"No Quil, that's complete crap and you know it!" I rolled my eyes at him as we entered Sam and Emily's house again. The others, all standing around the kitchen, looked at us with slightly worried expressions.
Quil shot back at me, not noticing the others, "It is not! How can you possibly say that Corvette is better than Mustang? After about '73 maybe but before that you're just stupid."
"Hey! Who's got the 35 on her ACT?"
He grinned at me, "What was your mechanical score on that?"
My mouth flapped open and closed a few times. "Well…bleh to you!" Putting on a pouting face, I appealed to the only other woman in the room, "Emily, Quil's being annoying! Make him stop!"
The room erupted with laughter. Emily turned a motherly face on him and reprimanded over the noise, "Now Quil, be nice."
I stuck my tongue out at him and he glared at me. Then, before I knew it, I was hovering in the air upside down. Screaming the entire time, I tried to pound on Quil to let me go. "QUIL! Quil put me down! Be nice to the midget! Ahhh, Quil! No, no, no spinning! I am so going to be sick and I'm going to make sure it gets all over you! Yeah, yeah that's right, put me down." I paled as he lowered me only to change his grip.
"QUIL, I AM SO KILLING YOU!" I screamed while sailing through the air onto his shoulder. Hitting my head on his back was like I had just become blind and walked into a concrete wall. "Oouf, bad, mean steroidish man. Yeah, Quil, I'm talking about you. Once I learn to fly, death is coming on swift wings, buddy."
My ears were still being assaulted with laughter, and not just Quil's. I sent what Colin had once dubbed as blood-freezing looks toward the others. "May God smite you all!" The laughter continued and Quil turned around, seemingly forgetting about me, and talking to the other guys.
Meanwhile, I was scheming. Come on, Claire. There's gotta be a way to get out of this. I tried to kick my foot toward something that I knew would make Quil fall like one of those giant trees out there. His hand shot out and intercepted it without missing a syllable. Damn freaky man! Next, I tried reaching out for the stair railing. I almost fell off but I managed to grab it. I pulled and pulled but it didn't even seem to strain Quil to not move.
Eyes narrowing, I was getting fed up. I didn't like being continually thwarted. As I was beginning to run out of options, a thought came from the deep recesses of my memory. Tickle his sides. It was one of those faraway instincts that had been coming to me since I came here. First, I'd known La Push, then Emily seemed familiar and I ended up related to her.
I shot my hands down and tickled his sides, right on the outside edge of his abs. Laughter cut off the rest of his sentence to Embry.
Go my subconscious!
What I hadn't counted on was that he wasn't just ticklish there. That spot was like the leg-kick spot on a dog. Even trying to pull me back in front of him so I couldn't reach, he started uncontrollably laughing and before either of us realized what was happening he was falling to the floor, taking me right with him. Out of instinct, I wrapped my arms around his neck, screaming. I crashed the floor, barely missing the table, and hitting my head hard on the floor. He was there noticeably, swelteringly and crushingly on top of me.
There was a second of shocked, worried silence. I coughed, trying in vain to get some oxygen back into my lungs, "Q-Quil, I need air. Oxygen is a necessity of life!" His face turned toward mine, and even after he scrambled up, the mere centimeters between his lips and mine made breathing impossible. Again, bad Claire!
My hands hadn't let go of his neck so once he was standing, I was hanging about a foot off the ground. A worried look on his face, he took my hands and lowered me to the floor. Groaning, I reached one to the back of my head once the white spots had disappeared, "Quil, you bring whole new meaning to the phrase hot and heavy."
I had meant it to be funny, at least Jake, Jared and Paul laughed, but Quil looked like he'd just shot me or something. "Claire, I'm so sorry! Are you all right? I didn't mean to I swear. Please, tell me you're ok. I'm so, so sorry." His sweet concern made me smile.
He went on like that for a few more minutes before I put him out of his misery.
Taking a step toward him, I reached up and gently smacked the side of his face, "Quil, shut up. I'm fine." In all honesty, I wished I could've kissed him to make him stop. It would've been funny and I certainly wouldn't have been against it. Claire, you have Colin. You're dating him. Stop being a whore.
His dark brown eyes still held concern. Reaching out both hands, I threatened, "If you don't smile I'm gonna tickle you some more and it's just gonna happen again." He twitched as my cold fingers touched his skin, "Yeah, I'll do it, Quil. Do not underestimate the midget!"
