A Chance

Pride cometh before the fall, Eric had often heard the words. But now in his case, he had realized something. It was not pride cometh before the fall. But rather it was... pride comes before you realize that your sister is so intent on having you be somebody's significant other, that she will set you up with anybody. Never mind that they are crazier than a bag of cats. His sister was not going to back down, or see reason. Eric really wished that he'd had that realization before he had turned down Evelyn's offer. Back then he had been prideful, but his pride was completely gone now.

In fact, he now had no idea just what he had been thinking when Evelyn, logical Evelyn, had come up to him and suggested that they pretend to date. Clearly, between the two of them, she had been the one in the right state of mind. He had just been too shell shocked after seeing a woman that he barely knew strip naked in front of him, to realize that Evelyn's idea had been a good one.

Yes, shock! That was what had made him make such a regrettable decision.

But luckily for Eric, he had come back to his senses right on time, which was why he was currently on the phone with Evelyn, begging her to be his fake girlfriend. 

The last time she had asked, he had turned her down feeling as though he had the moral high ground on her. But morality could take a back seat in this scenario. He really needed her help. 

"Evelyn please. You were right and I was wrong. I cannot keep going on bad dates. I just told my sister that I have a date, and her name is Evelyn. If you were to agree, it would really mean the world to me," He really wished that he could be in front of her at that very moment. Some begging just came across better when you were there in person. 

Being on the phone made it sound impersonal, and Evelyn did not sound all that convinced.

"Last time I suggested that we fake date. You told me, without mincing any words that you had no interest and that you thought I was some sort of lowlife scum. What's to make me believe that things have changed now?" Eric really hoped that she forgot about that at some point in the future. It would really not be good for their relationship for her to keep bringing up the past. But if he had to, he would beg for as long as it took for her to forgive him if it meant that she would be his fake girlfriend.

"Evelyn Hale, if you were to be my fake girlfriend, I would be the best fake boyfriend ever. You would never have to worry about anyone trying to sing to their ex at your table. You would not have to worry about somebody nearly boring you to death. You would not..."

"All right, all right, I'll consider it. Let's meet at..." She seemed to be thinking for a bit and then when she finally came up with something she told him.

" Do you know that diner that is near to the church on the east side? Eric went through his mental map and nodded.

"Yes I know it,"

"Good, let's meet there tomorrow at ten. We will discuss things then," He did not even try to hide how relieved he was.

"Thank you Evelyn,"

"Do not thank me yet. I have not yet decided whether or not we are going to be doing this or not," With that she hung up, and Eric let out a sigh of relief. It was not a yes, but it was not an outright no either. He still had hope.

They could still work something out.

The day after his desperate phone call to Evelyn, Eric found himself sitting in the diner that they had agreed to meet at. She'd said ten and he had nodded along. Now he had been there for an hour. Not because she was late, but because he had come earlier. Nervousness making it nearly impossible for him to stay in his apartment. So he had packed up and taken his work to the diner with him, but that had been a wasted effort. He could not seem to focus and no matter what he did, his mind just kept wandering back to Evelyn. She had yet to arrive despite five minutes having passed since 10 o'clock. 

He knew to give her a bit more time. That she was probably held up in traffic or something, but it did very little to decrease his nerves. What if she was not coming? What if she had decided that he just was not worth it? What if on the way there she had bumped into some random guy, and the clouds had parted. Butterflies alighting all around them? Clear signs that the two of them were meant to be together. 

What if Eve was currently getting to know that guy better, having even forgotten that she'd had a meeting with Eric in the first place? The last one was a far-fetched scenario, but given the way that his luck had been going, it was the most likely to happen. If she turned him down, what was he going to do? She'd said that they could meet, but she had also...not come out right and told him whether or not she would agree to the fake dating, or if she was just calling him out so that she could tell him to move on in person. Waiting was a stressful experience, and Eric did not like it at all. 

If he could have, he would have gone back in time and kicked his past self out of the way so that he could tell Evelyn that he wanted to be her fake boyfriend. Things would have been so much easier for him if he'd just said yes the first time. But thanks to whatever he had been on, that night at Chardays. He now had to suffer through waiting, not knowing what Evelyn's choice was going to be.

Staring at his half empty cup of coffee. He was seriously contemplating just throwing some money on the table and leaving. Sparing himself the humiliation of waiting for somebody who would never come. But then there was a loud throat clearing right next to him, just like back at the restaurant. He nearly jumped a foot in the air, and when he glanced over, he was greeted by the sight of purple. Evelyn was in a purple poncho that instantly drew the eye, but somehow, instead of looking garish, it suited her. A huge smile broke across his face and he stood to welcome her. 

"Hello, Eric," She said, taking a seat across from him.

"You came," He breathed, unable to hide how relieved he was. She merely nodded, her expression serious.