Author's note: Here is the newest chapter, another early update because I have a biology field trip this Friday which could end up running late and leaving me no time to update, so I'm posting it early because I figured it was better than late. Thanks to all the wonderful reviewers, Mrs. Ace Merrill, Freax, CacklingCactus, hotelchelsea and the guest reviewer Me who unfortunately I can't PM to thank for the lovely review so the response is below. Thanks once again to all readers and any new favourites and follows, it means the world to me. Anyway, on with the story!

Me: Thanks so much for that amazing review, it made me smile so much! I'm glad you liked the movie and Ace, from the first time I watched it I liked Ace and the Cobras and I'm glad you like the fic, it means a lot! Haha you're great at guessing and won't have that long to wait to find out. Hope you continue to enjoy the movie, thanks again! : ) hugs!

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

The next day I stood at the counter of the shop wishing I hadn't offered to work Saturdays until dinner time, after last night all I wanted to do was stay in bed and mope about what a pile of shit everything had turned into in the last day. After I left Ace's my anger faded slowly but surely until I was left feeling even more guilty than I had been, the guilt over the things I said to Ace just adding to the guilt over not saying yes to Donny.

The whole night I had to fight the urge to go to Ace's and apologise, tell him that I didn't mean any of it and that I was sorry, I felt like crap and instead of dealing with it on my own I decided to do my best and make him feel like crap too. The only thing stopping me was that there was nothing I hadn't said that I didn't mean in one way or another, I had been extremely hurt over him kissing me and forgetting all about it, going out with Alice when he didn't mean it and toying with both me and her. The only thing I knew I didn't mean the way I said it was that I hated him, I didn't mean that I hated him, just that I hated the fact I couldn't be with him. Then I realise he gave me a golden opportunity to kiss him again and I refused, but I did it because I didn't want to be the girl that kisses another girl's guy. I had been offended when Alice told me to stay away from Ace the week before, I wasn't about to turn into the monster she thought I was.

Yes, it was safe to say I hadn't got a wink of sleep, and I was fighting to keep my eyelids open.

"Jesse!" the voice from the door caused me to jump in alarm and certainly helped me not feel tired, I looked up to see Connie coming towards me looking out of breath and flushed.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"I've been looking for you everywhere! I didn't realise you were working today I went to your house, Ace's house, Eyeball's, the diner, everywhere! Eyeball was in the diner and finally realised you must be in work if you were nowhere else so here I am!" she explained dramatically the details of her quest, ticking each place on her fingers before bracing her hands on her hips and taking a deep breath.

"Well I'm glad you found me. What was so urgent?"

"Ace dumped Alice!" she exclaimed and my eyes widened before I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Please tell me he did it somewhere quiet and wasn't an asshole about it." I asked flatly because I already knew the answer.

"Uh, no, more like in the middle of the party in front of everyone." Ugh, Ace, why?!

"Ugh that is just great. I told him when he broke up with her to let her down easy!" and suddenly the anger was back with a vengeance.

"Whoah, out of everyone I thought you'd be pleased the most." Connie said, surprised. I shook my head.

"Not really, I knew he would eventually break up with her, I just wanted him to let her down easy. What did he say?"

"That he was only going out with her to piss her brother off but Magnet's that much of a pussy he didn't do anything so Ace was stuck with Alice and wanted rid of her. Just a lot of shit, you could tell he'd had a few drinks too many perhaps but he was making sense and she was not taking it well. She ran out of there in floods of tears. Where the hell were you when this happened? It was only about an hour after I saw you last at the party." I had genuine proof that it was my fault then, Ace must have dumped her only a short while after I had left.

"I left after Ace and I had an argument, well not so much an argument as me telling him I hated him and never wanted to see him again." Connie's jaw dropped at my words and I rubbed my temples with my fingers, it sounded even worse when I said it out loud.

"Why the hell did you say that?!"

"I just had a shit day and it just came out. And that's probably why he dumped Alice, because he was in such a bad mood." I guessed.

"Well you have to go see him!" she ordered.

"No freaking way!" I refused, I wasn't about to go crawling back, even if I had put him in a bad mood after the fight that was no reason for him to go break up with Alice.

