AWW, YOU'RE SO CUTE
FOR THINKING I'D FOLLOW YOU
INTO A NUDE BEACH.

ANNA WAS SITTING BESIDE ERIC AND JASON, who were currently looking through European magazines. They had been getting extremely excited about the Europe trip they were planning on attending. Eric had even picked up a few shifts at the grocery store to make enough money that he could bring Anna with him. It was fair to say they were all estatic.

"What you got there, guys?" Alan asked, coming in to see them all reading the magazines.

"Books for our summer trip." Eric said excitedly, causing Alan to look through the magazines.

"Mmm... Europe on a Student's Budget."

"Backpacking Your Way Through Italy."

"Goldie on a nude beach." Eric teased, elbowing Anna's arm slightly as she fake pouted at him in response.

"Aww, you're so cute for thinking I would follow you into a nude beach." She teased, ruffling his hair as he rolled his eyes at her.

"There's a new book out on Europe you may have missed. It's called Nobody's Going to Europe if Their Grades Don't Come Up. I read that one. I couldn't put it down." Alan explained, coming to stand behind Eric menacingly, making him chuckle nervously.

"So, ah... how's it end?" He asked, and Alan pretended to be confused.

"It's not clear. The main character's parents just got a note from his teacher, Mr. Feeny, that says he's not doing so well in European History." Alan said, raising an eyebrow at Eric, who stomped his foot like a toddler as he looked over at Anna, who just shrugged. She had been used to getting Eric out of trouble at this point, to be honest she was tired.

"But Dad, that's why I'm not doing well. Because I don't have any hands-on European experience, you know?" Eric explained, nodding, proud of his response.

"That's why we're going to Europe to get our hands on something." Jason mumbled, making Anna groan and shove him.

"Eric, if I don't see a B average, you're gonna be touring the continent from behind your summer school desk." Alan explained, letting another groan fall from Eric's lips.

"Okay, a B average. See, that's not a problem. So, what do I need for that - like, B's?" Eric asked, looking over at Anna for advice. She nodded and gave him two thumbs up, in a way saying 'you're doing great honey,' as Alan nodded.

"I'd like to see some of those. And also some of those little letters that look like teepees."

Eric looked at his dad confused, then at Jason, then to Anna. She raised a brow at him, encouraging him to think about it but he just nodded, making her sigh out her response.

"A's."

"Ahh..." he mumbled, letting his head fall down into his magazine in dread.

• ✧ •

"THURSDAY'S EXAMINATION WILL INCLUDE EVERYTHING UP TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION." Mr Feeny explained, and for once Eric was scribbling down as many notes as he could in his notebook. Considering the last time he failed he wasn't allowed to see Anna, he wasn't about to let that happen again.

"Uh, excuse me. Will we have to know who won?" He asked, and Mr Feeny looked at him confused as Anna answered for him

"Yes, you will need to know who won and by how much."

Before Eric could ask any questions, the bell rang as all the students quickly evacuated the room, leaving just the three stooges and a concerned student talking to Feeny. They were waiting for their chance, to take advantage of Feeny of course. Anna wasn't having it though, simply just there because Eric was her walk to next period.

"Eric, I don't think this is gonna work." Anna whispered, earning a scoff from the boy.

"Come on, this is a great idea. We just gotta catch him in a good mood, you know?" Eric said, and Anna just shook her head, pinching her nose with frustration.

"It's never a good idea with you two." She mumbled quietly, and Eric poured as he placed an arm over her shoulder.

"Oh come on sweetheart, have some faith." He said, placing a kiss on her cheek before making his way over to Feeny.

"This isn't an F, it's an F plus. Your work is deplorable, your penmanship illegible. But after all, your mother is my sister, so there we are. I'll see you at Thanksgiving." Feeny said sternly, handing the boy in front of him his failed test, as he left the room with a scowl on his face. Now was their chance, and Eric stepped forward.

"Excuse me, Mr. Feeny, could we just talk to you for a second?" He asked, causing Mr Feeny to glance up, already preparing for the shenanigans about to ensue.

"If you must. Miss Hunter, you were roped into this?" He replied, his eyes not leaving the tests on his desk. He was a busy man.

"Always Mr Feeny." Anna replied, causing Feeny to chuckle slightly.

"Jason and I were thinking, we're both C plus students..."

