Lucy went upstairs with a smile that she hasn't had in days. It felt good to feel happy again. For once in her life, she felt good about things going in an unexpected way. She grabbed her article papers from her backpack and placed them on her bed. Then turned on her laptop to check twitter and all the news. The same old boring number of followers and not much news, she retweeted a few things from her favourite followers but then logged out. She didn't tweet much and that's why she didn't have followers. She logged into tumblr and reblogged some pics then logged into Facebook to see notifications and friend requests and messages. She ignored them all and searched for her best friends to see if they're online on the chat but they weren't so she decided to text them.

"hey girlies :D. i'm home now! text me asap, k? xx" She typed and then received a reply from Kathy immediately.

"heeeeeeeey, girl! x did ya tell your parents about...our thingyyyy? x".

"yeep, I did..went really good. dad even encouraged me and that's sth i totally wasn't expecting...yaaaay! we ain't got a thing to worry about! xx" Lucy replied happily.

"awesooooooome! :D xx" Kathy replied.

"Hey girls! Lucy, I've been worried about you! Did you ask your parents? :)" Rebeka replied.

"yes, rebeka. don't worry i told them and they even encouraged me! can u believe that?!! :D xx" Lucy replied.

"I'm so happy for you, Lucy! Guess we got nothing to worry about anymore. :D" Rebeka replied.

"i was just telling that to kathy! xD <3" Replied Lucy.

"girls, i'll leave ya now cos i'm working on the article and i wanna sleep early so nighty night! text ya girls tmr! love yas xx" She typed quickly before turning back to her article paper.

She fell asleep on her paper as usual and woke up to find someone she totally wasn't expecting.

She woke up with the taste of lips over hers. She thought it was a dream but then woke up and yelled when she saw that someone was kissing her for real. and turned back to find....Eric.

"Good morning sunshine! Do you like the surprise?!" He said with a huge smile.

She was still shocked and just stared at him then shouted.

"Well, you know I love the surprise but you didn't have to freak the hell outta me." She said rudely.

"Hey, I thought you'd be happy to see me! No need to be all bitchy." He said sounding offended then walking toward the door.

Damn, I was rude alright. She thought. Then quickly jumped off the bed and stood in front of him before he opened the door.

"Eric, wait. Don't go...I'm sorry I was very rude. You know me I'm too grumpy in the morning but still its not an excuse..I'm sorry." She said then leaned in to kiss him and weirdly, she didn't want to. So she kissed him on the cheek instead.

"Its ok, babe. But I've got just the thing that'll cheer you up. We're going out!" He said cheerfully.

"Huh? Going out? Now?!" She asked.

"Yeah! I've already asked your mom. She didn't mind." He said.

"Yeah like I ask for mom's permission about anything." She said sarcastically.

"Well, get dressed. We're going out now. Hurry up!" He said laughing and leaving the room.

She stood there for a minute processing what had just happened. She woke up to see Eric weirdly back from California and he's asking her to go out, in such an early hour. And she was feeling weird. She felt like she didn't really miss him. She just couldn't understand how she was feeling but decided to go out with him anyways.

She put on her favourite pair of skinny jeans and a a T-shirt that says "Now or Never" with a black hoodie over it, leaving its zipper open. She didn't really want to do her hair. She was too lazy so she just comped it and put in in a pony tail and put on her sneakers then went downstairs.

"Good morning mom! Thanks for the lovely plot you made with Eric." She told her mom while stepping into the kitchen.

"Oh honey, it wasn't a plot, you could say..A surprise! You should thank me..I surely made your morning all better." She said smiling.

No, not really. Cos I'm not sure if I missed him. She thought and then her confused thoughts came rushing back. She ignored them and looked at Eric.

"So are we going or not?" She asked.

"Oh, ok." He said after whispering something in her mom's ear that made he collapse in laughter. Her mom loved Eric. She didn't like the idea of Lucy having a boyfriend but she loved Eric so she was fine with it. They said goodbye to her mom and then started walking.

"So..Where are we going?" Lucy asked after a long silence.

"We're going to the park."

"The park? That's your brilliant date?" She asked making fun of him a little.

"Well, I didn't tell you the date would be brilliant. I just thought a day at the park would be perfect for us to..you know, bond. Since we haven't seen each other for months." He paused a little.

"And you're my girlfriend and I've missed you." He said whispering in her ear, making her smile.

His words made her happy but she didn't wanna lie and say that she's missed him while she wasn't really sure about it. During Eric's absence, she noticed a huge change in her feelings towards him but she didn't quite figure it out.

"Sweet of you but how could you've missed me while partying all day and all night with your college buddies?" She asked.

"Oh please! I did party alright but that doesn't mean I didn't miss you!" He said taking her hand.

She looked at him and said nothing.

"So, tell me about your new school? How's everything with you and my weirdo sister and your other friend..Rebeka I guess?" He asked after some silence.

