Author's note: Here is the next chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter and has added the story to their favourites and follows, it means a lot! A big thanks to Mrs. Ace Merrill for all the help with this chapter, I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Claireybear: I have that feeling too! : ) thanks for another awesome review!

Lostgirl4eva: It's not a problem, I'm glad you're liking it! Ha yes I love him even more as I continue to write ;) thanks for the amazing review and hope you like this chapter!

Cookielover: Thank you! Ha then she must be cool if she's like you : ) yes I'm trying to keep on top of both stories, it's going good so far! Thanks a lot for the great review, take care too and hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Stand By Me, just my OCs.

"Are you sure you wouldn't want to come with us?" My aunt asked the very next night again with her best attempt at a puppy-dog face. I really wasn't in the mood for this.

"Seriously, I'm fine here." I insisted for the tenth time as I sat at the table with a cup of tea. Richard came in and sighed.

"Jessica, it's not good for you to stay inside all day." He reasoned but I just shook my head.

"I'll go for a walk later or something around the neighbourhood. Alright?"

"Alright. Don't stay out too late, don't go too far and there is a key under the flowerpot by the front door, take that with you and don't forget to lock the door before you leave." My aunt said as she grabbed her purse.

"Sure thing, bye." I said as they headed out to the front door. When I heard the car go away I sighed in what was probably the closest I had come to being content since I got here. I would just stay in tonight and relax, that way I wouldn't have to run like a crazy person to beat my aunt and uncle home. Which I didn't really want to have to do but they would just lecture me if I told them I have a right to come home whenever I want.

I heard a car approaching and rolled my eyes as it was followed by a knock at the door a few seconds later. I slouched out to the hall to greet who I assumed would be my aunt and uncle who had come back to tell me something else, maybe they should take their own advice and use the freaking key themselves.

As I opened the door the person standing on the other side grinned at me as I stood with wide eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded.

"What? I can't drop by to see sweet little Jessica when the notion strikes me?" Eyeball asked with his arms stretched out as if for a hug, he let them fall to the side as I glared at him.

"Call me sweet little Jessica again and I'll kick your ass. What do you want?" I asked tiredly as I leaned against the doorframe.

"You lost the bet by forfeit. I'm here to take you to the ball, Cinderella." He smirked as he leaned an arm a little up from where my head was. I shook my head with a disbelieving snort.

"I would have won that game only I had to leave if I had a prayer of beating my aunt and uncle home. I want a rematch." I said but he shook his head with a smile.

"No rematches with Ace. Come on, time's a wasting." He said and went to move past me into the hall but my arm shot out of its own accord to block his path.

"And where exactly do you think you're going?" I asked as he turned to me with a raised eyebrow like I was supposed to let him waltz on in.

"I'm picking out a dress for you. The bet was that if you lost, which technically you did, you had to wear the frilliest and most girliest dress you had. Did you really think I'm that much of a rookie that I'm gonna let you go up there and pick out something half-normal when I just know your aunt probably bought you the perfect dress for such an occasion as this?" he asked with a sly grin.

"If my aunt knew I was picking out a dress to go to Ace's house for a party, she'd probably suffer an aneurysm." I pointed out.

"Only one way to find out." He said and poked my in the side so I jerked my arm back before striding into the hall and going upstairs. I followed him up hastily in the slim hope I might be able to get rid of that dress.

"This one?" eyeball gestured to my room door and then pushed it open before I even had a chance to confirm it. He looked around the room and burst out laughing, God I hate that laugh. It's like dragging nails across a chalkboard.

"Very nice. Very… pink." He said and I punched his arm. He went over to the wardrobe and opened it before sorting through the dresses in the wardrobe.

"Nope. Nope. God that one's awful. Why does she insist on punishing you with these dresses?" He asked and I sat on the bed with a sigh as I shrugged.

"Beats me. She's never had a girl so I guess I'm like her chance to dress me up like she wanted to with her daughter or something."

"Well her daughter would have probably looked like a snobby little princess. No offense." He leaned out to add in that last part and I chuckled.

