Spoilers: After cattle incident and snippets of S2 episodes
Disclaimer: I wish I owned the characters. Especially Eric...drool Ahem. blinks Did I say that outloud?
Pairings: Caitlin and Eric
Author's notes:Okay Okay! It's here. Yeesh. I didn't know people were going to hound me. :P hehehe. Actually I think I enjoyed that part :D

Chapter Forty Four

"You're sure?" "I'm sure I saw her kiss him along with Brett and Jordan! As well as half of High River!" Eric picked up a stone that lay at his feet and flung it hard against the barn wall. He had no words to describe what he was feeling. It was like this raw energy threatening to explode from inside.

"Man, I could have sworn..."

"Well don't," he said through gritted teeth. "I was stupid to think that she hadn't."

"Now what?" Griffin felt horrible. He had been the one pushing Eric to make a go of it. He had been the one swearing that he thought Caitlin was just pushing his buttons with this Jake guy.

"Now I know it's really over." The words seemed to come out without thought. And the energy that had been pressing out on all sides just dissipated.

"You're not going to even say anything to her? Maybe you misinterpreted..."

"My eyes," Eric spun around and stared at him in disbelief, "didn't misinterpret her lips on his!"

Griffin jumped at his outburst. "E-Eric," he sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

Eric turned his back to Griffin again and shrugged. He forced himself to take deep breaths. Everything around him felt like it was closing in on him. He just needed to get away.

"Eric?"

"There's nothing to be sorry about. I got it right the first time."

>>>

"What did you do to him?" Griffin exclaimed, crashing without thought into Caitlin's room.

"What?" Caitlin hated it when he would barge into her room. She needed her privacy.

"Are you and Jake really together?" He was going to get down to the truth if it killed him. And by the deadly glare Caitlin was giving him, it was closer than he imagined. But none of that mattered after seeing how angry and distraught his best friend was. "Are you?" he repeated the question.

"Is it any of your business?" The sudden interrogation set her on edge. She studied him, wondering what had brought on this sudden outburst. "Griffin," she growled, getting up from her bed to escort her unwanted visitor out. "Get out of my room."

"Well apparently you made it the business of everyone frequenting the Malt Shoppe." His accusation made her freeze. Good. She'd better feel horrible about it.

"W-what did you say?" Her blood ran cold at the uncanny description of the disaster that had happened only a few hours ago.

"Something that included Eric," he said harshly, shaking his head in disgust. "How could you DO that, Caitlin?"

"I-I didn't," she stammered, trying to collect her thoughts. "I didn't plan..."

"What have you turned into?" he asked, ignoring her ramblings. "You were never like this before New York. Did that turn you into some heartless...

"Stop!" Caitlin pressed her hands over her ears. She couldn't hear him say those things. They weren't true. She wasn't any of those things. "You don't have a right to judge me!" she said, lowering her hands. "And for your information, Eric has no right to feel betrayed! He. Dumped. Me."

"But you really aren't with this guy, right?"

"Well, no..." He had her on that.

"So you were using him to get back at Eric. Hurt him, like he hurt you?" Griffin felt exasperated at his adopted sister. "That's low - even for you."

Caitlin wanted to scream at him, hit him for saying it, but she couldn't. The words were caught in her throat. She couldn't because it was true. "Stop! I know!" she sighed. "I know."

"Well then tell that to Eric. Tell him what he saw was a lie."

"I can't." She sat down on her bed. All of the sudden her body felt weighted.

"Why?" If he could get her to admit her feelings, then maybe there might be a road to reconciliation for the two dopes.

"Because it doesn't matter. We're over."

"Says who?" he asked incredulously.

"Hello?" Caitlin raised a sharp brow. "Were you not there? Griffin, he broke up with me. Newsflash."

"So that means he deserves every cruel and mean thing you and Jake can dream up?"

"No," she said slowly. "But why should it matter?"

"Because - " He faltered. Griffin couldn't tell her that Eric had fallen in love with her. Not when the guy couldn't admit it himself. "Because it does to him."

"Why?" Caitlin did not understand why it mattered so much to Griffin if she explained or not. "He is the one who didn't give a damn about us - me - to even hear my side of the story, much less believe it. Might as well let him assume the worst."

"Caitlin..."

"He just," her voice softened, "just took off and ran."

"He does care Caitlin."

"So he says," she said skeptically.

"He does," Griffin replied, sitting beside her. "I can tell."

"Well he has done a bang up job of showing it." She could feel the tears welling up. They had stopped weeks ago. Now they had returned for an encore.

"You know Eric," he sighed. "He's impulsive. Stupid sometimes." It was true. His best friend was sometimes a clod when it came to his feelings. "He won't tell you what he's feeling. I mean, typical guy."

It was somewhat of a lame excuse. But what other defense did they, as males, have as a defense?

"Well, he was supposed to grow up and know I wouldn't hurt him like that," she huffed, on the verge of breaking down into tears. "Idiot."

"How?" Griffin asked warily. He knew girls were another species, but sometimes they had to give them a break. "How was he supposed to know?"

"Because..." Why? Why was he supposed to know? "Because you don't do that to people you..."

"You what?"

Caitlin furrowed her brow and swallowed hard. "P-People you love."

>>>

Christmas break was over. It had been the longest two weeks of his life. After the Malt Shoppe fiasco, Eric had vowed to isolate himself for the whole break. It had been easier than he thought.

