Gordie grabbed me a backpack from the closet and told me to toss anything in it. I rummaged through his bureau and took out old t-shirts and socks, and packed the plaid blanket that was folded neatly at the end of his bed. "You're as skinny as me, so you can wear my t-shirts for awhile," he said, giving me a kind of funny smile. I wanted to bite back at the famous "skinny Alice" remark, but I didn't have the mental energy to do so. "Can't we sneak over to my house and...," I started.

Gordie took me by the shoulders. "Look. You got into a huge mess today. Not just one. But two. You need to lie low for a bit. You're going to..." I interrupted him. "The treehouse, I know, I know." I resigned to what was probably going to be meager living for a couple of days. That treehouse got so fucking hot sometimes you couldn't stand it, and I had to live up there for awhile. Shit, could things get any worse? Gordie kept giving me sad, tortured looks so often I wanted to hit him, but I couldn't 'cause he was helping me, you know? You don't get many friends like that.

"I'm gonna run down to the kitchen to get some food for you, okay," he said. "Okay. But no frozen peas," I said dryly. That almost got a laugh out of him. Almost, but not quite. I guess my situation wasn't that funny yet.

While waiting for Gordie, I stuffed a couple of his police and mystery comics into my pack, as well as some playing cards so I wouldn't be bored to tears. A shout suddenly tore through the heavy silence in the house. "ALICE, RUN!

"Oh, SHIT," I cried, grabbing the pack, and hightailing it down the stairs as fast as my skinny legs could take me. I tore out the front door pausing just long enough to see Ace grabbing Gordie by the collar of his shirt and lifting him a good several inches off the ground. Hell, I couldn't leave him there alone with that bastard. He was already terrified enough of him. I dropped my bag by the front door, turning resolutely and like a soldier ready to salute, I marched into the living room. Second fight that day. Man, was I boss or what?

"Leave him the fuck alone, Ace. It's me you want to talk to, remember? Hell, at least this way I don't have to hide out until you beat my ass. You can do it right now." Gordie let out a kind of scared, squeak, trying to get me to back off, but I couldn't. I was tired of Ace and his gang picking on my friends.

Ace had his fist pulled back, ready to whail on Gordie. Gordie had his head back as far away from the fist as possible without looking like a turtle with its' head in its' shell. "Get the fuck outta here, Lachance, before I change my mind." He dropped Gordie on the hardwood floor like a sac of potatoes and came after me. He grabbed me by my right arm and pulled me out the door. He was on a mission. A fucking psycho mission, but he was going to do it, and I knew it would hurt like a bitch.

I saw Gordie start to follow us, but I shouted, "Don't. He'll kill you Gordie.", and he shrank back, the determinded look that was strong in his eyes only a short while ago was completely snuffed out.

"Damn right I will," Ace growled. "Fucking kids being smart-asses. Chris's Pop was right. You are a pain in the ass. You deserve what you got earlier."

I tried to play the only card I thought I had. Stalling time. "Then why did you help me?" He threw me against the wall of the Lachance's shed in their driveway. Pain seared up my spine. I winced, but I didn't show him any emotion.

"What the fuck is this, '20 Questions'? I don't need to tell you anything. You're just like all the other girls in this town. Gotta know every damn thing." He kicked the wall behind me, making the barn shake.

"Well, if this is the way you treat "all those other girls", then I can see why you get so angry all the fucking time. You asked me earlier why I'm so scared of you. I'm going to ask you this question, why are you so goddamn mean?" Ace's mouth dropped. Either he was so mad that I had actually had the nerve to ask him that question, or I had actually made Ace fucking Merrill speechless. The only other person to have done that was Gordie and that was when he was about to shoot Ace's foot off.

His fist raised almost on it's own accord and I crouched back, knowing in two seconds it was going to slam into my other eye, when all was quiet except for Ace's heavy breathing and a quiet confession I'd never expect to hear.

"I don't know."