A/N: Thanks for reviewing! I hope I get more reviewers soon too!

Disclaimer: Stand By Me is NOT mine, no matter what! And the song 'That'll be the Day' was written and sung by Buddy Holly.

Chapter 2: Starting the Journey

"Are you telling me you want to verbally attack Chris Chambers and Gordie Lachance because they are walking?" Jane asked incredulously.

"Hmm….yeah, pretty much," Ace answered, pretending to think hard on the subject.

"I'll go out first!" Eyeball volunteered cheerfully, and immediately exited the pool hall.

"I don't want to do this," Jane instantly confessed to Ace.

"Whatever," Ace said, bored, and stepped out.

Jane directly jogged to the window, where she could witness what was about to happen.

"Hey girls, where you goin'?" Eyeball asked friendly, as if they were best friends.

As Eyeball and Ace passed the two younger boys, Ace swooped Gordie's, formerly Denny's, Yankee cap off of his head, exposing his black hair. Gordie immediately whipped around, an irate and distraught expression on his face.

"Hey my brother gave me that hat!" Gordie informed angrily.

"Well, now you're giving it to me," Ace replied with a smirk, and held up the hat for Gordie to reach.

Gordie jumped high into the air, swiping at his hat, but Ace always lifted it up higher with each try, grinning maliciously all the while.

"Give it to me!" Gordie ordered, "Come on man, it's mine!"

Gordie grabbed at Ace's arm, which made Ace reach out and push Gordie away with his shirt.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?" Chris said casually, but his face was contorted into an expression of loathing.

Ace let go of Gordie and his eyes switched over to Chris, beginning to walk towards him, while Chris backed away slowly.

"Ooh, your brother's not very polite, Eyeball," Ace reported, dropping his cigarette on the ground.

"Oh now Christopher," Eyeball cooed, "I know you didn't mean to insult my friend."

Chris stopped backing away, and Ace was close up in his face.

"I know he didn't mean to insult me," Ace told Eyeball, but was looking straight at his friend's little brother, "That's why I'm going to give him the opportunity of taking it back."

Chris stayed absolutely silent as Ace stared at him intensely, waiting for an apology of some sort. After getting tired of waiting, Ace roughly grabbed a hold of Chris and slammed him onto the concrete, pushing his head harder and harder against it. Jane watched in horror, but knew she couldn't do anything about it. Besides, it was the worst Chambers in that whole family. Surely this was nothing compared to what he got at his house.

"Ok, ok, I take it back, I take it back!" Chris exclaimed in pain, just as Ace was about to feed him his cigarette. Ace threw the cigarette, and almost gracefully lifted himself and Chris back to a standing position.

"There," Ace said reassuringly with a smirk, "Now I feel a whole lot better about this. How about you? Good."

And after giving Gordie a friendly slap on the side of his neck, he turned around and sauntered off.

"See you later girls," Eyeball told them, and followed Ace, Gordie's hat on his head.

Jane instantly rushed out of the pool hall and faced the younger boys. They stared at her, with what looked like blank expressions, but on the inside, their intestines were burning with hatred. Why should they even talk to her? She hadn't avenged Denny, to Gordie it almost felt like she was getting revenge on him for not dying instead of Denny by hanging out with the Cobras. She was also Andy's older sister. And they were practically mortal enemies…and they lived in the same house, just like Chris and Eyeball.

Jane raised her eyebrows at them in a snobbish way, and then caught up to her two friends.

"Oh Ace, you were great! About time you did something to my brother!" Eyeball praised.

"Well, your brother needs to learn to shut his fucking trap once in awhile. Doesn't he know it could cost him his life one of these days?"

"What?" Jane asked, although she had heard Ace clearly.

"Nothing," Ace said rudely.

The three passed a garbage can, and Eyeball took off the hat and was about to toss it in there. Jane stared at it.

"Hey Eyeball?"

"What?" Eyeball asked, annoyed.

Jane gave a weak smile and questioned timidly, trying to hold back tears and pointing to the hat, "Can I have that?"

"So you almost got ended up smushed into the sidewalk?" Andy asked, interested, "Like one of those stupid graffiti concrete things?"

"Yeah. That's basically it."

Andy had met up with Gordie and Chris at the treehouse and now the three of them were going to get to the train tracks and meet up with Teddy and Vern and start the journey that would change them forever.

"God, that makes me want to punch my sister really hard in her chest…..then it will actually prove that her boobs are fake," Andy added bitterly.

Chris and Gordie burst into laughter.

"Oh come on, are you jealous because your sister has bigger tits than you?" Chris asked unbelievably, "It must be the cons of being thirteen."

"Shut up!" Andy commanded, not finding this a funny situation.

"Ah Andy, don't worry about it, you've got a nice rack," Gordie…err…complimented.

Andy smiled inwardly and blushed, not a very common thing for her.

"HAHA you made Andy blush, way to go Gordo!" Chris cheered.

