Less than a month between updates! Yay. (And no, I haven't forgotten about my other stories. I'm just on an editing roll with this one at the moment.) I'd like to think the semi-quick updates will continue, but we all know how real life can be.
Thanks so much for the feedback on the previous chapter. I really appreciate it. :-)
"Oh, hey," Topanga greeted Angela when she entered their dorm. "You're up early. Or are you still awake?" It was impossible to miss the tossing and turning going on across the room all night. "Hello?"
"I hear you. I slept some, but not much." She resumed going through her drawers, occasionally tossing an item into a box on her bed. "I think that's all of it."
She peered into the box and saw all the mementos from her friend's relationship. "Are things really over with you and Eric?" It was such a change from just a few nights ago when Angela confided that things were great. Her exact words were, 'never been better.' She'd seemed so happy. "What happened? You can tell me."
"I happened, okay?" She picked up one of his shirts and twisted it in her hands. "It's me."
"What?"
"I was dumb enough to think things would be different this time. But it turns out there is no such thing as different, at least not in my life."
Topanga wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I just don't understand."
"Join the club."
"This doesn't sound like Eric. It's not like him to-"
"Don't!" Angela pushed her away. "I'm not going to listen to you defend the guy again. You did it with Shawn, constantly telling me that his behavior wasn't really him and that he loved me and I should give him another shot. You wouldn't shut up about it. I put up with months of that. If that's your plan with Eric tell me now so I can put in a request to change dorm mates for next year."
She still felt awful for how bad a friend she'd been and was trying to rectify it. "All I meant was if things are over, don't you at least want to know why? You deserve to know."
"Of course I do. That's what today is. I'm going to give Eric one last chance to explain himself." Part of her wanted to say screw it, if he was going to be like this she didn't need him in her life. But, like Topanga had started to say, this really wasn't like him. What happened to make him go from 100% openness and honesty to radio silence within a matter of hours?
"And if he doesn't?"
"Then that's it." Angela shook her head. "I can't be with someone who shuts me out."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Get your aunt to lend you her car and help me move my stuff into Nan's? I know your parents are coming into town and you and Cory are doing the big wedding talk with his parents, but-"
"I'm there. If you want, I'll cancel my date with Cory tonight and buy a bunch of cookies and ice cream and rent some movies so we can stuff our faces and cry."
This was the Topanga she'd missed. Still, junk food and sad movies? What a sad stereotype she was becoming. "We'll see. I think I want to focus my energy on moving. Wallowing can come in a day or two once I'm settled. Thanks, though."
"Hey, what are best friends for?" She glanced at the clock. She didn't want to leave Angela when she was upset, but she had to be across campus in fifteen minutes. "I'm sorry, but I-"
"Go take your finals. I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded. "I'm going to head over to Eric's. Best case scenario he tells me what's going on and we figure out where to go from there. Worst case…" She sighed. "…I'll be picking up my own cookies on the way home."
"Good luck."
"Thanks."
"Let me know if you need anything else."
"Well…a hug wouldn't hurt."
Topanga obliged and gave her a tight hug. "You know you're going to be okay, right? However this plays out you're going to be fine."
"Maybe I should just swear off men for good. Next time you talk to Nebula…or Sister Mary Hildegard…whichever she's going by now, ask her if there's an opening in her convent."
"Actually Nebbie isn't so sure about being a nun anymore. She's spending the summer with friends on a commune so she can "find herself", whatever that means." Topanga was worried about her sister and hoped she found her path soon.
"Cool, then I can take her spot in the convent."
/
/
"So Rachel's just bailing on you?"
"She's not bailing. According to her we're not even breaking up, but she misses her family and needs space to think about us."
Shawn moved the mouse around, making a few more edits to the photo. "She's leaving for months and isn't sure about your relationship…you're breaking up, Jack."
He threw himself down on a chair. "Yeah, I know. What do I do?"
"Boy, are you desperate," he said with a laugh.
