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Chapter 25: Happy

Claire's POV.

Behati, one of my best friends, the girl I had known since we were five, who I spent nights gossiping and giggling with, was a vampire. I was not embarrassed to admit I was devastated. Behati was full of life, ready to take on the world and it had all been ripped away from her with one bite from a random vampire no one even knew. She wouldn't go to University with us, she wouldn't grow old, she wouldn't graduate, she wouldn't get married, have kids...

I was distraught. So distraught, in fact, that my parents hadn't even punished me for going to Seattle for a party rather than a shopping trip I had said it was. My mom had started to shout at me, yelling that it could have been me who was missing, but broke down in tears halfway through and we ended up hugging instead. She didn't bring it up again, she didn't need to. I had completely learnt my lesson. I was never going to drink underage again, or accept a drink from a stranger…I still couldn't believe I had done that. I was stupid! I'd been taught since I was born about 'stranger danger', how, on possibly the one night that it mattered the most, could I have broken every damn rule in the book? Gabby said it was the alcohol, that it clouded people's sense of logic, but I didn't want to make up excuses.

I was an immature idiot, and that was that.

Vampire had just become a regular word in my vocabulary and now my best friend was one. It was surreal and not in a good way. I didn't know what to think, how to act. Should I be happy she wasn't dead? Or sad that she had to live forever as something she never wanted to be or knew existed? I was just glad she was still alive, in a minimal sense, though I could imagine Behati wasn't thinking the same thing.

Coming to terms with Behati being a vampire wasn't the only thing that made me distraught following the months after that night. Amy took 24 hours to recover from her hangover enough to call me and ask where her cousin was. Behati had planned to stay the weekend with Amy and drive down on Sunday night, so her cousin was worried. I had to lie to her, saying I thought Behati was with her and I hadn't seen her since the party. Soon, there was a surge of panic in Makah over Behati's whereabouts. Her parents were hysterical, pleading with the police to find their daughter, while Behati's siblings cried silently at the distress around them. Feeling useless, I comforted her family, sobbing from not only sadness but guilt. I had to pretend I had no idea where their daughter was, when in reality she was in a bed at the Cullen house withering in agony.

The police interviewed Gabby and I at the Behati's house, asking when we last saw her and what she had been doing. We answered truthfully, even mentioning the strange man that drugged us, however, we had to leave out the fact that the man was a vampire and that we had found Behati almost dead from his bite. Of course, the police came up with nothing. People began to lose hope and accept the fact that Behati was never going to return home, while others clung to the little hope they had and said she would come home, one day.

I wished I could tell them the truth.

I wanted to scream from the rooftops, spill everything so Behati's family could see her again. I hated seeing their pain, the madness in their eyes and lying to their faces.

One night, after a long day trying to console Spencer family, I went to my Aunt and Uncle's house feeling sick. I couldn't handle it anymore. I couldn't see their heartbroken faces and not tell them that Behati was only a town away with the Cullen's. It was like Tyrone, Nathan or Evelyn being missing…I couldn't even fathom how much it would have killed me. But if they were only a town away and I didn't know about it...

"Hey sweetie," Aunt Emily said. "Do you need anything? Food? Drink?"

I shook my head. I was too distraught to talk. It had been one of the worst days since Behati's 'disappearance'. The police had told her family that they were lessening the search and her parents had broken down right in front of me. Ingrid had fallen to her knees and Axel had punched a door off its hinges, something I had thought impossible for a human. I had had to comfort Aston when I was an inch away from collapsing myself, the silent support of Gabby had been the only thing to stop me from flipping out. We had left soon after, leaving the Spencer's to grieve alone. Gabby had gone straight for Collin while I headed back to my Aunt and Uncle's place where I knew Quil was.

He was sat on the sofa when I arrived and stood to let me fall into his arms. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I closed my eyes to stop the tears.

"You okay?" he asked in concern.

