Chapter 4.20 - Teenage Dream

“Skye? What are you doing here?”

“Hey. Um… you told me to come running back when it didn’t work out…”

He looked embarrassed. “Sorry about that. I was really upset, but I shouldn’t have said that.”

She shook her head. “You were right. I didn’t know him well enough, and we didn’t have enough in common. Not the things that mattered, anyway.”

“I’m still sorry. I’ve missed you.”

Seeing that look on his face almost made Skye start crying. “I’ve missed you too, you have no idea how much. I shifted on this last full moon, and I was with him instead of you, and he broke up with me because it scared him, and I just realized that you were right.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I was so blind- It wasn’t even about Anna, really, sorry, can I explain it to you?”

“You can tell me anything.”

“I know you think the obsession is about Anna, but it’s really about my dad.”

“I knew that. You’re the only one who didn’t.”

Skye snorted. “Of course I was. As we’ve established, I’m blind. Anyway, I always thought that my dad liked Anna, and if I was more like Anna, maybe he’d like me too. And then I realized… it doesn’t matter how much I’m like Anna, my dad wouldn’t even notice.”

Amos nodded.

“I still went out with Michael, because he was nice, and we did have some common interests, and I felt bad about why I liked him in the first place, but after I shifted I realized that wasn’t enough, and we couldn’t make each other happy.”

She hesitated for a moment before continuing. “The only person I feel like I’m really myself with is you.”

Amos’s eyes widened. “Skye… is this going where I think it’s going?”

She blushed and looked away. “Where do you think it’s going?”

“If you’re going to say you like me, let me have my say first, okay?”

She nodded.

“Skye Doe. When we met, I thought girls were gross, but you were different. As I got older, I realized that girls weren’t gross, but you were still the most special one. I’ve pictured us together since I understood the concept of romance. I always, always thought we would be together forever. When you said you liked someone else, it was heartbreaking, but it also made me step up to become the man you deserve. I hope I can show you the changes I’ve made for the better. So, Skye… will you go out with me?”

She grinned. “Of course I will! That was a beautiful speech, by the way. It was only lacking one thing.”

“What?”

“The kiss at the end.”

-------

Prom was everything Flora had pictured it would be.

She and Wren had food and punch.

They took photos in the photo booth.

They slow-danced together on the dance floor.

Neither of them won prom royalty, but they liked it better that way. Prom was just about the two of them.

And when prom was over, when she was ready to go, Wren held out his hand.

“I have one last surprise for you.”

While the rest of their graduating class went to the amusement park for their afterparty, Wren brought Flora to the nearby park. He stopped next to a familiar bench.

“Recognize this place?”

“How could I not? This is where we met again… where you asked me to be your girlfriend.”

He nodded. “It’s a special place for us. We’re graduating soon, and things will change after that, but the one thing I never want to change is you and me.”

Flora nodded. “We can change, but we’ll grow closer together. Trees that start growing together will grow more intertwined as time goes on.”

Wren nodded. “That’s why I want to make a commitment to you. I got us promise rings, and I want to use them to promise that whatever else changes, we stand strong together.”

He pulled out the rings, designed with intertwining strands of silver, just like the trees Flora had mentioned.

Flora was brought almost to tears by this gesture. “Yes! Let’s do it, let’s make that promise.”

He held her hand, and said, “I, Wren Grove, do solemnly vow my commitment to Flora Doe. No matter what changes, I will be here.” 

He slid the promise ring onto her hand.

Through her tears, Flora took his hand and repeated the same vow. “I, Flora Doe, do solemnly vow my commitment to Wren Grove. No matter what changes, I will be here.”

She slid his ring on and looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Author's Note: And that's it! The end of the generation! The heir poll will be up until Friday, September 27th. I'm gonna have it in two places this generation - you can vote on boolprop if you have an account there, or on my Wordpress site if you don't. I can't stop you from voting in both, but I would ask you politely to only vote once, on whichever platform you prefer. The Wordpress poll is here, and the boolprop poll is here. Go vote!

Chapter 4.19 - Coming Clean

Skye woke up in her underwear on the top of a mountain. She had vague memories of rampaging through Moonwood Mill last night under the full moon. With no other real options, she went home. It wasn’t far, thankfully.

When she got home, her mother was sitting on the couch, looking worried. “Skye! Are you alright? You shifted last night, didn’t you?”

“Can you let me get dressed first?”

“Of course, sorry.”

