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 Six

"So you're done with this guy?" Lane asked suspiciously.

"Done," Caitlin confirmed with a nod. "Cold turkey. We are over. I said my goodbye over Christmas."

"So you're sure you want to do this?" Maisy asked cautiously, slipping her purse over her shoulder. "Because if you have a sudden change of heart, that would be fine with the both of us."

"I'm sure." Caitlin did a quick double check of her hair and make-up and then faced the two scrutinizing gazes of her roommates, who looked at her like she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life. "What?" she sighed, grabbing her coat. "There's nothing wrong with me going out with you to a dance club."

"Well, certainly feels like it," Lane muttered under her breath.

"Why?" She didn't understand what the whole fuss was about. She had sat around mopping for the past month and a half. It was time she had some fun.

"Well, for one, you never go dancing with us. Two, you've told us explicitly how much you think dance clubs are dumb..."

Caitlin rolled her eyes at Maisy, who didn't seem to catch on that her question was rhetorical. "So I'm trying something new," she said casually. Though part of the reason could have been that she hadn't heard from Eric at all. "Why is that suddenly such a huge deal?"

Maisy opened her mouth to say something, but Lane stopped her. "You wanna go out?" she said, raising an brow. "Fine. We'll go out."

"Finally," Caitlin sighed. "So let's go."

"On one condition," Lane said warily. "That you don't sit in a corner and mope the entire time."

"Does it look like I'm dressed up for a night of moping?" Caitlin spun around in her new red dress. It was slinky, but not too revealing. She saw it in a window earlier that week and on impulse, decided she had to have it.

"No," Maisy smirked. "In fact, you my dahling, look absolutely gorgeous!"

"Well, just cause you have a fancy new dress, doesn't mean you might not be a downer," Lane frowned. "A leopard doesn't change its spots."

"Now who's the downer," said Maisy, in Caitlin's defense. "She looks fabulous, and we're going to paint the town a brilliant crimson."

"Okay," Lane said reluctantly. "Here goes nothing."

Caitlin glanced back at herself in the mirror, as she closed the door behind her. She took a deep breath and plastered on a smile. If she was going to move on - bring some happiness back into her life - she would have to do something about it. Here goes nothing.

>>>

"Eric, this is ridiculous."

Eric knew he'd be getting a phone call from them sooner or later. Of course, as he held the receiver from his ear, he had wished it would have been later. "Dad," he sighed. His grades had been slipping and the school had informed him that his scholarship was pending, at this point. "I know. I will work everything out."

"This has nothing to do with you doing something about it," his mother interrupted the three-way conversation, "but why it's happening."

"I just need some time to re-adjust after Christmas break," he offered, knowing that it was more than that. Since Caitlin dropped the bomb that Jake was, indeed, not her boyfriend, and that the kiss had been for show, Eric was lost. Everything he had done had come back to haunt him in retrospect. And he had definitely been hit hard with who Caitlin really was. "That's all."

"Don't lie to your mother," Mr. Anderson chided, a hint of empathy trickling in. "Just because we care about your marks and things are messed up right now, doesn't mean we don't care about what's going on. We know that you know how important school is. And we also know that you're not that irresponsible...Well, haven't been for a short while anyways."

"Thanks, Dad," Eric retorted, rolling his eyes at his Dad's semi-successful attempt at a complement.

"We know that it's been hard since your split with Caitlin," Mrs. Anderson said softly. "And we just wanted you to know that you just need to take heart."

"You need to focus, son," his father interrupted. "You won't survive another term like this."

"Dad, I know!" Eric rested his head against his hand, as he sat on the stool in the middle of his dormitory hallway. "Don't you think I know that!" he exclaimed in frustration. "I'm the one going through this. Do you think I like that I'm almost failing most of my classes?"

He knew the pressure he was under. The first to go to college in his family, Eric had felt the pride of both his parents as they saw him off. There was nothing in the world he hated more than disappointing him. But things were hard in college and with the added distraction of knowing what he had done to Caitlin...Nothing seemed to help.

"I know, Eric," Mrs. Anderson said soothingly. "And we understand that. But maybe if you could try to put those things to rest, at least for now?"

"How?" Did his parents even understand? Did they know how much he cared about Caitlin? Whenever he was not in practice and most of the time he was in class, she was there. Even if she wasn't physically there, she was present. He could see her in his mind or hear her voice.

"You do what you have to do." His father's tone was commanding.

"You're a big help," Eric scoffed, shaking his head, staring at the end of the receiver. "Thanks a lot guys."

"Eric," his mother sighed.

"No, really. Guys you've been a big help, but I've got a lot of studying that I have to get back to," he said abruptly. He wasn't in the mood for lectures or cliched comfort phrases. "So I'm going to go now."

