A/N: Got this idea from the livejournal community "365 prompts." Basically, you use a different prompt for each day of the year. Since 365 chapters would be rather long (I can just imagine what my Documents page would look like, can't you?) I thought I'd do it by month. Twelve chapters is much simpler. ;-)

It's become something of a sequel to my story The Experiment. It wasn't going to be when I started out, but became that way pretty quickly. Hmm. I'm not sure if you really need to read The Experiment to get this, but it would probably help.

Side note: the name beside the date denotes whose point of view it's in. It might alternate, depending on who I think would work better.

Disclaimer: I don't Twilight, characters, etc. I don't even own the prompts. PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!

January

January 1- Claire
Prompt: 060. Hot

"Are you sure you have to go?" I asked Quil, following him to the door. It was two in the morning. A new year. It was a big one for us—it was the first New Year's we'd spent together as a couple—how weird—and wonderful—was that? We'd only made it official two months before. And it was the first New Year's since I'd found out his secret.

And now he was leaving.

Quil laughed. "I told you, Sam wants us to run patrols tonight." He winked at me. "You're lucky Emily threw a fit about it, or I wouldn't have been able to be here at all."

I couldn't help smiling at that. The image of my Aunt Emily, calm, levelheaded Aunt Emily, throwing a fit was just too comical. Then I was scowling at him again. "But it's so cold outside." I peered out the window at the snow coming down.

Suddenly, a hot band encircled my waist, and in a flash I was pressed up against his chest. It was like hopping into an oven.

"Hmm," he acknowledged, pressing his face into my hair. "That might be a problem if I wasn't so hot."

I punched him in the side playfully as he let me go—lightly, of course. Really hitting him would hurt me more than him. "Fine. Go then. I'll just sit here. Alone. With no one." I sighed dramatically.

Quil rolled his eyes. "Bye, Claire." He leaned down to kiss me quickly. "Love you."

I grinned. "Love you, too."

January 2- Quil
Prompt: 198. Delicate

She was delicate. Horribly delicate. Frighteningly delicate.

I watched her move around the kitchen. When I'd come home that afternoon, she had shoved a mixing bowl and a spoon into my hands and informed me that we were going to make brownies.

There were dark circles under her pretty eyes, telling me things that she didn't want to.

She looked so fragile at times like this—like the smallest thing would break her into a million pieces. I knew better than to ask. I had at the beginning—after everything with Matt, I didn't want to have the risk of not knowing about something again—but talking about it didn't seem to help at all. If anything, it seemed to make things worse.

So I did what I was supposed to as her friend. I helped bake brownies when she needed to keep herself busy.

I helped eat them, too.

January 3- Claire
Prompt: 156. Mail

I kicked the front door closed behind me. "Bills. Junk. Junk. Bills. Letter from Audrey. You might already be a winner! Coupon… Oh."

I stared at the envelope in my hand. I weighed it, bouncing my hand up and down, trying to decide if it was really what I thought it was, or if they just felt like toying with me.

Finally, unable to stand it any longer, I tore open the envelope. "Dear Claire," I read aloud—Quil wasn't home to hear me anyway—"We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted…" At this point I stopped reading and just started screaming and jumping around the kitchen.

Which is how Embry found me a few minutes later.

"You know I can hear you all the way outside? What is with you?"

I practically through the letter at him.

He caught it easily and scanned the letter. "You got into University of Washington?" At my nod, Embry started yelling and jumping around the kitchen along with me.

Inevitably, that was how Quil eventually found us. Though, when he saw my acceptance letter, he just locked me in a hug, and muttered into my hair about how proud of me he was. I think he wanted to say—and do—more, but it wouldn't really have worked with Embry there.

It wasn't until later that it occurred to me just how far away Seattle was.

A/N: It feels like it's been forever since I got my acceptance letters to university… A whole two years. ;-) I'm such an old fogie, I know.

January 4- Claire
Prompt: 206. Police

As though I weren't already late enough.

Quil and I had a date. He was taking me out to dinner in Port Angeles to celebrate my acceptance. Well, that's what it was now, anyway. We'd decided to go to dinner earlier in the week, as a last treat before school started again.

But I was running late. That's what I got for stopping at the store. Apparently I hadn't learned my lesson. Though, at least this time the worst that had happened was I'd gotten stuck waiting for a freight train to pass. Of course, because it's never the small commuter trains when you need to get home quick.

