After lugging Vern through the sweltering hot forest for about fifteen minutes, they managed to revive him just on the outskirts of town, using their hands to wave air on his face. He stumbled up on his feet and grimaced, red faced and sweating.
"Thanks, guys…I thought I was going to pass out…sincerely!" he huffed. "We forgot to get that whiskey, though."
"Never mind it, Vern," Gordie said. "We'll get it some other time."
They shuffled through town, their legs cramping with fatigue. "So, what do you guys wanna do now?" Teddy asked. "It's only 1:30, and I'll be damned if I'm going home this early on a Saturday."
"Well, we can't go to my house," Chris said. "My dad's on the rampage lately, and I'm sure Eyeball will just give us hell. What about your place, Vern?"
Vern groaned. "My house is so boring, guys. You know my Mom will just keep popping in on us, making sure we're not doing anything bad."
"So true…what about your place, Gordie?"
"We could go to the tree house…I'm sure my folks won't even know we're up there," Gordie suggested.
"Yeah, that sounds good…you guys game?" The others nodded in agreement.
It was settled. They had a destination, a place to hang out during their Saturday afternoon, and were suddenly filled with purpose. After stopping by Gringo's to pick up some snacks and soda pop, the boys headed down Baker towards Gordie's house. Gordie paused for a moment as they passed Castle Rock Bookstore, his neck craning a bit to peek inside the dust-stained glass, but he quickly snapped his head back around once he noticed Teddy eyeing him suspiciously.
"You reading again, Gordie?" he asked. "Man, I never understood why you did that."
"Shut up, Teddy…look, I'm just going to run inside for a second. See ya in a minute."
Chris nodded at him knowingly, and Gordie took this as his cue to head on in. A bell tinkled as he pushed his way in, and he was suddenly embarrassed, feeling like everyone in the store was looking at him. He brushed off some dirt on his jeans, and tried to appear casual as he sauntered inside.
He noticed Sara behind the front counter, arranging a shelf of books. She was humming rather loudly, oblivious to the customers who were attempting to read their books in peace. Gordie snatched the nearest book and buried his face in it when he saw her turn around, pretending to be unaware of her presence.
"You've got it upside down."
She flipped the book over for him, and he saw that she was grinning. He could feel his cheeks staining crimson. "I didn't know you were interested in women's underwear." He looked down and realized with horror the book he was holding was a manual on fashion, opened to a page on women's bras and panties, layed out in excruciating detail. If he could sink in the floor at that very moment, he would. "Is there something you're not telling me, Gordie?" She laughed and punched him lightly on the arm when his mouth gaped open. "Just teasing you…so what brings you here besides our wonderful selection of fashion books?"
"Ok, so I made an ass of myself," he muttered. "I just wanted to say hello and see what you were up to." God, why did he even attempt to talk to girls? He started to turn away, but she grabbed his shoulder.
"Gordie, no, stay! Look, I'm actually on my way out of here. I brought my bike this time, but I suppose we can walk a few blocks together?"
"Oh well, umm"- Before he could tell her about his friends waiting outside for him, she was waving him off, telling him she'd be out in a minute. He slowly headed outside, avoiding the probing stares of his friends, who were waiting anxiously on the sidewalk.
"So? Did you get any comic books or anything?" Vern demanded as he eyed Gordie.
Chris was staring at him intensely, and Gordie knew he might as well spill the beans now. There was no sense acting like this was some big deal. She was just a girl…a pretty one, but a harmless girl nonetheless. "Nah, I was just saying hi to this girl in my English class…she works here."
He almost wished he could suck those words right back in to his mouth the moment Teddy started whooping and hollering. "Ooh, Gordie's got a girlfriend!" he teased. "So, tell us, how does it feel to be de-virginized?"
"Teddy, she's not my girlfriend," he warned him with sharp words and a razor stare. "And do you always have to be so loud and annoying?"
Before he could retort back a sarcastic reply, Sara came out of the store, wheeling her bicycle along side of her. Her eye widened in surprise when she saw Gordie wasn't alone. "Oh, Gordie, I didn't know you were with your friends."
"Well, hello there." Teddy stepped forward immediately, giving a Gordie a sly side-glance. "My friend tells me allll about you."
"Teddy, cut it out," he snapped. "Sara, this asshole here is Teddy Du Champ, and this guy here in the striped shirt is Vern Tessio. You met Chris the other day."
"Oh, yes, hi! Well, Gordie, I see you have plans, so I guess I'll just see you in class on Monday morning. Nice meeting you all." She waved at them, giving Gordie a prolonged look, and started to set off on her bike, but Gordie jogged off after her, ignoring the looks his friends shot him.
"Hey, wait!"
She came to a halt, nearly colliding in to a lamppost. He looked at her sheepishly, hands in his pockets. "I'll walk with you for a few blocks…the guys can wait for me. Let me just tell them, ok?"