"No," I replied shakily. "No, I'm not. Her family are breaking apart, Quil."

"I know."

"No you don't," I whispered. "Please, Quil. Please let me tell them."

"Claire—"

"Please." I begged desperately. I wanted to end their pain. At this, Quil's eyes softened. "They won't say anything, I swear. But if they knew that Behati is okay, they can be at peace."

He let out a long breath. "Um…"

"Claire you can't," my Uncle interrupted. He was sat on the single sofa, giving me a small, sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry. It's just not possible. If you told them, you'd put them in a lot of danger with the Volturi."

I sat on the sofa and put my head in my hands. I knew it was in vain, I wasn't allowed to tell the secret and, really, I didn't want to. But after hours on end of watching Behati's family wail and beg and sob, it sometimes became too much. Why shouldn't they know where their daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin was? They had the right to know. Still, I had stayed quiet, hugging Bonaventure, Behati's little sister, tightly into my body while she cried for her sister.

Not only was I guilty about lying to Behati's family, I also felt guilty for living. It was irrational and stupid of me, but why did I get to live on while Behati was stuck at eighteen forever? Why had it been her that was bitten, not me? After all, I had been drugged too, why had Behati been the one to lose her humanity?

Gabby confessed she felt the same. It could have been any of us that night, and that fact made my head spin. I could have been the one turning into a vampire, I could have been the one with my life taken away from me. The only reason I wasn't was because I stumbled the wrong way. If I had followed Behati and Gabby like I had wanted to, it could have been me with the venom spreading through my body and destroying my human cells.

The Cullen's came down from Canada to help Behati with her transformation. They were with her at their house, monitoring when she would wake and making sure she didn't go on a killing rampage when she woke up.

Killing rampage…I never thought those words would be associated with Behati. Behati; my carefree, full of life, laughter and love, best friend...

We had a remembrance service at the school three weeks after her disappearance, which was about the time the police began to give up. By that time, Behati was hiding out at the Cullen house coming to grips with her new body and life. The Cullen's were trying to teach her how to handle her thirst for humans and how to hunt the animals in the forest. I mourned that day, not like the other students who mourned the death of Behati, but I mourned the life, the life she wouldn't get to have. I mourned the human part of her.

Gabby and I weren't allowed to see her, she was too dangerous for us to be around, though I found that hard to believe (Behati would never hurt me), I had to remind myself that she was a vampire now. Her thirst was priority in her mind, and I didn't know if she would attack. In fact, I didn't even know if she remembered me, Rosalie, a stunning blonde vampire, told me vampires forgot their human life almost instantly the day I went to Forks with Gabby to make sure Behati was okay. It had been one of the most surreal experiences of my life.

Gabby and I had decided on the whim to visit Behati to make sure she was okay. In hindsight, I knew it had been a bad idea, but by that point I missed her too much to think logically. I wanted to tell her that Gabby and I were with her family so she could have comfort knowing that they were supported and looked after. We had pulled up outside the gorgeous house with the best intentions.

The second my door slammed shut, one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen ran down the pathway. She was around the same level as Nessie and Aurora looks-wise and it took me a second to figure out that she was real and not part of my imagination.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"We've come to see Behati—"

"You need to go," the blond answered sternly. "She can't be around you. She can't handle the blood yet."

"I—shit," I muttered. I thought she would be able to stand it by now, it had been months. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. She's a vampire, she didn't suddenly get a craving for chocolate!"

Feeling utterly stupid, I blushed. "Sorry. I just wanted to see her."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Look, it's okay. She's out with Alice and Jasper so she won't be able to smell you."

"Right. We'll just go."

"Can't we talk to her?" Gabby asked. "Just once. Can she not hold her breath or something?"

"It's not that simple."

"We just want to assure her that her family is okay—"

"I'm going to be honest," the vampire stated. "She might not even remember you."

"What do you mean?"

