Carrying on the Torch

Disclaimer: I don't own Good Luck Charlie

A/N:

Chapter 30 (Dealing With Trouble)

On Sunday, after the relatives had gone home, Mason and Charlotte were hanging out with Dee at a café. Dee was going on and on about how much fun she had with her parents on Saturday. Charlotte was more than happy to hear about her day. Mason, on the other hand, had mentioned how irritated Emmett had been over having to scrub the face paint off his son. That stuff was difficult to get off!

The group was in a far booth at the back of the café, with Mason and Charlotte in the same seat while Dee was sitting opposite to them. They were sipping on soda and eating soup. "So, aside from Mason's uncle being severely irritated by face paint, and my awesome day with my family, how was your family day, Charlotte? Regina told me you went to see Coach Walsh after that."

"Yeah I did, and the reunion was awesome. Coach Walsh doesn't seem like all that of a bad guy. Plus, he really wants to help Regina grow stronger." She thought about what the coach had said in regards to the football team, then looked over to Mason with a smirk. "Oh by the way Mason, Coach Walsh says your team better be made of pros if they hope to beat his team." Mason, who had been sipping his soda, started laughing and coughing. She pat his back, sighing as he eventually managed to stop coughing on the drink.

"Please, everyone knows we are always going to win. His school doesn't stand a chance." He spooned his soup and closed his eyes. She gazed at him, amused by his confident response. God she loved that. She started to enter a dream-like state of mind and quickly shook her head, tearing her gaze away. She was actually trying to fight off the whole daydreaming problem, it was beginning to become an irritant.

"Well when's your next game?"

"Next week, last game of the season. The thirteenth" How appropriate that the last game of the season be scheduled during finals week, but it wasn't surprising. "Everyone's been training hard." She moved her eyes along his arm and pulled her lips back. He did look stronger this year, so she could definitely see the effects of his training. She heard Dee clear her throat and quickly turned away, mentally thanking her friend.

"I bet you guys will win. No doubt. I can't wait till the next semester starts!" She was starting to talk a bit faster, but she didn't mind as long as it kept her from entering that dreamer state. "So Dee, have you asked out that guy in science class yet?" Dee's face turned red and she quickly shook her head.

"No, I'm not ready to do that. I'm just waiting. Though some of the jocks, no offense Mason-" Mason waved it off with his hand and she gave a quick nod. Most of the football team didn't care to be referred to as 'jocks', but at the same time, Mason wasn't one that gave a damn. "-have taken it upon themselves to ask me out."

"So you've not accepted? Why not?" She lifted her shoulders and slowly rubbed her neck. It didn't seem like she wanted to talk too much about the topic, or at least, didn't want to talk about something in front of Mason.

"I don't…trust football players that much." Charlotte pressed her lips together and pointed to Mason, who raised up an eyebrow. Dee cleared her throat and shook her head once more. "Mason's different. Most football players are one of two things, total egotistical assholes that think they're better than anyone else, much like rich boys actually, or they're sex crazed maniacs who are just looking for a good lay. Again…much like rich boys." Mason laughed and brought another spoonful of his soup to his lips.

"I can't argue with that," he replied. He swallowed his soup and looked at Dee with careful eyes. "I'm not like that in any way, but I can't deny that a lot of my teammates are like that. The Quarterback isn't, he doesn't even care about the head cheerleader, isn't stupid, nor does he concern himself with the whole dating thing. He's not egotistical, neither are his two friends always hanging with him…which I think is why those three just hang with each other and not the other members of the team, they're not jerks."

"I guess…"

"Also, I am a bit wealthy, thanks to my Uncle's work, but he got that by earning it and always tells me that I need to earn my money rather than rely on his, so I don't rely on his money. When I'm old enough to start looking for a job, I'm going to do that." Dee raised an eyebrow and sipped her soda while Charlotte gazed in awe of Mason, she was loving this guy more and more!

"So, you don't get an allowance? Is that what you're saying?"

"Well, maybe one hundred a month…that's not bad." He was right, wealthy people usually got way more than that per month. Even Dee got near three hundred every month. She never much of it, but that didn't take away from the fact that she still had a wealthy allowance. "It used to be like fifty a month, and that's only the sum…I have a knack of overspending. I get like twenty two dollars and fifty cents every week. Uncle Emmett says that if I don't stop spending, he's not raising my allowance next time, but cutting it altogether."

"Ouch."

"Yeah…but not all rich kids are the same, and not all football players are jerks."

