Disclaimer: Thanks for all my wonderful reviews! You guys are great,
really. I LOVE YOU!!!! I'm a little hyper tonight. Everynight, actually!!!!
The song they listen to is from the TV show 'Mad about you'. I know it
wasn't a song back then, but it fits, so we can over look that, right?
Good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eyeball and I grew closer as the summer progressed. He was so sweet to me. Don't get me wrong, we had our share of arguments, mostly stemming from the fact that he didn't want me around his house. I understood this, and I didn't. He said he just didn't want me near his Dad, who I still had not met-not that I minded, but I secretly thought maybe he was ashamed of his family and I just didn't get that. Well, I mean, Mr. Chambers, yeah, but what about Mrs. Chambers, and the younger children? They were nice, weren't they?
"Eyeball?" I asked. We were hanging out down by the lake, laying on one of the docks, me in my swimsuit and he in his swimming trucks(a pair of cut off blue jeans). He turned over on his stomach to look at me.
"What?"
"Can I come over to your house tonight? Please?" He rolled his eyes.
"I don't know Storm. My Dad might be there."
"So?"
He puffed out his cheeks. "So, I know how he is and I know how you are." I sat up and dangled my legs off the end of the dock.
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"You know damn good and well what it means." He said. This was an argument we'd had many times before. "I'll say something to piss him off. He'll come after me. You'll try to get between us. He'll end up hurting you, then I'll have to kill him. And, believe me Storm, as much as I hate him, I don't want to go to jail."
I looked at my hands. "I know you don't. I just wanna get to know your family better."
Eyeball snorted. "I can't imagine why." He said.
"It's just.........forget it. Nevermind." I told him. "Come on, I'm bored. Let's go to my house." I pulled a pair of shorts on over my swimsuit bottoms, grabbed my towel, and headed for his car. Eyeball followed me.
"Come on, Storm, don't be like that!" He said. I didn't answer, just climbed in the front seat. "Storm, you don't understand!" He snapped at me, starting the car.
"Maybe I would understand, if you'd tell me!" I snapped back. We drove in silence for a few minutes.
"Look, Storm, I'm sorry I yelled." He said, reaching across the seat to take my hand. For a half a second, I considered pulling my hand away and ignoring him. One look at his face, though, and I couldn't do it.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, too." I told him, smiling. He squeezed my fingers and I scooted across the seat to him. He let go of my hand and put his arm around me. We stayed like that the rest of the way to my house. When we got there, he took hold of my hand again as we started up the front steps, where Vern, Chris, Gordie, and Teddy sat.
"Whoo!" Vern said.
"Shut the fuck up, fatso." Teddy told him.
"I can't help being fat." Vern replied. "It runs in my family."
"Vern, ain't nobody run's in your family! Ehh, Ehh, Ehh" Teddy laughed his crazy laugh and I nudged him with my bare foot.
"Watch it, bucko! I'm part of his family!" I told him, opening the front door.
"Oh yeah. Sorry, Storm."
Eyeball and I walked in the house. Aunt Charlene and two of her friends, Gloria and Betty, sat on the couch. The three of them had gone to Castle Rock High together, been bridesmaids at each others weddings, and now they sold Avon.
"Hello Storm, Richard." Gloria, a brunette, who was slightly on the chunky side said. "You two just come from the lake?"
"Yeah." Eyeball replied.
"Oh, you girls remember all the good times we had at that lake, we when were their age?" Betty, a skinny blonde, with twice the usual amount of neck, asked. That got the three of the talking about their youth.
"Uh, we're going upstairs." I said, taking Eyeball by the hand and practically pulling him to the stairs.
"Storm, you two keep your door open." Aunt Charlene called after me. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, Aunt Charlene."
Eyeball went into the bathroom to change into some dry clothes and I pulled on a pair of white shorts and an orange tank top.
"Are you dressed yet?" Eyeball asked from the other side of the door.
"Yeah." I opened the door. He sat in my desk chair, his usual spot, spinning it around.
"You're gonna break that chair." I told him. He shrugged and spun again.
"Mr. Tessio'll buy you a new one." He said. I rolled my eyes. "I saw that."
"And?" I said. He just shook his head and turned on my radio. We listened to a few songs quietly, me laying on my bed, and he spinning around in my chair like a three year old.
