Bully

Chapter 43: The End

A/N: This is the official end of "Bully". I hope you've all enjoyed it as much as I have! Thanks to everyone who's read, commented, and/or voted! You all rock :) Enjoy the final chapter.

As Joan promised, a few days later she came over so we could talk. I told her about the conversation Eric and I had on the beach. She asked me questions which I answered. With a smile, she suggested I hang out with her son on a more personal level. Alone. Tilting my head, I asked her if we should hang out like on a date. Smiling at me, she nodded. She said she'd urge her son to ask me out properly so I could figure out how I truly felt. If after a while I felt nothing then I had my answer. Everything was so confusing I didn't know what to do or what to expect.

Over the next couple weeks, I began to pay closer attention to Eric. His mannerisms. His speech patterns. Even how he dressed. Eric had asked me out to dinner and a movie. Remembering what Joan had said, I agreed bringing a wide smile to his face. He promised it would be a casual date so I wouldn't feel pressured. I wore some skinny jeans, a cute tank top, and my black and pink Adidas. The rest of the guys had gone out to a local bar to shoot pool and have a few drinks since they'd taken half a day off from the recording process. Eric paid for everything despite me telling him I could pay for my snacks and ticket.

He was a gentleman the whole time, even opening doors for me. We chatted about how we thought the movie was going to be until it started. It was an action movie but wasn't gory and gruesome like I thought it was going to be. After the movie, he took me to a restaurant he knew about that he thought I'd like. It was a steakhouse that was on the beach. I felt a bit underdressed for the place but he said it would be alright.

We chatted about the movie as we waited for our dinner and mostly through it. I came to the conclusion Eric was very easy to talk to. Moving from the movie we'd just seen, we began talking about other movies and what we liked & didn't like about them. Film adaptations and sequels. He was a big nerd so we had to talk about the Star Wars franchise. He seemed surprised I knew quite a bit about it and it seemed to make him happy that I did. I discovered he was, in fact, a huge Star Wars fan. I loved the "Lord Of The Rings" franchise so we talked about that as well. We were still talking about it as we left the restaurant. It was almost weird having his attention and him staring at me as I spoke so animatedly about it.

After dinner, we wound up back at the house. He suggested we take a walk on the beach so I slipped out of my shoes and socks before following him out the back door to the beach. Talking of the movies got us talking about the books. He just let me go on and on about the books like it really mattered to him what I thought. After a while I realized he hadn't said or asked anything in a while. When I asked him about it, he told me he didn't want to interrupt me since I was obviously passionate about what I was talking about. I hoped he couldn't see the blush that heated my face at that.

As we walked along the beach, our hands kept grazing against one another. My heart would race each time it happened. The night air was cool but not cold. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The moonlight bounced off the ocean illuminating the sand. After a while we slipped into silence as we walked back to the house. The night had been great. It was nice talking about things I enjoyed with someone who didn't look down on me or made fun of me for it. He was a bigger nerd than I was which I found oddly cute. We made it back to the house and discovered we were still the only ones there. He walked me to the stairs when I said I was gonna go take a shower and head to bed. With a smile, he told me good night. I smiled back then turned and ascended the stairs.

It had been a good night. I had actually enjoyed myself. The hot shower was to help relax me so I could go to sleep quicker. I had just finished changing for bed when I heard voices in the hallway. It sounded like Eric and Barry. I didn't think I should eavesdrop so I slipped into my bed and turned the bedside table off. It took me a little while before I drifted off to sleep. The next morning, I was the first one up. I was in the middle of making breakfast when Barry entered the kitchen. We greeted one another cordially. He gave me a knowing smile as he filled his coffee cup. Eric was the next to enter the kitchen as I was refilling my glass of OJ. Zach was still snoring on the couch making us all laugh.