A few days after Gabby and Chris met, all they could think about was each other. Chris was trying to play cards with Teddy in their tree house, but he just couldn't concentrate. Gordie noticed Chris's flaws, but he was afraid to say anything in front of Teddy, fearing it was something Chris didn't want to mention around him.
"What's your problem today Chambers?" Teddy asked with a cigarette between his lips. "You haven't won a game all day!"
"Nothin man," Chris lied, retrieving the pack of cigarettes that was bundled tightly under his sleeve. He popped one out and into his mouth and lit it. There was a sudden knock at the door below their feet that was the entrance.
"Not the secret knock!" Gordie yelled.
"To hell with the secret knock!" a familiar voice yelled from below.
"Vern, why so mad?" Teddy yelled, laughing his ass off, as usual.
"Open the door!" Vern continued to yell. The guys sighed as Teddy and Chris moved out the way and let Vern in.
"Chris," he breathed heavily. "Got a message for you. Just lemme catch my breath, I..." he paused. "I'm not gonna say it," he said, laughing and thinking his friends wouldn't start singing.
"I ran all the way home!" they sang, trying not to laugh. Vern rolled his eyes and sat back against the wooded wall.
"Fine Chris, I guess I won't tell you the message from that hot chick," Vern stubbornly said. Chris's breath caught in his throat as he thought about Gabby.
"Tell me Vern," he said.
"No," Vern refused with a slight squeak in his voice. Chris seized his cigarette tightly between his lips before putting Vern in a headlock.
"Better tell me Vern," he advised, his speech almost incomprehensible because of the cigarette in his mouth.
"Ok, ok," Vern surrendered. Chris let him go and claimed his seat in front of Vern. "She said she's gonna meet you here tonight."
"How did she know you knew me?" Chris questioned.
"No idea, she just walked up to me outside the candy store and asked if I knew you." Chris smiled, but it quickly faded. He didn't want his friends to think he was psyched about seeing a girl.
"Hey Vern, what time?" he asked.
"What time what?" Vern asked, publicly displaying his stupidity.
"What time is she comin?" Chris repeated, annoyed with his moron friend.
"Oh, she said around 12 or 12:30. And that's passed curfew, you shouldn't go," Vern warned.
"Verno," Teddy stammered. "This is a hot chick we're talkin about here, of course he's gonna go!"
"Yeah Vern, come on," Gordie chimed in.
"Ok fine, just be careful," Vern said to Chris.
"I knock," Chris announced, knocking on the wooden table and completely ignoring Vern's warning.
"Shit," Teddy breathed, slamming his cards down.
Meanwhile, Gabby was in the garage with her brother and his gang, watching them attempt to fix the non-running Buick. Ace was cleaning the engine and Eyeball was laying in the backseat with the hat he stole from Gordie covering his face. Billy and Charlie were sitting on some stools, watching Ace clean, and Vince was giving the other member of the group, Danny, a tattoo.
"I have an idea," Gabby piped up, killing the irritating silence that engulfed the garage. "If you guys want the car fixed maybe you should actually attempt to work on it."
"Yeah, the kid's right," Eyeball said, sitting up. "Let's work on the car."
The day flew by when Gabby actually got her brother's gang to work on that car. She didn't do much because she didn't know anything about cars, but she helped Ace clean and she jumped on Eyeball's back and clung to him while she watched him work magic with the newly shined engine. As day turned into night, the group became tired and annoyed with the car. They headed inside, ate, and Ace sent his friends home, except for Eyeball who might as well have lived with Ace.
"Well, I'm goin to bed," Gabby said.
"G'night Gab," Ace said as she kissed him on the cheek.
"Night Eyeball," Gabby chanted. Eyeball smiled.
"Night kid," he said.
"Quit callin me kid!" Gabby whined as she walked in her room and shut the door. She looked at the clock and it read 12:15.
"Oh shit," she breathed. She quickly changed her clothes to cut-off shorts and a white tank top. She locked her bedroom door before crawling out her window and heading for the tree house with only her memory of Vern's directions.
After about a half hour of walking, she came to a large field and, in the distance, saw light coming from the top of a large tree. It was too dark to see the tree house, but the light told her it was there. She hurriedly headed for the faint light and as she got closer, she could see the shadow of a figure in the mist of the light that flooded the tree house. She found the ladder, climbed up softly knocked on the entrance trap door. It opened and she climbed the rest of the way up. Once she was sitting in the chair Chris normally occupied, she looked up.
Chris was awestruck by Gabby; her clothes, her blonde hair, and especially her body. She was very curvy for her age and that was one of the main reasons Ace was so protective.
