Faye was on cloud nine.

Sighing, she plopped onto her bed and closed her eyes. Her stomach was filled with butterflies and she giggled to herself, making her seem more like a little school girl rather than a sixteen year old. She couldn't help it though. Just the other day she had been feeling incredibly shitty about her life and now she couldn't have been happier.

Finally, after so long, she actually had something she wanted and something that made her feel so special. Chris. She couldn't believe it and sometimes she was afraid it was only a dream, like she would wake up and it never happened. But these moments passed when Chris and she walked down the hallway, talking and not having a worry in the world. These moments passed when Chris sweetly kissed her or when they joked around.

Chris was Faye's best friend. She could talk to him about anything and he listened. She could listen to him for hours and never tire of it. She didn't know why or how Chris had that incredible power over her, but it made her head dizzy and her face a deep crimson.

Just as Faye was drifting off into a peaceful nap, Gabe strolled into her room causing her to groan.

"Gabe," Faye mumbled, sitting up. "What do you want?"

Gabe walked over to her with his hands in his pockets and sat down on her bed. She propped herself upon her elbows and looked expectantly at him.

"Hm? What is it, then?"

Gabe sighed and scratched his head, as if he really didn't want to do what he was about to do.

"Faye," he began, a bit awkwardly. "I-uh-just wanted to ...erm apologize."

Faye arched an eyebrow. "For what?" she asked bluntly.

Gabe sighed again, impatient that Faye was making him explain it.

"For what Mom did at dinner the other week. It was partly my fault. Okay, it was my entire fault. I should have kept my mouth shut. Chris is a cool guy, Faye." Faye nodded. "He is. He's my best friend, Gabe. What Mom said just really pissed me off."

Gabe nodded. "I know. It's just fun to pick on my little sister and her boyfriend. I mean-'friend.'"

Faye laughed good-naturedly. "It's okay. I guess he's my 'boyfriend' now."

Gabe shook his head. "You crazy kids these days."

Faye swatted him. "Out. That's enough now, get out." Gabe smiled and retreated from her room. Deep down, Faye was happy her brother apologized. It made things a bit better-and it was unlike Gabe. It was mature of him, and one thing Gabe was not was mature.

No more than two minutes later, there was a knock on her door and Faye altogether screamed now.

"WHAT?!" she shouted, chucking a pillow at the door. She was tired, she wanted sleep. But when the door swung open and Chris stood there, smirking, Faye propped herself up again on her bed and grinned sheepishly.

"Oops," she mumbled. "Sorry."

Chris walked over to her and looked doubtful at her. "Cranky?"

Faye grumbled and fell back, covering her face with her pillow. "Very much."

Chris shrugged and plopped down on the foot of her bed. "Too bad, I'm not leaving."

Faye pouted sarcastically. "Damn!"

Chris leaned down at kissed her sweetly. He looked at her when he pulled away and arched an eyebrow.

"Still want me to leave?"

Faye scrunched her face up in thought. "Nah. I think I'll let you stay a bit longer."

Chris sighed. "Phew. Glad that's done. I came here for a reason you know."

"What-seeing me wasn't good enough?"

"Nope," Chris said, laying down beside Faye and looking up at the ceiling. "Halle and my mom got into another fight. I couldn't take it. And Dani's all alone, so I'm feeling guilty."

Faye looked over at him. "Is it bad? Real bad?"

Chris nodded, but didn't meet her eyes. "Yeah. They began to yell, like always, but now my mom's crying. I don't know why. And Halle was swearing and screaming and it's all just a mess. I swear, one of these days it's going to be too much and one of them will leave."

"That won't happen."

Chris nodded, still. "Yeah, I bet it will. And believe it or not, I'm hoping it's my mom."

Faye arched an eyebrow. "What? Why?"

Chris sighed and rubbed his eyes, making him look older and much more exhausted than a seventeen year old boy.