That smile I'd going for spread across his face as his strong arms engulfed me in a hug that made me sweat…and my heart race. Goddamn it body stop doing that to me. Colin, Colin, Colin…
My mental reprimands were cut off when his hug turned scooping me up in his arms. Next thing I knew, I was being tossed onto Emily's couch and this time it was his scorching fingers tickling me. Somehow he knew exactly where to tickle me so I made that loud, embarrassing giggle. My laugh made his face split into that grin that took up half his face, his perfectly white teeth even whiter against his copper skin. Fighting him was a completely lost cause. His huge body had me pinned between it and the couch. No matter how much I squirmed I wasn't going anywhere.
Yeah, my 135 pounds versus his probably 275 of pure muscle. I was doomed from the get-go.
Breathing raggedly, fighting off tears of laughter, I begged, "Quil, Quil stop! Please!"
His deep voice was rippling with laughter as he got up and held out a hand, "You still think Corvettes are better than Mustangs?"
Looking from his hand to his eyes, the latter being annoying enthralling, I suddenly grinned, "Yep!" I rolled off the couch and scurried to the safety underneath the coffee. Oh yes, being short was good.
Quil dropped to his knees and commenced trying to get me out. After I backed painfully into one of the legs, there was a pronounced "Ahem" from the kitchen. Our heads swung in that direction. Since my encounter with the ground, I'd been in a bubble that only included Quil and me. I'd forgotten they existed for those ten minutes.
They were all staring at us with varied levels of amusement and shock. Sam rolled his eyes and started forward, Emily right behind holding his hand, "Quil, buddy, we've only got one coffee table. And Claire, don't take this the wrong way, but you haven't changed at all. You, three years old, I'm totally seeing it right now."
As soon as he sat down I stuck my tongue out at him. Well, he had a definite point there all things considered. Embry and Jake each grabbed one of my arms and hauled me up. "You know, Sam, maybe I just like lounging on the floor underneath tables. You ever think of that?" He sent me a look that made Emily laugh.
I woke up late that night sitting up on Abby's bed with the little girl hugging my arm, still fast asleep. There was a piece of paper and pencil in my lap. Carefully detaching my arm from her so as not to wake her, I stood up. I left the drawing of Mulan on the bed with her. After begging me to see all her princess stuff, I'd told her I could draw. Abby pounced upon the knowledge in a heartbeat. She informed me that Mulan was her 'favoritest' princess of them all. She brought me the paper and pencil and put on what I imagined was the look she used to melt Sam whenever she wanted. It melted me that was for sure.
We'd been in the middle of picking colors for her dress when she nodded off, me soon after. I'd had a full day: meeting my family, bonding with everyone, arguing with Colin, all but baring my soul to Quil, starting to crush on Quil… It'd been tiring. I couldn't stop being mad at myself for the last one. I was the one intent on making it work with Colin, how could I even think of someone else that way? I got the feeling that Quil wouldn't hold anything against me. We could be friends…right?
In the darkness of Abby's doorway, I was surprised to see that there was still a light on in the kitchen. Frowning, I pulled out my phone to check the time. It was two in the morning. Shaking off a yawn, I padded quietly down the hall and peered around the corner to see. Sam, Jake and Billy were there talking. I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop but come on, a two in the morning meeting in the kitchen? I was bubbly, not saintly.
"I'm surprised she fit back in as well as she did. It's like she didn't find it weird at all to hang with us but not remember." I thought that was Jake, both Sam and Billy's voices were a bit deeper than his.
"I'm not. She drank everything up yesterday. She sat there fascinated for almost six hours listening to the old legends. I think she's been lonely." That was Billy.
I was beginning to put more and more stock in my mind-reader hypothesis. If only he knew just how lonely I'd been. Just twenty-four hours here and I felt at home for the first time ever. It felt right and good and intended. My heart wasn't visiting here, it was coming home. I somehow knew that.
Jake's tone shrugged, "From the sounds of her boyfriend, I'd believe it."
"How's Quil?" Sam spoke up for the first time. "I thought he was going to pass out when we walked in."
Jake was nodding then, "Yeah, I noticed something in his head when we were running. I think he sensed she was back but it's been so long he didn't put the pieces together. It's a good thing that Embry and Seth haven't imprinted yet or I think it would've driven him insane by now. He's ecstatic. I've never seen him this happy since she left."
