Vern had always been unlucky.
Anyone who had ever met him could tell you that much. He had been overweight growing up, and often teased about it. He had been born into a family where his parents paid more attention to his juvenile older brother than they did him. He had lost ten dollars worth of pennies under his own front porch. Anyone who ever knew the name Vern Tessio did not pair it up with the world 'lucky' or 'fortunate'.
The only lucky thing that had ever happened to Vern was meeting Teddy Duchamp. To know Teddy, to be Teddy's best friend, to mean something to Teddy. Everyone knew that Teddy was a crazy, stubborn, hard-headed, unreasonable lunatic but Vern found himself falling more and more in love with that lunatic every single day.
The feelings started on their search for Ray Brower. Not during the visit, but after, when Vern was walking home, rubbing the penny he'd found on the street with his fingers, and he just thought about Teddy the entire time. And it hadn't struck him until just then how utterly perfect he was. It hadn't struck him until just then how sexy his whole army obsession was, with the army boots and the dog tags. It hadn't struck him until just then how perfect and sexy Teddy was.
After they found Ray, the foursome had just...drifted. Chris and Gordie were still attached at the hip, and so were Teddy and Vern, but the four of them never hung out anymore. It was always Gordie and Chris, and Teddy and Vern, but never Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern. But Vern didn't really mind that much. He liked having Teddy all to himself, anyway.
Things were perfectly normal for a few years. When Teddy and Chris would see each other in the hall, they would just nod or smile and then continue along without a second thought. Vern wished it could have stayed like that. But no. One day Teddy and Chris were nodding to each other in the hallway and the next day they were fucking. Without any warning. The transition happened so fast that it seemed like in just one day, Vern's entire world had changed.
The group had been awkwardly brought back together by Teddy's and Chris's weird love-fest. The four fifteen-year-olds would sit in the treehouse that they were too big for now with nothing to talk about and nothing in common and it was just fucking awkward. It had always been Gordie and Chris, and Teddy and Vern but now it was Teddy and Chris. Now Gordie and Vern didn't know what to do with themselves.
Vern remembered the day that Teddy had pulled him into his room and explained to him that he and Chris had had sex. For no reason at all, they just did. Teddy told Vern that he was possibly gay, which normally would have been the best day of his life, except Teddy wasn't gay for him. Vern just didn't understand why Teddy had picked Chris over him. Sure, Chris was good-looking and everything, but Chris and Teddy had always had a rocky friendship. They both had different personalities that made them disagree on just about everything. Meanwhile, Vern was always there for Teddy, always on his side when Chris had been all about Gordie. Until the day that they fucked.
Somewhere along the way, Teddy and Chris had gone from former-friends-who-fucked to guys-in-a-commited-relationship. And Vern was standing on the sidelines, watching Chris Chambers steal away the guy that he loved. That was when Vern decided that he really was unlucky. Life had given him Teddy, the one person that he loved so very dearly, just so he could take him away.
Vern considered telling the entire town of Castle Rock the secret that they had both tried so desperately to keep. Mr. Chambers would go on a rampage. He might even chase Chris out of town. That could work in Vern's favor. With Chris gone, he would have plenty of opportunities to win Teddy over. But Teddy's boyfriend would be gone and Teddy's father would hate him because having a son who was a fag would just bring shame on their family and Teddy would be upset. He would probably cry. And Vern would hate himself if he ever made Teddy cry.
Right now Vern was standing outside the Duchamp with Gordie, and they were smoking quietly as they waited for Teddy and Chris to come outside. Vern and his best friend had been hanging out in Teddy's room, waiting for the other two to arrive when Chris came waltzing through the door and said that Vern should wait out front with Gordie and that he and Teddy would just be a minute. Vern just rolled his eyes and left the room but he took a peek back before he left and quickly regretted it. The two boys were liplocked and Chris had Teddy pinned down on the bed while they kissed. Vern had to fight the urge to throw up.
Vern looked over at Gordie, who was smoking and staring at something across the street. He asked the skinnier boy how he felt about Teddy and Chris's newfound relationship and Gordie just shrugged and said, "I guess I'm still getting used to it."
"Um. Yeah. Me too," Vern lied, quickly and then forced himself to think about something else, because if he thought about his Teddy being pinned down by that asshole, he was sure he would throw up.
Vern and Gordie ended up waiting almost twenty minutes for Teddy and Chris to meet them outside and when they finally did, Chris just smirked and said he was sorry they took so long and Teddy looked at Vern and winked at him. That was when Vern decided that he wouldn't let Chris have Teddy without a fight. Well...not really a fight, because he wasn't much of a fighter. And he was too nice of a guy to do anything devious.
But Vern could tell Teddy how he felt and maybe, just maybe, Teddy would choose him over Chris.
His chance had come when Gordie and Chris left to go purchase more cigarettes, leaving Vern alone with Teddy in the treehouse. They were playing cards and Vern was losing sorely but only because he wasn't paying attention to the game.
"Ha! I knock! Jesus, Vern, are you even trying?" Teddy asked, throwing down his cards.
"Listen, uh, Teddy, I have to talk to you," Vern said, nervously, putting his cards down.
"Okay. About what?" Teddy wasn't paying attention to him. He was looking at his cards, taking drags on his cigarette, gazing out the treehouse window - probably looking for his precious Chris.
"Teddy-" Vern started, but the other boy was too far gone. He was lost in his own little world. Vern was getting frustrated, so he just grabbed Teddy by the shoulders and kissed him, mashing their lips together.
"Dude!" Teddy yelped, pushing Vern off him. "What the hell?"
"Teddy, I love you," Vern blurted out.
"What?"
"I'm in love with you, dude."
Teddy looked shocked to confused to slightly aggravated (sp?) in a matter of seconds. "Since when?"
"Since Ray Brower."
"Vern...Vern-o..." Teddy ran a hand through his dark blonde hair. "I'm with Chris. I-I love Chris."
"But does he love you?" Vern questioned and Teddy looked furious.
"What the fuck, man? How the hell can you even say that? Of course he does!"
"Has he told you that?" Vern expected Teddy to get even angrier and to start making excuses as to why his boyfriend hadn't said those three little words, but instead he cried,
"Yes, dickface! Not that it's any of your business!"
"Teddy...you don't have to be with Chris. You could be with me," Vern said, quietly, hoping for some sympathy, some understanding, but Teddy was angry. He shouldn't have been so surprised: Teddy was just one huge ball of rage.
"Get the fuck out, Vern," Teddy said, pointing at the latch on the treehouse. When Vern didn't move, he said, "Fine. I'll leave," and then he was gone.
Vern let out a sigh, fighting back a sob. He should have known it would turn out this way. He had always been so fucking unlucky, why should his luck change now? He had just hoped, that just this once, life would throw him a bone. Make him happy just once. But no. Vern Tessio was unlucky and the universe wanted him to stay that way.