"This isn't funny."
"You're asking me of all people for romantic advice. That's hilarious."
"I'm glad you find this so amusing."
"What do you want me to say? Do you want me to tell you to stop her from getting on that plane at all costs? Do you want me to tell you to get down on your hands and knees and beg for forgiveness?"
"I'd like to think I have more self-respect than that. Not to mention I don't think Rachel would respect me if I begged."
He shrugged. "It was just a suggestion."
"Did you beg Angela?"
"Sometimes I wish I did. I was an idiot and hurt her bad. So, see, you're asking the wrong guy for help."
Jack shook his head. He wasn't here to deal with the self-deprecating I'm such a loser attitude today. It would only devolve into him telling his brother he wasn't a loser and then it would become all about Shawn's problems. He was tired of things becoming all about Shawn and his issues. Sometimes he needed support for his own problems, too. "I knew things were weird between us, but I thought New York would make things better. Instead it had the opposite effect."
"Was Rachel right?"
"About what?"
"When you think of her, what comes first: roommate, friend, or girlfriend? Because if girlfriend isn't first the she's right, you guys do have a problem."
"Is it wrong to consider your girlfriend one of your best friends?"
"Technically, no, but shouldn't she be your girlfriend first?"
"She doesn't think of me as boyfriend first."
"So you're even."
"I don't know if I can go back to just being friends. How do you do it with Angela?"
"Calling us friends right now would be a stretch. It's not easy to see her with someone else. Maybe we'll get back to being friends someday, but who knows."
"What do I do?"
"You'll drive Rachel to the airport Monday morning, give her a hug, and tell her you'll see her in a few months."
"That's it?"
"I think. At least this way you know she'll still be talking to you when she gets back."
"Yeah, I don't want to lose her completely." He ran his hands through his hair. "This sucks."
"Sorry."
"It's not your fault. Although there is something to think about."
"What's that?"
"Her room will be empty for the summer, if not longer. I can't imagine she's going to want to stay in the apartment even if we do get back together. I can ask my stepdad to help me cover her part of the rent for a couple months, but are you interested in moving back in? You've got to be out of the dorms by Monday, right?"
"Are you insane? You want me to live with Eric again? Not happening. I doubt he wants to live with me either. You think I don't notice how many nights Angela hasn't spent in the dorms? I'm not sharing a wall with them."
"Where else are you going to live- the trailer?"
"What's wrong with the trailer? It's the only thing in his life dad ever paid off so I don't have to make payments on it. And Uncle Mike bought the plot next to him and said I can park there and share his generator. No electricity bills, another plus."
"Does the roof still leak when it rains?"
"Duct tape is an awesome invention."
"Whatever. Look, if you change your mind-"
"Don't hold your breath."
/
/
"Wow, look who's out and living among the rest of us again," Rachel exclaimed, seeing Eric come down the steps into the living room of their apartment. "Or is this just a pit stop for food and you're going back to hide out in your room?"
He was on his way to go see Angela. He'd been putting it off long enough. The picture Cory painted last night was a grim one. He still wasn't sure how to put it into words, but he had to try. "People who are ditching their roommates and screwing them on rent with no warning don't get to make jokes."
She winced. While she was happy to be heading home she did feel bad about the rest of it. "I already paid my share of this month's rent and I'll get you and Jack the money for June."
"And July and August?"
"It would probably be best if you guys started looking for a new roommate."
"For the summer or…"
"And for after that, too."
"Really? Things are that bad?"
"All I know is this arrangement isn't working for me anymore. I'm not sure how things with Jack will end up, but I think it's best if we don't live together anymore. There were no boundaries, no labels. We never actually discussed much about being together. Just one day we were. I don't know," she added, talking mostly to herself, "maybe we should've just stayed friends."
"So you're saying things fell apart because you guys didn't talk."
