A good portion of that night Chris was kept awake worrying about how he was going to act around Gordie. He knew he could never let him find out. Nothing good could come of it, and Chris didn't think he could handle it if he lost his best friend. He was just going to have to ignore his inappropriate feelings and act as normal as possible.
It's Sunday morning, and Chris is sitting around, not doing much of anything when the phone rings.
"Hello?" Chris answered.
"Hey Chris!" Said a cheerful Gordie.
"Oh…Hi Gordie." said a suddenly uncomfortable Chris.
"Something wrong?" asked Gordie, who had caught Chris' tone.
"Uh, no. Why?" Chris responded a little too quickly.
"You just sounded kinda weird. You're not still upset about your dad are you?" Gordie asked with concern.
"No." Chris responded shortly.
"Did he hit you again?" Gordie asked softly, a quiet fury creeping into his voice.
"Naw, man, I don't think he even came home last night." Chris said with a humorless laugh.
"Oh…well, you sure there's nothing wrong?" Gordie decided to ask one more time.
"Naw, man, I'm fine. What did you call for?" Chris asked casually.
"Well, I was wanting to introduce Haley to all the guys. Can you be at the tree house at one-thirty?" Gordie asked a little hesitantly, knowing how Chris felt about her.
"Man…I don't know" Chris said.
"I know you think you don't like her, but she's really an amazing girl. If you got to know her, I'm sure you would like her…just give her a chance, okay?" Gordie asked hopefully.
"…I don't know Gordie" Chris repeated.
"Just come to the tree house and hang out with us. If you don't like her, I won't guilt trip you like this ever again okay? A few hours, that's all I'm asking for." Gordie reasoned.
"…I guess" Chris reluctantly agreed with a sigh.
"Thanks, see ya in an hour" Gordie said then hung up.
"Well isn't that just fucking great!" Chris said after he hung up.
Chris promptly got a change of clothes, then went into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
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When Chris got to the tree house Vern, Gordie, and Haley were already there. Chris put on the biggest smile he could muster. He had decided that Gordie was going to think he like Haley if it fucking killed him (which was starting to look like a possibility).
"Hi Chris!" Haley said cheerfully as she ran up and gave him a hug. Chris was a little confused by this automatic display of affection, but realized she was probably just friendly and hugged her back, seeing Gordie give a thumbs-up from behind her back.
"Hey Haley, nice to meet you. Gordie's told me a lot about you." Chris said politely.
"Yeah, he talks about you all the time too. I've been dying to meet you." Haley said nicely.
"Isn't she an angel? I swear she should be wearing a halo." Gordie beamed.
"Hey, Haley-Halo! That rhymes!" Vern exclaimed excitedly.
Haley, Chris and Gordie all made appropriately positive responses, all trying to keep from laughing. But just then…
"No it doesn't! You fucking retard!" Teddy exclaimed exasperatedly as he appeared in the tree house.
"Yeah it does! Sincerely!" Vern said in defense.
"No it doesn't you idiot! They aren't even close, that's like saying Vern and very rhyme." Teddy came back with.
"They do!" Vern exclaimed, getting very confused
"No they fucking don't you stupid ass! Just shut up! You're gonna make this poor girl run out of here terrified." Teddy said
"I hate you." Vern said and started sulking in the corner.
"There's a pity. Excuse my hysterical tears." Teddy said, running his finger under his eye as though to check for tears. "Wait a minute…wait…yeah, there's nothing there, ya know why? Cuzz I don't care." Teddy finished with a laugh.
"Excuse me for being so rude, my name is Teddy Duchamp." Teddy said, shaking Haley's hand.
Trying to be friendly, Chris leaned over and whispered "Just try to ignore them, we're still not sure who they are or where they came from".
"Hey! I heard that, asshole!" Teddy said half-seriously.
"I think I can handle it. I'm dating Gordie remember?!" Haley leaned over to whisper not-so-quietly in Chris' ear resting her hand on his thigh as she did so.