"Ever notice how people always use the term 'no offense' when saying something offensive?" I asked.

"Oh come on, you really gonna tell me that you like wearing this?" he said as he dragged out the dress that I hated most. The polka-dot monster. He held it up against his frame and swished the bottom with a smile and I couldn't help but snigger.

"Okay, fine. I hate that one! It's awful." I admitted and he smirked.

"Then I think we've found the one. I'll let you pick your own shoes." He offered as he held the dress out and I stomped over and snatched it from him.

"You're too kind." I spat as I grabbed the white plimsolls from the wardrobe. I gagged as I held out the dress which looked even more awful out of the wardrobe. Finally I sighed in defeat and turned to Eyeball who was grinning.

"You wanna get out or do I have to throw you out?" I asked and he winked before going out onto the landing and closing the door. I waited until I heard him make his way into the bathroom before I quickly changed into the dress.

"So how long are you staying with them for?" Eyeball shouted in, I could hear him pulling out cabinets and messing around with stuff as he asked.

"A while." I answered vaguely as I pulled my hair out of the ponytail and let it fall around my shoulders.

"Don't your parents want you back at some stage?" Eyeball asked and I wracked through my brains for a suitable answer as I laced up the shoes and just decided to change the subject.

"How do I look?" I asked as I stepped onto the landing and he chuckled.

"Very nice. You'll turn heads at the party, that's for sure." Oh yay.

"Great, just what I want. Can we go?" I said and he led the way downstairs and out the door, I made sure to grab the key and lock up before setting it back down under the pot, figuring that taking it with me would just mean I'd lose it. Here goes nothing.

"So you never answered my question." Eyeball pointed out as we headed to Ace's house, which seemed like it was a good few miles from here.

"What question?" I asked innocently as I made a point of staring out at the sunset.

"When do you have to go home?" he asked, "we gotta know how much time we got to make sure you have fun." He chuckled.

"It's a long story, let's just say… I'll be here for a while." I answered and glanced at him to see him eyeing me curiously before I turned back to staring out the window.

It must have only taken us another five minutes to reach Ace's but it was getting dark soon, I guess it was safe to say my aunt and uncle would be beating me home tonight. When I climbed out of the car there were people around the front door talking, some of the guys smirked or whistled as Eyeball led me into the house.

From the moment I entered I was hit by the familiar aroma of smoke and beer, the room was warm from being packed with several people all lying around with beers and cigarettes, chatting away loudly and laughing. From time to time a group would spot me and snigger, but I hardly cared.

"Wait here and I'll go find Ace." Eyeball said and I leaned against the wall with my arms folded, waiting until I could escape. This was all too familiar to that night; I may as well have been back there. The smell and sounds were almost identical; it was just an entirely new group of people, which I actually ended up in because of that night. I was pulled out of my thoughts by someone standing beside me, too close beside me.

I turned to see a guy a few years older than me at least, judging by the look he had in his eyes and the way he leaned heavily on the wall I assumed he was drunk.

"Nice dress." He slurred and I gave a strained smile before looking away, only to feel his hand on my shoulder a second later.

"And soft." He said as he rubbed the fabric between his thumb and index finger. His hand moved slightly and he just skimmed a finger over one side of my collar bone before I smacked his hand down and stepped away from the wall.

"Don't touch me." I ordered but he just gave a sloppy smile before putting a hand on my hip and pulling me closer.

"Don't be like that, sweetheart, just tryin' to pay you a compliment." He said, his smile starting to make me want to shudder as I stepped back again only to collide with what felt like another person. Jeez they couldn't have picked a worse place to stand.

I turned to apologize to the person I had backed into when I realised I had stepped back into Ace's chest who was now glaring at the guy in front of me. I turned to see the guy's eyes flick apprehensively between Ace and I.

"Leave her alone." Ace ordered in a cold voice, his voice low and threatening but loud enough to be heard over the voices of everyone else.

