Thank you to those who reviewed, namely pixievix, who has always reviewed and kept coming back!
In referral to le reviews:
pixievix- Sorry it took so long, I tried, really I did! I prefer insinuation to smut, smut can destroy stuff (and I'm lame at writing smut, so my smut would have killed this piece entirely!)
Cait- I'm glad you like, thanx for the compliment!
Fiona12690- Yeah it went too fast for my liking, but I was trying to get it out quickly. Not bad for my first fic, so I know to work on my next one in relation to timing etc!
Kayla- Glad you're enjoying it!
Anigen- I tried!
Now let's get going!
NOTE: This is the longest chapter I've written, so get comfy!
Caitlin's eyes gently fluttered open as light pounded onto her eyelids. She woke to the feeling of skin on skin as her shoulders gently shifted, and she looked blearily around her. Her head rested on Eric's bare shoulder, nose touching his neck and forehead lightly pressed into his cheek. He sat in his seat, legs under the dashboard, arms circling her waist with one hand sitting atop her thighs. The only item of material on either of them was a woollen blanket that Caitlin's mind sleepily registered as one Eric had taken from under his seat and draped across them both. Caitlin's bare legs and feet were stretched across the passenger seat, and she had one arm wrapped around Eric's shoulder. She snuggled into him, welcoming his body heat onto her exposed body as her head began to function.
Where are you? Asked her head. Truck. Her head replied to itself.
Who are you with? Eric.
What happened last night? Went to cabin, got attacked.
And then? Eric punched Mark. Eric nearly crashed car.
Caitlin? Hmmm…
Where are your clothes?
Caitlin's eyes flew open, all senses of sleepiness departing her as the last question hit her in the gut. She looked down at her and Eric's naked entangled bodies, and a blush rose furiously upon her cheeks.
"Oh my god." She whispered, thankful that Eric's regular breathing beneath her continued, and he remained asleep for the moment.
"I slept with Eric Andersen." She whispered. "I had sex." She pulled her head away, resting it upon the cold glass window behind her, and removed her hand from his shoulder. His head dipped to the side where Caitlin's face had previously been supporting it, and Eric's eyes began to open slowly.
In the slight illumination from the sun outside, Eric's features looked almost angelic, and Caitlin felt herself soften, though the shock of the previous night did not leave her. Groggily Eric's eyes focused on her, and she felt him squeeze her waist momentarily.
"Morning sleepy head." She said nervously, while her head continued to repeat the same phrase over and over again.
Oh my god you saw him naked. Another phrase was added to the cycling thought.
And you are both still naked. Caitlin saw her t-shirt crumpled up on the passenger seat, and reached over Eric to grab it. Before she managed to pick it up Eric lifted the hand on her thigh and grasped her wrist, holding it tightly in place. She gasped in shock, and turned her head so they were nose to nose once more. His eyes were fully open, all signs of sleep erased.
"I think we… really need to talk." He stated.
.-.-.
Eric drove Caitlin back to the Lowe Ranch, unsure how to act. After he had said they needed to talk, the two had talked, however Caitlin had cut it short. Embarrassment was her main reason, but she thinly covered it with the relevant fact that the Lowes were probably going nuts with worry over where she was. The event that had seemed so natural and right last night, was soon transforming into an incredibly awkward situation.
Eric chanced glancing over at Caitlin. She had her elbow leaning on the armrest part of the door, and her chin cupped in her hand. Her expression was melancholy and a deep frown line creased above her nose as she gazed at the swiftly passing landscape outside. As Eric pulled through the gate to the Lowe Ranch, he glanced at the clock on his dashboard. 5:49 blinked up at him, and rather than pull up in front of the house Eric cut off the engine by the gate.
"What are you doing?" Asked Caitlin, having come out of her reverie when she noticed that they had stopped. "Why are you stopping here?" Eric sighed and rolled his shoulders, trying to remove some of the stiffness that had gathered.
"Let's say Jim and Dori are asleep, the truck engine would wake them up. You get caught, big trouble. Let's say they're awake, they hear the truck, come outside, we both get caught, big trouble. See where I'm heading with this?" Caitlin nodded.
"Truck makes noise, it'll attract their attention, cause big trouble. Gotcha."
"Precisely." Caitlin peeked at Eric from the corner of her eye. For god's sake look at me! She willed him.
"Well I guess I'd better go." She spoke finally.
"Yeah." He replied. Caitlin opened her mouth to speak once more, but quickly changed her mind. She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the passenger door. As she turned to climb out Eric stopped her.
"Wait." She inhaled sharply, half praying they wouldn't have to talk about anything, half praying that they would so she could understand what had happened between them last night. She turned slowly to face him and noticed with relish that a small blush had begun to colour his cheeks. Caitlin Seeger, able to make Eric blush whenever she pleases, the mightiest power of them all. She bit back the grin she could feel forming.
