⌜ chapter nine ⌟

"You're sure you're okay with this?" Letty asks as she looks back at Hope.

"With you two going out and leaving me alone in the motel room?" She raises her eyebrows as she looks between her two friends. "Get out. Now."

"I think someone wants to be alone." Jason tugs on Letty's sleeve. "Come on. You and I are gonna go have some fun...and hustle drunk dumbasses out of some easy money."

"Fine, but I'm wearing your jacket, and you're my boyfriend if I get hit on by any creeps in the places that you force me to go."

He nods as he watches her grab his jean jacket from the air mattress. "Yeah, alright. Hurry up, would you?" He says, and she flips him off as she then walks past him.

Hope chuckles as she watches them leave. "Have fun!" She waves, not at all sad to see them go for the night. She's been wanting a night to herself.

It's not long before the pair are sitting on the subway, impatiently waiting for their exit so they can get off. The train stops, and people start to leave, but it's not where they're going. Soon after, a familiar voice catches their attention.

"Okay, come on. Let's do it people, we've got parties to go to." Shawn says as he claps, watching the other passengers leave the car.

"What's your rush, Shawn? It's only ten-thirty." Topanga says as she stands beside her boyfriend, looking at his best friend. "We have plenty of time before midnight."

"Yeah, and, uh, Eric, you'll be kissing Rebecca in front of all Philly just like you wanted." Cory adds, and Jason looks at Letty as she looks down at her hands.

"In front of all of Philly?" The woman beside him questions.

"You know, I don't know where he gets this kind of stuff." Eric says as he looks up at the blonde.

"So, your brother thinks of me as just a trophy?" She looks at Cory as Eric shakes his head, telling him to say no.

"Actually, he's only using you to try and get over his ex." The younger Matthews boy tells her.

"Cory!" Eric yells.

"Wha— How do you lie to a supermodel?" He defends. "I mean, those lips can see right through you."

And then the model leaves just before the doors can close.

"This really is my luck." Letty says as she looks up at Jason. "I finally let you drag me out of the motel, and we end up on a subway car with him and his date."

"We'll have fun tonight, and you can try to for—"

The train suddenly skids as the lights shut off, and Jason's arm wraps around Letty's waist instinctively as his grip on the handrail tightens. They come to stop and all of the passengers are jerked again as the lights come back on.

"What did you do?" Eric questions as he looks up at his younger brother from where he landed on the ground.

"Nothing." Cory quickly defends.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your—" Static cuts off the intercom. "We seem to be experiencing—"

"What did he say?" Topanga asks, looking at the boy closest to the intercom.

"He said— Letty." Eric's eyes lock on her as Jason's making sure that she's okay.

"What?" Shawn turns as Letty and Jason look over at them.

"Hi, Scarlett." The younger girl with the dirty-blonde hair smiles at them. "What are you guys doing here? Are you on your way to the party too?"

"Uh..." Letty shakes her head as she tears her gaze from Eric. "I don't know anything about a party. We were just gonna head down town and see what kind of trouble we could find."

"What better way to spend New Years?" Jason smirks. "Trouble's fun."

"You look dressed for a party. You should come with us after the train is running again." Topanga tells her.

"You look dressed for a date." Cory interjects. "Are you two on a date?"

"Ew, no." Letty says.

"Hey! You could do worse." Jason says, and she looks up at him with a quirked eyebrow. "Keep it up, and I'm taking my jacket back."

"Asshole." The brunette mutters as she grabs the ends of his jacket and tightens it around herself.

"Ignore him." Topanga says as she shoots her boyfriend a look. "You look really pretty, Scarlett."

"Thank you." The older girl offers her a small smile. "I let Hope use the curling iron."

"Do you wanna come with us?" She asks, and Letty then looks at Eric, who's now staring at the floor beneath his feet.

"Thanks, Topanga, but I think we'll just stick with our own plans." She tells her. "You guys have fun." She then goes to find somewhere to sit.

Jason sits down beside her and rests his head against the wall. They sit in silence for a few minutes before a male voice comes over the intercom again.

"Attention passengers, the—" Static. "—is still not functioning. Do not, under any circumstances—" Static. "—which may result in death or dismemberment."

"Now what did he say?" Cory asks as he looks at his older brother.

"He said, Cory, go out and lick the third rail." Eric says as he looks at him with a furrowed brow.

"Hey, buck up, buckers." Topanga gets back to feet and walks over to the brothers. "It's probably just a teeny electrical problem. And look on the bright side, the city is saving on electricity."

"What is it with you tonight, Topanga?" Cory questions as he looks at his girlfriend. "Did you swallow Sandy Duncan?"

"That's it, Cory Matthews, I am sick of being the rah-rah girl!" She tells him. "You try being the positive one all the time and using words like buckers!"

"God, that sounds exhausting." Letty mutters.

"I have demons, so there!" The younger girl smiles as she looks away from Cory. "Wow. What a rush."