"Well, if you boys don't want your heads looking permanently deflated, I suggest that you keep those holes in your face shut," Andy threatened, clenching her fists.

Gordie and Chris instantly stopped their laughing and closed their mouths. They both knew that Andy was not the type of person you wanted to fuck around with. But as the boys picked up their pace, leaving Andy to trail behind them, she smiled a wide, satisfied, but most of all, surprised smile. What Gordie said was very weird for him, very abnormal. Sure, he was into all of that 'OH A GIRL!' stuff like the other boys, but just not as much, especially not as much as Teddy. Besides, Andy had a crush on Gordie. Ugh, how she hated that word. It was so stupid, and it didn't exactly describe her situation up to key. If it was anything, it was definitely something small she had for him, of course besides her friendship. But that was the thing that was in the way. How were you supposed to tell your best friend for four years that you loved him? Mostly when Andy was with Gordie she ignored the leaping emotion that ran through her heart, and just acted like she did before she had the 'crush' on him. But it was when she was away from him that was worse, she didn't know how, but it was.

"Andy, FYI! YOU MOVE TOO FRICKN SLOW!"

She instantly looked up and saw that all four of her boys were on the train tracks, looking at her with their heads cocked in thought over her thoughts. Teddy was the only exception.

"Hurry up!" he shouted.

Andy jogged over and flashed him a smile. His face immediately became set, his hands on his hips, and his foot still tapping from waiting for her impatiently.

"Oh don't be such a girl, Teddy," Andy scolded, followed by Chris, Gordie, and Vern's laughter, and Teddy's mouth forming a perfect, prissy 'O'.

"Alright guys, just to warn you, I brought a gun," Chris said, while giggling.

Vern and Andy stopped snickering together and Teddy raised his eyebrows in question.

"What do we need a gun for anyways?" Vern asked.

"It's spooky sleeping out at night in the woods," Chris confessed, and he would be the only to do it and not be made fun of, "We might see a bear….or a garbage can."

The five chuckled briefly and then went down the tracks in silence for a few minutes, until Vern couldn't take it anymore.

"I brought a comb," Vern informed proudly.

"What do we need a comb for?" Chris asked, amused.

"Hey, we need a comb if we wanna look good on TV, don't we?" Vern questioned, hurt over Chris's amusement for what he thought was a brilliant idea, more brilliant than brining the gun.

"That's a lot of thinkin' Vern," Gordie praised with a smile.

"Thanks!"

Teddy suddenly flashed his hand in front of Vern's face and he recoiled.

"Heh, two for flinchin'!" Teddy exclaimed, and then hit Vern hard twice on the arm.

Soon, they all came to a stop and stared down the tracks. They wondered what would await the five down the tracks, what would change and what would stay the same about them. Andy shivered lightly, even though it was the hottest day in August since 1902. She was curious but scared about thinking of that poor Brower kid, but more than anything, she felt sick when she thought about his corpse…just lying there, possibly under the shade of a tree, insects making their way in and out, what he looked like, if his eyes were open in surprise over the chugging vehicle that led to his premature death…

"How long do you think it's going to be?" Teddy asked.

Chris gave a sigh. "Well, if we follow the train tracks all the way into Harlow it'll be about twenty miles," he considered, "Sound about right to you Gordie?"

"Yeah," Gordie, who hadn't said anything in awhile, breathed, "Yeah, it might even be thirty."

"Jesus man, we should just hitchhike," Vern put in.

The rest of the group shook their heads and started off down the tracks.

"No way, that sucks," Teddy protested.

"Why not? We could take route 137 to Shiloh Church, and then down the Back Harlow Road, we'd be there by sundown!" Vern suggested.

"That's pussy!" Teddy declared.

"Hey, it's a long ways," Vern admitted.

"Did your mother ever have any kids that lived?" Teddy sniffed, dignified.

"What do you mean?" Vern questioned.

Andy placed her hands to her ears. Three minutes into what was going to be a lengthy, exhausting walk, and she already was tired of Vern's utter stupidity. It was going to be long journey.

"Have gun will travel reach the-"

"No, not Paladin!" Andy griped.

"Then what do YOU want to sing, dear Andy?" asked Gordie.

After not receiving a reply, the four boys began to walk in a horizontal line, Vern next to Gordie, Gordie next to Teddy, Teddy next to Chris. Everything was silent, until-

"Well that'll be the day, when you say goodbyeee, yes that'll be the day, when you make me cryyy, you say you're gonna leave, you know it's a lie, cuz, that'll be the daaay when I die!" Andy crooned awfully, "Well that'll be the day…OOHOO, that'll be the day…. OOHOO!" And then she obnoxiously slapped all four of them on the back in time to the beat of where the drums were supposed to be, giving Gordie the extra drum beat by hitting him over the head.

"Ouch!"

