I knew Quil was avoiding me. I didn't know why, but why else would he be...avoiding me? He didn't come back that night, like he said he would. Promised he would. I tried to think that there was some kind of emergency with the pack, some vampire...maybe the one he was talking about before. As much as I didn't like to think it, he was probably out hunting vampires. Just the thought made me shudder and my heartbeat speed up in worry.

But, then? Wouldn't he come the next night? Maybe another vampire. I told myself not to worry. Nothing's wrong. Maybe he got hurt--no, he didn't get hurt. Maybe someone else got hurt--no, no one else got hurt. Maybe he was just busy. Yeah. Just busy.

But, then? Days and days of not hearing from him, seeing him...okay, a week. Almost a week. Six days. Yes, I counted. And then, when I saw him...thought I saw him? In the store? I was just going to get some bread and I saw something that looked oddly like the back of his head and shoulders disappearing in front of me. Turning around, running away. I told myself it could have been Jacob. Could have been Embry, Sam, Seth. Colin. Brady. Paul, Jared. But why would they have run away from me?

Why would Quil have run away from me?

"Claire? Are you still there?" Annie's question interrupted my rambling thoughts...rambling worries. She had been rambling herself on the phone to me for quite some time now...about Jacob.

"Yeah, what?"

"I thought I saw him this time in town...but then he ran away from me. Or it looked like that. Not really a surprise, is it? No, not really. I mean that's what he did last time...run away from me..."

It wasn't a coincidence. Or maybe it was. Stupid werewolves. Running away from us.

"Claire?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think?"

I was afraid she would ask me that question, and I would have to answer. I was tempted to tell her myself, about werewolves and imprinting and Jacob, but I would never do that and she wouldn't believe me anyways. "Um...well...he doesn't hate you." That was the best I could come up with, the most I could give away.

She snorted. "Thanks so much. That's so helpful. Or maybe it was the first time...or maybe not. The hundredth time kind of kills it."

"Sorry. Okay, he..." I trailed off. Maybe I should ask him about Quil, why Quil's avoiding me. But he has enough problems on his own. I don't want to add to them with my petty little...petty? Since when is anything to do with Quil petty? Since you started obsessing over him like a high school cheerleader over a brainless jock! I'm not a cheerleader. And Quil definitely isn't brainless. Or a jock.

"Claire, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Great."

"You seem really out of it. I'm sorry, I'm boring you with this...I can't believe I'm obsessing over this...over him. I'd hardly ever said two words to him in my life."

"No, no. It's reasonable." Maybe it was a thing with imprinting. Obsessing over the person who imprinted with you. But wasn't that supposed to go the other way around? I mean, if I was a werewolf would I have imprinted on Quil? If I could have chosen, yeah. I probably would have.

If I was a werewolf...then I could see his thoughts right now, hear why he was avoiding me. Then I could hear his thoughts all the time. Would that be a good thing?

"It is? Why?"

Oh...because you guys are soul mates, maybe? "It just is. I don't know. You'll see."

"I'll see?"

"When Jake talks to you."

"He's going to talk to me? I thought he hated me."

"He doesn't hate you, Annie." I said through tight lips.

"Oh. Sorry. But why would he talk to me?"

"He will. Just give him some time."

"Okay..." She took a deep breath. "Whatever. I need to think of something else. Do you know where Jack's been these days?"

Running around the forest hunting vampires. "No...maybe sick." With a fever. A very very high fever.

"Oh. Yeah. You know, it's funny. I don't really..." I'm sure that she was blushing now. "I don't really think about him that much...anymore."

"That's good," I said.

"Yeah. But guess who I do think about?"

"Who do you think about?" A faint voice screamed through the phone line. Annie sighed. "Go away. Claire, I have to go. My sister thinks it's time to get in my business. See you."

"Bye."

The phone died, both lines, and I clicked mine off, sighing. She was right, we needed to think of other things than stupid immature werewolves.

--

Maybe he was out of town. Maybe he had to visit his family in Makah country. What family in Makah country?

Maybe Old Quil was sick, as he usually is nowadays, and Quil was just taking care of him and...forgot to tell me.No one expected him to live this long. I'm sure he was in the triple digits now, even thought no one really knows how old he is. Without me knowing about it? La Push was so small, and Old Quil was so important. Someone would definitely tell me if he was sick.

Maybe he was busy. Busy, busy, busy. So busy he couldn't even spare one second to tell me what was going on?

Maybe he...maybe he hated me. Or just didn't like me anymore. But I thought this imprinting thing was for forever.

Forever. So what was wrong?

I decided to go see. Because really, I couldn't wait for him to come to me. Obviously that wasn't happening. I went to Emily and Sam's house, and heard screaming inside. Quil's voice. I almost ran in and confronted him myself (although it would probably turn out as me hanging onto him for dear life) but I heard what they were saying.

"No, Quil. I'm sorry." But Sam's voice seemed far from sorry. "If you can't handle being around her, you're going to have to stay away from her."

"You try staying away from Emily," Quil's voice said, tired and angry. He sounded horrible, all hoarse and almost sick, but he never got sick.

Then a door slammed, and that was all. Was he talking about me? You try staying away from Emily.

