Quil Ateara and the Impossible Claire
Chapter Fourteen: Costume Shopping
Claire's POV

A/N: The cheeeeeeese! OMG THE CHEESE! It's overwhelming in this chapter! If you're lactose-intolerant, turn away now!

Rehearsals for the school play began, and although Tony and I were still together, I found that I was never the one asking to hang out. He was always the instigator. If it had been entirely up to me, I would have called him my boyfriend and only seen him at school and rehearsals. With other people present.

During a rehearsal almost two weeks after my birthday, we were practicing a scene which involved lots of complicated and timed door-slamming, and I was getting a serious headache. Tony and I could just not get the timing right for the doors and that frustration combined with the constant noise was getting to me. I usually loved rehearsals, but this one just seemed to drag. When it was finally over, all I wanted was to get out, but Tony decided that it was a good time to have a conversation with me. Stupid boy.

"Claire, wait up," he called as I bolted through the auditorium doors.

I rolled my eyes so hard that it actually hurt before turning around and waiting for him. "Hey," I said.

"Don't worry about the doors, we'll get it eventually," he said. He was way too chipper.

Didn't he get that today was just one of those days to not be cheerful? My head pounded sullenly. "Yeah, I'm sure we will," I grunted.

"So Halloween's in a few days," he said.

I scowled. He was purposely leading me into this conversation. "Well, yeah. It's usually at the end of October."

Tony had adjusted over time to my sarcasm and he ignored me now. "I was wondering what your plans are for Halloween night? My little sister wants us both to take her trick-or-treating."

I was shaking my head before he'd even finished speaking. "Can't," I told him.

"Why not?" he asked, brow furrowing.

"Because I'm going to the rez that night. Annual party," I said shortly as we turned onto the main road. I realized I was walking faster than normal but I didn't feel like slowing down.

"Can't you do something different this year?" he pursued.

"Nope. It's important. I do it every year with my family."

"You mean with Quil?" Tony demanded, taking on a tone that sounded...well, sounded very much like my own.

"No, I mean with my family. But yeah, Quil's going to be there. Thought we'd moved past that," I snapped.

"Maybe we would if you didn't always choose him over me," he said.

I stopped in my tracks, putting my hands on my hips. "I do not always choose him over you."

"Yeah, actually, you do, Claire. The only time I see you is if you literally have nothing else to do, and if you're with Quil, forget about it," he replied, trying to keep his voice calm. I could tell his was actually mad at me for once, though.

"Why don't you just dump me then," I spat. "If I'm such a terrible girlfriend, maybe you should."

"I don't want to dump you, Claire, I want you to understand!" he cried.

"Well, sorry, I guess I don't understand," I said, beginning to power walk away from him again. I wasn't upset because I didn't understand. I was upset because I understood far too well.

Tony ran after me. "Why won't you even listen to me?"

"Because I don't understand," I said coldly, throwing his words back in his face.

"I'm trying to explain it to you, so that maybe we can figure it out," he said reasonably.

I couldn't think of anything to say, so I just kept walking, speeding right past the drive to Tony's house.

"Claire!" he yelled, stopping in front of his house.

"What?" I screamed back, turning around.

He stared at me for a quiet moment, and I got the feeling that I was a horrible person and I would be doing him a favor by walking out of his life. "Nothing," he said finally, oddly quiet. With that, he turned around and started towards his house.

And the guilt came crashing down on me. "Tony!" I called at his retreating back. He acknowledged hearing me by waving a hand back at me but not stopping. Because my social skills suck, I simply yelled, "Fine!" and stormed off to continue home.

I got about halfway there before I started crying, and I hadn't stopped by the time I got home to find Quil and Carly waiting for me in the living room. They were sitting close together on the couch, and Quil had his arm on the back of the couch behind Carly. Not around her, but close enough. And that just made me cry harder.

They both leapt to my rescue immediately, coming to envelope me in hugs as soon as they saw my tears. "Claire, what's the matter?" Carly asked, grasping my hand.

"Do I need to kill Tony?" Quil growled as he gently wiped the tears from my face with his thumbs.

How did he do that? How did he always know? "No, he's right. It's all my fault. I'm the bad one," I wailed, hiding my face by burying it into Quil's chest and snaking my arms around him tightly.

"What happened?" Carly asked again.

It suddenly didn't seem like a great idea to tell Quil that our friendship was causing problems in my relationship. I didn't want him to think it was his fault, when really, it was no one's but my own. I forced myself to get a grip. "We just got into a fight. I've just had a really rotten day and so I'm taking it hard."

"What did you fight about?" Quil asked gently, with a hint of curiosity.

"Stupid stuff. Just crap I need to work on, no biggie," I reassured him.

He didn't look very reassured. "Oh. Okay."

"Well," Carly said with a perkiness that I couldn't imagine feeling at the moment, "I hope it'll make your day better when I tell you what we're doing today."

"I don't really want to do anything today," I muttered, schlumping over to the couch and collapsing.

"Yes, you do!" Carly insisted brightly. I couldn't imagine a thing that would make me change my mind.

Quil seemed to catch her enthusiasm and said, "Because we're going Halloween costume shopping!"

I grinned. Okay, maybe I did want to do something.

The three of us squished into Quil's truck, and it was a good thing Carly and I were both small because otherwise there would have been no way we would have fit. Quil took up half the cab. I was smashed in the middle, but I comforted myself by figuring at least I was warmer this way. Although by the time we got into Port Angeles and pulled into the parking lot of the Halloween outlet store that moved in every year, my entire side up against Quil was sweating. Damn werewolves.

