twenty-four


⌜ chapter twenty-four ⌟






"Eric, this college where you're going for an interview..." His mom looks at him after he walks down the stairs into the kitchen.

"What, Beach State?"

"Yeah." His dad looks up. "This is, like, a real college, right? Uh, 'cause we're looking over this letter you got from the admissions office, and there are an awful lot of typos in it."

"It's a real school." Letty says as she stands up and walks over to where Eric's leaning against the island counter. "It's not the best, but it's real."

"Nobody likes a judger." Eric says as he wraps his arms around her. "Isn't that right, Shawn?" He asks when the younger boy walks into the house from the backyard.

"Huh?" Shawn looks between the two of them as Letty slaps the back of her boyfriend's head.

"Has anybody seen Topanga yet?" Cory asks as he walks in from the living room.

"No, and she better hurry, man, because if we get there too late, the tide comes in, and then we can't park on campus."

Letty shakes her head. "Go pack up the rest of the car." She says as she pulls away from Eric.

"Yes, ma'am." Her boyfriend pecks her cheek before leaving the house with Shawn.

"It makes me feel better to know that she's going with them." Mr. Matthews says, looking at his wife, and the teenager smiles. She then picks up the duffle that Eric left on the floor and heads out after the boys.

"Ah, Miss Black?" Feeny gets her attention when she walks into the backyard, and she turns to look at him. "You're chaperoning the boys on this trip, am I correct?"

"Oh, yeah." She nods.

"Good." He says, and she laughs before heading out to the car.

"Scarlett, I can't pack this." Shawn says as she walks over to him, and she reaches out to stroke his hair.

"There, there, sweet child. I'll handle it." She says, and he swats her hand away from him.

He goes to talk to Cory while she packs all of their stuff into the car. Just as she's finishing up and shutting the trunk, Eric runs up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist before lifting her off of her feet and spinning her around. A short giggle bubbles up in her throat as he sets her back down, and she turns to face him.

"Remind me again why we're taking our brothers." He says as she wraps her arms around his neck, and his hands move to her waist.

"Alec says it's because I'm a pushover and you're whipped." She tells him, and he nods.

"Sounds about right." He then leans down and kisses her.

"Get your hands off my sister!" Shawn yells and then a foam football hits Eric's back.

Eric stands up straight and looks down at her. "Can we leave them here?" He asks, and she shakes her head, though she's clearly amused.

"Come on, we got a bit of a drive ahead of us." She says, and he nods.

"Yeah, alright." He sighs, and they all pile into the car.

After checking into a motel, Eric and Letty find someone to show them around campus. It's fun, but not really educational. There's been water-skiing, snorkeling, and volleyball on the beach.

"So?" Letty looks up at Eric after their guide leads them into the rec room and leaves to go and make out with someone.

"Well, it's been a great date day." He says, and she offers him a small smile.

"Come sit with me."

"There's only one open spot." He tells her, and she nods, telling him that she can see that as she leads him over to the couch. "God, I love you."

The brunette chuckles as she then sits sideways across his lap. "Alright, tell me what you're thinking." She says as his arms circle around her. "And I mean about the school, you can go back to flirting later." She tells him, and he smirks as he looks up at her.

"I mean, I knew that this was a party school, but I really did think that more happened besides just partying." He says, and she nods. "There's gotta be more to a school than just the beach. You know, after spending a year in the real world, I know you gotta come out of this place with more than just a good tan."

"So, we're thinking that Beach State isn't the place for you after all?" She asks, and he shrugs.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Well, the trip's not over yet." Letty says as she rests her hand on the side of his face. "We'll keep lookin' around."

"Can I go back to flirting now?" He asks, and she smiles as he leans forward and presses his lips against hers. "Maybe I'll just follow you to whatever school you go to."

"I don't know where I'm going yet." She says before kissing him again.

"I'm just gonna follow you." He says when she rests her forehead against his. "I'll miss you too much if we go to different schools."

"That's adorable, but we agreed that we're not choosing our schools based on each other." She says as she looks at him. "Let's go find the boys and get dinner, huh?" She suggests, and he nods.

They head back to the motel, and Eric goes to the boys' room while Letty goes to get a light sweater from hers and Eric's. She's walking out of their room when she sees a girl walk out of the boys'. The brunette shakes her head, assuming that she's someone that Shawn met, and starts toward the door that the other girl left cracked open.

"You don't have to answer to me, Cor." Eric says, and Letty's footsteps falter because she's surprised by the implication.

"Did you know Topanga lied to me?" His younger brother asks.

