Eric had a goofy smile on his face. He was staring across the room at a
girl he'd never seen before. She had long, blonde hair and green eyes, and
she was as tall as Eric. The only other person he'd felt this for was
Rachel Maguire, and that hadn't turned out in his favor. Eric and Jack
Hunter (Shawn's half-brother) had a full out war to see who got Rachel's
affection, and originally, Eric won. But then, after Shawn and Jack's
father, Chet Hunter, died, Rachel felt either sympathy, or harbored
feelings for Jack. So, much to Eric's despair, he walked in on Rachel and
Jack kissing, after visiting his sick baby brother in the hospital one
afternoon.
Eric had never seen this girl before, and he wanted to find out who she was. He approached her, but as soon as he got within earshot, she stood up, and walked away. Eric made a ticking sound with his teeth and tongue, as if he were calling a cat.
Noticing that people were staring at him, he grinned and spat out, "Cat calls..."
Throughout an echo of sighs and huffs, he continued his journey to follow this mystery girl. He poked his head around the corner, looked to the left, then to the right, and was struck in the head with a window slamming on him.
"OW! Dude!" Eric moved his head, and shouted at the next available person. "My HEAD was in that door!"
"First of all, it was a window..." he heard the voice of an older, upper class woman, piercing through his ear. "And second of all, what were you doing with your head in a window?" she asked.
"I was LOOKING for someone, thank you..." he rubbed his head, and walked toward the actual door. He tilted his head forward to say goodbye to the lady, and walked through the door, only to see that the mystery woman was gone. "Just my luck..." Eric rolled his eyes.
He sighed, and walked home. He'd moved to New York City with Cory, Topanga and Shawn. Eric loved his new surroundings. So many new people that he'd never seen before. If Eric had one extremely redeeming quality, it was his ability to talk to people. He could always find something nice in people, even if there was nothing really visible to anyone else. And he had an inevitable ability to make people laugh or smile.
Eric walked through his door, and looked around his apartment. It was a well lived in, one-bedroom apartment, with a couch, table, desk, television, computer, and a refrigerator in the front room. He walked into his kitchenette, and glanced quickly at his answering machine, to see that the light was blinking. He strolled over to it, and pushed the button.
"Eric, its Cor. Trouble in paradise again...Topanga's mad. She walked out like she wanted to kill someone...and this time, I almost hit her. I don't think I could have lived with myself if I had. Can you call me back as soon as possible?" Cory came through the machine.
"Topanga and Cory fighting again? Will it ever stop?" he asked himself.
***
Cory heard the phone ring. He made his way miserably across the room, and answered it. "Yeah?" he grumbled.
"Cor?" Eric asked.
"Oh, what's up, Eric?" Cory asked.
"So, what happened with the wife?" Eric rolled his eyes, predicting Cory's next words.
"The same, 'Cory, I'm your wife, not Shawn' crap." Cory sighed.
"Cory, are you getting as sick of this as you sound?" Eric asked.
"At times, yeah..." Cory replied.
"I hate to sound repetitive, but as I ask you every time, do you think she's pregnant?" Eric nosed in.
"No, I've gotten nothing for the past six months..." Cory complained.
"Well..." Eric thought for a second. "I don't know..."
"Eric...do you think we're gonna get a..." Cory could barely spit out the word divorce.
"I hope not. If you do, I'll lose all faith in future relationships for you, Shawn and myself..." Eric explained.
"I talked to my neighbor, Bailey Sullivan. She helped me a little. She said I need to choose who's more important to me. I don't know. I mean, Shawn is my best friend. Without him, I don't think I would have gotten this far with Topanga. Speaking of Shawnie..." Cory changed the topic. "Did you talk to him today?"
"No, he's made himself pretty scarce lately..." Eric leaned against the corner of the wall, and used it as a back scratcher.
"I know, he hasn't even called..." Cory looked at the clock. "I hope everything's ok between he and Angela..." Shawn's girlfriend, Angela Moore had recently moved to Paris with her father. But we'll get more into that later.
"Me too..." Eric realized the possibility.
"Listen Eric, I'm gonna let you go. I gotta call Shawn...you should stop in later or something..." Cory cut the call short.
"Ok, see ya later little bro..." Eric hung up the phone.
"See ya..." Cory hung up too.
Eric walked outside the door, and just stood in the hall for a few minutes. Even though he looked like an idiot, something possessed him to stay. He stood there, when suddenly; he heard the door beside him shut abruptly.
