** Go to bottom for a quick message - bj88
The Twists, Martha Anderson, and Ben carried the poor unconscious Julie away from the crowd. Ben quickly rejoined his packmates, while Samantha called Julie's parents.
Francis took it upon herself to deal with the emotionally distraught teenager before her. After all, she was a therapist. That was kind of her entire job, dealing with stressed out persons, and such.
"How did she even find us?" Martha wondered aloud.
"I haven't a clue. Though I'm sure the pack meeting grounds are well known by other weres. Even if Julie's senses are on par with our own on land, she shouldn't have too much trouble finding this place. The amount of werewolves here makes this place fairly obvious." Francis said. They then went back to waiting for Julie to wake up, and for her parents to arrive.
Samantha came over a few minutes later. She said Melissa was on her way.
"Just as emotionally torn up as her daughter unfortunately. Apparently Julie told her she was going to a friend's house." Samantha sighed.
"Eric told me Julie hadn't been as accepting of his decision as he'd hoped, but I didn't know she had such strong feelings for him." Martha whispered.
"Were-mers take love and romance very seriously. More so than the rest of the were community. I'm not clear on the whole 'love at first sight' thing, but it's pretty powerful." Francis said.
"Which only makes this situation all the more painful, for both of them. Eric really cares about Julie, but he also wants this. This wasn't an easy decision to come to. And once it's done it's done." Samantha said, looking over her shoulder at the ceremony that was continuing behind them.
A few minutes later, a car pulled up behind the Twist's and Martha's. Julie's parents rushed out, ignoring the looks from the onlooking werewolf pack.
"Is she alright?" Martin asked, his wife immediately going to their daughter's side. She was still unconscious, and lying in the backseat of the Twist's car.
"Physically, yes. Emotionally and mentally, I highly doubt it." Francis said reluctantly.
"What exactly happened?" Martin asked, his wife having told him very little. The three women explained the situation as best they could. Francis added a few, more professional comments, hoping that would better help the Stovalls understand Eric's decision.
"The last thing Eric would want to do is hurt Julie. He's been thinking about this for the past month. It's not some spur of the moment thing. I've been seeing him after school once a week ever since William's death. And I can say without a doubt, Eric's reasons behind his decision aren't just motivated by a lack of self confidence." Francis said. Melissa barely heard a thing. She had Julie's head in her lap, and was stroking her blonde head.
"I believe you. Actually I think his choice is quite commendable. Protecting and serving, they're both honorable reasons for wanting to make this change. I only wish Julie hadn't reacted this way." Martin sighed.
He knew first hand how powerful the "love at first sight" was for were-mer. The moment he met Melissa he was in love. But he would have never forced her to do anything she didn't want to. And he always stood by her decisions. That's how much he loved his wife. If she'd chosen to become some other kind of were, Martin knew it wouldn't have mattered.
"Julie said she would be okay if Eric became a different were. But I guess she wasn't as okay as I thought. She's young, probably doesn't completely understand everything she's been feeling. Other than the love and lust, there's more to the 'true love'. And they haven't even spent that much time together. There's no way their relationship has gone past the usual girlfriend/boyfriend stuff." Martin thought.
Julie started to wake in her mother's arms. She blinked, dry tears having sealed her eyelids a bit. Her mother brushed the hair from her daughter's face as Julie frantically sat up.
"What's going on? Where... Eric was..." Julie began to look all over for him. But the only faces she saw where her parents', the Twists', and Martha's.
"Julie, calm down. You don't want to get yourself worked up again." Melissa said, rubbing her daughter's arm.
"But Eric is..."
"Julie, I know you're hurting, believe me. But I'm afraid you can't do anything to stop him." Martin said reluctantly. He wish he could say otherwise. But based on what Francis told him, Eric was determined to go through with his plan.
"He can't, he just can't! I don't... I don't care what he says, he can't do this to me!" Julie sobbed. Tears poured down her cheeks. Her mother did her best of console her, but it was no use.
"Julie, why don't we go back to your place and talk. This isn't the right place." Francis said, sparing a glance at the pack. They were being courteous, and pretending not to notice the emotionally distraught teenager crying in the car. Nate, Ben, and Alex Ramsey (the werewolf who turned Nate) each felt terrible inside. No one realized just how much Julie loved Eric until this happened.
"No! Not until Eric promises to stop this!" Julie almost screamed. She tried to get up, but her mother and father kept her in a sitting position.
"Julie you can't stop Eric if he wants to do this!"
"Why not? He's KILLING me by doing this! It's not enough that his father was taken from him, but now he wants to get rid of me too?"
"Julie!" Melissa sucked in a shocked breath. Martha pretended not to hear Julie's angry words. But inside, she felt like ripping the girl's head off for saying something like that.
"I LOVE HIM! AND THIS IS HOW HE'S REPAYING ME FOR EVERYTHING I'VE DONE FOR HIM? I WON'T ACCEPT THIS. I DON'T!!! Eric's MY merman, and no one else's," Julie almost growled, her body was starting to shake with anger. She forced her way out of her mother's embrace, and started running towards Eric. She ignored the stares from everyone, her eyes locked on Eric.
"I love him. I NEED him. I'm not losing him just because he's got some stupid idea about becoming some stupid mongrel." she thought.
Were-mer don't have fangs or claws, but that wasn't going to stop Julie. Eric's brother, who realized what Julie was planning on doing, could definitely stop her. He shifted on the fly, and grabbed her just before she could lay a hand on Eric, who stood and stared passively at her.
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** A message for whoever cares to read it -
To MLfan, I really liked your chapter. And you're not "out of line". Happy to answer any questions (as long as they aren't about math, I HATE math).
In regards to this Eric being so different, that's kinda the whole point of this thread. In essence each character is the same. But the little things, like say personality or the way their minds work are individual. They may lean the same direction, but they're completely different people.
Not sure if there are any DC comic book fans out there, but think of it like their multiverse. There are multiple versions of one character (ex. Power Girl/Supergirl). Anyways, hope that helped clear any confusion. This thread is a side project, so I can't guarantee daily posts. I've got other things I'm working on, besides those on CYOC.
Also, if anyone adds a chapter to this thread, please use the (Earth-3) tag in the title so we can differentiate each story line. Thanks - bj88