"Jesse, how much more proof do you need about how he feels?! He was obviously hurt last night after your fight, and this is Ace Merrill we're talking about, the guy doesn't let anyone get a rise out of him. You have to go talk to him, maybe he's even on his way here now!"

"You weren't there for the fight, after what I said, he won't want to speak to me again. And I need some time to think, alright? Everything's just getting to be too much right now." I explained calmly even though I wanted to scream.

"Jesse you can't just sit here and do nothing, that didn't work these past few months while he was with Alice and it won't work now. The longer you wait the harder it'll get to fix things and one day he might be gone and you're going to be left wondering what might have happened if you'd have had the balls to go around and tell him everything." I took a deep breath after Connie finished her speech before shrugging once she raised her arms expectantly for an answer.

"I'll think about it." I decided and she looked disappointed but I gave her a pointed look and she sighed.

"Ugh fine, God I wouldn't have driven round half of Castle Rock if I'd have known you'd be so indecisive." She grumbled and grabbed a root beer before setting it on the counter with a pout. I held my hand out to stop her as she reached for her purse.

"I got it, least I can do." I offered and she let a small smile slip, "So what did Ace say when you asked where I was?" she shook her head as she took a gulp of the drink.

"He wasn't there, and Eyeball wasn't at his house so I assumed you were all in town hanging out. But I met Eyeball and the rest of the guys in the diner and they said they hadn't seen you or Ace all day and Eyeball told me you had mentioned you were working. I half expected to stumble across you and Ace on your way out the back for a passionate lip-lock." She teased and I almost laughed except the mention of kissing in the back had me thinking of Donny.

"So Ace could be anywhere?" I asked.

"Yeah but he'll probably be home later if you want to go over." She offered and I sighed, this was going to be an even harder night of fighting with myself.

"I said I'll think about it, I'm not sure." I said this even though I knew I'd probably end up going out, somehow it always seemed impossible for me to stay away from Ace.

"Fine, so are you coming to hang out after work? Billy and the guys were thinking of going to play mailbox baseball, it'd be good if I wasn't the only girl there." I shook my head.

"No thanks, I'd rather just go home and think things over." Connie sighed and finished the root beer before setting it on the counter.

"What? I buy you the thing and now I have to dump it too?" I demanded but she could tell I was joking, she laughed before heading to go out the door.

"Good luck making the decision although personally I think if you don't grab life by the balls and get what you wants it's a sin." She informed me.

"I don't remember hearing about that sin in church." I shot back and she laughed.

"Seriously Jesse, guys like Ace don't grow on trees. Sooner or later all the guys get old and boring so you have to get your fill of the good ones before it's too late." She continued and walked out to go down the street, I shook my head with a chuckle before burying my face in my hands, boy was I in for the mother of all he aches later.

I wasn't going, I wasn't, I t must have told myself this about a billion times throughout the course of the day, right up until eight o'clock at night. I had paced my room so many times I was convinced the wood would be all warped to match the shape of my footprints.

I had spoken my mind and said things that were long overdue, I couldn't just turn back now and go crawling back, he'd think I had no restraint when it came to him. I had some restraint, but only enough to make me stubborn that I didn't need to go out just yet, he'd still be there tomorrow.

Then I remembered out agreement about leaving, and how the only reason he was staying was that I was leaving with him. Now that I had said I wouldn't, what was keeping him here?

It was that reason that had me starting for the door with the intention to at least stop him from leaving, I tried my best to creep down the stairs due to the fact going out my window was no longer an option. My foot hit the creaky floorboard on the last step and I could hear a slight shuffle from the living room.

"Jesse?" my uncle called and I cursed as he got up from the couch to the hall to eye me curiously, or suspiciously, I couldn't tell.

"I was just going to-" I began and signalled to the door but he shook his head and raised a hand to stop me.

"I don't think so. You were late in last night and I'm sick of you going out at night. The evenings are getting darker and I want you in early."

"But-"

"No."

"Can't I just-"

"No!"

"Fine!" I snapped and stomped back up the stairs, I guessed that plan was out the window. The phrase suddenly had me stop on the landing as I heard Richard go back into the living room. Suddenly the idea of going out my aunt and uncle's window flopped to a failure in my mind as I realised how creaky their floorboards were, when I was in the living room and they were going to bed I thought they were trying to play Heart And Soul up above.

