&when i first told you...[eric+frankie

[ashingliee]

You`ve been holding up
For much,
Too long.


It was early in the morning and Eric had nothing else better to do on this summer day. The mall would be a perfect place to just piss the morning away and even parts of the afternoon. Waking up especially early for some apparent reason Eric did not know of, he dressed himself simply. He wore a black plain sweat shirt and matching long sport shorts with the same colored DC sneakers. Realizing that he had no place to put his wallet, he changed out of his shorts into fitted dark denim jeans. Already having his license, he freely seated himself in his black BMW and took off at an appropriate speed toward the mall. He felt no need for the adrenaline rush others gained by driving at a dangerous speed down the highway. It made no sense to him. There was more bad that would come from those actions than good.

He would have invited Cynthia or Devin along with him, but neither of them were awake this Saturday morning. All Eric wanted to do was eat a greasy breakfast. That would be a perfect reason to do some running with his younger siblings. In the back of his head he hoped that he would run into some of his friends, or even fans. Or catch a few hot girls and flirt with them silly. Maybe even go on a date or something. He just needed to blow off this weekend. The seventeen year old was ready to take on the week from Monday to Friday all over again. He'd been working nonstop since the beginning of the year. All he wanted was just some fun and for once he didn't want to think about the welfare of the damn school. Some times he wondered why he even ran for Student Body President. And then he wondered who in their right mind voted for him.


Parking his BMW and double checking to make sure that it was locked, he began to make his way through the entrance of the mall. It was a bit warmer than he expected this morning. He missed the brisk and some times breezy mornings the weather would have to offer. Even the clouds were a bit off. Then again, Eric hadn't gone to the mall in the morning for a while. It was all probable that perhaps all the work and nonstop piano and sport practices had been getting to him big time. He couldn't even recognize the sky he was inside of so many buildings until night fall. He had no one to blame, but himself for volunteering so much and for running for Student Body President. Everyone expected you to run that extra mile and to come up with that other solution or alternative. He couldn't wait until he graduated and then watched how Devin took the pressures of the whole school. That would bring a smile to his face. It's not that Eric wanted Devin to fail... too badly.

Yawning, he stretched his arms up and reached for the roof of the mall. After stretching and getting that large yawn out of his system, he took a seat at a bench near the water fountain. Digging through the change in his pocket, he felt a penny and took it out. Taking a few seconds to make a silly wish, he threw the penny in the fountain and finally smiled. Resting his head back, Eric decided he would rest his eyes before he continued to roam around the empty mall. There was no one expect or run into, so there was no harm in taking a small snooze, right?

[asf!]

nothing lasts forever,
i'm sorry i can't be perfect[/font][/color][/b]

“Why are you doing this to me again?”

The bright sun of the morning was burning Frankie’s deep blue eyes. She had tried hiding her eyes from the bright and happy morning for awhile now, but it was getting too hard. She finally just let her eyes burn for a few minutes, getting used to the bright sunshine that was begging to enter her eyes. It hurt at first, but after awhile she got used to the brightness of the day. She slowly turned to look at Sammie in the back seat of the car, who was currently bouncing up and down to some random rap song Allie had playing. Boy, this was going to be a fun day.

”You need to get out; you never leave your dorm Frankfurter!” Sammie shouted over the song.

Frankie crossed one leg over the other in the front seat, sliding down a bit. It was true, she was huddled up in her dorm a lot lately, but she didn’t think it was that bad. She was starting to think she was getting a bit better. Until that was, Allie and Sammie came skipping into the room all dressed up and ready to leave and Frankie was still in her pajamas. Frankie was not a shopper. Frankie was not a morning person. All she wanted to do was sleep. Allie was at her wit’s end trying to pull Frankie out of her depression. Nothing seemed to be working. Frankie hadn’t even budged on this offer until Sammie said she’d buy her a coffee. Frankie and coffee went together like peanut butter and jelly.

As Allie pulled into a parking spot, Frankie felt her stomach lurch. Being in public in general just scared her. It was early though, and she was hoping nobody would be around. She climbed out of the front seat, slamming the door of the new car hard. She saw Allie turn to her and give her a glare, but she ignored it. It had been Allie that pulled her out of her nice warm bed anyway. So this was all her fault.

”I’m thinking we should go to Aeropostale first.” Sammie was bouncing up and down like a bumble bee, excited to be shopping.
”No, you’re crazy.” Allie said with a chuckle.
”Why?”
”Cranky Frankie doesn’t shop.”
”Cranky Frankie! I like that one!”
”Well, we have to get her coffee first so she’s a little more awake.”
”Why did we bring her?”
”Shut up.”