She nodded, and he walked back over to his friends. Surely they wouldn't mind him missing out on the fun for just a few minutes? "Hey, guys, I'm going to walk with Sara for a few blocks towards Westchester…meet you up at the tree house in a few?"
Vern shrugged. "Alright, but your lemonade's gonna get warm. And I'll probably end up drinking it before you get there. I'm pretty thirsty."
Chris stepped forward, and to Gordie's surprise, he saw that his friend's face was serious. "You sure you wanna go off with her? You barely know the girl." Gordie just looked at his friend, anger rising up in his chest and pulsating in his temples.
'What the fuck is his problem?' he pondered.
"Yeah, she might be a rapist or something," quipped Teddy.
"Oh, oh!" Vern squealed. "I heard about those types on the news…they sneak up on people when they're walking alone at night and attack them, throwing them in to the bushes and having their way with them! Gordie, man, I don't think you should go."
"Vern, she's not a rapist," Gordie said dryly. "I'll see you guys soon."
"Come on, guys," Chris said quietly, leading the others away after shaking his head at Gordie. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as his friends slumped off without him, afraid that he'd ditched them somehow.
"Hey, don't look so glum," Sara chided as he idled up to her. "Your friends seem like nice guys. Are you sure you want to walk with me?"
"Yeah, it's ok…man, I don't know what's up Chris' ass." He still couldn't get over how Chris had tried to talk him out of walking with Sara. What was his problem? Usually Chris was on his side, not rooting against him. "I mean, what does it matter to him if I go off with you?" He felt stupid for ranting like that, especially after he was met with silence. The only sound between them was the wheel on Sara's bike rolling against the pavement.
"So, I guess Chris is your best friend, right?" she finally asked. "Don't tell me how I know…I just do."
He smiled softly. "Yeah, we're all good friends. I've known Chris since grade school, and we just met Vern and Teddy two years ago. Teddy's a bit of a loon, but he's a good friend to have on your side."
She chuckled to herself, and it was quiet again, except for this time it was a comfortable silence. He sneaked a few glances at her, noticing how red her hair was in the sunlight, not the dark hue he was used to seeing in the classroom.
She cleared her throat suddenly, and looked over at him. "So, Gordie…um, there's a Sadie Hawkins dance coming up in a few weeks. It's, like, this tradition Castle Rock does every year for the junior high students. Pretty dumb, if you ask me…maybe I'm just not one for dressing up in prissy clothes. Now, I don't normally go to these things, but I figured it'd be fun to go with you. We can laugh at all the lame kids in our class or something."
Gordie blinked, letting her question sink in. Was she really asking him to the dance? He'd never in his life been asked out, much less to a school dance. He almost forgot he had a voice at that moment.
"Um, you want go with me?" he stammered.
"Well, you don't have to," she said quickly. "I just thought since girls ask the guys to this sort of thing, that I'd ask you. Since you're pretty much the only guy friend I have."
He flushed, feeling good that she'd called him a friend. "Ok, yeah, I'll go." She beamed at his response.
"Cool! Damn it, now I actually have to borrow a dress. Look at what you've done to me, Gordie!"
He laughed, finally feeling at ease. He wanted to run home now and shove it in his father's face that he'd gotten a date, that he wasn't at all the pussy he thought Gordie was. He tucked that urge away, figuring he'll just shock the hell out of him the night of the dance, decked out in his finest clothes as he whisked Sara away, a shit-eating grinned etched on his face.
"So, I guess you can just leave me here," Sara said suddenly as they came to a stop in front of a pastry shop a few blocks away. "I've got a long haul ahead of me, and I'd feel bad making you suffer through it on foot."
"Trust me, I've walked further," he trailed off.
He stared at her, and quickly brought his eyes down to meet the sidewalk as she gazed back at him. Before she could say anything, a car whizzed by them, radio blaring obnoxiously down the quiet street. As he peered in to the distance, he realized it was the car that the Cobras had stolen (no one could mistake that flashy car…you'd think such experienced thieves could hock a less noticeable one?), and sure enough, the back of Ace's platinum blonde head was visible from the passenger seat. Thank god Gordie had his baseball cap to hide his face!
"Fuck," he muttered. Now he'd have to walk home and worry about not getting his ass kicked the whole way.
"What's wrong?"
He looked back to see Sara grinning as she stared off at the car, her hand shielding her eyes from the sun.
"Oh, nothing…just those guys. They're real assholes," he explained. "Did you see that one guy in the front with the blonde hair? He's a real dick."
"Yeah, that's Ace Merrill," she said matter-of-factly.
He looked at her with surprise written in his eyes. "Do you know him or something?"
She laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah, I'd say I know him pretty well. Ace is my cousin."