A/N: Hi guys! Um, this might be my last update for awhile, school opens on Monday (EEK), but I might get another chapter out over the weekend (the next one will be a lot happier than the ending to this one). Sorry if I've got all of my time frame stuff wrong. Oh, and the line isn't working, so...you'll see what I'll do. TO RIVER! Love that man. Happy b-day, Rio, this goes out to you.

Cat skipped down the sidewalk, humming Mary Had a Little Lamb. Humming was so her thing. Gordie had the writing. Chris had the peacemaking. Natalie had the…whatever random, weird thing Natalie had. And she got the humming.

But not only did Cat like to hum. She liked to sing. Loudly.

"MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB. LITTLE LAMB. LITTLE LAMB. MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB, WHOSE……"

She forgot the words.

"GOD DAMNIT MARY, FIRST YOU LOSE YOUR SHEEP, AND THEN I LOSE THE WORDS! Oh wait. That was Bo Peep who lost her sheep. Sorry Mary, forget I said anything."

People walking down the sidewalk gave her intrigued, weird, and absolutely terrified side glances. She shrugged them off. Who cared what anybody else thought? Well….there was one person whose thoughts she cared about.

Vern Tessio was so sweet and wholesome and genuine, unlike his football goons. Plus, he was drop-dead sexy. He seriously made a bit of an effort to talk to her….and what did she do? Speak for all of five seconds and then suddenly bail on him. Why was she so afraid of him? He didn't seem intimidating at all, but he did seem fun and he had that great, spastic, be stupid sense of humor.

She supposed it was just the inevitable. Guys had always frightened her. They made her feel so awkward and out of place sometimes….except for Chris and Gordie, that is.

Gordie.

Gordie.

What's he going to say about Natalie going out with that vile, loathing creature? He had to know about her going with him. Besides, maybe Gordie could put a stop to it before it even really started.

There was only one thing she could do.

"GORDIE, DON'T WORRY, I'M COMING TO SAVE THE DAY…WITHOUT MY CAPE THIS TIME! Shit. I misplaced it, and the matching belt."

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"Holy Motherfucker," Chris breathed in awe.

Somehow, Chris and Jenna had made it to the Malone residence unharmed by any of the Richies, probably because they were all out busy getting drunk, having sex, and spending all of their parents' money on ridiculous things. The outside of the house (or should he say mansion?) was incredible, but the inside was just absolutely breathtaking. To Chris, it felt like he was stepping inside an ancient Victorian house, but added with a Southern plantation quality. Once you entered the house, there was a main, wooden winding staircase, bringing you to the next floor that wrapped around the entire house. The glass ceiling was ridiculously high. Elegant Pictures and portraits hung on every wall and the house was packed with mahogany and plush furniture.

Jenna turned to Chris with a small smile. "It's not that great. It's just a house."

"Just a house? I'm sorry, but are you blind? This place is incredible."

"Um, not really," Jenna corrected, fed-up at him gaping at her house.

"Whatever," Chris replied, shrugging his shoulders.

He took a few steps forward when he heard a growling, "No way are you wearing those shoes in here."

Chris turned around, raised an eyebrow, came back onto the carpet, and began taking his All Stars off. "Jesus Princess, hold your fire."

Jenna rolled her eyes while Chris stood up. He took a few steps in his socks and—

THUMP.

Chris fell backwards, hitting his head on the marble floor. Jenna rushed to him, panicked.

"Chris, oh my god, Chris, are you ok? Chris, come on—"

"Ugh…" Chris moaned, rubbing his dirty blonde head and sitting up.

"Are you alright?" Jenna asked, truly concerned, reaching to put a hand on his back.

As her fingertips grazed his backside, Chris jerked away from her. "I'm fine," Chris answered in a calm tone despite his physical rudeness towards her.

"You, uh…want some ice?" Jenna offered, sounding clueless as to why she was offering ice in the first place.

"Uh, some ice sounds great."

Jenna put forward her hand, pulled Chris up, and the two loped into the kitchen. Again, Chris was awe-struck. The kitchen was almost bigger than his own house!

"Here, sit on the counter," Jenna instructed patting the countertop with her hand.

Chris obeyed, and Jenna started getting an ice pack and rag together. While she did so, her mind wondered as to why she was doing this for him. Why? Did she feel sorry for him? No…no, she couldn't. ….Well, maybe a little. And besides, isn't it just instinct to take care of someone once they've gotten hurt? It didn't have anything to do with Chris personally; she would have done this for anybody. But would she really? When had she ever offered even a hint of kindness to anyone? The truth was, she hadn't really. But what with Chris almost getting beat up at school and now slipping on her own marble floor, she had felt a little twinge of pity and decided to act upon it. She had never known what sympathy had felt like, so what was wrong with acting upon the impulse? But why would that sympathy impulse come when Chris got beaten up today and nobody else?

With those thoughts racing through her head, she brought him the ice pack and let place it on his head.

