Fic: Monster in the Closet
Looking through my old writing journal, I have come to a conclusion. I write some bizarre shit. This one in particular stood out to me, mainly because I'm really happy with the title. I think a large factor in determining how much I like one of my stories is how good the title is (and if I've managed to work in a terrible pun, all the better). Originally written July 21, 2005.
Title: Monster in the Closet
Fandom: Original
Rating: PG
Summary: While at dinner with his conservative parents, a young college student decides to come out of the closet. As a werewolf.
"What's wrong, Jeph? You've barely touched your chicken."
Jeph's mother, Cheryl, glanced across the table at her son, who was currently poking at the fowl on his plate with his fork.
"Are you okay, son?" Dan, Jeph's father, asked. "You usually love chicken."
Jeph did indeed love chicken. And the particular chicken on his plate looked most appetizing, more so than usual in fact, but Jeph had other matters on his mind than delicious poultry.
"Mom, Dad," Jeph finally said, "there's something I wanted to talk to you about."
His mother's face suddenly took on an expression not uncommon to mothers' faces: worry. "What is it, dear? Is everything going all right at college?"
"No, no college is going great. It's just that..." Jeph took a deep breath. "There comes a time in every young man's life where he has to make a choice- Well, not a choice, per say, because sometimes you don't choose things about yourself, you just discover something about yourself that you didn't know. Like, say for instance, you didn't think you liked peas, but you'd never had peas. Peas had just never crossed your mind. And then one time you and buddy get drunk and suddenly you've got a mouthful of peas and you realize, 'Hey! Peas rock! I really like eating peas. Peas make sense to me. Now that I've started eating peas, my life is more complete. There was a hole in my life that's now filled with peas.'
"Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Jeph's parents looked at one another and then at their son. "...You want some peas?"
Jeph sighed and shook his head, "Mom. Dad. I'm a werewolf."
Cheryl shook her head, “Now, sweetheart, you should be careful saying that. Werewolf has a certain connotation that isn’t looked upon favorably by most people. Now, what exactly do you mean when you say ‘werewolf?’”
“Werewolf.”
A quick look at his parents’ faces told Jeph that his news hadn’t sunk in entirely. That’s fine, he thought, denial is always the first response to big news. “Mom, it’s not slang for anything. I mean that I, Jeph Marcel, am a werewolf. A lycanthrope. When the moon comes out I transform into a wolf and hunt and eat the flesh of warm-blooded herbivores, omnivores, and people.”
Tears began to well up in Cheryl’s eyes and she dropped her fork onto the floor. Dan, however, had no expression on his face at all, which left Jeph feeling a little uneasy. Okay, denial is the first stage. He thought. Now what came next?
“WHAT!?”
Oh right: anger.
Dan slammed his glass down on the table, “Now, this is insanity. Claiming to be part of such a… disgusting group. You better be joking, mister.”
“I’m not, Dad.” Jeph had planned that his father would be a little upset. “A little upset” being a severe understatement, but Jeph had figured on this reaction so he was well prepared to keep his cool. “I’m serious about this.”
Dan became stammering, as if he had a dozen things to say and they all wanted to come out at once. Cheryl, on the other hand, just kept saying, “No. No. No. No. Oh, no.”
“Mom, stop,” Jeph sighed.
“You will not speak to your mother like that,” Dan said as Cheryl just gasped. “Now we raised you right and proper and expect you to follow a nice, respectable voodoo lifestyle like your family. It’s bad enough that we’ve got those liberal vampire hippies perpetuating horrible stereotypes about us turning people into voodoo slaves. Our culture has enough problems, without adding hoodoo like this. Werewolves are an abomination on society.”
Jeph was silently thanking himself for so accurately being able to guess what his father would say. “It’s not hoodoo, Dad. It’s an alternate, but equally valid lifestyle. And anyway, you turned the Johnsons into zombie slaves last week. Hell, they cooked this chicken.”
Dan was momentarily flustered before muttering, “Well, they had it coming.”
Cheryl finally stopped quietly sobbing and offered her first suggestion, “Do you need to see a witch doctor, son?”
“Mom, I’m not under a spell. This is just one small thing. I’m still the exact same as I’ve always been.” Jeph tried to reason and then added as an afterthought, “You know, except at night.”
“Sweetheart,” Jeph’s mother pleaded, “have you tried not being a werewolf?”
Oh, great, Jeph groaned, bargaining. “Mom, I’ve already converted. It was just a simple biting and exchange of fluids-“
“That’s enough!” Dan shouted. “We will not hear about your depraved carnal relations at the dinner table. How do expect people to look at you the same? How will your friends react? How will your roommate? Do you Frank, or any other self-respecting voodoo practitioner, will want to live under the same roof with someone that might attack them in the night?”