What on earth was imprinting and how was I involved?
"Oh, have fun in his head the next time you guys go. She likes him. I can't tell what way though, can you?" That was Sam again.
Billy started chuckling, "Oh, you amuse me sometimes, Sam. I wouldn't worry about what way she likes him. That'll work itself out. Don't worry there. Now Jake, I would really like to go home and sleep. Claire will understand if we borrow her keys."
Ok, this man definitely had some freaky, psychic talents going on. I felt like I'd been transformed into a book with large print because he and Emily were looking stuff up about my inner self like I was a dictionary. My own mom couldn't understand me and she'd known me nineteen years. Emily and Billy hadn't seen me in fifteen and they were in my head already.
"When should we tell her?" There was Sam again. The screen door creaked open and they were too far away for me to hear a response. After hearing my Civic drive away, I pressed myself against the wall so Sam wouldn't see me. He went straight up the stairs to his and Emily's room.
Confusion, and a bit of guilt, built as I moved through the living room to the couch. I curled up using the pillow already there. Too bad Quil wasn't there to keep me warm. The last thing I thought before falling asleep was, "Stupid Claire, you have a boyfriend and Quil couldn't see you like that. Cut it out."
"Cwaire, wake up! You dwaw me picture wike Abby." Harry was standing there, his fist knocking on my temple to bring me back to consciousness.
I groaned loudly but opened my eyes anyway. "Give me a second, baby." Pushing myself to a sitting position, I stretched. The little boy, and now Abby too, was still standing there, hopeful smile on his face. His short black hair was bedraggled and sticking up. Abby's braided pigtails had survived the night somehow. I noticed that they both looked more like Sam than Emily. I couldn't explain how but they did a bit. They had Emily's eyes though.
Smiling, I commented, "Ok, as soon as I get changed into new clothes then we'll draw."
"YAY!" They skipped around me cheering as I headed toward the kitchen.
"Where's your mommy?"
Abby shrugged, "Oh, she's still asleep. We're nice and let her and daddy sleep in." Nodding approvingly, I then looked at the clock. It was five-thirty in the morning! Oh, you've gotta love little kids. For a second, I was tempted to just go lay back down on the couch. But they were still staring up at me, admiration and hope in their eyes.
Hey, I'm a girl. We're all suckers for little kids. And these two were really, really cute.
"Let's make breakfast so your mommy doesn't have to. What should we make?" Emily had given me permission the day before to make anything I wanted. I padded over to my purse and, after making sure the door at the top of the stairs was closed, grabbed my iPod, putting one headphone in and kicking off my shoes and socks. They began rattling off ideas as I picked them up and set them on the counter.
Harry added matter of factly, "Whatever we do we have to make enough for everyone because the others are always here for breakfast around seven."
"Don't they ever eat at their own houses?" I rolled my eyes teasingly. They laughed.
"Let's make pancakes with chocolate chips. They're me and Quil's favorite," Abby declared. Was it bad that that knowledge made me warm and tingly inside? Was it bad that I wanted to go out of my way to make something Quil liked?
"Oh, oh, bacon and eggs too!"
"But no muffins! Mommy's the only one that can make them muffins. Hers are the best ever! So no muffins," Abby instructed.
Smiling as I braided my hair into pigtails, I nodded, "Sounds good. You guys get to help me mix and tell me where stuff is." I found some upbeat, danceable music that sounded good on my iPod and we began the journey. Half the time they told me two different locations for the same ingredient but one of them was always right, mainly Abby. It amused them to no end that I danced and absently sang as I did things.
Simply sticking my tongue out at them, I sang slightly louder. They got a good portion of the batter onto the counter but we soon had a huge amount ready to be cooked. Harry was in charge of telling me when the bacon smelled ready and putting pepper on the eggs and Abby was to make sure there were enough chocolate chips in the pancakes.
They'd joined in my singing as I twirled from the counter across to the stove after I put the pancakes on the griddle. Apparently, the three of us singing and the smell of food was enough to beckon the guys to Emily's kitchen. Ok, it was probably more the smell of food overpowered the repulsive effect of our singing.