Skye got into her room, put on her clothes, and found her phone, still charging where she’d left it last night. She turned it on and immediately saw a text.

Michael: Skye, I’m so sorry, but I can’t do this. You terrified me last night. You didn’t tell me you were a werewolf, and I just can’t deal with that. We’re over.

Skye, after reading this, threw her phone across the room and climbed under her covers to cry. 

A knock sounded at the door. 

“What is it?”

Willow’s voice sounded from outside. “Are you ready to talk now?”

Skye sighed. “Sure.” 

Willow came in. “How are you feeling?”

“How do you think I’m feeling?” After a long pause, she added. “Michael broke up with me.”

“Because you shifted? I’m so sorry.” Willow sat down next to her on the bed. “I know it’s hard to hear right now, but he didn’t deserve you if he can’t accept that part of you.”

Skye stared at her lap. “You’re not a wolf, but… you knew Dad was, right?”

Willow nodded. “I was a little older than you when I found out. It didn’t change how I felt about him.”

Skye nodded. It wasn’t hard to picture her loving mother accepting someone for who they were. What was harder to picture was how she had ever fallen in love with Skye’s irresponsible father in the first place.

“Mom… why did you love him?”

Willow sighed with a melancholy smile on her face. “People change, Skye. We met when we were kids. Kids can love each other without anything getting in the way. When we got older, I took on more responsibility, while he avoided it wherever he could. I didn’t see it. For a long time, when I looked at him, I still saw the kid he used to be, not the man he grew up to become. I think he saw the same thing in me - he looked at me and saw the adventurous little girl, not the woman who’d learned to make sacrifices.”

She looked at Skye. “You’re still young, but as you get older, try to see people for who they are, not who they used to be.”

Skye nodded slowly. “I’m still sad about Michael.”

“I didn’t expect you not to be! You’re allowed to be sad for as long as you need to be. Is there anything you want for dinner tonight?”

Skye tilted her head. “Are you cooking, or is Flora?” Flora was a much better cook than Willow.

“I was going to - Flora’s out with Wren tonight - but if you want something complicated, we can get takeout.”

“Let’s get takeout. We can order pizza and maybe watch a movie?”

Willow hugged her. “That sounds great. We’ll have a girl’s night in, and I’ll do everything I can to help you feel better. Let me know if you want to talk to someone about wolf stuff, okay? I do my best, but I’m not an expert.”

Skye nodded. “Don’t worry, I will.” She planned to talk to Amos tomorrow, but tonight was for her and her mom.

-------

“I need to talk to you.”

Elsa smiled, surprised. “Sure! What do you want to talk about?”

“Wait… Flora, can we talk first?”

Elsa looked confused as Nanami pulled Flora into the bathroom to talk.

“You said you wouldn’t tell Elsa.”

“I’m not telling her your business, I’m just saying mine.”

“How is that not saying my business?”

“What does my relationship have to do with you?”

“Don’t be obtuse, Flora. Are you going to tell Elsa about me and Max or not?”

A clatter sounded behind Nanami. She turned around to see Elsa, who had followed them into the bathroom, staring wide-eyed. 

“Elsa, it’s not-”

“No, do go on. What about you and Max?”

Nanami glared at Flora. “This is all your fault.”

Flora shrugged. “I just wanted to tell you guys that I’m going to prom with Wren Grove. You’re the one who brought you and Max into it.”

“You knew what I would think!”

“Wait… Flora? You knew about this?”

Flora looked at Elsa. “I saw them together at a party. I’m sorry. Nanami made me promise not to say anything.”

“I didn’t make you do anything! You just didn’t want Elsa to find out about your slacker boyfriend!”

“Yeah, well, now I’ve decided my ‘slacker boyfriend’ is more important to me than your superficial friendship. Good luck with everything.”

Flora left the bathroom as Elsa and Nanami continued arguing.

After a while, Elsa came out. “Wait, Flora!”

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you feel like I didn’t like Wren. It sucks that you didn’t feel like you could introduce him to us.”

Flora nodded. “I accept your apology.” They both understood that it was too little, too late.

Author's Note: One more chapter... we're almost done with the generation!

Chapter 4.18 - For Who I Am

Today, Flora and Wren were hanging out at his house. It was a school day, not the weekend, but Flora had been spending more time with Wren lately, and less with Elsa and Nanami. She sighed. 

Wren nudged her shoulder. “Still thinking about your friends?”