"Hey! I hear that! And to think I called you an angel!" Gordie said jokingly, not noticing where Haley's hand had been placed, much less that she wasn't removing it.
Chris noticed it though, along with other things over the next hour or so that Gordie was too nice and naïve to notice were going on, including the fact that Haley was kind of leaning into Chris. Chris wasn't sure what to do and in the end decided to try to ignore it. If it got any worse, he would mention it to Gordie later.
"Hey, you guys wanna go get some ice cream or something?" Gordie asked Chris, Haley, and Teddy, Vern having left in a righteous huff shortly after his fight with Teddy.
"I can't, I'm supposed to get a call from my dad soon, so I gotta get home." answered Teddy.
"What about you Chris?" asked Gordie.
"Sure." Chris said, not really wanting to spend any more time with Haley, but reluctant to leave her and Gordie alone.
"You want us to walk with you Teddy?" Haley asked.
"No thanks, it's a short walk, and it's a nice chance to think" Teddy said with a wave of his hand as he started down the ladder.
"I guess its just us then" Haley said innocently as she squeezed Chris' thigh.
"Yup, just the three of us! Come on Gordo" Chris said as he jumped up and started for the ladder.
"What's with him?" Gordie asked out loud, watching his friend jump to the ground, way ahead of Haley and him.
"I have no idea. What a strange kid." Haley responded in a puzzled voice.
"Aint that the truth, but that was never a surprise. Come on, lets go"
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At the ice cream shop, Chris and Gordie are eating their ice cream. Haley still hasn't picked what she wants on her Sundae.
"So, have you changed your opinion of Haley yet" Gordie asked smugly, knowing the answer.
"Oh yeah, I definitely regret any assumptions I made about her." Chris said, shaking his head.
"I know, isn't she great! How cute was it when she put her arm through yours because she didn't want you to feel left out that we were holding hands?" Gordie gushed.
"Oh, yeah, adorable." Chris said, rolling his eyes when Gordie looked away.
"I'll be right back, if Haley gets back before I do, tell her I'm using the bathroom" Gordie said.
"Okay" Chris answered.
A few minutes later, Haley came back.
"Hey there." Haley said friendly.
"Gordie went to the bathroom" Chris informed her.
"That's nice. So, what do you say we ditch this place and go have some?" Haley asked.
"Sure. When Gordie gets back we'll figure out what we're gonna do." Chris responded.
"Ulggh. Okay…….I think he has to be home in like an hour though!" Haley remembered.
"Oh, well that's okay, we'll see if Gordie can do something after school tomorrow." Chris said, misunderstanding.
"OR, we could do something after Gordie goes home." Haley suggested.
"…like what" Chris said hesitantly.
"We could go back to the tree house" Haley said, giving him a suggestive smile as she licked ice cream off her spoon.
"I don't know if Gordie would appreciate that." Chris said quickly.
"Why" Haley asked innocently.
"Because we would be alone…at night." Chris explained thinking it would be obvious
"So. What he doesn't know doesn't hurt him" Haley said simply.
"What!?" Chris asked, shocked.
"Lets drop the act Chris. I don't give a flying fuck about that little dork. Have you ever looked at him? EW. Don't make me gag. Its you that I like. Now lets ditch this place and go somewhere more…private." Haley said, running her hand down his arm.
"Haley! He's my best friend!" Chris was so shocked he couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Ulggh, I know" she sighed heavily "What if I break up with him? How about that?"
"Haley, you disgust me! I wouldn't date you if you were the only girl in the world!" Chris said laughing humorlessly at the irony of that statement.
"Well I'm not asking you to date me! What I'm talking about only takes one night." Haley said licking her lips. "Have I ever told you that I love your lips, they look so soft. You know, I'm sure Gordie won't be back for a couple of minutes" Haley said inching her chair closer to him.
