I had been watching from afar for a while now, watching and waiting. I longed to see him again, I know it must of seemed crazy, but I had to know him.

It was a warm and balmy evening in Bon Temps, but much cooler in the depths of the forest, I walked to my usual spot right by the lake. The way the moonlight reflected off the surface of the river always soothed me, and mentally prepared me for the long night ahead. I usually hid my clothes in the hollows of an old oak there, there was just enough space inside to tuck a few things away.

Being a female shape shifter is a little harder for us than it is guys.

I'm no naturist, and I'm not a prude either. But public nudity isn't exactly something I'm comfortable with yet. I've only just come to terms with the fact that at every full moon I have to turn into an animal of some kind, usually something pretty and small. I didn't like drawing attention to myself, but I did love nothing more than exploring the forests and fields of Northern Louisiana late at night.

My shift of choice, was a cat; a silvery gray tabby with emerald eyes not so different to my own. So I suppose you could say I was a werecat. Simple enough to blend in, and pretty enough to sometimes get the odd pet off a passer by, people weren't threatened by cats, and I took a little comfort in that fact. Not that I plan on encountering many people. Shifting used to be my dirty little secret, but now its more of a sense of freedom. I like to think of shifting as an adventure, if that's what you could call it.

But I can't help feeling lonely, I meet many other cats and other critters sure, but I can't exactly talk to them. I don't understand what they're saying, and cats for one are quite pretentious around other felines. Besides its not the company of other animals that I long for, its other shifters. I know that there are people out there like me, for one I hear its hereditary. But as my Mom is dead and I never knew my Daddy, well I haven't exactly got many links to go by. The only family that I know of is my older sister Harley, she knows about my shifting of course but she doesn't understand it. She's always been supportive, but most of the time she likes to pretend that it doesn't happen. She likes to pretend that our living situation is normal, but it isn't. How many eighteen year olds do you know that are cared for by her sister who's only four years older?

I let the shift happen naturally, I had no other choice tonight. The moon was high in the sky and full, you could of sworn it was a little closer than a billion miles away. I felt the heat radiating through my body and within seconds I was off my feet and onto my paws, ready to explore the night away.

Harley had only once asked me to explain what it was like, being a shifter. I didn't know where to begin, I likened the change to being similar to sitting in an oven and just slowly, cooking all over. Not that it was painful, it was more of a relief than anything. She shivered and decided it was all too weird for her to deal with, and never asked again.

I stretched out my hind legs, and clawed at the tree concealing my clothes. My first meow of the night was always my favourite. I had no plans to go my usual route, Harley had always told me to shift well away from Ruston, where we lived. So I visited most of the surrounding towns, mostly sticking to the fields, and forest and other sparsely populated areas. But one day I was passing through the outskirts of Bon Temps and saw with my own eyes a boy of about my age shifting himself. After that I couldn't stay away. I needed to know him, but I had no idea where to even begin. So I followed his scent all the way to the edge of the forest, where a bright green neon sign greeted me.

'Merlotte's bar and grill.'

I knew he was inside, the scent grew stronger here. It was a Friday night, and certainly busy. The dusty car park was so packed I was glad I hadn't brought my own car, I could hear loud music, talking and a lot of laughing. But I was nervous about going in. I wasn't a weirdo. I wasn't socially inept. I had friends, I didn't mind being around people, I was just scared of him, and what he might think of me. What if he was mean? And didn't want to know me. I figured on the run back to get my clothes, I could make up my mind about whether I wanted to go in or not. I had no curfew tonight, seeing as Harley was staying over at her boyfriend Ian's.

And then it hit me.

Damn Laura, why are you so stupid?

It's full moon, of course. He wouldn't be around, he couldn't stop the shift tonight. He'd be out, doing the same as me. I couldn't get a good enough look at what he had changed into last time, I'd been so stunned I froze to the spot, and then I ran as I was scared. Cowardly even. If I could I would of brought a paw up and hit myself hard on the forehead. I promised myself I would visit again. I padded back into the forest.

The breeze was gentle on my fur, I sprung through the woods as if the soft pads on my feet were made of feather cushions. I settled into a fast rhythm, I didn't stop to investigate strange scents and sounds. I tried to clear my mind of all my thoughts, sometimes I wish that I could leave my human thoughts behind completely once I had shifted. They became blurry, but they were still there nonetheless. He was prominent in my mind of course, I had no desire to look for his scent tonight. To me shifting was a very private thing, and something which I did alone. Harley had never seen me shift, none of my friends even knew what I was. How would I even begin to explain?

I remember my first ever shift...

A/N: I'm so pleased about the sudden influx of Tommy stories after the past two episodes, seeing those really made me feel sorry for him. He's an interesting character, I hope to see a whole lot more of him. Til next week I decided he needed a little female companionship, somebody he can relate too. Your reviews are greatly appreciated here, this is only the beginning. I have a whole lot more, hope you liked it.