"Jeez, sorry man, didn't realise she was yours." The guy said with his hands out to show he meant no harm. I was meant to correct him that I wasn't Ace's, or anybody's for that matter, when I felt Ace's arm wrap around my waist in a possessive manner as he pulled me closer to him.

"Yeah, well, she is. So beat it." He ordered with a gesture of his head for the guy to move, which he then did after giving me one last lingering glance.

"I'm yours?" I demanded with crossed arms as soon as the guy was out of earshot. Ace rolled his eyes.

"I got rid of him, didn't I?" He shot back.

"Right. Thanks." I said begrudgingly, I hated having to be defended; I'd rather handle things myself.

"So you made it?" Ace asked with a grin as he gave me a once-over.

"Yeah, even though technically I never lost the bet." I defended and he shook his head.

"Not my fault you got scared and ran out." I raised my eyebrows at this and took a step closer; cursing the few inches of height difference he had on me as I stared into his blue eyes defiantly.

"No way in hell was I scared, I had to leave otherwise I'd have won that game easily." I answered and he raised an eyebrow.

"Well I guess that's a challenge for another day. Right now I'm just glad you lost because that dress is very nice. And frilly." He said as he reached out for the frill on my shoulder and rubbed it between his two fingers much like the other guy had, only I didn't want to smack his hand away when he did it.

"I'm glad you approve." I answered evenly.

"Oh I do. But it might not be wise to leave you alone in that dress with all these guys around. A guy might get the impression you're an easy target." He teased.

"Nothing that a broken nose couldn't fix." I shot back and he tapped the end of my nose disapprovingly.

"Ah ah, no hitting anyone at my parties. Only I'm allowed to do that." He warned.

"Completely unfair."

"My party, my rules. I would say if you don't like it you can go, but you have to stay until I let you leave as per our agreement." He said.

"How long I stayed wasn't part of the bet. However, seeing as I'm already here and I'm not going to be home in time to escape a lecture from my aunt and uncle, the least you can do is offer me a beer." I said and he smirked.

"Coming right up. But as I said it's not wise for you to be left alone, so you'll be sticking with me, kid." He said and took my elbow before leading me off to get a beer. When I got once he led me into the living room before taking a spot on the couch, the only seat left, and I raised my arms with a shrug to say what about me? To which he answered with a grin as he patted his lap.

"I don't think so." I said and he smirked before repeating the action.

"Come on, Jesse." He said and I raised an eyebrow, this would have been a perfect opportunity to rub it in my face that he had full rights to call me Jessica, "I ain't gonna hurt ya, I don't bite." He reassured me.

"No way!" I insisted and looked around to avoid his gaze, which turned out to be a big mistake as I met the eyes of the drunken guy before, who was watching me from across the room. A shiver ran down my spine as he took a sip of beer and let his eyes trail down my figure before catching my eye and giving me a creepy smirk.

I turned back to Ace who was glaring at the guy and he turned away to look at me.

"It's the only way to make sure no creeps bother you." He warned and I gave up before sitting on his lap, not even daintily trying to lower myself down as I landed on him. He grunted slightly from the impact and shot me a half-hearted glare to which I just smiled as I took a sip of beer. I looked back to the guy who had a dark expression on his face, he sipped his beer and turned to talk to another guy and I let out a breath of relief.

For the next while I just sat on Ace's lap while he talked to various guys who seemed to worship him like he was their God or something. His hand gradually snaked around my waist again and I didn't even bother to tell him where to shove it. I looked around at all the people talking and having fun, some swaying to the music that had been put on at some point, the atmosphere seemed to make everyone want to have fun, but I just kept thinking back to that night. I had been sipping beer and trying some cigarettes, talking complete shit to my friends completely oblivious to the huge pile of shit that was about to be caused by my stupid actions.

I only just realized Ace had been talking to me when his hand squeezed my waist slightly and my head whipped up to see him eyeing me with slight amusement but mostly curiosity.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, sorry I was off in my own little world. Did you say something?" I asked and he nodded with a smirk.

"I asked why you were so tense; would it kill you to relax a little?" He asked and I shrugged in confusion.

