Quil Ateara and the Impossible Claire
Chapter Four: The Werewolf's Revenge
Claire's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or it's characters.


I was mad. No, mad wasn't the right word. Annoyed? Maybe. Frustrated? A little. But mostly I was just...hurt. It was Monday, and at school I'd seen Tony. Which would have made me happy except that seeing him caused me to remember our conversation on Friday. I remembered that he had said he'd call me on Saturday. And he never did.

One could argue that since I didn't even recall that he was supposed to call, therefore his call went un-missed, that I had no right to be upset. But I was upset anyway because I don't always think these things through completely before getting worked up. Besides, it's not like I'd had a lot of experience in this area, and I simply assumed the worst: that Tony had suddenly come to his senses and realized I was a complete beast.

I had seen him coming towards me in the hallway between first and second periods, and I dodged into the girls' bathroom. I managed to avoid him all day until acting class, but even then I sat on the opposite side of the room and even when he called my name after class, I pretended not to hear and kept rushing out of the classroom.

Now I was at home, wallowing in self pity. I was collapsed on the couch flipping through channels on the TV endlessly, never stopping on any channel long enough to really see what was on. "Beat it, Devon!" I shouted suddenly. Devon squeaked from behind the couch and took off running with his squirt gun. He hadn't made any noise, but I'd obtained a sort of extrasensory little brother perception.

I then put all my thought and focus into an attempt to become one with the couch. When Carly came in and sat primly next to me on the couch, I gave up.

"What's the matter, Claire?" she asked immediately.

"Aw, no beating around the bush? Where's the fun?" I deadpanned. When she said nothing, I sighed. "Um...this guy said he'd call me on Saturday and he never did."

"And...this guy...," she played along. "Why didn't he call?"

"I dunno," I replied. "I didn't ask."

"Did you see him today?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Then why didn't you ask then?" Carly wondered aloud.

"Well, I kind of...avoided him," I admitted.

Carly pursed her lips ever so slightly. "How do you expect to find out why he didn't call if you won't talk to him?"

"I don't really care why he didn't call," I snapped. "The fact is he didn't."

"You're not even dating. Why are you so upset?" Carly asked.

"Because!" I insisted. Truth be told, I didn't even know why I was so upset. But I was running with it.

Carly shook her head at me and stood up to go upstairs. "You know, Tony's a very nice guy. He undoubtedly has a good reason for not calling you. He wouldn't just blow you off."

I started. "How do you know - ?"

"It's not that hard to figure out. Everyone at school knows he likes you, and considering he's the only boy you give the time of day to, everyone assumes you like him, too." She giggled. "You're so obvious, Claire." She shook her head again and went upstairs.

I attempted once more to merge with the couch. Mission failed.


On Tuesday, I continued to avoid Tony. Quil came over that night, and he seemed both put out and pleased by my dilemma. Wednesday was similar, though no Quil which made it worse, and my upset feelings were fading rapidly. By Friday I was still dodging Tony, but by then it was mostly because I was too embarrassed at that point to face him and fess up to avoiding him. To make me feel even more ridiculous, one of his friends delivered a note from Tony to me at lunch time, explaining that his father had been laid off recently and the phone company had turned their phones off after one late bill too many; that he was sorry he hadn't called me when he said he would; and that he'd like to make it up to me. I felt like a total heel.

When I walked into acting class that day, Tony looked at me apprehensively, but I sat down right next to him. "I'm sorry," I rambled off quickly. "I overreacted and I was being a total brat and it was uncalled for."

Tony grinned that grin of his, and shrugged. "I'm sorry, too." I didn't know what he was sorry for. "No hard feelings?" he added.

"Of course not." I smiled. "Now, about making it up to me..."


"You have a date?!" All my family members plus Quil, who had joined us for dinner, shouted this at the same time. I'd attempted to throw it out casually, but it didn't happen.

"Thanks, guys. I didn't know it would come as such a shock that someone might find me appealing," I said dryly.

Carly was looking at me with a smile on her face and looking like an over-excited porcelain doll. Devon had already lost interest. My father looked torn between being pleased and being protective. My mother looked shocked. And Quil...Quil was looking like he'd take the kid's head off. His hands were shaking.

