Eric Matthews admired his reflection in the mirror, flaunting a masculine pose before running both hands through his smooth, immaculate do. Yeah, hair was one of his strongest features, so what? It wasn't a feminine thing; he was just comfortable with his own appearance. Was that so wrong? Nah. Besides, he wasn't the only one in love with his appearance. Being faultless had its perks. He had it all, well, except for endless amounts of money and a Rolls-Royce. But that was okay, because he was getting there.
He made his way down the stairs and fixed his younger brother with a handwritten paper, nonchalantly seating himself at the table.
He felt the grimaces and stares upon him as Cory read out the contract aloud, flinging it back in front of him. "Amen."
Eric only nodded, mentally preparing himself for the oncoming lecture.
His mother meant to point out the downfalls of the elite front he tried to maintain, but he wouldn't hear of it. He knew his reputation as John Adams' Most Eligible Bachelor would be directly threatened if people found out he was related to a seventh grader. He defended himself wholeheartedly. "I might as well strap on a tuba and join the band."
Amy seemed baffled, asking how he could possibly rank status above his own flesh and blood.
"I mean, he's my brother," Eric assured, wrapping one arm around Cory in a loving half-embrace. "of course I love him."
And then he flashed one of his flawless, award-winning smiles. The same one that could get him in and out of trouble with women, the one he could always use to his advantage, the one that he counted on, the one that looked too damn good.
Out of all the things Eric relied on, intelligence not being on the list, looks were it. Beauty had yet to let him down, and he was gracious for the blessing. Well, he tried to be. Looks might steer him wrong eventually, but not then. And the best part? He had just entered his dating prime.
Unfortunately though, as the eldest, he was forced to bear infinite responsibility. For his little brother, for his little sister. It wasn't fair. He didn't sign up to be the oldest. They were the lucky ones. They had someone to drive them around, someone to get advice from, someone to get them out of trouble.. But him? Well, he didn't have anybody, growing up as the only child for a few years. So in that aspect, Eric was not charmed. He figured the good and bad balanced themselves out.
And as the eldest, he was obligated to look out for them. Tasked with stopping them from getting into trouble in the first place. But he had failed that part many times.
"How do you possibly get into this much trouble in one day?!" Eric snapped, avoiding eye-contact. He made sure no one was watching before speaking again.
"It didn't take me a whole day!" Cory blurted out, flailing on the inside.
He could only shake his head as he relayed specific instructions for him to follow. Only Cory could manage to get on Harley Keiner's bad side in a mere span of hours. He would get killed, and then Eric would have to explain why his parents suddenly had one less son. Harley was a lunatic. He couldn't understand what made him try to get involved with a future felon.
"Do not attempt to recontact me," He remembered telling him, despite knowing in the back of his head that his instructions were pointless. Cory would face him alone, and that couldn't happen. Maybe he wasn't the smartest, but Cory was downright stupid. Confronting a guy twice his size and acting like he was doing himself a favor.
As Eric stared down the most feared teen at John Adams, he wanted to run away from the experience. But he wasn't a coward, and if that's what the lesson had to be for his brother, he was proud. Stupidity must've ran in the family.
The years between the two siblings weren't always fun. And for as long as Eric recalled, Cory was an A-class dork. An awkward, ignorant, illogical, smart mouthed, much less appealing younger brother. He didn't have the wisdom to work things to his advantage yet, so sometimes the boy learned the hard way. But he wasn't about to stand there and let his brother get mauled. No, that was his brother. And even if he wouldn't own it publicly, it was a bond that couldn't be broken. He wouldn't want it to be. Because to make up for his unsightly quirks, he saw that Cory was a well intentioned kid with a good heart. Somewhere buried in his uncool, underdeveloped tween soul.
He didn't back down as Harley snickered something about wiping out the entire 'Baboon' family. Man, this guy was otherworldly. A greaser with an off sense of style and old school vocabulary. Cory was right in the middle of them, and rightfully so. He was the buffer. It was his fault all this was happening. Eric couldn't risk the face; that was how he made a living.
Harley lunged forward and he lunged back, hoping to at least get one punch in. No, he would have gotten at least one punch in. No one messed with his brother except for him.
That new Mr. Turner guy stepped in, though, and his efforts were dropped. Cory would've been okay either way, but he just had to make sure. He would've done it again in a heartbeat.
Cory got his attention after everything had settled down, literally looking up to him. Judging by his expression, he understood the monumental gesture.
"Eric.. thanks for being my brother."
He smiled genuinely that time, thankful for the empty hallway. What could he say? He was a really good brother, after all. Protecting middle schoolers from bullies and putting himself in inadvertent danger, making the universe a safer place. He wanted to say how the punk better not ever pull that shit again, but who was he to ruin the moment? Eric felt his ego expand, squinting his eyes and seeming pensive.
"Do I know you?"
A/N;; Super thrilled to be updating again. I'm not sure about the traffic in this section, or where exactly this story is headed. I'm letting you know beforehand that this will follow no specific plot line, but will mostly reference to BMW episodes and revolve around Eric. No OCs, pretty canon. However, canon being my go-to, I don't love what they did with Eric's character in particular. It's strange to see how he went from being the cool, typical older brother to more of a comic relief character, but still treated as a kind of pretty boy. So I hope to broaden the horizons with that going forward. If you have any thoughts or ideas I'm listening! Merry late Christmas & Happy New Year. Thanks for reading.