Eric, Julie, and Arthur slowly made their way from the front of the high school in the general direction of Wood Street where Eric's family had moved to. He felt quite well that Julie loved him and saw him as the love of her life, as it relieved a lot of the worries he had. He couldn't fully know for sure as to how interested Arthur might have been in Julie, but he did recognize the importance of Julie's necklace and accepted it and offered to be friends with Eric as well. In a way, that seemed to set things on a path to things that Eric was in agreement with. Friends were always nice, and he was grateful to not only have Julie as a future wife and Arthur and a friend. It was something that was very good, and they'd even agreed to go for some snacks to mark the occasion.
Of course there was still the question that hung over everyone's mind regarding Spencer Lawson. She was obviously new to Moon Lake and already a were, but not one that either Julie or Arthur knew of, and Eric was still rather new to things and was thus more willing to defer to their experience. The issue, however, was more on what to do, given that Spencer had given Eric a very forward "hello" at their first meeting and while she may have been surprised by Eric's unofficial engagement to Julie, Julie got the sense that there was some interest in him and at the same time something at the way Spencer had also looked at her seemed rather odd. Add in the "friends with benefits" comment and the three were at a loss as to what to do.
"Well... at least she didn't quite seem like all the reports had on Yvette Smith," Arthur commented as she walked along, thinking on the note that Eric had passed to him in the hall with instructions to get it to Julie, "Very forward, yes, but that could potentially be the case for any were, particularly one that's new to Moon Lake."
"Yes... but forward toward Eric," Julie answered as they walked along, though her mind still dwelled on the looks that the older teen had actually given her.
"She may not have known about US," Eric commented emphasizing the last word, figuring that Spencer likely knew weres existed but being away from a place like Moon Lake, she wasn't fully aware of how were society fully functioned, and having been away, she might also not be aware on how rare were-species, like weremers functioned. He'd noticed that since his parents had become weres, a lot of the issues that had been "issues" in the past seemed to be gone. His father was entirely devoted to his mother and his mother seemed more confident in herself. In this, he knew that they had moved into a rather open marriage that would allow his mother to be with any woman that struck her fancy and that the two would potentially share if all were willing.
The arrangement had its potential complications, and before Spencer's very forward to him, a part of Eric's mind figured that it was something he'd never consider. However, meeting Spencer had left him just as confused over things as he was initially fearful that Arthur might try to take Julie from him. He noticed some of Spencer's looks to Julie, and wondered if Spencer might have had some attraction to Julie as well, especially if she was a werecat... or had some werecat in her, since werecats were at least bisexual if not homosexual. Of course some of the wording that Spencer had used when she left also puzzled him, mostly as he'd never heard the phrase "friends with benefits" before, and judging by Arthur and Julie's reaction, they hadn't heard of it either.
"There's still the issue of what to do," Arthur commented as they came up a small sort of convenience store.
It wasn't big, and wasn't actually one that sold gasoline or anything like that. Moon Lake only had one gas station that would allow for that, the same one where Martin Stovall had met Melissa Stovall years before, but there were various businesses that sold snacks and things of that nature. It was something that was always attractive to teenagers. And this one actually had a station that would allow for the three of them to make some milkshakes. They went through it and eventually emerged with one milkshake, each. Julie had chocolate, Eric had vanilla, and Arthur had mixed chocolate and vanilla. As they came out they returned to the discussion.
"If she's new to Moon Lake... maybe make friends," Eric commented, "Let her know she's welcome and things like that. Maybe help her adapt to certain things... as while she may be a were, if she hasn't grown up here... she'd be like me in a way... adapting to a place where weres can live rather openly."
"That makes sense," Julie answered, though she was a bit uneased by the glances she'd gotten from the Sophomore. She'd never expected anything like that and she really didn't know what to think.
"Wouldn't she have friends in her own grade though?" Arthur wondered, "she's had to have been school for a few days by now."
"Maybe... but that may be difficult," Eric commented, "especially if she's right now more interested in something more... sexual while she's adjusting to Moon Lake. There are a lot of people that seem to pair up... me with Julie, my brother with Alex, Melissa Jenkins with that werebull she was with at the Halloween Dance..."
"Trevor," Julie told him, guessing Eric was unsure of the older were's name, but remembering meeting them during the Halloween Dance.
Eric nodded, "Thanks... Still, lots of weres seem to pair up rather quickly and easily and sometimes... even with normal people that are here too. Some of that might some a bit uncomfortable if she's just as forward with them."
Julie nodded at that, as they came into Moon Lake's central park. She felt a bit uncomfortable with some things, some of it being how forward Spencer had been with Eric. Some of that felt like what Eric had likely felt regarding her and Arthur, however there was also the look that Spencer had given her as she left. Her mind thought on it quietly, and about the only thing she could really finalize in her mind was the puzzled question that she thought to herself, "was she making a pass at me?" She supposed it was possible if Spencer was a werecat, but then, no one else has ever done that before with her, and before Eric, she'd never had any real interest in the possibility of that sort of thing.
"We'd need to be clear with some ground rules," Julie commented after a moment, "make sure she knows where the boundaries are... unless..."
"She didn't glow for me, if that's what you're asking," Arthur answered with a small sigh, though by now they had reached a point where he would have to part company with Eric and Julie, "but I'd agree some ground rules in case she's genuinely interested in something more... "adult" oriented."
Eric and Julie nodded as they shook hands with Arthur.
"Anyway...just send an email or something if you have any more ideas on what to do," Arthur answered, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
Eric and Julie nodded again and then simply waved as Arthur walked off in the direction of his home. The two of them slowly began to make their way down Wood Street.
"Beyond being friendly and setting some ground rules... I really don't know what to do," Eric said weakly. He'd never really had anything like this happen to him in Minnesota. There had been some girls there that were cute, but after being bullied over the fact that he was into more than just little league baseball, he'd felt afraid that they wouldn't like him for that reason. And none of those girls had ever talked to him in anyway that went beyond school work. It was possible that they might have been on some of the internet forums for science and science fiction, but he couldn't tell for sure and he wasn't about to ask them if they were on those forums. Julie was really the fist person outside his own family that he could open up to in person, which had been why he'd been so worried and jealous about Arthur.
"Me neither," Julie answered, "I'm all for a warm welcome and letting her get used to things... but I really don't know what do beyond that."
"Maybe we find someone for her..." Eric said slowly nervously, "unless..."
"No... I don't want to get into match-making," Julie answered, "too much risk of something going wrong. As while weres may tend to "pair up" pretty quickly, they won't always be long lasting... Some break apart. Some, with werefoxes in particular, never form that bond and thus they float around in search of the pairing that would see it form. Some never seem to notice while they're our age. They make good friends... and don't realize how much they "love" each other until later."
"It doesn't have to be match-making," Eric commented, "it could be to find a friend that's her age... someone that she can see more of than just us occasionally in the halls."
Julie nodded with a nervous smile while her mind wondered, "but what if what she wants... is us..."