Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight books. I'm only borrowing the characters and will return them mostly unharmed… except for Quil. He might need some therapy by the time I'm finished with him!

"I'm a werewolf."

Claire froze for a moment and let Quil's words flow through her mind. A werewolf? Was that some kind of secret gang name meant to inspire fear and awe in the masses? She suddenly felt the anger searing through her veins. Snatching her hands out of his, she narrowed her eyes and snarled, "Is that what you guys call yourselves?"

Quil's eyes widened at her furious glare. "Uhh… yes?" He had not expected much, but he certainly had not planned on this reaction. Claire sucked in more air and felt her ears heat up.

"I… never thought you guys would be into this kind of stuff. I thought you were more than that." She stepped back and looked at him disgustedly. Quil continued to puzzle, his forehead furrowed. He had never seen such a ferocious glare on her face. She didn't seem as disbelieving as he had expected. Instead, she looked wearily resigned to the truth. And angry. Very angry.

"Well, we didn't really have a choice. It kind of just.. happened when we were teenagers." Claire exploded at his casual answer. Was he really trying to rationalize his behavior?

"You always have a choice in breaking the law, Quil. Don't act as if someone forced your lifestyle on you." She moved to grab her coat and walk out of the door. Quil stood still and wide-eyed, staring at the spot where Claire had stood and trying to make sense of her reply. Breaking the law? What was she talking about? He suddenly snapped back to the present and heard Claire striding to the door behind him. He spun around and grabbed her arm.

"Wait… where are you going?" Claire shrugged his arm off and stared blankly at the door in front of her.

"I'm leaving. I don't want to see you right now, so leave me alone." With that, she unbolted the door and stepped out on to the porch. Quil felt his own frustration start to boil. Why was she acting so immaturely? He strode forward and grasped her shoulder.

"Don't!" she yelled, digging her nails into his hand. "Don't you dare, Quil Ateara!" He released her immediately, as if burned by a hot coal. He stared at her in shock. She had never rejected his touch so bluntly before. Squelching the hurt he felt, he decided to approach her differently.

"Claire, you are overreacting." He stepped back from her and spoke levelly, trying to calm her down.

"I'm overreacting? I'm overreacting? You've been lying to me my entire life!" Quil felt horrified at the tears he saw gathering in her eyes. Was she that upset with the idea? Well, he knew she would be upset. It's not every day that you find out that your best friend is less than human. A werewolf, in fact. But for so long, he had assumed that she would somewhat accept him once she learned the truth. He had never really thought about her completely rejecting him. Now, the possibility of her permanent rejection loomed ominously in front of him. Could he survive it?

"I… I thought you were a mechanic!" she continued to rant, mentally scolding herself for her naivete. Quil decided to interject:

"I am a mechanic, and I have not broken any laws that I know of." Quil relaxed as he saw Claire deflate slightly.

"You haven't?"

"No." He raised an eyebrow at her and set his lips in a firm line. Did she think he was some sort of… werewolf criminal?

"Well… what kind of gang are you in then?" Claire's curiosity quickly took the place of her anger now that she realized that Quil hadn't committed any felonies.

"Well, geez, Claire. I wouldn't call us a gang… We're more of a pack." Quil had begun to realize Claire's misunderstanding of the situation and didn't know whether to laugh or scold her. The word "pack" had reminded Claire of Quil's confusing admission: he had called himself a werewolf. What did that mean?

"A pack?"

"Yes."

"Of… werewolves?"

"Yes."

"Werewolf as in half-man, half-wolf?" Quil rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Claire."

Claire shook her head and looked at him skeptically. "Do you think this is a joke, Quil?"

"What? No!" he protested vehemently. "I'm being serious right now."

"Yeah," she agreed stoically.

"Really, Claire."

"Yeah."

"Stop looking at me like that! I'm not messing with you right now."

"Uh huh. Of course not." She hiked her bag onto her shoulder and walked off the porch steps, heading in the direction of her home. Suddenly, she felt an arm around her waist as her feet left the ground. Dropping her bag with a shriek, she flopped onto a large shoulder and was unceremoniously carried into the woods outside of Sam's house.

"Quil? Quil! Put me down! What are you doing?!" She pounded on his back with all her might but he didn't even flinch. She couldn't kick her legs because he had wrapped his other arms around them, pinning them to his chest.

"Have you lost your ever-lovin' mind? We can't go into the woods now! It's pitch black!" Quil did not even acknowledge her protests, silently staring ahead and walking purposefully into the brush. Claire suddenly felt genuine fear slither down her back. Had she pushed him too far? What was he going to do?

Suddenly, Quil stopped walking and plopped her at the base of a tall tree. She guessed they were a good 100 yards from the house. Her heart was pounding in terror. What was wrong with him? He looked at her with steely determination.

"Q-Quil?" she sniffled. "Quil, please stop this. I'm really scared." Quil instantly felt regret. In his effort to show her the truth, he had terrified her. He kneeled down in front of her, gently palming her cheeks and resting his forehead against hers. She inhaled in relief as she spotted a glimpse of her Quil looking back.

"Don't be afraid, Claire-bear. You know I won't let anything bad happen to you. I need you to just bear with me for five minutes, alright? I have to show you that I'm telling the truth." She didn't know what exactly he wanted to show her, but she would let him. She nodded at him quietly and kept still as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Just wait right here, ok? I'll be right back. Don't be afraid." He turned and disappeared behind some large trees in front of her. She listened for a minute, feeling panic start to creep up. Where did he go? Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to a large shape moving between the trees in front of her. She squinted her eyes and tried to see through the dim moonlight.

"Quil?"

The black mass moved closer, and Claire inhaled sharply in fear. What was it? It was huge… and it walked on four legs. Okay, so it wasn't human. She felt lightheaded as the shadow creeped nearer. The thing moved into some rays of moonlight and Claire gasped. A giant wolf!

She froze in terror as the wolf moved closer. She remembered reading something about… wild animals attacking only if provoked. She decided to be as unobtrusive and unthreatening as possible, hoping it would lose interest in her and go away. It stopped two feet away from her, and she shut her eyes in fear. Her muscles seized up as she felt the wolf step closer. And closer.

She gasped as she suddenly felt a wet nuzzle against her cheek. Oh god, this was it. It was going to bite a chunk out of her now. Had it gotten Quil already? He had not reappeared yet. She could do nothing but turn her head away and wait for its attack.

Suddenly, she felt a weight on her lap as a giant paw plopped lightly onto her thighs. Gathering her courage, she opened her eyes and stared at the wolf next to her in disbelief. Her eyes widened as she found familiar bronze eyes staring back at her from the wolf's body.

"Q-Quil?"

The wolf barked happily and nuzzled her neck, rubbing her cheek with his snout.

AN: There you have it, guys! The question was "Do you think this is a joke?" Feel free to share any feedback and/or questions you'd like Claire to ask!