"You cut me off before, but we need to talk about what happened." The half-smile disappeared from Caitlin's face.
"Do we have to?" She whispered hoarsely.
Eric turned, and before Caitlin had the chance to look away he grabbed her chin gently but firmly and held her head facing him. Suddenly Caitlin became fascinated with a patch of skin on Eric's neck, and her eyes fixed themselves there.
"Caitlin look at me." He commanded. She pulled her head from his grip.
"Get off me." She burst out, suddenly becoming angry. "Who gave you the right to touch me whenever you want?"
"That's…"
"What happened, happened, okay? Can we not make it into a big deal please?" Eric's eyes widened.
"To me it was a big deal!" He spat. "Though it obviously didn't matter to you by the way you're acting."
"It mattered okay! But I don't know why we have to talk or think about it so much, can we just move on please!" Eric was silent, and without looking Caitlin could feel his gaze burning into her.
"Fine." He said shortly. "You better get home." She looked up and Eric turned away.
"Eric…"
"I'll see you at school." Caitlin considered once more trying to talk to him, but decided against it. If he won't speak to me any more, I won't waste my breath on him! She climbed out the cab and shut the door behind her. Without giving Eric the satisfaction of turning back to look at him, she walked up the drive towards the house. After about 15 seconds, she heard the tyres squealing as Eric backed up and drove away.
Caitlin turned her attention to the house. Her head was filled with whirling, dizzying thoughts about the night and the boy that had just drove away, but she forced them into the recesses of her mind. Concentrate on the possibly angry guardians inside that building.
Careful to make as little noise as possible, Caitlin crept around the perimeter of the Lowe Ranch. Cautiously keeping one all constantly on the house, she snuck into the barn and entered Bandit's stall.
"Hey boy." She whispered, stepping up to the horse and stroking his muzzle. "You'll never guess what happened to me."
"That's something I'd like to know too."
Caitlin jumped. She couldn't prevent it. She spun on her heel to see Jim sitting on the floor in the corner of the dark stall behind her. She opened her mouth to speak but found that no words would form. He spoke instead, his voice hard and quiet, causing unease to crawl up Caitlin's spine.
"In the house, now."
She stepped out of the stall silently, knowing that argument would do her no good here, and it was unlikely she was going to escape this encounter unpunished. They walked quietly into the house, where Dori lay on the sofa, a chequered blanket draped over her. Jim gently nudged her arm and blues eyes sprang open instantly. She looked over and seeing Caitlin the fog of tiredness evaporated instantly. Dori sprang to her feet and raced across the room.
"Caitlin! We were so worried! Oh my god!" A horrified breath greeted Caitlin as Dori stepped closer. "What happened to your face?" Caitlin realised then she had overlooked a major problem. She was still covered in bruises and scrapes, notably her obvious bust lip which wasn't quite healed. She glanced across the room at the wall-mirror and couldn't stop the gasp which escaped her own lips at the image reflected there. Aside from the swollen, scabbed lip, she had a bruise on her cheek from the first slap she had received. The cut on her eyebrow from the headbutt she had delivered had healed slightly, but was still obviously there, along with a deeper gouge from falling onto the rock that knocked her out. Dried blood stuck in a dark layer on the side of her face, and with a jolt Caitlin noticed the gouge was still bleeding slightly. Her concentration had been fixed on so many other things she hadn't let herself feel any of her injuries, had ignored the pain she should have been suffering, and as she realised this it all came flooding back in one go. He legs gave way under her as her mauled hands flew to her bruised stomach again, but she didn't fall to the floor as she thought she would. Instead strong arms, Jim's arms, caught her from behind and directed her to the couch.
"Caitlin, you have to tell us what happened." Whispered Dori gently, taking a scratched hand in her own. "Who did this to you?" Everything inside Caitlin screamed for her to tell them the truth, but as she opened her mouth to speak she found she couldn't do it. This was her problem, she would sort it out. It had started with her and Mark, and that was how it would end. She would humiliate him, hopefully get him expelled, but with no real proof that he was her mugger except the teeth marks in her lip (which he would no doubt find a story for, tell people she was into that sort of thing, hell, everyone around thought she was so fucked up they'd believe him straight away!) Caitlin knew she would have to get him some other way, most likely through the photographs.
"It's nothing." She replied finally, avoiding looking into her guardians' eyes. "I had an accident is all." The look of disbelief on Jim's face was evident.
"Caitlin I've spent my life in law enforcement, I know an assault victim when I see one. Who did this?" Caitlin forced herself to look up at the man before her.
"It's nothing." "Caitlin we want to help you!" Shouted Jim, exasperated.
