What Can I Say?

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"If you don't want her to get away, then don't let her. It really is that simple. A guy is only insecure about losing his girl when he knows someone else can treat her better," she pointed out, though, she didn't think there was anyone better for Liz than Beau and if he didn't do something about it, she would pound his door until he caved in. "Really, I honestly think she'd say yes. I've never seen her so in love, Beau, and I've known her for forever." No, there was no part of her that doubted the love the two of them shared.

"I wasn't kidding when I said that you two are the sole reason I believe love exists and that there really can be a happily ever after-- wait, maybe I never told you that... Well, anyways. Yeah. You two are the reason any of us believe in happily ever after and once upon a time."

Smiling warmly, Erika laughed. "Do you want me to dig up their contact information?" That was illegal, yes, but whatever. That didn't matter right now. "I can even help you pick out a ring." Because a woman's eye and sense of... Whatever. "And yes, you're right; She does deserve that and Liz means the world to me, so I wouldn't have said this if I didn't really think you two deserve each other."

[Beau LaRoux]

"I jus' want what's best for her is all," replied Beau, feeling slightly abashed. He looked to his right, staring at some kind of display talking about various upcoming events. Was that something about a Speed-Dating night? And why was it in the worst color of orange imaginable by man? Beau just shook his head, putting it out of his mind as he moved forward.

"You gotta be over doin' it there, Bellefonte," replied Beau teasingly. Really? The two of them made Erika think that love exists? Beau might not have been quite as up to date on Erika Bellefonte's whirlwind love life as some people, but he was quite certain that the girl fell in love quite deeply and passionately quite frequently.

The laughs at least let Beau know that she was happy. "You mean you ain't sayin' it on account of our bein' friends? Eri, I'm hurt," said Beau, looking around and all. "I think I actually got her folks' number an' all, but this is the kinda thing you gotta do in person, you know?" Where was he now? Was that the dorm? He didn't want to go there, so he turned around, heading the opposite direction.

"Oh hell, now you got me thinkin' about this all serious like," said Beau, though he smiled as he said it, and that smile leaked into each and every word. "Probly oughta wait till Christmas or somethin' though, make it special. Well, hell, I gotta ask her dad first an' ain't no way I'm gonna do this without checkin' with my folks an-- aw, shit," Beau paused, "you can't tell her I'm even thinkin' about it, Eri. Seriously now, no spillin' the beans or I'm gonna have to do somethin' drastic."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Don't you get it?" she smiled. "You're what's best for her." She was a little surprised at how dense he could be, but even so, it didn't keep her from smiling. "And you better realize that before I come over there and knock some sense into your head." Then again, Erika knew that Liz wasn't much better, which just made them even more perfect for one another.

Nodding a little, Erika could easily understand why Beau wanted to do the whole thing properly. In a way, she admired him for it. "Well, if you ever need me to fix it so you get some time away from classes and what not..." she smirked. Hey, what else did people have contacts for? Making sure they didn't get in trouble for skipping a few days of classes was the least she could do. "All you gotta do is ask. After all, I'd be happy to help either of you out and this is kind of big, so..." she laughed again, shaking her head as she moved towards the window, gazing out.

"Good, 'cause you should be thinking about it seriously," she scolded him, trying her best not to laugh. It made her really, really happy. And she felt all warm and fuzzy inside. Smiling as he continued, Erika leaned her shoulder against the window. "I won't say a word. My lips are sealed." Hell, if she would ruin the surprise. She would deprive Liz from that kind of happy surprise. That would be the worst thing she could ever do, and well, considering how happy Beau sounded, she wanted him to be the one telling her, and not Erika. It felt wrong; Just like Erika would have been pissed had someone told her Everett was going to propose. No, it made it all the more special when it came unexpected.

"The surprise is... Well, take my word for it; I wouldn't ruin that kind of surprise for anything in the world."

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau had to chuckle again as Erika insisted that he was what was best for Liz. She sounded so confident of that fact, as though she were talking about how the sky was blue or the sun rose up in the East. Just list it in with one of those proofs of the universe or what have you.

Erika even offered to make things work for him, and Beau stopped moving again, working that over. What would his parents say? Well, actually, as long as he kept up his coursework, they probably wouldn't mind. They'd heard enough about Liz before after all, so it just made sense. Heck, Beau was pretty sure he'd dragged Liz home for a holiday once; he seemed to remember that happening, unless he was already thinking about all the future ones.