"There's more than one reason, but if I had to pick the biggest, then yeah, lack of communication on both our parts. There were a lot of assumptions." She checked the time. "I have to go. I guess I'll see you later." She grabbed a Lunchable from the fridge just in case she didn't have time to stop for food between exams. "Oh, by the way, can you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Talk to Angela. She's been trying to get ahold of you for days. I don't know what's going on, but you should fix it."
"I'm going to try."
"Good." Rachel picked up her backpack and headed for the door. When she opened it Angela was on the other side, juggling a box in her arms. "Hi."
"Oh…hey. Is Eric-"
She stepped aside to let her in. "Right over there."
Eric waited until Rachel was gone before he walked into the living room. "Hi." He watched Angela unceremoniously dropped the box onto the coffee table. His heart sank when he recognized a few of his things peeking out from the cardboard. "Look, I know I-"
"Can we not drag this out?
"Excuse me?"
"This. Us." She gestured between them in an exaggerated manner. "If you're breaking up with me at least man up and admit it instead of jerking me around. You owe me that much."
What was she saying? They were done? "But I'm not-"
"I can't go through another long, drawn out break up again. I can't. I won't. It would wreck me." This wasn't how Angela planned to approach this. She'd wanted to sit down and have a rational conversation, but everything bubbled to the surface the second she saw him. "So come on," she challenged. "Stop being a coward and tell me the truth."
"But we're not…I don't want to…I know I've been stupid lately, but-"
"You told me things would be different, that you weren't like the other guys. You said I could trust you, I-I could depend on you and need you. And I did. I opened up and told you things I don't tell anybody. I told you everything. I trusted you in a way I haven't been able to trust another person in a long time." Angela choked back the lump in her throat and blinked back her tears. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. "Were you just in it for the sex after all? You wanted a few good lays? Get in, get off, and get lost?" She shook her head. "I really didn't think you were like that. You swore to me you weren't. So you see you're not the stupid one here. I'm the idiot because I believed you. I let myself believe that my heart was safe with you. I even thought I was starting to fall…" She stopped herself and let out a bitter chuckle instead. "I guess the joke's on me."
"Angela-"
"Was it fun for you at least? I hope it was worth it to make me feel like a fool."
Eric wanted nothing more than to run across the apartment, wrap her in his arms and never let go. That likely wouldn't go well, at least not at the moment. Her fists were clenched at her sides and she was staring at him through glassy eyes. Nothing indicated she would welcome a hug right now, especially from him. She'd likely slap him first. "No, you're not a fool or stupid or an idiot. That's me. I'm all of those things times a million." He took a few steps closer. "I don't want to break up with you. You're the best thing in my life and I don't want to lose you."
The back of her knee hit the arm of the couch as she backed away from his advance. "You've got a real funny way of showing it."
"I know. I'm sorry, so sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you."
"Mission accomplished there," she fired back.
"I'm sorry. Can I-just give me a chance to explain." She continued to watch him, stone faced. He took a chance and reached for her hand, only to have her yank it away. "Please?"
Angela was tempted to just turn around and walk out, leave him standing there alone and confused. But she'd never get her answers that way and she needed to know. "You have five minutes."
He nearly sighed in relief. There was still a chance, no matter how slim. "Thank you. It's in my room."
"Seriously," she questioned, her eyebrows approaching her hairline. "Your bedroom?"
"I can bring it out here if you want." She didn't say anything and instead turned around. For a moment Eric was afraid she was going to leave, but she picked up the box and pushed past him, leading the way down the hall.
"Let's go."
Angela entered his room and put the box on his bed. Her eyes scanned the area and she made a mental note of the things that were hers'. She took a seat at the desk and when she looked up she saw Eric leaning against the doorframe, staring at her. She pointed at his clock. "Time's wasting. Three and a half minutes left."
He wanted to memorize every detail, just in case this really was it for them. Even when she was furious with him she was gorgeous. Still, despite her beauty, poise, and yes, her fury, what stood out the most was her eyes. She seemed defeated and he hated himself for causing her any pain at all. "Right." He went to his dresser and reached into the top drawer. Eric didn't have to dig around. He knew exactly where the letter was. He'd lost track of how many times he's read it. "You remember Dean Bolander wanted to see me a few days ago, right?"
