I woke up, groggy, as a rain droplet plopped on my face. My body was clammy from sleeping next to Quil all night, and though it was lightly raining I was still too hot being beside him.
I stretched, yawned, and scratched my eyes. Quil looked down at me and kissed the top of my head. "Good morning, sleepy," he greeted as I sat up. "It's after twelve. Time to get you back home."
I looked around and took in my surroundings. Though the sky was like a quilt of gray, the lake was still beautiful. I stood and walked over to it, trying to cool off as I dipped my feet in.
"Are you gonna give me a ride back?" I asked. How would we return to La Push?
"Actually..." he said mischievously. "I drove my car out here earlier. Want to know why?"
"So you can drive back?" I guessed.
"Nope! So you can drive back!" he threw me his car keys from a zippered pocket in his shorts, which I didn't even attempt to catch and let fall into the grass at my feet.
"Hah!" I snorted. "Right. I don't even know where you ran us to."
"Well I do, and I'll be in the passenger seat. Pick up those keys, and get ready for driving lesson #2!" He sounded enthusiastic, and held up his hand for a high five. I left him hanging, and dragged my feet to the driver's side.
"Driving is so hard. I don't know why I'm not getting it!" I hadn't hit anything yet, but there was lots of lurching and abrupt stops.
"You're doing fine! It's a little hard, but that's okay. You're staying on the road and even though there's lots of sudden... er, speed changes, we're getting close to Forks now. No one has even honked! Now, that's progress. Turn your left blinker on, Claire." He did it for me anyway, after I fumbled around with the headlights and windshield wipers.
"My pants are full of sand and grass and dirt," I pointed out. "Can I wash them at your house? I don't think my parents are home, and they're the only ones who know how to work our new turbo washer/dryer thing."
"Sure thing," he answered.
We finally pulled into La Push and I rushed into Quil's house just as it started to pour. He threw me a towel and told me to cover up while I pulled my pants off. I rolled my eyes, remembering the last time my pants were removed at his house.
I dropped them into the wash and started to walk home for a shower, when I remembered... "Quil, I can't walk home in my underwear."
"Okay, I'll drive you," he said.
"Yes! Thank you!" I ran out quickly to his car so he wouldn't see me in my 'female undergarments' (even though he already saw me in them last night...)
He dropped me off after keeping his eyes averted the entire car ride. I pecked him on the cheek before I jogged through my front door to find some clean towels.
"Claire, where are your pants?" I heard my mom call from the living room as I passed it on my way to the laundry room. Huh. So she was home.
"Chill, mom. They're at Quil's," I replied as I backtracked to where she was. My mom saw me in a swimsuit, so I didn't mind if she saw me in my-
"What did you just say?" I heard a male voice boom. Not my dad, his voice wasn't so deep... not Quil, he was at home...
"Uncle Sam!" I screeched, and ran from the doorway. I was about to walk in there!
"Quil promised me to take care of you and not try anything funny. I didn't feel the need to make it an order. I trusted him. And now you come home in... that... JUST that... and you say your clothes are at Quil's." He sounded aggravated.
"Er... well, they're at his house. But just to wash them!" I tried to soothe.
"And what's with you being gone all night?" He continued.
"Quil told me my mom said it was ok!" I cried. I had wondered the same thing as I drifted off to sleep, and he reassured me he had it planned out.
"Yes Sam," my mother told him, "I gave Quil permission to look after her. I trust him more than... gosh, anyone with Claire. You really think-"
"I think that staying out with your boyfriend until the afternoon-"
"Uncle Sam, you're not my dad. You don't have say in what I do-"
"Well, your father won't be back until evening, and until you have a father figure here, I think I'm the perfect candidate-"
"Are you seriously upset because my pants got muddy and I washed them?? You gave Quil permission to show me his wolf form, and my mom gave me permission to go out. I'm not going to defend myself further." I grabbed some towels from the dryer and took a hot shower while I heard arguing downstairs.
I turned the shower off and, as I opened the door, heard my sister exclaim, "You're bent out of shape because of an episode of Maury??" and then exploded in a fit of laughter.
I threw some sweats on and walked downstairs to find my mother, Jackie, and Collin laughing with tears in their eyes, and Sam huffing, red-faced.
And here I thought my Uncle had a sudden burst of fathering instincts. Little did I know...
"Well, I might have caught the tail-end of an episode..." he tried to defend himself.