He waited, mulling it over while Erika continued, insisting that she wouldn't say a word, that the secret was safe. Beau let out an audible sigh, starting to move again. He barely got a few feet when he stopped. "Take your word for it?" he repeated, tilting his head. "What, Trevor pop the question before--or, wait, Liz was awful excited the other night..." Beau's brow furrowed as he tried to remember. "Is somethin' goin' on there that I don't know about?"

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Smacking her own forehead, Erika pressed her eyes tightly together. Crap. "Uhhhh," she began, pursing her lips. "Well.... No, not Trevor," she said, shifting her position awkwardly. She didn't want to talk about all that now, not when they were having such a calming conversation about him and Liz. She didn't want to impose on that and turn this around to being about her, but the least she could do was share, since he had just done the same thing to her, right?

"Well... I don't know if you know about the depth of my relationship to Everett," she began, biting her lip. "Remember way back when, around that time when I picked you up on the side of the road? Everett and I kind of had a thing then. And well, a lot of stuff happened, and one thing lead to another...And uh, a lot of drama, and uh... Well, he left. And then he came back..." And then left again, which wasn't really important. "And uh, well, when he did, he sort of proposed... And uh..." Wow, this was awkward. "I said yes?"

She didn't know why this whole thing sounded so awkward. Maybe it was because there was so much history there, that Erika didn't really know where to begin. She wasn't sure how much Beau knew about her past relationships, especially the one with Everett.

[Beau LaRoux]

Not Trevor? So, ah, he was right: Everett. Beau did remember that they'd had a thing and all: he hadn't had his head completely buried, despite still working through his own feelings with Liz at the time. So this didn't come as a total surprise and shock to his system.

He grinned as Erika finished, nodding and feeling his own brand of hope swelling up inside. 'Well, congratulations, Erika! Great to hear that you found someone an' all, whoever that is," Beau did barely know Everett though, but again, he figured that if Erika opted to marry him, he had to be a pretty decent guy. Otherwise he was in for a world of pain, given the large family that Erika had. And no, Beau wasn't referring to everyone with the name "Bellefonte."

"An' if he don't treat you right, you know they'll be some major butt-kickin'," drawled Beau. Then something else came to him: "Aww, hell, I definitely can't ask Liz anytime soon an' all. I swear, I didn't know you were all engaged or ain't no way I woulda even brought it up or nothin'. Really. I don't wanna take away none of your special day or nothin'."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Thank you," she chuckled, smiling warmly. Well, that didn't go about nearly as bad as she had thought. She was glad though, that Beau sounded so positive about it and it really made her feel more relaxed and less anxious; She hadn't told a whole lot of people yet, and surprisingly, most people had taken it with a smile. She just hoped they could all see him in the light that she herself did, because Everett was an amazing guy, despite everything that had happened between them.

He made her happy.

"Oh, you've got nothing to worry about there, Beau," she promised. "He's an amazing person. You'll see once you get to know him better." Once Erika was done, she was going to make sure Everett knew her friends the way she did, and that they knew him too. However, when Beau continued, the brunette furrowed her brows. "No, don't think like that," she said, shaking her head. "I don't really like all the attention and what not. Hence why I haven't really told a whole lot of people, so don't hold back because of me. Seriously, if you do, I will kick your ass." And she really would, too.

"Besides, would just give me and Liz more of a chance to gush about our adorable hubbies-to-be." She smirked a little at that. "You're making excuses again," she warned him, her voice filled with humor.

[Beau LaRoux]

More happiness, which was downright contagious, enough that Beau was pretty sure his smile couldn't grow any more, at least until he started worrying again, but that wouldn't be for a bit. Because Erika promised that her guy would do right by her, which had Beau nodding, even while he still figured that he might wanna talk to Everett one on one, let him know what he was getting into with Erika's "family" and all.

Erika almost immediately insisted she didn't want any of the attention on her, which Beau didn't believe for a second. He was already waving his hand dismissively. "Hey now, I ain't makin' no excuse: I'm gonna follow through. 'sides, I was jus' talkin' 'bout doin' it over the holidays anyway, an' we still got a while, no matter what Wal-Mart thinks," Beau chuckled, shaking his head. "Ain't no way I'm gonna take away from your special day, an' I don't wanna hear no different. Ain't an excuse. Also," he stopped, fidgeting a bit, "don't want her to think I'm jus' askin' her on account o' findin' out you an' Everett are engaged. Want her to know it's 'cuz I wanna be with her forever an' all, alright?"