“Frank doesn’t practice voodoo, Dad. He’s an incubus.” Jeph ignored his mother’s shocked gasp. “And I can control my urges. My friends all already know, and they not only trust me, they support me.”
“Well, there we go,” Dan said while his wife began to look faint.
“Living with an incubus. Those demons are bound to cause all kinds of trouble. No good will come of them.”
“Dad, you’re over exaggerating. Incubi are perfectly equal and normal members of society. Just because their beliefs are different than yours doesn’t make them wrong or evil. Incubi have added a lot to our society. Even Merlin’s father was an incubus.”
Dan just shook his head in anger, “Oh, don’t get me started on wizards.”
“Dad, I never knew you were such a bigot.”
Dan’s face went white and he literally began to shake with rage. “I will not be insulted in such a manner in my own house. You have six older brothers and none of them ever acted this way.”
Jeph looked his father square in the eye, “Well you never called any of your other sons an abomination.”
Neither father nor son said anything for what seemed like hours, until Cheryl finally broke the silence. “You’re my son, and I love you. What you choose to be will not change that.”
Jeph felt the frustration rising in him, “Mom, don’t you see, it wasn’t a choice. I’ve always felt different. I liked hunting and running a lot more than the other kids. I was always faster than them and I’ve never been able to stomach the taste of vegetables. I always liked playing with the dogs more than other people. I hated myself for being a loner and feeling the way I did. It wasn’t until I got to college and met other people that I discovered I wasn’t alone. Other people felt like I did.
“So, yeah, I chose to be honest with myself. I chose to stop living a lie. I chose to realize that this is who I am, and to accept. And I chose to tell my friends and family, the people I love and care about. The people I thought loved and supported me.”
“We do love you, son.” Dan said in a quiet voice. “And we support you. This just takes some adjusting. You have to give us time.”
“I know, Dad. And you’re not alone. There are places you can go to. You could always join PFLAW.”
Dan raised an eyebrow, “PFLAW?”
“Parent and Friends of Lycanthropes and Werewolves.”
“Ah.” The dinner finally seemed to be returning to a pleasant family gathering.
“So, Jeph,” Cheryl began, “anything else going on in your life?”
“Well,” Jeph poked at his chicken with his fork, “I’m gay.”
“Oh, wonderful, son. Are you seeing anybody?”
Jeph smiled. He knew his parents would be supportive of this part of his life, at least. “Yeah, actually Frank and I have been involved for some time now.”
Jeph’s smile fell as his father’s glass hit the table again. “You’re dating an incubus!?”
Oh, not again.
Title: Monster in the Closet
Fandom: Original
Rating: PG
Summary: While at dinner with his conservative parents, a young college student decides to come out of the closet. As a werewolf.
"What's wrong, Jeph? You've barely touched your chicken."
Jeph's mother, Cheryl, glanced across the table at her son, who was currently poking at the fowl on his plate with his fork.
"Are you okay, son?" Dan, Jeph's father, asked. "You usually love chicken."
Jeph did indeed love chicken. And the particular chicken on his plate looked most appetizing, more so than usual in fact, but Jeph had other matters on his mind than delicious poultry.
"Mom, Dad," Jeph finally said, "there's something I wanted to talk to you about."
His mother's face suddenly took on an expression not uncommon to mothers' faces: worry. "What is it, dear? Is everything going all right at college?"
"No, no college is going great. It's just that..." Jeph took a deep breath. "There comes a time in every young man's life where he has to make a choice- Well, not a choice, per say, because sometimes you don't choose things about yourself, you just discover something about yourself that you didn't know. Like, say for instance, you didn't think you liked peas, but you'd never had peas. Peas had just never crossed your mind. And then one time you and buddy get drunk and suddenly you've got a mouthful of peas and you realize, 'Hey! Peas rock! I really like eating peas. Peas make sense to me. Now that I've started eating peas, my life is more complete. There was a hole in my life that's now filled with peas.'
"Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Jeph's parents looked at one another and then at their son. "...You want some peas?"
Jeph sighed and shook his head, "Mom. Dad. I'm a werewolf."
Cheryl shook her head, “Now, sweetheart, you should be careful saying that. Werewolf has a certain connotation that isn’t looked upon favorably by most people. Now, what exactly do you mean when you say ‘werewolf?’”
“Werewolf.”
A quick look at his parents’ faces told Jeph that his news hadn’t sunk in entirely. That’s fine, he thought, denial is always the first response to big news. “Mom, it’s not slang for anything. I mean that I, Jeph Marcel, am a werewolf. A lycanthrope. When the moon comes out I transform into a wolf and hunt and eat the flesh of warm-blooded herbivores, omnivores, and people.”
