It began on the bus ride to school.
Starting at the outer most point and working its way inward back to Moon Lake High, the bright yellow vehicle promptly pulled in front of Eric Anderson's house and he got on.
It would still be a few minutes before the bus route reached Julie Stovall, so Eric took a seat by the door, anxious to see his girlfriend/fiance again.
At first, the few kids on the bus just said hello and didn't even notice, but as his scent started to drift on the breeze, they realized this wasn't the same Eric Anderson they last saw.
"Were-merman huh? Congrats," the closest boy said to Eric, to which others soon started welcoming Eric into were society, even more excited than they were when Eric had first moved to Moon Lake.
Eric just simply smiled and thanked everyone, but when asked why he chose to be a were-merman compared to all the other possibilities, his lone reply was, "Love."
A couple of minutes later the bus pulled in front of the Stovall residence.
Julie was already at the curb, waiting for it to arrive as anxiously as Eric was to see her again.
Mrs. Stovall stood on the front porch, watching Julie get on the bus before it pulled out to continue its route.
Julie's mom had decided to work from home at least today, if not tomorrow as well, in order to be there to greet her husband once he returned from his trip to check on his mother in California.
They would have a nice dinner tonight between the three of them and the newest were-merman of Moon Lake, so Martin could see Eric's new self.
Granted, Mrs. Stovall wasn't sure how her husband would react upon seeing the single pearl necklace around his 14 year old daughter's neck, the were-mer token of engagement, but that was a stream she'd swim when it came.
The main thing on her mind right now was having a nice dinner ready, and a "proper" welcome for her mate, depending upon what time he arrived home versus what time Eric and Julie would be back from school.
On the bus, Julie climbed the steps and instantly spotted Eric, rushing to sit beside him.
The two lovers exchanged a brief, polite kiss; but this still earned many comments from those already on the bus.
"I see what Eric meant about love," one kid said.
"Lucky stiff," replied another.
Other than holding hands and talking about anything that came to mind, the bus ride to school was quite uneventful to Eric and Julie.
Their conversation kept getting interrupted by new arrivals who, once catching Eric's scent, congratulated him on joining were society, but otherwise the couple was left alone.
"Is it always going to be like this?" wondered Eric.
"At least until the newness wears off. Tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest," explained Julie.
"Well, at least I know now what Nate went through after he became a werewolf," said Eric, before something dawned on him. "You know what we never did this weekend?" he asked Julie.
"Considering how wonderful it was, I can't imagine that we did forget anything," replied Julie.
"Actually, we forgot to practice our dancing," revealed Eric.
Julie thought about that for a moment and then said, "You're right. But there's still plenty of time between now and the Halloween party Saturday night. Yet I've already got the perfect dance partner," she added, before kissing him on the cheek.
The early morning classes just seemed to drag for Eric and Julie.
Since the only times they would see each other throughout the day this semester were brief exchanges in the hallways and Freshman lunch, each longed for their respective class to be over so they could have the next glance, moment of hand holding, or whisper sweet nothings in each other's ears and promises of things to come.
Eric kept getting more heartfelt congratulations from everyone who now realized that he was a were-merman.
One fellow student between first and second period did ask, "Now that you're one of us, how do you feel about the situation in Seattle?" he asked, referring to the mess with Lionel Ulysses.*
Eric just looked at the boy and said, "I have been a citizen of Moon Lake since my family moved here at the start of the new school year, and I have every confidence that those in charge have everything under control, so there's nothing to worry about."
That actually earned Eric a round of applause from those close enough to overhear the exchange, to which he just blushed and went on to his next class.
Julie's morning was more quiet, since she was already a naturally born were-mermaid.
However, before second period started, Debbie Watson, one of her fellow were-mermaids did notice the single pearl necklace around her neck and asked, "Who's the lucky guy?"
"Eric Anderson," replied Julie, dreamily.
"So Eric's now..."
"Yes," said Julie, with a broad smile on her face.
"Have you two set a date yet?" asked Debbie.
"Sometime between high school graduation and the start of college."
"Congratulations. I hope the two of you have a marvelous life together."
"We will," said Julie happily. "Just have to get over this feeling of longing I have, not seeing him much so far today."
"You'll get used to that in time," Debbie said, "if watching my older sister and the guy who's now her husband is any indication."
Then the bell rang to start the second period classes of the day.
"Well, back to reality," mused Debbie, as the teacher walked into the classroom, closing the door behind her.
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*Most of which has already been resolved in the Moon Lake, Tad thread, which is running a day ahead of our story.—tmw.