My Own Private Paradise

Author: hell's lil angel13

Summary:Before and after the journey to find Ray Brower, there was another one there. After their journey, what happens next? How did they change, how did they stay?

Disclaimer: see chapter one

A/N: I'm glad you all like this story so much, and only the first 2 chappies. Alright, here's chap 3.
Standbyme406: Yeah, I 3 that line sfm. A friend of mine actually said that to me, got me really angry, but I never thought I'd end up using it later. lolz (jammy toes line for ppl who have no idea what I'm talking about)

First Showdown

"Come on men, let's move!" Teddy yelled over his shoulder, using his bedroll as a machine gun and running in front of Vern to get to the pump first. I shook my head and walked over after them, trying to remember why I hung out with these weirdos.

"You're crazy," I said as Teddy started to pump the water out of the pump a mile a minute. He either didn't hear me or chose to ignore me, though.

Gordie and Chris raced past us then, Chris winning and announcing the results to everyone. The three of us filled the canteens while Gordie and Chris gave each other a "man-hug" and walked over to the only shady spot in the junkyard, under a broken-down car, or at least I think that's what it was.

We sat in silence for a few minutes until Teddy asked us, "Have you guys been watching the Mickey Mouse Club lately?" We all nodded and said that we had. "I think Annette's tits are getting bigger."

Instantly, I threw a rock at Teddy and hit him in the shoulder. "You're a goddamn pervert, you know that?"

Chris looked over at Teddy and said interestedly, "You think so?"

"Chris!"

"You know, I think he's right," Gordie said and I started trying to block my ears. It was hard and didn't work too well, since it still heard, "I've been noticing lately that the A and the E are starting to bend around the sides."

"Annette's tits are great," Vern said and I covered my ears again.

"La la la, I'm not listening to this! Lalalalalala, I'm not listening!" I said and the boys started laughing at me.

We were quiet again until Vern said, "This is really a good time."

"The most," Chris agreed.

"A blast," Teddy said while we all started throwing rocks into a can we found earlier.

"Gnarliest," I said, using the surfing lingo I, for some reason, still used from my time in the sweet surfing spots of California beaches. Again, they laughed at my choice of words and we started spitting water into the can. Well, except Teddy, who spit it right in Vern's ear.

"Great, spit at the fat kid, real good! What time is it Gordie?" Gordie checked his watch; it was a quarter after one. "We better get the food, junkyard opens at three, Chopper will be here."

"Ooh, sic balls," Chris laughed.

"Well, at least we know one of us will be safe," I said.

"Hey," Teddy said, "don't talk about Vern that way, he's just underdeveloped!" We laughed at Vern's expense while Gordie pulled out five coins so we could flip to see who would go get the food. The first flip was three heads and two tails. We tried again and all of us got tails.

Of course, after this, Vern had to go into a five-minute long hissy fit about why this was a bad sign and a goocher. He really didn't need to, it was common knowledge. After a bit of yelling from the rest of us, we flipped one last time. On four dirty, grimy wrists were four tails again and on Gordie's was the deciding factor: Thomas Jefferson's head on his dirty wrist.

Teddy started laughing his crazy, maniacal laugh and said, "Ooh, Gordie looses! Gordie just screwed the pooch. Eee-eee-eee!"

"Does the word retarded mean anything to you?" Gordie said annoyed that he had to go.

"Just go get the provisions you morphadite," Teddy said, still laughing annoyingly.

"Don't call me any of your mother's pet names."

"What a wet end you are Lachance."

"Shut up!" Ooh, he shouldn't have said that one!

"I don't shut up, I grow up, and when I look at you I throw up," we said and gagged each other. Boy, now that is one that never gets old, ever. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise!

"Yeah, then your mother comes around the corners and licks it up," Gordie said back and started running while we threw dirt and rocks at him. I'm pretty sure he flicked us off, too, but we were too bust tackling each other to notice too much.

Man, friends like these when you're twelve can compare to nothing else, you know that? Once you have friends when you're twelve, it's this insanely bitchin' feeling that you can't get rid of ever again and nothing can ever beat that feeling.