"When a vampire wakes up, it's hard for them to remember their human life. Usually, the only thing they remember is the important things and their family…and even they start to fade."

"So…so she might not know who we are?" I questioned slowly.

"No."

My stomach twisted. I had all these wonderful memories of our time together and there was a good chance that she didn't remember even one of them. It was like a punch to the gut, even though I knew she couldn't help it.

"And because of this, she won't hesitate to kill you," she continued. "So I think its best that you leave."

We didn't need to be told twice. We jumped into the car and sped off to La Push. Later, Quil told me that that vampire I had met was Rosalie when I asked who the blond with the blunt attitude was. Then he proceeded to freak out that I had been around vampires and he wasn't there until I calmed him down with a kiss.

I didn't go back to the Cullen house again. How could I? My life was at risk and I couldn't put myself in that kind of danger.

I missed Behati, more than I thought I would. I missed her peals of childish laughter and silly dirty jokes during Science class. I missed her brass attitude and reckless look on life. I missed her smile and how she winked at cute boys at the bus stop. I just missed everything about her, even her overly excited attitude that once annoyed me and now I would have given anything to have back.

As my High School life came closer and closer to an end the reality that Behati wasn't going to come with me to Seattle, if I was accepted, hit me hard. She wasn't going to be in one of the dorms down the hallway, she wasn't even going to be at the University. It was just Gabby and I, and though there were two of us, it was rather lonely.

In the beginning of May, three weeks before graduation, I got a phone call. It was on my cell phone and from an unknown number so I cautiously answered it.

"Hello?"

There was a pause and then, "Claire?" the voice was light and musical, like wind chimes, but somehow I just knew.

"Behati?"

"Yeah, hey," she whispered.

My eyes prickled with tears. "Hey."

"Alice told me she's been seeing a lot of visions of you crying lately," she said. "And I have a feeling there over me, so I'm calling to tell you to stop."

"Bee, I'm so sorry—"

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault. If anything it was mine, I shouldn't have accepted the drinks from that guy, I shouldn't have forced you and Gabby to come down to Seattle with me," she sighed sadly. "Don't feel bad, Claire, because it wasn't your fault."

"But everything's just so wrong. Your family are hysterical and you won't go to University—"

"My family? Are they okay?"

"No, they're devastated, Behati. They're so lost without you, we all are."

She made a strange gagging sound that I assumed to be a dry sob. Quil had told me vampires couldn't cry. "I miss you guys, too, so much. And I'm sorry I won't be coming to University with you and Gab, I really want to but…it's not possible. I'm still controlling my…thirst and it's fucking hard, Claire. My throat burns from a mile away...you don't want to hear that, sorry."

"No, it's fine."

She chuckled. "I'll be in control one day, Claire," she vowed and I found myself nodding as if she could see me. "I'll see you again one day, I'll be around, I promise. For now, though, I'll have to stay away. If I hurt you or Gabby...I'd never forgive myself. I can't take the chance until I know for sure I won't hurt you."

"I can't wait for that day."

"Me either," she whispered. "By the way, thanks for keeping the whole werewolf, vampire shit from me, I appreciate that."

I giggled through my tears. "I'm sorry, I couldn't tell you."

"Yeah, I know, I'm joking," she laughed. Her laugh was different, her old one was throaty, this new one was tinkling and light, like bells. "I want you to have fun at University, Claire. I don't want the guilt of me not being there to stop you from having the time of your life," she paused. "And make sure you live your life to the max, okay? And be happy. You don't know when it can all be taken from you."

"Bee—"

"I'm fine, Claire, promise. I'm adjusting and the Cullen's are being really kind, they're my new family now."

"Alright."

"I'm going to ring Gabby now and repeat all this crap, but can you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Look after my family, will you?" she asked in a timid voice. "Just…make sure they're okay without me. I'll be able to do it myself soon, hopefully, but for now I need you and Gab to make sure they don't do anything stupid or break apart without me."

