Author's note: It's that time of year again...one-shot time! But what's this? A Chris one-shot in his POV? I think that's a first for me. I have to say I had a real fun time trying to get into Chris Chambers' head. Anyway, I hope you like it. And I hope you like my take on Chris - it's how I picture him.
Okay, so this one-shot is connected to a Chris/OC story that I have had in my mind for about 8 years! I haven't even started writing it yet! But my take on Chris' character is how he's going to be in the story when it's eventually written lol (and the events that happen in this will be mentioned. P.s The oc in this story is not the same girl though.)
Please leave me your thoughts in a review or a pm. Would love to know if you liked it or loathed it. I hope not the latter haha.
Story is named after the Four Seasons song December '63 (Oh, What a Night) If you know the song then you might have an inkling of what this is about, hehe.
\m/
Warning: Some strong language.
Oh, What a Night!
TheGoofyCat
It was the kinda December night you'd wrap up warm to. I had a jacket on, I still remember which one it was, it had been Eyeball's and then it had been handed down to me when he grew out of it. It still smelt like a brewery. Man, no matter how many times my mom washed his clothes, they'd still have that smell of his.
I was up on the hill laid on the grass with only a pack of smokes and my mind to keep me company. We used to walk on the grass and go cricket catching up here. You know, who could catch the most and that kinda shit, you'd always have that one kid who'd take it too far and squish 'em or cut off their heads just for the kicks, so it got pretty boring after awhile. The crickets had all died out due to winter, so the hill was dead silent that night. To tell you the truth I sorta missed their chirping.
I was drifting in and out of sleep when I felt Gordie lay down beside me. I knew it was him right away. He was the only one smart enough in this town to appreciate the view of the night sky and the feeling of the cold air hit the tip of your nose.
"What you doing here, Gordie?"
"I dunno, man." He shrugged. "It seemed like a nice night to go for a walk. How 'bout you?"
"Same." I smirked and then looked at our old treehouse that was still perched in the tree. I nudged him with my elbow. "Can you believe that thing is still going? I was pretty sure it was one twig fall away from crashing to the ground and that was two years ago."
Gordie chuckled. "Yeah! It's weird how small it looks now though, isn't it?"
"Has it always been blue?"
"Nah. Some kids painted it when the Dodgers won the world series." He spat to the ground in disgust. Gordie had been and always will be a Yankee fan.
"I'm just playin' with ya, man." I laughed and nudged him again. "Of course I remember. I just like to rub ya nose in it. Good ol' sixty-three."
"Piss off-"
"Or cut your dick off!"
I took one look at Gordie and we burst out with laughter. I was never one good at keeping a straight face when insults at a friend were concerned.
"Can you believe we've only got six months until we graduate?"
That's what was great about Gordie. How one moment you could be talking about the stupidest shit and then the next we could talk about the serious shit, we could talk about anything, and we didn't care what it was about we could just keep talking.
"Yeah, it's crazy! Eight more months then I'm outta here." I could hardly contain my excitement and I kicked the heel of my shoe on the dirt. "Man, I can't wait."
"Yeah, me too." Gordie gave me a weak excuse for a smile and I could tell something was bothering him just by the expression of his eyebrows and the fact that he wasn't grinning at the thought of getting out of Castle Rock.
"Your dad still wanting you to go to Oregon State?"
"Yeah. Shit, I dunno what I'm gonna do." He let out a sigh. "It's all right for you, man, you've known what you wanna be for the last two years. But, me? I got no clue." He kicked his feet on the ground out of pure frustration and I gave him a good kick in his keds
"You got time, man. You'll figure it out."
"You're just saying that, Chris. You're just trying to make me feel better." He sat up quickly and I grabbed his arm.
"Listen, Gordie." I used my left arm to push my torso up. "You'll figure it out, you always do! You're the one that got me into the college courses. You're the one that helped me realize I want to be a lawyer. And if you don't figure it out, well, you can always-"
"Always, what?" He looked at me as if what I was about to say was going to solve all his problems.