And now this.

I rolled down my window—easier said than done, thanks to how cold it was—and pasted on what I hoped was my most charming smile. "Chief Swan," I greeted.

"Claire." He was trying his best to look and sound disapproving, but you could tell he was more amused than anything. God, I was lucky he liked me. "Do you have any idea how fast you were going?"

"Forty-five?" I guessed innocently, knowing full well that was what the speed limit on this road was, and also knowing exactly what speed I'd really been going.

"Try sixty-five." Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose. "I really am going to have to give you a ticket this time."

I gave him my most pitiful look. "Are you sure you can't just let me off with a warning, just this once? I'll be more careful about my speed." I held up three fingers. "Girl scout's honor." I was only a girl scout for less than a year because my mother had insisted on it. Besides, I'd managed to con Quil into doing most of the cookie selling for me. Not that it would have been that hard with so many ever-hungry werewolves running around—half of whom I was related to, anyway, and therefore under some unspoken obligation to buy stuff from me. Anyway, those… five months… had to count for something.

He eyed me dubiously. "Claire, I've let you off with a warning the last three times."

Oh, yeah.

By the time he'd written me my ticket, asked me to say hello to Jake when I saw him, and finally drove off, I was half an hour late. To make matters worse, I'd left my cell phone at home, so I couldn't even call Quil so that he wouldn't worry.

I groaned. It was a good thing he loved me so much. Anyone else would've killed me.

January 5- Claire
Prompt: 129. Bus

I couldn't remember the last time I rode the bus. Usually I borrowed Quil's truck, or else he gave me a ride. But after yesterday's debacle, there was no way I was going to get to use it. And that morning Jacob had enlisted Quil's help—well, mostly Quil's truck—to move some old furniture of Billy's.

And so, I was stuck, standing at the bus stop, feeling like a five year old again.

It was my own fault, too, for transferring to Forks High. Who transfers their senior year, anyway? But after last year—I shuddered just thinking about it—the last thing I wanted to do was go back to the school in La Push. Too many memories.

I had enough of those to deal with in my nightmares, anyway.

To top it all off, it was still freezing cold outside. So I got to stand there on the corner, buried under my heaviest jacket and scarf and gloves and hat, and still freeze my butt off. Great. And my only company was Caitlin, a shy freshman who never talked to anyone anyway.

I glanced at my watch. Of course, the stupid thing's late anyway. Just my luck.

I don't know how long we were out there for. It felt like an eternity, with the icy wind blowing in my face.

After some heinous amount of time—I was almost afraid to check—a car stopped in front of us and one of the guys in it rolled down his window. "What are you still doing out here? Didn't you hear? School's been cancelled."

Of course.

January 6- Quil
Prompt: 160. Hips

It was always nearly impossible for me not to look at her. Really, it was almost disgusting how much I needed to.

It wasn't so bad when she was looking back at me. At least then it was a mutual thing. But half the time she didn't even notice. She'd be doing something completely mundane and boring, and yet I wouldn't be able to stop watching her.

Like now. She was just picking up her room. That's it. Nothing too special. Except that, at the same time, she was humming to herself, and swaying along to whatever tune was in her head. And, God help me, I couldn't take my eyes off of her gently swaying hips.

Claire turned mid-hum and finally noticed me standing in the doorway. "Quil? You okay?"

I could just imagine what my face must have looked like right then. "Fine," I managed. I had to get out of there. A few more seconds of this and I'd have her flat on her back. "I think I need to go for a run."

She just blinked at me. "Okay…"

I was out the door about twenty seconds later.

January 7- Claire
Prompt: 016. Vacation

Thursdays. Thursdays were the bane of my existence.

I loved Billy. I really did. He was like a grandfather to me. Which is why, when Jacob asked me a few months earlier if I could help Billy out—you know, run errands for him, do stuff for him that he couldn't really, being in a wheelchair—I said sure. Why not? Jake couldn't do as much of it anymore, since he'd moved out on his own. And I could understand why he had moved out—they both wanted the independence.

That was all fine and good, in theory. In theory, it worked out great. That, and Billy insisted on paying me a little, which was an added bonus.

Every Thursday afternoon when I got home from school, I'd borrow Quil's truck—the ban on that had to be lifted for some things—and head over to the Black's. Billy would tell me things he needed me to do for him, and I'd do them. Simple, easy.

