Eric Anderson found it hard to concentrate on school that Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Not because of the impending holiday break that would start when the afternoon dismissal bell rang, but because his heart was on the hybrid were Spencer Lawson.
He still had to field some questions and comments springing from the rumors surrounding what happened Sunday. Eric still answered all he could truthfully, downplaying how "heroic" he was getting lost in the woods while "whatever happened between Spencer and her attacker went down", yet his new girlfriend was right. People were going to believe whatever they wanted to anyway.
The one troubling thing about the whole day was during Freshman lunch. While he was eating, Frieda Knight, a friend of Julie Stovall's and one of the most popular girls in school, stood on the other side of the table and just stared at him.
When Eric said hello and asked "What's up?", Frieda only said, "I just don't get it," and walked off.
That afternoon as school let out, Martha Anderson, third grade teacher, picked her son up directly from getting out of the earlier dismissed elementary school, and agreed to take him to visit Spencer, since they had a big day of cooking tomorrow to get ready for Thanksgiving Thursday.
Since Eric was only 14, she had to walk him through the hospital to Spencer's room since no one under 15 was allowed unsupervised.
The patient was still in her were form to encourage faster healing, but a huge smile formed on her muzzle upon seeing her new boyfriend.
Martha was unfazed by seeing the two of them kiss.
"Hey Eric. I got that e-card you sent me," said Spencer, holding up a print out with her good paw.
Martha saw that it was a picture of a large floral arrangement with the message: "Roses are Red. Violets are blue. Get well soon. I miss you. Love, Eric."
The two teenagers started chatting, when Martha said, "Say Eric. We passed a soda machine on the way here. Why don't you go get all of us drinks." she suggested, pulling out a bunch of one dollar bills. "If you have any trouble getting back here, just have someone come for me."
Not realizing how odd that was considering he had to be escorted in, Eric quickly took the ladies' requests and left. With that, Spencer looked at Mrs. Anderson and said, "I presume you wanted a moment to chat privately?"
"Very astute," confirmed Martha. "My concern is not that the two of you have a growing relationship in progress, but that right now my son's both a normal and a virgin."
"Say no more Mrs. Anderson," began Spencer. "That's been running through my mind too, because thinking's one of the few things I can do while being cooped up in here, and the last thing I ever want to do is hurt the one guy who has ever shown me any true affection without having some kind of an ulterior motive."
"That's good to know," said Martha, giving her a friendly smile.
"Eric doesn't seem to have any problem with the basic idea of becoming a were. His issue is deciding what kind of were to be. If he isn't already one before we... well... you know; me being a natural hybrid were complicates things, because there's no guarantee what happens to him. I already took the precaution of explaining the risks and the odds to him when Eric first admitted he was developing feelings for me, which was on our way back from the movies Saturday night by the way."
"Eric's already told his father and me them too. A werewolf, after your father, or a werefeline like your mother are the two most likely."
"Yeah. But Eric's told me that wolves are his brother's thing, and while there are straight feline based species out there, he runs the risk of becoming either bi or outright gay with my mother's background," confirmed Spencer. "Besides, the odds of him possibly becoming a hybrid like me are astronomical."
"I see, but—"
"Unlike Julie Stovall, I have absolutely NO intentions of ever trying to entice Eric into something he doesn't want to do. When, if, why, and what are ENTIRELY up to him."
"Thank you for easing my mind," said Martha.
"No problem, but would you mind returning the favor?" asked Spencer.
"If I can. What is it?"
"Is Eric truly as... innocent as I suspect he is?" wondered Spencer.
"Yes," confirmed Martha. "First off, Eric's... old fashioned. While sex is on his mind at times like any other 14 year old boy, he's always thought more about who, is this the right time, and do I truly love and want to be with this lady instead of 'scoring'. That's why he and Julie never... before they broke up."
"I see," was Spencer's only comment, but thought that was good to know.
"Secondly, Eric had a troubled childhood back in Minnesota. More a brain than a jock, although he was always walking, bicycling, and doing other solo outdoor activities. The nerds, for lack of a better term, could never accept someone as physically active as Eric, and the jocks could never comprehend someone so smart, so he was ridiculed and at least verbally abused by both. Because of that, he kept to himself an awful lot. Not knowing about weres when we did so, we were hoping the move to Moon Lake would do him some good. And considering how much more open he's been in the short time with you..."
Spencer smiled, but whatever she was going to say was lost as Eric came back into the room with three plastic soda bottles. "Sorry it took so long, but I had to go to another machine because the first one didn't have orange," he said, handing his mother that one. "What did you two talk about while I was gone?"
"We were just getting to know each other," said Martha, which wasn't a total lie.
"When do you think you'll be out Spencer?" Eric asked her.
"The latest X-rays showed the minor fractures are healing nicely, but they're still concerned about the major ones. The doctor will make a decision whether or not to operate again after he looks at the next set. Film at 11," quipped Spencer, before taking a swig of her soda, noticing that Eric had undid the bottle cap for her beforehand.