"How exactly am I tense? I'm fine." I insisted but he raised an eyebrow like he didn't believe me.

"You're practically perched on the end of my lap like you're waiting to make an escape. And you're sitting straighter than a board. Loosen up." He said and I set down my empty bottle before turning back and edging closer to him and leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Better?" I asked sarcastically and felt a slight chuckle rumble through his chest.

"Much." He said and held me tighter; I was surprised at how comfortable I felt considering he seemed like a guy most people are terrified of.

I had almost drifted off to sleep a while later, Ace's hand absently tracing circles on my arm had me relaxing too much and I almost had to fight to keep me eyes open. I straightened up and he broke away from his conversation to eye me curiously.

"You wanna leave?" He asked and I found myself shaking my head.

"Just gonna head to the bathroom and I'll be back. Where is it?" I asked and he pointed to the door that led down the hallway and I looked to see there was no light on and most of the people from the hallway earlier had ventured into the living room or kitchen, leaving the hallway free of people.

"You shouldn't go down there alone..." He warned.

"Come on, you're not going to follow me to the bathroom, are you? I'll be fine." I insisted before getting off his lap and making my way through the maze of bodies in the living room before heading down the hall.

When I got to the bathroom I twisted the knob only to find there was no give, damn someone must be in there.I stood outside the door for a few minutes tapping my foot impatiently, I was about to give up and go back to the living room when a pair of hands settled on my waist. I smiled slightly thinking it was Ace trying to scare me, when in fact it was the familiar voice from earlier that breathed in my ear.

"Miss me, sweetheart?" The guy from earlier whispered and I spun round to see the faint outline of his face from the light coming from the living room.

When he took a step closer to eliminate the space between us my instincts finally kicked in and my fist shot out to hit him but even in his drunken state he caught it easily. I gave up struggling to free my hand and brought the other one up to scratch at his face with my nails. He growled in pain as my nail scraped his cheek and left a red mark before catching my wrist and twisting it painfully, my slight yelp of pain went unheard in the hall as people went on talking, no one even realising what was happening. He used this opportunity to push me against the wall, my back smacking painfully off the wall as I struggled to kick him, hit him, shove him, anything that would work but he was much stronger than I.

"Stop struggling, you little bitch!" He growled in my ear.

"Fuck you!" I hissed and he grabbed the front of my dress and pushed me forcefully back into the wall, the back of my head hitting the wall with considerable force and for a second I saw stars before focusing again, only to find things hadn't gotten any better, sooner or later someone had to notice and try and help.

It seemed that my plea was answered when the guy was unceremoniously ripped away from me and pushed onto the floor, for a second I thought I had somehow done it before I looked up just in time to see Ace dive on top of him and start throwing punches. Soon enough I didn't know if Ace was winning or losing, the other guy might have been a few beers worse for wear but he was getting some good swings in.

I stood frozen on the spot until the glint off a switchblade was seen, then I ran to the living room. I didn't even know who it belonged to but I knew the person who owned it would cause serious damage if the fight continued.

"Eyeball!" I called as soon as I reached the door even though I didn't even know if he was in the living room, or still at the party for that matter. Sure enough he came through the door and I pointed to where Ace and the guy were on the floor and Eyeball called to someone else before he headed over and tried to dodge the punches as he grabbed Ace's arm and attempted to haul him off the guy. In the end it took three guys to separate them, the drunken guy was still trying to get to Ace even though it looked like he was beaten to a pulp. Eventually he got thrown out and Ace had shook off the ones who had been holding him back as the guy went out the door, followed by several other people who had witnessed the fight and decided that now would be a good time to ditch the party before things got worse.

I managed to make my way over to Ace who still looked like he could knock someone out, his chest was heaving and his eyes were like two blue flames. Even when I took hold of his arm I felt a pang of fear when his head whipped round to stare at my hand before going to my face.

"You alright?" He asked and I nodded before titling his head slightly.

