SEPT


It had been a week since that night Talie and Ace stood on the dead grass and had a not-unfriendly moment. She had gone over and over the conversation and her feelings in her head for a solid day or two afterwards but then dismissed any sort of crush on a temporary lapse of judgement. She hadn't seen him but the boys had encountered them a few times. Gordie told her about the terrible things Eyeball said about Denny, and Chris stumbled into the treehouse one afternoon with a bad limp and a busted lip. Talie was enraged and promised one day to get even with the Cobras. She'd figure something out.

Some little voice in the back of her head tried to remind her that Ace didn't hate her, but she didn't listen. He wasn't a nice guy. Look at what he did to her friends! He picked on boys younger than him who had no chance of fighting back. That little voice was full of shit. And Eyeball, he was worse. He had no conscience. He'd say anything and hit anybody. She knew that he wasn't above hitting a girl so she had to be careful with him. Surely Ace would hit her if provoked enough, but Eyeball probably wouldn't need much persuasion.

But she didn't care anymore. She'd had it. Talie was tired of seeing her friends physically and emotionally hurt. The last straw was the night when Vern showed up with a broken wrist (well, turns out it wasn't really broken but she didn't know that for a few days). Sure, he was the fat kid every one picked on but he was such a sweetheart. He was the weakest, he needed the most protection. Mother Hen Talie went crazy, crazier than Teddy's dad. She stormed around town, with Chambers on her heels trying to calm her down, until she found them. She marched right up to the first Cobra she saw and reached up and punched him in the face with all her might. She may be small but when she wanted to, she could cause some damage. Unfortunately, it was Eyeball. She almost fell to the floor but she caught herself and turned to face him. He twisted around to face her and the look in his eyes almost sobered her of her anger.

"You little cunt." He stepped towards her but Billy stopped him.

"Eyeball, cool it. She's just a girl. Couldn't've hurt that bad."

"It don't. But she still needs taught a lesson."

She took a step back but held her ground. "I'm tired of you knocking these boys around like little punching bags! What did Vern do to you that you had to go and break his wrist? He's harmless! You guys are just big pussies that-"

Eyeball swung at her, but she ducked unnecessarily because Chris jumped in front of her and blocked the blow.

"Leave her alone."

"Stop defending your girlfriend. She thinks she can fight her own battles so let her. Or I'll beat the shit outta both of you."

Eyeball shoved Chris to the floor and kicked his torso. Talie tried to tackle him from the side but he barely budged. He threw his elbow out to knock her off, catching her in the mouth and splitting her lip. She fell back a few steps and pressed the back of her hand to her face to assess the damage. Not enough blood to worry about yet. She'll live. He turned and stepped towards her but the pain only spiked her adrenaline.

"You damn hub caps think you're the greatest things but you're really just a bunch of nosebleeds!"

Talie barely got to spit her venomous words before he backhanded her so hard that she hit the floor. Eyeball stepped over her and grabbed her arms, just below her shoulders and lifted her back a few inches off the ground. He got so close to her face that he spoke barely above a whisper and she heard him clearly.

"You better get lost before I tear you apart." He smirked with terrible intentions in mind as he slammed her back to the ground. He stepped back just as Ace sauntered in.

"What's the story here?" Just like a captain to ask what his crew has been doing in his absence.

"She's asking for a beatin', or maybe a little backseat bingo, Ace. She took a swing at me." Eyeball jerked his head toward Talie as she stumbled getting up. Chris was back on his feet and took her arm until she got her footing.

Ace didn't say anything, just glared at Chris and Talie. After a few moments of silence, he pulled out his knife and flicked it open. Twirling it in his hand, he handed it Eyeball handle first. "Then take care of it."

Eyeball looked at Ace and then the knife with eyes wide with momentary shock. He reached forward but when his fingers touched the handle he jerked slightly as if bit. He then grabbed the handle without fear and pointed it towards Talie. Chris protectively moved in front of her and glared at his older brother.

"Move, ankle-biter. I'm gonna cut you and then take a piece of your Dolly girl." Eyeball tried to sound tough, but you could hear the doubt in his voice.

Talie placed a hand on the younger boy's arm and stepped around him. "Don't worry, Chris; he won't do it. He ain't got the berries for it." She slowly moved closer until she was just out of arm's reach. "Do ya?"

Eyeball's cheek twitched and you could almost see the conflict in his face- the doubt in his own ability to follow through with his threat versus the embarrassment of failing in front of Ace and the gang. The latter was much more important to his ego so he closed his eyes and lashed forward. The very tip of the blade caught her skin, scratching through a few thin layers of her neck just above her clavicle. Blood began to bubble out but not more than a good cat scratch. The knife hit the ground as it slid from his hand and the surprise of him actually making contact clearly displayed on his face.

Ace picked up the knife and closed it before tucking it back in his pocket. "Let's cut out."

Without hesitation (because an order is an order), Eyeball and Billy turned and walked towards the exit while Ace lingered a moment. He narrowed his eyes with an unspoken threat before turning and leaving.

