sounded, what? Embarrassed? Disappointed maybe? There was something in the tone of her voice that I couldn't quite decipher. She cleared her throat. "In any case, I don't like him like that." This was a slight relief.

Now that I thought about it, Claire never dated. Sure, she was asked out by a few guys (which I was not very happy about), but she always declined. I was secretly thankful that she hadn't taken interest in anyone yet, but I worried that someday she would and it wouldn't be me.

"Uh, speaking of crushes," Claire said hesitantly, "Lydia is kind of, um, slightly obsessed with you." I frowned.

"So that's what that was about," I recalled, remembering Lydia's suggestive nudge to Claire. "Can't you just tell her about all of my bad qualities?" I suggested, jokingly. "Not that I have that many, but I'd let you make some up." I winked and she laughed, lightening the mood once again.


CPOV

"Ugh…" Lydia complained, "That English test totally kicked my butt."

"I didn't think it was that bad." Shrugging, I grabbed my stuff from my locker and slammed it shut. The final bell rang. Spring vacation. We were free.

Drew, Georgie, and Nate met up with Lydia and I as we exited the building. They all talked about the cruises and warm-weather vacay spots they were headed to for the duration of next week. All I could think about though was spending time with Quil.

"So," Drew asked, "where are you going, Claire?" He and his parents were headed for a resort in Cancun and invited me along. I declined, saying that my mother would never allow me to go, even though she might have let me.

"I'm staying—Quil!" I broke off into a run as I spotted him leaning up against my car. His arms were bulging in his t-shirt, and he gave me that impish grin I loved so much. He picked me up and spun me around, crushing his chest to mine before setting me on sturdy ground once again.

"What're you doing here?" I was thrilled that he was here waiting for me after school. He laughed.

"Jake gave me the afternoon off," Quil said. "There's a bonfire tonight at the Res. I thought you'd want to go visit Emily since you haven't seen her in a while." I smiled. He always thought of everything and knew exactly what I needed.

"Eh-hem…" Lydia nudged me suggestively. Crap. I'd forgotten about her.

Lydia had been trying to get me to introduce her to Quil forever. She was slightly obsessed the first time she saw him because he was "the sexiest looking man she'd ever seen in her life". She asked me how I knew him, and I made the mistake of saying that he was like an older brother to me. Because I hadn't made it abundantly clear to her that he was off-limits, she hounded me to introduce her to her "future husband". This pissed me off even more. I only put up with Lydia because she was already friends with Georgie, Nate, and Drew.

"Sorry," I laughed, not trusting myself to keep calm if I didn't, "Lydia, this is Quil. Quil Ateara." And he's mine, I wanted to say. "Quil, this is Lydia, Georgie, Nate, and Drew." Lydia giggled and played with her hair in an attempt to flirt. Quil wasn't paying attention though. In fact, he was glaring at Drew; Drew was glaring back. Had I missed something?

"Well," I broke in, "see you guys after Break!" I pulled on Quil's arm, placing my keys in his free hand. I needed to escape all this awkwardness.

Climbing into the car, Quil turned to face me. I could see the tension in his body and the anger that burned in his eyes.

"What was that about?" I asked, stunned by his behavior toward Drew. Obviously, I missed something.

"Nothing," he grumbled dismissively. "Your friends. They seem nice." Did he really expect me to buy that? They seem "nice"?

"Oh, c'mon, Quil." I knew him better than that; he knew that. I laughed at his ridiculousness. "You and Drew looked like you were going to get in a fight." I gave him a pointed look. There was no way he was getting out of this one.

He sighed in frustration. "I didn't like the way he was looking at you."

Wait, what?! That was not the answer I was expecting. That was what made him so angry?

"You didn't like the way he looked at me?" I reiterated, hardly believing what I heard. Did Quil really care that other guys liked me? Not that I liked Drew. "Quil, Drew and I are just friends." I'd made this clear to Drew a while back when Georgie told me he wanted to ask me out. It went better than I expected, and we remained friends.

"Obviously, he wants to be more than 'just friends', Clairebear. I was just ensuring that he wouldn't try anything funny." The muscles in Quil's arms flexed again. I hadn't seen him this upset in a long time. At the same time, I wondered why he was being so protective about this.

"Quil," I asked gently, "are you…jealous?"

"No," was his immediate response. I'd been wrong. Maybe Quil was just trying to be a good friend and look out for me.

"Oh." I tried not to show my disappointment. I thought the answer would be "yes", but my fantasy had gotten the best of me. I only thought about what I wanted to be; I wanted Quil to be jealous because that would mean that he felt more for me than just a friend. "In any case, I don't like him like that," I said, just putting it out there.

The more I thought about it, the more it drove me nuts. Did Quil like other girls? Of course he does, I told myself, he is a guy. Well, a man actually. But, I never saw Quil around girls, other than imprints or Leah. What did he think of Lydia? I would die if he dated her.

"Uh, speaking of crushes," I began, hesitant to even mention it, "Lydia is kind of, um, slightly obsessed with you." Over-obsessed would have been a better description. I hated the way she talked about him like she actually knew him. Lydia knew nothing about him; to her, he was just a pretty face. To me though, Quil was my everything.

He frowned. "So that's what that was about." I could see the wheels turning in his head. Then, he smirked. "Can't you just tell her about all of my bad qualities?" he teased. "Not that I have many, but I'd let you make some up." He winked at me and I laughed, relieved he saw through her fake outer shell.