The Island

Chapter 8 - The Unavoidable

Eric had no words. He quickly stood up, then helped Topanga get back on her feet.
"Eric?" He questioned, with a phony accent. "Who ees thees so-called... Eric?"
Topanga nudged him in be shoulder.
It was no use. He wasn't fooling anyone.
He smiled.
"Hi, Pangers."
She hugged him. "It's so good to see you! What're you doing here?"
"I'm uh..." Eric didn't have enough time to come up with a good excuse. "I decided I needed to get out of the house, y'know, and do some traveling. So I thought, hey, why not visit Topanga?" He said.
Topanga knew that didn't sound like Eric. She titled her head.
"But you knew I'd be coming back to Philadelphia in only a few days."
Eric nodded, and shifted uncomfortably. He knew she was on to him.
"Yeah, but-"
"You're not alone, are you?" She smiled.
Eric sighed. It was no use trying to cover for the others any longer.
"Nope... Cory brought me, Shawn, and Jack out here to surprise you on you and Cory's anniversary." Topanga was amazed by the lengths these boys would go to see her happy. She nearly jumped up and down.
"I can't believe it! That is so sweet of you guys!" She hugged him again.
"Yup... And now I ruined the surprise. And nearly flattened the girlfriend. Cor's gonna kill me when he finds out that you found out." His own sentence confused him. "Sorry I knocked you over. Are you ok?" He laughed.
Topanga brushed some dirt off of her clothes. "Yeah, but are you? You seem a bit flustered. And... Where did your other shoe go?"
"Long story. This whole trip has got me a little out of it. I mean, here I am trying to surprise you, and you actually surprised me, when the others are somewhere with Angela and Rachel..." He paused.
"That's why they've been acting so strange." Topanga concluded. "Wait a minute... If this is me and Cory's anniversary, why are you the one out here?" She asked.
"Cory was too scared that you'd see him here. So he went shopping somewhere else. He left me here to get something and... Here we are." Eric waved a hand in front of her face. "He's gonna be so mad at me for screwing his anniversary up again..."
Topanga looked at him. Poor thing.
"You didn't screw it up! I don't care about a huge surprise! I mean, bumping into you (literally) was surprise enough for me. What you boys did for me was amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better anniversary," She said.
"Thanks Pangi." Eric ruffled her hair.
"I know Cory's a perfectionist. He throws a fit every time something doesn't go as planned. But 'not as planned' doesn't always mean bad." She reached and messed up his hair. "Unless your name is Eric Matthews." They laughed.
"Plus, I don't see why Cory needs to know that I found out. I mean, I could act surprised of it makes his little neurotic heart happy."
Eric nodded. But it wouldn't be sincere.
"What if... You surprised him while he was busy trying to surprise you?"
Topanga thought about it.
"I never thought I would say this but, Eric... You actually had a decent idea."
He didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.
"Do you think we should surprise him and the others? Or should we let the others in on it, too?"
Eric thought for a moment. It would be hard to pull it off without his friends' help.
"I think all of us should surprise him. Get him back for everything he's screwed up in our lives, too."
Topanga smiled. She hadn't done anything like this in a long time.
"I'm gonna run it over with Jack first," Eric said.
"Why?"
"Cause I know he won't kill me," Eric teased.
"Where is Jack, anyway? You're usually together." She looked around.
"He told me he was talking with Rach-" Eric realized what he might be missing out on.
"Oh no."