"T-thanks," Chris stammered, stumbling over the 'T' from the sudden coldness of the ice.

"Your welcome," Jenna replied hesitantly.

Chris tilted his head at Jenna, studying her, when a big smile broke out onto his face.

"What?" Jenna asked curtly.

"Why do I get the feeling you don't invite people to your house and take care of them often?" Chris taunted, but she could tell from his eyes that he was only joking.

"No clue," Jenna responded airily, "So, you like the house?"

"I love it," Chris answered, looking up at the ceiling, "It's really nice."

"Thanks."

"I wish I could live in a place like this…."

"Well, I'm sure your house can't be that bad," Jenna figured, "I bet you have your own bedroom—"

"No," Chris interrupted, "I share one with my older brother. But it might as well be mine, he's hardly around anymore."

"Where's your older brother?" Jenna questioned, curious.

Chris shrugged, although he knew the answer plain and well. "I don't really know. He's best friends with Ace Merrill."

Jenna's emerald green eyes widened, making her look like prettiest bug ever on Earth. "Are you serious? Oh my god!"

"Yeah. He's such an asshole. Hey, my brother's an asshole too. Both of them are."

"You have more brothers?" Jenna asked, shocked. She would have thought Mrs. Chambers would have run out on her husband by two children.

"Yes," Chris responded patiently, "I have two older brothers, Frank and Richard (Everyone calls him Eyeball because of his funky eye. If he never got that eye, the regular girls would be after him.), and then I have two younger brothers, Emery and Sheldon. Oh, and the littlest in the family is Debbie, she's eight now."

"Whoa," Jenna breathed, her eyes showing genuine surprise, "Your family's pulling a Brady Bunch special."

Chris laughed, and suddenly, Jenna's heart pounded just a few seconds faster. She realized that was the first time she had ever heard him truly laugh.

"Yeah, that's our family. 'Wish we were as wholesome as the Bradys though. What I wouldn't give to be cheesy Bobby, doing all of his little crappy dance moves."

"Dance moves?" Jenna asked, amused and trying to ignore what he said before that, "He dances?"

"Yeah, they all do!" Chris responded enthusiastically, and then when he saw Jenna's confused face, he put on an act of shock, "Are you kidding me? You've never seen the episodes of the Brady Bunch where all the kids are on the dance contests dancing their asses off? Oh excuse me. Horribly dancing their asses off. Damn. Oh well, at least Jan's sexy—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jenna interrupted in surprise and amusement, putting her hands up, "You think Jan Brady is sexy?"

Chris smiled sheepishly at her. "What if I answered yes?"

Jenna burst out laughing, clutching the counter. "Oh my god, Jan Brady? Not Marsha? Haha, Jan! You think Jan Brady is gor-gee-ous!"

"Shut up!"

"You think Jan Brady's got the bod!"

"Shut up!"

"…….Do you have wet dreams about her?"

"Shut up!" Chris exclaimed through his laughter, "Whatever gave you the idea to ask such a personal question?"

"I thought it was necessary to know if you were going to be hanging with me," Jenna lied teasingly. She honestly had no idea why she had asked the question. Did she actually want to know what (or who?) Chris thought about like that?

"Girl, you're just jealous because Jan Brady's stolen my affection and you haven't!" Chris claimed at the spur of the moment.

"Yeah, right. And I want to make out with the guy who played Ashley in Gone with the Wind," Jenna replied sarcastically, although she had this nagging feeling in the back of her mind. She didn't know what it was, but it hurt her a little emotionally. Was Chris serious?

"Eww! Eww!" Chris exclaimed, making a disgusted face, "Ashley from Gone with the Wind is a cowardly, stupid POS!"

"PO….S?" Jenna questioned, confused.

"Piece of shit," Chris answered, smiling.

"Very mature, Chambers."

"That's what they always tell me."

"You know, when you said that, I took it the wrong way. Seriously."

Chris laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, a lot of people take things the wrong way. They take the real thing and twist it into their own." Jenna hadn't noticed what he really meant by that.

They stared at each other, studying for a minute.

She has a blue ring in her emerald eyes.

His bruise on his jaw is going down.

Her skin's smooth.

He has flawless skin, despite the cuts…the football team? His dad?

Her jaw is really defined.

His eyes are nothing but….ocean…..

They began to get uncomfortable.

"Want to watch a movie? I'm sure I can find one on our T.V.," Jenna asked hesitantly.

Chris flashed her a smile. "Your pick."

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Gordie sprinted down the street, trying to get to the Blue Point as fast as he could, before anything could happen….

His stomach lurched, and he thought for a second he was going to puke. But he knew that if he did, he would still keep running. For her. He liked her so much: from her quirky and random phrases to her eccentric looks she would give him.

