Hey everyone, I'm going away tomorrow for almost two weeks and I'm really not sure whether I can upload any chapters while away. Probably there won't be any more updates for two weeks so be warned. Anyway, here's the next few chapters, enjoy. Oh and thanks to my reviewers!! Also, I must admit that the girls in this story (at least so far) are very one-dimensional and I apologise for that, I guess the reason is cause I'm trying to focus on the boys for the most part. Hmmmm…. I hope that makes sense!

Friday Night

"I am not paranoid! That guy wanted to drag me into his car and drive away!" Sarah cried.

It was later that evening and the five of them were walking along the Main Street in Castle Rock. The guys were teasing Sarah for freaking out because a car had just cruised along the sidewalk next to them.

"Yeah I'm sure that's what he wanted," Teddy scoffed. "But you know to me it didn't look like he was checking *you* out."

"Hey! Why wouldn't he be checking me out?" Sarah cried in a mock hurt voice.

"Seemed to me," Teddy began importantly. "That you weren't exactly what he was interested in."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah man, what do you mean?" Vern looked confused.

"That guy was completely, totally, fully checking out…" Teddy paused. "Gordie Lachance!"

"Aw fuck you!" Gordie said and shoved Teddy off the sidewalk.

Teddy was laughing now. "That guy wanted to drag Gordie into his car! E e ee eee ee! He though Gordie was beautiful. That's right!"

"Yeah actually you're right he did seem to be looking at you," Emma teased, grinning slightly. "I think it was your shirt that caught his eyes."

"I think it was his hair," Sarah offered.

"Maybe it was his smile," Vern said finally getting the joke.

"Naw, naw you're way off," Teddy said. "That guy wanted Gordie's ass oh yeah!" He was off again, laughing.

"Fuck off would ya Teddy?" Gordie said but he was smiling. "You guys are messed up."

"We can't help it that you're sooo sexy Gordie!" Sarah teased.

"It's completely your own fault!" Emma declared. She was walking behind Gordie with Vern and she jabbed him in the back.

Gordie found himself laughing. It felt good. "Yeah well…Duchamp, Tessio you better watch your girls man cause I'm pretty hard to resist."

"Or maybe it should be me and Emma who watch out cause I swear Gordie that Teddy Duchamp was staring at you all through dinner." Sarah grinned.

"Hey man I'm fucking irresistible," Gordie said. "What with my intellect, sensitivity, wit, charm, looks..."

He would have gone on but Vern chose this time to give him a dead leg.

"Shit Vern!" Gordie cried, reaching down to massage the back of his knee.

Vern laughed. "Tessio: one, Lachance: zero!"

Gordie glanced up and grinned, a real smile. "Hey man, the night is young."

Across town Chris was sitting on his living room couch trying to simultaneously write a history essay and help his sister with some homework. Mrs Chambers was sitting at the other end of the sofa flipping through one of those tabloid papers. Chris's brother was sprawled across the floor reading a mystery comic. Mr Chambers was out, probably at the local bar 'Seasons' with his drinking buddy Mr Merrill. To an outsider the situation may have looked like normal, peaceful family life but Chris could feel the tension in the room. Mr Chambers had been on a mean streak for a while now and everyone was scared of what he might be like when he got home tonight. Chris could feel the suffocating fear in the room.

"Ma what happened with that Brower kid?"

Chris looked up in surprise. His brother was holding up his magazine and pointing to a photograph next to a block of text. Ray Brower's face stared out. It was that picture the authorities had sent out when he had first gone missing. Ray smiled out from the page and Chris felt like all the air had gone from his body. The photograph had been taken about six months before Ray had died and Chris found it strange how hopeful and well normal Ray looked in the picture. I saw your body Chris thought and immediately it swam in front of his eyes, quickly followed by a feeling of nausea.

"Well they found him just a few days after he went missing," Mrs Chambers said.

"Yes I know that," Chris's brother said impatiently. "I mean how'd it happen? How did he die?"

"The train hit him," Chris said softly.

Mrs Chambers looked at Chris sharply "Yes I think it was something like that, they never really said much after they found him."

Chris was silent and he wasn't sitting on a sofa, he was back on the train tracks in 1959 with Gordie, Teddy and Vern. He was thirteen years old again and off to see a dead body. He felt a wave of nostalgia for that summer, for those days with the guys before everything had gotten so complicated.

That was the summer he had bared his soul to Gordie. Chris felt all uncomfortable just thinking about how vulnerable he had made himself back then. Gordie helped you a part of his mind whispered. Chris shushed it, Gordie may have *tried* to help but really all that had happened was that Chris had given Gordie a whole lot of burden to carry. Or had he? Chris was confused. Things were right like they were now weren't they?

He looked back down at his history essay but instead of the two lines he'd written so far all he saw was a dead kid named Ray Brower and a Chris Chambers who was far more innocent.