Dinner with the Harpers was fairly normal and with relatively good spirits on all sides, and John was pleased with that and from there, there were the things that would be expected to do on garbage night. After finishing dinner he excused himself to help take out the garbage and only barely noticed some of the knowing smiles as he went out the door. Of course, even if he did notice, a part of him was more than happy to go out with it anyway, as it would be an opportunity to see Ginger again, and while John still had his own personal questions as to whether he was gay, straight, or bisexual, that didn't mean he didn't like Ginger and didn't like talking to her. In some ways she was actually helping him put some of the puzzle pieces together regarding who he was and taking in the advice he'd gotten from Henry Jenkins Senior, from Huck, from the werecat Martha Anderson, and even from Ginger, herself. It was something that made Ginger a real friend, something that he didn't much of a chance of in Alabama outside of times during school.
He lifted the lid and dropped the plastic bag that held all the garbage and then repeated the process with the recycling can and the materials that were to be recycled. He carefully looked around the area around the side of the house and toward the backyard area and the section of woods that at a sort of diagonal proximity to the Jenkins' backyard and the building that was on the southern side of Main Street. These woods were where Ginger approached from the previous time he'd brought the garbage out and thus he expected her to come from there again. After a few moments, John was rewarded as some of the bushes were brushed aside as a female furry figure emerged from the woods.
"Hey, John," Ginger said in a soft voice as she approached in her weretiger form and with her tail swishing slightly behind her, "you were waiting for me..."
"Well... it is nice to see a friend," John answered as he moved to roll the garbage can around the side of the house to the street and having it face southward, "and with all the other stuff going on... a friend like you is always good."
Ginger smiled and reached to pull out the recycling can and rolling it behind her as she followed John toward the street that would be facing the street. She liked being thought of as a friend, at least, though a real part of her wanted to claim John as hers. He was soft-spoken and kind and in many ways was a bit of a relief to her when compared to some of the other boys at school. The attention could be nice, but it also seemed to be one sided attention and she never really made a connection with them that went beyond physical attraction. John, however, was different. The interactions between them was enough to show that was more to him than some of the rumors that had gone around about the Harpers after the wedding of John's older sister to Harry Jenkins. That was something that Ginger really liked.
Though she also knew that John was wrestling with various issues that related to his thoughts on who he was. It wasn't easy and really only confirmed to her that if there had been anyone rotten in the Harper family, it was the father. The children didn't seem to have his sins, and if anything John might have had it the worst. This raised two issues for Ginger. One was that she could feel instincts rising that told her to protect him and the other was the recognition that she couldn't push him into a decision, regardless of whether or not Moon Lake allowed for it. She wanted to be the one to welcome him into were society and maybe even win his love forever, but it had to be willing and likely wouldn't be something that would be managed until after he'd made a choice. Given all these other issues, Ginger also knew she'd have to be supportive, even if the choice he made wasn't to be with her. That at least left her with the hope of them being friends.
The two were silent as they made their way out with John's blue eyes drifting over to Ginger and then looking away when her green-gold weretiger eyes turned to look to him. It would lead any outside observers to chuckle at what could be taken as an obviously "romantic" moment, and John had the sense that Janice wanted that to happen, but for the moment that wasn't something he was fully sure on. He set the first can by the side of the street and then turned back to Ginger as she set the other can down beside it.
"So... anything new come up?" Ginger asked, "with being able to come to school and all?"
"Since this afternoon?" John shrugged, "not really. So far as I know, things are progressing... though some of that could be slowed a bit... as apparently my dad had some other health issue that they're having to solve that my older brother and mother are having to cover. Which likely will be frustrating things with regard to his own college in addition to me and Janice getting into school here. But once they go from there... I'd imagine that things will go okay."
"Well, hopefully things go well," Ginger spoke, "for as I said... I think you'll like it here in Moon Lake."
That did get John to nod, "yeah... though a lot of that may be more that I've found a good friend here."
