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 Nine

The news that he had asked Caitlin to the prom was buzzing around the gossip mill on Tuesday.  Eric didn't know if Caitlin wanted it kept a secret or if she didn't mind that people knew that they were going together.  He sat in Algebra that morning pondering the situation he was in. 

Eric didn't know what he and Caitlin were going as.  When he'd phoned her that afternoon, Eric had followed an impulse.  After it was over, Eric realized all the other stuff he had to worry about.  And he'd had all last night to think them up, and even make them up.

As the morning dawned, Eric felt a twinge of anxiety as he walked through the familiar high school hallway.  But Caitlin hadn't been around her locker that morning.  Eric knew she was in school, but today their classes just didn't happen to be together, much to his relief.  Later on in the morning, Eric went to his locker to get his next set of books for the last couple of classes in the morning.  "Eric!" Caitlin whispered.

He jumped.  Eric hadn't seen Caitlin approaching.  "Hi!" he smiled, as he grabbed his Chem. text and binder.  They stood for a second, awkward and seemingly speechless.  "So, haven't seen you all morning?"

Eric began to walk towards his next class, hoping some movement would jumpstart the inert state of his brain this morning.  Caitlin followed, since she had the same class.  She nodded.  "Yeah.  It's been crazy this morning.  I've had to run some pictures to the yearbook room and then Mr. Eden stopped me in the hall to talk about joining the book club, which I don't plan on doing!"  Caitlin stopped talking suddenly.  She grinned and laughed.  "I'm kind of babbling aren't I?  You can stop me any time you know!"

During their way toward Chem. class, Eric enjoyed watching Caitlin chatter inanely.  "I will, if I feel like it!" he laughed.  The two separated and sat down in the brightly lit lab room, behind their desks, which were more like counters.

"Hey!" whispered Griffin.  "So you and Caitlin are going to the prom?"

Eric dreaded this question.  Well not this exact question, but one that was bound to go with it.  "Are you dating now?" asked Griffin, after Mrs. Simon walked passed their counter, taking their recent lab assignment.

He tried to ignore the question, but then Jordan, who sat right beside him jabbed him in the ribs.  "Yeah!  Are you guys official?"

Eric swallowed and looked over at Caitlin, who was busy talking to Mrs. Simon, trying to explain her missing assignment.  "No.  We're just going to the prom together."  There.  He'd said it.  He did not have plans to pursue a long-term relationship with Caitlin after the prom, or even during it.  Eric glanced over at Caitlin again.  She had just been wrung out by Mrs. Simon and was rolling her eyes at Eric, silently voicing her defiance and indifference to Mrs. Simon's lecture.

Eric smirked and turned silently back to his textbook.  Who was he kidding?  He wanted way more than a friendship from Caitlin.  But was he willing to risk the break up that would most likely happen at the end of the school year?

***

Caitlin rode Bandit over to Eric's ranch later that afternoon.  As much as she hated the idea of establishing the grounds for this 'date', Caitlin knew it had to be sorted out, before the rumors grew into something bigger.  Caitlin dismounted off Bandit, and led him towards the back of the house.  There she found Eric loading some hay into their old beaten down truck.  "Eric!"

The blonde haired boy turned around and waved.  He said something to his dad and then hopped down from the truck.  "Hey!" he smiled, huffing slightly.  "What are you doing here?"

Caitlin swallowed as she began fidgeting with Bandit's reins.  "Uh, I thought we needed to talk about the prom."  There she'd said it.

As Caitlin peered up to see Eric's reaction, she found him staring at her, smirking slightly and adjusting the fingers of his work gloves.  "Sure.  What do you want to know?" he replied casually.

Caitlin envied how at ease Eric was with the situation she'd just brought up.  Eric motioned her to start walking.  She appreciated the distraction of the open fields as they talked.  It made her feel more at ease.  Plus, Caitlin was glad not to discuss this in front of Mr. Anderson.  They walked in silence for a while, until Eric finally blurted out, "I think we're just going as friends right?  I mean, I asked you because there's no one I'd rather go with.  I know that both you and me hate stuffy formal stuff, so I figured we could go together and have a little bit of fun."

At that moment, Caitlin felt relieved and disappointed.  Part of her had hoped it was because he liked her.  She looked at him and feigned a smile.  "Oh, uh, yeah.  That's totally what I thought.  I mean, I thought we'd go as friends."  They walked in silence again.  "It's not like we want to make this an official date, right?"

Eric stuffed his work gloves into the back of his jeans and tipped his cowboy hat up, revealing his blue eyes.  He laughed loudly.  "Yeah, of course.  I mean, who could see us dating?  Right?"

Caitlin cleared her throat and laughed airily.  "Yeah," she whispered.

~~~

Caitlin stomped into the kitchen and flung her coat onto a nearby chair.  She ran upstairs and threw herself onto her bed.  As she lay curled up on her bed with a pillow, Caitlin couldn't help but chide herself on how naive she had been.  They were only the best of friends.  That was it.

Suddenly Caitlin felt this need to scream.  But instead of screaming, Caitlin threw her pillow at the closed door.  "Argh!" she sighed loudly.

A knock on the door interrupted her private frustration.  "Caitlin?" Dori called through the door.

Quietly the door opened.  Dori leaned against the doorway and looked sympathetically at Caitlin.  "Is there something wrong honey?"

Caitlin flung herself backwards on the bed and pulled a pillow over her face.  "No!" she said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

After a few moments, Caitlin felt a tug on the pillow.  She held tightly to her soft companion.  "Go away."

"Come on Caitlin.  Tell me what's wrong.  Maybe I can help?" urged Dori.

Caitlin shook her head underneath the pillow.  "No."

Dori took one finally tug and exposed Caitlin's flushed face.  "Is it about the prom?  You don't have a date?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes.  "I've got a date," growled Caitlin.

"Really!" Dori exclaimed excitedly.  "Who?"

"Eric."  Dori grabbed Caitlin and hugged her tightly.  Caitlin was lost amidst her own thoughts though, and continued talking out loud.  "It's not like I'm some ugly duckling who everybody doesn't like."

Frowning, Dori shook her head.  "What is it?"

Caitlin looked at Dori.  She debated whether it would be a good idea to tell her about actually liking Eric.  She pursed her lips and shook her head.  "It's nothing.  Really," Caitlin protested.  Rising from her bed, Caitlin grabbed her backpack, which she'd thrown on the floor before leaving to talk to Eric.

Dori shook her head.  "I don't think it's nothing," drawled Dori.  "Tell me.  I swear I'll try to help."

Caitlin exhaled loudly and shook her head.  "It's nothing!" Caitlin said, a little too loudly.  She calmed herself and regained her composure.  "I really have to finish this homework Dori.  I've already got heck from Mrs. Simon for not finishing the lab assignment due this morning."

The older woman looked at her knowingly.  Caitlin stood her ground.  She didn't want to talk about it.

Finally Dori gave in and got up from her bed, shrugging, resigning to talk about it anymore.  "If you want to talk," Dori sighed.

Caitlin finished her sentence.  "You'll be downstairs?" Caitlin smirked.  Dori walked over to her and hugged her.

"Yes."

Caitlin swallowed and closed the door behind Dori.  Closing her eyes, Caitlin sighed and belly-flopped onto her bed.  She reached over onto her nightstand and grabbed her CD player.  'Only music can make this any better,' Caitlin thought to herself.