"Oh, this is my new favorite song." He said, turning it up. "It reminds me of us." Eyeball grinned sheepishly and I listened to the words of the song.
Tell me why, I love you like I do,
Tell me who
Can stop my heart as much as you,
Tell me all your secrets, and I'll tell you most of mine,
They say nobody's perfect,
Well, thats really true this time
I dont have the answers,
I dont have a plan
All I have is you
So darling, help me understand
(What we do) - you can whisper in my ear
(Where we go) - who knows what happens after here
Let's take each other's hand as we jump in to the Final Frontier
I'm mad about you baby,
Mad About You
He sang that last part and I giggled. Eyeball came over and layed down on the bed beside me. I snuggled up next to him and we lay like that for a lomg time.
"Storm?"
"Yeah?"
"What was the best day of your life?" I looked up at him, surprised. It was such an unEyeball like thing he had asked. I thought for a moment.
"Well," I began. "I guess it was when we lived in Amsterdam. I was about nine, I think. My mother and me ate raw hamburgers on buns and she sang this cowboy song: "Yippee I oh ki a, git along little doggies." She told me a doggie was a term for a stray calf. Then, we stood on this bridge over the river and Mother whispered, "Watch this." She waved to the tourist on a glassbottom boat and they all smiled and waved back. They thought we were natives, see, welcoming them to our home. You know, that was the only time I ever remember Amsterdam being sunny." I took a breath. "What about you? What was the best day of your life?"
He smiled a sad smile. "It was the day before Christmas, when I was five. It had snowed really hard the night before, and as soon as Frank, you know my older brother, and me got up, we were out playing in it. Mama even brought Chris out for a little while. He was just a baby, but he played with us. Then, when Daddy got home from work, he had a steady job at the time, he helped us build a huge snowman in the front yard. When we were done, he picked me up and gave me a kiss. Then he tossed me in the air and told me I was his special boy. That's one of the only times he ever gave me a kiss." Eyeball smiled again.
"Sounds like fun." I told him.
"It was."
"Why did you wanna know what the best day of my life was?" I asked him. I couldn't help it. If someone had asked me what were the twenty most likely questions to come out of his mouth, that wouldn't have been one of them.
Eyeball shrugged. "I don't know. Just curious, I guess." We were quiet after that. I actually fell asleep. I think Eyeball did too. I woke up when I felt him moving.
"What time is it?" I asked sleeply.
"Almost 7. I have to get home."
"Eyeball. Let me come with you." I told him. He started to shake his head, then stopped.
"Alright, you can come. Just, if my Dad startes in, ignore it, okay?"
"Agreed." We headed down the stairs. "I'm going to Eyeball's for awhile." I annouced. Aunt Charlene, who was on the phone, just nodded.
On the way to his house, Eyeball was practically biting his nails. "Richard," I said, using his real name. "Quit worrying. It'll be fine."
"Let's just get this over with." Was his reply.
When we walked into his house, a strong, musty smell hit my nose. It smelled like stale whiskey and something else I couldn't quite place. Moth balls, maybe? Mr. Chambers was in the kitchen. He seemed to be the only one around. Eyeball sent me a warning look, then turned to his father.
"Uh, hi, Daddy." He said. Mr. Chambers just grunted in reply. Another look from Eyeball.
"Uh, Daddy, this is my girlfriend, Storm." His Dad looked me up and down, sneering.
"What the fuck kinda name is 'Storm'?" He asked. I felt Eyeball's hand, which was in mine, tighten.
"It's the name her mother gave her when she was born." He replied. Mr. Chambers slapped him, hard, on the back of the head.
"What your mouth smartass! I wasn't talkin' to you, I was talkin' to her!" He looked at me.
"Um, well, my Mother said my eyes were the color of rain clouds and she's always loved storms, so she just named me that."
Mr. Chambers didn't say anything, just continued to stare at me.
"Well, Daddy, Storm just wanted to meet you and see where we lived. We'll just be leaving now. Bye!" Eyeball dragged me back out to his car before his father could stop us. "See, Storm! See why I didn't wan't you to come over! That's how he always is!" Eyeball rubbed the back of his head.
"Does your head hurt?" I asked.
"Naw, not too much." He said. "After I drop you off, I'm gonna go Ace's, see if I can stay the night. I can't stand to go back in that house tonight."
"Why don't you just run away?" I asked him.
"What and leave my best girl? I don't think so."
"I'd go with you." I told him.