He had always thought that she had liked him too, if only a little bit. It was the way she'd glance Gordie. Her green eyes perfectly relaxed yet concentrating on him. Her mouth quirked up a little to the left in a bit of a half-smile, and she would always have her beautiful, straight, fiery red head resting gently on one hand, the other placed on the table she was sitting at or in her lap, her legs were always crossed in a "whatever" attitude, Indian-style, and her body would be slouching some, so her breasts hung a little and her torso became more prominent—

Gordie knew that if anyone could read his mind at the times she'd been staring at him, they'd give him free room and board at a mental hospital for life, equipped with a straight jacket and tranquilizers. Togus or bust!

He was so scared. What if that creep made her do something she didn't want to? What if she did something wrong intentionally? What if he killed her, murdered her, slaughtered her into tiny bits and pieces?

He knew he was hopeless. But he just cared, he cared so much. If something ever happened to her, it was the end of his world.

Once he realized he had reached the Blue Point, he scurried his way in there, The Rolling Stones entering his ears upon his arrival. Despite how filled the restaurant was with people, he was determined to find her, shoving tons and tons of popular teenagers away. He could barely see a foot in front of him, it was so crowded. But then there they were: in a booth in the back, away from all of the popular people. He stomped his way towards them without being seen and picked up some of their conversation:

"I love it. It's man's greatest invention!"

"You think cheese is man's greatest invention?" the bastard asked, practically scolding her for saying such a thing. Gordie's insides burned at his tone. That was the way Natalie was, god damnit; she said weird things like that!

"What's it to you if I do?" Natalie questioned back sharply.

"Nothing, nothing at all. I like cheese, I seriously do," the deathly pale asshole responded, waving his hand as if it were nothing, "But since I'm treating you out to cheeseburgers, cheese fries, cheese toast….and for you, a Diet Coke with a piece of cheese in it—"

Even Gordie wrinkled his nose at the thought. Ew. Suddenly though, he felt like laughing. That was such an original thing.

"—you have to promise to let me demonstrate to you, in my opinion, man's greatest invention."

That's when he decided to step in.

"What would that be?" Gordie hissed, standing by the table, "A condom so you can fuck the shit out of her?"

He reached out for Natalie's arm and pulled her out of her seat easily. They started to march off, but Hudson was following them.

"Hey man, she's a big girl. Let her take care of herself."

"Well she's obviously not a big girl yet if she's hanging around with you."

"You are holding her back, you son of a bitch," Hudson quipped piercingly yet softly, "You've got to let her go, she's her own person. You're holding onto her life, you motherfucker."

Gordie turned to stare at him for a moment. Was what he said true? Was he really holding Natalie on a leash? Between him and Chris, did Natalie ever get a chance to be with someone, to go out with someone? He realized he had been preventing it in the hopes she would come around herself and ask him out.

"Come on, Nats."

She broke free from his grip. "No."

Gordie gawked at her. "Why not?"

Natalie put her hands on her hips, shaking her head, starting off calmly, "Gordie, how come you never let me have fun on my own? I always have to be with you or Chris. Always. I've never gotten this chance to let loose and be free and make my own choices. It's like I've been in chains for all these years. And it's not fair. I want to go out and live, damnit! I want to just…be. I just want to exist and be something, even it's just to myself, even if it's just to prove to myself I can live on edge, that I can take a few risks in life. I just want to prove to myself and others that I can make it, that I can live, that I can grow-up! I don't want to be sheltered anymore!"

By this point she was yelling, "The fact is…I don't really need you anymore, because you know what, without you, I'll be ok! Without you, I'll be better than ok! Without you, I'll be having fun and playing it smart! Without you," she seethed, her teeth clenched, loving the way the two words flowed off her tongue, "……all of the stuff I want to do, I will be able to. Without you. You can't stay young forever, Gordie. This, all of this," Natalie stretched her arms out hopelessly, "is preparation for the outside world. It is, and you can't deny it. But it's also living and learning….and that's what I want to do. I don't want to be sheltered by you anymore."

Natalie was close to tears as she finished.

"We're still friends, Gordie."

Gordie looked up at her from the floor, trying to keep his inner sobs under control and his doe brown eyes shining with hurt and pain. "I just…I just wanted to make sure that y-you were ok and weren't hurt, but it's obvious you're n-not so," Gordie stammered, walking backwards towards the door, "S-so I'm gonna go now, ok? I'll leave you to live your life without any help, any protection, any guidance, any friendship, and any l-love!"

"Gordie—"

"That's what you wanted, wasn't it?" Gordie suddenly snarled, and he and Natalie were both shocked by his tone. But he continued. His insides were on fire, but his heart was frozen. He threw out his arms in a careless gesture. "I hope your happy now. You're gonna get your freedom, your life, whatever the hell you said. But don't expect it so easily in the outside world, Natalie. And even in the inside world, you—"

"—can't always get what you want," The Rolling Stones crooned from the radio.

Gordie turned and heard the bell on the door sound.

And the moment it did, he took off running.