"And I said it's nothing!" She yelled back, her temper begin to emerge from the veil of shock it had been shrouded in for the last few days. "I tripped, I hit my head okay? That's it!"
"Caitlin…" Dori began.
"Look there's nothing to this!" Caitlin sprang to her feet, and the indignant twinge in her stomach made her quickly wish she hadn't. "I'm fine!"
"You're obviously not fine! Look at yourself! You need to tell us what happened so we can take the appropriate action!"
Caitlin's reply to that was… unpleasant at best, and subsequently the argument magnified and Caitlin was grounded.
Dori tried to make Caitlin go to the hospital and get checked out to ensure she had no dangerous injuries, but Caitlin left the house quietly for school. As soon as she got there, she headed directly to the smallest developing lab which was for personal use rather than classes if the bigger room was in use. She mixed her chemicals and chose pictures to develop. Practise had made her quick, efficient and talented, and in no time the photos were hanging up to dry. She locked the room before she left, something which was common and wouldn't be questioned, as many people left things to develop in the room and didn't want anyone to accidentally ruin their pictures by wandering in. Instead of going to first period Caitlin went to see the school nurse who dressed her injuries. When asked how it had happened, Caitlin span the only believable lie she could come up with on the spur of the moment.
"Bandit threw me off. Landed on a rocky area. Hurts like hell."
"Well it would." Fussed the nurse, dabbing at the gouge on Caitlin's head with an antiseptic wipe before placing a large sticky-dressing over the wound. She put a butterfly stitch on the cut on her eyebrow and told her not to touch the bruise or lip and they would heal quickly. Caitlin went to her classes, ignoring the looks she was receiving from most of the student body and all her teachers. At lunch break she hunted down her partner in crime.
"Eric!" He had his back to her and was walking down the corridor towards the lunch hall. He turned at her shout and stopped. She caught up with him, noticing the dark, bloody area on his head where he had been hit with the baseball bat and couldn't help feel responsible.
"How you feeling?" He asked, looking with concern at the bandage on her forehead.
"I'm fine, just a little bruised." She smiled reassuringly. "Nothing that won't heal."
"Glad to hear it."
"About this morning…" Eric cut her off before Caitlin could complete the sentence.
"Let's just say we had a good time and leave it at that okay?" Caitlin nodded, glad she didn't have to talk about the argument or incident the argument had related to. Suddenly she grinned.
"You want to see the pictures?" The blank non-expression on Eric's face merged into one of amusement.
"Hell those things might make this stupid escapade worth it." Eric followed Caitlin into the developing room and watched as she unlocked the smaller room. She held the door for him and he entered, ducking his head to avoid hitting the pictures pegged to the line in the room. Caitlin unpegged a selection, first checking they were dry, and laid them on the bench beside Eric. He choked back a laugh as he looked at the perfect portraits of Mark and Dan with their multicoloured prize between them.
"These are great." He commented.
"Thanks." Replied Caitlin, drying some other pictures on the bench opposite. Eric watched her work, and any resentment or anger because of their (many) arguments began to melt away. He felt slightly annoyed at himself for being so weak around her, but the more he watched her, the more he remembered what it felt like to have her pressed against his skin, his hands entangled in her hair.
"You owe me a favour you know." Eric smiled at her, and Caitlin chose to be engrossed in her task with the photos.
"Oh yeah? Since when?" She replied casually. He stepped up behind her, and she repressed the shudder which threatened to thread its way down her spine as she felt Eric's breathing on her neck.
"For taking you up to the cabin. We decided that was a favour from me to you. And seeing how it turned out I think you definitely owe me." Caitlin forced herself to straighten up and turned to stare Eric down.
"Sleeping with you wasn't a good enough pay-back?" She replied, completely straight-faced.
"You can give me a better payment than that." He countered, expression equally blank. Caitlin did a double-take.
"What? Was it not good enough for you?" She sneered.
"No, it was good." Caitlin tried to stop herself, but felt her cheeks burn at his comment. She was temporarily glad of the red-light. "But I can think of something better." Caitlin leant back against the desk behind her.
"What's that?" Eric shoved a hand in one of his trouser pockets and stepped closer, his face looking towards the floor. Slowly he looked up, scanning her body from the feet, up to her face where he stopped.
"Be my girlfriend." Caitlin froze. She locked eyes with Eric, trying to figure out whether or not he meant it. She inhaled sharply when she saw the look of complete seriousness in his eyes.
"Don't make jokes like that." She half-laughed, hitting him softly on the arm.
"It wasn't a joke." He replied. He was close to her now, too close. Caitlin's back rested on the table. If it hadn't she would probably have backed even further away, but as it stood she was trapped.
"I… I don't think I'd make a very good girlfriend." She stuttered.