"Yeah, but you're not. That's a nasty cut." I said as I inspected the inch-long cut on his eyebrow before going to the cut on his lip where it looked like the guy had split it. His skin looked too stretched over one cheekbone where I assumed there would be bruising, but besides that and some cuts on his knuckles he seemed okay.

"Need I ask if you have any alcohol I can use for those?" I said and he brushed my hand away with a shake of his head.

"I don't need cleaned up." He insisted but I pointed to the bathroom.

"I don't remember asking if you did, go in there and sit down. Now." I said and tried to sound as authoritative as I could, given the guy had just beaten the crap out of another guy. He raised his non-damaged eyebrow at me before I pointed again for emphasis before he rolled his eyes and went into the bathroom. I made my way through the small amount of people that had stuck around afterwards before picking up the first bottle of alcohol I could find before taking it to the bathroom. Ace was inspecting the cut on his eyebrow when I came into the bathroom.

"This is nothin', you don't have to play nurse ya know." He insisted and rather than argue I just flipped the toilet seat down and pointed to it until he sat with a sigh. I then grabbed the facecloth from the side of the sink and ran it under some cold water. I knelt down in front of Ace and cleaned the blood trickling down his face from the cut on his eyebrow, he had his eyes cast downwards and I was glad as the atmosphere was already tense enough without me having to avoid his sharp gaze.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" I asked in an effort to fill the long silence that seemed to stretch out in front of us as I cleaned the blood from his face, he shrugged as I stood up to run the facecloth under the water again.

"Just thought you were takin' a long time, was kinda wondering if I should go check on you when I noticed that asshole had disappeared. Figured it was better to be safe than sorry and then I went out and… you know the rest." He said in a non-chalant tone even though his hands had balled into fists slightly as I knelt down to clean them off.

"Thanks." I muttered as I finished and looked up to see him staring at me intently, I gave a tight smile before standing up and rinsing the facecloth out and setting it on the side of the sink. I then gathered some toilet paper and tipped the bottle of alcohol out onto it until it was covered. I knelt back down and grimaced slightly.

"This'll hurt." I warned as I slowly brought it over to the cut on his eyebrow. He didn't even react as I rubbed the cut until I was sure there wouldn't be an infection easily caught by it before I grabbed a new piece of toilet paper and started onto the one on his lip.

"Do you make a habit of getting yourself injuries like these?" I asked, as if I didn't know by how he punched that he had been in a fair amount of fights and had a lot to go around. He looked up at me in slight amusement but I kept my eyes on his cut, trying to ignore how close we both were or the fact I was touching his lips.

"Sometimes." He chuckled when I had finished, the cut looked less serious cleaned but it had swelled slightly, I guessed that one was gonna hurt for a few days.

"Well I'm glad you did, well not glad you're injured but glad you came to help." I rambled as I started onto his knuckles with some fresh toilet paper.

"No problem." He said softly and I forced myself to keep my eyes down as I cleaned each knuckle.

"Even though you did have me worried you were gonna kill the guy for a moment there." I chuckled slightly when in reality my heart was thundering the whole time the fight was being broken up, I had been convinced it would only take one swipe of a knife or one deadly blow to seriously injure him.

"He'd have deserved it." He said bitterly.

"He wasn't worth it, just some asshole." I shrugged.

"Yeah, well, who knows what he'd have done if I hadn't have been there." He said darkly and I shuddered slightly at the thought.

"Well you were, so there's no use making a big deal out of it. I'm fine." I insisted as I finished both his hands. When I finally looked up his eyes were intently studying my face and I had to fight to keep my breathing even as they stared into my eyes. Why did his eyes have to be so freaking nice?!

"You sure?" he whispered as he leaned in, I could actually feel his breath on my lips as he said this. I cleared my throat and looked down; the electricity that seemed to fill the air was seriously getting to be too much.

"Yes." I breathed in a voice that sounded weak and small, it probably sounded like I was terrified or something, but it wasn't because of the fight. It was because I was mere inches away from a guy that radiated danger, and I don't think I've ever felt so alive or excited.