Again shirtless, the boys all arrived, rambunctious and loud. The three of us immediately shushed them. Holding a spoon out threateningly, I whispered, "Emily and Sam are still sleeping. Shut up!" The noise stopped immediately and they habitually gathered around the table. Grabbing Abby in one arm and a towering plate of pancakes in the other, with Harry riding on my back, I danced over to the table. After both climbed off, I went back to get eggs and bacon.
Without really thinking about it, I just kept singing. Even with one headphone out, I was still off-key. Colin always glared at me and told me to shut up when I did that. But those guys just laughed, especially when I randomly spun around in front of the stove. Laughing, I made a face at them, "Don't make fun of me."
"Hey midget girl, we're laughing with you," Paul threw back at me.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, giant boy, or I kick you out with no more breakfast," I threatened with my spoon again. That shut him up.
Yeah Claire, that's smart. Go and threaten to take away the gigantic boy's food. That'll go well. Paul wisely waited until I was on the last serving of pancakes to attack. I'd just set them down, on the end of the table farthest from him, when I noticed he wasn't sitting where he had been. In fact, I didn't see him at all.
Realization dawned on me just as the glass of water was emptied on my head.
The freezing water wrenched a strangled scream from my lungs as everyone erupted in laughter. I glared at Paul long and hard, chasing him back to his chair with my stare, before shaking my head and getting the stray droplets out. His newfound cowardice only made the others laugh harder.
Quil wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me onto his lap with a hug, saying comfortingly, "Come on, Claire. It was a little funny." I tried to glare at him but I couldn't, not with that smile on his face. He held up a piece of bacon and waved it in front of me with a grin.
Rolling my eyes, I admitted, "All right, whatever." Then I stole the bacon from his fingers. Grabbing his fork again, he went back to devouring the pile of at least a dozen pancakes drenched with syrup on his plate.
Wow Claire, nice, YOU'RE SITTING IN ANOTHER GUY'S LAP! Damn the fact that I had a boyfriend and I was trying to love him. I was comfy and…bleh! Reluctantly, though albeit quickly, I extracted myself from his embrace and pulled a chair over. I looked resolutely at my plate but, while grabbing a pancake for myself, I saw the look on his face I hadn't wanted to. The grin was gone and a saddened and self-deprecating expression replaced it.
Just as I was putting a bite to my mouth, Harry ran up to me holding my sketchbook aloft. "Will you draw me a picture now, Cwaire? You dwaw good pictures in herew. Abby and I saw them this morning."
They'd gone through my sketchbook!
I began coughing violently against the pancake in my throat attempting to choke me at my sharp breath. Quil's hand immediately pounded on my back, making my ribs feel like they were about to shatter. After downing a glass of water, I nodded at Harry, a smile winning out at his cuteness. "Thanks. Just go grab me some pencils from my purse. What do you want a picture of?"
"I want a wolf like that one!" He was already back, three pencils now in my hand. He took the book back and crawled up into my lap, flipping through the pages of fairies, landscapes, and many wolves. He had a special one in mind, apparently. "I want one like this!" he exclaimed, handing me back the book.
I nodded, taking one last bite of eggs, "This is one of my favorites, too. Ok, I don't have any colored pencils or pastels so it won't be chocolate brown like this one. It'll be pencil color."
He nodded, "That's ok."
He slid back to the ground as I brought my legs up to sit cross-legged. My body just instinctively took that position when I drew. I never knew why. It was like braiding my hair during arguments. I'd always done it. As I threw one of my pigtails back over my shoulder, I noticed the loud silence directed my way. Looking up, I found them all staring at me. "What?"
The silence continued, fueling an embarrassment that sprang up, thinking they thought me drawing was stupid. "What…?" I questioned again, anxiety setting in.
"You draw pictures of chocolate colored wolves?" Jake finally queried, his voice careful.
I nodded, "Umm, yeah, they've been my favorite animals since I was a kid. I had dreams about them every night until I was like ten. Why?"
"And they were always dark brown?"
"I don't know. I could never remember colors after I woke up but when I went to draw a chocolaty brown felt right most of the time, why?" I was looked from one of them to the other frantically now. What was weird? Had I done something wrong?
Face it, Claire. You're just a freak and they're starting to see it.
But when my eyes landed on Quil, I became even more confused. He was looking down at his hands, eyes not wandering in the slightest. He wasn't exactly sad but there was more of a…pleased shock maybe. I wasn't sure. There was a tiny tinge of a smile there but were those tears? I'd already discovered that I connected the best and easiest with Quil and not knowing what his general feeling was worried me.