And best of all, the reason I'd really started doing this, it kept my mind off of other things. I needed that less and less as time went on, but there were still days when it was lovely.

It would all be perfect. If it didn't actually involve Billy.

"You're doing it wrong," he informed me.

I huffed out an exasperated sigh. I'd thought I was in the clear when I'd come over and Billy had merely handed me a grocery list. He hadn't even insisted on coming along this time.

But no. An easy Thursday was too much to hope for. After putting away the groceries, Billy had innocently asked me if I could please help him remove the screens on his windows. They needed to be replaced for some reason. Don't ask me why, I've given up on asking about that sort of thing. Much easier just to comply.

I sighed, turning to face him. "Wouldn't it be easier just to have Jake do this?"

Billy shrugged. "This way it won't take so long to put the new screens in."

I was grateful, at least, that Jacob had that job. The house didn't have that many windows, it shouldn't have taken too much time to take out the screens.

Except, apparently, that I didn't know the "correct" way to take them out. I'd only managed to get one out, and only with a great amount of difficulty. Not that Billy was helping.

Finally, after a lot of huffing and a few more unhelpful instructions from Billy a pair of too warm hands gently pried my own from the window. I turned around to see Jacob shaking with laughter. I glared at him.

"I thought I should probably come rescue you," he said, eyeing the window I'd been attacking. Then, in a voice too low for Billy to hear. "Go easy on him. He's bored."

"I know." It was the reason I put up with it. "You owe me a vacation," I grumbled to him.

Jacob laughed. "Yeah, I know." He turned and pushed me toward the door. "You're relieved of your duties." He winked at me. "For your troubles, you get a whole week off, how about that?"

"Ha ha. Very funny."

January 8- Claire
Prompt: 217. Test

"How was it?" Quil asked me as I climbed into his truck after school.

I groaned, slamming the door closed behind me. "I failed. That's all there is to it. Who has a test the week we get back from break, anyway? Like anyone would be studying."

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"You're right. It was worse. We should call the Admissions office and let them know. There's no way they'll even let me graduate after this. I can't go to college. I won't even be able finish high school."

Quil rolled his eyes. "Claire. One test isn't going to kill you."

I snorted. "Sure." I shook my head. "Maybe it's for the best, anyway. Four hours is an awfully long way to go from home." I was looking out the window as I said this, so I didn't see Quil's expression.

He didn't have a response to that.

January 9- Quil
Prompt: 121. Death

It was a familiar nightmare. I'd had it for years. Once when she was six, we'd been hunting this especially vicious and elusive bloodsucker. I'd have nightmares about coming back from patrolling, only to find her still little body, murdered in her own bed.

By now, I was used to those. They still scared the hell out of me, but at least those I could handle. It was just my imagination going crazy on me. Nothing even close to that had ever happened.

Worse were the dreams of last spring. I'd enter the shed like I had before, only this time when I found her, it was too late.

But even worse than those were the dreams where, when I entered the shed, she'd still be hanging on to life, but just barely. She would look at me with those big brown eyes, wary and accusing—this part I knew was of my own mind's making, with no part in reality—as though it were my fault.

Then, after I had ripped away the ropes binding her and removed the rag around her mouth, I would pick her up—gently, oh so gently—and start to leave the shed, past my brothers' worried and pitying faces.

And then… so suddenly it would completely take me by surprise, Claire would suddenly go limp in my arms, head falling back over the crook in my arm, her eyes still open, now gazing unseeingly at nothing, her beautiful little body still with death.

They didn't come often. I was grateful for that much, at least.

For whatever reason, though, they came that night. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. 3:13am. It was officially a new day. Didn't feel much like it, though.

I rolled out of bed, glad for once that, since Claire had moved in, I'd taken to wearing an undershirt and boxers to bed.

I cracked open Claire's door and peeked inside. She was curled up on her side, facing toward me. Her face was peaceful, her lips parted slightly. I relaxed a little at the sight of her, quite obviously alive and unharmed.

I slipped soundlessly into the room, closing the door gently behind me. I shouldn't, I knew that. It wasn't right. Soul mate or no, I was just her boyfriend. I hadn't asked for that sort of right yet, and she hadn't offered it to me. On most nights, this would be forbidden territory.

We made allowances.

Claire stirred when she felt my weight on the bed. "Quil?" she murmured sleepily, not opening her eyes.