There she was! The mystery woman! Right outside his apartment! 'Whoa...' he thought.
"Enjoying yourself?" she asked.
"Huh? Oh, nah, not really. Just sitting here, aimlessly..." Eric pointed out the obvious, which he seemed to be very good at doing.
"Brilliant observation." She looked him up and down. "So, what's your name, aimless stander?"
"Eric Matthews," he held out his hand for her to shake. "You?"
"Hannah Hansen." She replied, shaking his hand. "You live in the apartment right next to me, and I haven't met you yet?" she asked. "Kinda weird. How long have you lived here?"
"About a month." Eric replied. "I moved from Philadelphia with my brother Cory, his friend Shawn and my friend Jack."
"Cory? Cory Matthews? That's where I'm headed. My friend Bailey Sullivan locked herself out, and is spending a little while at Cory's, until I get there." Hannah told him.
"Topanga's not gonna like that..." Eric rolled his eyes.
"Topanga? What kind of a name is that?" Hannah asked.
"I often ask myself that." Eric sighed. "Her mom..." He tilted his hand over his mouth, as to say 'she must have drank a lot.'
Hannah laughed. "To come up with a name like Topanga? I guess so! I'll see you around, Eric."
"See you..." Eric smiled. He watched her walk away, and smiled. He'd finally talked to his dream girl. And she was his neighbor. Things were gonna be great for him.
***
Jack Hunter had recently backed out on an opportunity to go into the Peace Corps with Rachel Maguire, causing them to stop being friends, and he had been feeling guilty as ever. Instead of joining, he'd moved with Cory, Shawn, Topanga and Eric to New York City. He'd been there a few times prior to moving, looked at a lot of things, and realized that there was so much for him there.
If you set Cory and Eric, then Shawn and Jack into a room, and were asked which ones were related, you'd guess anyone but Shawn and Jack. Jack had always led a semi-charmed life. He had a rich step-father, and always had everything he wanted. He'd always had a girlfriend, with three or four other girls hanging off him, this being the only thing he really had in common with Shawn.
Jack stared at the stop-light, waiting for it to turn green, so he could get home. He'd had a stressful day, and he'd really done nothing all through it. He'd just been thinking about Rachel a lot. She was the one who had always understood him, and aside from Eric, she was the only friend he'd ever really had. He was suddenly struck back into reality by the beeping of about three horns around him.
"Move it, buddy!" a woman shouted through her window.
"GET MOVING!" a guy yelled at him.
"Ok, ok! Sorry!" Jack stepped on the gas pedal, and continued home. He was the only one out of all five of them that could actually afford a real house. He'd offered for them to stay with him, but they'd all turned it down, to be on their own. He smiled as he approached his house. "I made the right decision. There's more for me here..." he reassured himself.
He walked through his door, and the first thing he noticed was his message light blinking. He walked slowly toward it, and pushed the button.
"You have four new messages..." the voice came through. "Message one..."
"Hey, Jack, it's Eric. Just wondering if you'd heard from Rachel at all. Call me, ok?"
"Message two..." the answering machine voice came through.
"Hey, Jack, it's Cory. I asked Eric for advice already, but you know how reliable he is. I kinda need to talk. Call me as soon as you can?"
"Message three..."
"Jack? Shawn. Call back, ok?"
Jack was curious about Shawn's message. He pushed the stop button on his answering machine, picked up the phone, and dialed Shawn's number. He decided that since it took a lot to get Shawn up, he'd let it ring for awhile. It had rang about twelve times, and Jack gave up. He sighed. "You could at least be home..." he exclaimed as he hung up the phone.
He pushed the play button to listen to the final message.
"Message four..."
"Jack? I hope I got the right number. I'm calling for your personal ad in the paper. I know, you're thinking most women who respond to there are really nasty, right? Well, I'm not. At least I don't think so. My name is Kady Jenkins. Call back at 453-8752, ok?"
Jack laughed. "That was a mistake. I'll call back if I really need a date. And I mean REALLY need a date." He looked at his mail slot, and realized he had five letters sitting on the floor. He walked toward the door, and picked up the letters. "Bill, bill, junk, credit card..." he paused as he held the last letter in his hand. "Letter from Rachel..." he didn't hesitate anymore.