"Eric..."

He couldn't listen to any more. He had enough. "Bye," he whispered quickly into the phone before he placed the receiver back on its hook.

You do what you have to do.

Those words kept ringing in his head as he dragged himself back to his room. Eric didn't know what that meant. Do what you have to do...To him that meant setting things right with Caitlin.

'So? What are you waiting for?' a little voice demanded.

He stood in the middle of his room, glancing around at the array of books he had splayed all over his bed and his desk. There were labs and several reports due in a couple of weeks that he had yet to research; and of course, he had football - the main reason he was here in the first place.

So what am I waiting for?

>>>

"You're planning on doing what?" Griffin looked at Eric in disbelief. "You don't think that's actually going to fly, do you?"

"Griff, you're the optimist in situations like this," Eric said, needing his best friend's support and encouragement at this point in time. "So don't bail on me now."

"How do you think you're going to pull this off?"

"Well, money-wise, I don't know," he frowned, adjusting the backpack strapped onto his shoulders. "But school-wise, we do have a break coming up."

"But you have been doing so bad in school, how did you talk your parents into..."

"They don't know," Eric said slowly, holding up his hand when Griffin was about to object. "But they did sort of give their consent."

"What?" Griffin finally exploded. "What do you mean they 'sort of' gave their consent?"

"They phoned me last night about how I needed to do what I needed to do, to get my studies back on track."

"Well I think they probably meant more of the whole 'studying' bit, than what you're thinking of," Griffin said sarcastically. He loved his best friend, but sometimes the guy had no sense. "I know this is supposed to be some way of apologizing to Caitlin..."

"This is more than apologizing, Griff," Eric sighed, as they entered Math class together. "This is about what you were trying to tell me before...about me feeling more about her than I wanted to admit."

"Why couldn't you have figured this out earlier?" Griffin hissed, trying not to alert the other classmates to their conversation. "You know, at a good time, like when you were face to face with her at Christmas or New Year's?"

"Hey, I figured it out though, didn't I?"

"Well what if she doesn't want to know?"

Eric froze. He locked gazes with his best friend and frowned. "What do you know that I don't?" he asked suspiciously. He had thought about his plan all night long, during his midnight session of finishing off his Lit paper.

Griffin turned away, pulling his text out of his backpack, wanting to avoid the question.

"Griff, what do you know?"

He had tried to tell Caitlin that Eric was stubborn. It would take a couple of weeks for him to figure out how stupid the had been acting and then he would apologize; but she wouldn't hear it. According to her, she had already moved on. Griffin wasn't sure what she had meant by that, but it hadn't sounded good. Especially now that Eric had just had his epiphany.

"Griffin!" Eric grabbed him by the arm and forced Griffin to look at him.

"I-I," he stammered. How did he tell Eric something like this? "She told me that she was done."

"Wh-What?"

"She told me she was moving on," Griffin blurted out, his body tensed, waiting for Eric's reaction.

"She's with someone?" His tone was terse.

"I...I don't know."

"What do you mean?" Eric frowned, staring at his best friend, who should have known how important this was. "She either is or isn't."

"I don't know," he replied uncertainly. "She just said she had moved on, and that she didn't want to talk about it anymore. She didn't say if she was seeing anyone."

"And if she was, would she tell you?"

Griffin thought about that for a moment. He was certain she was. If it was something monumental as deciding to move on and finding someone new...he was certain she would tell him. However, knowing where Eric stood right now, he didn't know if that was something he should divulge to him. "Eric," he sighed, reluctant to say anything. "I..."

"I think she would," Eric said, without allowing him time to answer. "So it's not too late, right?"

Griffin studied Eric's determined expression. He was looking for something to cling to. Was it wrong for him to give him that hope? He had been convinced that Caitlin and Eric belonged together, but right now, everything seemed blurry. "R-Right." Closing his eyes, he prayed that it was the right answer.

"So you'll help me find a way to make this plan work, right Griff?" Eric pulled out his books, as the prof entered the room. "Because I don't think I can pull it off without your help," he whispered, leaning over to Griffin.

"Help?" Griffin glanced anxiously at Eric, who seemed engrossed in what the professor was talking about. Already Eric's 'plan' seemed to give his best friend the ability to focus on his studies. It was like the determination and hope of the plan helped put aside the anxiety and guilt Eric had been carrying since they had returned from Christmas break.

"Yeah, help." Eric nodded, briefly glancing over at Griffin. "You're going to do that, right?"

"Uh, sure," Griffin said uncertainly. "I'll do my best." He prayed that neither Eric or Caitlin would get hurt in the process. And right now, his prayers were more for Eric at this point.