There had been the odd call from Griffin, which he just ignored, not bothering to return them. But his best friend had felt some sense of duty to check up on him. Eric had supplicated, going along with the first few visits, pretending to be happy and released from the binds that came with a relationship. But it got tiresome and hard after a while.

His parents seemed also to fret over him when he began locking himself in his room after daily chores. It was like he couldn't get a moment's peace. Wallowing and self-pity were apparently frowned upon.

Part of him had half-expected Caitlin to show up at his doorstep. But she hadn't. Which is a good thing, right?

'Of course.'

Right. That sounded believable.

"Ready for the drive back?" his mother asked worriedly. "I mean, you could probably stay an extra few days, since you seemed to have had a tough Christmas break."

"No!" Eric exclaimed, trying to hide the 'caged animal' syndrome he was feeling at this time. "I mean, Griffin's coming to pick me up and stuff. So I shouldn't mess up his plans and all."

The doorbell rang.

"That's your ride," his father bellowed.

"Coming!" Eric slung his bags over his shoulder and gave his mother a quick kiss. "I'll phone you when we get there," he said, reassuring his concerned mother. "I'll be fine." She looked doubtful. He gave his father a brief hug and headed out the door.

He would be fine. He had managed to get Caitlin out of his system. He was sure of it.

"Eric."

"Caitlin." Stopped mid-stride, his muscles tensed, as the familiar image of the red-headed beauty stood in front of him.

"I wanted to talk..."

"We," he looked behind her at Griffin, who shrugged casually at her sudden appearance, "really need to get on the road."

"It won't take long."

She shifted uneasily, glancing to her right, alerting him to his presence.

"I take this isn't just a fond farewell," he scoffed, resting his gaze upon Jake. "Otherwise he wouldn't have shown up."

"Eric, please," she whispered. "I promise I won't take long."

"What? Do you want a show?" He stepped forward, attempting to move past Caitlin and to her new boy-toy.

"Stop it," Caitlin said sternly. "This isn't about him."

"It's not?" He locked gazes with her, searching for some connection. He did not want to show weakness. He hadn't intended to go off like that. But of course, he hadn't expected for her to show up at his doorstep with him.

"Okay," she said awkwardly. "Maybe it's a little."

"You know what?" He took a step back. Being near her, still had an affect on him, as much as he fought it. "It doesn't matter," he said dismissively. "It really doesn't."

"Sure seems that way," a voice scoffed in the background.

Eric's gaze flitted that way. He was not in the mood for the pseudo-actor's color commentary. "Do you have something to say?" he sneered. "Cause, if you do, please feel free."

"Eric." Caitlin turned his focus back to her. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" Like anything she had to say would matter.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?" He frowned. It made absolutely no sense. Of course it could be for embarrassing you.

"I hurt you for no reason at the Malt Shoppe," she said slowly. As if drawing out her words would somehow lessen the pain of the memory of her kissing another guy. "And I didn't really mean for it to go that far."

"What are you saying?" He did not want to know the intimate details of her love life. Not now. And in fact, not ever. "I don't have time for this," he said exasperated.

"How about stop interrupting the lady long enough for her to tell you?" Jake chipped in.

"You know," Eric clenched his fists and made a move to pummel the snarky jerk, "if I were you I'd shut the hell up." Caitlin, however, stopped him. Her hands gripped his shoulders tightly.

"Don't."

"Well then teach your boyfriend to keep his trap shut," he snarled. "Before I do it for him."

"I can't."

"Why not? Can't control him?"

"Because he's not my boyfriend."

"What?" Eric exclaimed, slightly confused.

"He's not my boyfriend." Caitlin stood in front of him like her words explained everything.

"What are you talking about?" He had seen her. She had kissed him. Of course he was her boyfriend. She wouldn't let some stranger kiss her like that if he weren't...

"You were a jerk, Eric," she declared, folding her arms across her chest. "You were a jerk for dumping me like that and I wanted to get you back."

"So you kissed him?" He couldn't believe how spiteful that sounded.

"No, I kissed her you moron," Jake spoke up. "Because she's hot. And you're too stupid to see what you had."

"Why is he here!" Eric exclaimed, frustrated and confused.

"That's all I had to say," Caitlin said calmly. "That's all I had to say."

Eric opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, she turned on her heel and slipped her arm through Jake's and walked towards the second vehicle parked in behind Griffin's monster.

He was clueless. Eric stood there baffled and confused as to what the hell had just happened. Caitlin had just stood there to tell her that she was indeed not dating the S.O.S. padhead, and that he was a jerk. "What the hell was that?" He threw his hands up in the air.

"She was just telling you what she was feeling," Griffin said softly.

"That was supposed to explain anything?" he said incredulously. "It just made me more confused and lost than I was."

"I told you."

"What?" Eric grabbed his stuff, which was laying at his feet, and walked towards Griff's car.

"I told you that she wasn't with him."

"Griffin," he stopped, resting his hands on the top of the car, "she just walked off with him."

"And she came here to tell you that she wasn't with him."

"What's that even supposed to mean?" Everything was a riddle. Why couldn't they just talk plainly?

"It means, you're an idiot."

Eric rested his head against the car. "Okay," he said, trying to remain calm. "What? How does that make me an idiot?"

"Because she loves you and you can't even see it."