***
Jack,
I've made quite a few friends here. I really wish you'd decided to join me. How is everyone? Is Eric still being a nut? I assume that'll never change. Listen...I know this is short, but I just wanted to have some contact with people I know, ok? See ya Jack.
Rachel
***
Jack was overjoyed to finally hear from Rachel. He grinned, and walked into the living room, knowing that the rest of the day was going to be a breeze.
Eric had never seen this girl before, and he wanted to find out who she was. He approached her, but as soon as he got within earshot, she stood up, and walked away. Eric made a ticking sound with his teeth and tongue, as if he were calling a cat.
Noticing that people were staring at him, he grinned and spat out, "Cat calls..."
Throughout an echo of sighs and huffs, he continued his journey to follow this mystery girl. He poked his head around the corner, looked to the left, then to the right, and was struck in the head with a window slamming on him.
"OW! Dude!" Eric moved his head, and shouted at the next available person. "My HEAD was in that door!"
"First of all, it was a window..." he heard the voice of an older, upper class woman, piercing through his ear. "And second of all, what were you doing with your head in a window?" she asked.
"I was LOOKING for someone, thank you..." he rubbed his head, and walked toward the actual door. He tilted his head forward to say goodbye to the lady, and walked through the door, only to see that the mystery woman was gone. "Just my luck..." Eric rolled his eyes.
He sighed, and walked home. He'd moved to New York City with Cory, Topanga and Shawn. Eric loved his new surroundings. So many new people that he'd never seen before. If Eric had one extremely redeeming quality, it was his ability to talk to people. He could always find something nice in people, even if there was nothing really visible to anyone else. And he had an inevitable ability to make people laugh or smile.
Eric walked through his door, and looked around his apartment. It was a well lived in, one-bedroom apartment, with a couch, table, desk, television, computer, and a refrigerator in the front room. He walked into his kitchenette, and glanced quickly at his answering machine, to see that the light was blinking. He strolled over to it, and pushed the button.
"Eric, its Cor. Trouble in paradise again...Topanga's mad. She walked out like she wanted to kill someone...and this time, I almost hit her. I don't think I could have lived with myself if I had. Can you call me back as soon as possible?" Cory came through the machine.
"Topanga and Cory fighting again? Will it ever stop?" he asked himself.
***
Cory heard the phone ring. He made his way miserably across the room, and answered it. "Yeah?" he grumbled.
"Cor?" Eric asked.
"Oh, what's up, Eric?" Cory asked.
"So, what happened with the wife?" Eric rolled his eyes, predicting Cory's next words.
"The same, 'Cory, I'm your wife, not Shawn' crap." Cory sighed.
"Cory, are you getting as sick of this as you sound?" Eric asked.
"At times, yeah..." Cory replied.
"I hate to sound repetitive, but as I ask you every time, do you think she's pregnant?" Eric nosed in.
"No, I've gotten nothing for the past six months..." Cory complained.
"Well..." Eric thought for a second. "I don't know..."
"Eric...do you think we're gonna get a..." Cory could barely spit out the word divorce.
"I hope not. If you do, I'll lose all faith in future relationships for you, Shawn and myself..." Eric explained.
"I talked to my neighbor, Bailey Sullivan. She helped me a little. She said I need to choose who's more important to me. I don't know. I mean, Shawn is my best friend. Without him, I don't think I would have gotten this far with Topanga. Speaking of Shawnie..." Cory changed the topic. "Did you talk to him today?"
"No, he's made himself pretty scarce lately..." Eric leaned against the corner of the wall, and used it as a back scratcher.
"I know, he hasn't even called..." Cory looked at the clock. "I hope everything's ok between he and Angela..." Shawn's girlfriend, Angela Moore had recently moved to Paris with her father. But we'll get more into that later.
"Me too..." Eric realized the possibility.
"Listen Eric, I'm gonna let you go. I gotta call Shawn...you should stop in later or something..." Cory cut the call short.
"Ok, see ya later little bro..." Eric hung up the phone.
"See ya..." Cory hung up too.
Eric walked outside the door, and just stood in the hall for a few minutes. Even though he looked like an idiot, something possessed him to stay. He stood there, when suddenly; he heard the door beside him shut abruptly.
There she was! The mystery woman! Right outside his apartment! 'Whoa...' he thought.
"Enjoying yourself?" she asked.
"Huh? Oh, nah, not really. Just sitting here, aimlessly..." Eric pointed out the obvious, which he seemed to be very good at doing.