Gordie left and we sat back against the broken-down car, content and happy with the day. There were no grown-ups trying to control our every move, and that was first from where we came from. In the words of Gordie, it was grand.

"So, school starts tomorrow," Vern said and I groaned. Don't remind me! School sucked after the first few days. The first few days are fine; you get to see your friends and meet your teachers and shit like that, but after that...nothing.

"Come on Shawn, it won't be that bad. You'll be with Gordie almost all day long," Chris said to me. It was true, we would both be in the college courses, even though I would be taking a few shop classes, so I'd be with Chris and Teddy and Vern, too.

"Yeah, but I'll be all alone in gym, which is the worst class to be alone in! I hate middle school," I said, thinking about the curriculum and how we don't have coed gym until high school.

"Goddamn mosquitoes!" Teddy yelled as he tried, and failed sadly, to kill one that was sucking on his finger. I laughed at him and was about to say something else when we heard something that made the hair on my arms stand straight up. A car door slammed and someone swore.

"Shit, Milo's early!" Vern said nervously and we grabbed all our stuff and ran to the fence at the other end of the junkyard. Gordie still wasn't back yet, though.

I was just scaling the fence when I looked back over my shoulder and saw Gordie, and so did Milo. "Hey, hey you kid, get back here! Get back here god dammit or ill sic my dog on you!"

"Oh man, he's in deep shit," I said quietly to Teddy.

"Sic him boy, Chopper, sic him!" Milo yelled and that was when Gordie, already halfway to the fence, started to yell and run for his life.

"Run Gordie, run!" we all yelled after him. He leaped and literally made it up the fence in two steps. He fell down almost on Teddy when he jumped down on the other side, who was laughing at the "fearless, hellhound" Chopper, who was a golden retriever.

"That's Chopper?"

"Come on Choppie, sic ball, come Choppie, kiss my ass, kiss my ass, bite shit!" Teddy said, rubbing his ass against the fence and grabbing his balls. Wow, that kid had no ego whatsoever. I really shouldn't be talking, since I was throwing dirt at him and annoying Chopper just as much as Teddy.

"Hey, stop teasing my dog! Stop teasing him, ya hear. I outta beat your ass sonny, teasing him like that," Old Man Milo said to Teddy.

Teddy just went on smiling and said, "Yeah, I'd like to see you come over the fence and get me, fat ass!"

"Don't call me that you little tin-weasel, peckerwood loony son." If you blinked right there, you would've missed the drastic change Teddy's face made.

"What did you call me," Teddy said dryly. All of us stopped laughing too and waited to see what would happen. Old Man Milo just broke one of the most important Cardinal Sins, never ever insult someone's old man. But, he kept it up, even when Teddy exploded and screamed, "AAH! I'M GONNA RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND SHIT DOWN YOUR NECK! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" Chris and I pulled him off the fence before he could get all the way up.

"He just wants you to go over there so he can beat the piss outta you and take you to the cops!" Chris yelled, which made Milo go at him. I had Teddy in a half-nelson then and had to drag him off while he yelled after Milo.

"My father stormed the beach at Normandy! He stormed the beach you faggot!" I pushed down a little harder on his neck to make him shut up and cooperate a little better. We turned the corner and he was really crying at this point. None of us knew what to do.

"Shh, shh Teddy, quiet," I said softly to him as we dragged behind a little. "Its okay, come on now. He's just an asshole, its okay," I said and tried to get him to calm down, but he just pushed me away.

Chris looked at me and I just shrugged my shoulders. All of us tried to get him to clam down, but he just kept telling us to forget it and it was nothing.

Vern started singing the Ballad of Paladin, which we all gave him looks at quickly to make him shut up. Then, we stayed quiet until he was ready to break the silence with, "I'm sorry if I'm spoiling everyone's good time."

"I'm not sure it should be a good time," Gordie said wisely.

"You saying you wanna go back?"

"No, just...going to see a dead kid, maybe it shouldn't be a party." We agreed, Vern saying that the kid might look all gross with blood and guts pouring out, which made Chris yell at him to shut the hell up, god dammit.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it," he said and I gave him a look. What a bedtime story he was giving us!