Ginger happily smiled at that and pulled John into gentle hug, though also making sure that none of her claws were extended. It was nice, and Ginger smiled again and rubbed her head to him when he returned the hug. Though at the same time as she noticed something from across the street to the south of the house that Henry Jenkins and his family lived in. To her eyes, it looked like a pair of eyes watching from the woods behind the house and nothing more than that, which could mean it was a were that was out and about, which wouldn't be too unusual. Even with all the hubbub going on over the existing of weres possibly happening in the future, and perhaps near future, it wasn't like Moon Lake's weres wouldn't want to be out and about at night. Some hunted, some simply went out for some adult fun in the woods, and those "bigger" things in the background wouldn't change that. But normally they wouldn't just observing someone at a distance and for as long as Ginger figured that observer had been there.
"If you'll excuse me..." Ginger spoke after a moment and pulling away from John, "but there is something I need to check on..."
"Did you forget something?" John wondered.
"No, but I thought I saw something," Ginger answered, "wait here... I'll be back."
"Is it dangerous?" John asked, his voice sounding nervous.
"It could be," Ginger spoke, remembering something she'd heard some rumor of a woman getting attacked by a Mountain Lion the previous week, "just stay here and you should be fine."
John stood by while Ginger then moved forward. She crossed the street and moved along and headed toward the eyes that were watching them. They were at enough of a distance that she couldn't be sure if it was a were or a mundane animal, though she guessed a were. She knew that mundane animals, particularly wild ones, tended to fight back harder against weres than they would against normal mundane predators and her father had occasionally shared stories on one hunting trip gone wrong. The buck he went after turned on him, and while her father made the kill, he also got an antler through his shoulder. It only left a wound, but proved that mundane animals could and would fight hard against weres to a degree that wasn't seen otherwise. This essentially meant that this probably was a were.
Her suspicions were confirmed when those eyes darted away and began to run up in more northwestern direction. This had to be a were, and a potentially shy or nervous one at that. After all, Ginger knew that she and her twin brother had only had their first transformations the previous summer and as such weren't going to be the largest or most impressive weretigers around, and an adult were would have no need to run away. A thought crossed her mind that this might be another teenager, and as she reached the point where those eyes had been she caught a very male scent and particularly a male weretiger scent. It wasn't her brother's or anyone from her family and she could see the paw tracks headed out toward the central park part of Moon Lake. She followed it for a few paces and noted that whoever it was, they'd also fled at a pretty good speed, and with John in the area and all the other pressures related to the reveal, Ginger figured it wasn't worth going after this fleeing observer.
She returned to find John waiting for her and looking a bit nervous, but the back of her mind was at ease with the sense that John was safe. He looked up when she finally got close to him.
"So what was it?" John asked.
"Another were," Ginger answered, "a young male weretiger, I think. Though, I don't think he was threatening... or wanted to pose a threat. As once I started coming his way he darted off, and at a good speed."
"So maybe he was a shy but curious admirer of yours," John commented, "nothing to worry about."
"Perhaps," Ginger thought to herself, "though... I think I have who I want to be with right before me..." Eventually she cleared her throat and spoke, "admirer, I'm not sure about... Curious and shy, maybe."
"He wouldn't be angry at you, would he?" John asked.
"I wouldn't think so," Ginger assured him, noting that there was still a look of worry on John's face, which gave her the sense that he was concerned and that even if he hadn't figured it out yet, it was likely that he was either straight or bisexual. Though it wasn't her place to try and force John into any answer on that, and doing so would be wrong. Though, she couldn't deny she liked the concern he showed, though that wouldn't matter if their relation remained Platonic in nature or became Romantic. "Some things may be wacky right now, but if that were the case, the guy wouldn't have run."
"Then hopefully it'd be another new friend for you," John commented, "and then you could introduce him to me... go about making friends."
"You'd want that?" Ginger asked.
"Well... it would give me someone else to talk to," John commented, "and... well... if I figure out that I'm straight or bi... well, if I were to try to impress a lady were... I might need to talk to one who's had experience with that. And then maybe... it'd help me figure out if I am or not. You've been of tremendous help... but it's also one of those things where it'll take time to confirm it."
"I see if I can find him, then," Ginger said slowly before hugging him again, and feeling a slight bulge in his pants pressing against her leg, "well, I can help with the latter... but with the former, it may be best just to be honest with the girl and ask her what she likes and tell her what you like. Be yourself. That'd probably work with anyone."
John returned the smile and hugged her back.