I stifled a laugh. "You can always work with Eyeball down at the lumberyard." I bit my bottom lip to stop myself exploding with laughter at the thought of Gordie lugging timber around all day.
He punched me in the gut and I burst out laughing.
"Fuck you, man! That ain't funny." He scowled, but I knew he was holding back a grin.
"Then why are you trying to stop yourself from laughing?"
"Because your face is funny!"
"That's bad, man. That's real bad." I shook my head. "I know you can insult me better than that!" I slapped him on the back. "Just like I know you know what you really wanna do. You're a real good writer, Gordie." I nudged him with my shoulder.
"C'mon, Chris."
"I'm serious, man. Get yourself a job writing at The Oregonian. Start from the bottom and then work your way up," I shrugged. "I dunno, freelance or somethin'."
"Yeah, but..." Gordie hesitated. "My dad's right when he says it's a waste of time...And I do wanna go to college-"
"Well, then you can write for the college paper, man." I said and he rolled his eyes at me and looked at the ground. "I'm right. You know I am! Don't be doing what your old man wants you to do. If I did what my dad wanted me to do - I'd working at the lumberyard right next to Eyeball. Do I wanna see myself in twenty years time with a hunchback from years of hard labor? No. And do you really wanna see yourself in twenty years time teaching literature to kids who don't give a fuck? While your dad still tells you how you never amounted to anything that Denny ever could have been. I'm sorry, man, but I don't think so." The words hit him hard and I regretted saying them as soon as they spilled out, but I was right and he knew it.
I laid my head back on the grass this time with my arms behind my head. Gordie stayed sitting and we didn't speak a word to each other. I couldn't say another word - there were no more words - I had said everything I had wanted to say and anything I could've said after would have just belittled the words I had already spoken. But Gordie? I was pretty sure he had a whole dictionary filled with words he could say right about then.
Three or four minutes passed and Gordie lay back down beside me before he spoke, "Do you really think Eyeball's gonna have a hunchback in twenty years?"
I looked at him and a huge smile had erupted on his face. I grinned with him. "Yeah! That with his dodgy eye he's gonna be a real looker."
"He'll still look better than you, Chambers."
"Now, that's the insult I was talking about, you asshole."
He took a deep sigh. "You know what I'm really looking forward to at college?" I raised my eyes at him to answer. "The girls."
"Yeah," I sighed. "I recon you can finally get laid."
"You too, Chambers."
"Well, that ain't a problem anymore."
"What'd you mean?" He tilted his head in confusion and I gave him a wink. "No way, man, no way. When? With who?"
"Calm yourself, Lachance. I'll tell ya..."
It had happened that very same night. I had come home from a game of baseball at the park with a few of the guys in my biology class - we were no good at biology but we were sure good at running some bases - I had always been a runner, I could run circles round every guy in town without ever having to hold my sides to catch a breath. I was a natural, but the guys always said it was because I had years of practice from dodging my father's belt, maybe they were right but I still insulted anyone who said it - running was the only thing I was ever good at and I wasn't gonna let my father take the credit for it.
I had come home in a good mood, my team had won and I had even scored a couple of home runs, mainly my mood was high was because my father was out of town for the weekend with a few of his buddies and there was no chance he would be coming home anytime soon and my mother was visiting her sister in Portland with my brothers and sister. I had the house to myself and I decided to celebrate with a bottle of coke I had stashed in the fridge. When I walked into the kitchen I wasn't alone like I first thought, instead I was greeted with Karen Ray - one of Eyeball's many ex-girls.
"Hi," she greeted. "You seen Eyeball anywhere?"
"No. He not at his place?" I opened the fridge and dug my hand in deep till I caught a hold of the bottle. "Or at the pool hall?"
"No, I already checked," she answered with a sigh and she tilted her head at me with a frown - she must have been confused at the surprised expression on my face.
