Chris and Faye had been walking home together after work for three weeks. After he finished at the gas station, he'd head to the diner to walk Faye home. Almost always, he'd be outside at 4:30 sharp.

Faye sat on the bench outside and glanced at her watch. The minutes ticked towards five. She sighed and slung her bag over her shoulder and headed down the road. She concluded he had got caught up and work. No big deal. The crunch of gravel underneath her waitress flats lulled her into a trance. As much as she loved to walk home with Chris, the solitude gave her time to think. Home wasn't exactly picturesque at the moment. Work and these walks home with Chris were a reprieve. A sorta twilight time in which things were perfect.

Faye was wrapped up in her thoughts. Two wrapped up to notice Ace Merril's car creeping up behind. "Need a ride?" He asked cooly. She jumped at the sound of his voice. "Jesus Christ!" she said clutching her chest. "You scared the hell out of me."

He reached over and flung the door open. "Get in," he said casually. She leaned over and shut his car with a brisk motion. "No thanks," she said as she continued to walked forward. His car creeped up to match her pace and he called out, "I don't do this for a lot of chicks ya know." His tone was slightly annoyed, to her delight. 'Good,' she thought. Now he'd get a taste of his own medicine.

"You're certainly politer when you're not with that gang of baboons," she snapped back.

He pulled onto the shoulder of the road and hopped out of the car with a loud slam. Walking up to he quickly he stepped in front of her and she bumped into his chest."

"You're a lot more bold now that your hanging out with that little faggot, Chambers," he said grabbing her wrist. She struggled and twisted out of his grip. Clutching her wrist, her lip quivered before she bit down on it hard.

"Don't touch me!" She was surprised at the sound that exploded out of her mouth. Her hands were quivering as she backed away.

Ace put his hand on her face gently and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You'd be so lucky," he whispered. "I'll be around," he announced. He retracted his hand before he got back into his car.

She shook her head repeatedly as she quivered. Her chest heaved in an unpredictable rythym. Her tears freely flowed, blurring her vision. Her breaths were short, jerky and desperate. She stumbled to the sidewalk searching for something to hold her up. She heard people but it sounded like she was underwater. Drowning in her own panic. Drowning in her own fear. All at once, everything went dark.

Chris roughly pushed his hair out of his eyes as he clocked out. The clock read 5:30. Shit. He figured she'd be gone by now, but he had to check anyways. He shook his head at the thought of her sitting there waiting. Those big green eyes staring out.

As he rounded Washington Street, he noticed a crowd gathered around an ambulance. His heart sank as

he sprinted over. He was just hoping against hope, that his instinct was wrong. He spotted Vern in the

crowd with his mouth agape. An ice-cream cone dripped onto his sticky fingers. "Verno, what the hell is

going on?" Chris said with urgency. "Geez Chris, it's the craziest thing. Sincerely! That waitressing chick

was outside crying and breathing real heavy. Some people say it was some kind of episode. She fainted.

Hit her head I think. They're taking her to the hospital."

Chris sighed deeply and shoved his hands into his pocket as he looked at the ambulance van. "Vern, did you drive your old man's car today?" Chris asked as the van headed down the road. "Yeah!" Vern said proudly. "Give me a lift to the hospital?" Vern nodded and the boys headed to the car.

"You guys an item or something?" Vern said as he pulled up to a stoplight. "I've been walking her home. Took her on a date. I-I was late today," Chris said darkly.

"Maybe it's for the best. She could be nutty ya know," Vern muttered.

"Why do we keep Teddy around than? Or-or why were we there for Gordie when his brother died? Not to mention the shit with Ray Brower. You don't give on for people because they aren't perfect," Chris said with a heaving chest. He didn't want to admit that going to the hospital scared him. Whether it was guilt or what he was going to see; he was scared.

"Alright, alright." Vern said sheepishly. "You're right."

"I'm sorry man, I'm just feel like a real asshole." Chris said clapping Vern on the shoulder.

Vern pulled in the ER and waved his hand, "It's alright. We all blow steam sometimes. Need me to pick you up?"

"Naw, Verno. A walk might do me good tonight. Take it easy." Chris waved and ducked inside the ER doors.

Chris lied to the attending staff to get a visit. He lied quickly and easily. "I'm her cousin, sent to check on her," he told them. The nurses just nodded and returned to reading charts. They had better things to do. The wait seemed to last forever before a nurse finally ushered him into the room. It was quiet. Almost eerily so. She was lying there in stiff white sheets. She has a few stitches on her forehead. His sneaker squeaked as he crossed the room, causing her eyes to dart over to him. She looked at him with shame filled eyes.

"I'm sorry I'm late ," he said quietly.

"Oh Chris.." She said as she cover her face in the sheets. "I don't want you to see me like this."

He said gently on the bed and carefully tugged the sheets away from her pretty face. Her eyes were puffy from crying. She looked tired. "What happened?"

"Well," She started with a shaky voice. "Ace was bothering me on the way home. I'm not so good with these things, ya know. I mean, I get overwhelmed. And things just fuzzy…This-this was just an episode. I get them sometimes..."

"Hey, it's okay-I"

"I'm not a normal girl Chris. It's why I'm at Castlerock," she said turning her head away.

"The doctors ain't real sure whats wrong. I know you probably think I'm crazy. I mean, I saw the crowd," she said as tears threatened to fall.

"I like you," Chris blurted out.

"Are you nuts?" she quipped.

They stared at each other for a minute before laughing at the powerful irony.

"Nope," he said. "And neither are you. I'm not going anywhere alright? I'm just sorry I was late. I can tell you one thing. That creep wouldn't have upset you, if I was on time."

"Chis…You can't protect me from myself. Sometimes there's no bad guy. Only me," she said sadly.

He furrowed his brows and lifted her chin. "Wanna bet?"

She hid a smile as she shook her head. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I know when I see something worthwhile."