The bathroom window was woo small and wouldn't open as far as I would need, the landing window would be a viable option except for the fact they'd surely hear me through the open living room door. I went back into my room and slumped onto the bed as I realised I was out of options until they decided to go to bed. Of course it was Saturday night and they'd definitely stay up to watch a movie on television. I was screwed until then.

The minutes seemed to slow until three hours later seemed like an eternity when I heard Richard and Emily pass by my room on the way to theirs, I waited until they had finished getting into bed before I grabbed my shoes and carried them in one hand whilst I crept out of my room.

"I'll just get my-" was all I heard before I practically jumped into the bathroom in order to not be seen, the rest of the sentence was whispered after my aunt opened the door to the room so she wouldn't wake me, little did she know I spent the last three hours waiting on edge for her to get the hell into bed.

I stayed hidden behind the bathroom door and prayed she didn't need whatever it was she went to retrieve in the bathroom. I held my breath as she passed by the door before letting it out in a puff as I heard the room door close once again. I quietly made my way out of the bathroom and checked that my room door was closed before I started making my way downstairs. I had made a few lumps in the bed out of clothes and small pillows so if they decided to check on me during the night it would appear I was in bed.

I made it down until I was on the second last step before I sat down and reached my legs out to touch the floor in front of the last step before quickly standing up, almost losing my balance but I managed to get upright. The next five minutes were spent trying to get the door open and get out without them hearing anything, they better not have because I spent so long carefully twisting the key and unlocking it before setting the key on the hallway table and using the one under the flower pot to lock it from the outside before putting the key back and making my way across the grass just as quietly, my feet getting cool and damp from the slight nip in the air as we headed into autumn. When I had successfully mad it down the street to where I normally got picked up or dropped off by someone I slipped my shoes on before setting off for Ace's house.

The night was getting slightly colder each passing minute as I walked out to Ace's, by the time I had made my way over to the road he lived on I was rubbing my arms to get rid of the goose bumps. The night was pitch black to the point where I could only dimly see where I was going, I needed to hurry or else I'd not be able to find my way.

The darkness was broken by headlights getting brighter from the size of pinheads as they drove down the road, approaching at an alarmingly fast rate. For a second I thought it was Ace but when it got close enough I could see it wasn't Ace's car and I quickly made my way down to the line of trees on the side of the road, the loud radio music and hoots from the car told me it was full of a few guys who might have been drinking for all I knew. The car sped past and I watched from the line of trees with a scowl on my face, I would bet my last dollar they had just came from Ace's where he was having a party and not even thinking about what he had done, maybe he even had another girl lined up to be his next conquest. I started walking in the opposite direction back towards my house, deciding I could talk another night, it would suck if I turned up to a party and he was drunk and tried to yell at me like he did Alice. Ace was right when he said Alice wasn't like me, I wouldn't run out crying, I'd yell right back.

I stopped and sighed before turning to go back in the direction of his house, hating myself for needing to at least go see him. I must have stopped in my tracks on the way over here about four times, I was not about to give up when I was so close.

From the bottom of the drive I could see the house had no lights on, I thought for a second he really had left till I saw his car was still in the drive. I had no idea where he was, maybe he had been in that car and I let him drive past. I had the options of waiting but I didn't have my key which meant I'd have to sit on the porch and freeze until he decided to come back.

Turns out I didn't need a key, the door was half off its hinges with the window in the front smashed into pieces in the hallway. Every step up to it felt heavier as I realised he was either in trouble or had just decided to trash his house in a bad mood.

There was only one way to find out, so I turned the lights on in the hall and stepped over the fallen glass until I reached the living room and switched the light on, freezing at what I saw.

"Jesus Christ…" I breathed before I practically fell beside Ace who was lying in a mess on the floor, the smell of blood wafted through the air coming from the wounds on his face and god knows where else. I pressed my fingers to his neck and my dread was lessened only slightly as a weak pulse rippled under it, his breathing was shallow and he looked to be out cold.

"Ace? John?" No matter how many times I tried either name, no response was given. I carefully rolled him over from where he had been lying on one arm, moving him as much as the couch behind him would allow until his back was against it, only then could I survey the real damage.