Once the Cobras were out of sight, both Chris and Talie exhaled the breaths they were holding. Turning to check her injuries, Chris tilted her chin to get a better view of the slice on her neck. The blood was dripping a little bit but it wasn't much to worry about. He checked her mouth next, which was becoming quite swollen. He mumbled about getting some ice for her lip and her bruising cheek. She ignored him and asked how he felt. Nothing a smoke couldn't cure, he said.


On the way home, Talie's anger subsided and everything was sinking in. Eyeball smacked her around and threatened to use her as he pleased. She wasn't innocent like her drunk uncle implied before he tried to rape her, but she wasn't a whore either. She still shivered at the thought. Was that all she was good for, a piece of ass?

Chris grabbed her hand and spoke comforting words as well as sore words about the elder boys. She was thankful that he was so wise beyond his years because he always knew the right things to say. Instead of parting and walking towards their respective houses, he walked her to her street. He'd walk her to the door, but that would only be more bad news for her if her father or uncle were home, drunk. They stopped a block away and she kissed him on the cheek. If only he was older… one day he'd make an amazing steady for some lucky girl.

She walked the last block alone to find her shithole of a house empty. She was glad. She didn't really want to deal with it right now. Before she did anything else, she stripped off her clothes and took a longer, hotter than usual shower. She wanted to scrub away the thoughts of Eyeball's touch. It unnerved her more than his fists.

When she the shower ran cold, she stepped out and quickly towel dried her body before slipping on a nightdress with ribbon straps and that fell to mid-thigh. She didn't put the robe on to cover her bare shoulders, nor did she slide on the pants because she had the house to herself. She kept them nearby, though, in case they showed up suddenly. After she nibbled on the stale crumbs of food they had laying around the sorry excuse for a kitchen, she wandered out the back door. She sat on the stoop and stared up into the night sky. There weren't many lights so some stars were visible. She tried to pick out the constellations she remembered from school, but she could only find a couple. She was so at ease when she was alone that she forgot both that she had neighbors and that she was wearing very little. When Ace spoke she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Natalie."

"Christ, Ace!" She sprung to her feet and threw her hand to her chest as if to settle her racing heart. "What're you trying to do to me?"

She smirked and eyed her up and down. She hadn't noticed though because she was too busy trying to calm herself.

"What to do you want?"

"Just to see what Eyeball did to ya." He turned his head slightly as he looked at her face, really looked. "Aw, just a couple bruises and a scratch."

At mention of her neck swipe, anger began to boil inside of her again. "Speakin' of that, if you didn't hate me why'd you give that cockknocker the knife?" She was practically yelling at him, not caring who heard. "He coulda killed us!"

"Nah, I knew he couldn't." He shrugged and headed back towards his property and picked up his smokes off the ground. After he lit one, he shrugged off his outer shirt, leaving just a tight black tee behind.

That answer didn't satisfy Talie and she sprinted over to him, her unbound chest bouncing under the thin material and catching Ace's eye. She wrapped her arms around them to shield him, cursing herself to forgetting to put her robe on before she stepped outside. Stupid girl.

What's next was even more stupid of her. She reached out and slapped that look right off of Ace's face. His cigarette fell to the ground and his head snapped back with fury. She cowered a bit but spoke with more authority that she felt she had. "You are nothing but a hooligan. Last week I thought maybe there was more to you but I was wrong. You're a worthless piece of shit."

He grabbed her by the elbows and swung her around to slam her into the side of his house. She let out a moan and he pushed her harder, getting in her face. Preparing for a beating, she was completely shocked by what happened next.

Ace's lips slammed against hers with such fury that her split lip tore open again. She opened her mouth to protest the pain but instead she found her whimper was absorbed by his tongue as he invaded her mouth. The taste of blood mingled with the taste of cigarettes and beer. When she didn't react, he pulled away and stared into her eyes. Between her brows were tiny little wrinkles indicating her bewilderment.

"Come on, you can do better than that."Ace whispered, his voice husky, as he released his grip on Talie. She didn't move as his hand traveled down one arm, brushing his thumb ever so slightly along the curvy side of her breast hidden behind the thin material. It wasn't until this hand went lower, connecting with the skin of her thigh and returning upwards. She felt the hem of her nightdress lifting but it still didn't quite hit home until his fingers brushed against her panties. She gasped and pushed him away. She nearly tripped over her own feet as she side stepped back to her house.

"Fuck you. I'm not easy. You can't just touch me like I'm your little plaything." She backed away from him, shooting daggers with her stare.

He bent over and picked up his smoke off the ground and placing it back between his lips.

She spit at his feet before calling him a few more choice words and running back into her hellish sanctuary. She stripped off the nightgown and tossed it into the trash. She knew it was a terrible thing to splurge her money on- that it would only get her into trouble- but she wanted to feel pretty for once. Tears stung her eyes as she dressed herself in clothes that left as little skin showing as possible. She locked her door before torturing herself with her thoughts of being nothing more than a cooch to anyone with a prick between his legs. Nightmares of being raped plagued her until she was woken up by the sound of a gun shot in the early morning hours.