Julie gave a heavy sigh of relief when she and Eric stepped out of the Anderson house. Eric noticed and was slightly curious. Their dance lessons had gone well in his opinion, even with his mother bringing home the Middle School girl's PE coach. The practice with Nate felt okay and the practicing for his mom and Katherine "Kat" Johnson was better. Neither Eric nor Julie stepped on each other's toes, which had to be progress in that regard. The one thing that bugged Eric was how startled Julie was at seeing Kat and the obvious sigh of relief that Julie had given as they stepped out into the evening air.
"You okay?" Eric asked to her as he watched Julie's breaths slow and come back down toward normal, "You seemed a bit surprised..."
"I... I just didn't expect to see Coach Johnson again," Julie said slowly after a moment.
"Was she a bad teacher?" Eric wondered.
"Not bad... more tough for me," Julie answered, "She's really the outdoorsy, athletic type... which I'm not. I like swimming..."
"Obviously," Eric quipped.
"Obviously," Julie returned the quip, "but I've never been that interested in sports, lifting weights, doing pull ups, and all that sort of stuff... I liked my fantasy books with knights and princesses... fairies... monsters and heroes... even stories normals have written about weremers... or mers, however you view it, along with a lot of the books on marine biology."
Eric slowly nodded, "I can understand... I've liked the challenge of some sports and I did play baseball for a while while in Minnesota..."
"You did?" Julie asked.
"Yeah," Eric nodded, "before we moved here and became weres... I was actually in better shape than Nate was. The thing that hit me... was that while I liked the game and I feel I did okay at it... I never really bonded with my teammates beyond what was needed to compete in the game. Many of them figured baseball was ALL that mattered and I had interests that went beyond baseball. Things like science fiction and the scientific study of space were also interesting and I spent a lot of time dividing my attention between the two... The kids who bullied me in Minnesota... their issue wasn't so much that I liked science, but that I wasn't devoting ALL my time to baseball. In the end I quit and looked for those who wouldn't know or care whether or not I liked either..."
"And that's where you found all your online friends?" Julie asked, remembering much of this from discussions at school and elsewhere.
"I'm not sure if I'd really say "friends" as I never met them in person and I'm pretty sure none of them would do what you've done for me," Eric pointed out and squeezed Julie's hand.
Julie only smiled for a moment as they walked along quietly. Eventually she returned to the subject they were discussing.
"Anyway, Coach Johnson really is the sort of outdoorsy type that is pretty dedicated to fitness and so on," Julie spoke, "pushed us pretty hard in Middle School. And I figured I'd never have to see her again once I left Middle School. Your mom bringing her home was a bit of a surprise."
"Well... my mom is subbing for her assistant," Eric commented, "there's probably some teacher related stuff that they're working with..."
"I've never heard of anything like that," Julie commented, "and given how she was eyeing your mom... I'd think that she and your mom were there to have some adult fun, if you catch my meaning."
"Adult fun... you mean?" Eric left the end conclusion off at the end.
"That your mom brought Coach Johnson home to have sex with her?" Julie finished, "Precisely."
Eric was silent for a moment and looked back toward his home. That wasn't quite something he expected, and he wasn't quite sure on how to respond to it. After all, the move to Moon Lake had come after his father's wandering eye had gotten him in trouble in Minnesota. He'd felt fairly comfortable with his parents activity together after they became weres, as that seemed to show that his parents marriage was healing and they weren't being stressed by things. This, however, wasn't quite a sign of that. It was almost the inverse of what had happened in Minnesota. Julie seemed to catch his unease and spoke again.
"Though it may not be too big of a problem," Julie spoke, "I mean... you said that you found out your mom is bi, right?"
Julie waited for Eric to turn back to her and nod before continuing, "My dad says that a lot of new weres that are are bisexual may tend to experiment with things after they become weres... wanting to feel the full spectrum of their desires, especially if there is any history of that person repressing one side for any period of time. After a while, they tend to settle back into being with their spouse full time. Sorta like when a person tastes a new food that they've never had before and find that they like it..."
"I see," Eric commented after a few moments, "Well... I suppose it'd be best to let mom have her taste."
He figured he'd try to get a talk with his mom and dad on that issue later. Right now, he was with Julie and that alone made his heart soar and gave him confidence and strength. Even when she was nervous over something and even with the prospect of something odd going on with his parents, simply being by her side felt good. Of course it was starting to get late and that Julie would be having dinner soon and both of them still had their homework to do, so it wasn't as if either of them had a lot of time to get involved in anything more than their respective homework assignments. That said, Eric was still just glad to be beside his one true love. To see her glow, which told his now weremer senses that she was his one true love, just as she apparently saw him glowing from the first time she'd ever seen him. That made him feel good.
"After all," Eric commented as the two came up on the Stovall home now, "It gives me more time with you..."
"That is good," Julie agreed, "Though... I'm afraid we'll be doing nothing but homework."
Eric nodded, though he didn't necessarily have any problem with that. He and Julie might not have classes together in the fall, but they did take the same classes, so it wasn't as if they couldn't help each other if they needed it. Eric had grabbed his bag before he and Julie left and would be ready for any homework they had to work on. It might not be something exciting or overly romantic, but it was something that he and Julie could do together, and that was all that mattered.
"I don't mind homework," Eric answered, "besides, we'll both have to get through school before we can get married... and doing that will require getting good grades."
Julie paused and opened the front door to the Stovall home and gave Erich a smile, "I look at you and... grades don't matter."
"Personally I feel the same way," Eric answered, "but I don't think the school will agree."
"Agree with what?" came a new voice as they entered, making both teens jump a little to see Martin and Melissa seated on the couch watching television. The two had apparently caught what Eric had said to Julie and responded in kind.
"On whether or not grades are important," Eric said nervously.
Martin raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"Did you two have a good afternoon?" Melissa asked.
"Yes," Julie smiled, "we practiced dancing so that we can be ready for the dance on Saturday... From there, I invited Eric over for dinner and we can work on homework after dinner."
"If you'll have me," Eric added.
"You are more than welcome to join us," Melissa gave a warm smile, "you can tell us about your day..."
"We have lasagna in the oven," Martin added.