"Monday."
"Yeah, Monday." He took a deep breath. "It turns out she wasn't looking for birthday ideas for Feeny. She wanted to show me something."
"What?" He held the paper out to her, but when she moved to take it, he couldn't quite let go. "Eric?"
He surrendered the paper and took a seat on his bed.
Before Angela even got to the meat of the text, she noticed the date. "Are you sure this is the right thing? This is over a year old."
"Keep reading." After a minute he could no longer stand the silence. "I was supposed to get the letter last year so I could arrange summer classes then but something happened and it got lost. It turned up last week so the dean called me into her office so she could tell me in person. If I don't make up the credits this summer I won't graduate next year."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's embarrassing. After everything I did to finally get into college I still screwed it up. Why didn't it occur to me that I needed to make up the credits for the classes I flunked or dropped? Did I think it would be taken care of by magic? How many chances do I need before I learn?" He shook his head, still disgusted with himself. "I thought about how disappointed my parents and Mr. Feeny were going to be, but mostly I worried about what you would think."
"Why?"
"You kept bringing up my grades and were going on about how proud you were of me for working hard and passing." He stared at his shoes, no longer able to look at her. "How could I tell you after all that I was still a failure? I didn't…I didn't want you to think you'd been wasting your time, that being with me wasn't worth the effort. You gotta know you could do better…deserve someone smarter."
Angela knew him well enough by now to know this wasn't just an excuse. He was legitimately worried about what she thought of him.
"I wanted to tell you. I was trying to figure out how. And then you showed up at the coffee house with the rubber duck and called me your superhero." His eyes were still glued to the floor. "I didn't just feel like a failure, but a fraud, too. Certainly no one's superhero."
"And so you called me a distraction and completely shut me out."
"I'm sorry," he said, finally meeting her gaze. "I'm so sorry. I don't know how many times I can say it, but I'm sorry."
"I know. Do me a favor?"
"Anything?"
"Let me decide what is worth it for me. And you'd better trust me to know what the hell it is- or who it is- I deserve. No one makes those choices for me but me."
"I got it." She was actually talking and didn't storm out. "I know." At least not yet. That had to be a good sign. "Okay."
Angela stared at him for several moments before she got up and sat beside him on the bed. "You're such an asshole, you know?"
"Yeah."
"Did you really think I wouldn't understand? That something as minor as summer school would make me run? You obviously don't think much of me if that's the case." She lay back against the mattress. "You should've told me."
"I got scared. Seeing that letter…" He paused, trying to put his thoughts into words. "It felt like everyone who had ever called me dumb was right. I was right back in junior year of high school, in Mr. Feeny's office with Tori."
"Who's Tori?" It wasn't a name he'd mentioned before.
"This girl Feeny got to tutor me in history. I had big plans with my friend Jason to travel through Europe cheap that summer but my parents said with my C+ average there was no way it was happening. So I started studying with Tori. For the first test I got an A- even though I left half the answers blank. Turns out she got ahold of the test before Feeny could grade it and changed my answers. I was pissed and told her not to do that on the next test. I wanted to prove to myself I could do it.
"She said didn't think I was smart enough to pass, but that it was okay because I was charming, funny, and had my looks. I didn't want to take the answers, but if the person tutoring me thought I was dumb what choice did I have?" He looked away. "I think that was the first time I ever really thought I was stupid."
Angela was tempted to track down this Tori person and beat the crap out of her for screwing with his self-esteem like that. "What happened?"
"I cheated but felt so guilty I confessed right away. Then I spent the summer in school relearning the stuff I was too lazy to learn the first time. Gee, I think I sense a pattern here."
"Yeah, you need to learn to not listen to the little demons whether they're in your own head or bitches named Tori."