"Hmm," I said softly, curling up next to her, draping my arm over those lovely hips of hers.

She shifted closer to me. "Another one?"

"Yes." I ran a hand over her dark hair. "Go back to sleep. Everything's fine."

Now it was.

A/N: Anyone else letting their imaginations run wild with the thought of what Quil wore to bed before Claire moved in? 'Cause I know I am…

January 10- Claire
Prompt: 075. Key

"You're sure about this?"

"Positive."

Quil eyed me skeptically. "Maybe it's too soon," he offered.

"For who?" I shot back. I saw him wince. "Sorry. That was low."

"Yeah, it was." He gave me a too-short kiss—they were always too short. "But I forgive you." He shot me a cheeky grin.

I rolled my eyes. "Just put it back and let's go."

It had been ten months since I'd moved it. A very long ten months. But it was finally time to conquer old demons and put it back where it belonged.

Besides, it'd finally get Embry off my back.

"All right." Quil held the extra key aloft, looking very serious, and finally lowered it, very slowly, into the pot next to the door, where it would—hopefully—spend the rest of its days.

I shook my head at him. "You're too much."

Quil grinned at me. "You're not the only one who can be dramatic, you know."

January 11- Claire
Prompt: 001. Sunshine

I scowled up at the sky from the front porch. "Why does perfectly good weather have to be ruined by a Monday morning?

Quil laughed at me. "Come on, the sun will still be there when you get out of school." He paused. "Probably."

I glowered at him as I climbed into his truck. "No wonder you're so cheerful this morning. You get to enjoy it all day long."

He grinned, but didn't bother denying it. "On the bright side—no pun intended—you'll get to enjoy the sun all day long from the comforts of the classroom while you get a great education."

"Joy."

January 12- Claire
Prompt: 045. Hug

"Claire, what I really don't need right now is your advice," Jacob informed me.

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't get so discouraged. So you had one bad date. Okay," I amended, "a lot of bad dates. It's really not that bad."

"I'm not getting discouraged," he argued.

"Right. Of course you're not. You always polish your extra bike when you come home after a date. In fact, whenever I see you in here doing something other than polishing your extra bike, I don't know how to handle it."

Jake shot me a look. "Claire."

"Maybe you're dating the wrong people," I offered. "Maybe you're looking in the wrong places." I considered for a moment. "Have you considered men?"

His response was more of strained choking sound than anything. "Trust me," he finally gasped. "That's not it."

I shrugged. "It was worth asking."

I was about to leave when I changed my mind. I sighed and went back to Jacob, pulling him into a hug. I think I shocked him for a moment, but in the end, he returned it.

"Thanks," he muttered.

I nodded. I was halfway out the door this time when I turned around to glance back at him. "Hey Jake?"

"What?"

"Why do you have two motorcycles, anyway?"

Jacob looked down his extra bike, one of those far away smiles I so often see forming on his lips. "It was a friend's." He turned away. "She doesn't need it anymore."

January 13- Claire
Prompt: 320. Telephone

Since I was supposed to be living with my aunt, whenever I called my parents, I always had to go up the street to the Uley's. It was annoying, but necessary. At least for the time being.

"Put Audrey on," I told my mother after we'd been talking for awhile. I sighed when I heard my sister's voice come over the line. "Go somewhere where they won't hear, okay?"

"Right." A few moments later, "God, I love this whole stealth thing. Such a pity it's not to going to last much longer."

I snorted. "Yeah, it's great for you, but it's driving me nuts. I'm just glad it'll be over in a few more months." Well, okay, I was glad for the end of the "stealth thing," not so much the end of living with Quil.

"How are things, anyway?"

"Good. Slow. I'm happy for that."

"Is it weird?" Audrey wanted to know. I heard a loud booming noise from her side. "Sorry. Just knocked box."

I shook my head. I could just imagine what Audrey's room looked like right then. She was home for a couple more days before heading back to school. Her bedroom had to look like even more of a disaster than normal. If that were possible.

"What'd you do? Bring your whole dorm room with you?"

"Oh shut up. You're room will look just as bad as mine next year, trust me." More noise. "Anyway. You didn't answer my question. Is it weird, transitioning from friends to… well, you know?"