"Okay Mason. I'll agree with you on the football part. I'll even go so far as to say football players and jocks can be rather intelligent, which is something that does attract me, but as for the rich kids? No…I still haven't seen any wealthy boy, minus you, that hasn't tried to grab, flirt, hit on, grope, or just simply hit. They all want whatever they want, and expect a woman to be submissive, and if they're not, then by god, that rich boy's going to get whatever the hell they want!"

Charlotte saw her chest moving in and out rapidly and started to push her hands forward in the air, hoping to calm her. "Okay Dee, take a breath. It's okay…" Dee met her eyes and slowly breathed in. Mason didn't know what the problem was, and that was no reason to take it out on him. It was also no reason to be upset with Dee over getting upset. "Relax, that guy is not…" She glanced over to see a boy, around their age, if not a bit older, walking towards the table. He had a smug look on his face and shaggy black hair. He was wearing what looked like a school uniform for some wealthy private school. He seemed to fit the description that Dee told her about the guy that tried to hit her for not giving in to his advances. "Crap…"

"What?" Dee put her hands to the table and lifted her eyebrows while Mason slowly glanced over. "What's wrong Charlotte?" Dee glanced back and paled when she saw the boy. "Not him…Anyone but Eric…" The boy smirked at her and wagged his eyebrows as he stepped next to the table. Charlotte growled, but kept her rage inside. Though, she was like a volcano just waiting to explode.

"Fancy meeting you here, Dee-ann."

"It's Dee. Just Dee. I will seriously maim anyone that calls me Dee-ann. However, you, I'll maim on sight…" Charlotte could see the fear and disgust in her eyes, there was no way she would want to mess with him. "My friend knows karate."

"Yes. I'm sure she does." Eric waved his hand in the air, brushing off Dee's statement. Charlotte narrowed her eyes and Mason looked to her, pointing at Eric as if to ask who this guy was. Even Mason could likely detect the growing animosity in the girls. "Anyway, I would like for you to reconsider my offer after that embarrassing moment a few months ago."

"Screw off." Dee turned back to her soup and quickly moved her spoon up to her lips. Charlotte definitely wanted this guy to leave, and soon, she didn't need her brother investigating this prick's death next. Not only that, but she didn't feel comfortable being all the way in the back of the restaurant, they were pretty much out of view of anyone else in the place, and Mason was on the outside of the booth while she was against the wall. If Mason knew what a prick this guy was, it was likely that he would be the one attacking. Of course, there had been someone a couple booths behind working on some homework, she wasn't sure if the guy was still there, last she saw, he looked like the school's quarterback. How interesting, if it were him. Dee's expression remained nonchalant as she issued her next threat, "Unless you want to be kicked in the balls, I suggest you leave. Now."

Eric's expression flashed to anger for a split second, but went away as soon as it appeared. He cleared his throat and pushed his dangerous hands into his pocket. "Please reconsider, I would like to extend my apologies for my ill behavior. I did not mean to give the impression that I was raised by a pair of wolves." Dee slowly turned her head towards him and narrowed her eyes. Charlotte sighed and glanced off towards the right, her back had been pressed against the wall, so she was glancing at the booths behind theirs. The person just four booths behind, right next to the opening to the bathrooms, had closed the textbook they were reading and was staring at Eric with curiosity. It was the school quarterback!

"Eric, I don't want anything to do with you. Please leave."

"We need to talk. Can we talk in private? Maybe ask these two to go somewhere else?" Mason and Charlotte snapped their glares up to the wealthy boy and Dee merely scoffed.

"The last thing I'm going to do is tell them to leave me alone here with you. Do you take me to be an idiot? If your answer is yes, I'm going to smack you silly. I only get my looks from my mother, most everything else comes from my dad, and that includes my brain. Not to insult the good woman, I do love my mother to death."

"Yes, your parents are great people."

"My dad should have sued your ass. He decided to be nice, plus, you didn't actually strike me, so I don't know how good of a case it would have made…"

"What? A man striking a woman? Please, if women had any sense, they wouldn't have to be struck sometimes." Charlotte's rage flared up in that moment and Mason started to get up, but she quickly put her hand to his arm and shoved her anger down. He gave her a look of concern, not able to tolerate that statement, but it still wouldn't be right to start a fight. Dee was already acting though, she'd jumped from her booth and slapped her hand straight across his face.