Chris started to close the door as he spoke, "thought you got lost or somethin." Gabby smiled.
"No, Vern's directions just sucked," she replied.
"Surprise, surprise," Chris joked. They became quiet at first, but soon continued the conversation they'd had the day before: their families.
Chris was telling about a brother he had that hated him so much just because his brother's friend told him to. He told of his father who couldn't care less about him. As he went on about his dad, he pulled out a cigarette and quickly lit it, hoping it would help him fight the tears that threatened to exit his already watering eyes.
"I just wish I had a whole other family, ya know?" Chris said, his voice beginning to shake as the tears were winning the battle. "Or live somewhere where nobody knows me." Chris couldn't stop the tears anymore as he remembered the last time he cried with someone: Gordie. He held the cigarette tightly between his fingers as he hugged his knees to his chest and began crying uncontrollably.
Gabby was also ready to cry. She saw how much pain Chris was going through and she knew there really wasn't anything she could do. She got up from her chair and got on her knees behind Chris as he had his back to her. She put one hand on his shoulder and let the other slide down his arm to grip the cigarette between her fingers. She put it to her lips, inhaled, and put her hand on Chris's other shoulder, turning him toward her. His eyes were bright red and his cheeks were flushed. Gabby got close enough so that their faces were mere centimeters apart and put her thumbs on his chin, opening his mouth. She exhaled the smoke slowly into Chris's mouth and he inhaled it deeply. Their lips slowly came together with a light kiss.
Chris was amazed. He couldn't believe what had just happened with the cigarette and then the kiss. Sure, he'd kissed girls before, but a girl never kissed him, he always had to make the first move.
Gabby's heart was pounding the whole time. She'd never met anymore like Chris, no one that knew about the smoke exchange, and especially no guy that would cry in her presence. She knew she had someone special in front of her.
Soon enough, the black night began turning a dark blue followed by a light blue. Gabby had fallen asleep on Chris's back because he was asleep on his stomach. They hadn't exchanged anymore kisses or anything else considered "intimate" and neither of them were disappointed. They enjoyed the time they were together even if they were silent for a while.
Gabby's eyes slowly opened and she looked up. She saw Chris sound asleep and he looked so peaceful, so... happy even. It seemed to Gabby that the only place Chris could really get away was in his sleeping slumber. Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to the window and she saw the light. She jumped up, but before she left, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. He stirred a bit and cracked a smile before drifting off to dreamland again.
"What's your problem today Chambers?" Teddy asked with a cigarette between his lips. "You haven't won a game all day!"
"Nothin man," Chris lied, retrieving the pack of cigarettes that was bundled tightly under his sleeve. He popped one out and into his mouth and lit it. There was a sudden knock at the door below their feet that was the entrance.
"Not the secret knock!" Gordie yelled.
"To hell with the secret knock!" a familiar voice yelled from below.
"Vern, why so mad?" Teddy yelled, laughing his ass off, as usual.
"Open the door!" Vern continued to yell. The guys sighed as Teddy and Chris moved out the way and let Vern in.
"Chris," he breathed heavily. "Got a message for you. Just lemme catch my breath, I..." he paused. "I'm not gonna say it," he said, laughing and thinking his friends wouldn't start singing.
"I ran all the way home!" they sang, trying not to laugh. Vern rolled his eyes and sat back against the wooded wall.
"Fine Chris, I guess I won't tell you the message from that hot chick," Vern stubbornly said. Chris's breath caught in his throat as he thought about Gabby.
"Tell me Vern," he said.
"No," Vern refused with a slight squeak in his voice. Chris seized his cigarette tightly between his lips before putting Vern in a headlock.
"Better tell me Vern," he advised, his speech almost incomprehensible because of the cigarette in his mouth.
"Ok, ok," Vern surrendered. Chris let him go and claimed his seat in front of Vern. "She said she's gonna meet you here tonight."
"How did she know you knew me?" Chris questioned.
"No idea, she just walked up to me outside the candy store and asked if I knew you." Chris smiled, but it quickly faded. He didn't want his friends to think he was psyched about seeing a girl.
"Hey Vern, what time?" he asked.
"What time what?" Vern asked, publicly displaying his stupidity.
"What time is she comin?" Chris repeated, annoyed with his moron friend.
"Oh, she said around 12 or 12:30. And that's passed curfew, you shouldn't go," Vern warned.
"Verno," Teddy stammered. "This is a hot chick we're talkin about here, of course he's gonna go!"
"Yeah Vern, come on," Gordie chimed in.
"Ok fine, just be careful," Vern said to Chris.