"Sam, you know those girls are 13 and trying to get pregnant, right? They're not 16 year olds who hang out with their boyfriend... who would rather die than do something irresponsible with them. You're too much sometimes," my mother said, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Yeah, Sam. And what are you doing watching that crap anyway?" Collin asked.
"Well, I have two teenaged nieces and I just want to make sure..." he grumbled.
This caused everyone to crack up again, so Sam grabbed Collin by his shirt and dragged him outside.
"Hey! You're still taking me shopping, loser!" Jackie called after her boyfriend. With, even though the sentence didn't imply it, those goo-goo, sappy, disgusting eyes. Eck.
"Why do you look at Collin like that?" I asked. She'd been doing it a lot lately.
"Like what?"
"Looking at Collin like he's a piece of meat. Or, in your case, a triple whipped no cream skim milk frosted latte americano double caffiene shot frappichino non fat espresso whatever the hell you order all the time." Did you know she spends like 50 bucks for a small at Starbucks? Well, maybe not 50... but WAYY too much for a coffee.
"Stop calling the kettle black, you little teapot," she said and smacked the top of my head.
"What?"
"Like we're not all gagging whenever Quil and you have a little 'moment.'" She shuddered.
"Oh, Jacqueline, be quiet." My mother hushed her.
"What?" I asked again.
"You know how Sam looks at Emily, or Jared looks at Kim? In that nasty old person way that's kinda cute but mostly gross?"
"Ew. Yes. You aren't nearly as bad as those guys, so don't worry."
"Well, newsflash! You are. Quil looks at you like you're... I don't know. Always talking to him about something he's really enthused about. Like, you know how... ugh, you're like the only thing he's enthused about. Kay, well, imagine... damn, he hasn't seen you naked yet. I can't think of an example! Mom, help me out with this."
"Imagine Romeo about to kill himself, but then Juliet wakes up. Now, pause on that face he's giving her, and replay it every time Quil is around you. Like that." My mom laughed as I pictured it in my mind.
"It's not always like that, you guys," I insisted.
"You've never seen him when he's not around you. He could be having the time of his life, but then you walk in the room and it's like he's been moping around crying the entire time. That's how big of a change it is."
"Riiight. Okay."
"Anyway, I'm off to Collin's. See you in a few hours, guys," Jackie said and left.
I heard the phone ring, and jogged over to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hi there, is a Miss Claire Harper here?" The voice asked.
"Speaking."
"Hello, this is Washington Airlines. We tried to get a hold of Mr. Quil Ataera, but we were unable to. The other ticket is addressed to-"
"Claire!" I heard Quil yell as he burst into the house. He ran over and grabbed the phone. "Hello? Yes, this is Quil. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Oh, really? That's too... oh, well that would be great, then. Thank you. Yup. Bye." He hung up the phone and passed it back to me.
"Who was that?" I asked.
"No one," he said, a little too quickly, then grabbed my hand. "Now, Collin and Brady are offering fifty bucks to you if you're willing to clean their house for them... I was wondering if we could drop by? You get all the money, of course."
"Seriously, Quil. Who was on the phone?" I pressed.
"Calm down. I collect... air miles. Now, the boys need your help. Are you in?"
Everyone knew how perfectly neat my room usually was, and of course I cleaned Quil's house all the time. I sighed. "Yeah, sure. Jackie's over there now, we'll see her."
Waving to my mother, we walked out toward the boys' little house. The door, like always, was open. I walked toward the couch. "Brady? Jackie? Collin...?"
"AHHH!" I screamed.
"AHHH!" Jacqueline screamed.
"AHHH!" I screamed again.
"GET OUT, CLAIRE!" She yelled at me.
"I'M ON MY WAY OUT THE DOOR NOW!" I yelled back, wheeling around.
"WHAT THE HELL, COLLIN?" I heard Quil cry.
"DUDE, JUST GET YOU AND YOUR GIRLFRIEND OUT OF HERE!"
I didn't realize a hand was covering my eyes until they took it off and I was suddenly outside. Quil was holding me.
"Ummm... Quil? Were Jacqueline and Collin-"
"Yes, Claire. Yes they were."
Awkward. I cleared my throat. Quil coughed.
"Yeah..."
"Mhmm..."
More Awkward.
"I better... go to work..."
"Yeah... you do that..." He put me down and I jogged back to my house.
"Hey Claire..." I heard Jacob say as I answered the phone. "I hear you got a free show this afternoon."
"Shut up, Jake," I pleaded more than demanded. I was traumatized. Quil had come over after his 'shift' and we'd watched TV in silence until Jake called.
