More Than My Own Life (Twilight Fanfiction)

Movie Night

I wasn't as afraid as I probably should have been. Actually, I was probably less afraid now that I knew the truth. Vampires were far less scary than demons in my book. Besides, as Claire told me stories about her past, I laughed harder than I ever had before. One of her favorite stories to tell was how on her third birthday, her Aunt Emily had taken a video of Claire and her friends excitedly covering Quil in makeup and a tiara. Every birthday since then, she would wear a tiara, and as soon as she blew out the candles on her cake, she would place the tiara on Quil's head. 

Through my laughter, I longed to have a relationship like that. I wanted more than anything to trust someone so fully, and to know that I was accepted so deeply. I remembered back to how I had been so freaked out by Quil and Claire's relationship when they first arrived. Now I found myself envious of it. Claire told more and more stories, and sometimes the Cullens were included in them. Most of them were from many years ago, back before I could even remember. A lot of the stories that she told she didn't even remember herself, but simply heard the pack tell over and over. She told me of a time when Bella was human and had jumped on the back of Jacob's motorcycle outside of school to escape with him to their reservation. That was one of my favorites, because it made me realize that the Cullens really weren't a threat to me. It also gave some personality to Bella, who I had been avoiding as often as I could. After all, Edward was creepy, and he was always at Bella's side. 

 Claire was a human just like me, and the Cullens had known her for years. Yet they had never hurt her. In fact, she spoke very highly of Esme and Carlisle, and even Rosalie. Though vampires were obviously dangerous, they seemed like they may be even less of a threat than many of my previous foster parents.

My laughter died down when Claire turned the questions to me. She wanted to know what living in an orphanage was like. "I didn't even know orphanages were still a thing" she rambled excitedly. "I thought that they only had foster homes now. Were you ever in one of those?" I nodded, and Claire looked even more interested. "My teacher said that we mostly have foster homes now because they're better than orphanages. But she never actually lived in either, so her opinion doesn't count for much. Do you think foster homes are better than orphanages?"

I hesitated. Neither were good. But, at the end of the day, one was the lesser of the two evils. "The orphanage is better. It's easier to blend in." Claire gave me an odd look. I realized that she had never blended in. She had probably never wanted to, either. She was constantly surrounded by a group of older boys who adored her and turned into giant wolves. Thankfully, she let it go, and moved onto the next question.

'So..." Claire had a wicked grin on her face that made me nervous. This was a new kind of nervousness. I wasn't fearful, I was suspicious. I narrowed my eyes, waiting for her to continue. She didn't disappoint. "Jacob Black." Claire stopped talking, and I raised my eyebrows. Finally, I asked, "What about him?" No longer able to contain herself, Claire blurted out, "Have you seen him without a shirt on?" There was a moment of silence, and then we both burst into laughter. I nodded and grabbed my stomach, struggling to breath. Through her giggles, Claire gasped "He's hot, right?" That only made us laugh harder.

There was a knock on the door, and we struggled to be quiet. I was the one who jumped up and opened the door. I froze when I saw that it was Jacob. I prayed that he hadn't overheard us talking about him. If he had, he didn't mention it. He stared into my eyes for a few seconds. It should have felt awkward, but all I could think about was how amazing his eyes were. They were a dark brown that faded into hazel around his pupil. I wondered how I had never noticed that.

Probably because I had been too afraid to look anybody in the eye since I had arrived here.

The thought made me look away from Jacob. Werewolf. He was a werewolf. I needed to remember that. As soon as I looked away, Jacob snapped out of whatever trance he had been in. "Uh..." he shook his head. "Claire. Nessie." He said my name slowly, looking back into my eyes as he said it. The nickname that I had always hated, that had been used to taunt me for so many years, sounded beautiful coming from his lips.