Heather Duke

(1985)

She felt that she'd done everything she could to be the right girl for him. She was suppoortive of everything, all the gigs he played on the weekends with his band. She didn't call him constantly asking where he was and what he was doing (which she knew drove him nuts because his roommate, Glenn, had told her so when she'd asked for some pointers).

She'd done everything she thought she could to be the perfect girl for Eric and still he hadn't asked her to be his official girlfriend.

And then he hit on her best friend!

Like, seriously, what did she have to do?

She wasn't the type to become just another girl in the harem. So how did she get that role in Eric's life? Blind pursuit. She didn't want to believe he was seeing other girls. She didn't want to believe he wanted to see other girls.

Sighing, she rolled off the bed, intent on scavenging for some kind of chocolate in the kitchen when she heard the familiar ring of the phone.

She jumped across her bed and swung the phone to her ear, only to hear the click of the answering machine.

"Hey, Cheyenne, where did you go last night? I thought you were coming to Bershetti's with me after I beat Tom at a game of pool? Just wanted to make sure you were all right."

That was the Eric she loved. The one that called her wondering how she was.

She thought about what to say to him when she saw him next.

I thought you left me on purpose! I wasn't sure what was going on, so I just went home.

Should she say more? Maybe tell him how much she wanted him to be exclusive with her?

Eric, I have to tell you something that's been on my mind lately.

No, no, no. She started over.

Eric, I really think we need to talk about our relationship.

No, that was too serious! Maybe she should be honest with him. And if she was going to be honest, it would be better to do it at a gig because he would be drunk and subjected to loosing focus on their conversation.

And I was upset because of the whole Valentine's Day thing and thought you were leaving me behind at the bar to spend time with your friends. Were you? What's going on? Do your friends come first? I need to know.

She jumped off of her bed and flung her arms in the arm, silently saying Yes! She grabbed Mr. Jenkins from her bed and sat down in front of her vanity. She looked at the picture of Eric tapped to the mirror.

Eric was so darn cute. He had straight blonde hair. His face was clean-shaven. He had perfect skin, too, better than hers. She was always breaking out.

The phone rang again and Cheyenne let the answering maching pick it up. After the beep, Eric said, "I waited around for you and when you didn't show up, I thought you left ahead of us. I'm sorry. You know I'd never leave you on purpose like that. I heard you went home with Jeff. Is it true?"

The more she thought about it, the more she realized it was true. When they'd gone to the bar, he never left her side because she told him that she was nervous and slightly intimidated by Eric's friends. Jeff had promised to make her as comfortable as he could, and he'd kept that promise.

If he'd invited her to the bar, he would never have left her without saying something. She realized this now, all too late.

She listened to the rest of the message.

"Look, Cheyenne, I'm sorry if you're upset about Valentine's Day, but i can't break an agreement. I promised the guys that I'd drive up to New York for a few gigs that weekend. It would be unfair to the band. We'll have dinner or something when I come back. I promise. Call me later."

Cheyenne dropped her head onto the vanity. What could she do to get Eric to commit to her and only her? Maybe if she got his friends on her side, she'd have an easier chance of getting Eric on her side. It was worth a shot.