Voice of Reason

Tapping his foot on the floor, Eric was waiting for the door to open. With two cups of coffee and some bagels in his hand, he had luckily managed to get to the Dakota apartments without dropping any of it, and now all he needed was Kate to open up. He’d only been back in the city for a week or two, but he was already restless to get away. The fact that Kate had told him she was thinking of moving back to L.A. was probably a big part of why he was so restless, but he’d never admit that to himself. Instead, he’d asked his mother about the Swedish cottage he got for his sixteenth birthday, found out it was still taken care of, and had made the impulsive decision to take Kate there for a while. It wasn’t always Serena who ran away in the Van Der Woodsen family.

It seemed that he’d woken up Kate with his call, but it had only made him smile. She seemed quite surprised when he’d told her he was right outside, which only added to the surprise that he’d been going for. When the door finally opened, Eric flashed Kate a welcoming smile as he held up the breakfast. “Good morning sunshine,” he said as he stepped closer to give her a kiss. “I brought breakfast.”

“You owe me and before you say anything—no, macarons from François Payard will not suffice as compensation.” Serena insisted, rubbing her cheek for emphasis of the ordeal. “That sounds perfect Eric!” The slight burn she’d suffered initially from the Hamptons’ harsh sunlight had only just faded to a tan, but the thought of spending an evening with her brother could be anywhere and still seem appealing. “Coming?” She added quickly, pinching his cheek like one would a baby’s and jumping up from the bed before he could get her back. 

“You are a spoiled little girl,” Eric joked as he squinted his eyes, knowing that he himself was, essentially, just a spoiled little boy. “Next time you just have to sleep in longer,” he went on with a confident nod before grunting when she pinched his cheek and slapping her hands away. “Get away from me,” he laughed as he got up and picked up his beach towel, his phone and sunglasses. “I’m not going to do all the work on the sandcastle though, just so you know. I will make you help me.”

“I did do pretty well last year… And took a pretty eclectic course load then too. Well, we’ll see. I’ve got a little bit of time to decide. Oh, of course you are. Let’s hear it, responsible adult, what’s on the agenda for next semester?”

“You’d do great in whatever course you take up, I’m sure,” Eric said with a wide grin before listing off his subjects. “I went for cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology,  and social psychology,” he said with a nod. “All very much geared towards my major, but mom also made me take up foundations of entrepreneurship. I’ve told her before I don’t plan on starting my own business anytime soon, and I never want to take over from her or whatever, but.. She’s my mom, what can I do?”

“I don’t need this right now, please— just go away.”

“Oh, sorry, I-- I didn’t want to bother you. Are you okay?”

“Actually, I really like that idea. That could be fun… or I could end up with full load of engineering and math courses. Is that how you picked out your classes? Leave it up to fate?”

“And I bet you’d ace all of them anyway,” Eric said with a grin as he sat down next to Kate. “Me? No, of course not. I’m a responsible adult, I always make my decisions wisely.”

“There is absolutely no way I could narrow down the entire course catalog into four classes I want to take. Any suggestions?”

“Well, you can always just close your eyes, flip the pages, and see where that takes you. It might not be the most productive or smartest decision though.”

His enthusiasm was nothing but contagious, and Elena only found herself mirroring his radiant smile with one of her own, mentally preparing herself for what could possibly be yet another lame joke. And without further ado, his joke delivered an unaltered, growing chortle that made her stomach hurt, hiding her face behind her hands. “That was so—awful, Jesus Christ. How do you even come up with these jokes? Is this really how you used to hit on girls? Like, this actually worked?”

Eric was way too proud of his own humor, but that was probably the reason people usually laughed anyway. “Awful?? Thanks Elena, I’ll be sure to pass it on to the cool seven year old who told me that joke,” pretending to be hurt by her comment. “Do they work? Well-- I have a girlfriend, don’t I?” he said with a big grin. 

Katherine fell into a support like no other, two strong arms that gave her a foundation to stand on. Everything had become difficult; impossible. Even for the girl who had faced obstacles of all sorts, there was always a weakness. And that weakness came in the form of an eight month old baby she couldn’t get off of her mind. Eric’s arms provided warmth and comfort she never knew she needed. Words weren’t needed, not in those few moments. Were they moments? Were they minutes? Time wasn’t really a factor. Not until the hourglass need for a hug ran out of sand, and she was left enclosed in physical affection from another — something she was definitely not accustomed to. Watery eyes soon came to dry, and she was left staring ahead in what soon became an awkward silence. Despite her discomfort, she was grateful she had someone like Eric van der Woodsen in her life, someone who she could almost trust. However, the personality of Katherine Sparks reigned true in her veins; there was no escaping who she inevitably was. A soft cough escaping her once trembling lips broke the silence, or so she hoped. “That’s.. you know — enough now.” 