Embry was the one to quiet my fears. His calm, quietly deep voice washed over me in a comforting wave, "It's just ironic that's all. You know, the whole Quileute legends about wolves and then you liking them after being away so long." He gave me a smile, "Weird how stuff sticks with you, huh? Hey Seth, pass me the eggs. It's all delicious by the way."
"Seth agrees!"
I laughed, "Seth refers to himself in the third person now?"
Looking over at me with a grin, he shrugged, "It happens. Hey, can I see your stuff?" Without really meaning to, I clutched the book to my chest and shook my head, eyes wide. Instead of pressing though, he just nodded, "Ok," and went right back to eating. A smile crept over my face.
I loved these guys. I didn't have to argue to be myself and they took my decisions without complaint. Colin would have immediately tried grabbing for the book. If I said no then he had to have it. Then he would get crabby because I'd rejected him. Speaking of, he hadn't texted me anything since our fight the night before. Sighing, I knew I should really text him but I didn't want to get up to get my phone.
Besides, Claire, you have to finish this picture for Harry. There's a little kid counting on this.
I put my headphones back in and bent back over my work, taking a drink or grabbing a forkful of pancake now and then. The wolf Harry had picked out was sitting straight up, eyes staring directly into mine, his ears pricked up and tongue lolling out so he seemed to be smiling. I was adding in a forest background for Harry. What I hadn't told Jacob was that I still had random dreams about wolves. They just weren't as often. I'd had the dream that brought on this picture on my sixteenth birthday. I'd been at a beach with the wolf and he'd dropped a green rock in my hand.
I always zoned completely out when I drew. Colin had always snapped his fingers in front of me, trying to get my attention when I did. When I looked up from a finished drawing, the dishes were all picked up and neatly washed in the drainer in the sink. My duffle bag was sitting beside my shoes and purse. Everyone was gone except Quil, still sitting right beside me.
He was staring at me again with that look, seeming perfectly content doing nothing other than just watching me. From anyone else I would have thought it weird but…not from Quil. Quil was too…Quil. I couldn't find anything wrong with Quil, least of all being creepy.
After I had pulled the headphones from my ears he asked, "All done?" I nodded and automatically turned it around for him to see. He gently reached forward and took it from my fingers. "Claire, this is awesome, you know that? You're the best artist I've ever seen."
Blushing, I shook my head, "No, I'm not. I'm just kind of good at wolves, I guess. Colin says my stuff sucks. He says I need more feeling in them."
"Well, then he's an emo, blind dumbass." Quil's reply was immediate and determined. Hey he's got a point there…No, no, I'm making it work with Colin. When I stayed silent, he looked up and whispered apologetically, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." I shrugged and gave him a smile, telling him it was ok.
I was suddenly struck with the knowledge that Quil's disapproval of Colin bothered me. I wanted him to be ok with Colin. I shook it off immediately, or at least tried. I took my sketchbook back before he could look at anything else, even though he hadn't made a move to turn the page. Tucking it under my arm, I got up and grabbed my duffle bag. "I'm gonna change real quick. Where's Harry?"
"Preschool. Emily took him and Abby about two hours ago."
Freezing where I stood, I asked, "Emily's awake? What time is it?"
Quil's youthful grin returned, "Claire, you've been working on that drawing for the last four hours. It's almost noon."
Mouth dropping open, I exclaimed, "Seriously?" He nodded. I shook my head in disbelief as I made my way to the bathroom.
Before I made it across the living room he asked, "Hey, do you wanna do something with me today?" My head nodded and my mouth spread into a smile before I could think about it, let alone say no. I didn't really want to say no. I hurried to the bathroom before anything else could happen. Then I was faced with the clothes dilemma.
Quil's perpetual shirtlessness didn't help me with figuring out what to wear, weather or activity wise. Well, I got socks, bra and underwear done without any help. Go me! Seeing that it worked well the other day, I just reached in and grabbed. A pair of normal denim skinny jeans and a sage tank top got pulled out. That worked. I also dug around until I found a warm hoodie. Zipping it all the way up as I stepped out, I carted my stuff back to where it had been parked before. It seemed as good a place as any.
