Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.

Okay. This is the longest chapter EVER, and its mostly a filler. But here you go, enjoy it, and use it to tide you over till the next chapter

This week is longer than any other week of my life. College applications dominate my life, followed closely by senior thesis and just a ridiculous amount of work. On top of all of that, there was the added stress of my upcoming date with Quil.

"Claire! I'm coming over today at like 6 to help you choose what to wear Friday night, okay?" Evelyn says to me during lunch on Wednesday.

"What's happening on Friday night," Rani asks.

Evelyn fills her in, making sure not to leave out the "he's soooo hot". Jeremy just rolls his eyes at her, failing to hide his jealousy.

Rani grins at his reaction, and then at me, and I'm so happy to finally have someone as sane as me.

"Rani, come too. An extra opinion never hurt."

"But I don't know anything about fashion," she exclaims, pointing to her faded hoodie and leggings.

"Please, neither do I. It doesn't matter, come just to hang out for a bit," I say.

"Thanks for inviting me guys, I feel super important right now," Jeremy retorts, and throws a tin foil ball over my head into the trashcan behind us.

Evelyn kisses his cheek, and with a "I'll make it up to you later," she waltz out of the cafeteria.

Jeremy watches her go, clearly besotted. Rani smacks his head and snaps him out of his stupor, while I quickly check my phone. Quil and I had been texting during school hours all week, and it was the only contact we'd gotten. He'd only driven me to/ from school thrice this week, and said the next time I saw him would be today after school, and then straight on Friday night. I noticed a new text message. Scratch that then, the next time I'd see him would be straight on Friday night because he'd assigned Seth to pick me up today.

(text messages)

C: That's completely unfair Quil, I've seen you like 3 times this week.

Q: I know, I'm sorry! Sam has me doing crazy shifts all week.

C: I'm going to kill him.

Q: I think it's his latest attempt at keeping our relationship platonic.

C: It seems to be working.

Q: Claiiiiire don't be mad. We have Friday night!

C: Yeah yeah. I have to get going, Biology beckons. See you later!

(end text messages)

I sign off, and put my phone away.

The next three classes are hell. I fail a biology test, forget to hand in an English essay and by the time last period ends, my patience has worn thin. When Seth arrives to pick me up 15 minutes late, I'm beyond pissed at everything in the world. And I make sure he knows it.

"Woah, you okay Claire?" he asks, after I slam the car door shut.

"Just dandy. Drive, please."

Poor Seth, not equipped or used to dealing with PMS, just starts driving quietly. I know I'm being rude, but the way my day had been going, I feel like I need to break something.

"So how was your day?" He asks, trying to break the silence.

Really Seth? You think it wise to ask that question?

"I know you don't have a girlfriend, so you're not accustomed to dealing with female anger, but the best thing to do in this scenario is not ask stupid questions Seth."

I glare at him, and he understands.

"Ahh. I see. Well. It's going to get a lot better because you get to spend the next 10 minutes with me! Plus I'm coming over to take a nap, I've been out all night." He says, trying to be cheerful.

I sigh, because its Seth and being mean to him just doesn't work. "Why can't you go home?"

"Because I might pass out on the drive over there. I was so late to pick you up because I fell asleep at a traffic light," he jokes.

"That's reassuring. I'm so glad you're the one that's driving me home."

A lightbulb clicks within his head. "Mmmm I understand now. Is that why you're angry?"

I say nothing, just look out the window. I feel like an idiot for acting so childish, but I'm so angry.

And I miss him.

"Quil has been everywhere. He's trying to make it up to Sam after what happened with you and him on Saturday night."

My mouth opens. "What? How do you know about that?" I'm so embarrassed; the entire pack knows that Quil and I haven't even kissed yet.

"Mind sharing, remember," he says as he pulls into the driveway.

I just shake my head and get out of the car. He follows me, but says nothing before he collapses on the couch in the living room.

Stupid wolves. All of them. Stupid. Especially Quil.

I start on my mountain of homework, and thanks to angry determination, get a lot of it done. I'm about to start another assignment when the doorbell rings. My phone tells me its 6:00, and that must be Rani and Evelyn.

"I got it!" I shout on my way down the stairs. My shout wakes Seth up, and he pops up on the couch like a jack-in-the-box. He looks silly, scratching his head, dazed and disoriented.

