"Did you have fun?" Chris asked as they walked side by side.

"I did," Ren replied with a grin. "But I think I'm going to be in deep shit."

"What for?"

"For not phoning to say I wasn't coming home after school." Ren grimaced, embarrassed, and looked up at him. "And no offense, but if my dad finds out that I was with you, there will be hell to pay."

"No offense taken, I'm used to being treated like a disease." He glanced over at her. In the moonlight, she looked so amazing that it was almost as if she was fictitious, like he should be seeing her on the silver screen instead of in person in silver light. "But I thought your dad doesn't care what you do. Why would he care who you associate yourself with?"

"He doesn't care about me, but he does care about himself," she said. "If word got around that I'm hanging around you, he'd be pretty pissed."

Starting to feel slightly insulted, Chris asked, "So…I'm going to have to be your secret friend that no one else can no about? How convenient."

A small smile touched her mouth. "I don't want to keep you secret."

"I hate girls. You're so confusing."

"I never said that I was going to try and hide me and you being friends from everyone. I just said that I'll be in trouble when people do find out."

A leaf danced with a light breeze over Chris' shoe. He peered at her, not sure what to say.

Nervously, she giggled. "Stop looking at me like that."

"What made you say that?" he asked.

"Say what? 'Stop looking at me?' I don't like being stared at so--"

"No, before that."

Ren sighed deeply. "Can I tell you something without you getting mad?"

"You're a spy, aren't you?"

Laughing, she shook her head and flipped her long dark hair over her shoulder. "No, I'm not. Sorry. Um. Hmm. You're different."

"In comparison to what?"

"Everyone else I've ever met," she murmured.

He shrugged. "Everybody's different."

"I meant different as in special. As in, I don't think I'll ever meet anyone as special as you."

Chris looked down to hide his blush. "There's a whole world outside of Castle Rock, you know. Lots of special people out there."

"Never mind," she muttered.

"But I do mind," he teased. "What were you going to tell me?"

"Nothing. It was nothing."

"Rennifer," he taunted.

She burst out laughing. "Did you just fucking call me Rennifer?"

"Why, yes I did!" he replied. "I don't know what Ren's short for so I made something up."

"It's short for Loren."

"We're off topic," he said. "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing! I was just spewing words!"

"That sounds colourful."

"Harumph," she grumbled.

Chris cackled. "I've never heard the word 'harumph' used in actual context before. Anyway, back to before, you're pissing me off and you're going to tell me if I have to tickle the hell out of you."

"I'm not ticklish. I'm cold-hearted and void of all emotions so you go ahead and try!"

"Well if you're not even going to protest, I'm not going to bother."

"Fine then," she said.

"Fine." They were quiet for a few seconds and then Chris whined, "Tell me!"

"No. I changed my mind and now I don't want to tell you."

"Tell me!"

"No!"

"Tell me!"

"No!"

"Fine, then, don't tell me."

"I like you!" she blurted irritably. "Dammit!"

That took Chris aback. First, he stopped walking, then he stared at her, then he averted his eyes to the ground, and then he smiled. "Wow."

Her face pomegranate red, she grumbled, "That wasn't the response I was expecting."

"You like me?" he asked, just checking to make sure.

"That's what I said wasn't it?" she snapped.

"Ooh, cranky are we?"

"Leave me alone."

"Ren," he said. "I think it's really cool you like me. Actually, I'm blushing, and I'm glad it's dark so that you can't see."

Ren waited a moment for him to tell her that he liked her back, but he never did. She tried not to sigh, but did anyway. When she looked down the road a little ways, she spotted a familiar looking car. "My dad has that make of car."

"It's a nice car," Chris commented appreciatively. He laughed. "Hey, wouldn't you laugh really hard if it was your dad out looking for you?"

"I'd probably run away, screaming," she said. "Hmm. The man driving the car looks suspiciously like my father."

"You have good eyesight," he said.

"Don't turn left, don't turn left," she murmured. They watched as the silver car turned on its left blinker and turned, driving towards them. "Ah crap!"

Chris giggled.

