Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight books. I'm only borrowing the characters and will return them mostly unharmed. Except for Quil. He'll be severely shaken up by the time I'm done with him. Enjoy and feel free to share your thoughts!

"You are overreacting. Get up, we're going out." The only reply to Embry's demand was a groan from the lump on the couch, followed by a heavy, mournful sigh.

"Why is she doing this to me?" the lump asked. "I'm getting older. My heart can't handle this kind of stress. I'm going to die of a heart attack. She's going to kill me." Embry rolled his eyes and scoffed at the lump's dramatic antics.

"You have the body of a teenager. I don't think you are going anywhere anytime soon. Now stop being a pussy and get up off that damn couch!" Embry stalked up to the lump and ripped off the blanket it was hiding under. Quil only gazed up at Embry with his sad, puppy-dog eyes. "I don't even know how to deal with you!" he yelled. "Get up! It's not the end of the world! It's just a date!" Quil finally reacted and shot up.

"Just a date?" he growled in Embry's face. "Do you know what this means? Do you know what happens on dates? She's only fifteen! She has barely started high school! And that… that stupid boy! Whatever his name is!"

"Daniel," Embry added in.

"Daniel! Who does he think he is asking Claire out? She shouldn't be with boys at this age!"

"If I remember correctly, you went on your first date when you were fourteen."

"That's different!" Quil hissed. "I…I… I had purely honorable intentions!" Embry gave Quil a skeptic look. "Fine. I didn't. But it was different! I didn't have Claire back then!"

"No, you didn't," Embry agreed, placing a supportive hand on Quil's shoulder. "But Claire knows what she's doing. She's behaving as any normal teenager at her age would. You should trust her. And if something does happen between them, is it such a big deal? She wouldn't let it go so far."

"You didn't see her face today, Embry. She was so excited..."

FOUR HOURS EARLIER, AT CLAIRE'S HOUSE

"Woah, Claire-bear. What's going on in here?"

"Quil!" the frantic teenager cried. "I have nothing to wear!" Quil looked at her closetful of clothing, then at the shirts and jeans and shoes and skirts piled high on her bed. He turned his eyes back to hers with a raised eyebrow. She huffed. "Well, I have stuff obviously," she began. "But I don't have anything to wear tonight. Daniel will be here in 45 minutes!" She was giddy with excitement and bubbling with nervous energy already.

Quil plopped down on her bed and folded his arms as he tried to resist the urge to pout like a four year old denied the attention he craved. He looked around passively and tried to ignore the ache in his chest. Claire, on a date. Claire, with a guy. Claire, on a date with a guy who is not me. He felt a sudden flare of anger and frustration directed towards Claire rise up: why was she so damn happy about this Daniel? He couldn't care for her like Quil could! And he was obviously interested in only one thing from her. And she was falling for his tricks!

"Claire!" The teenager froze and turned to Quil with eyes wide and surprised at his sudden outburst.

"Uh… Yeah?"

"What exactly do you think you are doing?" Claire continued to look at Quil with puzzled eyes.

"Erm… I'm getting dressed?"

"Yes, you are. But why are you getting dressed?"

"Is that some kind of trick question?" Claire mentally shrugged her shoulders at Quil's weird behavior and continued to shuffle through her clothing, almost disappearing into her closet. "You know I have a date tonight."

"Yeah, how could I forget?" he snarled. "It's all you've been talking about for the last two weeks!" She paused again, poking her head out of her closet to look at Quil. She took in his flushed cheeks and quick breathing.

"Quil, why does this bother you so much?"

"It doesn't bother me!" he shrilled defensively. That was a blatant lie. He knew exactly why it bothered him so much. Claire was his; the universe's higher power (or whatever force was out there; he didn't presume to know) had created her with Quil in mind. She wasn't meant to be a passing amusement to Daniel. She was his, even if she didn't know it yet. But, he couldn't exactly tell her all that. Yet. "I just don't see why you are making such a big deal out of this single date."

"It's my first date, Quil. I want it to be memorable and fun. And I'm not making it a big deal: I just want to look good tonight. Is that so bad?" Quil grumbled, feeling abashed for his slight overreaction. It wasn't a big deal, was it? No, not a big deal. No biggie. Small, very small. Teeny tiny, in fact. Yeah, right. Wishful thinking. He knew he had to leave before The Date. Otherwise, some form of bodily harm could befall this Daniel before he got through the front door. Accidentally, of course. He decided to make a quick exit and allow Claire to do her pre-date girl regimen (before he ended up killing someone, a fifteen year old male someone).

"Well, Claire, I think I'm going to head out." Claire lifted her shining eyes to Quil; he felt both glad and nauseous to see the happiness in her face. Glad that she was happy, and nauseous that someone else was making her so. He had to leave, now. He swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke:

"Don't forget your curfew. I'll call at eleven to make sure you are home."

"I know." She rolled her eyes at Quil's overprotective antics.

"And stay in well-lit areas."

"I know."

"And keep your cell phone on."

"I know."

"And be safe."

"I know."

"And-"

"I KNOW, QUIL!" She laughed. "Relax, we are just going to see a movie. I'll be home early and I'll call you to let you know how it went. Now, get out! I need to get ready! I'm so nervous!" She giggled and placed her hands on his back and literally pushed him out the door.

"Bye, Clai-" The door slammed before he could finish the sentence. He didn't know whether to be hurt or amused: a little bit of both, maybe. He sighed to himself and turned to return home. Alone. But not for long, hopefully.

Well, I hope you guys liked it! The question for this chapter was "Why does it bother you so much?" Thanks to everyone tuning in!