Spoilers:  After cattle incident and snippets of future episodes

Disclaimer:  I own none of these characters, and if I did, I would have never gotten rid of Eric! :D  May indeed include fictional shops and stores.

Pairings:  C/E, snippets of C/W

Chapter Twenty Six

The new semester had begun a hectic pace of classes and assignments.  It seemed like a never ending stream of marks and exams.  And then there were the motivational speakers from different schools and places of employment, lecturing on how important school was and what is needed to get into a good school.  It was almost enough to make Caitlin scream!  Almost.

This school semester had been unusually quiet, which Caitlin was quite grateful for.  There really hadn't been any fist fights or even oral exchanges between Eric and Will.  Each had kept to their own corners and been modestly civil. 

Caitlin hadn't spoken to Will since Christmas though.  Part of her was sadden at the loss of a great friend, but Caitlin knew that in the end, she would have had to say good bye, sometime that year with graduation approaching.  Yet, Caitlin couldn't help but wonder if they could leave things amicably.

"Hey Caitlin!" Eric yelled down from the hallway.

She turned around and smiled.  "What's up?  Did you hear that scouts are going to be at the game on Friday?"

Caitlin was excited for Eric.  He'd been working extremely hard on his grades and was top of the class when it came to football.  Now some colleges and universities were scouting him at games.

"Yeah," Eric smirked mischievously.  "I can't wait!  I hear they're from U of M, which is great."

Caitlin nodded.  He'd been planning to go there with Griffin since they were in grade 10.  "Maybe you'll get a scholarship to go there."

Eric waggled his eyebrows.  "You never know!"  He winked at Caitlin as he closed his locker, which stood below Caitlin's.

"Hey dude!" Griffin exclaimed walking up beside Caitlin and Griffin.  "I just had a meeting with the guidance counselor."

Caitlin laughed as an exasperated look came over Griffin's face. 

"And he told me I was close-minded when I informed him that U of M is my choice school."

Eric's jaw dropped.  "What do you mean?  Montana has a great football program and it's pretty decent for business," Eric growled.

Griffin nodded.  "I tried to tell him, but Mr. Schokly doesn't seem to think so.  He's on me for not going to Colorado."

Caitlin shook her head.  "So?  Maybe he's trying to give you options.  I mean, what if you don't get into Montana?"

Both men looked back at Caitlin in horror.  "Not. Get. Into. Montana?" Griffin stammered.  "Bite your tongue!"

Caitlin smirked.  "Oh brother!" sighed Caitlin.

"We are definitely in.  For sure!" Eric informed Caitlin as if she'd just turned into Taylor or something.

Caitlin lifted her hands in surrender.  "Okay, okay.  You'll both get into Montana!" she chuckled.  "I'm just saying, each of you should have back up plans."

Griffin eyed her suspiciously.  "And do you have back ups if you don't get into NYU?"

Inside, Caitlin's stomach churned at the thought of not getting into New York.  She'd dreamed about being a photographer forever and NYU had a great program.  But if Caitlin did get rejected, she did have a few back up plans.

Caitlin pursed her lips and shrugged.  "I might.  We'll see."

***

Eric was nervous as he left the locker room that Friday night.  He'd never had scouts in the crowd before.  It made him antsy.

"Are you ready Anderson?" Coach Lawrence inquired patting his star quarterback on the shoulder.

"Of course Coach," Eric lied, putting a smile on his face.  "All set to go sir!"

Coach Lawrence studied his student and player.  "Don't get all macho.  It's all right to be nervous when the scouts come looking for you," Coach chided.

"I'm not!" Eric shook his head in protest.  "I…"

"That's a load of bunk Anderson!  Now forget about the stupid scouts and focus on the game.  If you play half as well as you have been this semester, you're fine!"

Eric watched as Coach Lawrence ran out into the field.  He took a deep breath and exhaled.  He was going to be fine.

***

Griffin joined Caitlin and the rest of the Lowes in the stands as the High River Stallions ran out into the field.  Brett and Jordan also decided to join the excited friends.  "Did you see Eric?" Jordan asked, popping a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

"No, did you?" Griffin asked.

He knew his friend had to be worried.  His parents weren't doing as well on the ranch as most of the ranchers in High River and this year, they were depending on Eric getting a sports scholarship of some kind to pay for some of the tuition and costs of university.

"No," Jordan shook his head.

"I did," Brett chirped.  "He looked really nervous.  I wish I was on the team this year, but with my knee acting up the way it has…"

Griffin nodded as he looked at Brett's disappointed face.  "The surgery this summer will go well," Griffin said encouragingly.

Brett had injured his knee earlier this year on the volleyball team and was waiting arthroscopic knee surgery to repair some of the tendons that had been damaged from twisting his knee during a game.  "Thanks, I'm hoping so.  I can't imagine the pressure Eric's feeling right now!"

Griffin looked over at Caitlin who seemed unusually nervous.  "What's your problem?" he asked.

Caitlin scowled at Griffin.  "I'm always nervous at a game!" Caitlin dismissed.

Griffin frowned.  "This is your first game Caitlin, how would you know if you are always nervous at a game?" scoffed Griffin.

Caitlin bit her lip and got up from the bleachers.  "I'm going to see if I can get any good shots of the game from behind the benches," said Caitlin as she excused herself, tugging on her camera.

Griffin shrugged as Jim and Dori looked questioningly at him.  "Don't ask me!  She's never been to a game in her life!"

As Caitlin made her way down the stands, Griffin couldn't help but smirk.  Both Eric and Caitlin had been spending an awful lot of time together in his opinion.  Even the school's rumor mill had been churning out suspicions on Caitlin and Eric getting together.  Griffin sighed.  Now if only we could get those two to realize that they were made for each other.