"Remember when I said we need new friends?" Jason asks as he looks at Letty.

"New ones?" She echoes. "I can't even keep my old ones."

"There, there." He pats her leg, and she takes a deep breath as she rests her head on his shoulder.

Shawn comes back to their car not long after with a run-down of what's going on in the other cars: car five has parochial school girls who ditched their nun, car two has a woman who just went into labor, and the car connected to theirs has a bunch of caterers with fancy foods.

"So, Scarlett," Topanga walks over and sits down across from her and Jason. "If you're not going to a party, what were you guys planning to do?"

"Find a place to get some greasy food and play some pool, maybe darts." The older girl tells her with a shrug.

"Maybe a nice poker game to swindle a few drun— Ow, what the hell?" Jason glares at Letty as he rubs his side where she elbowed him.

"What?" Topanga's eyebrows furrow as she looks between the two of them.

"Card games are fun." Letty says with an innocent smile. "We were just gonna get food and find some kind of game to kill time until midnight."

"That sounds suspiciously like a date." Cory says as he walks over to them.

"What, are you the fun police?" Jason questions as he looks up at him. "Friends can hang out, can't they? I don't accuse you of dating Shawn every time I see you two down at Chubbie's."

"I don't get all dolled up and wear Shawn's clothes when we hang out."

"Dolled up?" He echoes. "Okay, Grandma."

"Scarlett looks real nice, and you smell ready for a date."

"I what?" Jason shakes his head. "It's called a shower, kid. I spent all day at work, got gross and sweaty, took a shower, and changed so I could hang out with a friend on New Years. Who gives a shit if we look decent to blow off some steam for a night?"

"Then where's Hope, huh?" Cory questions. "Why are you two out alone?"

"You ever spent time around a pregnant girl, Cor?" He asks. "They're tired, moody, hungry, sore, a couple hundred other adjectives. She wanted to spend the night alone. Now leave us alone."

The younger boy then goes and starts arguing with his brother because Eric's in a bad mood. A few minutes later, Jason decides to go and see what Shawn's doing in the other cars since they have nothing better to do anyway; he might as well see how the woman who's giving birth is doing...or see how old the parochial girls are.

Eric and Cory end up sitting separately from each other, and Topanga sits down next to Letty where Jason had been. The two girls aren't too far from the Matthews brothers.

"You're not on a date with Jason, are you?" Topanga asks, and the older girl shakes her head.

"No, we're just hanging out like we always do." She tells her. "He's been wanting to have some fun because his life is mostly school and work. And Hope didn't come because she's been having a hard time sleeping lately — pregnancy symptoms or something, I don't really know. I just know she wanted to watch tv and then get some rest."

"And the way you're dressed?"

"I'm wearing jeans and a band-t."

"And Jason's jean jacket." She says as she tugs on the sleeve.

"When girls wear tight jeans, a bit of makeup, and do their hair...some guys tend to think it's an open invitation to harass the girl." Letty says as she looks at the blonde. "But if I wear Jason's jacket and he pretends to be my boyfriend when guys are harassing me, they tend to listen faster than if I just say no. I guess the threat of getting punched is more convincing to them than me telling them to shove off just because I said so. Jason's my family, not my date."

"Well, that's good."

"Why is that good?" The brunette asks. "Why is Cory interrogating us?"

"Because...if you and Eric both came out with dates tonight, then that could mean that it's really over. And none of us think it should be." Topanga tells her. "I don't think either of you do either."

"I'm not dating Jason or anyone else." Letty says. "But Eric doesn't even want to talk to me lately, so I think everyone needs to let the past be the past." She then gets up and leaves the car that they've been stuck in for far too long.

The night ends up with Eric and Letty sitting alone on opposite ends of the car as the other passengers participate in a party that Cory somehow manages to put together. One of the passengers calls everyone's attention, then he counts down the new year. Everyone cheers and shouts as they dance and ring in the new year together.

Letty chuckles when she sees Jason kiss a girl around their age; she's a pretty, blonde in a school uniform, a parochial girl. The brunette shakes her head as she looks around, then sees Cory and Topanga as they kiss as well. Shawn seems to have found someone as well.

The teenager takes a deep breath as she then looks up at the ceiling, resting her head against the wall behind her. She's entirely unaware of the light brown eyes that are on her as she reaches up and wipes a tear from her cheek. Letty then rubs her hands on her jeans as she looks out the window, though she can't see anything because it's pitch black outside the car.

In the reflection, she sees someone walk up beside her, and her dark eyes widen as she turns to look up at Eric. He holds his hand out toward the upset brunette, and her fingers curl around his as she gets to her feet.

"Happy New Year, Letty." He says as he pulls her into a hug, and she takes a deep breath as she fights back tears. Her arms wind around his middle as he holds her against him.

"Happy New Year, Eric." She says, squeezing her eyes shut as she then buries her face in his shoulder.