Frankie barely listened to their conversation. She didn’t care. All she did was focus on her own two feet in front of her. Allie opened the door to the entrance and the tree girls walked in. “Frankie look! It’s a cute boy! Go mingle!” Allie exclaimed, bouncing up and down with Sammie around Frankie. “Just go up and say hi, he’ll start the conversation if he likes you well enough!”

It was like at that moment, she had the quicksand under her feet again. It was a Johnson kid. Had Devin told Eric about their little meeting on the roof? About how she was psycho and cried and screamed whenever she was being comforted? She hated that memory and how much of a fool she made out of herself. Before she knew it, Allie was shoving her over towards Eric, laughing softly. Then there Frankie was, standing beside him while he sat on the bench. ”Oh, uhm, hi.” Frankie said with a small smile that seemed a bit forced. She didn’t want to seem rude, she was just nervous.

[/blockquote]

[ashingliee]

Don`t care,
If we all
Turn to waste.

So, when I bag you
Avoid me.
`Cause I smell a girl.
Hungry, hungry, boy.

Hot girl, three o' clock! Senses were tingling. Eric's eye lids opened in a flash and then he sat up. Releasing another bear yawn, the seventeen year old stood up and then wore a genuine smile to look back down at the girl who he recognized to be Frankie. Then his ice blue eyes widened when he looked closer at the girl before him. She was beautiful. This had to be the Frankie Devin was describing. He also included that this Frankie character had a very pretty face and appealing figure. Eric scanned her body and found much interest in the girl. Unfortunately, he knew a lot about her without ever meeting her through his brother and the string of rumors from previous years. He wasn't going to keep anything against her. Eric wanted to meet Frankie by Frankie, not by anyone else's stupid mouth.

"Hey..." his smile got shorter as he realized that this wasn't just any other pretty face he could toy with as he pleased. A woman stood before him and he felt the urge to be her man. "Um, hey! The name's Eric Johnson! I know you go to Stewart High, so there was no point in me introducing myself, ha ha!" Eric had no idea had to act, so he acted as his quirky and ego-filled self at the moment. Then he realized that his last joke must have made him look like such an ass. His chuckle short circuited and then he cleared his throat in embarrassment, hoping the other girls that appeared to be Frankie's siblings or friends weren't listening to their Student Body President make a fool of himself. Flirting with the girls came so naturally to him, why was he messing up big time and feeling so intimidated now?

"You're Frankie, right? Devin's told me some about you, but I'm not going to listen to a word my little brother says. I wanna meet you by you. I don't need anyone else telling me who you are besides you. Wanna grab some breakfast? Don't worry, I'll pay and everything," Eric shrugged his shoulders and tried to maintain the genuine smile on his face. On the outside, he looked as confident as could be. He looked as though he knew what he was doing with the girl before him, but in actuality, he was tremendously nervous and didn't want to appear stupid in front of her. He had an urge to impress her and an even stronger urge to be around her to get to know her better. Awaiting his for his response, he prayed that he wasn't coming off as too pushy.

[asf!]

nothing lasts forever,
i'm sorry i can't be perfect[/font][/color][/b]

Frankie was startled by talking to somebody she barely knew. She was so scared of people all around her. Frankie was searching deep inside of herself to pull out some strength and make herself believe that she could do this. She could talk to somebody without stuttering and babbling like an idiot. It was hard. She had only been in public for a short while. Frankie was confused by his forwardness. It was like he wasn’t terrified of her. That would be magnificent. She crossed her arms tight across her chest, her eyes widening. Breakfast? Paying? Wasn’t that considered a date? She turned her neck to the left, then to the right, looking behind her. ”Excuse me, but are you talking to me?” She asked with a small look of disbelief.

She shoved her hands in her pockets, trying to wrap her mind around all of this. It was completely and utterly stupid that she just couldn’t pipe up and say yes to his question. For some reason, Frankie really didn’t want to. She didn’t want to get sucked into some boy’s seductive warp. He was cute, no doubt. The red hair and the cute little dimples made it twice as hard. Frankie bit down on her bottom lip, searching for an excuse. She was with her friends, that’s right! ”Well, uhm I would but I’m with my friends.”

Her eyes darted to where Allie & Sammie once were and saw them half way down the mall already, running from her so she could go with Eric. Frankie chuckled, turning to Eric. She was terrified, but she couldn’t turn him down now. She did have a soul. ”I guess I could.” She mumbled, glancing up at Eric. Frankie felt her heart beating again, right in her ear like a drum. She quickly shoved the beating out of her mind, out of her ear, and down to the floor. The first step was saying yes, and shoving all of her other worries away. ”What I’m saying is yes, I’d like to.”