"I'm aware."

"We seem to be stuck on that C plus and we just can't get off it." Eric said, gesturing as if he were confused, as if it weren't obvious.

"The word is "mired."

"Uh-huh. All right, what about on the next test or two, if you give us, say, B's? You know what's gonna happen?"

"Tell me."

"For the first time, we're gonna know how exciting it is to get a B. We'd be hooked! We would do anything we could to get another one of those B's. We would be inspired to study and learn from that day forward." Eric explained. The funny thing was he really did think that was gonna work. Mr Feeny just looked up at him, a look Anna had liked to call the Eric look, the look he gave when Eric said something so dumb he couldn't even tell Feeny was bullshitting him.

"Aha. Then why don't we give elephants pants? Perhaps then they'd be inspired to buy coats." Feeny teased, and Eric just sighed.

"Let's go."

"Gentlemen... I have a radical idea of my own. Let's say for the next test or two, you both study very, very hard. It's Okay. And your better grades will then be deserved."

"But see, Mr. Feeny, if we don't get a B, we can't go to Europe."

"Are you serious about raising your grades?" Both boys nodded enthusiastically, and Mr Feeny nodded back. "Because if you are, I might recommend a senior teaching assistant."

"You mean like a tutor?" Eric asked, a disgusted scowl on his face.

"But, but I don't need a tuto I have Goldie." He said, and Mr Feeny just sighed.

"As much as I trust and respect Miss Hunter, she has been tutoring you for the past few months and you seem to be in the same place." Mr Feeny explained, causing Anna's face to flush with red.

"Sorry, we get distracted." She said shamefully, dragging her foot on the ground with embarrassment.

"But, but Mr Feenyy..." Eric whined, making Jason groan.

"Oh just do it. Do you wanna go to Europe?" Anna asked, and Eric looked at her with a similar childish gaze.

"But, but Goldiee..."

"We'll do it." Jason said, making Feeny smile as he lead the two to the back of the classroom, to retrieve the tutor he was going to assign them to.

"Why did you say yes?!" He asked loudly, earning an angry look from Jason.

"'Cause I want to go to Europe!"

"A tutor? You know what that is? It's a four-eyed, greasy-haired, zit-faced, life support system for a book." Eric explained. As if on queue, even Anna had to admit the tutor that walked in was gorgeous. Jason stared at her in awe, and Eric stared at her as if he was wondering where all the zits went.

"Hi, I'm Tory Hart." She greeted, as Jason turned to Eric.

"If you knew anything, would you need a tutor?"

• ✧ •

SHAWN HAD QUICKLY MADE ANNA AWARE THAT MR TURNER WOULD BE SHOWING UP AT THEIR UNCLE MIKES BIKE SHOP FOR REPAIR. Now, she liked Mr Turner as a teacher, he was one of the good ones she had. Similar to how Shawn felt, they were worried their uncle would surely try to rip him off, as he usually does, and she decided to take a shift at the shop today to make sure that didn't happen. The two had just come back from fixing up a car, grease covering their clothes as the saw Mr Turner at the front.

"Hey, Mr. Turner." Shawn greeted with a kind smile.

"You two guys met already?" Anna asked, concerned when Mr Turner looked at her with a nervous smile.

"Yeah, we're making dinner plans." He replied. She genuinely couldn't tell if he was kidding. After so many years with Shawn and Eric, you start to loose sense of what may be a joke or not.

"Look, this guy's our teacher. You take good care of him, okay?" Shawn said, turning to Mike who smiled widely.

"Like family!" He cheered, turning to Mr Turner.

"No!" Both Hunters shouted in unison, making Mike roll his eyes.

"Damn, that ms rough Mr Turner. I did the same to mine last year." Anna said, walking out to take a look at Mr Turner's bike. He looked at her with amusement.

"You ride a Harley?"

She couldn't help but laugh really. (I mean come on, we all know she rode a Harr...)

"Oh yeah. Couldn't get a car for my birthday but I could get a bike." She said, pulling herself up from looking at the wheels.

"Well, What do you think it'll cost?" Mr Turner said, turning to Mike.

"Mmm... haa... I'm thinking..."

"Uncle Mike..." Shawn warned, making Mike groan again.

"In the neighborhood of $ ."