"Then she had this coming." He says sarcastically. "And that girl is beautiful, and she's here, and no one's ever gonna know about it. Except for her and you."

"You know, Eric, we had this whole weekend planned out, okay? Why didn't Topanga want to come with me?" He questions.

"And by tomorrow that girl will be gone, and so will sixteen years of a great relationship with somebody you really care about. Somebody you love, somebody who's worth waiting for." Eric continues. "Listen to me, Cory, throughout your life, there's going to be a lot of opportunities that come up, and they're gonna seem great, and they're gonna seem wonderful, and they're gonna seem like they'll make your life a heck of a lot easier, but you have to walk away. And, you know, at times, it's going to be really difficult to do that, but you have to. Because you deserve better." He tells his younger brother. "But, hey, you know something? It's your life, Cor. It's your decision. You know what's best for you."

"Have there been those times for you?" Cory asks. "Girls who came onto you even though you're with Scarlett?"

"Yeah, all the time. Especially while I was in high school." He says. "Sometimes there were girls who flirted with me because I'm with Letty."

"But you never..."

"What? Took them up on their offer?" He questions. "No, 'cause that'd be cheating. And I love Letty, and I respect her. And I would never, ever do anything to hurt her."

Scarlett walks back over to the car to wait for Eric, and she's leaning against the driver's side door when he walks over. "Where are the boys?" She asks as she looks up at him.

"Cory went to get Shawn." He tells her, and she nods.

"So... There were girls who wanted to be with you because you were with me?" She asks, and he sighs. "Girls who tried besides that Torie chick?"

"I didn't mean for you to hear that." He shakes his head.

"No, no, no, tell me somethin'. If taking those opportunities would've felt great and wonderful, and been so easy, then why'd you choose not to?"

"Because all of the ups and downs of being in a real relationship with you is better than feeling good for five minutes. Especially when I know how miserable I'd be after." He tells her. "You're too important to me to throw this away for something that'll never be anywhere near as good."

"So, you want real happiness that'll last a long time. Not an easy opportunity." She says, and he nods. "Then, Eric, what the hell are we doing at Beach State? You should be going to Pennbrook like I know you want to."

"I'm scared." He admits, and she nods.

"I know. But you were scared to retake the S.A.T.s too. And you did that, and you did better." She reminds him. "Sometimes fear is exactly what we need to feel to make us do the thing that scares us. It's usually worth it in the end."

"And if I don't get in?"

"Then at least you'll know. And then we can find you somewhere else to go. Somewhere that'll still be better for you than this place." Letty says, and he smiles as he leans down to kiss her.



"Well, here it is — my letter from Pennbrook." Eric says as he holds up an envelope. Everyone's in the kitchen waiting to hear if he got in. "I can't. I can't. Here, you do it." He passes it to Letty.

"Okay. Breathe, babe." The brunette tells him as she tears the back of the envelope open. She opens the letter and reads what it has to say. "Oh, no."

"What?" He questions as she takes a step back, still looking at the letter. "What, what, what?"

"Now, Eric." Mr. Feeny walks over to them. "That Dean Bolander is a tough cookie." He tells him as Cory walks over and starts reading his brother's letter over her shoulder.

"How do you know her?" Eric asks him.

"She's been after me for years." He waves the question off like it's nothing.

"This just keeps getting worse." Cory mumbles, pulling his older brother's attention back to him and the brunette.

"Letty!" Eric yells suddenly as he looks back at his girlfriend. "What does it say?"

"Well, baby, I'm not gonna lie to you... It says that I'm stuck with you for at least four more years, 'cause we're both going to Pennbrook." She smiles as his eyes widen.

"I'm in?" He asks, and she nods.

"They're charging an arm and a leg, and they want us there a week before Labor Day for orientation." She tells him. "I told you you could do it."

He jumps up and down before hugging both of his parents, and then he turns toward his former teacher. "Thank you, Mr. Feeny. Oh, thank you for everything." He says with a smile.

"Oh, it's what I do." The older man says, smiling as they around at the others.

"How long before all of what you said sinks in?" Cory asks as he looks at Letty.

"He's excited. Give him a minute." She tells the younger boy.

Eric suddenly turns back around to look at his girlfriend. "You said we. You said we're both going to Pennbrook." He says, and she nods.

"I got my acceptance letter a few days ago, and I talked over all my options with Alec last night. I decided on Pennbrook for multiple reasons." Letty says, and he rushes over and hugs her. The brunette laughs as he picks her up and spins her around.

"Oh, this is gonna be amazing!"





⌜ author's note ⌟


book five is up. it's called...
Past, Present, Future

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