Eric laughed quietly and laid beside her. She didn't pull away when he reached for her hand like earlier. This time she squeezed back. "Are we okay?"
"No, we're not."
"We're not?"
"You shut me out and wouldn't talk to me. That's not good." She sat up and peered down at him. "We agreed to always talk about things. Nothing works without communication. I've trusted you with some pretty heavy stuff lately. Why couldn't you trust me the same way?"
"I told you, I got scared."
"You don't think I get scared? I do."
"Well, I'm sorry, but normally when stuff like this happens I've only ever had to worry about my parents and Feeny. This is the longest relationship I've ever been in. I should've trusted you to be able to handle it, but I panicked."
Angela didn't say anything. Instead she pulled the box closer, reached inside, and pulled out a dried rose. "Do you remember this?"
He felt bad, because obviously it was special enough for her to save, but he did not remember the flower.
"You made this appear out of thin air the morning after we first ran into each other. You decided to devote your life to magic and asked me to be your lovely assistant. Then you-"
"-and then I offered to put Cory in a box and make him disappear," he finished with a smile.
"You did."
"I can't believe you kept this." He took the flower from her, carefully holding it by the stem. Eric was admiring her preservation skills when, without warning, Angela cupped her hand over the blossom and crushed it. "Why did you do that?"
"Do you see how easily it fell apart?"
"Yeah."
"That's trust. It takes a while to build it up but very little to destroy. This is what happens when we keep things from each other and don't talk. We crumble. You really hurt me. I thought…well, I told you what I thought."
"I didn't mean to. I'd never do anything to intentionally hurt you."
"But that's the thing. The unintentional can hurt just as much, sometimes more."
"What are you saying? Our flower is broken for good?"
"We've lost a few petals, but I don't think it's dead. We just need to do a little pruning."
"Did you talk to Feeny? Because that is a lot of flower metaphors for someone who's not him."
"There are worse things than sounding like Mr. Feeny."
"That's true." He brushed the dried petals off his lap. "I wish I could make a new flower appear like magic for you again, but I'd need advanced warning to buy and hide a flower."
"Careful, they might kick you out of the club for revealing a little insight into the magician's code."
She was joking around. That was a good sign. "So what happens now?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I think we just have to try harder to be open and honest with each other. Without that and trust we're nothing."
"Thanks, for not singling me out, but I think you mean I have to try harder. You've been doing great."
"We both have to remember that whether we keep something from each other out of fear or malicious intent it can still hurt."
"Have I told you how sorry I am?" Eric tentatively put his arm around her shoulders and sighed in relief when her arms wrapped around him. He hugged her tight in return. "Because I am."
"I know." She rested her head against his chest and held him even tighter. There were issues to work on, but Angela wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet.
/
/
"I still can't believe we let ourselves get talked into having the wedding at the Matthews'," George said as he carried two coffee mugs to the table.
"I know, but they offered and were so sincere. Besides, this way we won't have to deal with those who were upset they missed a city hall ceremony."
"Did you call Josephine?"
Lila sighed. Her only child was supportive of her attempts to get out in the dating world again. After all, she didn't have much opportunity while building a demanding career and being a single mother. Curtis was hardly around aside from photos and souvenirs in the mail so she had to do most of the rearing herself. Still, Josephine wasn't thrilled with her mother's impending marriage. "Josie thinks we're rushing into this."
"So she's not coming? Your grandchildren won't be there?"
"Oh, no, they will be here and Josie will support me, but she believes we're no less impulsive than two teenagers who run out and get married. She's always wanted me to be happy though so I know she'll come around once she meets you."
"I suppose it wouldn't be helpful to mention that you make me feel like a teenager."
"Definitely not," she said with a laugh before turning her attention back to her book. "Have you given any thought to what you want the ceremony to be?"
"I assumed it was obvious I wanted a wedding ceremony."
"I know that, but what kind of ceremony?"
