Spoilers: After cattle incident and snippets of future episodes
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. They are the property of Nickelodeon.
Pairings: C/E, snippets of C/W
Chapter Fourteen"Griffin!" Caitlin called as she walked into the house.
"Yeah, what?" Griffin answered, sitting down a the kitchen counter eating a sandwich.
Caitlin had wanted to talk to Griffin about Eric, but forgot that she had made plans to get a ride home with Will that day. He had to pick up his riding gloves that he'd forgotten on Sunday.
"Do you know what's up with Eric?" she huffed, dropping her backpack on the floor of the kitchen and taking the other half of Griffin's turkey sandwich.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, dismayed at the loss of part of his sandwich.
"Well?" Caitlin asked anxiously.
"I don't know," he muffled in between mouthfuls of the sandwich.
"Well, I tried to talk to him about the 'fight' today, and he kept walking away. He's really mad and I don't get it!" she exclaimed, walking away from the counter to the cupboard to get a mug. "It's like he's mad at me for something I did, but I didn't do anything. I mean, I'm the one who should be mad! Right?"
Caitlin leaned against the kitchen counter.
"I guess," Griffin said half-heartedly. "But I can see where he's coming from. I mean, Will hasn't exactly been Mr. Sunshine lately either. I mean, Nikki told me that she saw Will shove Eric against his locker when Eric was getting something out of it."
"What?" Caitlin exclaimed. "He wouldn't do that…"
Griffin cocked his head to the side and had this questioning gaze painted on his face. "Are you sure about that? I mean, he is your boyfriend and I'm pretty sure he's jealous of Eric…or if not jealous, protective of his territory."
"What are you talking about? I'm not a piece of meat. And I do not belong to Will. Besides, Eric's just a friend."
Griffin shrugged. "I just get the feeling it's all about you. I mean, it's all about getting the girl."
Caitlin was speechless. She opened her mouth to rebuke these unfounded accusations, but Caitlin found no words coming out of her mouth. She set down the mug on the counter and slung her backpack over her shoulder.
Eric didn't like me. He couldn't, could he?
***
Eric threw his backpack on his bed.
He was tired of it all. Part of him wished he'd never come back to High River. So far it had brought him nothing but pain.
"Why the heck does she have to take his side?" he growled.
Because he's her boyfriend.
"Why do you have to remind me?" he said to himself. Eric missed the way things were. Griffin would hang out with Eric and he would bug Caitlin and she would get upset and in the end they would all end up laughing about it.
"Ah the good 'ole days!" Eric sighed.
Eric glanced at the clock. Chores! "Ugh!" he grimaced.
Eric put on his work jeans and shirt and headed out to the barn.
~~~
The bales had been almost stacked when he heard soft footsteps creeping behind him. "Who's there?" Eric called from behind the bales of hay.
"It's just me!" Caitlin's voice yelled.
Eric rolled his eyes. He'd just gotten her off his mind and she had to come waltzing in. Eric had taken most of his frustrations out on the bales, which felt unusually good.
"What do you want?" he called out.
Eric listened as the footsteps neared. His body tensed as he saw the leather jacket she always wore and her fiery red hair.
"Eric, we need to talk."
He studied her, then after a few moments, went back to hauling bales. "What about?" he said nonchalantly.
"I want to talk to you about the fight."
Eric looked up, wiping the sweat that was forming on his brow. "What about it?"
He was not going to apologize, although, he did wish he'd controlled his temper and not let Will get the best of him. Eric had to admit Will was good.
"I heard that it was Will's fault and that you didn't start the fight."
He swallowed hard. "Who told you that?"
"Griffin. He told me Nikki saw the whole thing."
"Well, great," he deadpanned. "Well, I guess you can be on your way than. Thanks for the news. I'm so glad you came over to tell me that I wasn't to blame for the fight." His voice dripped with sarcasm.
Caitlin seemed to have had enough. "Look Eric, I'm sorry I came to the wrong conclusion, but what else was I supposed to think?"
Eric closed his eyes and shook his head. Looking up at her in anger, "Maybe you could have thought that it might be Will's fault. Since when did I become this bad guy who likes to hit people?"
Caitlin shifted her weight from foot to foot. Her hands fidgeting. "I'm sorry," she said again.
Eric breathed a huge sigh. "Whatever Caitlin." Eric turned away and went back to the last couple of bales that needed to be put away. "I'm to busy for this crap. I've got better things to do than deal with your jealous boyfriend."
Suddenly Eric felt her cool hand on his shoulder. "Eric, why are you really, so mad at me?" she asked softly.
Eric bit his lip. "I already told you," he retorted, turning to face her. She backed away at the realization of the closness of their proximity.
"Well, Griffin thinks it's because you … well, because you 'like me'."
Eric watched as she tried to say that revelation casually. It made him laugh.
She rolled her eyes. "You know what? Forget it."
Caitlin turned to walk away, but this time it was Eric who stopped her. "Wait Caitlin," he chuckled. "I'm sorry. I just haven't been myself lately."
Eric ran the excuse over and over in his head, hoping that she would believe it.
Her body relaxed and she sat down on a near by stool. Eric found a place on a stack of loose straw to sit in. "I've just…I guess, partly I'm jealous of Will."
The admission stunned both Eric and Caitlin. Eric began to tread lightly on the subject. "I mean, we used to hang out so much. You know, you, me and Griffin. Now you're spending so much time with Will and all. It's just kind of weird and…"
"And you feel like he's taking me away from you guys?" she finished his sentence.
Eric nodded. 'Yeah, and the fact that I actually like you,' Eric added in his head.
He fell back on the pile of straw, putting his hands behind his head. "Look, I'll try harder."
Caitlin slid off the stool and carefully sat down on the straw pile Eric was lying in. "And I'll try to get Will of your back," she promised.
It was an awkward silence. Eric suddenly got up, brushing the straw off his jeans.
Caitlin began to get up and slipped. Eric turned around and grabbed a hold of her hand and she pulled herself up with his help. Suddenly Eric found himself nose to nose with Caitlin. Both of them were breathing hard. "Thanks," she whispered.
"Uh, yeah," he nodded.
On impulse, Eric suddenly found himself pressing his lips against hers, in a sweet soft kiss. Eric was glad when she didn't pull away and pulled her into a deeper kiss.
Suddenly the dream ended. Caitlin jerked away with a start and turned and ran.
"I'm sorry," Eric yelled half-heartedly.
He wasn't sorry though. He wasn't sorry at all. Eric bit his bottom lip in memory of the warmth of her lips on his.
Please R&R! I hope you guys like this chapter. ;o)
