Amber Waves of Angst

Chapter 6

When Erik stepped into the locker room to change into his new baseball uniform, he was startled to see Shawn Murphy there along with Anson Cooper. He had no idea they were on the team. They spotted him and turned away quickly, muttering. Erik could have listened in to their conversation, but he strongly suspected that it would set him off, so he didn't bother. A few of the other kids saw him, and sniggered under their breath, giving him amused looks. He ignored them (though his pulse had begun to beat a little faster) and picked a locker at random. He opened it, shoving his knapsack inside, and carefully hung his leather jacket on one of the hooks. This was his first time in a team locker room, and he felt a little self-conscious as he pulled his shirt off. Having grown up with Pop's thin frame, he was a little embarrassed showing it in front of other kids who were more muscular during the living Hell that was Physical Education. Now though, he was on an even playing field. Heck, even Pop had gotten somewhat ripped since he was turned. Shawn and Anson, along with some of the other kids, were openly staring when he glanced at them. He tried to be nonchalant while desperately hoping his face wasn't burning red.

Anson slammed his locker shut, and stalked out of the locker room, leaving Shawn staring after him looking a little pissed. Erik pulled off his shoes and jeans and socks, before pulling on the rather itchy uniform. As he was lacing up his cleats, Shawn came over. Erik started growling low in his throat before catching himself. As Dad had informed them, with the full moon approaching, the wolf would be a lot closer to the surface than usual. They would actually have to be locked up for the night until they were able to get a handle on the sharp increase in aggression. For this reason, their birthday party had been postponed since the entire Pack would be on edge until after it was all over. Dad promised them they would celebrate this coming weekend. With the gift of the car, complaining was the last thing on either sibling's mind.

Shawn had an odd look on his face. Recalling Laurie's advice of playing nice until someone else played nasty, he merely said "What's up?" with just a hint of a warning Glare.

"Hey. Jimmy's gone, you know, and after what happened to his Dad... I decided to sit down and think about all the shit we pulled on you. I didn't really have a problem with you, but Jimmy had it in for you bad because of your...well, you know. Your Dads. I shouldn't have gone along with it, but Jimmy's been my friend since kindergarten. So, I just wanted to tell you that I'm not gonna mess with you anymore. And I'm kind of sorry about everything."

Erik felt uncomfortable; on the one hand, he really appreciated Shawn having the guts to apologize, especially since it pissed off Anson Cooper so much. Shawn was telling the truth, too. On the other hand, it made him angry that Shawn had no reason to join in on Erik's harassment aside from going along with Jimmy.

"You should be careful about what your so-called friends get you into. If Jimmy had left well enough alone, I wouldn't have put him in the hospital and my grandfather wouldn't have had to kill Mr. Porlock because he shot my father."

Erik leaned in close to Shawn, who backed up a few steps at the scowl on his face. "We could have all been killed. I almost lost my father that night, and that asshole Porlock actually pointed his gun at my sister and I. You know what? I'm glad he's dead...but in my opinion, he got off easy with that bullet. If my Dad had gotten to him first, it would have been slow and painful and there would have been a lot more screaming."

Erik continued to back Shawn up until the other boy hit the locker behind him.

"I accept your apology. But I am never going to give anyone who screws with me a second chance again. You can tell that to Anson. My days of taking his bullshit are so fucking OVER!" Erik slammed his fist into the locker next to Shawn's head, crumpling the metal door like aluminum foil.