I open the door.

"Oh thank god, I thought I had the wrong house," Rani exclaims, and pulls me into a hug.

I laugh and pull her into the house. We pass Seth, still confused about his whereabouts, so I stop in the living room to help him out.

"Seth!" I snap my fingers in his face. "Good morning. Do you want something to eat?"

He rubs his eyes, and he smiles at me, and then his gaze lands on Rani. He stops rubbing his eyes. Everything goes quiet for a moment as Seth's eyes widen and he takes her in. I realize they probably need an introduction.

"Rani, this is my friend Seth. Seth, Rani," I say, gesturing to both of them. Rani comes in to shake his hand, and Seth just stares at her like an idiot.

"Rah-nee," he says softly, clutching her hand.

Again, it's quiet while he stares at her creepily.

"Um..yes. That's my name," Rani says, clearly awkward. She looks down at their still joined hands, and he gets the hint.

"Right, sorry. Well..uh…I'm S-S-Seth," he says, stuttering over his own name.

I just kink my eyebrows, because he's clearly still asleep.

"Jesus Seth, go back to sleep. Let's go upstairs?" I say to Rani, and we run up the stairs before Seth can say anything else embarrassing.

"Sorry about him, he didn't get much sleep last night," I explain to Rani as I put my textbooks to the side so she has a place to sit.

She chuckles "Don't worry, he's cute," and sits down. The doorbell rings again.

"Ah, Evelyn. Hold on, I'll get it."

This time, Seth is gone, leaving only a rumpled pillow behind.

God, so weird.

When Evelyn and I get back upstairs, I notice Rani fingering my guitar.

I remember our promise to play together sometimes, and internally chide myself for forgetting my friends because of a boy.

Stupid boy.

"Okay guys, one hour. And then I'm taking J to dinner," Evelyn announces.

"Don't you have homework?" Rani asks.

"Don't you have a life?" Evelyn shoots back.

I roll my eyes and snap my fingers. "Focus guys, we have a mission. I have a date on Friday night. I haven't been on a date since I was 15. What the hell do I wear?"

I barely finish my sentence before Evelyn has already pulled three crumpled outfits out of her bag.

"Oh good, you came prepared," Rani snorts.

"Duh, have you looked inside Claire's closet? She dresses worse than you do," Evelyn says as she lays them out on my bed. She smiles to indicate she's joking.

"Now," she says, sitting me down. "Usually, we'd have to make our decision based on where he was taking you, but luckily La Push is small enough that we can settle on something that works for everything there is to do here."

She walks around the room, methodically arranging shoes and purses and muttering about what to eat at dinner.

Rani just stared, clearly impressed, and I giggle at her expression. We chat aimlessly until Evelyn is done, and then she calls us to attention.

"Okay. Here are your three choices. Carrie Bradshaw, _, and Evelyn Chambers."

"You named your creations?" Rani asks, standing up to inspect each one.

"Indeed. I think they embody the character they've been named after perfectly, don't you?" She links arms with Rani, and they look at me, awaiting my reaction.

Here we go.

Growing up with a pack of wolves hadn't exactly made me Miss Feminine, but then again Evelyn had drilled me with enough fashion sense that I knew how to dress myself. But still, to this day, dressing up always made me feel awkward.

"Okay. First we have the Carrie Bradshaw," Evelyn said, motioning to a strapless white dress as she picked up pink high heels.

"Now, I know-"

"No,"

"Claire at least-"

"No." I look to Rani for moral support, and she nods her agreement.

"But why not?" Evelyn whines, stomping her foot like a little girl.

"Ev we're on the reservation. Not in Manhattan. So the heels are automatically out. And ick, they're pink!" I say, folding the dress into fourths and putting it back in the bag it came from.

"Fine, I expected as much. Now, second we have…."

Another half hour of arguing; "Claire, Quil probably expects a GIRL to come on the date with him!" "Evelyn are you psychotic, I can't wear that!" "Rani, put down the curling iron before you hurt somebody," and we finally settled. Just as Evelyn was putting her outfits away, Aunt Emily walked in the door.

"Hey girls, Jeremy is waiting outside, are you going somewhere Claire?" she asked, motioning to the clothes I was wearing.

