There's only 3 more chapters left of the story, guys! I have all the chapters all mapped out, and they'll probably be up here pretty soon. I had a lot of fun writing this story. Thanks again, everyone, for the kind reviews you've given me. hugs

--melancholyXdreams

I made it back to my house on Sterling Court about 10 minutes later. It seemed pretty quiet; I wondered if the guys were even there anymore. Pushing open the front door, I ran over to the mirror in the hallway, and gave myself the once-over. Damn, I was filthy. My brown hair hung in dirty strings, some sticking to my face, and there were scratches all over my legs.

I didn't feel like taking a bath, so I went into the kitchen, grabbed some Sunlight, stuck my head under the tap(being careful not to touch my stiches), and gave my hair a thorough cleaning. After shaking my hair out in a dish towel, I grabbed for the First Aid kit under the sink, got the rubbing alcohol and some cotton balls, and dabbed them over the cuts on my legs. After what I'd gone through that day, thhe stinging pain from the alcohol was almost nothing. I put everything back, and heard a commotion on the stairs.

"Alice," Vern shouted, running over to me. He grabbed me by the wrist, and looked me over. "God, you look horrible. Sincerely."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, Vern." Vern leaned in to give me a quick hug. "No, really, I mean, are you okay? Gordie and Chris told me what happened."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I feel so much better now that I washed my hair, and Ace gave me some Tylenol." You would not believe how quiet the room got just then. The only sounds were the buzzing of the bare lightbulb above the kitchen table and Teddy breathing next to me.

He was the first to speak up. "Ace. Gave you Tylenol? What the fuck, Alice? The guys told me what happened too, so why the fuck would he help you after that?" I shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is he did. So let's leave it at that, okay?"

Vern eyeballed me. "Okay, but can I also ask you why Billy came running in here about 10 minutes ago, and actually asked me if you were alright? Billy never asks us that. What gives, huh?"

I had six pairs of eyes on me, and they were making me extremely uncomfortable. The longer they stared at me, the more I wanted to tell them what Ace told me. But that could never happen. Not in this lifetime. "Look, guys. It's nothing. Maybe Billy just really wanted to see if I was okay." Vern grunted. "Sure. And this's the same Billy that stuck my head in the toilet on Monday?" I ignored him.

"Hey, it's cooler out, guys. Let's go to the treehouse and relax. Play some cards," I suggested. I got six shoulders shrugging in return, and another grunt from Vern. "I'll be right back," I said. "I want to get my backpack." The others were still giving each other pointed looks, and Teddy looked like he really wanted to say something, but knew he'd regret it if he did. Chris stared him down, and he clamped his mouth shut, but not before saying, "Eat me, Chambers."

I grabbed my pack from my hurricane-mess of a room, stuffing in some extra comics, and as an after-thought, my inhaler from my desk just in case of any more run-in's with, well, anybody. I pounded back down the stairs, and asked everyone, "Should we bring snacks?", to which Gordie answered, "I've got crackers, and Coke," while pointing to his own pack.

Less than five minutes later, we were at the treehouse. I sat by the opening, dangling my legs over the edge, reading a mystery comic. I was so into it, I didn't even notice that the sun was starting to go down, and the breeze was considerably cooler. I rubbed the goosebumps from my legs, and went back to the story. Vern interrupted a minute later. "Guys, I think there's someone down there!" Teddy leaped up, dropped his cards, and looked out the window opening closest to him. "Shit, he's right," he said, his voice trembling just the slightest bit. "D'you think it's Ace?"

That made me drop my comic, where it went fluttering down to the ground like an abandoned baby bird. I started to scramble back into the safety of the treehouse, when I heard my name being called. It was Ace. I saw his shadow leaning against the next tree closest to us.

"God, man. What does he want with us," Vern whined. I sucker-punched him in the shoulder. "Two for flinching," I growled. "Shut up, okay?" Gordie moved over to sit next to me. "Are you gonna go down, Alice?", he asked, grabbing me by the wrist. I thought a moment, and looked back out to Ace's shadow, where there was now a bright light from a cigarette glowing in front of his face, giving him an eerie look. "Yeah, I am." Vern whimpered again. "Shut up!", I said. He shut up. Chris grinned at me. "Go ahead. We'll be up here if you need us." I looked over at Teddy, who had lost interest, and was shuffling his pack of cards like a madman. Vern was still crouched in the corner, afraid to even have Ace know he was up there. I shook my head. "Maybe Ace is right," I said under my breath, hoisting myself out of the treehouse. "Buncha pussies."

I jumped off the last foot, and my feet hit the ground with a thud. My ankle throbbed angrily, but I ignored it. Ace turned my way, blowing a ring of smoke that flew over my head. "What d'you want?", I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. "I've said all I needed to say to you today." He leaned in, the glow from the cigarette made his eyes look golden brown instead of grey. "Well, I haven't," he said, his voice gone gravely from the smoke. I was on the defense again, ready to make a run for it, if I needed to. "Say it, then," I said. He thought a moment, then shook his head. "Forget it," he grumbled. He tossed his cigarette onto the patchy grass, ground it with his heal, and stalked off, giving me the finger over his shoulder.

"Boys!", I said, my voice dripping with disgust. And without saying goodbye to my friends, I walked opposite the way Ace had left and went home.