"Hey, put me on speaker, will ya?" He asked. I rolled my eyes and pressed the button.
"Hey Quil!" Jacob greeted. Quil grumbled.
"So, I got a question. How does it feel knowing your girlfriend saw your brother's junk before she saw yours?" I heard other chuckles in the background; he obviously wasn't alone.
His eyes just about popped out of his head. "Wh...she... well...what?"
I blushed a deep scarlet; the disgusting, horrifying image had replayed itself in my mind over and over. I also could have lived without seeing my sister's cans.
"YOU SAW?!"
"Ummm..." I whispered.
Hoots of laughter came from the phone. "Hope you can measure up, Quil!" Someone that sounded like Seth, or maybe Jared, yelled.
I hung up the phone quickly and stared straight ahead. Would the day never end?
"Jacqueline should be home," my mother muttered as she walked into the living room. "Hey kids, have you seen Jackie today?"
"No!" We yelled in unison.
"Er... okay. Do you think she's still at Collin's?" she asked.
"I DON'T KNOW, I MEAN THEY COULD BE ANYWHERE, I DON'T THINK THEY'RE DOING ANYTHING IMPORTANT, BUT YEAH SHE'LL GET HERE WHEN SHE GETS HERE, I DON'T THINK THEY'RE HAVING SEX OR ANYTHING HAHAHA-"
"Claire, what is your problem?" My mother demanded, looking at me like a maniac.
I coughed. "Nothing."
She blinked. Once. Twice. "Quil, dear, I have no idea how you put up with this one. I know I sure don't." She shook her head and grabbed the phone from me. Probably calling Collin.
"Way to be smooth, Claire."
"Shut up."
Fifteen minutes later, the front door opened and Jacqueline tiptoed inside. I nodded, and she nodded back. She ran upstairs.
"Do you think I'll ever be able to have a regular sisterly relationship after this?" I asked.
"Oh, I doubt it," Quil replied. I narrowed my eyes.
"Kidding."
I sighed.
"I better go. You need to go to sleep."
I checked the clock, pouting. "Quil, it's ten. Are you kidding? That's your curfew on school nights."
He looked edgy. "Claire, you have to be ready for 8 tomorrow. Can you do that?"
I furrowed my brow. "Um... why?"
"I just want to hang out."
"We can hang out now."
"I've gotta go. See you at eight tomorrow." He kissed me lightly and walked toward the front door. I looked at my mom, who was in the kitchen, and got even more confused. Her and Quil shared a smile, and he left.
"Mom? What do you know about this?" I asked, suspicious.
"Oh, nothing. Go get some sleep, love. It'll be a busy day tomorrow."
I woke up with a start, not knowing what made me stir. I looked around, confused, wondering what could have woken me out of a sound sleep. I shivered, realizing it was probably the cold. I got out of bed and walked to the dresser, finding a pair of sweats to put on instead of my light flannel shorts. I would have changed quicker, if I didn't hear a noise outside my window when I was in my underwear, about to pull on a hoodie.
I knew it wasn't a tree; there wasn't any trees surrounding my window. I saw movement in my peripheral vision and froze. I learned what to do in case of a peeping tom. Run to the nearest phone and dial 9-1-1.
Unfortunately, my phone was on the nighttable next to my window. That was fine. I could go to the one in the hallway...
I jumped about a mile and a half in the air and tried to let out a scream as I felt a hand on the small of my back, but all that came out was a whoosh of air. That was one sneaky pedophile. I couldn't even hear him open the window, let alone walk across the creaky floor to where I stood.
I whipped around, ready to use my ju jitsu that Quil and I learned off an instructional tape when I was six, but I realized that I wouldn't need to. Because my 'attacker' was actually entirely welcome.
The adrenaline was pumping through my veins, the blood pounding in my ears from my scare. What didn't help it slow down back to normal was Quil's burning mouth suddenly envelop mine. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist, suddenly too hot instead of too cold. One hand still on my back and the other in my hair, he laid me down on the bed and continued to kiss me. I rubbed my palms down his beautiful chest, along his washboard abs, back up to his shoulders and around the muscles in his arms.
He rolled over so I was on top of him, and I hesitated, just for a moment, when he let his fingers trail down the backs of my thighs.
Unfortunately, that split second of hesitation was enough for him to get his head straight. He groaned, lifting me by my hips so I was laying beside him. We were silent until our heartbeats slowed.
"I am so sorry," he breathed.
