It was at the end of the school day when Melissa Jenkins approached her boyfriend Trevor Tyson. "Hey," she said as she walked up to him. "You free to take me home today?"
"Hey," he said as he finished putting his books into his locker. He smiled as he turned to her and then shook his head. "Sorry, Mel, but the team's gotta practice for tomorrow. But, if you want, I could come over later tonight."
Melissa frowned as she said, "Well, I can understand that. You're going to Seattle, right?"
Trevor grinned and said, "Spokane."
"Ah right, well," Melissa said, "You better win for me." The pair smiled at each other before she leaned in and whispered into his ear, "And I'd love to see you later tonight." There was a bit of a dumbstruck look on his face as she smiled at him and turned to walk away. Trevor stood there as he watched her walk away before closing his locker and making his way to the classroom for the academic team practice.
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It wasn't much longer before Mel ran into Rachel Van Direstag in the school hallway near the exit of the school. "Hey," Rachel said as she waved her hand to her friend.
"Hey, Rach," Mel responded as the two hugged each other. "How are things?"
"Doing good so far." Rachel said, "Mind if I walk with you?"
Mel studied Rachel for a bit and said, "Sure, I'm headed home. Want to go with me?"
"Yeah," Rachel responded, "I'd like that." Melissa smiled as Rachel joined her and the two went out the school door.
The two of them were quiet as they walked up the street. Melissa broke the silence as she asked Rachel a question. "So, Aaron, huh? Meg mentioned something about having fun with him."
"H-hey!" Rachel responded as her face went red. "Yeah, I met with him last night. Got a bit curious about being a werefox and I sorta ran into him after talking with Megumi." Rachel adjusted her backpack as she continued. "We started out talking, and one thing led to another, and he told me about these werefox instincts, so I decided to...um...test him a bit. He played with me, and I played with him, and we had a good time. Nothing serious, really!"
"Uh-huh," Melissa said, a grin forming on her face, "And it didn't get any further than that?"
"Oh...uh...no," Rachel stammered a little. "I mean, we had fun and...he really knew how to use his hands." Her face was flushed was memories of the previous night filled her head, "But we didn't...you know...go all the way."
"Well, I can believe that," Melissa said as she gave a subtle sniff in the air, "You still smell like a normal human."
"What?" Rachel asked, an eyebrow arched up.
"Oh, um," Melissa responded, pausing to think about her words carefully. "Well, when a person becomes a were, he or she takes on a certain aspects of that were into their lives. Like, for example, when I became a werecow, my breasts grew rather large when I first transformed." She pointed to her chest to drive home the point. "I also got a bit more muscle too, among other things. One of the more universal aspects of being a were is that we have an enhanced sense of smell. Werewolves and weredogs have a really sensitive sense of smell, but at the very least, we can tell who is a were and who is normal. So, I can smell you, and you still smell like a normal human."
"Geez," Rachel responded, "Good thing I wore deodorant today,"
Melissa laughed and said, "Well, me being a werecow, my smell isn't THAT sensitive. All I do know is that you haven't been changed yet." The two walked down the road a bit before Melissa broke the silence with a question, "So, do you know what you want to do? You know, about being were. I remember you telling me that your dad went furry."
"Yeah," Rachel responded, "He came home as a werelion, although I don't think he went out to become a werelion."
"Maybe," Melissa said in turn, "but at least you don't have to worry about the Mandatory Were law."
"Yeah," Rachel said as she nodded her head, "but after talking with Megumi and Aaron last night, and Jack this afternoon, I think I know what I want to do."
"And that is?" Melissa asked.
Rachel took a breath and said, "I think I'm going to go ahead and become a were. I'm still trying to figure out which were, but I'm close to a choice."
Melissa nodded as the two of them walked before she spoke up. "Let me give you some advice. If you know what you want to do, don't wait on it." She paused as she gathered her thoughts, "When we first moved here, we learned about the mandatory were law, and, I'm being honest here, we were very close to leaving." Rachel was silent as she remembered how her father almost did the same thing. It was what was driving Rachel to join were society at first. "Then I met Trevor and his group of friends, and I grew to like them. And it helped convince me to volunteer to be the family were." She took a breath before continuing, "Then my father got into a fight between two women, both of them were weres. One of them accidentally changed him into a weretiger, and he became the family were."
"Really? How did that happen? How did he take it?" Rachel asked.
Melissa nodded and said, "One of them scratched him, and by the time he went into the house, he was starting to change. He took it rather well, actually. She and him are going to get married Saturday."
"Wow," Rachel said as her eyes widened.
"Well, anyway," Melissa said as she continued her story. "At about the same time, I decided to become a werecow to be with Trevor. I got some really good advice from my friend's grandmother. She said that there are two reasons to become a were. Either because you love the animal, or you love the person changing you." Melissa's faced blushed red a little as she continued, "Obviously I picked the latter. When my dad went to the hospital, I went ahead and got some werecow birth control pills." Melissa took a deep breath before continuing her story. "But I didn't become a werecow immediately. I remember there was this one time where Trevor and I almost went through with it, but being the gentleman he was, he wanted to wait for the right time." A frown appeared on Melissa's face as she continued her story. "It wasn't until the Halloween Dance that things started to move forward. It turns out that a certain wereraccoon spiked the punch."
"What?" Rachel said as her eyes widened.
"Yeah, it was some sort of love potion, and I drank it in. The next thing I know, I'm being led to the woods to, you know, have sex. A werefox was starting to do it with me, had me stripped naked and everything, when my friends found me, and Trevor rescued me."
"That must have been horrible," Rachel said as she looked at her friend.
"Yeah," Melissa said while looking at the ground, "but I really don't blame anyone except that wereraccoon. Even that werefox was under the influence of the drug when we were in the woods. After that, Trevor took me to his truck, and it was then that I decided to become a werecow that night. We got to his ranch and I told him to change me. He led me to the pasture and we had sex in the field. Away from the cows, of course."
"Wow," Rachel said, "You two must love each other."
Melissa smiled at Rachel and said, "Very much so." Melissa paused as she continued her advice. "My advice is this. It's very easy for a normal to accidently become a were in this town." Rachel remembered her dad as Mel said this. "If you know what you want, don't wait. It's true that once you change, you can't change back, so you should be really sure of what you want before you make that plunge." Melissa paused for a moment before continuing. "But once you're sure, don't wait. Get those birth control pills as soon as you do decide, and then go ahead and make that plunge. If you wait too long," Melissa said before pausing, "You might get that choice taken away from you."
"That makes sense," Rachel said as the two of them walked on the road. "Where do I get were birth control pills?" she asked.
"At the hospital," Melissa responded. "They have a clinic there that specializes in were health issues, including birth control pills. As I remember, they do make them free from high school kids like us. Something about wanting to keep teenage pregnancies down and all."
"Okay," Rachel said while nodding, "And how do I get there?"
"Well, it's not that far of a walk," Melissa said, "Stay on this road, and it'll be off to the left. Really, can't miss it. It has a big huge sign and everything."
The two of them walked up near the Jenkins house before Rachel said, "Thank you, Mel. This has been rather...helpful."
"Hey, what are friends for, right?" Mel said with a smile. "And maybe we could have a slumber party and show fully furry selves, right?"
Rachel smiled back as she said, "Maybe." She watched Mel go up to the door and into her home. Rachel then looked back up and down the street, and she had a choice to make. Should she go back home, or go ahead to the hospital to pick up the were birth control pills?