Author's Note:

I can't say the phrase 'I'm sorry' enough, guys. I really mean it. I know I am way passed my normal updating time, which averages right around a week. But...like any good author, I have excuses. Plenty, actually. I have finals coming up(the last day of school is this Thursday, which in turn, means I'll have more time for writing...yay!), and my golf team made it to Sections, which is also very exciting, so I have been practicing for that. And...I have this major vocal audition for a choral group that I am totally 'biting my nails' nervous for two days from now. So...hopefully that goes well. Anyways, enough about my hectic life, and more about Quil and Claire's newly sprung romance. This is 'most' of the date. I have to save the next chapter for...cough...you'll see.

Link for Claire's date outfit on polyvore cgi/set?id=49757464

Thanks for the reviews, as always, love them. Write me more.

Happy Reading!

I own many things. My guitar. My books. My mind. But, I have to admit...I don't own Twilight.

Have you ever been alone in a crowded room

well I'm here with you

I said the world could be burning

'til there's nothing but dark blue

Just dark blue

-Jack's Mannequin, Dark Blue

Ch.13 Alone in a Crowded Room

I raked my eyes over his toned body slowly, taking in his magnificent appearance.

He was wearing shiny, black dress shoes that had been clearly polished recently. He wore very dark washed denim jeans that were free of any holes or stains, not resembling the normal, messy shorts he usaully wore. His broad chest was covered with a white dress shirt, also free of imperfections, but he didn't button up the top few, revealing a juicy glimpse of his tan pecs to tease my eyes with.

His eyes were bright and his white teeth were being showcased in his glorious smile that radiated happiness to my soul. His black, cropped hair was slight toulsed, with a hint of gel visible. He smelled like cologne, but his musky, woodsy scent that I loved was still in there, too.

"Enjoying the view?" He joked, lifting his arms from his sides and gesturing towards his body with an amused grin on his face. I felt my face redden.

"Little bit", I tried to tease back, but he could see my embarassment through my tomato face.

Then it was his turn. His eyes trailed over my body, rendering me self-concious and nervous. I was a little more exposed than I ever had been with Quil around. And the unspoken word of 'romance' hung awkwardly in the atmosphere surrounding us.

"You look beautiful", Quil said, his chocolate eyes, darker than before, met mine again with a small smile. I blushed, again. I had a feeling that blushing was going to be a common occurance on this particular date.

"Uh...thanks. So do you", I managed to get out, before realizing my mistake and adding, "I-I mean handsome." Oh, god. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

He chuckled at me momentarily before regaining his composure.

"So...you all ready to go?" His hands found his jean pockets and he rocked back and forth on his heels slightly, waiting for my reply. I could see he was a little nervous, which in turn, relaxed me a tiny bit. To know that we both were nervous. I wasn't the only one.

"Yep", I said. But under my breath I added, "Ready as I'll ever be." He didn't seem to notice and turned on his heel towards his rickety truck that was parked next to Emily and Sam's mini van.

He opened the door for me, and I jumped up to the tall vehicle. I settled into the passenger seat as Quil walked around to the driver's side.

The ride to Port Angeles was fairly silent. I thought there would be more tension in the air, but really, it felt pretty natural. It always had with Quil.

At first, Quil and I small-talked, the weather, Emily and Sam's newly announced fifth pregnancy, and Quil's upcoming birthday. It was easy talk, nothing was forced or uncomfortable. It was just nice.

After we passed a road sign that signified that Port Angeles was less than fifteen miles away, the conversation started to change unto a different route.

"My favorite part of you is you're eyes. They remind me of honeysuckle", Quil had said, turning his head away from the road and staring into my 'honeysuckle' eyes with this intense gaze that made me feel a tad bit nauseous. More like a lot bit nauseous.

I blinked once, twice, a third time, but his eyes never disconnected from mine.

He must've accepted the fact that I wasn't going to ask him to elaborate.

"Do you know why?" He questioned, a playful glimmer shining through his eyes. I just shook my head, knowing I wouldn't be able to form a coherent sentence at the moment.

"Because when I look at them, I feel like nothing will ever hurt me. Like as long as I can see your eyes, everything else'll be okay. Like as long as your'e with me, nothing will be too difficult to handle."

That was the moment in which I felt like I might spontaneously combust. Maybe it would have been a good thing if I had, but I didn't. Instead I opened my damn mouth and embarassed myself before I realized what I was doing.

"Do you know what I love about you the most?" I asked him. I panicked after I realized I was asking this question out loud, towards him. Crap.

"No, what?" He asked, his eyes lighting up with eagerness and excitment. Oh, shoot me. Before I die of embarassment. Why did I have to open my fat mouth? Why?

"Uh...well...I, um, I like your..." don't say muscles, don't say muscles "...uh, your nose." What? Your nose? I seriously need help. I suck at lying.

'Totally Quil, your nose just turns me on...'

He did a double take, probably trying to read my reddened expression to see if I was serious before he let out a little chuckle. I sank down into my seat farther. I think this date'll go better if I just stop talking.

"My nose? You like, my nose?" He asked, curling his peach lips to help keep from letting a laugh break through. I simply nodded, trying to avoid his eyes and prevent any further extreme-blushing episodes.

"Well, thanks I guess. I always knew I had a good nose. I think I could model", he teased, turning to the side so I could see his profile, and he stuck out his nose as if to model it.

I giggled, but ended up snorting a little. A habit that I thought I had gotten rid of in highschool. So much for that.

I covered my mouth quickly, before anymore snorts could surface and prayed to the dating gods that Quil might've missed the snorting. Fat chance, I thought, he has superhuman hearing. Just my luck.

"Did...did you just...?" He gasped, heaving in breaths of air in between fits of laughing. Yep, pretty sure he heard. Nice job Porky the Pig.

