Eric’s second day back was much quieter. It was as if, overnight, every single rumor disappeared, and things went back to normal. Well, as normal as things can be in a place like Moon Lake. No one paid him any mind as he walked through the halls, even when he had his arm wrapped around Cassie.
Ok so there were a few peculiar looks, but that was expected. Eric was practically strutting down the halls he was so happy. And to be fair, at least half of those looks were from Nate, who was equally happy but had the presence of mind not to march down the halls with an overly cocky grin.
“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Cassie finally asked Eric at lunch.
“I dunno. Woke up on the right side of the bed. Though it’d be better if you were there too.” he said between bites of his sandwich. Cassie blushed at the remark. Eric was exceptionally mushy today, for whatever reason.
“Well, when you’re ready to come down from your love cloud…”
“You’re welcome to join.” Eric interjected.
“…Have you heard anything about Julie?”
“Why?” Eric was jolted out of his blissful state by Cassie’s question.
“Curious, but she did have some major surgery yesterday, or so I’ve been told. And I was just wondering if you knew anything. Like, you know, if she was back to normal or still taking up residence at the local nutshack.”
“Huh, I don’t know if she’s stopped acting all weird. But Frances told me she came out of the surgery alright. Still has a lot to recovering to do before she’s 100% again though.” Eric shrugged.
As Julie had all but forgotten Eric existed, Eric found he didn’t really care that much about Julie’s situation. Sure he was glad she wasn’t dead, but the feeling of compassion ended there.
“That’s good.” Cassie nodded once and then returned to her meal. Since they were asking questions, Eric decided to ask what she wanted for her birthday. He had a few ideas, but wanted to get her opinion.
“I dunno. Nothing too crazy.” Cassie said indifferently, which didn’t exactly help Eric. So he fired off a few questions about what kind of things she liked. Suddenly their lunch was more like the first date they never really had. Aside from the brief talk they’d had the night Eric became a werewolf, most of their discussions were about the post-transformation, Julie, or Eric’s family.
They went back and forth with the usual “first date” questions. Hobbies, books over movies, travel, food preferences, school work, and the like. They were sad to end their “date” when the bell finally rang. As they exited the cafeteria, the junior class entered. Nate and Alex went unnoticed by Eric and Cassie, but not Ben and the blonde haired beauty next to him.
“Hey, Eric. Hi Cassie.” Ben greeted the two when he saw them. Sasha and Cassie waved to each other, the latter surprised to see Ben with her.
“Hi Ben. And, uh, hello.” Eric said unsure who the girl next to Ben was.
“Hi, Sasha Meyers. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Sasha introduced herself to Eric with a quick wave.
“Likewise, but looks like we’re gonna have to continue this some other time. We’re going to be late to class.” Eric said, looking at the clock on the wall behind Ben and Sasha. He and Cassie sped off to class, while Ben and Sasha found a table where they could continue their “talk”. Each went back and forth, eating and talking about their plans for the rest of the week.
“So, Wednesday night?” Ben asked again. Earlier, he’d casually mentioned that Wednesday was usually his moms’ “date night”, and he’d have the house to himself for the evening. Sasha wasn’t sure what exactly Ben had in mind. She’d never been invited to a date’s house before. Her relationships never got that far.
“I’ve got to check with my parents, they might need me to babysit the twins. Something about a meeting with some lawyer person for something.” Sasha said.
“Anything wrong?”
“Yvette’s still causing trouble, let’s just leave it at that.” Sasha sighed. Even though that damn rogue was miles away she continued to make trouble. The “incident” hadn’t gone unnoticed by the media, not after Yvette was sent to prison. No matter where she went, Yvette made sure people knew she was present.
Thankfully the story the public was fed was that a female attacked a fellow student, and then killed one of her professors after trying to sexually assault him. So now the college had to deal with countless “officials”, and other wackos who insisted they inspect the school to ensure it was safe. And even more outside applicants were withdrawing. The town ran on the hospital and college mostly. Take out one, and things would start to go south for sure.
“I could come over and watch them with you. I don’t mind. Do you have to watch Lauren too?” Ben asked, remembering the little girl from yesterday.
“Not this week, thank god. Today is my last day for a long time. Her mom’s off the night shift for the holiday season so I won’t have to watch her. She’s really cute and sweet, but boy does she have a lot of energy. Lauren’s such a handful sometimes.”
“Oh come on, she can’t be that bad. I’d be more than willing to help out again.”
“Aren’t you sweet? I hope you know what you’re signing up for. Because ALL five year olds are handfuls. Trust me. I’m glad by the time the twins will be that old, I’ll be out of the house.”
“Really, where you planning on going?” Ben wondered if Sasha wanted to leave Moon Lake. Almost at that age, Ben often considered a life outside the small town. But at the end of the day, couldn’t imagine himself going too far. He liked the area, and wanted to stay close to his family.
“Not sure. Just like to get away for a few years. I need some space, you know?”
“Completely.” Ben said. His house was one level, and offered few places to really hide away other than the bathroom or the shed in their backyard. Which is why Ben often took to the woods to find some peace and quiet.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though. That’s a way’s away. Tomorrow is much closer.” Ben went on to say, “Let me know if you can make it. Say around six thirty at my place. I can make us dinner.”
“You cook?” Sasha’s mouth hung open a little, revealing the half chewed bite of food she’d put in her mouth right before Ben spoke.
“Well nothing fancy, but more than Lean Cuisine, or ramen.”
“In that case, I’m looking forward to tomorrow night.” Sasha almost forgot the two were eating lunch in the school cafeteria. She’d all but purred her words. A clear indicator of her growing arousal. And this was SO not the right place for that.