Leaning against the counter with his chin rested on his hand, Chris sipped at his root beer. He'd given up on trying to find Gordie, mostly because he didn't feel like walking anymore.

The Blue Point Diner wasn't crowded at the moment; it was mostly just old people. Chris liked it this way because this way everyone wouldn't have to see him being alone.

"Hey. This seat taken?"

The new voice startling him out of his thoughts, Chris jumped and looked up. Standing over him, looking nervous and almost shy, was Ren Rasmussen. She was alone too, which surprised him, since he'd never seen her without her posse.

"Do you see anyone sitting there?" he asked.

"No."

"Well then, it was a stupid question, wasn't it?"

Ren pursed her lips, wondering why she was doing this. She reminded herself that they were both here alone, so why not keep each other company? "Do you have any invisible friends sitting here or can I sit down?"

"Yes."

"Yes to the invisible friends, or yes to the sitting of me?"

He shrugged. "You decide. You act like you rule the world, so I think you can decide whether or not to sit down."

Ren blushed, but seated herself on the stool next to him. "So this is what I was missing out on by not talking to you."

Raising his eyebrows, Chris looked at her and shook his head. "That's very nice of you to assume you know exactly who I am by talking to me for twenty seconds."

"Yeah, well, it's very nice of you to treat me like this. And I'm a firm believer in first impressions, so yeah, maybe I am making a few assumptions."

"You caught me in a bad mood, alright, Ren?"

"I just wanted to keep you company."

Poking at the ice cubes in his drink with his straw, Chris muttered honestly, "I don't really want your company."

"Are you a recluse?" she asked.

Glancing at her in surprise, he repeated, "A recluse? Do you mean, am I a hermit?"

"Do you want people to stay away from you?"

"Certain people, yes."

She didn't take the hint that he was referring to her. "Because I gotta tell you, Chris, you send out this vibe that you want everyone to stay away from you. That's why you don't have a lot of friends."

Chris just looked at her. "That's why I don't have a lot of friends? Oh gee thanks, Ren, I thought maybe it was because I was a leper!"

"Don't get all offended, Chris--" she tried to protest.

"Oh, I'm not offended." He scoffed contemptuously. "But maybe if you have time, I'd like to clear up a few things with you. Number one, the friends I have are real friends, not like the bitches you pretend to like just so that you can be homecoming queen. Number two, you decided why I don't have a lot of friends. You and your friends decided. I've never been good enough to hang out with your friends, you all made sure of that. The only thing I did wrong was be born a Chambers. You're a stuck up bitch, that's why I don't have a lot of friends."

Ren stared at him, a ghost of a smile on her face, just barely there. But she didn't look upset at all.

Ren's reaction surprised Chris, and he looked down, slightly embarrassed. He grumbled, "You just got told off so stop looking at me like that."

"Sorry," she said. "It's just that…Wow."

"Please don't wow at me," he said.

"You've got more personality than all my friends put together."

"Um, yes, that's because your friends are cheerleaders and they have no brains."

"I'm a cheerleader and I have a brain," she informed him.

"Oh, yes, and you're speaking in complete sentences too," he said sarcastically.

"You're difficult to talk to," she muttered.

"Actually, I'm not. I'm just not kissing your ass like you're used to."

"Good, because I'm sick of people kissing my ass." Ren shrugged, tracing her finger along a spidery crack on the countertop. "They just kiss my ass because they think everything comes easily when you're popular. They don't know me or care about me."

"That must be hard for you," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I'm just trying to make conversation with you, Chris," she snapped. "I wouldn't expect my friends to care about anything that's on my mind, but I've always thought maybe you had a little more compassion than they do. I don't have anyone else to talk to, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't try and tell me that what I feel is stupid."

"You don't even know me!" he reminded her. "Why do I have to be your psychiatrist?"

"Forget it, Chris," she said. "I guess I don't blame you for being suspicious of me, but I really am just trying to be your friend."

"I'm sorry, me and you, friends? That doesn't quite compute."

"I know we're different and all, but I'm sick of how my friends treat people because I'm not like that, I don't like to hurt people--"

"Well, that's about the biggest load of shit I've ever heard and now I'm very amazed. I'm going to help save your reputation and leave before anyone sees us together. Have a nice day."

Ren's eyes followed as he rose to his feet, gave her a small wave and walked out of the diner with long strides.