:._+ Eddy in Time: ._+

Chapter 6

Oscar stared at his untouched lunch. How could he eat? His girlfriend was missing. She was just gone. The person he loved more than life itself was just ...gone. How was he supposed to eat and go on about his day? What if she was hurt?

She was the love of his life. He couldn't stop thinking about her. They'd been so young when they started dating. His mind drifted back to when they had first started dating.

Oscar wasn't sure how he was going to do this. He wanted to ask Winter to go to a movie with him. How could he do that? Winter was just so pretty. Why would she even consider going out with him? Would Egon even allow it? He knew he didn't like him very much.

What if she said no? What if it ruined their relationship? They'd been friends since they were kids.

"Oscar!" Winter said heading over in his direction.

Oh god, he was going to throw up.

"Hi!" he said waving at her. "How was school?"

"Fine," she sighed. "I just hate biology. It's way too hard."

"So...do you have homework?" he questioned.

Please have too much homework. Please be too busy to go to the movies.

"Nah," she said. "Mrs. Rodgers is trying to go easy on us."

"So," he said trying to calm his nerves. "Do...do you want...well...do you want to maybe..."

Winter raised an eyebrow. What the heck was up with Oscar?

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Do you want to go to the movies with me?" he forced himself to ask.

Winter stared at her best friend for a long moment. What exactly was he asking? Oh!

"Oscar," she said smiling. "Are you asking me out?"

"Yes," he answered, starting to shake.

Winter tried to appear calm but inside she was squealing with excitement. She had a crush on Oscar for as long as she could remember. She just never thought he would ever like her that way too.

"I'd love to," she said, moving a little close to him.

Wait. Winter suddenly felt nervous. What would her parents say? She was only 14. Would you think she was too young to date? What if they didn't want her dating Oscar? She knew her Daddy wasn't his biggest fan.

"Are your parents cool with this?" She asked.

"I told Dad I was gonna ask you out," he said. "He was alright with it. He just told me to be a gentleman and accept no if you turned me down."

"I'd never turn you down," she said gently, taking his hand. "I've kinda always liked you."

"I guess you need to talk to your parents," he said.

"I suppose," she sighed. "I think they'll be alright with you."

Oscar hoped that was true but he wasn't sure.

"Oscar?" Brad's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "You ok?"

The boy thought about lying. He needed to pretend to be ok. He didn't want people to worry about him. They didn't need to waste their energy on him. Everyone needed to spend all their energy looking for Winter.

"No," he said fighting back tears. "My girlfriend is gone and might never come back."

Oscar couldn't hold back the tears anymore. They started to flow from his eyes and down his cheeks. Brad reached over and pulled his friend in for a hug.

"It's ok man," he said. "They're going to find her. Our parents aren't going to stop until they find her."

What if they didn't? What if he never saw her again?

Oscar tried to make words but his mouth wouldn't let him. It was like his tongue was tied in a knot.

"Come on," his friend said helping him to his feet. "Let's go call your parents. You shouldn't be in school."

The young Venkman knew he was right. He was in no state to be in school. He clung to his friend as they headed to the nurse.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Peter glanced over at Egon as they drove to check out a possible haunted house. It was just the two of them and they had been stone silent since they had entered Ecto 1.

"So have you talked to Janine yet?" Peter asked.

"About what?" Egon questioned even though he already knew the answer.

"About you two of course," he said, starting to smirk. "About your future together."

Peter knew it was a subject that needed to be breached. Winter was in a bad place and needed her parents to be there for her, especially her father. Egon knew he was going to be a husband and a father but he hadn't emotionally fallen into that role yet. Peter wondered if he could help his daughter when he wasn't in the right emotional state.

Egon shook his head. He had been careful to avoid bringing the subject with her. It wasn't something he wanted to talk or think about. It didn't make sense. How did the two of them end up getting married and having a kid together?

"It's clear she's nuts about you," his friend explained, interrupting his thoughts.

"I'm not the marrying type," Egon said. "I'm also not one to engage in unsafe sex so I can't see myself getting her pregnant and then marrying her out of guilt."

"You like her," he said gently, nudging him in the shoulder. "I can tell."

"I'm driving Peter," he said, slightly annoyed with him.

To be honest he was stopped at a red light.

Did he have feelings for her? He didn't think so. Yes, he liked having her around. She was a hard worker and a quick learner. What did it mean to have "feelings" for her? What was that supposed to feel like?

Honk!

The light had changed to green and he was still sitting there. Egon quickly pushed the gas pedal down.

"You're overthinking this aren't you?" Peter asked. "You always do that."

"It's clear you end up spending the rest of your life with Dana," Egon said, ignoring his comment. "How did you know she was the one for you?"

"I don't know," he said. "I don't think that's something you can explain. I just looked into her eyes and for the first time, I felt whole. It was like finding the missing piece of my puzzle."

"So," Egon said. "What I need to feel whole might be different than you."

"I'm sure it is," Peter said. "That's what makes humans so amazing. We're all different. Our basic bodily needs are the same but our life experiences shape our emotional needs. Of course, they'll be different."

What had he been expecting when he met his mate? Fireworks, like something out of a movie? Perhaps it wasn't meant to be that. Maybe it was meant to be more subtle.

Egon remembered getting a bit of attention from girls in college. He'd be trying to study and they'd come around bugging him and making things hard. He hated it. It was just like they were getting in the way. Janine didn't make him feel that way. He liked having her around even when he was working on hard things.

Janine didn't stare. Instead, she observed. Those were two different things. The girls in the past had just stared at what he was doing in hopes of having sex. She was watching and taking it in with interest.

"Don't tell anyone I got all mushy on you," Peter said. "Ray and Winston won't let me live it down."

"No problem," Egon said, turning off the car. "Let's just focus on our work there."