He didn't say anything to that, but when he kissed me goodnight, I saw a gleam in his eye that hadn't been there before. I think it was a gleam of hope.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eyeball and I grew closer as the summer progressed. He was so sweet to me. Don't get me wrong, we had our share of arguments, mostly stemming from the fact that he didn't want me around his house. I understood this, and I didn't. He said he just didn't want me near his Dad, who I still had not met-not that I minded, but I secretly thought maybe he was ashamed of his family and I just didn't get that. Well, I mean, Mr. Chambers, yeah, but what about Mrs. Chambers, and the younger children? They were nice, weren't they?
"Eyeball?" I asked. We were hanging out down by the lake, laying on one of the docks, me in my swimsuit and he in his swimming trucks(a pair of cut off blue jeans). He turned over on his stomach to look at me.
"What?"
"Can I come over to your house tonight? Please?" He rolled his eyes.
"I don't know Storm. My Dad might be there."
"So?"
He puffed out his cheeks. "So, I know how he is and I know how you are." I sat up and dangled my legs off the end of the dock.
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"You know damn good and well what it means." He said. This was an argument we'd had many times before. "I'll say something to piss him off. He'll come after me. You'll try to get between us. He'll end up hurting you, then I'll have to kill him. And, believe me Storm, as much as I hate him, I don't want to go to jail."
I looked at my hands. "I know you don't. I just wanna get to know your family better."
Eyeball snorted. "I can't imagine why." He said.
"It's just.........forget it. Nevermind." I told him. "Come on, I'm bored. Let's go to my house." I pulled a pair of shorts on over my swimsuit bottoms, grabbed my towel, and headed for his car. Eyeball followed me.
"Come on, Storm, don't be like that!" He said. I didn't answer, just climbed in the front seat. "Storm, you don't understand!" He snapped at me, starting the car.
"Maybe I would understand, if you'd tell me!" I snapped back. We drove in silence for a few minutes.
"Look, Storm, I'm sorry I yelled." He said, reaching across the seat to take my hand. For a half a second, I considered pulling my hand away and ignoring him. One look at his face, though, and I couldn't do it.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, too." I told him, smiling. He squeezed my fingers and I scooted across the seat to him. He let go of my hand and put his arm around me. We stayed like that the rest of the way to my house. When we got there, he took hold of my hand again as we started up the front steps, where Vern, Chris, Gordie, and Teddy sat.
"Whoo!" Vern said.
"Shut the fuck up, fatso." Teddy told him.
"I can't help being fat." Vern replied. "It runs in my family."
"Vern, ain't nobody run's in your family! Ehh, Ehh, Ehh" Teddy laughed his crazy laugh and I nudged him with my bare foot.
"Watch it, bucko! I'm part of his family!" I told him, opening the front door.
"Oh yeah. Sorry, Storm."
Eyeball and I walked in the house. Aunt Charlene and two of her friends, Gloria and Betty, sat on the couch. The three of them had gone to Castle Rock High together, been bridesmaids at each others weddings, and now they sold Avon.
"Hello Storm, Richard." Gloria, a brunette, who was slightly on the chunky side said. "You two just come from the lake?"
"Yeah." Eyeball replied.
"Oh, you girls remember all the good times we had at that lake, we when were their age?" Betty, a skinny blonde, with twice the usual amount of neck, asked. That got the three of the talking about their youth.
"Uh, we're going upstairs." I said, taking Eyeball by the hand and practically pulling him to the stairs.
"Storm, you two keep your door open." Aunt Charlene called after me. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, Aunt Charlene."
Eyeball went into the bathroom to change into some dry clothes and I pulled on a pair of white shorts and an orange tank top.
"Are you dressed yet?" Eyeball asked from the other side of the door.
"Yeah." I opened the door. He sat in my desk chair, his usual spot, spinning it around.
"You're gonna break that chair." I told him. He shrugged and spun again.
"Mr. Tessio'll buy you a new one." He said. I rolled my eyes. "I saw that."
"And?" I said. He just shook his head and turned on my radio. We listened to a few songs quietly, me laying on my bed, and he spinning around in my chair like a three year old.
"Oh, this is my new favorite song." He said, turning it up. "It reminds me of us." Eyeball grinned sheepishly and I listened to the words of the song.