"Lord, I'm never going to see sunlight again," she cried. "God DAMMIT, should I hide? Maybe you should! Quick, run!"

Chris did not run, however, because he was laughing too hard to hear her orders. He staggered onto the grass so that if he fell over it wouldn't hurt as much. He especially enjoyed how she ran ahead to meet the car instead of running in the opposite direction.

Daniel Rasmussen rolled down the passenger window and stopped the car. "Ren?"

"Hi Daddy," she said brightly, with a large smile.

"Where have you been?" he demanded.

"I've been with some friends. I'm sorry for not calling home."

"Out with some friends?" he asked. "Then why are you out prowling the streets at this hour?"

"Chris was just walking me home," she protested. "I wasn't prowling. I'm not a cat burglar."

"You had your mother worried sick," he barked. "Your brother's out looking for you too. Where the hell do you get off being so selfish, Ren?"

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

"Get in the car."

Her eyes wild, she looked from her father to Chris. "Couldn't we give Chris a ride home--"

"I said get in the damn car."

Ren looked up at Chris apologetically and then obeyed. She had barely shut the car door when Daniel sped off.

Chris watched until he couldn't see the car anymore before turning and walking in the direction of his house.

All he could think about as he walked leisurely was how Ren liked about him. He knew it was the truth just by the way that she'd said it, but he just didn't understand why. He had never been able to understand why she had picked him over everyone else. But did he like her back? He didn't know. The only thing Chris was sure about was that he cared about her, and didn't want anything bad to ever happen to her. He just couldn't imagine holding her hand or calling her his girlfriend or thinking of her on Valentine's Day…But then he'd never held any girl's hand before, or been able to have anyone to call his girlfriend and he barely knew when Valentine's Day was. Maybe Ren would be able to show him what that would be like. And maybe he wanted her to.

Rounding the corner on Prince Street, he ran straight into Ryder Rasmussen and two of his friends. He decided that he had seen enough of that family for one evening, so he mumbled an apology and tried to go around.

"Why in such a hurry, Chambers?" Ryder asked with a grin. His idiot friends giggled like a chorus of hyenas.

"I have to go home," Chris said quietly.

"Where you coming from?"

"Elizabeth Jacob's house," he replied honestly, mentioning the fact that he'd just been with Ren the farthest thing from his mind.

"You didn't happen to see my sister, did you?"

"Not for awhile, no." That was almost the truth. Chris wouldn't feel right lying, even to an asshole like Ryder but he would if he had to.

Ryder grinned. "You weren't out with my sister?"

"Which one?" he stalled.

"Real funny, smartass," Ryder said. "You were just with Ren, weren't you?"

"No," he replied flatly.

"Why not? Something wrong with my sister?"

Chris shook his head. "Nothing's wrong with your sister."

"Is there something going on between you and Ren, Chambers?" Ryder asked. Something glinted in his eyes that made Chris nervous.

"No."

"I think you're lying." Ryder looked back at his friends. "What do you guys think?"

Dumb and Dumber giggled.

"That's what I thought too," Ryder said. "What do you say, Chris? Care to revise your answer? Is there something going on between you guys?"

"I said no, didn't I?" Chris snapped.

"You lying sack of shit."

"Come on, Ryder, just let me--" Chris began to say, but a cheap knee shot to the groin shut him up, making him drop to his knees. "Fuck you," he gasped.

One of Ryder's henchmen kicked him squarely in the ribs when he struggled to get to his feet.

"You're not so tough, are you, Chris?" Ryder smiled.

"Not when you've got your little cheerleaders with you," he said quietly. He placed a hand over his injured side and wearily rose to his feet. "Now please get the fuck out of my way."

By the time he got home, his dad was waiting for him. Apparently Ren's mother had called over to the Chambers' house to inform them that Chris had had Ren out past her curfew.

Chris' dad figured that by Chris hanging out with some "socialite," he was once again trying to prove that he was better than the rest of his family. He hadn't stopped with enrolling in the college courses. Now he was running around behind their backs with some rich tramp.

So Chris got beaten up twice that night.