He took my chin between his index finger and thumb and tilted it until my face was level with his before he pressed his lips to mine. His lips pressed against mine with barely any pressure, so gentle it seemed almost impossible Ace was kissing me like this. When I didn't pull away he pressed his lips to mine again with only a slight increase in pressure, only enough for he to be able to feel where the cut was and for the slight stubble on his face to graze against my upper lip slightly. When his lips connected with mine a third time I finally stopped remaining motionless to truly appreciate how soft his kisses were to respond slightly, a warmth spreading from where my lips met his all the way down to my toes, a blush no doubt creeping up on my cheeks as the sound of my breath hitching with audible as he deepened the kiss considerably.

"Hey Ace-"a voice startled me from the doorway and I broke away hastily to turn and see Eyeball's face somewhere between shock and mischief as he stood in the doorway.

"What do you want, Eyeball?" Ace sighed in defeat as he let his hand fall from where it had been tangled in my hair to his lap.

"Just to see how you were holding up, if I'd have known Jesse was taking such good care of you, I'd have left you to it." He shrugged with a smirk and I straightened up before smoothing down my dress and noticing a button missing from where the guy had grabbed me.

"Shit." I muttered as I folded the two sides over each other to make it look as though they were being held together before glancing between the two guys.

"Well this is awkward." Eyeball stated bluntly before sauntering back down to the living room. I looked back to Ace who had turned to me with an unreadable expression before I sighed.

"I should get back, I've probably added another two days to my punishment for staying out this late. At this rate I won't be leaving my aunt and uncle's until I'm thirty five." I said with an awkward chuckle. He nodded before standing up.

"I'll drive you back." He said and I opened my mouth to protest that I could walk, but he pointed to the door in a similar way to me ordering him into the bathroom. I glared half-heartedly as he smiled at me before going out the door with him following me out to his car.

The ride home was sufficiently awkward; I just adopted the solution of staring out the window for the second time today as the scenery of Castle Rock passed us by. When he pulled into the road of the house I tapped his arm and pointed to the curb a few feet ahead.

"Pull over there. If you drive me all the way to my house, they'll definitely know something's up." I said, the words my house still sounded weird on my tongue, but I better get used to it.

"Sure." He said and pulled over before shutting the engine off, I sat in uncomfortable silence before glancing at him with a smile before opening the door and getting out.

"Well this has been an… interesting night." I said, there really was no way to describe the series of events that took place. He chuckled slightly.

"Sure was, I'm glad you came to the party. You should lose bets more often." He said with a wink and I threw my arms up.

"I did not lose!" I insisted and he laughed at my frustration before starting the engine.

"Whatever you say, kid." He replied before doing a U-turn and driving off without looking back. I smiled to myself and grimaced as I realised what horrors I would face when I arrived home.

"Jessica!" oh God.

My aunt came running out into the hall and grabbed me in a hug, Richard followed after with a less-than-pleased expression on his face.

"Where have you been? Do you know what time it is?" he demanded, frankly, I had no clue what time it was. I smiled apologetically and starting to spin the web of lies I had been planning on the way over here.

"After you guys left I went for a walk and ended up in a field and lay down under a tree to watch the sunset, pretty soon I drifted off to sleep and the next thing you know I wake up and it's pitch black. I'm really sorry for worrying you guys." I said in as sincere a voice as I could manage, Richard and Emily shared a glance before Richard's face softened slightly and he nodded.

"Alright. Just don't let it happen again. We were very worried." Why?

"Sure." I agreed.

"Why are you wearing that dress?" My aunt asked and I tried to subtly fold the top together where the button had come off as I shrugged.

"Just wanted to wear something nice as I walked." I said and she grinned, jeez this woman was too easy to please.

"I'm glad you like it." She said happily and kissed my hair.

"Well I'm gonna go to bed and get some more sleep. Night." I said and made my escape upstairs, not even bothering to listen to their conversation as I got changed and slid into bed.

I switched my lamp off and settled down under the covers, letting my fingers touch my lips slightly which were still tingling from Ace's kiss before I closed my eyes and went to sleep.