[/blockquote]

[ashingliee]

Don`t care,
If we all
Turn to waste.

So, when I bag you,
Avoid me.
`Cause I smell a girl.
Hungry, hungry, boy.

Eric realized that Frankie was much more visibly nervous than he was. This could make things a bit easier. Then Eric could just try to be himself and attempt to make Frankie relax a bit more. At first he wondered if Frankie was playing a little joke on him. Of course he was talking to her. There wasn't a person in sight from where they were standing anyways. Who the hell would go to the mall at eight thirty in the morning? Eric usually wouldn't, but this morning felt special and it was definitely going to get a lot better. Eric cocked a brow up and then his grin grew twice as big. "No, I'm going to have breakfast with that ficus over there. See ya later!" Eric pretended to make his way over the plant near the wall then swiveled around to face Frankie again. "What are you talking about? Of course I'm asking you out!" Eric chuckled to reassure that he wasn't trying to offend or make fun of Frankie, it was in his nature to mock people in a way that wasn't offensive, but just funny.

Her friends? For a second Eric though that Frankie had considered the nearby ficus as one of her friends. That would have been just plain weird. The thought was soon discarded when he looked behind Frankie to the two figures already half way down the main entrance hall of the mall. Looks like it was just Frankie and him standing there at the moment. The ficus, too. Lifting his hand to scratch the back of his head, he looked back to Frankie's friends. "Oh, the two distant figures about fifty paces ahead of us?" Again, just another harmless joke that brought a smile to his face and hopefully Frankie's too. His heart skipped several beats when Frankie finally answered yes without a 'but,' 'maybe,' and 'if'.

Eric took a pause to think to himself. What would he do now? Usually the female would practically throw themselves in his arms and they would walk either out of the mall to his vehicle or continue to the food court. Frankie wasn't like any other girl. He wanted to do his best to get behind those emotional walls so he could cater her to lonesome self. Then he thought to himself, 'I think I'm going a bit too fast.' He wanted to wrap his arm around her already and take off on an interview, but he would try his patience with Frankie. It looked to be worth it to try to go slow. Frankie was worth it. And sex was the last thing on this teenager's mind at the moment. "That's wonderful! You may lead the way, princess!" Eric mocked a bow of a servant and lifted his hand out to his right, down the hallway. Continuously smiling and failing miserably to hold in his giggles, he awaited patiently for her response.

[asf!]

i’m the slow dying flower in the frost killing hour,
sweet becoming sour and untouchable[/font][/color][/b]

By the time Frankie had said yes, she had already regretted it. Frankie had never been on a date. Most boys thought she was a freak. She hated the word freak. It made her terribly angry and vengeful. She let her hands fall in front of her, one pulling at her sweatshirt sleeve. When he had spoke about asking the Fichus out, Frankie chuckled, a small smile on her pale pink lips. It was finally occurring to her that there was probably no way she could back out of this. The thoughts of having someone actually like her flooded her mind. It would be intriguing to have someone around of a romantic interest. It had never happened before, not in her seventeen years of life. Though Steven may have worked some moves on her, he never asked her out on a date before.

She felt herself almost trembling, trying to keep her composure. It was physically impossible. Frankie’s breath was caught somewhere in her throat, the oxygen pressuring her to talk. Frankie couldn’t. She couldn’t find the words to push out and make her seem so much more easy-going. Frankie glanced at Allie down the court of the mall, whom was now walking backwards trying to watch Frankie and Eric. Frankie smiled over at her friend, then back to Eric. She looked down at her feet, then quickly looked back up at him. ”Yeah, they drug me out of bed early this morning because they think I’m turning into a hermit, but I don’t think I am. I’m just as much of a hermit as you or her.” Frankie quickly stopped herself from talking, realizing how off topic she was.

Princess. Her father had called her princess. It was almost like no matter where she went, there were memories of the last night. Frankie tried her best to shove them out of her mind, letting them ease their way to the back. Frankie hadn’t been to the mall in a very long time. It was almost a foreign place to her. So when he said that she lead the way, she smirked. ”If you let me lead the way you’ll end up in K-Mart instead of the food court.” She said with a small nod.

[ashingliee]

Don`t care
If we all,
Turn to waste.

So, when I bag you,
Avoid me.
`Cause I smell a girl,
Hungry, hungry, boy.

Beat me senseless to work on this post, Kim.