Tell me why, I love you like I do,
Tell me who
Can stop my heart as much as you,
Tell me all your secrets, and I'll tell you most of mine,
They say nobody's perfect,
Well, thats really true this time
I dont have the answers,
I dont have a plan
All I have is you
So darling, help me understand
(What we do) - you can whisper in my ear
(Where we go) - who knows what happens after here
Let's take each other's hand as we jump in to the Final Frontier
I'm mad about you baby,
Mad About You
He sang that last part and I giggled. Eyeball came over and layed down on the bed beside me. I snuggled up next to him and we lay like that for a lomg time.
"Storm?"
"Yeah?"
"What was the best day of your life?" I looked up at him, surprised. It was such an unEyeball like thing he had asked. I thought for a moment.
"Well," I began. "I guess it was when we lived in Amsterdam. I was about nine, I think. My mother and me ate raw hamburgers on buns and she sang this cowboy song: "Yippee I oh ki a, git along little doggies." She told me a doggie was a term for a stray calf. Then, we stood on this bridge over the river and Mother whispered, "Watch this." She waved to the tourist on a glassbottom boat and they all smiled and waved back. They thought we were natives, see, welcoming them to our home. You know, that was the only time I ever remember Amsterdam being sunny." I took a breath. "What about you? What was the best day of your life?"
He smiled a sad smile. "It was the day before Christmas, when I was five. It had snowed really hard the night before, and as soon as Frank, you know my older brother, and me got up, we were out playing in it. Mama even brought Chris out for a little while. He was just a baby, but he played with us. Then, when Daddy got home from work, he had a steady job at the time, he helped us build a huge snowman in the front yard. When we were done, he picked me up and gave me a kiss. Then he tossed me in the air and told me I was his special boy. That's one of the only times he ever gave me a kiss." Eyeball smiled again.
"Sounds like fun." I told him.
"It was."
"Why did you wanna know what the best day of my life was?" I asked him. I couldn't help it. If someone had asked me what were the twenty most likely questions to come out of his mouth, that wouldn't have been one of them.
Eyeball shrugged. "I don't know. Just curious, I guess." We were quiet after that. I actually fell asleep. I think Eyeball did too. I woke up when I felt him moving.
"What time is it?" I asked sleeply.
"Almost 7. I have to get home."
"Eyeball. Let me come with you." I told him. He started to shake his head, then stopped.
"Alright, you can come. Just, if my Dad startes in, ignore it, okay?"
"Agreed." We headed down the stairs. "I'm going to Eyeball's for awhile." I annouced. Aunt Charlene, who was on the phone, just nodded.
On the way to his house, Eyeball was practically biting his nails. "Richard," I said, using his real name. "Quit worrying. It'll be fine."
"Let's just get this over with." Was his reply.
When we walked into his house, a strong, musty smell hit my nose. It smelled like stale whiskey and something else I couldn't quite place. Moth balls, maybe? Mr. Chambers was in the kitchen. He seemed to be the only one around. Eyeball sent me a warning look, then turned to his father.
"Uh, hi, Daddy." He said. Mr. Chambers just grunted in reply. Another look from Eyeball.
"Uh, Daddy, this is my girlfriend, Storm." His Dad looked me up and down, sneering.
"What the fuck kinda name is 'Storm'?" He asked. I felt Eyeball's hand, which was in mine, tighten.
"It's the name her mother gave her when she was born." He replied. Mr. Chambers slapped him, hard, on the back of the head.
"What your mouth smartass! I wasn't talkin' to you, I was talkin' to her!" He looked at me.
"Um, well, my Mother said my eyes were the color of rain clouds and she's always loved storms, so she just named me that."
Mr. Chambers didn't say anything, just continued to stare at me.
"Well, Daddy, Storm just wanted to meet you and see where we lived. We'll just be leaving now. Bye!" Eyeball dragged me back out to his car before his father could stop us. "See, Storm! See why I didn't wan't you to come over! That's how he always is!" Eyeball rubbed the back of his head.
"Does your head hurt?" I asked.
"Naw, not too much." He said. "After I drop you off, I'm gonna go Ace's, see if I can stay the night. I can't stand to go back in that house tonight."
"Why don't you just run away?" I asked him.
"What and leave my best girl? I don't think so."
"I'd go with you." I told him.
He didn't say anything to that, but when he kissed me goodnight, I saw a gleam in his eye that hadn't been there before. I think it was a gleam of hope.