"First, don't you dare call Kathy a weirdo. You just don't understand what its like to be 'special'. And school's awesome! Its about to change a lot of things for all three of us."

"Oh I understand being special. Just look at me! Did you ever see anyone THIS hot before?! And that's great, babe! You guys entered some contest right?" He said cheekily.

"You cheeky boy! And how do you know?"

"Well, you told me the last time we talked! You didn't expect me to forget, did you?"

"To be honest, I did. Anyway, yeah we did and we're about to..You know participate in the contest in a few days. Its all about writing and our articles are due on Monday."

"Ugh writing?! That's so boring, Luce! I didn't think you entered kinda contests. The prize must be really worth it."

"Oh yeah it is. Trust me! Its a dream come true." She said excitedly.

"Well then I wish you luck in everything." He said smiling.

"So enough about me..How's your college life? I hope you're not hanging out with bad boys." She asked.

They were reaching the park while she was asking him that question. And when they entered through the gates he smiled and then replied.

"College is amazing! Some lectures are pretty boring to be honest but its so fun! And no..Don't worry I'm sticking with the good guys." He said laughing.

"Good! Then I have nothing to be worried about! Your best friend there?"

"His name's Justin. He's kinda goofy and nerdy and he's not really the type you usually see me with. Like he never breaks rules and doesn't like..Fun. But he's a really good guy and I really care about him so.."

"Hanging out with nerds? That's something I haven't expected."

"Neither did I." He said laughing.

They walked all around the park and chatted about all sorts of things and when they ran out of topics, they just started asking each other about random stuff.

"So..Still obsessing over that boy-band?" He asked looking annoyed.

"Hey..Don't choose that topic to talk about. You already know my answer." She said in a sassy way.

"Yeah....I do." He said rolling his eyes.

"So..I was thinking that if we spent the whole day at the park, it would be boring cos we pretty much talked about everything. So, how about we see a movie?" He suggested.

"A movie sounds great!"

"Good. So where's the nearest movie theater? I don't exactly remember the directions so.."

"Oh...Well, there aren't any nearby movie theaters. We'll have to take a cab." She said a little annoying at the fact that he forgot the neighbourhood. "But just so you know, I don't have any money."

"Its ok. I've already got money." He replied.

They walked out of the park and decided to walk to the end of the street to catch a taxi. Eric stopped one and he and Lucy sat on the back seat and showed the driver the way.

"So, what movie do you wanna watch?" He asked.

"I don't know. Anything. But I doubt we'd find any good movies, I mean probably all the good ones are sold out."

"We'll see when we get there. But I wanna watch a horror movie." He said with an amusing look on his face.

"Oh no, Eric! We are NOT watching a horror movie! You just want us to watch it cos you know I'd be holding on to you during all of the scary scenes and you know I get nightmares." She said sounding uneasy.

"That's why I love them. And about the nightmares, don't worry, babe! If you want me to..You know, stay with you to keep the ghosts away, I wouldn't mind." He said with an evil smile.

"Eric!! You're not funny! We're not watching a horror movie." She said angrily.

"We are."

"We're not."

"We are."

"WE ARE NOT!" She yelled then noticed the driver is looking at her weirdly so she felt embarrassed then lowered her voice.

"Eric, we are NOT watching a freaking horror movie" She whispered angrily.

They argued about it all the way to the movie theater. They went out and there it was. The movie of the night. Woman In Black. She saw the trailer of the movie online and it was clearly HORROR. Eric saw the scared look on her face then took her hand and walked towards the ticket office.

"Excuse me, we'd like to buy two tickets for Woman In Black." He said looking at Lucy.

"What?!" Lucy stared at him.

"Here you go, sir. You're lucky, they're almost sold out." Said the ticket officer.

Damn. She cursed in her head. What a great date, Eric! God...

"Thanks." He said then they walked inside the movie theater to buy popcorn.

"What do you want?" He asked Lucy.

"I wanna get outta here." She said angrily.

"Come on! It'll be fun! Don't be such a killjoy, Lucy! Its not like the ghost would come outta the screen and kill you!" He said trying to make her feel better though he wasn't doing a very good job.

"You're gonna make me regret agreeing to come to this movie with you!"

"You don't mean that. Now what do you wanna buy?"

"Just buy me some popcorn and a soda and maybe a bar of chocolate." She said still annoyed.

She knew why Eric chose a horror movie. He was doing it for 'fun'. They walked inside and took their seats and sat down while the movie started. She sat down feeling scared and uneasy and she was mostly annoyed with the amused look on his face.

She started to eat the popcorn and trying hard not to imagine the scary parts of the movie even though it just started. Then she received a text from Kathy.

"where r u??! been waiting forever to get a text from you, luce!"

She replied to her cos she knew what Kathy was like when she was worried and it wasn't good.

