⌜ chapter nine ⌟

"You know, I'm glad that you talked to your mom, and she's staying in creative writing for the year, but I really could've done without the story about when you were born." Letty says as Eric walks around their bedroom, getting ready to head out.

"It was better than listening to those squeamy stories about her and my dad." He says. "She can still write them all she wants, but I don't need to hear 'em."

She chuckles as he then walks over to her. "Yeah, I didn't wanna hear that either."

"You're sure you don't wanna come over to my parents' with me?" He asks, resting his hands on the mattress next to where she's laying. "My mom likes it when you hang out with her."

"I know. Next time." She tells him. "I promised Lina that we'd go out tonight, she wants to meet more people in town."

"Okay." He leans down and kisses her before heading out to meet up with his dad.

Letty spends a few more minutes laying there before she gets up and changes so that she can go out with Lina. Then the two brunettes find a bar where they can play pool and have some burgers. They don't go to Reggie's because Lina wants to get away from her brother for awhile.

"So, you're never gonna tell Eric about...any of it?" Lina asks as the younger girl plays her turn.

"I don't plan on it." She shakes her head. "You should've seen his face after I was jumped by Walt and Roy. I can't imagine telling him about everything that's out there. Much less what we do."

"And you don't hunt anymore, right?"

"Not in a long time." She stands up straight. "I was hunting with Hope, Melissa, Miller, Jason, and Dean a couple years ago. Shawn was being a punk, and he purposely pissed me off so that I'd leave him alone. I spent the majority of that Summer on the road with them."

"And you don't want to hunt anymore?" Lina asks as she leans over the table. "You don't like it?"

"I don't like that it's something I know because of my father." She tells her. "I like helping people, saving them."

"But you're done hunting? For good?"

"I saw the way that it ruined my parents, and Jack's parents. I don't want it to ruin me and Eric."

"You two are adorable." Lina teases as she walks over to her.

"Shut up." She nudges her. "I love him, I can't lose him. He means everything to me."

"Yeah. I can't see him mixed up in our crap anyway."

"Exactly." Letty agrees before clearing the table of all the solid balls, then knocks the rest of the striped into pockets as well.

"Show off." Lina grumbles, and she chuckles as she looks over at her.

"What do we have here?" A male voice asks, and both girls are immediately irritated. "And there doesn't seem to be any bodyguards anywhere in sight."

"We don't need bodyguards, Julian." The older of the girls says as she turns to face him. "We can kick your ass just fine without our brothers."

"I wasn't referring to your brothers." He says as he looks between the two brunettes. "Though I am looking to talk to them. Any idea when they might stop acting like bitches and avoiding me?"

"Screw you." Lina says as she shoves her pool stick against his chest. "Now leave us alone."

He lets her walk past him, but then quickly steps in Letty's way when she tries to do the same; she grinds her teeth as she looks up at him. "I want to talk to Alec." He tells her.

"Do I look like a messenger pigeon to you?" She questions, eyebrow quirked.

"I want answers about my father. I'm betting you can understand where I'm coming from."

"My mother bolted almost fourteen years ago. You and I have nothing in common." Letty tells him. "I'm sorry about your father, but let's get something straight. You touch my brother, and no one will find a body when I'm done with you. I suggest you cut your losses and leave my city."

She tries to walk past him, but he grabs her arm, which was a bad move on his part. Julian grunts as she slams him down on the pool table, and his face squishes into the green top as he squirms under her grip. Lina laughs as she looks at them and then shakes her head.

"Never touch a woman without her consent." The younger girl says, and Julian strains to look at her. "I hope I spoke loud enough this time."

"Damn, little lady." Another man chuckles as Letty and Lina make their way toward the door to leave the bar.

—

"Alright, so then what happened?" Eric asks as he walks into his parents' backyard with Letty and Jack following right behind him.

"Well, I just don't get Lucy, you know?" He tells him as he shuts the door behind them. "I call her up, she says she's sick in bed, and chicken soup will make her feel better. I said it probably would, then I went bowling. Now she's mad at me."

"Jackie?" The brunette gets his attention, and he looks at her.

"Yeah?" She reaches up and slaps the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"She wanted you to bring her the chicken soup." Eric tells him.

"Well, why didn't she just say so?" Jack questions.

"She's sick! Why didn't you offer?" Letty asks. "Poor girl's stuck in bed, feels like crap, and she told you that she thought soup would help her feel better."

"Why can't girls just not speak in code?" He counters, and she narrows her dark eyes at him.

"You just have to have better comprehension skills than a fifth grader." She argues, and then Eric sees his neighbor in the other yard.

"Hey, Mr. Feeny, how'd your date go with Kathy?" The teenage boy asks.

"Well, it seemed to be going quite well." Mr. Feeny tells him. "I mean, she even invited me into her home."

"Ooh, go Feeny, go Feeny." Eric sings, and his girlfriend chuckles as she shakes her head at him.

"She read me some of her poetry and asked what I thought...and I told her."

"Uh-oh..." Letty looks down.