Quil perked up at my entrance but I held up a finger before he could say anything. "Give me a minute." I texted Colin good luck before turning the device off. I tore Harry's picture out and placed it on his placemat. Shoving my feet into my shoes, I stuffed my sketchbook back into my purse and turned expectantly to Quil, "So what're we doing?"
He didn't say anything. He just grabbed my hand and led me from the house. We were going through the forest again. Laughing, I asked, "Are you going to kill me again or something?"
"Yep, found a new way to do it," was his quick quip. Rolling my eyes, I just kept stumbling along behind him. He had a fast stride that a short person like me couldn't keep up with well. He seemed too excited to notice.
We came to a stop at the beach. It felt familiar, but what didn't these days? The dark sand was scattered with rocks and pebbles of all colors. Instinctively, I knelt down and let them fall through my fingers. Quil was again just watching me. An evil grin coming to my face, I grabbed a handful and chucked them at him then ran for it.
Laughing hysterically, I met the ground in a matter of seconds. Quil was inches from my face, looking down at me with a content smile as he loomed over me. I made a face at him, "Stupid fast people." He smile turned a bit smug.
Sighing, I attempted to get up. He made me beg before I was allowed to free myself from the sand. I slipped off my shoes to feel the sand between my toes. After that we just walked for a while. I couldn't tell how long but I didn't care. It was nice just walking up and down along the shore, waves beating on the sand, mist coming faintly down. It was nice just being with Quil.
And we talked. We just talked the whole time. We played this interminable and unbelievably comfortable game of twenty questions about each other. I learned that his birthday was February 14, a tidbit I planned to exploit later, his favorite color was blue, he liked football, he had his own house on the other side of the rez near Billy's, he, Jake, and Embry had been friends forever and he couldn't stand rap music. But more than that, I learned that he was almost sickeningly selfless, he wasn't an extremely patient person, he liked being prepared and he never stayed mad very long. The information just soaked into me. I hung on every word he said, desperate to learn more about him.
As we walked, our paths became increasingly closer. I knew I shouldn't let him be that close to me, so that our arms brushed every time they swung. Again, I couldn't say anything. Everything felt too irrevocably right to put a stop to any of it.
When I looked around with observing eyes, I saw that the cloudy sky had darkened a bit. I got the feeling we'd been there a few hours.
That haunting familiarity struck me again as he brushed some sand from his hair. I pensively frowned at him. Finally, as he noticed my gaze, I asked, "Quil, were we friends when I lived here? Did we play and stuff because I swear I remember you sometimes."
His gorgeous eyes caught mine and for an instant I thought I saw some cross between fear and hope, but then he looked resolutely down. Nodding, he explained, "Yeah. Yeah, we were. We came here a lot actually. You threw rocks at me then, too." I couldn't help but smile.
"Was my aim as good back then, too?"
He sent me a grin, "Not even close." I felt his fingers rub against mine and a jolt went through my hand. I wanted to reach out and grab it. My hand wanted to reach out and grab his. One of his fingers wrapped around mine and, for about five steps I let it. You're doing it again Claire. Where's Colin here…?
Fighting a sigh and a sudden chill, I pulled my hand from his and stopped, staring out at the water. Quil came up behind me, a foot or so back. I didn't want to turn around. I was scared to see what I knew I'd see on his face. I knew I'd find some kind of disappointment there, some sadness. I couldn't stand the mere thought of Quil sad.
I took a few steps forward until my toes were being lapped by the tide.
The silence was just beginning to border upon awkward when his voice in my ear made me jump, chills rising on my arms, "Oh hey, I forgot to tell you how I was going to kill you. Drowning!"
A laugh escaped me and I was just about to turn around to ask what that was about when I was suddenly falling forward, Quil's arms encircling my waist. I screamed as we plummeted into the freezing water. "QUIL!" I spluttered upon my resurface.
He was floating a few feet away, laughing hysterically. My eyes narrowed and I leapt toward him. Oh he was so going down! I managed to get an arm around his neck. He splashed beneath the surface, look of shock on his face. "Ha! One for the midget!" I proclaimed triumphantly.
Ok, yeah, the outcome of this fight is pretty easy to determine. It ended up two for the midget and about ten for the Quil. Go me! I was laughing so hard the last time I came up though, I didn't notice the water spurting out of my nose or how exhausted I'd become. Quil reached out his hand and pulled me up from where I sat on the bottom. Pushing him one last time, not making him take more than a step back, I ran out of the water before collapsing on the sand. I lay there coughing for a bit before looking to my left and seeing Quil laying there with me. He had this look in his eyes that I couldn't explain. It was so happy, as was his smile. Not smiling back would have been like deciding one day that I no longer needed to breathe: it was impossible.