"Yeah. I did. I thought I broke the habit in highschool...guess not. I'm sorry" I muttered, facing the passenger window so that I could have an excuse to not look at him. It didn't really work though since we were currently driving past a stretch of flat grassland. Oh, yeah Quil, I'm trying to watch grass grow. That's why I can't face you. Sure, he'll buy that...

"No, Claire. I think it's cute. I really like it. You should do it more often", he said in a genuine tone, which naturally caught my attention and made me look back to address his face. He looked completely serious; his brown eyes glittering from the rearlights of the car in front of us. Did he honestly just tell me that snorting like a fat animal is attractive? Oh my god, I think he did.

Maybe the dating gods were on my side...

"Really? You don't think it's weird? It's so loud and annoying and it makes me sound like a nerd on steroids or a fat pig that's cranky..." I blabbered, trying to knock some sense into him. He couldn't truthfully enjoy a girl snorting. It was impossible.

"Listen to me, Claire. I love it. It's cute. You could never seem like a nerd or a pig. Don't even think that."

Then he reached his large, warm, callused palm over to mine and squeezed his hand around my, much smaller one. I could feel my breathing sputter erratically and I was sure he could hear it, too by the smug grin on his face.

He was warm, so warm, and I didn't even realize he was pulling into the parking lot of a resturant already. It was on the edge of the city, overlooking some pretty marshland. Candles were visible through the large glass windows that covered all the walls, making the resturant seem outdoors, even though it was inside. Perfect.

He gave me a light smile as we walked hand-in-hand to the French doors that lead inside. A short, stalky, older man greeted us at the door and Quil told him the reservation.

"Booth or table?" The man asked, his voice very raspy, hinting at a possible life of smoking.

Quil looked at me, an indifferent look on his face. He squeezed my hand, which I took as, 'You pick'.

"Table", I decided, thinking that it might be easier to hold hands. Which I loved doing...

We followed the waiter, weaving in and out of other people's romantic dinners until we reached a small table in the back, standing right in front of one of the huge windows. When you looked out of it, you could see the gorgeous dark blue color of the sky, and the twinkling stars that had just started to appear. The waiter handed us both menus.

"Here you are, let me know when you're ready to order", he told us, flashing a funny grin before bustling back to someone elses' table. I flipped through the paper menu a few times, trying to decide what to order.

Secretly, I was kind of planning on picking the cheapest meal in it because I hated the idea of Quil spending money on me, when I was well-equipped with a bank account of my own.

From what Emily's told me, he lives in a crappy old shack with another one of the wolf boys. I think she said Emdy or Embry or something along those lines. I would meet the mysterious roomate someday. If I was lucky...maybe tonight.

I was snapped back into reality with the older waiter's raspy voice.

"What do you want, m'am?" The man looked at me expectantly, and I noticed Quil was peering at me with a confused expression on his face from over the menu.

"Uh- I'll take the..." I quickly snuck a peek down at the menu and saw my previously picked decision, the cheapest on the menu, "chicken bistro salad. No onions, please. And a glass of water."

The man quickly scribbled down my order and Quil shot me a suspicious look as he set down his menu. I hope he doesn't say anything. Of course he will, he knows you picked the cheapest thing...

"And you, sir?"

"I'll take the prime rib, t-bone steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, two butter biscuts, spaghetti and meatballs, and two orders of your special, the beef and vegtable soup. And...add a large coke to that, too", he finished, handing the menu back to the waiter, who's jaw was practically hitting the floor.

I couldn't blame the guy, either, 'cause that's where mine was, too. How could any human being eat that much in one sitting? You've got to be kidding me...

"Um...okay, I'll be back with your order...soon" the man said, ferociously scribbling down Quil's massive order on the notepad as he walked away. I waited 'till he was out of hearing.

"What in the hell, kind of order was that?" I whispered, making sure no one could hear my cursing.

"Well, I could ask you the same question, Miss Mason?" He sarcastically asked, whispering just as harshly as I was.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, fully aware that he caught on to my plan. Well, it was nice while it lasted. All of two seconds.

"Cheapest thing on the menu, I'm not totally dumb. You know, Claire, I have money. I'm not poor. I can pay for a meal" he said, actually looking a little hurt in truth.

"No, Quil, I'm not saying that you're poor. I just...I have money, you don't need to pay for me." I slithered my hand out from my lap and gently moved it towards his on the table. When they touched, I could feel electricity pulse through my veins. He gripped my hand and a brief smile reached his lips.

"But I want to", he stated simply, and I didn't argue because I didn't want to be anything but happy. I didn't want to start some idiotic fight over who pays the bill.

The rest of dinner went smoothly. The food was great, Quil and I ended up sharing anyway, so the whole money thing kind of got shot out the window. We laughed and talked and laughed and talked and just had a good time. To any outsider we probably looked like the most loud, obnoxious and rowdy couple in the universe, but we didn't care; we were in our own world.

Even though the resturant was stuffed to the full capacity with people, it literally felt like it was just Quil and me. Me and Quil. Us. Alone. Together.

Our conversation topics varied from high school graduation to favorite country bands to peanut butter vs. nutella. I was all for nutella, which is clearly the better choice, but Quil seemed to have a different opinion.

By the time we finally exited the resturant, the clock console on Quil's truck read eleven. We had just spent four hours in the resturant, but it only felt like maybe an hour and a half to me.

I assumed we would be heading home, considering it was getting really late, pretty late for a boyfriend and girlfriend to be out. Did this mean...? Were we going to...?

I hoped so. I really hoped so.

Enjoy? Let me know? Excited for the next chapter...hmmm?

Oh, and before I forget, if you haven't already, check out my other story, Opposites Attract. It's a Seth/OC imprint story. I have a feeling some of you might like it.