"Well, you..." Eric glances at his girlfriend, having heard her comment before she buried her face in the back of his shoulder. "I mean, you told her you loved it, right?"

"I told her it was promising for a beginner." Feeny tells him, and his head drops. "She said she'd been writing for twenty years... And here I am."

Letty's fingers curl around Eric's jacket as she shakes her head, still not looking up at any of them. Her boyfriend pinches the bridge of his nose before looking back at Mr. Feeny. "Okay, um, see, that's not what she wanted to hear." Eric says as his hand then moves to Letty's.

"Well, then, why did she ask?" Feeny questions, and Letty groans into Eric's jacket. "What's wrong with her?"

"He's been chicken souped." Jack says as he turns away from them and goes to sit down on the bench.

"Alan, it's me or that satellite dish!" They hear Mrs. Matthews yelling inside the house. "You make the choice!"

Mr. Matthews walks outside then, and he leans against the wall. "Hey, guys." He waves unenthusiastically, and Eric shakes his head as he wraps his arms around his girlfriend. She's now standing properly as she leans into his side.

"Angela doesn't even get me." Shawn complains as he and Cory walk into the backyard.

"It's like Topanga and me are speaking different languages." His best friend adds.

"Well, one thing's obvious — it's not us, it's them." Mr. Matthews points at Letty as he moves to sit down beside Jack, and she scrunches her nose as she looks up at Eric.

"Please never leave me." The brunette says as she wraps her arms tightly around his middle. "I'll be so screwed." She leans into him, and he hugs her as he kisses her forehead.

"Well, now, wait a minute." Mr. Feeny says, gaining their attention. "Maybe we should all just...think a second."

"No. Shawn and I tried that. It doesn't work." Cory says.

"Maybe you guys should ask the only male here with a girlfriend who isn't mad at him." Letty says, not daring to look away from Eric. "Are they all glaring at me now? They're all taking their anger out on me, aren't they? How did I end up the only girl out here while the boys are all complaining about their relationships?"

"There, there." Eric rubs her back, and she rests her head on his shoulder. "Guys, I've been working on a theory. Men...are idiots." He tells them, and Letty smacks his back. "Ow."

"I told you to stop talking about my boyfriend like that."

"No, no, this isn't about me. This is about men as a whole." He reassures her, and she shakes her head at him.

"What?" Mr. Matthews questions.

"No, wait, there's more." Eric says. "Men...are big idiots."

"Oh..." They all nod.

"So, what do we do?" Cory asks.

"Can I make a suggestion?" Letty asks.

"No!" Shawn picks up a small stick to throw at her, and Eric smacks it away from them before it can hit her.

"M'kay, I'm going inside to find someone a little less hostile to my presence." The brunette stretches up onto her tippy-toes to kiss Eric, and then she goes to talk to Mrs. Matthews instead.

A few nights later, the girls are all at a club to go dancing, and Letty, Hope, and Lina are having a great time just the three of them. Angela and Topanga are both there with some guys from work, and Mrs. Matthews found someone to dance with as well. Even the woman that Mr. Feeny had a date with is there and dancing with someone that she met.

"Ladies?" Eric suddenly gets everyone's attention from up on the stage. "Hello. Since the beginning of time, men..." He points to himself. "...have been idiots. This will make up for it." He walks over to a doorway as the music picks up.

Hot Stuff by Donna Summer starts playing, and then Mr. Matthews makes his way out from behind a curtain. Eric's dancing rather poorly as Cory, Jack, Jason, Shawn, and Mr. Feeny all follow Mr. Matthews out onto the stage. Letty's laughing as she watches Eric, and the other boys' significant others are all cheering as the seven of them are dancing the choreography that they learned specifically for tonight.

None of them have any rhythm, but the gesture's adorable. They bow after they finish, and everyone cheers. Eric jumps off of the stage and makes his way over to Letty. She smiles as he wraps his arms around her waist and lifts her up before spinning her around. She's laughing as he sets her back on her feet and the two of them start dancing together.

"Hey there, hot stuff." The brunette smiles at her boyfriend, and he chuckles as he leans down to kiss her.

Mr. Matthews grabs his wife as Mr. Feeny goes to dance with Kathy. Topanga and Angela are both smiling as Cory and Shawn start dancing with the two of them. Jason spins Hope around, making her laugh as her legs swing; Jack asks Lina to dance with him, and she smiles as she then places her hand in his.

"You know, adorable as you are, you're not very good at this." Letty says as she and Eric continue dancing, and he nods.

"Is that what you think?" He asks before spinning her away from his body and then pulling her back, wrapping his arm around her. "'Cause I think you might be wrong." He says as he reaches up to brush her hair away from her eyes.

"I might be." She agrees as she turns in his arms until her chest is against his.

"It's fun proving you wrong." He smiles. "I don't get to do it often."

"Oh, you've done it more than you might think." The brunette tells him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Dance with me." She smiles as his hands settle on her waist.

"God, I love you." He says as he rests his forehead against hers.

Letty kisses him as she then wraps her arms around his neck. "I love you." She says against his lips, and he dips her. The teenage girl chuckles as she looks up at her boyfriend.