"Gordie?"
He blinked, realizing he was still staring blankly at Sara. He let her words sink in, trying to make sense of what he just heard.
"Ace…is your cousin?" he stammered.
She narrowed her eyes quizzically, a confused expression on her face. "Yeah, is that a problem?"
"No!" he said quickly, although he knew very well it was. "Ace just hates me, is all. He hates all of my friends, actually. I just can't believe you're related to him. I mean, you're nice and you come from a good part of town. He…doesn't."
"Yeah, I know," she admitted. "He can be a bit hard-headed, but he's still family. Do you want me to tell him to lay off of you?"
Gordie flushed, feeling embarrassed at the prospect of Sara defending him like he was some little boy. "No, it's ok. It's fine…he probably forgot all about it," he lied. "I gotta get back to my friends…see you in school on Monday?"
"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine…see ya." And with that, he was off, knowing her eyes were following him as he walked off, and finally he heard her bike pedal away over the cement. Dejectedly, he began kicking up pieces of trash on the sidewalk as he walked.
He couldn't believe Sara was related to Ace. The one girl who had any interest in him was the cousin of a guy he couldn't stand, or more importantly, a guy who would beat him to a pulp if he found out about them being linked together. He didn't know what he was going to do now…should he just tell her to forget about the dance? Or maybe he should just avoid her at all costs.
'That's gonna be kind of hard with us being in the same class and all,' he thought miserably. He slumped all the way home, trying to forget about the situation for the mean time as he heard his friends laughing boisterously up in the tree house.
Poking his head up in to the entrance, he saw his friends lazing about, engaged in a game of cards and eating the snacks they'd purchased earlier. Like expected, Vern had two empty bottles of lemonade perched next to him, so Gordie would have to go thirsty once again.
"Hey, Gordie!" Vern greeted him, looking up. "Did you have fun?"
"What Vern means, is did you get any?" Teddy corrected. "Shit, I fold…I've got a lousy hand. Gordie, wanna play?"
"Nah, I'm just gonna read for a bit," he said, picking up his favorite detective comic that was stashed away under a moth-eaten blanket. He settled himself near the opening that overlooked Castle Rock, ignoring the stares Chris was giving him.
"Gordie, you ok?" Chris asked after a few minutes of Gordie thumbing absent-mindedly through his book.
"Yup," he replied, keeping his eyes focused on his page and letting his mind become engrossed in tales of murder and intrigue.
"So, what happened?" Chris pressed on. "You're acting like she just dumped you."
"We'd have to be dating for that to happen," he said icily.
"Aww, Gordie…did she break your little heart?" cooed Teddy. "Are you gonna run home and write a little poem about it?" He could see Chris and Vern trying to hide smiles as Teddy teased him mercilessly.
"God, can you be any more of an asshole?" Gordie snarled, tossing his comic aside. Gordie rarely got upset, but when he did, his eyes paled like two coals dying out and his face turned ashen with fury. "Fuck this, I'm going home," he muttered, quickly easing down the decrepit wooden ladder.
"Uh oh, it looks like it's someone's time of the month again," Teddy murmured as they all sat in stunned silence.
Gordie could hear sneakers slapping against the hard-packed dirt as he stormed home and he knew by the heavy-footed walk that it was Chris tailgating him.
"Hey, man, what is your problem?" Chris demanded. "You've been acting really weird lately."
Gordie kept plowing on, his notorious stubborn streak getting the best of him. Right now he just wanted to be alone; he didn't want to whine about his problems like some little sissy. Chris was strange that way—as tough as he looked, he sure acted sensitively sometimes. He never wanted his friends to suffer alone, always had to be there to fight their problems with them all the way.
"Did you even hear me?"
Gordie slowed down a bit, although he kept his head focused on his house, which loomed only a few feet away. Chris forced himself in front of Gordie, blocking him from heading up the porch steps.
"Well?"
Gordie stared at him, trying to cool his temper which was steadily rising. He really didn't want to tell Chris about Sara and Ace being cousins, at least not right this instant any way. He was still pissed off at Teddy ragging on him like he was some little girl who'd just gotten dumped, and Chris trying to delve in to his feelings didn't help matters.
"Chris, get out of the way," he said softly.
"Not 'til you answer me," he persisted. "What the fuck is up with you? If someone's been giving you trouble, let me know and I can beat the shit out of them."
"Um, thanks, Chris, but you don't need to defend me, ok? I think I can do it on my own…I don't need you."
There was a deafening silence between them, Chris' eyes clouding over with anger and perhaps a bit of hurt. He put one hand on his hip and stared off in to the distance, his gaze settling between the trees. Shaking his head, he mumbled, "I'm out of here."
Gordie didn't even look back, merely stormed in to the house and passed his parents eating dinner in the kitchen, running straight in to the safety of his room. Once he got there, he settled himself on the bed, knees perched up and his eyes staring at the ceiling. He started looking at all the little cracks in the ceiling, wondering just how many there were and how long they've been there. Anything to keep from thinking about how hard it was to finally realize that life was gonna get a little harder from here on out.