I walked into my house. Ah, I miss home. I knew from the scent of roses and cologne that he was here. I followed the smell to find him. His tall and built fame, blond graying hair and the same blue eyes. His arms were around a ginger and a brunette.

"Bonjour Eric."

"Bonjour father."

"You and your son speak French?" The brunette asked.

The ginger, obviously drunk, giggled. "Ooh la la."

"Yes, we speak French for it is one of the most romantic languages. Ooh la la." My father said in a thick, low accent that makes woman go wild.

"Now if you could excuse me ladies, but I must talk with my son."

"Okay Charlie!" They said, giggling.

My father and I walked into the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of wine the held it to me.

"You want some?"

"Dad, I'm 17. I can't drink."

"Right, right." He took a sip of the wine. "So what brings you to Las Vegas, son?"

"I just want to tell you that I'm enrolled to a school."

"What? Are you crazy? You are surrounded by romance in high school, it will be the cause of your early death."

"It's only high school, Dad."

"Why do you suddenly want to go to school. Long time ago I asked and you laughed at the suggestion."

"I just think I need a good education."

"You need no education! Love is your only education, your life and identity."

"Just let me have a normal life for just this once."

He thought about it, taking a big gulp of wine. "Fine, but give me your gun. I don't want you to snap and start shooting everyone in sight."

"Yeah... about that... I let someone hold it for me."

"You what!" My father smashed the glass on the floor.

"Charlie, honey, is everything alright?" One of the ladies asked.

"Everything is fine, sweetheart. A glass just fell on the floor."

"Okay!"

My father turned to me and grabbed my collar, making me lift to the air. "Tell me you are kidding, because if you had done something as stupid as this... You will not want to know what I will do, Erickson. Now tell me the truth, what have you done?"

"She was the one who saw me! She saw me as Cupid, her heart was broken and she never fell in love. That is how she could see me! I trust her, she isn't like the others. I trust her!"

He let my shirt go and looked away. He grabbed the bottle of wine and drank it straight. "You trust her, eh? What will you tell me next, you falling in love with her?!"

I said nothing.

His eyes widened. "You're 17, Erik! It isn't your time!"

"I don't know Dad, okay. Maybe I am, you know how love works."

"But you are 17, Erik. You are to young to fall and in love."

"Too young? Look at you, a playboy, a male cougar. You don't know what love is anymore, you lost the Will of Cupid!"

"How dare you accuse me of such a thing!"

"Because it is true!"

I knew I got him. He knows it was true.

"You must wait, Erik. There will be other girls, they are all the same."

"But she isn't. There will be no other like her. She is one of a kind."

"That is what I thought too, Erik. But you'll see, she only likes you for your money and looks. Not for you."

"No you'll see Dad. I'm living at L.A, if you ever want to see if you're wrong. Just come by for a visit." I turned to walk out of the kitchen.

"Son, wait."

I stopped, but didn't look back. "What?"

"I want to meet her."

“Man, did you see Juliette today?” One of the guys, I think Iggy, asked.

Another smirked, “What, you think I’m some idiot? Of course I did.”

I noticed Drew gripping the football maybe too tightly.

“I know right?” Iggy sang, “Hottt.”

“What are you talking about,” an eavesdropper, probably Shane asked. “She’s always hot.”

Suddenly Drew threw the ball too Iggy. Thankfully he had quick reflexes and caught the ball just before it smashed into his face.

“What the hell, man?”

“Don’t you dare talk about Juliette like that.” He threatened.

The guy held his hands up, making the football drop to the ground. “Yeah, sure Drew.”

Drew threw his clothes in his locker and slammed the door.

“Good.” 

He then walked out of the locker room. All of the guys fell silent and slowly continued changing. They amazingly stopped playing pranks or passing gossip about girls. 

“What just happened?” I asked.

“That?” Shane asked. “Oh, you get used to that.”

“We always talk about girls, you know, guy talk.” Iggy explained as he picked up the football. “But when the subject turns to Juliette, even good things, Drew makes this big tantrum and storms off.” He threw the ball to Joey.

Joey obviously caught it and threw it up and down the air. “But we all obviously know why he does that.”

“Why?”

He threw the ball to me. I caught it, landing on my stomach. “Oof!”

“Cause the dude’s in love with her.”

I tossed the ball to Shane. “We’ve all did our best of telling him to ask her out or somethin’. But the guy’s too much of a chicken.”

Iggy snorted. “But he always tells us to mind our own business. They’ll be in a retirement home before he sums up all the courage to ask her out.” 

“All us guys try to make our move on her, since it seems he’ll never do it.” Shane said.

“But that always leads to a fist fight.” Joey said. “Ask Chase.”

Shane passed the ball to some guy behind me. I look at him and gave a low whistle. His lower lip was cut and has this purplish-black eye. 

Chase shrugged. “I snuck a letter in her locker to meet me for a date to the movies. Found Drew instead.”

“We all like Juliette. Not as some hot girl, but as a friend.” Joey told me. “Sure we make comments about her, but we’re guys. And she’s the nicest girl any of us ever met.”

“She baked me some pie when I missed school for a week ‘cause I got lice.” Iggy said.

Everyone backed away from him.

“Which I don’t have anymore.” He growled, but then he continued. “And I only have her for English.”

“And there was the time when she tutored me for all of my classes when we had mid-terms. She managed to turn my D’s to B’s, I even got an A.” Chase grinned proudly as he showed his current report card.

Joey grabbed the ball from Chase. “There was also the time she had dinner with my parents and I to talk them into letting me go to some field trip that turned out to be lame.”