There were three things that could have been the cause of my shock. One: The fact that Eyeball's old chick was sitting in the house he didn't live in anymore. Two: The fact that Eyeball wasn't at the pool hall getting piss drunk. And three: The fact that my coke was still in the fridge. I like to think it were the latter.
I opened my coke and sat down at the kitchen table. Karen was sat opposite me and I had to stop myself from looking at her cleavage. I was pretty sure if Eyeball had walked in and saw me checking out his old girl I wouldn't have been able to see for a week. She was a good five years older than me and, man, you could tell she had grown up, in all the right places too!
"I thought he might be here with your father."
"Our dad's on a boat trip, he won't be back until Sunday evening." I swallowed some coke. "Maybe, he's gone with him." I lied, I couldn't muster up the courage to tell her if you can't find Eyeball on a Friday night down at the pool hall then he's probably somewhere he doesn't want to be found, which means he's definitely out somewhere screwing some other chick. "What's it to you anyway?"
"He owes me money." It didn't surprise me - Eyeball owed half the town money - She sunk back in her chair and ran her hand through her hair and we sat in an awkward silence before she spoke, "You know, you don't look nothing like your brother. You're, like, opposites or somethin'."
Everyone around town knew that I bore no resemblance to Eyeball. Eyeball looked just like our father, but with our mother's eyes. And me? Well, I looked like my Uncle Pat. Castle Rock was not short of gossip when I popped out looking just like Patrick Chambers. The only thing I ever got from my father that wasn't a black eye? His eyes.
"I don't just mean by your looks. You act different to Eyeball." I had to bite my tongue or I would have told her that if the world had sprouted out two Eyeballs then it would have meant the end of it. "I can't put my foot on it, but you're different. You're seventeen, right?" I answered with a nod. "When Eyeball was seventeen he was nothing like you."
I couldn't bite my tongue any longer. "It's probably because I'm not an ass."
"Oh, I think you can be sometimes."
"Well, Chambers' aren't known for their chivalry."
"You're right about that."
"So, how much does Eyeball owe ya?"
"Too much!"
"Why'd you give him money? You must know he's never gonna pay ya back?"
She shrugged. "I was kinda hoping we'd get back together."
"You should find a nice guy, somebody who isn't gonna treat you like dirt."
She leaned on the table and now I couldn't help but look at her cleavage. "But where's the fun in that?"
I took a swig of my coke. "You're not as smart as I thought you were."
She laughed. I had no idea what the chick was thinking, all I knew was that she wasn't looking at me like a chick looks at her ex-boyfriends brother. "If Eyeball ain't gonna pay me back, then I should pay him back. Don't you think?"
"What?"
She stood up from the chair and waltzed right over to me. "I say we come up with something to pay him back." I looked up at her and got a whiff of her perfume, or was it just the smell of her skin? I can't remember. "Why don't we go to your room and figure something out?"
She placed her hand on mine and led me upstairs.
"Bullshit!"
"Bull-true, man, every word!"
"Shit, man! That's messed up."
"You telling me? But when a girl offers herself up on a plate you don't say no, do ya?"
"So, what was she like?"
"To be honest, man, I can't even remember. I don't even think it lasted that long." I laughed. "The last thing I know we're sharing a cigarette and then she got dressed and left. But you wanna know the real messed up part?" I gulped. "Eyeball came into my room not even ten minutes after. Ten minutes, man, I thought I was a dead man walking!"
"No way!"
"Yeah. Jesus! You shoulda seen me, man. I didn't know whether to laugh or beg him not to kill me. But, he was real drunk - couldn't even tie his own shoelace - So, even if he did come in I don't even think he'd have noticed."
"Has anybody ever told you how lucky you are, Chambers?" Gordie shook his head in disbelief. "What was Eyeball doing back at the house anyway?"
"That's how drunk he was! Asshole thought he was at his place. Took me an hour just to get him outta my room, let alone the house! He even tried to take a leak in the fridge."
"Should've just left him there." Gordie smirked.
"Yeah, I thought of that," I paused. "But, I didn't wanna come home to a shit in the sink, or somethin'."
