Amber Waves of Angst

Chapter 9

Erik tried to stop thinking about his 'other half' somewhere out there in the world...perhaps feeling as lonely as he was right now. Over the next few days at school, he continued to make a point of having an extended conversation with anyone who was willing, just to see if it might trigger a reaction. When he'd exhausted the likely population of girls, he even made the rounds of the boys...and while a small number from both groups seemed to give off the tell-tale scent of interest, Erik himself felt none of the 'enthusiasm' that Laurie felt within a minute of talking to Moose. An amusing and unforeseen side effect of his efforts turned out to be a modest increase in popularity. Freshman who hadn't been aware of his former 'nerd' status found him to be likeable, and the juniors and seniors were reevaluating him due to his success on the baseball field. The nerd clique recognized him as one of their own, even while the jocks high-fived him in the hallway. As the students forgot that he'd been a loner, Erik found himself getting invited to parties and even asked out on dates (which he always politely turned down when the wolf dismissed them). The rejected girls assumed he was gay (more to assuage their egos than any behavior on his part), and some introduced him to their male friends, but his interest remained minimal. Clarissa Barton flat out asked him what his problem was during a victory party at Moose's house.

"I'm waiting for the one. I'll know it when it happens." he shrugged.

"But...do you know what you're looking for?" she persisted.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be single." he laughed.

Clarissa growled good-naturedly. When it first became obvious there was no chemistry, she resigned herself to being his friend, and found she genuinely liked him once she got to know him. Amy was cooler towards him, not having taken rejection as well as her twin, but she was still perfectly willing to socialize with him.

"Maybe you won't ever find the 'one' until you DO figure out what you want. Everyone knows what they want, deep down." Amy spoke with the infinite wisdom of her sixteen years on the planet, and Erik was thinking of a snappy comeback when he stopped and considered her words.

"You know something? You might be right. I take back half the mean things I said about you." Erik joked. Amy punched him in the arm, having seen Laurie do it; though Amy punched way harder. Erik rubbed his arm and went and got another glass of punch, thoughtfully grabbing extra cups for the girls when he was suddenly shoved by a dancing couple.

"Watch where I'm going!" he growled irritably.

"Oh, hey Lightning-Ball!" Laurie laughed. Moose had his arms around her and they were slowly swaying to the music with about six other couples in the large finished basement doing duty as a dance hall. Erik tried not to resent the glowing happiness in her face while he studied them, trying to figure out exactly how they meshed, and what kind of person he felt would mesh with him...to no avail. He sighed, giving up for the night. As he turned around, he noticed he was not the only one paying attention to his sister and her boy toy. More than half the girls in the room were giving her looks of sheer loathing. Were they jealous?

He delivered the drinks to Amy and Clarissa, then excused himself. He'd socialized with everyone at the party, and the wolf wasn't having any of them. Who could have guessed his inner wolf would be so picky? After telling Laurie he was going to walk home, he left and took a shortcut through the woods. The moon was more than half full, and he decided to shift and make a run out of it. He stripped out of his clothes and stuffed them in his knapsack, donning his 'running' shorts that went everywhere with him now.

As he took on the Beta form, he inhaled deeply and relished the scent and feel of the night air on his bare skin and the feel of the earth under his feet. He slung his arms through the loops of his knapsack and took off, heading in the general direction of home, but taking a looping route that would prolong the journey. More and more lately he was growing to love racing through the forest and the sensation of freedom it gave him. As he approached within a mile of his home, he caught the scent of the wolf from the other night, as well as a new one. They had scented him, and were excitedly closing in. They howled, and Erik stopped and answered back suddenly excited as well. They bounded up to him, and he got on his knees and hugged them both (dimly hoping they didn't have fleas or ticks). They frolicked around him, and he decided to race them back to the house. They were almost at his backyard when they stopped and gave worried yelps before taking off in the opposite direction. Erik stared after them before heading up to the deck, suddenly realizing that the whole werewolf Pack were sitting there drinking beer and talking. The smell of barbecued meat made his stomach rumble. Conversation stopped as Erik approached.