Chapter 27

"Teddy and Claire-Bear to the rescue!" Quil called out in a jokey voice, as he and Claire burst into my kitchen. According to what I'd heard, Claire's most recent obsession was with some stupid cartoon show about superheroes. And since Quil would do anything to make her happy, he'd been forced to adopt a superhero name, and fight crime with her in his free time.

"It's not Claire-Bear!" Claire whined, looking annoyed. "I told you, my superhero name is supposed to be Princess!"

"Sorry." He apologized. "I like Claire-Bear better."

"But I want to be called Princess!" She whined, stomping her foot on the ground.

"All right, whatever you say, your highness."

I rolled my eyes at them, watching them play around. Honestly, I thought Claire was cute and all, but I don't think I'd be able to stand constantly playing pretend games with her and helping her dress up. But Quil never complained. In fact, in a slightly disturbing way, I think he almost enjoyed it.

"Hello?" I called, waving my hand around to get their attention. "You can't leave the damsel in distress waiting over here!"

"Sorry." Quil apologized. He picked Claire up with his arms, and hoisted her up onto the kitchen counter. "Ready to fight some crime?"

"Yeah!" she chirped excitedly. "Where are the bad guys, Cherry?"

"Right here." I replied, opening the fridge. I pulled out plate after plate of various bakes- there were cookies, brownies, cupcakes, muffins, and plenty of other stuff. Quil and Claire just watched me, their mouths hanging open slightly. Once I was done putting them all on the counter, I shut the door of the refrigerator, and turned to them. "Well? Think you can take them on?"

"I don't know. That's a lot of bad guys." Claire admitted, her eyes glowing as she looked at them. "But the Princess can do anything!"

"Of course she can!" I replied, with a smile. "And do you want to know the secret to killing these bad guys?"

Claire giggled.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You've got to eat them!" I replied pushing a plate of cookies towards her. She dug into them happily, munching loudly. I pushed another plate towards Quil, but I realized that he was giving me a weird look.

"Why'd you bake all this, Cherry?" he asked me, his voice serious. I sighed, knowing that he probably had me all figured out.

"It makes me feel better." I admitted with a sigh, as I leaned back against the counter. I didn't want to talk about it, not now, I'd only called Quil and Claire over because being alone was driving me nuts, and I figured that company would help me distract myself. "Honestly Quil, it's no big deal. Dig in."

He glanced at the plate of cupcakes, and then at me with a sigh.

"This is stupid." He told me. "It's obvious that you baked all of this because you're upset. Cherry, why don't you just go talk to him? I swear, working things out has got to be cheaper than the amount of money you've been spending on flour and eggs."

"I just need a break." I replied. "I mean, come on Quil, you can't tell me that you're on his side. Damn it, he thought I was leading him on and using him! He should trust me enough to know that I'm not some needy bitch like Bella!"

Quil cast a wary glance towards Claire, but she was too busy 'fighting crime' to even remember that we were still there.

"Nobody thinks that you're anything like Bella, least of all Embry." He said, once he was sure that she wasn't listening. "But you've got to have some sort of compassion for the guy. He's so messed up right now, it's driving the whole pack nuts. He doesn't even know whether to be happy that you love him, or upset that you're pissed off at him, that's how screwed he is."

I bit my lip, as a clenching feeling rose up in my chest. I felt horrible that Embry was so torn up about me, but I was still mad at him. I mean, he hadn't followed me, hadn't even tried to talk to me after last night or apologize. What was I supposed to think?

"If he's so torn up about it, then he should come talk to me." I replied coldly. "He hasn't even tried or anything. It's hardly my fault."

"He thinks you won't talk to him."

"He hasn't even tried!" I repeated, my voice rising a little. "If he gave a damn, he would be here himself right now instead of leaving you to give me some stupid second-hand account of what he thinks!"

There was a slight silence, until Claire spoke up.

"Cherry, why are you yelling?" she asked softly.

"Sorry." I muttered, turning away from them. "I have to go, I promised Danny I'd do a shift at the coffee shop. Take whatever cakes you want, what's left will probably go in the bin anyway."

-x-x- -xx-

I tapped my fingers idly on the counter, as I watched Hayley take another customer's order. We were pretty empty today, and the only two people in the café were a girl sitting in the corner with a book, and another old lady that was a regular here. One of the guys usually hung out with me while I was on a shift, but Quil was busy with Claire, Jacob was probably down in Forks, and god knows where the hell Embry was. Probably at his place, or Sam's.

He still hadn't tried to talk to me, and I had to admit that I was a little worried. I mean, even though I was damn pissed off at him, I knew that he cared about me. I just couldn't understand why he hadn't even tried to sort things out yet. I wished he would. I missed him.

The door at the front chimed, and a customer walked in. I quickly straightened up, and put on my 'how may I help you' smile, until I noticed who it was.

"Hey… Cherry, right?" the girl asked me. She was short and had golden blonde hair, along with a lot of heavy make-up. It still made her look good though, and I realized that she went to my high school. "Aren't you like, in my History class?"

"Yeah." I replied, trying to remember her name. It was something with a B…

"I'm Brianna." She told me, with a polite smile. I smiled back.

"Hey Brianna. What can I get you?"

"Um, a latte. Lots of cream." She told me, rolling her eyes. "I am so giving up on my diet. I swear, it's just totally not worth the trouble. I figure that if a guy wants me for who I am, my figure shouldn't stop him."

"You don't need to lose weight." I assured her, as I fixed her drink.

"Easy for you to say. You already have a boyfriend, don't you? That really tall one… what's his name again? I forgot."

"Embry's not my boyfriend." I told her with a shrug, though I kind of wished I didn't have to say it. Maybe if it wasn't for last night, he would have been my boyfriend right now.

"No way! You're kidding me!" She cried, looking surprised. "Are you telling me that a catch like him is still single? Damn!"

My grip tightened a little on the foam cup I was holding, but I managed not to spill anything.

"Yeah, I guess he is…" I muttered, but I wasn't sure that she heard me. Personally, I didn't care. I just kind of wanted her to leave as soon as possible. "Here's your latte."

"Thanks." She replied, as she fished some change out of her purse. "Not just for the latte. I can't believe I never realized that Embry didn't have a girlfriend!"

She winked at me, before walking away, her purse swinging on her arm. I felt a desperate urge to run after her and tell her that Embry was mine, but I settled myself with just glaring at her as she left the store.

"Who was that?" Hayley asked me, coming up to the counter.

"Some girl from my school." I muttered absently. "Hey Hayley… do you think you could cover for me if Danny comes back? There's something I really have to do, and I'm afraid that if I don't do it now, I'll change my mind."

Hayley smiled at me, her eyes twinkling as she got my meaning.

"Don't worry, girl. You go get him."

I grinned. Embry was mine. He loved me, and I loved him, and I didn't give a damn about anything else.

A/N – Just a filler chapter, I guess, but the next one will have some drama, I promise! I'll get it up as soon as possible, as long as I get a couple more reviews!