"Ahh... I could live in that neighborhood. Listen, I mean, you understand... it doesn't mean I give Shawn a break on grades or anything." Mr Turner explained. Anna felt a bit of pride for having been left out of that. It was a quiet way of Turner saying she didn't need a boost in grades. Ever since she had to help out with the 6th grade play, she got a reality check that she needed to work a hell of a lot harder. Even if it was small, the fact that it went noticed made her happy.

"Like he needs it. Shawnie's the scholar of the family." Mike said proudly, causing Anna to scoff as he patted Shawn's shoulder.

"I think you're telling me the truth." Mr Turner said nervously, and Anna nodded as she fake laughed.

"Haha, he is." She said, slapping a hand on Turner's shoulder as she nodded with wide eyes.

• ✧ •

"OKAY, HERE'S YOUR FIRST QUESTION. There's this girl and she's out with a guy she thinks is pretty cute." Tori said, smiling happily across from Eric. He had a pile of books sitting infront of him, as Tori sat infront of him ready to study. The poor guy didn't know what he had gotten into.

"Now is this hypothetical?" He asked, trying to find where an answer could be, before she grabbed his hand from across the table.

"No it's just, Hi." She said cheekily, as Eric gave her a strange look before pulling his hand away.

"Hi." He mumbled, looking down again at his book.
He couldn't even find himself to be angry, just very confused. To be honest, he hadn't talked to other girls except Goldie in a while, he didn't even notice she may have been flirting, and honestly he didn't even care. Even now, studying, he could only think of his girl.

"So she knows she likes that guy because he's adorable, and obviously real nice, so how does she make it more of a personal relationship without compromising the business side?" Tori asked, making Eric look up at her confused.

"This is about me isn't it?"

"See you're very smart."

"Tori, you know I have a girlfriend." Eric said uncomfortably, scooting in his seat as if he could get further away from her.

"It doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you?" She said, which made him angry, really angry actually. He felt himself scoffing with disgust before he even knew what he was doing, and sent her an evil glare.

"We'll, it does actually, it actually really bothers me because, you see I really care about her." He explained, trying to stay as civil as possible.

"You're right, you're right."

"Alright now, we gotta study, cause if I'm ever gonna get to Europe I have to do well on this test."

"We'll let's see...I like you, I happen to have the answers to the test, and even though I like history, right now I'm thinking more about current affairs." She once again reached her hand across the table, but he retaliated, giving her a confused look.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, I have your ticket to Europe right here." She said, smirking at Eric. He looked back at her nervously, shuffling in his seat uncomfortably.

• ✧ •

THE GROUP HAD JUST TAKEN THEIR SEATS AT THE LUNCH TABLE, after having finished Feeny's long test. Anna was exceptionally exhausted today. Working two jobs, many tests occupying her day, she felt bad that she hadn't kept in touch with Eric nearly as much as she should have, but he knew why the second he felt her fall asleep against his shoulder. He didn't mind though, just let her lay their, running his finger lightly through her hair as a way to let her know it was okay.

"It was brutal." Eric said, scoffing as he began eating.

"Yeah, well at least it was multiple choice." Hope said, making Eric roll his eyes.

"Oh come on it was a Feeny test, each question gives you 11 choices. What'd you pick for that crusades question?" He asked, and Jason replied with his answer.

"R? Shoot I went with V." Eric said, sighing.

"I went with I." Anna mumbled from Eric's shoulder, peaking everyone's interest that she wasn't actually sleeping.

"I?" Eric asked.

"As in I have had enough of your stupidity." She said, grabbing Eric's arm and using it as a pillow on the table. Eric couldn't help but place a soft kiss on top of her head, causing her to let out a pleased low mumble.

"Not like it really matters, I left half the test blank." Eric said as if it were nothing, while everyone looked at him strangely.

"Oh, that could hurt ya." Dani teased, and Eric shook his head.

"Yeah, I should've just taken the answers when Tori offered them to me."

Everyone looked around at each other, even Anna lifted her head to give him a look, before she began eating some of Eric's chips.

"Gee, that was the end of a very good story, perhaps you could tell us the rest?" Jason said, and Eric just shrugged.

"I didn't get the answers cause it would've been cheating." He said, pushing his food over so Anna could eat it.

"Yeah."

"And she wanted something from me in exchange."