Halloween shopping was another annual tradition that the three of us always did together. And as such, we had a very particular routine to go about it. All three of us would go through the store separately and pick out several costumes to try on. Then we'd get three fitting rooms and try them on one at a time and show each other each one. Over the years, this became more of a game of finding the most ridiculous things to put on than of actually trying to find a costume.

As soon as we stepped into the store, I took off, calling, "Meet at the dressing rooms in fifteen minutes, suckers. Three costumes, no more, no less."

Fifteen minutes later, we had gathered by the dressing rooms, our arms full. We each stepped into our dressing rooms, which were all in a row. Carly said, "Save your favorite for last," which really meant, "Save the one you actually might buy for last."

The first I put on was a hideous tin-foil looking viking woman outfit that had me in giggles before I even had it completely on. I set the horned helmet on my head before asking, "Ready?"

"Yep," Quil answered.

"Hang on...okay, ready," Carly said.

"One...two...three!" I said, all three of us throwing the doors open and stepping out.

I took one look at Carly and felt a flash of jealousy. Could she seriously wear anything and look cute? She had on an M&M costume that was huge and round and she still looked adorable. Then I looked at Quil and snorted. He was Oscar the Grouch, complete with shiny trash can around his legs.

"Nice hat, Claire," he chuckled back at me.

"My name is Helga," I replied sternly, putting on a horrible Norse accent.

Carly erupted into giggles, and she retreated back into her dressing room, squeaking, "Next!"

My next costume was one of those absurd little French maid outfits. I'd picked it because it was something I would never actually wear. This thought was reinforced when I put it on and realized just how short and revealing it actually was. I was adjusting the petticoat that made the tiny skirt poof, as if it wasn't short enough, when Carly gave the signal that it was time to show the second round of costumes. There was no backing out of this now. I sighed and stepped out.

"Oh my God, Claire, put some pants on," Carly joke-scolded. She had donned a long, red kimono, complete with a fan and parasol.

Feeling eyes on me, I turned to look at Quil. My eyes rolled before I really noticed the way he was looking at me, because he'd decided to dress up as a giant condom.

"Royal Nights king-sized condoms, huh?" I asked skeptically. I refused to think about Quil and condoms. Nope, Quil and sex in the same thought is not cool.

"Oh, because yours is much better?" he shot back, arching an eyebrow at me and smirking.

"I think Carly is the only sane one among us," I said, acknowledging that my sister had some common sense and taste that apparently neither Quil or I possessed. "At least both of her costumes have been legit."

"What are you talking about? Our costumes are legit!" Quil insisted.

Carly laughed. "Whatever, you guys are goofs. I'm putting my next costume on."

As soon as Carly disappeared back into her dressing room, Quil's eyes traveled unabashedly down my body, hovering languidly over the most inappropriate spots. I gaped at him for a moment. He wasn't even trying to hide it. It felt like someone had turned the heat up a few more degrees in the store, even though I wasn't exactly wearing a lot of clothes. "Ateara!" I snapped, feeling embarrassed and exposed. And warm.

His eyes returning to my face, Quil smirked and, I swear on all that is holy, he actually winked at me before returning to his own dressing room.

I stood frozen for a minute like an idiot before remembering that I had a third and final costume to try on. And a boyfriend. That was important, too. Then I winced. A boyfriend who was mad at me. I shook it off and forced myself to not think about it just then as I peeled off the skeezy maid costume and donned my last one, which I was really excited about.

"Everyone ready?" I called.

After getting affirmative answers from both Quil and Carly, we all stepped out once more. I inspected Carly first, smiling. "Tinkerbell!" she said, twirling for us and looking far prettier than anyone really had a right to be.

"Yeah, you're getting that one," I told her. We all agreed, then moved on to Quil's pick.

I gulped. Quil had chosen to be a pirate this year, and damn it all to hell if that look didn't suit him very well. The shirt he was wearing was one of those billowy ones that tied at the top, and it was showing enough of his chest that, even though I'd seen it all before, I was instantly drawn to it. And I found myself thinking about a certain thing that had happened on my birthday thanks to Embry.

"What do you think?" he asked, grinning. He knew he looked good. Smug bastard.

"I love it," Carly gushed, effectively articulating how I felt about the whole thing as well. "You have to get that one. You look amazing."

I looked quickly to my sister. I tried to put as much "back the hell off my best friend" into my look as possible, but she wasn't even paying attention at me. She was too busy staring at Quil. Who, by the way, was enjoying it far too much.

"All right, how about mine?" I asked, interrupting the let's-all-admire-Quil moment that had apparently decided to take place.

"Well, we already know that's perfect," Carly said. "Honestly, it's perfect."

I grinned and looked to Quil for his opinion. He nodded in agreement. "That's the one."

"Good. I love it," I announced cheerfully, swishing my skirt with my hands. I was glad that we had come. It had made my day so much better.

Carly once again returned to her dressing room, this time to change into normal clothes. Quil caught my eye, and said, "How many times did I read that story to you when you were little?"

"A lot," I said, smiling at the memory. "Let's change back into our regular clothes and get out of here."

Quil tipped his captain's hat to me as we went to our rooms. "Good day to you, Little Red Riding Hood."

I smirked, and quoted back, "Thank you, wolf."