Tears began to well up in Cheryl’s eyes and she dropped her fork onto the floor. Dan, however, had no expression on his face at all, which left Jeph feeling a little uneasy. Okay, denial is the first stage. He thought. Now what came next?
“WHAT!?”
Oh right: anger.
Dan slammed his glass down on the table, “Now, this is insanity. Claiming to be part of such a… disgusting group. You better be joking, mister.”
“I’m not, Dad.” Jeph had planned that his father would be a little upset. “A little upset” being a severe understatement, but Jeph had figured on this reaction so he was well prepared to keep his cool. “I’m serious about this.”
Dan became stammering, as if he had a dozen things to say and they all wanted to come out at once. Cheryl, on the other hand, just kept saying, “No. No. No. No. Oh, no.”
“Mom, stop,” Jeph sighed.
“You will not speak to your mother like that,” Dan said as Cheryl just gasped. “Now we raised you right and proper and expect you to follow a nice, respectable voodoo lifestyle like your family. It’s bad enough that we’ve got those liberal vampire hippies perpetuating horrible stereotypes about us turning people into voodoo slaves. Our culture has enough problems, without adding hoodoo like this. Werewolves are an abomination on society.”
Jeph was silently thanking himself for so accurately being able to guess what his father would say. “It’s not hoodoo, Dad. It’s an alternate, but equally valid lifestyle. And anyway, you turned the Johnsons into zombie slaves last week. Hell, they cooked this chicken.”
Dan was momentarily flustered before muttering, “Well, they had it coming.”
Cheryl finally stopped quietly sobbing and offered her first suggestion, “Do you need to see a witch doctor, son?”
“Mom, I’m not under a spell. This is just one small thing. I’m still the exact same as I’ve always been.” Jeph tried to reason and then added as an afterthought, “You know, except at night.”
“Sweetheart,” Jeph’s mother pleaded, “have you tried not being a werewolf?”
Oh, great, Jeph groaned, bargaining. “Mom, I’ve already converted. It was just a simple biting and exchange of fluids-“
“That’s enough!” Dan shouted. “We will not hear about your depraved carnal relations at the dinner table. How do expect people to look at you the same? How will your friends react? How will your roommate? Do you Frank, or any other self-respecting voodoo practitioner, will want to live under the same roof with someone that might attack them in the night?”
“Frank doesn’t practice voodoo, Dad. He’s an incubus.” Jeph ignored his mother’s shocked gasp. “And I can control my urges. My friends all already know, and they not only trust me, they support me.”
“Well, there we go,” Dan said while his wife began to look faint.
“Living with an incubus. Those demons are bound to cause all kinds of trouble. No good will come of them.”
“Dad, you’re over exaggerating. Incubi are perfectly equal and normal members of society. Just because their beliefs are different than yours doesn’t make them wrong or evil. Incubi have added a lot to our society. Even Merlin’s father was an incubus.”
Dan just shook his head in anger, “Oh, don’t get me started on wizards.”
“Dad, I never knew you were such a bigot.”
Dan’s face went white and he literally began to shake with rage. “I will not be insulted in such a manner in my own house. You have six older brothers and none of them ever acted this way.”
Jeph looked his father square in the eye, “Well you never called any of your other sons an abomination.”
Neither father nor son said anything for what seemed like hours, until Cheryl finally broke the silence. “You’re my son, and I love you. What you choose to be will not change that.”
Jeph felt the frustration rising in him, “Mom, don’t you see, it wasn’t a choice. I’ve always felt different. I liked hunting and running a lot more than the other kids. I was always faster than them and I’ve never been able to stomach the taste of vegetables. I always liked playing with the dogs more than other people. I hated myself for being a loner and feeling the way I did. It wasn’t until I got to college and met other people that I discovered I wasn’t alone. Other people felt like I did.
“So, yeah, I chose to be honest with myself. I chose to stop living a lie. I chose to realize that this is who I am, and to accept. And I chose to tell my friends and family, the people I love and care about. The people I thought loved and supported me.”
“We do love you, son.” Dan said in a quiet voice. “And we support you. This just takes some adjusting. You have to give us time.”
“I know, Dad. And you’re not alone. There are places you can go to. You could always join PFLAW.”
Dan raised an eyebrow, “PFLAW?”
“Parent and Friends of Lycanthropes and Werewolves.”
“Ah.” The dinner finally seemed to be returning to a pleasant family gathering.
“So, Jeph,” Cheryl began, “anything else going on in your life?”
“Well,” Jeph poked at his chicken with his fork, “I’m gay.”
“Oh, wonderful, son. Are you seeing anybody?”
Jeph smiled. He knew his parents would be supportive of this part of his life, at least. “Yeah, actually Frank and I have been involved for some time now.”
Jeph’s smile fell as his father’s glass hit the table again. “You’re dating an incubus!?”
Oh, not again.