"What?"

"Me."

Anna choked on her food, Jason patting her on the back before she looked at Eric.

"I'm sorry?" She asked, and Eric just shrugged again.

"Yeah, she said she'd give me the answers to go out with me."

Anna shook her head with shock, now fully awake.

"And what did you say?"

"I said no can do, I already got the most beautiful girl in the world waiting for me." He said, a proud smile on his face.

"Good." Anna said, kissing his cheek before snuggling into his side. It was sickeningly sweet, and Eric loved every second of it.

"Gentlemen, ladies." Mr Feeny said, greeting the table as he walked over with a few test papers in his hands. "Out of some morbid curiosity, I was anxious to see how you did on your test. Miss Hunter, an A like usually."

"Sick." She cheered. Hope had gotten an A, Dani a B plus, Jason a B minus, and now it was Eric turn. His hands were practically shaking when he was handed the paper.

"Mr. Matthews, you earned an A minus. I think you owe something of a debt of gratitude to Miss Hart." Mr Feeny explained. Eric rubbed his eyes, as if he didn't believe it could be true, before sharing a look with Jason across the table.

"Yeah... I owe her somethin'."

• ✧ •

ANNA WAS NOW BACK AT THE SHOP, happy to show Mr Turner his new bike which Shawn had just polished.

"Hey! Mr. Turner, didn't I tell you my Uncle Mike would do you right?" Shawn chirped, the siblings happily parading into the room.

"Yeah, he's doing me right now." Mr Turner said, showing Anna the check. She sighed and Shawn shook his head disapprovingly at Mike.

"Uncle Mike, we can't take our eyes off you for one second?" He teased.

"That is a legitimate bill. Labor... hours."

"Boy, it sure seemed like it."

"Uncle Mike, this guy's my teacher." Shawn said softly, and Anna stepped up protectively.

"Hey, listen Mike. This guy's important to us..You hurt him, I hurt you." Anna said, stepping up to Mike. She didn't stand down, staring at him as he stared back at her.

"Is that a threat?" He asked. He tilted her head slightly.

"Yeah, it is."

They both stared for a bit, before Mike smiled, patting her shoulder.

"My brother's daughter." He cheered, turning to Mr Turner with a hand around her shoulder.

"Okay, professor, suddenly I'm a man of my word." Mike said, smiling at Anna again. "Just wish your mother was alive to see this." Shawn looked at him confused.

"She is." He replied, making Anna facepalm as Mike nodded doopily.

"Oh, I should give her a call."

• ✧ •

AFTER HAVING CALLED ANNA FOUR TIMES WITH NO ANSWER, Eric felt too bad to wake the poor girl up, so he called Tori. He didn't want to, really, but he knew he couldn't pass without help. He didn't want to do it either, cheating that was, but he only felt like he had to. Like he really really had to. For Anna, for Jason. They wanted to go to Europe so bad, who was he to stop them from it? If that meant he had to cheat, then that's what it meant.

Yesterday's test was just as brutal as the first, possibly even worse then before. He had written the answers on his hand, and had a deathly pit in his stomach all day because of it. He was now in school, sitting on the ledge in the hallway, thinking of what he had done. When surely a pair of arms snaked around his waist. He was excited to hopeful get some cheering up from his girlfriend, but was unpleasantly surprised to see Tori in the other side.

"What are you doing.." he hissed, pushing her away. She didn't budge, in fact she giggled.

"You know you're cute when you're angry." She teased, trying to get closer before he pushed her away again.

"Tori..."

"You could go to Europe like that, with just a little help." She explained, and Eric shook his head defiantly.

"Tori, I have a girlfriend. I don't think she'd really appreciate seeing you this, close to me, nor do I." Eric said angrily. He hated it, he hated this. He didn't even realize how much he longed for Anna's company until he was out in the company of another woman. It really is crazy what love can do to you.

"Then let's just make sure she doesn't have to see it."

It all happened in a second. He couldn't do anything to stop it. It was one of those things that happens, that you swear only happens to ruin your life. But Eric knew, that in the second her lips touched his, his world was over. His worry was only confirmed when he heard a shaky sigh from behind him, one that sounded oh too familiar.

"Wow." She whispered, barely audible, but Eric heard.

"Anna, hey wait, this isn't at all what it looks like, I swear."