Fan Fiction ❯ Looking in a Mirror ❯ Chapter sixteen ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter Sixteen-

The next morning Eric woke up late and barely made it to his first hour class on time. Due to this he didn't have any time to talk to Devan or tell him where he was the day before. He sat in his first hour class, only paying half attention to the teacher as he talked about some sort of math formula Eric already knew, due to worrying about how mad Devan might be at him.

When the bell rang Eric slowly packed up his stuff and headed out of the door to go to his next class. But on the other side of the door he found Madelyn standing there with a grin on her face. "Wow, you're a junior in Calculus! That's impressive. Can I carry your books for you?!" she said, grabbing his books out of his arms and heading off down the hall before Eric could say anything.

Eric stared at her back for a moment before taking off down the hallway after her. "Wait a sec, why are you carrying my books. Br…bring those back here!"

She turned around, cautiously walking backwards as she looked at him. She was smiling brightly again, her green eyes twinkling in the hall light. "I'd only expect a jock to be able to lift this much weight," she said, referring to how much his books weigh.

Eric caught up to her, smiling a little. "Yeah, they do way a lot, but I manage ok, would you mind giving them back to me now?" he asked, trying to get his books back.

"Yes, actually I would. I want to carry them!" she said moving so he couldn't reach them. He sighed but was still smiling. "You're a stubborn girl aren't you?"

"My parents and brother always say so!" she agreed, heading up the stairs where she had Spanish I next and she knew that Eric had Honors Spanish IV.

*~*~*

Devan was walking to Pre-Cal after first hour, wondering where Eric had been since last night when he didn't show up to meet him when he saw Eric in the hallway. He was walking with some girl that looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place her. He was smiling and looked almost as though he was having fun.

Devan stopped for a moment, before the kid behind him ran into his back, and watched as he tried to take something out of her hands. His books. She was carrying his books. And he looked. Well he looked the way he always looked when he was around Devan.

Devan felt jealousy feel his stomach. How could someone else make him look like that? How could some girl make him smile like that? He'd never seen him smile like that when he wasn't around him. He'd never looked like that before, not when he'd seen him in the hallway before the forensic's tournament when they met. Never. Not unless he was wit him.

Then his mind placed the girl as they started to go up the stairs. But she couldn't be. Eric wouldn't be hanging out with...no, he though as he continued on to his class, shaking his head, but he couldn't get the idea to go away.

*~*~*

After having Madelyn show up after every class, he'd finally gotten away from her after AP Chemistry when he had lunch and she had Biology. He took a seat at a table to wait for Devan since he had told him he would be late that day due to something with the winter play.

As he sat there, eating his sandwich Derek sat down next to him. "Hey," he said, a cocky smile in place on his face.

Eric glanced over at him and immediately felt uncomfortable, but he didn't want to be rude so he just turned his gaze back to his sandwich and continued to eat, hoping Devan would show up soon, or that Derek would just leave by himself.

Derek didn't plan on leaving until he'd asked this kid one question that would hopefully end in a desirable way for him. "I just wanted to ask you one question, Erin."

Eric looked up, "Eric," he said softly. You would think if the name rhymed with your own, you'd be able to remember it without much effort, he though glancing back at his sandwich. "What do you want to ask?" he said, feeling this wouldn't end well.

"Well, I just wanted to know why Devan liked you so much," Derek asked, his smile turning into a small smirk.

"Um…don't you…ah…mean likes?" Eric asked.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, Why Devan likes you some much," he said nodding.

Eric sat there for a moment, thinking over the question. Why does Devan like me so much? He asked himself, trying to come up with an answer.

When he didn't answer for some time Derek asked, "Are you having problems?"

Eric shook his head, "No, it's just…hard to explain."

Derek nodded, "Right, I'm sure it is." He stood up, grinning, and left the table with out another word. His work here was done for now.

Eric sat at the lunch table by himself still pondering over the question Derek had posed. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to come up with and answer.

*~*~*

Devan walked up to where Eric was sitting, rubbing his face, which was covered in stage makeup that refused to come off no matter how much or hard he rubbed. "Why won't this come off? Water soluble, yeah right," muttered, rubbing more. He was also wearing his costume, which made him look strange compared to the other students, who were wearing their uniforms.

As he sat down, still preoccupied by his makeup, he noticed that Eric was unusually quiet, even for Eric. "What wrong?" Devan asked, giving up on trying to get the makeup to come off.

Eric looked up at him, "Why do you like me so much?"

"Huh?" Devan asked, "Why are you asking?"

"I was just wondering. So, uh…why do you like me so much?" Eric asked again.

"Well…" Devan said, thinking. He finally said, "It's hard to explain."

Eric blinked, thinking. Ah, that's what I though! Could he not know why he likes me so much? Maybe he really doesn't like me as much as I think!

Devan had a question of his own. "So, I saw you with a girl in the hallway today. Who is she?" He asked, eating some of his lunch.

"Madelyn?" he asked, throw by his question, not ready for it.

"Is that her name?" he asked.

"Yeah," Eric replied, not sure why he cared.

"And where were you last night? I was waiting for you," Devan said, hoping the answer wasn't going to be what he though it would be.

"I…ah…ended up somewhere with Madelyn," Eric replied, "I just kind of ended up going with her and I didn't mean to stay as long as I did."

"You went out with some girl and didn't tell me?" he asked, a little hurt and a little jealous.

"Well, I didn't mean not to tell you, she kind of dragged me with her," Eric tried to explain it him.

"And you weren't strong enough to stop her?" Devan asked.

"That's not it. She made me feel bad when I said I didn't want to go," he said, still trying to explain. "And why does it matter if I go out with other people?!" he asked, exasperated by how Devan was acting, it wasn't as though he'd made out with her or anything.

"What?" Devan asked, taking the wording of Eric's question a little differently then he'd meant it.

"No, wait, I didn't..." Eric tried to correct the mistake in how he'd worded that, but Devan cut him off.

"Fine, if you want to go out with other people, then be my guest," he said without really thinking it threw.

Eric blinked, "Fine, but I think that I shouldn't...go out with you anymore more then." He sounded sad, his voice quiet.

Devan was about to say something when Eric stood up and threw his trash away, heading to honors English 11, trying not to look as though anything had happened, but failing.

*~*~*

Devan sat at the table staring after Eric, not able to do much of anything. Did...did that mean...did they really...what had he done?

He slowly got up from the table, throwing his trash away, and wondering where this left him now...