"Oh no Mrs. Uley, he's here for me," Evelyn replies, picking up her bag. "Rani, you want a ride home?"

"Yes please," she says, and within a few minutes they're both out.

"Was there a particular reason you guys decided to wear everything in your closet," Emily asks as she helps me fold the last of my clothes.

I realize that she doesn't know yet, and contemplate not saying anything. What if Sam didn't allow it?

Well, she's going to find out anyway.

"Er…I probably should have mentioned this earlier."

She kinks her eyebrow and closes the door to my closet before settling down on my bed.

"I…uh…kind of have a date…with…uh….Quil….on Friday." She's smiling before I even finish.

"Don't worry, he already cleared it with Sam."

I breathe out a sigh of relief. "You know, Sam is not sadistic. I think he knows a lost battle when he sees one," she winks. "Come on, dinners almost ready and Harry has some big story to tell us."

I follow her down the stairs, and to my astonishment, Quil walks into the kitchen right after us.

I wasn't sure if I was still supposed to be mad at him, but his stupid smile made it very difficult to stay angry.

Stupid smile.

"Hey!" I protest as he tickles me. "What are you doing here?"

"Staying for dinner?" Emily asks, beginning to pull out a plate for him.

"Afraid not, I just need to have a quick word with Claire before I head back to the garage to close up," Quil says, slowly edging closer to the living room.

"Make it quick," Sam remarks as he enters behind us, putting food into his mouth before even sits down. Quil drags me out of the kitchen and into the living room, but then thinks better and leads me straight outside.

"Ow, Quil, that's my hand. What's the big deal?" I take my hand back, and rub it to ignore the way it was stinging after he squeezed it. He sat me down on the swing, and started pacing the porch.

"Okay, I really don't have much time but-"

I interrupt. "Oh big surprise, I've seen you like 2 times this whole week." He stops pacing, and exhales.

"I'm sorry," he says, kneeling beside me. I look down into his eyes and the sincerity in them makes my knees go weak.

I mumble "it's okay," and he continues.

"So Seth was over earlier, right?" I nod. "And so was your friend Rani, right?" I nod again. "Well. Seth seems to have taken quite a liking to her."

My eyes widen. "Oh my god, seriously? That's so weeeeird! God, I should have known, he was being so awkward around her. Okay so does he want her phone number to ask her out or something? Ick no, that's creepy. Woah-"

He stops my rant by placing his hand on my mouth.

"Claire. I don't think you understand."

I'm confused.

"Seth...likes Rani. Seth, the werewolf, likes Rani."

"Oh, that's okay, he doesn't have to tell her yet, it's not like they're serious already or anything-"

Again with the hand.

"Sometimes I question your intelligence," Quil says with a smile. Before I can ask, he says "He imprinted on her Claire."

This time he doesn't have to use his hands to silence me, I'm already quiet.

What the hell?

"Hello?" He waves a hand in front of my face, and I look down at him.

"I don't know what to say."

"He was the last one, it makes sense why he hadn't found anyone till now, it's because Rani wasn't even in the country."

"What do you think," he asks, after I still don't say anything.

"I think it's actually kind of great," I finally say, and smile at him.

He grins back. "Isn't it? Now he finally has somebody," he says, and takes my hand.

"So what now?" I ask, the girly side of me taking over. "Should I invite her over and Seth can be here too and they can talk and stuff?"

"Can't you just tell her that he likes her?"

"Are you crazy? You can't just spring that on a girl, she said like 5 words to him! He has to court her," I exclaim.

"What," I ask, when I see his smirk.

"Do I have to court you?"

"Of course you do, and you've been pretty bad at it so far. But I'm not blaming you; you have a severe lack of experience holding you back."

He raises his eyebrows. "Oh okay, that's what it's going to be like." He stands up, and pulls me to my feet too.

His proximity is making it hard to think straight, but I do my level best. That flies out the window when he moves closer, and my eyes flutter in anticipation for the kiss that never comes.

Instead, I feel his warm lips on my forehead. I shake my head and smile.

"Friday night, gorgeous, I'll show you what it's like to be courted," he whispers in my ear. I blush like a tomato.

And then I'm inside again, eating dinner, listening to Harry's story.

But part of me, as always, is still with him.