"At the risk of sounding like a clueless groom, I must ask: there's more than one type of ceremony?"
Lila rolled her eyes and muttered, "Men. Yes, George there are several types of wedding ceremonies."
"So long as it ends with us pronounced husband and wife I will be happy with whatever you decide."
"I had an idea and if you're uncomfortable with it please just say so, but I thought it would be nice."
"What?"
"I really love the idea of a rose ceremony. The idea is that the couple exchange roses to symbolize the giving and receiving in marriage."
"That is a lovely sentiment."
"I was thinking, and remember you can say no, that it might be nice to use two roses from Lillian's rose bush."
George was still. Even after all these years it was difficult for him to talk about the death of his first wife. Lila understood that. "Are you sure?"
"I am. She will always be important to you and I'd like to think we have her blessing."
"I think we would." He reached across the table for her hand. "Thank you."
/
/
"Is there anything else you haven't told me?"
Eric startled. He and Angela had been sitting together quietly for a while, not saying a word, just being together. "No…well, I mean...maybe. Mostly I was worried about telling you, but that wasn't all." He pulled away slightly, but still kept his arms around her. "You have no idea how many plans this screws up."
"What do you mean?"
"My dad was going to give me a lot more hours at the store. This was going to be my summer to save money. That's not happening. In fact most of the money I make is going to have to go to pay for classes. That means I can forget about a new car. Well, not new, but a better used car…one that I can start with a key instead of a wrench. And your birthday is next month and I wanted to-"
"I don't need an extravagant present."
"Yeah, but I wanted to do something special for you." He'd seen a necklace when he was at the mall a few weeks ago that made him think of her. It wasn't insanely expensive, but with his other bills he'd still have to wait until right before her birthday to afford it. He probably couldn't swing it now. "You deserve it."
She picked little bits of flower petals he'd missed off of his shirt. "Just be with me on my birthday. That will be enough. Is there anything else?"
"Our road trip might have to be canceled. I'm only going to have a few weeks without classes. It's not enough time."
"There are enough cool things to check out close by. We can still do fun things. We'll just have to make them weekend trips."
"Yeah, but we were going to throw a dart at a map and just drive."
"We'll still do it. Just not this summer."
"Really?"
"Really."
"You're amazing." He wanted so badly to kiss her, but didn't know if she had forgiven him enough for that. "I do have some good news."
"What's that?"
"We'll still have our Fridays. I was able to keep them just for us."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently. "Good. I love our Fridays."
"Me, too. Did you want to do anything tonight or…"
"I have things to do."
"Oh, right. Plus, you know, we did just make up. I can't expect our routine to pick up right away."
"No, I was planning on moving my things into Nan's tonight."
"So you're staying there for the summer?"
She nodded. "I wanted the privacy. And when I thought we were over it seemed like the perfect place to escape."
"I'm sorry."
"You don't have to keep apologizing. I know you're sorry."
"I'm going to make it up to you. I promise."
"Make it up to me by never doing this again. I can't promise I'll be as understanding a second time."
"I got it."
"You can help me move though, if you want. Topanga's going to borrow her aunt's car and between that and your car I think I can get everything in one trip."
"Sure. Did you want to go now?"
"No. This might seem a little strange, but-"
"Hey, remember who you're talking to. What's strange?"
"Can we take a nap first? I've slept like crap all week and I'm exhausted."
"Sorry about that. If it makes you feel any better I haven't slept either."
"It actually does a little bit," she answered honestly.
"Thanks." Eric reluctantly let her go so he could move the box to the floor. He was surprised by how full it was. "So, this is where all my shirts have disappeared to. And here I thought it was the laundry monster."
She kicked her shoes off before she slid up the mattress to rest her head on the pillow. "Maybe it was the laundry monster and he just needed a place to stash them."
"Oh, so you were framed?"
"In a world where laundry monsters exist anything is possible."
And if you were wondering, the episode with Eric and Tori the cheating tutor was in season 2's By Hook or by Crook.