Beau paused, looking around. He'd somehow gotten to the East Wing now, which was quite a bit of walking. Weird how he still felt full of energy. "Now don't you go tellin' nobody nothin' 'bout this an' all, that secret thing still holds. Got a reputation to maintain an' all."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Well... As long as your don't hold back on my account." Really though, Erika didn't like being in the spotlight, which was kind of ironic, seeing as how she very often ended up finding herself there. Whether it was in DL's blog, rumors in general or something else. She liked her privacy and to deal with her own things without people butting in. "But yeah, I totally understand what you mean, although you should really give Liz more credit that that," she said. 

"She's a great girl, and she knows you love her. But really, don't wuss out on me now," she grinned, "Because now that you've told me your plans, I fully expect you to carry them out."

Crossing her heart, even though he couldn't see it, Erika laughed. "Crossing my heart right now; I promise that my lips are sealed." Snorting at his final comment though, Erika rolled her eyes. "Reputation? Don't get cocky now, Blue Eyes."

As their conversation continued, Erika just became more and more certain of the fact that he and Liz belonged together. They both complimented each other's personalities perfectly.

[Beau LaRoux]

"Ain't plannin' on it," replied Beau, though he wasn't sure. Felt like he kept going back and forth, but he knew it had to happen and it had to be soon. Like Erika said, there was just too much planned, and some part of Beau felt it was right. Besides, nothing said they couldn't have a long engagement. They'd probably need to, as Beau's family definitely wasn't going to agree to his getting married until he at least got deep into school.

Great girl: Beau smiled. "Well, she'd better: we kinda already said that to each other an' all," he replied, figuring he could share that bit of good news with Erika. Not like Liz hadn't already cooed it, knowing her. He chuckled again at the secret keeping, nodding and all. He also paused to look around, and realized that he didn't have the slightest clue.

"Well, uh, right," he said, looking around and frowning. "I'll probly need your help gettin' some time to head home, seein' as the folks are still down in the bayou," he said the last in an awful Cajun accent that he could actually make sound much better, "an' i might have to bring MaryAnne with me, 'cuz she'll pitch a fit if she don't. You think you can cover for both of us?" Just where was he? Maybe if he just went back the way he came...?

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Good, that makes me really happy to hear." Ah, young love and all that. She couldn't think of anyone who deserved it more and Liz and Beau either. What was so romantic, was how long they'd been beating around the bush before actually hooking up. Everyone had seen it, yet they seemed to ignore all the signs completely, much to their peers frustrations. But luckily, everything had worked out perfectly in the end.

Nodding, Erika chuckled, "Yeah, don't worry about that at all. After all, what's the point in being friends with one of the headmistresses if you can't have her pull a few strings?" she teased with a beaming grin. Seriously though, she didn't see why anyone would have a problem with that, especially not as Beau was old enough to leave the school, and Beau's sister would be accompanied by her brother.

And really, these kids deserved a break after being held up at the school all summer.

"I've got your back, Beau. Don't fret," she mused.

[Beau LaRoux]

"Thanks Eri," replied Beau. He paused again to look around, then gave up, figuring he'd focus on the conversation and then on getting himself found again. "Really, you helped me figure some stuff out an' all, an' that's more important then the whole pullin' strings bit. An' if you ever need me or Liz to help with somethin', let us know. We already talked to your sister 'bout that one thing, but you know we're around if you need us."

Beau nodded and looked around a bit, finally letting out a breath. "Probly should let you go. Seems like I got lost in some section of the school an' all. 'sides, with a weddin' to plan an' a school to run, I reckon you got your hands full. Thanks again for takin' the time out to help an idiot like me."

Though Beau wouldn't hang up till he was certain it was alright with Erika. Only then would he say his goodbyes.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"I appreciate it and I will definitely keep that in mind," she promised. It was in times like these that Erika was glad she had such amazing friends. "The same goes for you guys. Not only the whole being a headmistress and all, but you know. If you just need someone to talk to -- like we've done today, or anything really. Don't be so awkward about it. I'm never too busy for friends." Besides, the distraction was welcomed with open arms.

Laughing, Erika shook her head. How could someone get lost in the school? "Whistle and see if anyone answers," she suggested. "And it was all my pleasure, so don't mention it at all. That's what friends are for and such."

"Aight, I'll talk to you later, Beau," she said, smiling, "Behave and don't do anything stupid. Cya." And with that, the telekinetic waited for Beau to say his goodbyes before hanging up the phone.