"When?" my mother managed to say.

"Tonight, actually," I replied as nonchalantly as I could.

"Tonight!" Carly squealed. Then she suddenly looked serious. "Are you wearing that?" she asked.

I looked down at my clothes. "Yeah, why?" I replied. I saw nothing wrong with a shirt that said, "God Bless America. Except Idaho. Screw Idaho."

"You know, I just got a shirt this weekend that would look great on you. It'll bring out your eyes," Carly said, avoiding, as always, saying anything mean.

"My eyes?" I laughed. "My eyes are shit-colored. How can you bring that out?"

Devon burst out laughing at the use of a four-letter word, but my mother didn't find humor in it. "Claire Elizabeth Sparrow!" she screeched. "Do not use that language!"

"At least not at the dinner table, Claire," my father said.

"At all!" my mother insisted.

"Sure, sure. No naughty words," I said, placating my mother.

"So it's with Tony, right?" Claire said, distracting my mother sufficiently.

"Tony?" she asked. "That nice boy from the plays? He likes you?" She said this as if it were not only unlikely, but bordering on impossible.

"Gee, guys." I rolled my eyes. "I'm never telling you anything. I get no joy from life," I said melodramatically. "And yes, it's Tony," I added to Carly. "He's picking me up after dinner and we're going to a movie. It's called like, Werewolf's Revenge or something."

Quil started coughing loudly, having choked on whatever he was eating or perhaps his own spit. I stared at him. It was the first noise he'd made throughout the entire conversation. Once he'd recovered from his coughing fit (though his hands, which were now balled up into fists, were still shivering) he said, "Werewolf's Revenge, huh? That's...awesome." He didn't look like he thought it was awesome. In fact, I couldn't remember ever seeing him so perturbed about something before.

"Claire, come upstairs with me!" Carly cried and took off, apparently unable to contain herself any longer. She made me put on the shirt she'd been talking about, and though it was unlike anything I usually wore, I supposed it did look good on me.

A while later, a knock came at the door. Suddenly, a huge burst of butterflies and nerves broke out inside of me at the prospect of spending the night alone with Tony. I was mostly worried about conversation: how would I find enough to say to keep talking the whole time? I'm terrible with small talk. I nervously tried flattening my hair, but it didn't cooperate, so I gave up.

I answered the door and smiled. "Hi, Tony!" Tony's eyes were trained on something behind me. He looked terrified. I turned and saw Quil standing there with his arms crossed, looking extremely intimidating. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he continued to look like a tiger and Tony was his unfortunate prey. I grabbed Tony's arm. "Let's go."

"So you drive, eh, Tim?" Quil asked before we could get out of there.

Tony smiled and said politely, "It's Tony, actually. And yes, my father's letting me borrow his car for the night."

Quil appeared to be measuring Tony up. "Got any tickets or anything?"

"Quil!" I hissed warningly.

"No," Tony replied patiently. He laughed. "My sister actually makes fun of me. She says I drive like an old woman because I drive so carefully."

"Huh." Quil looked stumped for a moment. "So how come you don't have a girlfriend, Troy?"

Tony shrugged, not bothering to correct him this time. He smiled, and looked at me as he said, "Guess there just wasn't anybody I liked."

I smiled broadly in spite of myself. Quil made an odd growling noise. I grabbed Tony again and led him to the car before Quil could say anything else.

The ride to the movie theater was pleasant. Tony didn't like his music obnoxiously loud like Quil did, and Tony kept the conversation surprisingly easy, telling lots of stories and asking me questions instead of forcing me to think of something to talk about. When we arrived at the theater, he bought my ticket and even got me some popcorn and a soda. We made our way into the theater just as the previews started.

I was focused completely on my popcorn for several minutes until Tony put his arm around me. I looked at him, slightly startled, but I was pleased.