“Every field trip to the library is lame.” Chase said.

“It’s not my fault I didn’t look at the paper. Okay maybe it was. But now that I think of it, my parents were probably saying no to save me from the boredom. Mom, Dad, I forgive you!”

“But Drew can’t be that bad. He might be just a bit overprotective since they knew each other since they were kids.”

They all looked at each other.

"Nah," they said in unison.

"But there is one day that Drew can go too far." Iggy muttered.

All of the guys nodded knowingly.

"Which is what?" I asked.

"Valentine's Day."

"You're joking right? Valentine's Day? Why?"

Iggy sighed and looked away. 

"Chase?"

He looked down and started to tie his shoes.

"Shane, c'mon."

Shane suddenly started to fold his clothes. He never fold his clothes.

"You guys, he might as well know." Joey said. "If you won't tell him, I will."

"Fine suffer Drew's wrath." Iggy said.

Joey reminded. "Remember, he said to not tell anyone."

Joey groaned. "You promise you'll never say that I told you. Or else Drew will make sure I end up looking like Chase."

"Hey!"

"You know I'm right."

"Yeah." Chase rubbed his eye. "I know."

"It all started in freshman year, already everyone loves Juliette." Joey smiled to himself. "The guys and I had the plan to give her some V-day gifts. Everyone... except Drew."

"He didn't want anyone to her anything. Not for her B-day, not for X-mas, but V-day, that was too much." Shane said.

Joey looked at Shane who shrugged. "Let Drew kill me, it's pretty wrong."

"Now every year we can't give her a present. If he finds one, he throws them in the trash. No matter how nice she was, how sweet she was, how helpful she was, or how expensive the gift was. All we can say is thanks, and live in guilt that we can't repay her kindness."

I stared at them. "No."

"What do you mean by no?" Iggy said. "It's true."

"Valentine's Day couldn't be made like that. That isn't fair."

Chase nodded. "The lowest day in Drew's Juliette calender."

My gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. Then I punched Drew's locker, making a huge dent.

"Whoa!" Joey said who was right next to me. "You taking steroids man?"

Iggy couldn't help but smile. "Erik mad. Erik mad at Drew. Erik find Drew."

All of the guys burst out laughing.

I cracked my knuckles, smiling evilly. "You're right. Erik mad. Erik find Drew."

Everyone became dead silent, staring at me. Chase made the first move and stood in front of me.

"Don't do this Erik. It's okay, it's only one day of the year."

"None of you guys deserve this. Juliette doesn't deserve this." I pushed forward.

Iggy and Shane tried to pull me back as Chase and Joey stood in my way. They tried to tell me to stop, that it isn't worth it.

"Shut up! He earns this! He has to pay!"

I push them off of me, making them crash to the floor and burst out the door. Drew where is he?! He can't be far, he left a couple of minutes ago. I raced through the halls, my anger being powered by Drew, at Drew. How dare he. At Valentine's Day, a day where people show how they like each other, how nice they were, to give thanks. He takes Valentine's Day like any other day. And imagine for all these years, Juliette got one gift when she deserved thousands.

I turned a corner and crashed into someone. 

I groaned. "Damn."

I sat up to be face to face to Drew.

"Hey it's you." He said. "You shouldn't run in hallways. I guess this is one of the reasons."

I grabbed his shirt and slammed him against the lockers.

"What's your problem man?"

"What's my problem?" I demanded. "What's yours?"

I slammed his against the lockers on his front. His clenched his teeth from the impact. "I know, Turner. And it's wrong."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

I flipped him over and slammed him against the wall. I wanted to see his face when I tell him.

"You took away gifts for Juliette when she deserved them. You threaten to beat up anyone who gets in your way from Juliette. Even if they wanted to just thank her, you just throw Juliette's gifts like they were nothing to you. But were something to her."

His eyes widened. "Who told you?" He demanded. "When I get my hands on them-"

"I'm not saying a word. And you'll never get the chance, once I'm through with you."

"So what if I did, this is Juliette we're talking about. She's one of a kind, no one else is like her."

I laughed. "You don't think I know that?"

He stop fidgeting and stared at her. "You love her. Don't you?"

"Yes, yes I am. But I would never go such extremes to do what you did."

"It's because I love her. Ever since we were little. You can't blame me for having cold feet."

"11 years, Turner. You had her for 11 years, and not once had you made a move. I think it's time for someone else's turn."

"You barely know her. Why do you think she'll choose you?"

I smiled. "Once I tell her what you did, she'll never forgive you."

He smiled back at me. "Ah but you forgot something. She trusts me, I've known her since we were 5. She will never believe any word about me that comes out of your mouth. And I know you made her cry. Something I won't forgive about you."

"But she forgave me." I said. 

He shoved me away from me. "Wounds heal, Erik. But scars remain."

He shrugged his jacket and walked away. And I didn't even have to look that he was smiling. He won this round. But he won't win this battle.

_________________________________________

Wow, so intense. So intense. Shivers were going down my spine as I wrote the last part of the chapter. What does he says next? What's his comeback? Will things get more physical? If this argument doesn't suit your fighting needs, just wait. Things will get more intense the more chapters there will be.

I'm sorry that it took me 5 months to post this. I hope this will make it up. 

And this chapter is dedicated to olagirl2000. You are awesome! I feel bad for not updating for so long so I thought of making up to you and dedicate this 5 months long chapter. Hope you are still a Stupid Cupid fan!

And at the right is a pic of Erik Rosetta. Wow, right? Just wow

RubixCube89201