Ginger O'Toole was setting the table for supper when her twin brother Fred walked in.
"Hey sis. How's it going?" he asked. Since no one in the O'Toole family assumed their fursonas until after dinner, the siblings were still in their normal human forms.
"Okay, I guess," she replied. "Mom's got a big pot of stew going in the slow cooker. It should be ready by the time she and dad get home from work."
"Good," said Fred. "I saw you sitting on the front porch of the Jenkins house with John Harper when I passed by on the way to my girlfriend's place. You two looked very intense about something."
"John was helping me with my homework. Turns out he's very smart."
"How smart?" wondered Fred.
"A's. Maybe A/B's."
"So, no Einstein, but no slouch in the brain department either."
"Yeah."
"Any word on his... other issues?" wondered Fred.
"John said Moon Lake has officially agreed to let him and his sister stay here, but they still have to get clearance from Alabama before they can start school," explained Ginger.
"Any idea how long that will take?"
Ginger's only response was to just shrug her shoulders.
Then Fred asked, "You like him, don't you?"
"How can you tell?" she asked in return.
"For one thing, that goofy smile on your face the whole time we've been talking about him," answered Fred.
"Is it that obvious?"
"To me it is. After all, we are fraternal twins," he reminded her. "We do seem to have somewhat of an intuitive bond between us, at least in regards to being there for each other when needed."
"None of it is his fault, but the whole situation with John is just so... complicated," confessed Ginger, as she sat down at the dining room table.
"Want to talk about it?" asked Fred, while sitting down next to his sister.
"John is hesitant to completely open up about his past in Alabama, and from what I do know I can't blame him. It wasn't a good life."
"If the rumors I've heard are true, none of the Harper family had an ideal existence."
"The Harpers haven't heard any of the gossip surrounding them, have they?"
"Your guess is as good as mine on that, but I think us weres know when to speak and when to remain silent."
"Good. John's got enough problems to deal with as it is, but from what he's said, their father seems like a total dictator to me. Yet to make matters worse, he wrapped all his overbearing ways up in religious zealotry to make them feel even more guilty whenever they did something wrong in his eyes."
"But John's not like that. Neither is Janice or their older sister Jenny, from what I've seen of them," observed Fred. "Far as I know, everyone in town is on their side. Especially the Skulk."
"Yeah. The kids turned out good despite their parents, not because of them," commented Ginger.
"Their mom's guilty too?" asked Fred in disbelief.
"At least of complacence. John said until recently, she's never once stood up to their dad. She's probably been abused too, but more than likely emotional than physical in her case. But the kids..." and then Ginger's voice trailed off.
They remained silent for a while, before Fred asked, "So, what are you going to do?"
"If John Harper was any other boy in Moon Lake, I'd have already come right out and fully said how I feel about him, and hope he felt the same way about me. Maybe even already have him purring in my loving arms, but John..." and then Ginger just shrugged her shoulders again.
"Does he know what you're talking about when it comes to fursonas and other were matters?"
"Sort of. Like I said, John is intelligent. But..." and then she grew silent again.
"But what sis?" asked Fred.
Ginger O'Toole turned to look at her brother.
He could see a hint of a tear in her eye as she said, "Obviously, he's still a virgin. Maybe in the purest sense of the word. But John has issues that, if he was in a normal situation, he would have hopefully already gotten help about by now. But given his background..."
"Like..." said Fred, hoping to get more details.
"He's... confused. About a lot of things. Not just were related issues," was all she would say.
"I see," replied Fred, thinking it over. "Does he know how you feel about him?"
"I told him I was interested in this new boy from Alabama, but beyond that, I've been afraid to push it. John is different, and I mean that in both a good and bad way."
"He wouldn't hurt you or anything. Would he?"
"No. At least, never intentionally, and definitely not physically. But he's a total babe in the woods when it comes to emotional matters. I'm crushing on him big time, but with his lack of knowledge and experience in social matters, apparently he's totally oblivious to that. I honestly don't know if John Harper is the one I want to spend the rest of my furry life with, but he is definitely the one I'd like to spend more time with now, and maybe someday..."
"Would it help if I talked to him?" wondered her brother.
"Truthfully? I don't know," admitted his sister. "He does lack confidence, among other things. Yet I know John has questions that only he can figure out the answers to, given time."
"Like what?"
"Personal stuff," was all Ginger would say, not wanting to go into greater detail about John Harper not knowing who he was as a person, let alone sexually.
"Then, what's the answer?" asked Fred.
"John needs some serious time to destress, unwind, relax, and try to figure things out for himself."
"How long is serious time?"
"Weeks? Months? Who knows? I suggested John could talk to Doctor Twist but that, among many other things, is a decision only he can make."
"So what are you going to do?" inquired her brother.
"I guess all I can do right now is just take it one day at a time," explained Ginger. "Be his friend. Help him out along the way whenever I can. If anything more happens, terrific. If not, at least he's still in my life."
"That sounds like a plan, but will you be able to live with it?"
Ginger thought about it for a moment, then said, "I'm gonna have to, ain't I? Even if he had two wonderful and loving parents like we do instead of the ones he did wind up with, there are issues that only John Harper can decide."
"I'm not going to bother asking again what they are, but you know that if you need me..." said her brother.
"I know," said Ginger, giving him a quick smile. "Now, we need to wash up. Mom and dad will be home soon," she added, while looking at the clock. "Then after supper, we can get furry and I can go prowling for awhile, because I could use a good run," thinking about how good it would be to release her inner weretigress.