Why was he trying to stay away from me? If you can't handle being around her...

Was I so awful he couldn't stand being around me? I turned and ran down the front steps, back to my own house. I couldn't go in there now. I couldn't ask Sam, I couldn't ask Emily. And I definitely couldn't ask Quil, because then I wouldn't have to ask.

On the way back and stumbled, tripped, fell, catching myself on the rough asphalt with my hands. The scratches were bloody, and I wiped my hands on my jeans, not caring if it would stain. A flash of movement caught my eye; I spun around and saw a dark brown...something in the trees. I almost ran away, but then I thought Quil. Said Quil. Loud, right at the wolf. It met my eyes--"Look at her she's so beautiful and look she's bleeding why can't I go and help her it's killing me SAM and his stupid--" echoed in my mind but then the wolf jerked his eyes away from mine and sprinted off into the forest.

I just stared, stared at the empty space the huge wolf, the Quil wolf, left when he ran away.

Look at her she's so beautiful-- he thought I was beautiful. Unless...I turned around, almost scared, but there was no one there and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Why can't I go help her it's killing me-- why couldn't he? Sam and his stupid what? What did Sam have to do with this? My feet were taking me in the wrong direction, but I didn't notice until Quil's front door stared me in the face. My hand raised itself and knocked, but then I realized that how could Quil be home? I just saw him and he was a wolf.

But the door opened, and a black-hair covered head stuck out, followed by a tall body wearing cutoffs and a dirty t-shirt...too tall. I could feel my hope disappear.

"Claire?" Embry's worried voice asked me. "What are you doing here?"

This is your chance, I told myself. My chance to find out. If he would tell me.

"Why is Quil avoiding me?" I asked. I could hear the desperation in my own voice and Embry's face fell. He opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

"He's--" He sighed, a big sigh, reached out and touched my arm. His unnaturally hot skin reminded me painfully of someone else's. "Claire, he--" His eyes held pity, and I didn't want his pity. I just wanted an explanation.

I turned around. "Whatever. It doesn't matter." It hurt, lying like that. Of course it mattered. It always mattered.

"Claire--"

I walked away. He wouldn't tell me anything and I didn't want to stand there listening to his feeble excuses and seeing his unbearable pity. I knew it was rude but I also knew he wouldn't care, I knew he would understand. I thought he would, at least.

"Claire?" Oh, God. Not again. Can't he just leave me alone? But the voice was...different.

"Claire, what are you doing here alone?" Matt walked closer to me, holding Zaney's leash in one hand and a plastic bag with, no doubt, some kind of candy, in the other. I rolled my eyes.

"What do you want, Matt?"

"What are you doing here alone?" His tone held too much concern. It made me miss another voice, another person, more than I already did.

"Walking. What does it look like?"

"Were you just at Quil's?" He sounded suspicious. Why was everyone so suspicious of us? Why was everyone so set on keeping us apart? First my mom, then, something to do with Sam, Quil--but that little snippet of Quil's thoughts I got were so...I could hear the love and the pain in his thoughts, so somehow I knew that this wasn't his choice. Now Matt.

"Yeah."

"What were you doing there? What's up with you and Quil?"

"Well, nothing now."

"What do you mean?" All his emotions seemed to...real. Now curiosity. What was with him?

"Something was, but not anymore, obviously."

"Why?"

"He's avoiding me," I mumbled. I didn't even know why I was telling Matt about this, of all people.

"What? Why would he avoid you? He l--" He broke off.

"He what?"

"Nothing." Whatever. I dropped it. "Why is he avoiding you?" He asked again.

"I don't know, do I? If I did I might be able to...know!"

"Really? If you knew you might be able to know?"

"Shut up," I grumbled at him. He could be so annoying, and so could that unbreakable smirk on his face.

"Well, what was going on with you guys?" He looked at me, reached into his bag and took out some red plasticy dot thing. He held out a green one to me. "Want one?" He asked.

I made a face and shook my head. He popped them both in his mouth. "So?"

No way I was talking about me and Quil with him. No way. "Nothing."

"You just said there was." Why was he being so persistent?

"Fine. I don't know."

"Zaney! Heel!" He jerked the leash. "You don't know?" Skeptical now. When I didn't say anything he gasped and said, "He's not hurting you, is he? Because if he is--"

"No! He's not hurting me." Right now he was. But that wasn't his fault. I told myself that, and I believed it. It was so much easier to blame Sam, even though I had no idea what he was doing, or why.

"Good," was all Matt said, and we walked home in silence.

--

I stayed up again that night, at least until I collapsed at somewhere past two in the morning over some book. He didn't come, again. Before I fell asleep, I heard a wolf howl, long and low.

I know it's short but I'll try to post the next one before I leave. Maybe even tonight? (hopefully...)

Okay. So a few questions. If you can think of some names, for Annie's sister and some vampires, (male and female) let me know in a review or PM or something. I'm not guaranteeing that I'm going to use every one, but since I'm horrible at names I need help.

And what would you think about a hostage situation? (Yes, this is for you. You know who you are.) As in Claire being the hostage, right?

So review and tell me some names, what you think about a hostage situation (things you want to see in it) things you want to see in the actual story...and...just reivew!! Thanks!