Aside from the multiple bruises and cuts that had his face looking almost unrecognisable, his right eye was swollen badly. His right arm that he had partly been lying on looked broken in two places, the bone sticking into the skin and giving it a sickening red-pink colour that would surely blacken as the bruising worsened. His shirt and trousers masked any other injuries but I was guessing there were many. I suspected Magnet of being the culprit, and he must have been in the car that passed me, I wanted to shout at myself for thinking they were out at Ace's for a party. It was obvious Ace had gotten no enjoyment out of this.

He needed to be taken to the hospital, which must be in another town because Castle Rock had no hospital I had ever seen, it was probably too small a town. I went out to the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the floor where it had been knocked down along with other bits of furniture in the house, I hadn't realised the extent of the damage because I was too busy focusing on the bleeding guy in the middle of the room.

Eyeball picked up after only a few rings, his voice sounding slightly groggy like he had decided on an early night and had been unceremoniously disturbed. I rattled off the details of the situation and told him I needed him to help me over here to take Ace to the hospital. Even if I had managed to haul a guy Ace's size out to the car I had no idea where the hospital was. Eyeball promised he'd be around soon and I hung up before going over to the sink and grabbing a dishtowel and ran it under the cool water, only noticing then and there how badly my hands were shaking.

He was still out cold when I went into the living room again with the dripping wet towel and for a second I almost thought he was dead until the faintest of groans came from him and I threw myself down beside him and turned his face towards me.

"Ace?" I asked quietly, waiting for some kind of a response.

One eye opened vaguely to look at me before it fluttered closed again, his speech came out garbled and I decided to try and clean some of the blood off his face whilst I waited for Eyeball. It was only when I started cleaning the blood that had come down his nose that I started verging towards hysterics as I realised the bleed could me coming from his brain which might have been damaged if he had been hit hard enough. Some of his hair was matted and stuck with blood and I could see more cuts on the back of his head. I forced my lips together to stop from sobbing as I dabbed the blood away and told myself he was going to be fine, I even resorted to praying and promising anyone who would listen that I'd never be mad at him again as long as he was alright.

It seemed like forever and a day later when Eyeball arrived.

"Fuck!" Eyeball swore as he came into the living room.

"His right arm's broken and I haven't checked anywhere else." I explained hurriedly and we both eventually got Ace gathered up enough to tow him out the front to Eyeball's car, Eyeball doing most of the work because my legs were starting to feel like Jelly.

"We gotta take him to the hospital in Portland, stay with him in the back and make sure he keeps breathing." Eyeball ordered as I helped him bundle Ace into the back before he ran around to the driver's side and started the car, I carefully got Ace lying with his head in my lap and held on tightly as Eyeball started speeding back towards town to head out to Portland, I was careful not to grab his arm or around his ribs were I was guessing he had been kicked a few times.

The whole way to the hospital I kept one hand on Ace's neck to hear his pulse and the other I had wrapped tightly around his hand, whispering things in his ear I knew he probably couldn't hear but I needed to keep talking to stop crying. I told him I was sorry for everything, that I meant nothing that I had said and that I needed him to be alright. I also vowed revenge on Magnet but stopped and switched to promising that he'd get revenge. No matter what Ace had done to Magnet's sister, beating him to a pulp like this was not justifiable in my book.

When we arrived at the hospital Eyeball and I practically dragged him in through the front doors and nurses called for doctors and had us put him on a stretcher. I watched him being wheeled off through the doors and my feet automatically went to follow him, when a nurse stopped me with words spoken gently yet sternly.

"You can't go in there, miss. We'll look after him." She assured me, and I realised it was more than I had done tonight. While I had taken my sweet time walking to his house he was getting beat up, while I had argued over whether or not to show up he was bleeding and feeling pain. I did nothing to help Ace, I actually managed to prolong getting to him because I was being so stubborn. God knows maybe if we were too late it could be my fault for not getting there sooner.

The nurse left and Eyeball put a comforting hand on my shoulder, one I didn't deserve. I shook it off roughly as tears began to fall put he grabbed both wrists and pulled me to him. I sobbed into his chest and held on tightly, wishing I had been there earlier tonight and maybe things would have been different.

Ace had to be alright, I needed him to be.