"Halle's so special to me," he said. "I see what no one else sees in her."

Faye thought about this. "You're not the only one."

Chris looked up at her in confusion. "What?"

Faye looked at him and grinned. "I think Halle and Gordie have something going on."

Chris scoffed and shook his head. "No way. Gordie's got Grace."

Faye shrugged. "I don't care who he has. I think something's going on."

Chris didn't want to believe it-but Halle and his previous conversation seemed to all make sense now. He shrugged it off and paused to run his hand across Faye's smooth cheek.

Faye grinned and Chris sighed in return.

***

Halle had had enough. Walking fast down the main street of Castle Rock, she didn't even care where she was going. She couldn't take fighting with her mom any more. It was pointless, exhausting and heart wrenching.

So as she stormed down the street, her dark hair blinding her vision, she was taken aback when she run full force into someone, making her skid back a few paces.

Looking up irritably, she frowned when she saw it was none other than Gordie. (isn't it funny how everyone ends up bumping into each other? I love it! Haha)

"Er-sorry," she muttered, brushing herself off and pushing her hair out of her eyes. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Gordie grinned sheepishly. "It's okay. Why were you in such a rush anyway?"

Halle looked beyond him and frowned again. "Family troubles."

Gordie nodded. "I've had a few of them myself."

Halle grinned despite herself. "Oh really?"

Gordie laughed and shrugged. "Sure. Parents suck."

Halle nodded. "I know what you mean." There was a moment of awkward silence and Halle fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Want to get some ice cream?" Gordie asked and Halle looked up happily.

"Sure."

The small ice cream parlor was rather empty and smelled sweetly of pastries. Halle loved it in here and despite her previous bad mood, Gordie's sweet demeanor made her forget all about her fight with her mother.

After they had ordered their ice cream, they sat down at a booth by the window and ate silently for a few moments. Halle looked up as she licked her spoon.

"So what were you doing walking around here?" she asked Gordie. He looked up from his chocolate shake and shrugged.

"My dad was pissing me off," he replied. "And my mom was just in one of her more depressing moods, you know, crying over Denny." Gordie felt his stomach plummet with an icy cold wave and grimaced, losing his appetite. Remembering Denny was difficult.

Halle noticed this and looked empathetically at him. "It is okay, Gordie. Denny was a great guy."

Gordie looked up sadly at Halle. "Yeah I know. That's what makes it so bad. He didn't deserve to die. If I had just...." Trailing off, Halle stopped eating and impulsively placed her hand overtop his large one. Looking up into Halle's eyes, Gordie felt something different he didn't feel with Grace. It was purity, like someone actually understood him because they could relate.

"Gordie," Halle whispered. Gordie looked down at her full lips and was suddenly overcome with such a vulnerable eagerness he couldn't help but want to know what her lips felt like. Did they feel as soft and supple as they looked? Looking into her eyes, Gordie's stomach dropped and he leaned in and kissed Halle. He felt her intake a sharp breath, and she pulled away suddenly. Shaking her head, she felt sick.

"No," she said firmly. "Gordie we can't do this. You have a girlfriend."

Gordie suddenly felt like the biggest piece of shit. Grace. How could he have kissed another girl like that? Why had he? Was he so stupid to actually jeopardize the one thing worth living for in his life?

"Jesus," Gordie replied. "I'm so sorry Halle." But looking at Halle and into her forgiving eyes, he found a new respect for her. It was a respect for Halle which was new. She wasn't the slut everyone saw her to be. She had enough dignity and pride to not kiss Gordie, and she knew it was wrong if she did.

Looking into her eyes, Gordie grinned slightly.

"Thanks."

* * * Okay, ya'll. That's the next chapter. Don't worry; I'm not planning to end this until at least another ten chapters. But I am worried about where this all is heading. I'm a bit stumped.

Thanks to all my reviews and to StormShadow21 for making me want to continue this story!! :) Love and Strawberries, The Good Girl