"You never know until you try." Eric's response was swift and cool, as if he had anticipated her reaction. He closed the gap between them, only an inch between their bodies. Caitlin's breathing became rapid again, and she closed her eyes as if in refusal of what was happening. She felt Eric's lips brush over her cheek until his breathing was in her ear.
"Think it over." He whispered. Caitlin opened her eyes quickly as he stepped back. He turned to go, hands still in his pockets and Caitlin grabbed one of his arms. He looked over his shoulder and before he had a chance to turn around Caitlin's lips were on his. The kiss was feather-light and short, Eric drawing back first to look at Caitlin with shocked eyes. He turned around fully so he was facing her once more.
"Was that a yes?" He asked. "Because if that was a yes I really like that word." Caitlin smiled and draped her arms around his shoulders. Instinctively his hands went to her waist.
"That was a yes." She conceded. "But on one condition." A look of distrust appeared in Eric's eyes.
"And what's that?" Caitlin tried her damndest to look sweet and worth the task she was setting him.
"Go and make sure Mark and Dan are nowhere near the photocopier so I can make some flyers of the pictures." She smiled sweetly at the annoyed look on Eric's face. After a moment Eric sighed.
"Okay."
.-.-.
The machine beeped loudly, signalling that it had completed its task. Caitlin collected the bundle of papers, some with different images, all giving out the same message. She grabbed the box of tacks she had found in the supply closet from the top of the photocopier and picked up the brown envelope containing the original photographs. Before leaving the room Caitlin tacked the first flyer to the wall. She walked out and began to put the flyers into lockers, sliding them through the slots on the front. She tacked several to the walls, and just for good measure, scattered a few on the floor. Students in the corridors looked at her curiously and as soon as she had passed by, went to look at the flyers. She heard laughter and gasps echoing down the corridors several times that day. She passed the lunch-hall, smiling at her boyfriend who was stationed at the doors watching Dan and Mark eat. Eventually, she had no flyers left, and deposited the empty tack box into one of the trashcans. With a grin she headed back to the lunch-hall and concealed her laughter as she spied Mr Watson tearing a flyer from the wall and heading in the direction of the principal's office.
Caitlin grabbed Eric's hand as she passed the lunch-hall doors, and he walked away with her.
"Done all of them?" He asked quietly. She spun around, grinning like a Cheshire cat, and kissed Eric softly on the lips. Eric's grin matched hers as she pulled away. "Going by the previous rule… that meant yes right?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Sang Caitlin. The smile dropped from her lips and she squeezed Eric's hand. "I'm sorry I got you hit on the head with a baseball bat."
"I'm over it." He replied gently.
"Will Mark Jefferson and Daniel Jones please report to the Principal's office immediately." The secretary's voice barked the command over the P/A system, and a small, victorious smile slipped onto Caitlin's lips. Eric squeezed her hand and her smile turned into a grin that she directed over to him. Caitlin glanced and saw Griffen approaching, she pulled her hand from Eric's grip and waved to her cousin. He jogged over to them, holding one of the flyers in his hand and gazing at it in disbelief.
"This is what you were doing last night?" He waved the flyer in her face. "I bet you're feeling smug, revenge is sweet huh?" She nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh yeah."
"Well on behalf of anyone who's ever met those jerks, well done!" Caitlin laughed as Griffen stuck his hand towards her. She took it in her own and shook it. Griffen looked at Caitlin for a moment, his face drawing into a puzzled frown. "Hey, you developed these at school today right?" Caitlin nodded in confirmation. "And you took these last night?" Caitlin nodded again. "There were a few photos there, I'll grant you that." Said Griffen. "But taking them couldn't have lasted you all night, and if you developed them at school today… I mean, how did that take all night?" Eric grinned at Caitlin, a real, healthy, happy grin and she smiled cheekily at him in return.
"It didn't." She conceded. Eric stepped closer to Caitlin.
"Then what…" Griffen cut off as Eric leant in and gently kissed her, their lips contently merging once more. Griffen slowly realised what this action was symbolising, and his cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment. "Oh." He muttered, trying desperately to look at anything except his best friend and his second cousin kissing openly in the school corridor. "You two are… Oh." He clasped his hands together in front of him and pointed two steepled fingers towards them. "I'll just be… bye!" Griffen walked swiftly past them, and turned into the guys' bathroom. He grasped the sink and looked at the mirror in front of him. As his mind reeled with shock, he asked his reflection a question.
"When did that happen?"
THE END
Thanks to all those who have and will read my work! Reading this back I'm not particularly impressed with it, however it was my first long fic, so I suppose it was a learning experience for next time! It just all went too quickly for me. Never mind, I'll shut up and get writing the next one!
p.s. Just because it's finished, doesn't give you any excuse not to review!
RIP
Salus Quod Ultionis
01-05-05 - 03-30-05