I rolled onto my side toward him, smile not looking to fade anytime soon. For the first time since I'd met him, well re-met I guess, I got to uninterruptedly and shamelessly stare at him. No distractions. No time limits. And horribly enough, no thoughts of Colin.
Quil really was gorgeous. And not in a fireman calendar or poster kind of way. Yeah, his was so easy on the eyes they were practically vacationing in Tahiti and his muscles were ridiculous in the awe-inspiring way but, what entranced me were his eyes. They were so, so dark, almost black with just a tint of a coffee brown. And they were deep and so happy and looking right back at me. I could stare at his eyes forever.
It wasn't until the wind picked up and a ripple of chill ran through me that I could look away. Crossing my arms, I glanced down at my now pale purple fingers. A shiver spread just from the sight. I was suddenly feeling very cold. I sat up with a laugh, now feeling just how wet my clothes were in the brisk wind, "Dang it, Quil, you got my clothes all wet! You're lucky I took my shoes off or you'd be so dead."
Quil almost seemed to jerk awake at that point. He looked down at my fingers, my toes and then back up to my lips, all of which were purple. "Shit! I'm sorry Claire, I totally didn't even think about you getting cold. Crap, I shouldn't have gotten you wet!"
Before I could get a placating word out edgewise, he'd gathered me up in his arms, his heat radiating through my cold skin. I told myself that my heart was racing to get me warm again, not because of Quil… Knowing it wasn't doing me any good, I slipped out of my hoodie. It was soaked and covered in cold sand. With my personal space heater wrapping his arms around me, I figured there was no point in keeping it on.
Pulling in my arms and sandwiching them between us, I huddled into his warmth with my smiling growing again. Dammit Claire, can't you stop being a whore for ten minutes? You're dating Colin! Not Quil, Colin. But then…it's for my own good. I could freeze to death or get hypothermia or frostbite or…or the chicken pox!
I didn't care how loud my Colin loyalty conscience screamed at me. I wasn't moving a muscle from right there. Quil was looking down at me when I glanced up. "I'm really sorry, Claire."
Rolling my eyes, I huffed, "Oh Quil, calm down will you? I'm not on my deathbed or anything. I'm perfectly capable of mentioning that I'm cold…you're just annoyingly distracting. Ok fine, it is your fault." I gave him a grin and it got him to laugh.
But he froze mid-chuckle. His eyes had caught sight of my necklace and I could've sworn I almost felt his heart skip a beat. I wasn't sure why he was so fixated on it. It wasn't usually considered pretty or anything. In fact, I'd been asked why the hell I was wearing a rock around my neck on countless occasions. I'd always loved the sea green color and I just felt connected to it. So I usually told people to shove it.
"Umm, Quil, are you ok?"
His eyes didn't move. He must not have blinked either because they were beginning to tear up. "Wh-where did you get your necklace?"
"I made it with my step-dad. I've always had the rock, though. It was like my teddy bear. I took it everywhere. One time, I'd lost it in my desk at school for almost a week and I figured I needed to find a better way to keep it. So, we made a necklace out of it. I've worn it ever since. Why?"
One of his tears teetered on his eyelashes before falling down onto his cheek and rolling down toward me. Blinking hurriedly, he tried to get moisture back to his eyes. And he got mad at me for not mentioning I was cold. He was the one forgetting to blink... It was a few minutes before he was looking down at me again and smiling, "I gave you that rock, Claire."
Grabbing it and looking at it in a whole new way, I was overcome by just how ecstatic it made me that he'd given it to me. Then the confusion set in. Why did Quil giving me the rock make me so happy? What was that? I loved the rock even more now all the same. I looked up at him, "Really?" He just nodded. Biting my lip, I could only smile again at it.
Quil then took my arm and swung me up onto his back. "Come on, let's get back to Emily's before it gets dark."
"I can walk, Quil."
"Yeah, I know." Stooping to grab my shoes, he kept right on jogging toward the house. I rolled my eyes but laid my head down on the back of his neck and closed them anyway. Somehow, I managed to fall asleep on the way.