She nodded. “It’s just gotten so awkward, and I feel really guilty. I don’t want to have any secrets - I already felt bad about not telling them about you, but they would always talk so badly about you even after I told them to stop.” 

She thought about it. “They weren’t really great friends, but I still feel like I should be a good friend. Even if they don’t deserve it. But now I have to pick, I can either be a good friend to Elsa or a good friend to Nanami, when neither of them have really been good friends to me.”

Wren wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You know I’ll support you no matter what you decide to do, right?”

She smiled at him. “You’re so good to me. But yeah… we’re almost done with school, and I don’t think I’m gonna stay friends with them afterwards. I could just get through graduation and then distance myself, but I want to finish high school with a clear conscience. I think I’m going to tell Elsa everything.”

He nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Speaking of finishing high school…”

“What about finishing high school?”

“There’s one very important thing we have to do before high school is over. Flora Doe, will you go to prom with me?”

Flora laughed. “Of course I will!” She grinned. “I want to celebrate the end of our teen years with you, nobody else.”

Wren smiled down at her. “Me too.”

-------

“You look great tonight.”

Skye smiled teasingly at Michael. “Thanks! Just because I normally wear sweatshirts doesn’t mean I can’t dress up, you know.”

He laughed. “That’s not what I meant! You look great all the time, it’s just a different look than I’m used to.”

“You look good too.”

He rolled his eyes. “I get a pity compliment for satisfying your ego, I see how it is.”

“It’s not pity!” Skye scratched at the back of her hand. It was kind of itchy all of a sudden.

Michael took a drink, letting it go. “Are you feeling okay? I know you’ve been sick lately.”

“I’m feeling much better. I don’t know what it is, but I woke up feeling super energized this morning.” She scratched her hand again. “I still have a little bit of a rash, so probably don’t hold my hand or anything. I don’t want you to get sick.”

He laughed. “I’m good just to talk to you. I can’t believe you fixed that bug for the whole computer lab while you were sick. I swear, the whole computer club wanted to kiss you after that one.”

Skye pouted. “Meanwhile, I couldn’t even kiss you, because I’m sick! But you’re welcome. Future software engineer Skye Doe is always at your service.”

“Why did you decide you want to be an engineer? You’ll be great at it, obviously, but what made you want to do that?”

Skye frowned. She didn’t really like thinking about it, but… she did really like Michael. She felt bad about the deception that had started their relationship, so she tried to be honest about anything else she could. She couldn’t bring herself to come clean about why she had approached him, but anything else was fair game. “My dad is an archaeologist. I absolutely idolized him when I was a kid.”

“You’ve said your dad isn’t really in your life, though.”

She smiled bitterly. “Yeah. He never really was. He never wanted custody or even visitation, so I only saw him on the occasional weekend day. Now I know that my mom really had to push to get him to see me at all. Still, that just made me want to be like him even more. I thought if I showed him I could do things he cared about, he would care about me. But… I never really understood the appeal of archaeology. I thought the technology of the ancient peoples was cool, but the focus on preserving it over figuring out how it worked frustrated me. Once I realized that no matter how much I pretended to care, he wasn’t even gonna bother to pretend, I gave up and started paying attention to things I thought were interesting. Software engineering lets me see how things work, and make them happen.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry about your dad.”

She shrugged somewhat awkwardly. Her neck was itchy too now. “It’s alright. My daddy issues make me interesting.”

“You know I’m adopted, right? I love my family, but sometimes I wonder…”

Skye was paying attention to Michael, she really was, but suddenly the itching was everywhere, and intense. She felt hot. She wanted to take off her jacket, but when she moved her arms, her plate flew off the table.

“Skye? Are you okay?”

“I’m…” She couldn’t quite shape the words the way she wanted. Her gums hurt, badly, like all her teeth were coming in all at once. Her tongue felt too big for her mouth, and her throat was scratchy. She felt like she should know what was happening, but her head was blurry, and she was so scared.

The itching got even worse, becoming a burning sensation. The chair Skye was sitting in clattered to the ground as her vantage point shifted up. Michael, on the other side of the table, got up and stumbled backwards, his face terrified.

Skye heard screams from all around her. They were shrill and piercing, drilling into her eardrums. She raised her arms to cover her ears, but instead of familiar flesh, she felt tufts of fur.

Shaking with strange emotion, her mind becoming less clear by the second, Skye moved her arms down so she could see them. The last thing she remembered was seeing her furry, lupine paws.

Author's Note: Two more... on to the next!