I thought about it for a minute. Had anything really changed? I couldn't think of much, except now Quil did things like kiss me. And he touched me more—little things. Like holding my hand across the seat when we were in the truck, or touching the small of my back when we were standing close. And he told me he loved me. Not that I hadn't known that before, or that he'd never said it to me before. Just… it was different.

But everything else was the same. He was still my best friend. We still teased each other and made jokes. Come to think of it, we were more like friends now than we'd been for the two years before he'd told me he was a werewolf.

"No," I finally said to Audrey. "No, it's not weird at all."

January 14- Claire
Prompt: 041. Computer

"Jeez, Billy, what have you been doing to this thing?" I asked, peering at the computer screen. "This thing's a mess."

It was another Thursday afternoon at Billy's. I'd gotten there about ten minutes earlier to find a worried looking Billy, who had promptly informed me that his computer—his brand new computer, mind you, that Jacob and I—well, mostly Jacob—had pitched in to buy him for Christmas—had just died on him.

Billy started listing off his recent activities on the poor machine, including the various things he'd done to try and fix it before I arrived.

I gaped at him. "Don't you know how to use this thing at all?" He shrugged. I sighed. "Never mind. We'll deal with that later. Right now let's just hope I can perform a mini miracle on this thing."

A couple hours and a few miracles later, I finally had the computer running… well, if not like new, at least like it was supposed to.

All the same, Billy's grateful smile made me feel about ten feet tall.

January 15- Quil
Prompt: 226. Tattoo

"What do you think of a tattoo?" Claire wanted to know.

I nearly choked on my dinner. "On you? Absolutely not." I couldn't imagine marring her perfect skin with something so… so… well, not her.

Claire rolled her eyes at me. "Paul has one," she reminded me.

"Yes, well, on Paul it's an improvement." I grinned, despite myself.

She smiled mischievously. "Anyway, I thought you'd like this idea. I was thinking of getting your name tattooed someplace."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Any ideas where?"

"A couple."

A/N: …I hope that none of you thought of where/what she meant by "a couple." And if you did… -hands you some brain soap- Scrub thoroughly, ye heathens. ;-)

January 16- Quil
Prompt: 270. Joy

"Claire," I called softly, shaking her gently.

"Mmph," she muttered, swatting at my hand. "Go away. It's too early."

I grinned. "Claire, come on, get up. You're not going to want to miss this."

She turned over and glared at me sleepily. "Quil, it's Saturday. Can't you let me sleep in for a little while?"

I pulled her up. "You're not going to want to sleep," I informed her. "Come on, the sun's out. It's warm—well, for January, I mean."

The look of joy that completely transformed her face was totally worth the effort of waking up early. Without question.

January 17- Claire
Prompt: 137. Snow

I wrinkled my nose at the sight outside the window. "How can it be so sunny and nice outside yesterday, and snowing today?"

Emily laughed, setting down our mugs of hot chocolate on her kitchen table. "That's the weather for you," she said, shrugging. "There's rarely any rhyme or reason to it."

I sighed, taking the mug. "It was so nice yesterday."

"I know."

"I love it when it's like that in the middle of winter."

"I know."

"I hate snow."

"Really? I couldn't tell."

January 18- Claire
Prompt: 086. Ice

"Be careful."

"I will."

"The roads are still pretty bad."

"I know."

"And don't go so fast."

"Quil."

He just looked at me. I sighed. "Fine. I won't go too fast. Okay? Can I please go now?"

Quil bit his lip for a moment. "You're sure you don't want me to go with you?"

"Quil. I'm just going to school."

Sometimes I'm surprised anyone let's me drive in winter at all.

January 19- Claire
Prompt: 317. Cat

"What would happen if we got a cat?"

Quil raised an eyebrow. "You're allergic."

I shook my head. "I'm hypothetical, here, Quil, work with me, okay?" He shrugged. "Anyway," I continued. "If we got a cat, could you handle it?"

He let out a surprised laugh. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know, you're basically a big dog—Oh, shut up, you know what I mean—if we had a cat, would you and it fight all the time? Would I have to choose between a beloved pet and my boyfriend?"

Quil wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and lowered his head so that it was level with my ear. "Now why would you even need a pet when you've got me?"

"You're really not getting the point, are you?" I rolled my eyes, but I was grinning.

Ah, well. I was always more of a dog person anyway.

January 20- Quil
Prompt: 091. Coffee

I felt the mattress bounce slightly under me. I pried open an eyelid to see Claire kneeling on my bed, a steaming mug cupped in her hands.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head," she said brightly, thrusting the mug under my nose.