"Brilliant observation." She looked him up and down. "So, what's your name, aimless stander?"
"Eric Matthews," he held out his hand for her to shake. "You?"
"Hannah Hansen." She replied, shaking his hand. "You live in the apartment right next to me, and I haven't met you yet?" she asked. "Kinda weird. How long have you lived here?"
"About a month." Eric replied. "I moved from Philadelphia with my brother Cory, his friend Shawn and my friend Jack."
"Cory? Cory Matthews? That's where I'm headed. My friend Bailey Sullivan locked herself out, and is spending a little while at Cory's, until I get there." Hannah told him.
"Topanga's not gonna like that..." Eric rolled his eyes.
"Topanga? What kind of a name is that?" Hannah asked.
"I often ask myself that." Eric sighed. "Her mom..." He tilted his hand over his mouth, as to say 'she must have drank a lot.'
Hannah laughed. "To come up with a name like Topanga? I guess so! I'll see you around, Eric."
"See you..." Eric smiled. He watched her walk away, and smiled. He'd finally talked to his dream girl. And she was his neighbor. Things were gonna be great for him.
***
Jack Hunter had recently backed out on an opportunity to go into the Peace Corps with Rachel Maguire, causing them to stop being friends, and he had been feeling guilty as ever. Instead of joining, he'd moved with Cory, Shawn, Topanga and Eric to New York City. He'd been there a few times prior to moving, looked at a lot of things, and realized that there was so much for him there.
If you set Cory and Eric, then Shawn and Jack into a room, and were asked which ones were related, you'd guess anyone but Shawn and Jack. Jack had always led a semi-charmed life. He had a rich step-father, and always had everything he wanted. He'd always had a girlfriend, with three or four other girls hanging off him, this being the only thing he really had in common with Shawn.
Jack stared at the stop-light, waiting for it to turn green, so he could get home. He'd had a stressful day, and he'd really done nothing all through it. He'd just been thinking about Rachel a lot. She was the one who had always understood him, and aside from Eric, she was the only friend he'd ever really had. He was suddenly struck back into reality by the beeping of about three horns around him.
"Move it, buddy!" a woman shouted through her window.
"GET MOVING!" a guy yelled at him.
"Ok, ok! Sorry!" Jack stepped on the gas pedal, and continued home. He was the only one out of all five of them that could actually afford a real house. He'd offered for them to stay with him, but they'd all turned it down, to be on their own. He smiled as he approached his house. "I made the right decision. There's more for me here..." he reassured himself.
He walked through his door, and the first thing he noticed was his message light blinking. He walked slowly toward it, and pushed the button.
"You have four new messages..." the voice came through. "Message one..."
"Hey, Jack, it's Eric. Just wondering if you'd heard from Rachel at all. Call me, ok?"
"Message two..." the answering machine voice came through.
"Hey, Jack, it's Cory. I asked Eric for advice already, but you know how reliable he is. I kinda need to talk. Call me as soon as you can?"
"Message three..."
"Jack? Shawn. Call back, ok?"
Jack was curious about Shawn's message. He pushed the stop button on his answering machine, picked up the phone, and dialed Shawn's number. He decided that since it took a lot to get Shawn up, he'd let it ring for awhile. It had rang about twelve times, and Jack gave up. He sighed. "You could at least be home..." he exclaimed as he hung up the phone.
He pushed the play button to listen to the final message.
"Message four..."
"Jack? I hope I got the right number. I'm calling for your personal ad in the paper. I know, you're thinking most women who respond to there are really nasty, right? Well, I'm not. At least I don't think so. My name is Kady Jenkins. Call back at 453-8752, ok?"
Jack laughed. "That was a mistake. I'll call back if I really need a date. And I mean REALLY need a date." He looked at his mail slot, and realized he had five letters sitting on the floor. He walked toward the door, and picked up the letters. "Bill, bill, junk, credit card..." he paused as he held the last letter in his hand. "Letter from Rachel..." he didn't hesitate anymore.
***
Jack,
I've made quite a few friends here. I really wish you'd decided to join me. How is everyone? Is Eric still being a nut? I assume that'll never change. Listen...I know this is short, but I just wanted to have some contact with people I know, ok? See ya Jack.
Rachel
***
Jack was overjoyed to finally hear from Rachel. He grinned, and walked into the living room, knowing that the rest of the day was going to be a breeze.