"Hey guys, get bored without me?" Gordie asked cluelessly.
"Hi Gordie" Haley said unenthusiastically.
Suddenly Chris shot out of his chair.
"I'm sorry Gordie, I tried but I can only take so much." Chris said before exiting quickly.
Chris walked home slowly, not knowing what to do. He knew he had handled the situation badly, but if he hadn't gotten out of there at that instant, he would have done something he would have regretted. It took him a while to get home, and when he did, its was dark outside and the house was blissfully quiet. He went straight to his room and laid down on his bed to think. He had come to the conclusion that Gordie was going to be severely pissed off at him. He was going to have to tell Gordie what had happened. He didn't want to, and Gordie probably wasn't going to believe him, but he had to try. He had made it perfectly clear to Haley that he didn't want her, but that didn't mean anything. She'd probably move on to Vern next, she had seen that he was weak and would be a easy target. Chris couldn't let that happen to Gordie, he was just going to have to think of something. Just then the phone rang.
Chris walked down the hall and picked the phone up slowly, knowing it was Gordie.
"Hello?" Chris said cautiously.
"What the FUCK is your problem?! I knew you didn't like her, but DAMN! Did you have to be so bitchy about it? Everything was perfectly fine! You told me you would give her a fair chance! You guys were getting along fine, if you were so miserable at having to be around her, then why did you come to get ice cream? Why didn't you say you had to go home? Was it absolutely necessary to be such a complete and total ASSHOLE!?!" Gordie fumed.
"It wasn't like that, Gordie. I tried, I swear I did!" Chris tried to explain.
"Oh, you did, did you? And what was it about her that was so completely fucking horrible? How nice she was? How friendly she was to you? Or was it that she actually liked me? You know, just because you're pissed off because nobody will date you cuzz you dad's fucked up, that doesn't give you the right to try to fuck up my relationships!" Gordie shouted.
"You wanna know why I left? Do you? Do you really wanna know?" Chris asked.
"No you fucking dumass, I asked you in the hopes that you would ignore me again like you apparently did this morning on the phone. Yes I wanna asshole!" Gordie said sarcastically.
"I left because she was hitting on me the whole time! There! You happy now!! You know why the fuck I left" Chris said, now just as mad as Gordie.
"I FUCKING HATE YOU!" Gordie said with so much feeling that a shiver of dread ran up Chris' spine.
"You are the most selfish bastard I have ever known in my entire life! And that's including my dad! Your alone, so you'll do whatever it takes to make sure that I have absolutely nothing to be happy about either!" Gordie screamed.
"Gordie…" Chris started, scared to hear what Gordie's next sentence would be.
"NO! You just shut the fuck up and listen for once. You don't have to worry about being burdened by me ever again. I'll NEVER ask you to do anything for me ever again." Gordie said darkly.
"Gordie…" Chris tried again.
"You know, all these years, I stood up for you, thinking you were my best friend in the world. I was an outcast with you because I told them all that they were wrong about you, that you were the most amazing person in the world, and it was their loss, not yours…but now…I see that everyone was right about you. You're nothing but the youngest Chambers boy, just like the rest of them." said Gordie.
"Gordie, don't hang up!" Chris heard the dial tone and stared at the phone in dismay, a single tear running down his cheek.
"What the fuck is wrong with you boy? Crying like a damn girl!" shouted his drunk father who had just walked in the house.
"Where the fuck is that worthless piece of shit?" His father slurred.
Chris, not knowing who he was talking about, and not really caring, simply shrugged.
"Don't pull that attitude with me boy!" His father said then smacked him across the face, knocking Chris to the ground.
Chris lay on the floor with his eyes closed and blocked his father's cruel words out,the same words repeating themselves over and over in his head: everyone was right about you; just like the rest of them.
His father finally gave up on him and left again, and Chris slowly and lifelessly walked down the hall and crawled into bed fully clothed.
This chap was a tearjerker, I know. Please review!