"I knock," Chris announced, knocking on the wooden table and completely ignoring Vern's warning.
"Shit," Teddy breathed, slamming his cards down.
Meanwhile, Gabby was in the garage with her brother and his gang, watching them attempt to fix the non-running Buick. Ace was cleaning the engine and Eyeball was laying in the backseat with the hat he stole from Gordie covering his face. Billy and Charlie were sitting on some stools, watching Ace clean, and Vince was giving the other member of the group, Danny, a tattoo.
"I have an idea," Gabby piped up, killing the irritating silence that engulfed the garage. "If you guys want the car fixed maybe you should actually attempt to work on it."
"Yeah, the kid's right," Eyeball said, sitting up. "Let's work on the car."
The day flew by when Gabby actually got her brother's gang to work on that car. She didn't do much because she didn't know anything about cars, but she helped Ace clean and she jumped on Eyeball's back and clung to him while she watched him work magic with the newly shined engine. As day turned into night, the group became tired and annoyed with the car. They headed inside, ate, and Ace sent his friends home, except for Eyeball who might as well have lived with Ace.
"Well, I'm goin to bed," Gabby said.
"G'night Gab," Ace said as she kissed him on the cheek.
"Night Eyeball," Gabby chanted. Eyeball smiled.
"Night kid," he said.
"Quit callin me kid!" Gabby whined as she walked in her room and shut the door. She looked at the clock and it read 12:15.
"Oh shit," she breathed. She quickly changed her clothes to cut-off shorts and a white tank top. She locked her bedroom door before crawling out her window and heading for the tree house with only her memory of Vern's directions.
After about a half hour of walking, she came to a large field and, in the distance, saw light coming from the top of a large tree. It was too dark to see the tree house, but the light told her it was there. She hurriedly headed for the faint light and as she got closer, she could see the shadow of a figure in the mist of the light that flooded the tree house. She found the ladder, climbed up softly knocked on the entrance trap door. It opened and she climbed the rest of the way up. Once she was sitting in the chair Chris normally occupied, she looked up.
Chris was awestruck by Gabby; her clothes, her blonde hair, and especially her body. She was very curvy for her age and that was one of the main reasons Ace was so protective.
Chris started to close the door as he spoke, "thought you got lost or somethin." Gabby smiled.
"No, Vern's directions just sucked," she replied.
"Surprise, surprise," Chris joked. They became quiet at first, but soon continued the conversation they'd had the day before: their families.
Chris was telling about a brother he had that hated him so much just because his brother's friend told him to. He told of his father who couldn't care less about him. As he went on about his dad, he pulled out a cigarette and quickly lit it, hoping it would help him fight the tears that threatened to exit his already watering eyes.
"I just wish I had a whole other family, ya know?" Chris said, his voice beginning to shake as the tears were winning the battle. "Or live somewhere where nobody knows me." Chris couldn't stop the tears anymore as he remembered the last time he cried with someone: Gordie. He held the cigarette tightly between his fingers as he hugged his knees to his chest and began crying uncontrollably.
Gabby was also ready to cry. She saw how much pain Chris was going through and she knew there really wasn't anything she could do. She got up from her chair and got on her knees behind Chris as he had his back to her. She put one hand on his shoulder and let the other slide down his arm to grip the cigarette between her fingers. She put it to her lips, inhaled, and put her hand on Chris's other shoulder, turning him toward her. His eyes were bright red and his cheeks were flushed. Gabby got close enough so that their faces were mere centimeters apart and put her thumbs on his chin, opening his mouth. She exhaled the smoke slowly into Chris's mouth and he inhaled it deeply. Their lips slowly came together with a light kiss.
Chris was amazed. He couldn't believe what had just happened with the cigarette and then the kiss. Sure, he'd kissed girls before, but a girl never kissed him, he always had to make the first move.
Gabby's heart was pounding the whole time. She'd never met anymore like Chris, no one that knew about the smoke exchange, and especially no guy that would cry in her presence. She knew she had someone special in front of her.
Soon enough, the black night began turning a dark blue followed by a light blue. Gabby had fallen asleep on Chris's back because he was asleep on his stomach. They hadn't exchanged anymore kisses or anything else considered "intimate" and neither of them were disappointed. They enjoyed the time they were together even if they were silent for a while.
Gabby's eyes slowly opened and she looked up. She saw Chris sound asleep and he looked so peaceful, so... happy even. It seemed to Gabby that the only place Chris could really get away was in his sleeping slumber. Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to the window and she saw the light. She jumped up, but before she left, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. He stirred a bit and cracked a smile before drifting off to dreamland again.
