Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight books. I'm only borrowing the characters and will return them mostly unharmed P
AN: After recently dealing with my little fifth grader cousin, this idea for a oneshot popped into my head and would not leave me alone. Please read and review! Italics are Quil's thoughts.
"Where on earth is that girl? The bell rang 10 minutes ago!" Quil sat impatiently outside of the colorful elementary school, still waiting for Claire to leave her fifth grade classroom. As on all other Fridays, Quil picked up Claire from school and babysat her for the day to celebrate the end of the school week. He mentally squashed his sometimes too-overprotective instincts that demanded he run around the school in a frantic search for his girl. Most of the parents had already taken their kids home, and he idly wondered about the unusually flustered children that he had seen leaving the classroom just minutes before. He had also seen many frazzled kids firing question after question at the stunned parents. He could only think of one thing that would cause such hysteria in the innocent fifth graders, but he uncomfortably pushed the suspicion away: Oh God, please tell me they didn't learn what I think they learned!
His desperate pleading was cut off as he spotted Claire leaving her classroom. In a moment, he realized that something was indeed off today. His usually bouncy girl had her brunette head bowed, her almond-brown gaze aimed at the floor as she took hesitant steps towards Quil. Kneeling to greet her with his customary hug, his eyes widened in shock as Claire nervously jerked away from his open arms. He quickly repressed the quick pang of pain that her rejection caused and instead took her backpack from her arms. They walked to the car in silence, and Quil's forehead crinkled in puzzlement as he began to drive them home. He finally decided to break the awkward silence.
"How was your day, Claire-bear?"
"F-fine," the little girl stuttered, blushing and turning her head towards her open window. Crap. Something has obviously made her uncomfortable.
"Uh, did you learn anything interesting in school today?" His question was met with silence. Glancing at the girl to his right, he observed the distant look in her eyes that belied her deep concentration. The minutes passed in silence as Quil drove and continued to rack his brain for ways to make Claire speak to him. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, he saw her chin raise in a stubborn tilt and heard her determined voice interrupt the quiet.
"Quil, have you ever had sexual intercourse?" Nearly swerving out of the lane in shock, Quil turned his wide eyes to the girl beside him.
"W-what?! Where did you hear that?"
"Sexual intercourse. We learned about it in school today. They put the boys in one room and us girls in another, and then we watched a video and then looked at some charts. Ms. Mills said that sexual intercourse is when a man puts his penis inside-"
"I KNOW WHAT IT IS!" he interjected. He frantically looked around for some kind of help that (he hoped) would miraculously appear out of thin air. Trying to distract the young girl from her question, he said, "Aren't you in the fifth grade?"
"Yes… and Ms. Mills said that we are at the age when we start to change and grow, and that we need to learn about this stuff soon. And she said that if we have any questions, it's okay to ask." With that, she quickly shot several questions at him that brought a rosy hue to his cheeks. What are they teaching these kids?!
As Quil's mind screamed out at the horror of having such a conversation with his darling, innocent, angelic Claire, he knew that this Ms. Mills was, unfortunately, correct. Claire was growing up, and (he felt slightly nauseous) would soon be hitting puberty and entering her teen years. Of course she would have questions. He tried to stifle the growing panic in his chest, and instead tried to behave as someone mature would. After all, he was a 25 year old man. He could handle a prepubescent eleven year old. Of course he could. Nothing to worry about.
"Well, Claire," he began. "Erm… Sexual intercourse is a very personal topic. You should be careful about what you ask and how much you say in public." There, conversation ended and crisis avoided Quil thought proudly. Now we can get back to normal.
Claire quieted again until Quil arrived at his house and led her into the kitchen for a snack. As he shuffled around looking for edible food, he heard Claire speak.
"But Quil…" Claire continued, as Quil tried to resist banging his head against the refrigerator. "Ms. Mills said that sexual intercourse is part of life. She said that's where babies come from. That's how mom and dad had me. But Ms. Mills said sometimes people accidentally get pregnant, and I don't understand how a penis accidentally gets into a-"
"That's right, Claire" Quil quickly agreed to hush her. "Babies come from sexual intercourse. But uhhh… sexual intercourse isn't just about… having babies. It's… well, it's… it's… uhh a way for two people to show their love when they are much, much older and very responsible. Sometimes, they do it just to show their love but accidentally have a baby too." He sighed in relief at the end of his halted speech, but frowned once he saw the tears gathering in Claire's worried eyes.
"W-was I an accident?"
Quil's eyes softened at the eleven year old's worried question, and he gathered her up in his arms. Sitting down at the kitchen table and settling her on his lap, he answered "Oh, no Claire-bear. Your parents wanted you so much. They tried to have you for a very long time."
"Really?" she looked up into Quil's eyes with a hopeful expression.
"Really." He hugged her close. "Who else would be my Claire-bear if you weren't here?" She giggled happily and kissed Quil on the cheek.
"I love you, Quil."
He gently kissed her forehead and hugged her close. "I love you too, Claire-bear."
FEEDBACK IS MUCH APPRECIATED!! Did you hate it? Love it? Any suggestions? Seriously, guys, reviews really motivate us writers and help us improve. I welcome constructive criticism; flames, on the other hand, will be destroyed by my shiny red fire extinguisher. Thanks!