I grimaced. It was too early. Even for Claire's coffee. I turned over. "Half an hour more," I grumbled.

"I don't think so. Come on. I've gotta get to school. You're lucky I even stopped to make you any today." I felt her hand at my shoulder, trying futilely to pull me up. As though she could be that strong. "Come on, get up! Coffee's getting cold!"

I groaned, finally sitting up and taking the mug from her. "You're lucky I love you," I muttered.

She grinned and leaned over to kiss me before hopping off the bed. "I know."

January 21- Quil
Prompt: 182. Gravity

I spent half my life without her. It's hard to remember what that was like. Even when we barely spoke, she was always there.

I've gone so long with her at the center of my world. I can't remember anymore what it was like before it was like that. Isn't that weird? I spent the first sixteen years of my life without even knowing she existed—hell, she hadn't even existed for the first fourteen years. It's almost as though I didn't exist before that moment.

Jake used to call it "gravity shifting." But it's really so much more than just that.

January 22- Claire
Prompt: 273. North

"Have you ever been to this place before?" I asked glancing out the window of Quil's truck. Jacob had told us about some obscure restaurant he'd been to recently on a failed date that apparently had good food.

"No," Quil responded, squinting to see beyond the glaring headlights of the oncoming traffic. "But Jacob said it was decent, so why not?"

"Should we really trust his opinion? I mean, considering how the date went."

"Jake's dating problems have nothing to do with the places he takes the girls he goes out with."

I glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "So, do you know why he has so much trouble?" Quil didn't respond, but he seemed to be concentrating awfully hard on the road. Well, more than a normal person would, anyway. "Do you?"

Quil sighed. "Yes." He shot me a look. "You want to know that, ask him."

"I have already. He won't say."

To my surprise, Quil chuckled. "I should've known. Of course you'd ask." He shook his head. "If he wants to tell you, he'll tell you. Not knowing something isn't the worse thing in the world."

I couldn't really argue with that. "Maybe not. But it's a close second."

Quil let out a bark of laughter at that one.

I went back to looking out the window. "Hey, aren't we supposed to be going south?"

"Yeah. Why?"

I pointed to a sign we were passing. "That says we're going north."

"What are you talking about? It's south."

"It's north."

"South."

"North."

Quil sighed. "Look, there's another one. It says…" suddenly he swore.

"Told you it said north."

January 23- Claire
Prompt: 218. Breakfast

I sipped my coffee, watching the great battle going on in front of me.

It was like watching a train wreck. You knew it was going to be ugly. That there was no way of it turning out like you hoped—minimal damage, everyone's fine—and yet you can't make yourself look away.

It was clear the enemy was going to win. I knew it. He knew it. Hell, even the eggs probably knew it.

It was my fault, really. I'd have to live with that.

I sighed finally. "You can go back to bed."

Quil nearly fell out of his seat in his exhausted haste. "Oh, thank you."

I shook my head in defeat. That's what I got for complaining so much about never seeing him at breakfast.

January 24- Claire
Prompt: 245. Wild Card

"Deuces wild," Embry announced as he started passing out the cards.

"What?" I glanced at Jen, who looked about as confused as I felt.

"It means twos can be any card," Quil explained.

"Why?" Jen.

"Why not just let them be twos?" Me.

"Because…" Embry glanced at Jacob and Quil for help.

Quil rubbed his forehead, looking half-amused and half like he had a headache. "We don't know. That's just the way the game's played."

Jacob just shook his head. "See why you shouldn't invite your girlfriends to these card games?"

I think he was going to say more, but that was about the point where Jen and I attacked him.

January 25- Claire
Prompt: 141. Ghost

Sometimes I felt like a ghost wandering around the house late at night. When I couldn't sleep and Quil was out on patrol—the two seemed to go hand in hand—I'd wander around the house like a spirit, trapped somewhere in that in between place, with nothing of substance tying me there.

Quil was out with the pack. He'd be back my early morning. He had said so before he left, right after dinner. I could imagine him running through the woods with his brothers now.

I wandered into his room. Everything in there smelled like Quil. I could feel him so strongly he may as well have really been there.

I went and perched on his windowsill, like I had done so many nights before, and gazed out the window towards the trees. Waiting for my werewolf to come home.

