A/N: Hey Hi Hello! I know, it's been forever. But I finally have some free time now. Between school, my new job, and my boyfriend, writing has been extremely difficult. Plus, I just interviewed for another job. I will try to write more, though.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter, sorry if it seems odd. I decided to read through the entire story again, to get the feel for writing.

Reviews would be great...let me know if you're still reading!

When I woke up the next morning, my phone was ringing. Quil was sleeping behind me, his arm wrapped around my waist. I reached around him and grabbed my phone off of the nightstand, and answered it.

"Hello?" I asked.

"May I speak to Claire Young?" A voice responded.

"Yes, this is she," I replied.

"Hello, Miss Young. This is Headmaster Jenner from Minetonga Prepatory School," Oh shit... "I just wanted to call to inform you that you have missed two weeks of school, and your future at Minetonga is in danger. Do you have any plans to return to the school and continue your eduation?"

"Yes, Miss Jenner...I have been out of town for the past two weeks. Family emergencies, mixed with urgent matters that I need to attend to. But I believe that I will not be continuing my education at Minetonga. I will be by in a couple of days to pick up my belongings. Is there anything else that I need to handle?" By this time, Quil was awake and staring at me alarmingly.

"No, Miss Young. We will send you a copy of your transcript. All that we need is your books and for you to clean out your room. Are you sure that you will not return to Minetonga?"

"Yes, I am positive. I thoroughly enjoyed learning there, but there are matters here that I must attend to; matters that will be better handled if I am studying here."

"I understand, Miss Young. And, since it is Wednesday, can we expect you by Monday?" Quil nudged my arm.

"Tomorrow," he said silently. I nodded.

"Miss Jenner, if it is okay, I can be there tomorrow?"

"Oh! That is just fine, Claire. We will see you then."

"Alright. Thank you, and have a nice day."

"You, as well." When I hung up the phone, Quil hugged me.

"Claire, sweetie, you did not have to do that," he whispers.

"Quil, where ever you are, is where I want to be," I reply. He kisses my forehead, making me smile.

"That's sweet, baby girl," he says, "But I do not want you to throw your life away for me."

"Baby, I'm not throwing my life away," I said, "I'm giving it a new start." He smiled, and kissed me. The kiss started building up, until I was on top of him, grinding against him as I kissed him slowly.

"Claire," Quil groaned, "Not right now."

"Why not?" I complained.

"Because we're in Paul's house…if he walks in on us, I will not be around for our wedding day." Whoa.

"Wedding day?" I asked in surprise, climbing off of him.

"Well…I was hoping so," he replied, sounding unsure.

"Baby…we're too young," I said.

"Not now, of course!" Quil said in surprise, "I do not want to get married until you're at least 21." I sighed in relief.

"Baby, I want to marry you," I said, "I just don't think I'm ready yet."

"I understand, sweetie," Quil said, "But…would you be opposed to a promise ring?"

"No, baby, "I replied, smiling, "I think that a promise ring would be perfect."

"Then a promise ring it is," Quil replied, kissing my hand.

"So, are we leaving for Oregon tomorrow?" I asked him.

"I thought that we could leave tonight," he answered, "Then get your stuff tomorrow, and then head down to California."

"I forgot about California!" I exclaimed, "We're still going?"

"Of course, baby girl," Quil replied, "I just need to call and fix our reservation. But yes, we will still be going. As long as you still want to go."

"I want to go, baby. We need to get away." Quil nodded.

"I think so, too."

After I told Rachel and Jennifer that we were still going to California, Jennifer demanded that we go shopping. When I protested and told her that I had no money, Rachel raised her hand.

"Sweetie, I will give you money. You do need new clothes."

"Rachel. You've leant me so much money already," I protested, "And I'm going to Minetonga tomorrow to pick up my clothes. So I'll be fine."

"Claire, we spent over ten years wondering what the hell happened to you. I spent ten years watching Quil suffer. The least I can do is give you money so that you can please him," Rachel said. I blushed, and Quil laughed.

"Ugh, fine!" I said, exasperated, "Am I at least allowed to pay you back?"

"Nope!" Rachel said, smiling, "But you can do housework if you must." I laughed.

"It's the least I can do," I agreed.

"Well, it's settled," she said, "How about I go shopping with you and Jennifer?"

"Mom!" Jennifer yelled, horrified, "It's a girls day. Like, teen girls. No moms."

"Jenn, sweetie," Rachel said, "I don't like half of the stuff you bring home. And you'd be surprised about my taste in clothes." Jennifer shook her head.

"I think you should go with us," I said to Rachel. When Jennifer looked at me as if I was crazy, I explained, "She's giving me money, Jenn. I should at least let her help me pick out what I'm going to buy with her money."

"Thank you, Claire," Rachel said, "Plus, girls, me going means that there is no limit…" Jennifer's eyes got really wide, making Rachel and I laugh.

After that, Quil decided to go to his house and get everything figured out for California while we went shopping. After briefly getting ready, Jennifer, Rachel, and I headed out to Port Angeles. We spent a few hours going from store to store, buying tons of clothes. I swear, I spent 3 hours in the dressing room alone. By the time we left Port Angeles, Rachel had spent over $200 on me, and over $300 on Jennifer.

"Rachel, please let me pay you back," I begged for the umpteenth time.

"Claire, I swear, if you ask me one more time, I will throw you out of the car," Rachel warned.

"Fine," I sighed, "Thank you, though."

"Anytime, sweetie."

By the time we got home, it was dark. Jennifer and I ran upstairs to our room to look at our clothes. I had about 5 bags of clothes, and couldn't wait to show Quil everything I had bought. My phone buzzed, and I ran to get it.

"Hey sweetie…can't do anything tonight. Stuff to do with pack. Pick you up at 7 am. Xoxo. –Quil"

My smile turned into a frown. A night without Quil? Especially after everything that had happened the day before, I didn't want to be away from him. In a way, the feeling shocked me. I once again had that feeling that we were moving too fast. It seemed to be a moot point to feel like that now, but still. How could someone who is only 17 feel this way?