Eric, of course, didn’t notice Katherine’s awkwardness at all. He loved being close to people, both physically and mentally close, and with Katherine, those moments were extremely rare. The last physical moment they’d had was probably when she’d kicked him in the balls, and that didn’t exactly qualify. He hugged her tightly, trying to show her how much his friendship with her meant, how much he cared for her, and it took him a moment to realize what exactly she was saying. He let go of reluctantly -- still knowing all too well what happened when she got irritated, and when she was at arm’s length, he smiled at her. “I’m glad we’re friends,” he said, hoping that it would reach her mind and tell her that coming undone was absolutely okay. “Now-- what was that about getting you drunk?”

“Madhouse is an understatement. I walked in on an elderly man in my bathroom this morning, one of grandma’s friends from one society group or another I think. I won’t scar you with the gory details.” Serena said, feigning horror. “It’s unfortunate you slept in, you missed a cheek pinching marathon and our great aunt Lucy. Eric, she looks like Neville’s grandmother from Harry Potter now. I kid you not.” She was rambling and she knew it. Even though her brother never pressured her into revealing secrets, it felt like the truth would undoubtedly spill out on it’s own accord sooner rather than later. “You and me sounds perfect.” She added, taking a deep breath. “Want to grab a coffee?” 

“That-- was something I definitely don’t need a visual image of,” Eric said as he shook his head, pretending to actually shake off any image Serena had planted inside his mind. Back in New York, the house had already been packed enough with five teenagers and his mom and Bart all under the same roof, but with family joining in for the holidays, there was only so much Eric could take. It was a big beach house, and Eric cherished family, but sometimes it was just too much. “I’m so happy I slept in,” he said with a big grin as he looked at his sister, who’d had to suffer through the cheek pinching marathon on her own. “Yes, coffee, and then we can hit the beach. I’ve been really wanting to build a sandcastle,” he said, never letting go of his child side.

Chuck bit the inside of his cheek, before peering over in the direction that Eric had turned too. Not recognizing any of the faces he let out an exasperated sigh, and lifted his hand to his head to rub his temples slowly. “I don’t think I need to worry, I am very confident that I have complete control over everything, though that doesn’t mean I don’t have to be alert. With power comes people who want to see you fall.”

Eric had ordered a drink before Chuck had joined him, and once a waiter brought it to the bar he picked it up to take a sip as he listened to Chuck. “Right,” he said with a nod. Sometimes, Eric thought that Chuck took things too seriously, but since getting to know Bart better, he could see exactly why power was so important to Chuck. “Make sure no one is able to blackmail you and stuff,” he joked, referring to their other conversation. 

"What do we need the pizza for?"

"Oh come on, grow up!"

"Of all the things I thought you'd say to me, you single handedly picked out the one sentence that hurts the most."

"It's kinda.. sexy, isn't it?"

"Are you always this annoying or is the alcohol helping you reach new lows?"

"Last time I checked dumping a body in a dumpster was still illegal."

"Just stay still."

"As much as I enjoy being close to a hot naked body, I really do have to get away before anyone sees us."

"For me? Wow.. I must've died and went to heaven."

"I'm pretty sure that qualifies as cheating."

"This isn't yours, is it?"

"I promise to pay it all back by next month."

"I can live with that."

"You're breaking and entering."

"God, if my parents ever find out about this..."

"Well I'm not exactly photo genetic, but I can give it a try."

"Shh. Inside voices."

"That definitely doesn't make you cool."

"Harry Potter is not just a character. It's a way of life."

"What if we get caught?"

“Oh my gosh, she would.” Serena replied, covering her mouth in mock terror. Their grandmother was nothing, if not her own force of nature. Luckily for the siblings, this seemed to be heredity and many in their family possessed a similar strength and presence. “I suppose…” Her eyes began doing that thing where she looked everywhere except her brother as her words trailed off—desperate not to talk about what truly bothered her. “Fine, I’ll go, but in exchange I want free tickets to the next production of Cats. Wouldn’t miss my big brother’s broadway debut for the world.” Moving to sit on the bed beside Eric, she rested her head on his shoulder. “Poor thing, I hope she’s feeling brighter soon. Do you want to hang out instead? I know I’ve been home a while now, but I miss you.”

Eric could easily see that Serena wasn’t telling him something, but he didn’t want to push the issue. It was most likely Blair-related, and he knew that if his sister wanted to talk about it, she would. “Great,” he said when she agreed to come to the White Party, before breaking out in laughter when she went on talking about Cats. “S, come on, you know I’m more of a Fiyero man,” he said, pretending to be disappointed. He’d always loved musicals, but Wicked was definitely a favorite. “Yeah, she’s been sick a lot lately, I hope she’ll be better quickly,” he agreed when she rested her head on her shoulder. “I miss you too-- the house is a madhouse right now, so many people,” he admitted with a smile before nodding. “Alright, let’s have a sibling day. Without Chuck and Kenna I mean. You and me. What do you want to do?” Eric didn’t have a problem with Chuck or Kenna-- he liked them both, but it felt like ages since he and his sister’d had a day to themselves.