"i'm ok, kathy! you're worrying too much! i'm at the movies with eric.. and trust me, i'm NOT having fun :\ x" She replied.

Then watched the movie while Kathy replied.

The scene was too scary that she wanted to go home and undo the entire day! She felt so bad cos Eric's plan went too well and here she was. Holding on to him for her dear life. She could see him grinning so she moved away immediately. Then she saw a reply from Kathy.

"oooooh..so that's where he is. and i wondered why he left in such a rush. what're you guys watching? a horror movie? x"

"yes! how did you know? its woman in black and i'm about to pee in my pants! this is too scary..GET ME OUTTA HERE! your brother is the meanest BF ever! >:( x" She replied then started eating the popcorn while avoiding the screen. As much as she could.

"i knew cos you said you weren't havin' a good time. i just guessed... haha you deserve it..you're the one who agreed to be his GF. blame no one but u ;D x did you work on the second topic? i'm already done with it.."

"gee, you're really makin' this better xD and yes i already finished it and worked on the some of the third topic. the article is due tomorrow..gosh i'm scared as hell...:\ xx" She typed then screamed for what looked like forever and then received a reply from Kathy.

"awesome! and yeah i know. rebeka and i are as scared as you are..lets hope it'll turn out well. well now i'll leave ya to ur movie. say hi to eric for me and punch him for me, will you? have fuuuuun :D x"

"you're so mean you know that?! i'm scared as hell and you're making it feel better but about the punching...i'll gladly do it..bye, babe! text ya when i get home." she replied.

"i'm mean and you love it xD great! make it hurt, girl! bye! alrighty, gonna wait for ur text. byeeeee xx" Kathy replied. And then Lucy turned off her phone and focused on the movie which was probably too bad to be real.

After an hour and half of screaming and arguing, the movie was over. And Eric was happy of course cos his plan worked perfectly while Lucy on the other hand was even scared of her own shadow. They took a cab and he drove her home then they waited a little in front of Lucy's doorstep.

"You know, just admit you had fun cuddling with me during the entire movie." Eric said cheekily.

"Ha ha. It was SO fun! I didn't even cuddle with you! You know me while watching scary movies, I like to have someone to...Hold on to."

"Yeah right."

After a long silence he finally talked again.

"Well, I gotta go now. Mom and dad are probably wondering where I went and I gotta pack since I'm leaving tomorrow." He said with a little frown on his face.

"What?! You're only staying for one day?" She asked sadly.

"Yeah! That's why I came early to you. So that we can spend the whole day together. And it was a whole lot of fun." He said with a playful smile on his face.

"Well, I'll miss you. I wish you could stay longer. And that's nice of you to do. I gotta admit, I did have...A little fun." She said blushing lightly.

"Good..."

He was leaning in to kiss her when she moved back.

"What?! No goodbye kiss?! I'm leaving early tomorrow, Luce! I won't even see you. The LEAST you could do is give me a kiss."

"Ok"

She said then kissed him too quickly on the lips that she didn't even feel it.

"Bye Eric!"

He was frozen a little. Maybe surprised at how cold Lucy was. But he gave her a hug and then walked on his way to his house. Lucy took a deep breath then walked inside.

It was a normal, boring dinner with her parents. After she was done, she took a shower and then put on her PJs and then texted Kathy that she was home then decided to continue working on her article, since she only had a few more lines and it was finally done. She was kinda anxious about tomorrow since it was the day when the article is due. She wrote everything she felt and she hoped her honest words would make her win.

She woke up and it was the awaited day at school. The day they'd turn in their articles. She was very nervous and she was starting to doubt her writing skills. After having a quick shower, she got dressed in the same outfit she wore yesterday with Eric. Then she remembered, the park, the movie and their awkward moment outside her doorstep. That date honestly made her more confused than ever. But maybe his absence would make her think more straight.

The ride to school was all about her date with Eric and of course Kathy couldn't stop annoying her and mocking her for being a scaredy cat.

Then the went through their periods normally till it was lunch time. In the cafeteria, Mr. Lockhorn was there with a folder in his hand, They guessed he would be the one taking their articles. They were all too worried to have their lunch normally so they just went their and handed their articles to him.

Lucy hesitated a little. All the bad results of this contest came rushing through her head but she had no time for 'what if's' she had to do this. She had to.

They gave their articles to Mr. Lockhorn and finally all their stress was over. Now all they've got to wait for was the next announcement the principle would make and she was nervous about it but now, all she could think about was to win. To win and to prove everyone who questioned her wrong. Her dad and Aria and everyone. She knew this was everything she's ever wanted. and backing out totally wasn't part of her plans.
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Here's chapter 8, guys! What do you think so far? Do you still hate Eric? And do you think him and Lucy will last? Just tell me all of your ideas and trust me from the next chapter, they boys will be in every single chapter. Sorry if its getting boring but I wanna take it slow. Love you all :) x