"I will, I swear."

"Thanks...love you Claire."

"I love you, too, Bee."

The phone went dead and I sighed, placing my cell phone on the bedside cabinet. I wiped the tears from my face and sniffed. Behati was right; I needed to live my life because I didn't know when it could be taken away. I needed to stop crying and laugh, smile and love as much as I possibly could. With that thought, I jumped into my car and flew down to La Push. When I got to the familiar apartment I ran through the shop and up the stairs until I finally saw Quil in his bedroom lying on his bed. He looked up at the sound of the door and smiled.

"Hey," I beamed, jumping over to him. I landed in his outstretched arms and snuggled into the warmth.

"What are you doing here, trouble?" he smirked. "Don't you have some last minute essay or something?"

"Completed," I replied. "And I just talked to Behati on the phone…what she said made me want to see you."

"What was that?"

"She told me to be as happy as I could."

He smiled goofily at me, the smile I had loved since I was a small child. He placed his hand on my chin and leaned down to drop a lengthy kiss on my lips. Sighing when he pulled away, I buried myself further into his side. This was definitely where I felt happiest.

On the day of my graduation I awoke early morning, buzzing around my house getting ready for the day. My family were coming to the ceremony, plus Quil who I insisted be there, and then I was going down to La Push for a bonfire with the pack. I skipped down for my breakfast, pancakes with syrup, my favourite.

"Morning dad," I kissed his cheek as I passed. "Hey mom."

"Hey kiddo, ready to graduate?" dad grinned.

"Yep. I've been ready for weeks."

"My little girl, all grown up," he pretended to wipe tears from his eyes.

"Honestly dad, I've been eighteen for months now."

He snorted and went back to reading the paper. My mom and I chatted about my new black dress for the ceremony, it was black body-con with little cream bits that had black lace covering them. My parents had bought it for my present, plus my new black heels, last weekend from Seattle when mom, Nora and I had a girly day shopping. We soon set off to the school and pulled into the parking lot. Nora was waiting by the entrance in a silk purple dress and skyscraper black heels. Then I saw Quil getting out of his truck and walking over to me in some black pants and a simple white button up.

He looked gorgeous.

We hugged briefly but I was shoved into the school by my frowning dad. I caught up with Gabby and we talked about Behati's phone call for a while until we were called to officially graduate. It was strange as I waited for my name to be called out. Today, a chapter in my life was ending and a new one was beginning. My school life was going to be over, just like that, and I was never going to walk the halls of Makah High School again as a student. I gulped back tears as they got to the Gabby, Gabriella Alyssa Williams. My name would be soon.

"Claire Katherine Young."

My family and Quil burst into applauds and my sister whooped loudly. I smiled at them as I shook the hand of the headmistress and moved my tassel to the other side of my head. Gabby and I hugged tightly, silently wishing Behati was also with us. I hugged other students and people I had known since pre-school, realizing I was going to miss seeing them every day. I wished people good luck for the future and said goodbye to various teachers before making my way back to Quil, my future.

"Ready, my graduate?" he kissed my cheek and my dad coughed.

"Yeah," I took his hand and let him led me outside.

It took me ten minutes to argue with my dad until I was allowed to drive down to La Push with Quil. Gabby left with Collin seconds after the ceremony, her grandparents had thrown her their own party last night, just the family. Today she was free to celebrate with friends and the pack. I hopped into Quil's truck and we sped off down the road.

"How does it feel to be done with High School?"

"Strange," I admitted, smiling at him. "But good strange. I'll miss it, but I'm ready for the future."

He took my hand and kissed it. I grinned at him as we chatted all the way to La Push. The bonfire was set up when we got there, I had taken longer saying goodbye than I thought and it was late afternoon after the hour drive. I took off my heels at the edge of the beach and walked over to the pack and their families.

"Oh, Claire honey, I'm so proud of you," Aunt Emily rushed over to kiss my cheeks.