"God, I LOVE that song!" Andy exclaimed joyously, ignoring Gordie's outburst of pain, "When I get to heaven, I'm going to ask Buddy Holly where he got the inspiration to write it."

"What if he went to hell?" Teddy said sourly with a wicked grin, trying to spoil Andy's fun.

"Then you ask him," Andy answered casually, causing Chris and Gordie to start cackling like the mad men they are.

"I…I don't get it. If Buddy Holly went to hell, then how is Teddy supposed to ask him since Teddy is on earth?"

"URGH, it's the thing called a fucking joke, Vern," Chris responded, gritting his teeth in frustration.

"Oh."

"Jesus. Dumbass."

"HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL REACH THE CARD OF A MAN! A KNIFE WITHOUT ARMOR IN A SAVAGE LAND! HIS FAST COMES FROM HIGHER HEEDS THE CALLING WIND! A SOLDIER OF FOURTUNE IS A MAN CALLED PAAALADINNN!" the four boys broke out into chorus eerily.

"Hey I'm kinda hungry. Who's got the food?" Vern questioned.

"Oh shit!" Teddy muttered, causing everyone to turn to him, "Did anybody bring anything?"

"Not me. Gordie?"

Gordie shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, well this is great. Now what are we supposed to do, eat our feet?" Teddy proposed.

Andy snorted. Teddy always came up the wackiest things. She wasn't too concerned about the food, they'd find some. One way or another.

"You mean you didn't bring anything either?" Chris demanded, amazed and abashed that no one brought food.

"Well shit this wasn't my idea!" Teddy shouted angrily, but then his rage swooped upon Vern, "It was Vern's idea! Why didn't YOU bring something?"

"What am I supposed to do? Think of everything?" Vern said, dignified, "I brought the comb."

"Oh great, you brought the comb, what do you need a comb for, you don't even have any hair!" Teddy attacked.

"Hey hey hey!" Gordie called, waving his hands about, "Let's see how much money we've got."

While they sat down and counted the money, Andy eyed Gordie, perplexed. He wasn't usually the peacemaker, which was always Chris's job. And, now to mention it, the comment he made earlier about her sounded more like something Chris would say. He was definitely acting strangely.

"Train coming!" Chris announced.

Chris, Gordie, Vern, and Andy immediately got off of the tracks, but Teddy planted his feet deep down into the rocks that were filled in the gaps.

"I'm gonna dodge it," Teddy stated, mesmerized, staring at the train that was approaching.

"No way Teddy man, get off the tracks, you're crazy!" Chris exclaimed.

"Train dodge…..dig it."

The train chugged closer and closer to Teddy, and Andy began to panic. But she wasn't the only one.

"Get the hell off the tracks Teddy, you want to get yourself killed!" Chris shouted, his voice cracking with fear.

"Just like the beach at Normandy," Teddy said, ignoring Chris, and then immediately pretended to fire a machine gun at the train.

"TEDDY!" Andy shrieked. Of course this was why Teddy was doing this. His father. His father had to be the reason for every crazy thing Teddy had ever done in his life, and the reason for why Teddy was so messed up. Sure, maybe sometimes he didn't show how his father affected him, but he hurt Teddy so bad, and Teddy didn't even know it himself. His father was just that perfect image of a hero.

Chris looked back and forth between Teddy and the train, and then jumped onto the tracks, grabbed a very reluctant and irate Teddy, and dragged him to safe ground. But soon, Teddy broke loose, emotionally too. The two friends began to yell and shout at each other, their voices echoing throughout the fields that surrounded the train tracks. Andy and Gordie took a hold of Chris, while Vern had a very difficult time of keeping his hold on his best friend. Soon, they both began to calm down, and they started breathing hard, staring each other off.

"I don't need no babysitter," Teddy hissed.

"You do too," Chris admitted, now beginning to realize they needed to continue their trip, "Skin it," he said, laying his hand out for Teddy to skin.

"I could have dodged it," Teddy said angrily and walked away.

Chris broke away from Gordie and Andy, causing them to bump into each other clumsily.

"Sorry," Gordie muttered, his face a light shade of pink.

"Teddy, you can dodge it on the way back man!" Chris exclaimed, desperate, "Now. Peace. Skin it."

The two looked at each other, Teddy searching in Chris's eyes if he truly meant he was sorry. Teddy's mouth went lopsided, and he slapped his hand onto Chris's and then they reversed. So, the two began walking down the train tracks again, and Gordie and Vern followed almost like loyal puppy dogs.

Andy got back up onto the tracks, but stopped. She stared at Chris's and Teddy's backsides. Teddy was really a person full of rage and sadness. But not Chris. Oh Chris was the absolute sweetest person she knew. But Chris had his own pain, that Andy found it amazing and praiseworthy that he took care of the whole gang like he was their older brother. But no one ever praised him for his 'work'. Both Chris and Teddy just worried her so much…as a matter of fact, Gordie worried her too.