January 26- Quil
Prompt: 359. Wounds

I slipped silently back into the house, wincing slightly. We'd gotten the bloodsucker we were after, but she'd managed to take a swipe at me before we could finish her off. The wound in my side was already healing quickly, but there was still blood all over.

I stopped in the bathroom and cleaned my side with a towel. By the time I was done, the wound was just a dark pink scar. It would be gone altogether soon enough.

Unsurprised, I found Claire in my room, slumped against the window pane.

I sighed. "Come on, sweetheart," I whispered as I gently picked her up. "Let's get you in bed." She didn't wake as I carried her back to her room, but she burrowed closer to me as I held her.

Some wounds, I'd found, took a lot longer to heal.

January 27- Quil
Prompt: 119. Dishes

I kissed her shoulder. "You look like a little haus frau," I informed her as she dried one of the plates we'd used for dinner.

After setting the plate down on the counter, she jabbed her elbow at me. "Don't get used to it." She turned her head so I could kiss her mouth this time. Claire grinned against me. "I fully plan on making you do all this later."

I laughed. "I kind of like it." I fingered the strings on her apron. "It appeals to something in me."

Claire rolled her eyes. "I'm sure. It's called your stomach." She turned back to the dishes in the sink.

"You know what they say, the way to a man's heart…"

"…Is through his chest."

I fake frowned at her. "How did I end up with such a cynic?"

She ducked her head, trying to hide her expression, but I still saw her smile. "Just got lucky, I guess."

January 28- Claire
Prompt: 191. Sink

I was quickly coming to the conclusion that either Billy was lonely, or his house was just falling apart at the seams.

I'm not quite sure which it was, because half the time when I passed the Blacks' place, I saw Charlie Swan's cruiser in the driveway, or else someone else would be coming in or out. And… well, even if the house was falling apart, there was no limit of people who could, and would, come fix something.

I peered into the sink. "What have you been putting down here, anyway?"

Billy shrugged. "Normal things, I guess."

I shook my head. "You sure? I've never seen a sink so clogged. When was the last time anyone did anything to this?"

Billy seemed to fall deep in thought. "Well… let's see…" He fell silent for a moment.

When he started ticking off his fingers, I groaned. "I have my work cut out for me."

January 29- Claire
Prompt: 175. Big

There's an old adage about how you can tell the size of a man's… well, you know… by looking at his hands and feet.

For some reason, I was thinking about this as Quil and I laid on the couch, watching a movie on TV. I was laying against his chest, and his hand was resting over my stomach. Somewhere in the midst of the movie, I picked up his hand—which completely dwarfed my own—and started turning it over in my hand.

He was huge. Everything about him was huge. I could nearly fit both my feet into one of his shoes. He was well over six-and-a-half feet tall. I felt like a child standing next to him.

I wondered…

"What are you smiling about?"

I kissed his palm, then set it back down on my stomach, giving it a light pat. "Nothing."

January 30- Claire
Prompt: 308. Duct tape

I considered the remains of Quil's shirt. "Well… it's not completely lost."

Quil—who had already changed into some decent clothes when I found him—gave me an arch look. "Are you kidding? The thing's a goner, Claire."

I ignored him. "Do we have any duct tape?"

"Do we have any what?"

"Duct tape."

Quil shook his head. "That's not going to help anything."

"Of course it is," I shot back. "Duct tape solves everything. Come on," I continued, turning to leave his room. "If we don't have any we'll have to go buy some."

I heard Quil snort, but he followed behind me. "You really need to stop phasing with your clothes on," I chided him over my shoulder. "How am I supposed to go to college if we have to spend all our money on buying you new clothes?"

"How are you supposed to go to college if you keep buying more duct tape to fix my clothes?"

I rolled my eyes. "Nice try. Duct tape's much cheaper."

January 31- Claire
Prompt: 079. Letter

Claire,

I'm at Sam and Emily's. I'll be home long before dinner. Didn't want to wake you. Call if you need me.

I love you,

Quil

I smiled as I read his note a second time, shaking my head. I used to think he was silly, writing me notes like this, when I'd always know—or think I knew—where he was.

But there's something comforting about that sort of stability.

A/N: Wow. This is twenty-one pages. Yikes.

I kind of like writing the little moments. :) I am kind of annoyed that I keep finding good prompts to do, but I can't write them till later in the year. :( Darn continuity.