"Thanks, Aunt Em."

"Our little Claire, all grown up!" Embry came over and hugged me, dragging Mollie with him. "I think I may cry."

"Well done, Claire!" Mollie screamed, joining the hug.

I got loads of congratulations from the pack and even a text from Nessie and Aurora promising they would Skype me tomorrow and they wanted to know all the details. I conversed with everyone I could, ate from the buffet table and then got a drink of coke before I sat on the log next to Quil. He kissed the top of my head and I giggled like a school girl. The tiniest things he did made my stomach do acrobats.

My parents and Nora headed home at seven, I was staying with Aunt Emily and Uncle Sam for the weekend before I went home. They lingered to kiss and hug me for a few minutes and then drove off in the car.

"Are you ready for my present yet?" Quil whispered a while after they had gone.

I nodded eagerly as he took out an envelope from his pocket. I eyed him curiously before I carefully ripped it open. Inside were two tickets…plane tickets to France.

"What?" I was shell-shocked. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, we're finally going to see the Black's and Clearwater's," he grinned excitedly.

I glanced at the tickets again and saw that I flight was for May the 29th...five days from now. I squealed and launched myself at him to hug him. "Quil, this is the best present ever!"

"Your parents have said you can go, by the way," he told me. "I ran it by them last month and they reluctantly agreed, you mom muttered something about you being eighteen and free to make your own choices, so I took that as a yes."

I laughed brightly and kissed him, free for anyone to see. I didn't care if they knew anymore, I didn't care if the whole damn world knew. Quil was the best boyfriend in the world and I shouldn't have to hide that. If people had a problem, screw them.

Aunt Emily's plaque, which she had hanging in her living room, rang through my head; people who matter don't mind and people who mind don't matter.

My cell phone rang and I looked at caller ID, the smile never leaving my face.

"Nora? You left an hour ago, woman. What's up?"

"Claire, dude, there's a letter for you here from Seattle University!"

My heart leapt to my throat. "What? Really?"

"Yeah."

We were both silence while I processed it.

"Open it then!" I yelled, standing up in anticipation. My loud voice brought the attention of the crowd and they turned to look at me, probably wondering what the hell I was doing.

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, alright, pushy," she muttered and I heard paper ripping. My heart was thumping in anxiousness, mixed with the happiness I felt from Quil's present I was overwhelmed. I felt like I about to explode any second. "Dear Miss. Young," she mumbled. "We are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted to Seattle University! You got in, bitch!"

I screamed and jumped up and down. Happy tears escaped my eyes as my sister squealed on the other end of the phone. "Quil, I got in!" I shouted, turning to him.

He was already stood and smiling widely. "I heard," he laughed. "I knew you would."

"What's going on?" Kim asked, smiling at me. "What's with the happy dancing?"

"I got into Seattle University!" I called, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Kim took me into her arms and squeezed tightly. I was passed around from then on, kissing and hugged by everyone at the bonfire until I landed in the only arms I really wanted to be in; Quil's. My Aunt Emily and my mom were chatting excitedly on my phone and everyone was so preoccupied with the atmosphere they didn't notice us in the background.

"I'm so proud of you," he murmured into my ear and I shivered. "You're amazing, Claire."

"You're not too bad yourself," I replied.

He grinned at me and brought me closer to his body. Tilting my head, he pressed our lips together and gave me a knee-wobbling kiss that left me breathless. I tightened my grip around his neck until my feet weren't touching the floor.

"And we get to spend time together in France before I go," I said giddily.

"Two weeks," he informed me. "We'll have plenty of time when we get back, too."

I glanced over to the pack who were opening bottles of wine and champagne Sue Clearwater-Swan had in her car 'just in case'. I looked back to Quil, taking in the depths of his deep brown eyes and the way they shined with joy and love for me. I kissed him again, just because I could.

"Sounds perfect."

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-Layla