Gordie went to the only person besides Chris and Randi that he could open up to. He walked down to the lonely graveyard in Castle Rock. He knelt by the grave, and ran his hands over the grim, affirming letters the spelled out, 'Dennis Andrew Lachance'. Gordie was quiet for a moment, silently staring at what was left of his brother.

"Hey Denny," he said gently. "I miss you," he paused, "But you know that. And you know that it hasn't been the same without you," he took a deep breath. "I could use your brotherly advice right about now." He let a nervous laugh bubble out of him. "I think I screwed everything up with Randi. I told you about her, remember?" He continued, without waiting for a response, "I told her I loved her...which probably wasn't the brightest thing to do at the time, seeing as Teddy just broke up with her. It just kinda came out. But she yelled at me. Kept asking me what I wanted from her. I think it was more of a general question, like it wasn't aimed directly at me. I don't know what to do Denny," Gordie looked at Denny's grave as if some answer would come from it.

"I still miss you," Gordie whispered. "They don't even talk to me, not without you here. If...if I would have gone, and you stayed...I bet Mom and Dad'd still be happy now."

'Don't say that Gordie,' a voice in Gordie's mind told him. He wasn't crazy, Gordie knew that he made up that voice, but he liked to think that it was the part of Denny that was still with him.

'Don't you ever think that. You have a purpose Gordie. You're gonna be a great writer. Don't worry about the girl troubles. Everything is going to turn out fine. Trust me. And...I miss you too kid,' the voice in Gordie's mind faded away, and he got up, brushing off his knees. He walked home and the remnants of a smile danced on his face.

********************************

A day after Gordie's chat with Denny, Teddy and Vern were sitting under Vern's porch. Vern was still digging for his pennies, and Teddy was just watching.

"You know Billy probably found the map and took the pennies," Teddy said.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Vern said, still digging, "Shitheap," he added after a moment, for good measure.

Teddy didn't take notice to Vern's comment, and if he did hear it, it didn't phase him. He was just staring up through the cracks in the porch floorboards. Vern put down the small spade he had been digging with.

"So, you just broke up with her, huh," Vern crawled over to Teddy. He wasn't very good at breaking the ice, but he was great to talk to, because he was a good listener.

"Yeah," Teddy said.

"...Why?" Vern asked.

Teddy sighed. "It's kinda complicated Vern-o. It just wasn't working."

"Are you upset?"

"Well yeah, I'm upset, but it's not the end of the world," Teddy explained, "It's not like she's going anywhere."

"What if she doesn't want to be your friend anymore?" Vern asked.

"Whaddya mean? Of course she'll still want to be my friend!" Teddy exclaimed. Vern smiled to himself, that's Teddy for ya, the always confident.

"What if she doesn't though," Vern asked.

Teddy shook his head, "Randi wouldn't do that...Randi wouldn't break up the group."

"You're probably right," Vern said, and went back to digging.

"Yeah...I probably am."

*****************************

"Are you okay kiddo?" Rudy asked, watching his sister lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She nodded, not looking at him. He sat down next to her. "I haven't seen your gang around lately," Rudy commented.

Randi just shrugged.

"Are you upset about Mikey? You could try and call him," Rudy prodded. Randi shook her head. "Just say something," Rudy pleaded.

"This sucks," Randi said finally.

"What sucks?"

"I screwed up everything," Randi said.

"What'd you do?" Rudy asked. Randi told him about fighting with Mikey, kissing Mouth, breaking up with Teddy, Gordie's confession, and her reaction. "I feel so bad for yelling at Gordie, but I was just so frustrated by that point," she finished.

"So go apologize."

"That's just the thing," Randi said, sitting up, "I feel bad, but I don't know if I'm sorry. It was unfair for him to tell me that at that time. I was already upset, and he could see that, and like, what was I supposed to do?"

"...I understand..." Rudy said.

"Now Teddy hates me, Gordie hates me, and they probably told both Chris and Vern, so they're most likely angry at me; Mikey hates me-"

"Mikey doesn't hate you," Rudy interrupted. "And if Gordie really loves you, then he can't possibly hate you. He's probably just upset. Listen, I'm not saying you should sit around and feel sorry for yourself, but maybe you should just wait for everyone to cool down or something, ya know?"

"Yeah," Randi said. They were both silent for a moment. "Do you think I feel sorry for myself a whole bunch?"

"No, you're usually a very kind, fun, bright person," Rudy said. "Just not know."

"Gee thanks, Rudy," Randi rolled her eyes. "It doesn't get any better than that."

"Oh, I know it doesn't. But listen, things are going to work out somehow, and you're going to have a wonderful life with someone that loves you very much, and you're going to have tons of bottom feeders-"

"Bottom feeders?" Randi interrupted.

"Yeah, ya know....kids."

"Rudy," Randi sat up, "I want you to promise me one thing right now."

"What?"

"Never, ever, call your children bottom feeders."

"Okay, okay, I promise."

Randi smiled. "So wait, go back to describing my nice life," she prompted.

"Sorry kiddo," Rudy looked at Randi's clock, "I have to go look for a job. You imagine though, have fun."

"You never fail to make me feel better," Randi smiled.

"See ya," Rudy said, and he kissed Randi's forehead before leaving the room.

"Ewwwww," Randi yelled after him. She could hear Rudy laughing until he walked out the front door.

A/N: I'm sorry about the huge delay in posting. I had this camp and all this crap to do. Sorry. I'll try and update more in the future.