"You asshole! How dare you talk to me like that! You think you know me? You think because you're a snotty little spoiled rich k-brat, that you-" Eric recoiled by slapping her across the face. Dee gasped and fell back into the booth, her hand flew to her cheek as his enraged eyes burned into her. Mason was about to shoot up, and so was Charlotte, but just before even Eric could pounce on his target, he was tackled to the ground by the quarterback that had been watching. Dee gasped and quickly eyed the scene as Charlotte and Mason remained frozen.

"What gives you the right to talk down to women?" The muscled quarterback asked, punching Eric straight in the face. Eric moaned as the football star glared directly into his eyes. "It's people like you that piss me off. Is it because you are rich that you think you can just strike a woman, or maybe you're just an insecure little shit who has parents typically staying the hell away from you because they're too rich to give a damn about their own son? Which is it?"

"Get…off, this isn't any of your business."

"No. No it isn't my business, you're right…" The quarterback lifted him to his feet, then proceeded to slam him into the table next to him, pressing him hard against the polished oak. Mason cheered him on while the girls remained still, though Dee was actually smiling. Mason called the quarterback Kevin, so now they knew his name. "I was minding my business, doing my homework, and I saw you treating this girl over here like she was less than a human being. So instantly, my mind clicks, and I think you should be treated just the same, and if no one else was going to do it, I would."

"Actually I was thinking about it, Kevin."

"Not now Mason." Eric struggled and glared up at him.

"I'll sue you for everything you got."

"You won't be getting much, I've traded money for an education and hopefully a future in football." Kevin, Charlotte knew he was just about the same age as Dee, if not a year or two older. "You apparently don't have any smarts whatsoever."

"I'll have you know, I go to a private school!"

"Oh wow, because your parents can afford it?" Dee asked, finally deciding to pull herself together and join in the fight. For this to happen, Charlotte knew Kevin must have impressed her. Usually she didn't bother to join in something like this. She pushed herself up and walked over to the table, glaring at Eric. "I bet you don't even know how to tie your own shoes without making your butler tie them for you!"

"Know your place, bitch…" Kevin clicked his tongue and punched Eric in the back, causing him to scream out. He grabbed the back of Eric's hair and pulled him up, turning him towards Dee.

"You apologize to her right now, ass-wipe. Maybe she'll take pride on you enough not to report you to her father…or have you forgotten who that guy is?" Eric's face started to pale and he started blubbering like an idiot. "Yeah that's what I thought. Get the hell out of here before I beat the shit out of you." He pushed Eric, who stopped to stare back at him. Once he raised his fist, the wealthy kid took off running. Kevin looked to Dee and studied her face for a moment. Her cheek was slightly red and swollen from where Eric hit her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I could have taken him, but thanks for standing up for me there, Kevin." Charlotte raised an eyebrow and stared at her friend, taken aback, Dee knew the Quarterback? Then again, since she was on the cheerleading squad, she probably did, but she assumed Kevin wasn't one to hang out with the cheerleaders, and he wasn't. He was almost never seen talking to them, always off doing some homework or reading some book. Hell, he even submitted some well written articles and stories to the school newspaper, he was definitely a writer. "What are you doing here?"

"Working on some algebra. Hate math."

"I would have thought you'd be working on some story. You come here often?"

"All the time, this is like my homework spot. Have to get some silence somewhere."

"I can understand that." Dee raised her hand to her face, gently brushing over the sore spot. She winced and her fingers quickly recoiled. "It's tender…" She lifted her eyes skywards and sighed. "There goes hoping it doesn't bruise and mom blowing a gasket. She's the biggest worrier there is."

"Just be honest with you. Has that guy been a problem for you?" Dee caught her breath for the moment and looked over to Charlotte. Charlotte caught a hint of upset in her friend's eyes and felt her heart cry out. Something was definitely wrong, this guy had been a bigger problem. Was that it?

"Well, no sense in keeping it to myself anymore I guess…but yes, I've seen him around a couple times in the past couple of months…" A stalker? This guy was stalking her? Charlotte took a sip of her drink and closed her eyes, pushing down the rage stirring inside her chest. She wanted to find Eric and tear his head off. Wasn't her father now the Police Chief? What person, in their right mind, would stalk the Police Chief's daughter?

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Not like anyone would do anything about it…"

"I would." His response was so plain, so blunt, and very impressive. He spoke his mind apparently. Now, how did Dee know him? She didn't want to interrupt, but it was irritating feeling like she was just a shadow.

"Hey, you two, I'm sorry to interrupt, but…" Dee and Kevin glanced over. "How do you two know each other?" Dee chuckled nervously and brushed her hair back behind her ear.