I love scary movies, and at first I was disappointed because it wasn't until about a quarter of the way of the movie that the werewolf even made an appearance. As the monster howled at the moon and ran wild, a very loud snort of laughter came from farther back in the theater. I thought it was a little annoying, but I thought nothing of it. But when this person just couldn't contain their laughter several more times, I turned and looked over my shoulder to give them the stink eye. And there was Quil, sitting a few rows behind us, clearly laughing at the movie. I scowled and sank as low in my seat as I possibly could. Tony looked at me questioningly, but I just shook my head and tried to watch the movie.

After the movie, I tried to make a beeline for the parking lot, nearly knocking down a woman in my hurry to get out, causing people to send several dirty looks my way. But Tony needed to use the restroom, so I impatiently waited outside, hoping Tony could pee fast. I groaned aloud when Quil strolled around the corner.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"Oh, hey, Claire," he said casually.

"Don't, 'oh, hey' me, Quil. What do you think you're doing?" I hadn't been so furious in a while.

"Came to see a movie," he replied innocently.

My eyes flashed. "Am I not allowed to go on a date? Is that just not okay with you? Because frankly, I don't need your approval. You aren't my father."

A hint of doubt flitted across his face. "I don't want to be your father."

"Good!" I cried. "Because you'd be like, the worst dad ever! You completely disrespected me by coming here tonight. You know that, right? It was totally out of line."

"Claire," he began.

"No. I don't want to hear it. You need to back off, Quil. This isn't okay." I shook my head for more effect. "You need to back off!"

He looked a little hurt but I didn't care. "I don't know what to say."

Just then Tony reappeared from the bathroom. He eyed the situation and looked put out – the most negative emotion I'd ever seen on his face. He appeared to recover quickly and attempted to be polite. "Hello, Quil. I didn't expect to see you here."

Quil looked at him like he was now just a bug that annoyed him. "Yeah, well. I'll always be around, kid."

I thought I would lose it then. "Go away!" I was practically yelling now, and people were staring. "I do not need your supervision or your approval or anything else! You don't seem to understand how completely pissed off I am right now, because you just keep on acting like a jerk!" I grabbed Tony by the arm and pulled him next to me. "See this, Quil? I'm on a date right now. And my date does not include you. You should not be here."

Tony gently released himself from my clutches. "You know, I think I'll head on home. I don't think this is really about me. I'm sure Quil will give you a ride."

My jaw dropped. I looked at Tony pleadingly, but he sort of apologetically waved goodbye and left. I rounded on Quil. "Are you happy now?" I asked quietly. I felt my eyes brimming with tears. "You successfully scared him off. Gold star for you, Quil."

Finally, Quil began to show some remorse for his actions, but it was too late. "I'm sor - "

"Don't. I meant what I said. You need to back off. I don't care if you take up knitting or if you decide to be the Ken to my sister's Barbie, but something's gotta change." I blinked back a few more tears.

He looked taken aback. "I don't want Carly," he said incredulously.

"Well, then what do you want, Quil? Because you're clearly not getting it, or else you wouldn't act this way!" Those damn tears were leaking out.

"I...don't know," he said lamely.

For whatever reason, I'd been expecting something from him. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't know why I'd expected anything at all, but I did. I shook my head. "Just take me home," I said.

"I - "

"Just take me home."

The ride home was deadly quiet. Quil didn't dare turn on the radio, and whenever he tried to talk to me, I said nothing in return. As I got out of his truck at my house I said, "Don't come over tomorrow." I slammed the car door shut as he opened his mouth to say something. Once I'd made it into my house, I leaned against the front door. I shut my eyes and a few more tears leaked out as I replayed the night in my head, but I was startled out of my reverie by Carly coming downstairs.

"Claire?" she asked into the dark living room.

I cleared my throat and said, "Yeah, Car. It's me."

"My window was open. I thought I saw Quil's truck in the driveway. Did he drive you home?" she questioned.

"Yeah," I replied, but my voice cracked a little.

She paused. "Are you okay?"

I sniffled. "Not really," I said shakily.

"Oh, Claire," she said, and I heard her bare feet pad quickly across the floor so that she could wrap her arms around me. "Go upstairs and change into some pj's. I'll make some hot chocolate and be right up, and you can tell me if you want. If you don't want to, we'll just drink some hot chocolate."

And for not the first time, I found solace in, and was taken care of by, my baby sister.