"You scared the crap out of me back there," I whispered.
He closed his eyes and chuckled lightly. "I wasn't expecting to see you wearing those clothes... or lack thereof."
"Well, you're forgiven. More than that, actually. I should be thanking you. I don't usually get midnight visits."
He shook his head. "No, I shouldn't have done that. Don't thank me. But I'm glad I'm forgiven."
I smiled, and rolled onto my stomach so I could rest my head on his chest. "What were you doing looking into my window, anyway? Watching me sleep?"
He looked down at me. "No. That's weird. I usually check up on you if I'm running at night, though. Just for a moment, to see if you're okay."
"That's probably what woke me, then. Not the cold."
He nodded. "Usually, I'm much quieter. Silent, actually. Tonight, though, I had other things on my mind. Or in my mind, I should say. I don't think the teasing will ever stop for our little mishap today... or yesterday, now." He nodded down to his shorts, which I just noticed were not even buttoned up right. "Then, of course, when I saw you get up... well, I phased back quickly."
I thought for a moment. "Where are we going tomorrow?"
He groaned again, as if remembering. "That's right."
"Um... it's okay if you made other plans, Quil. If you forgot, that's totally fine-"
His eyes focused on me, incredulous. "You thought I'd forget? Of course not!" He shook his head like I'd just said the most far fetched thing in the world. "It's just..." His eyes trailed down my body, and back up again. "If I can't control myself in your house, with your parents down the hall, what am I going to do when we're all alone?"
I was suddenly filled with excitement. "We're going somewhere alone?"
He smiled. "Yeah. Not telling you where, though. But no getting carried away- you're still sixteen."
I rolled my eyes. "So are you."
He laughed. "Well, it doesn't say so on my driver's license."
That got me curious. "What exactly is your age on your driver's license, then?"
"Wow. It would be... 26 now. Time to get a new one. The Cul- um, a family suggested a guy named J Jenks to us. We can get fake ID's if we want to. Most of us stop when we get married." He shrugged. "Well, soon I'll be 21 again."
"Yay! Then I'll only be 5 years behind you!"
He sighed. "No. You'll still be 14 years behind."
"Hey! We agreed that age isn't even important anymore. You're not aging, so it doesn't matter." I narrowed my eyebrows and pouted.
"I know, I know. You've just grown up so fast, it's hard not to think of you as little anymore."
I smiled. "Well, it hasn't been fast for me. The days went by painfully slow."
He stared at me for a minute. "You're so beautiful, you know that, right?"
I blushed lightly. Where was this coming from? "Quil, I'm a mess. I was in the middle of sleeping."
He shook his head and closed his eyes. "Want to know something funny?" he asked.
"Um, sure."
"Well, when you were a little girl, maybe five or six, you asked me to be your boyfriend."
I gasped. "Are you serious?"
"Yes. In front of everyone."
I couldn't even remember it. "What happened?"
"We were eating thanksgiving dinner, and all the women gave thanks to their 'amazing' partners." He chuckled lightly. "Then they gave their boyfriends, fiancees, and husbands a kiss. You were upset you couldn't kiss anyone, and Jackie was kissing your old neighbour. Remember Pete?"
We used to play outside with Pete when we were little. I nodded.
"Well, he was the only one your age. There was no other boy. So you walked up to me and said, 'Quil! You have to kiss me right now!' It was awkward. So I replied with, 'Honey, you have to be someone's boyfriend to kiss them.' Can you believe you started to cry?"
I was embarassed, enough so that I didn't want him to finish the story. I buried my head in the pillow.
"So, while everyone tried to console you, you said to me through your tears: 'Quil, will you please be my boyfriend? Please?' It was the cutest thing you'd ever said! I couldn't think of it as cute at the time, though. I was fumbling for the right response. My brothers were all laughing."
"So what did you say?" I asked, my voice muffled from the pillow still covering my face.
"What else could I say? I had to say yes! There was no other way to stop you from crying. I kissed you on the top of your head, and for a few days, you insisted that I hold your hand everywhere." He laughed, as if remembering me tugging him along everywhere I went.
I smiled. "So, why are you telling me this? A story that will embarass me for the rest of my life?"
"Because," he said, "Tomorrow is payback. I'll be taking you somewhere where you'll have your fill of awkward moments, on account of me."
"Ugh! Please just tell me where we're going!"
He smiled. "I'll see you at 8 a.m. tomorrow, my love," he said with a kiss, and then he was out the window and running into the forest.