"Well, we met when we were younger, just a random thing, his mom's a police officer that worked with my dad at one point. We've talked here and there a couple times through school…mostly in passing, and we've had some classes together through the years…" She raised an eyebrow to her friend and slowly nodded, understanding that there were people in everyone's lives that weren't talked about to best friends, and clearly Kevin was one of them. "Also, you know that one guy I told you about in my science class?"

"Yeah?" She never remembered Dee telling her any names. Probably because she was just embarrassed by it. She described him as someone with shaggy brown hair, similar to Nicolas Cage in his younger days, a slight muscular build, sharp face, and deep blue eyes. As well as, besides the muscular build, he seemed to be an intelligent man, which had impressed Dee, who always thought muscular men were not very smart. Upon this thinking, Charlotte turned her eyes to Kevin and froze. He had long, shaggy hair with bangs that fell in front of his piercing blue gaze. He had a stubbly goatee and a bit of a muscular build. He was the science guy she had her eyes on? Her jaw fell and she quickly looked over to Dee. "Okay Dee, we are going to talk about this later, but first…Mason and I need to go home."

"We-we do?" Mason asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"No, please stay," Dee quickly moved over to the table and put her hands firmly against it. She was breathing a bit harder and her eyes were filled with panic. "I don't want to go back home right now, but I really don't want to be alone. What if that one guy's still here? Still watching?" Charlotte had wanted to leave Dee to be alone with the guy she was into, but when she put it like that, she felt a bit guilty about even thinking of doing such a thing. She was sure Eric was gone, but by that respect, there wasn't any way to be certain of that.

"Okay fine, but you need to tell your dad about Eric."

"I can't, what if he tells his parents, what if Mom loses her social status because he stirs up some big demeaning story? He seems like the type! I don't want mom to lose her status!" Kevin moved over to her and gently rubbed her back. She lifted her head and turned her gaze back to him.

"I doubt your parents care more about their status than they care about you," he replied. "The kid's a prick and there's not much to be done about him other than getting a restraining order" Restraining orders had become much more severe over the last twelve years. Now, the consequences of breaking the said order was a five thousand dollar fine along with two years of jail time. If released and breaking the restraining order a second time, the penalty was automatically doubled. This happened each time.

"I guess….would-would you like to sit down with us?" Dee quickly looked to her friends and smiled half-heartedly. "You don't mind if he sits with us, do you?" Mason shook his head and Charlotte smiled at her, there was absolutely no problem with him sitting there. Kevin smiled back at her and started walking towards his table.

"Just let me grab my textbook."

"All right." Charlotte watched her friend slide into the booth. She was already up to something. She gazed past Dee and frowned when she spotted Eric in the distance, standing at the front cash register and watching with narrow eyes. She cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Dee, you will tell your dad, right?" She slowly pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She was about to text Dee's father. Dee cared about her enough to text Skyler when she was in trouble, and she cared enough about Dee to text her parents when she could be in danger.

"Yes, I will…"

"Okay." Kevin moved back into the booth with his algebra textbook. She watched as Dee looked to his homework and pointed at a question that it seemed like he was having difficulty with. As they discussed the question, Charlotte quickly texted Dee's father.

"That rich kid that hurt Dee five months ago just showed up at the café we're at and hit her. A friend tackled him and scared him off, but he's still in the restaurant and watching Dee right now…she wants to personally talk to you about him later, so don't mention this text, but could you please send someone over here? This guy is seriously creeping me out and I don't want Dee to have any more problems with him…"

The text was received with great care, as five minutes later, Mr. Dooley himself came walking into the restaurant as though he'd just decided to stop by the café and have himself a cup of coffee. His hands were in his pant pockets and his eyes were narrow. When Eric saw him, he didn't take the time to run, and was quickly apprehended by Dee's very pissed off father. By apprehended, it truly meant, he dragged Eric from the restaurant, threw him in the back of a squad car, and drove off.

After that, she just hoped Dee would tell her parents about Eric. If anything, it could at least kick some sense into Eric to leave her the hell alone. If not, restraining orders were always possible and more feared now than they were some time ago.

Dee checked her phone after a few minutes and lifted her eyebrows. "I just got a text from mom and dad, they want me to come home as soon as I can…I guess now would be a good time to talk to them about Eric…"

Ooh yeah, Trouble found them, and now trouble's gonna find Eric. In brighter news, Dee may have just landed herself a stud.