Heavenly shades of night are falling. It's twilight time.—The Platters.
As night began to fall on Moon Lake and the rest of the Pacific Coast, Eric Anderson paused on his walk home to look up at the darkening sky and admire the stars. I wonder if Spencer is in to astronomy?
Eric was originally scheduled to go to the movies tonight with Julie Stovall, but even if she hadn't of forced the issue by having sex with that were-otter (whoever he was) and decided to take a "break" in their relationship, Eric's head and heart were filled with thoughts of Spencer Lawson.
Maybe it was just the newness of the situation, but there really was something special about Spencer, and not just the uniqueness of her being an actual hybrid were.
Then again, Eric realized that he should keep his promise with Spencer and try to see if things could be repaired in his relationship with Julie first before pursuing anything beyond a friendship with Spencer. Yet he didn't want to. He really wanted to be with the Lawson girl.
Feeling so comfortable in each other's company, the two of them had almost actually fallen asleep in each other's arms on her sofa, which made Eric wonder what it was like to wake up every morning in the arms (furry or otherwise) of someone you TRULY love. Something he would eventually have to ask his folks or the Twists.
Yet, Eric didn't want to start whatever might be between him and Spencer by breaking a promise to her.
After dinner for three, because Nate was spending the weekend with whoever his mysterious new girlfriend was (a privilege Eric was going to demand equal time for whenever a valid opportunity arose), Eric went upstairs to his room, wondering what his parents were planning to do that night. He would be totally surprised if it didn't involve sex somehow, but that was another matter.
Instead, he decided to keep his promise to Spencer by calling Julie and seeing if she would like to talk and try to work things out between them.
However, after the fourth time her cellphone went straight to voicemail, Eric became angry.
I wonder if she's with that were-otter again, if not someone else.
Thinking quickly, Eric kept his voice calm while calling the Stovall house directly. Mrs. Stovall answered on the third ring.
As politely and as gentlemanly as he could, Eric told Mrs. Stovall that he and Julie had a fight, and that while he didn't start it, he was calling to see if he and Julie could come to some peaceful accord, but she wasn't answering her cellphone.
Mrs. Stovall asked Eric if he could please hold while she went to talk to Julie.
Eric heard the phone being set down on the surface of wherever it was, then there was a long silence.
Then, despite the fact that he didn't possess a were's acute sense of hearing, Eric heard Mrs. Stovall yell, "MARTIN! WHERE'S JULIE?"
That led to Eric overhearing a frantic back and forth between the couple, with neither of them being able to find their daughter either anywhere in the house or around their backyard pool.
Soon, Mrs. Stovall came back on the line and said, "Eric. I'm sorry. Julie's..."
"I'm sorry too Mrs. Stovall. Julie's off somewhere having sex with that were-otter again. When you do find her, tell Julie she's broken my heart for the last time and it's over between us!"
Then Eric hung up.
He laid on his bed for a while, staring at the ceiling. Eric was truly angry, upset, hurt, and a lot of other things; but the one thing he didn't do was cry. Then Eric smiled as an idea came to him. Punching the button for his cellphone to dial a recently programmed number, when the voice on the other end said "Hello," Eric quickly announced, "It's officially over between me and Julie," before telling Spencer Lawson what happened.
"I'm sorry," said Spencer, after hearing Eric's story, although she truly wasn't, for now this meant he was hers free and clear. "So, what happens now?"
"Would you like to go to the movies with me tonight? My treat."
"I'd love to, but my folks aren't here to ask their permission."
"Where are they?" Eric innocently asked in return.
"Your place," was Spencer's reply.
Eric instantly knew where the Lawsons would be, requested Spencer to get ready, and promised to call her back in a few minutes.
After checking his appearance in his bedroom mirror, making sure he had plenty of cash, along with his house keys and cellphone, Eric went downstairs and to the basement door within his house.
Briefly knocking on the outer door to the staircase, Eric reached inside just enough to flip the light switch on. That immediately stopped all the noise coming from below.
"Mom. Dad," Eric called out, not bothering to open the door all the way and start downstairs, for he didn't want to see a bunch of weres in the middle of "doing it". Especially not his folks. Eric didn't have the aversion to his parents' sex life that Spencer had in regards to hers, but that didn't mean he wanted to be a witness to it either.
"Yes, son?" called out his mother.
"Are the Lawsons down there?"
"Err.. yes Eric?" Mister Lawson said a moment later.
"Can I take Spencer to the movies?"
"WHAT?" said Mister Lawson, as Eric heard Mrs. Lawson say "Now dear..." before the rest of their conversation was too low for him to hear.
It seemed like ages, but just a little over a minute before Mr. Lawson said, "It's okay. You have my permission."
"Thank you," said Eric, as he turned off the staircase light.
"You two have a good time," called out Mrs. Lawson.
"You too!" yelled Eric, before he shut the staircase door.
Then Eric called Spencer back long enough to say when he'd be over and that she had her parents permission.
With that, Eric grabbed his jacket, locked up the Anderson house and hurried over to the Lawsons as fast as he could with a huge smile on his face.
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AFTERWARD: DIMENSIONAL DIFFERENCES
Obviously, unlike their Earth-1 counterparts, the were-mers of Earth-2 don't have the meaningful experience of finding their soul mate and establishing a monogamous relationship with that special someone, as seen by the troubles within the Stovall marriage and Julie "playing the field" on Eric with the were-otter Brian Walker.
How things will eventually work out between Eric and Julie or Eric and Spencer remains to be seen, but we do know where everyone's hearts lie on that subject at the moment.—tmw.