Author's note: Sorry for the delay, guys! I was pretty busy this past week. I hope you like the chapter! I gave a little shout-out in my own way to GoofyKat in this chapter, so I hope she enjoys it ;)

Chapter 13

"So, what do you think? I was on the dance committee and decorated it myself," Sara said proudly as they entered the Castle Rock Junior High cafeteria, arms linked together.

Gordie gazed around the cafeteria, taking in the orange and gold streamers hung haphazardly across the ceiling, some of them nearly falling in to the punch bowl at the snack table. A few bales of hay were scattered in the corners, and a large paper ball shaped like a full moon that hung from the ceiling completed the Autumn Harvest theme. The scent of stale hot dogs leftover from yesterday's lunch still lingered in the air, and Gordie couldn't help but wrinkle his nose.

"Umm, it looks…good," he offered, although he really wanted to say it looked like a cafeteria with some pieces of paper strewn about to cover up that fact.

"Thanks! We worked on it pretty hard," Sara said with a smile. She moved her arm downwards and grabbed his wrist. "So, what do you say, tiger…you ready to show me your dance skills?"

Gordie felt his mouth become dry at the thought of attempting to dance in front of all his classmates. "Well, I think I need some food in me first," he said, trying to keep the anxiety from creeping in to his voice. "I didn't eat anything since lunch."

"Alright, how about you grab us some punch and stuff while I chat with my friends?" she suggested.

"Ok," he agreed. He watched her go over to three of her friends from the school committee; all of them gasped at her dress, demanding she do a little twirl for them to show it off.

Gordie sighed and headed to the snack table, eyeing the selection of goodies the school had provided. Some stale chocolate chip cookies, brownies that looked like they'd been in the oven too long, and a few bowls of greasy potato chips and pretzels…nothing looked all that appetizing. He begrudgingly settled on a brownie (it looked the least offensive) and ladled out two cups of fruit punch, hoping he didn't spill any and make himself look stupid.

'Not like I don't look stupid any way,' he thought, slumping against the wall. Everyone else was dancing to the records Mr. Brown, the school superintendent, was playing; even he looked bored as he perched lazily in a fold-up chair, occasionally flipping on a new record once he sensed the crowd was getting tired of the same old sound.

Gordie wondered what the guys were doing tonight. He imagined they were all sprawled out on Chris' living room floor, Vern and Teddy fighting over which program to watch while Chris told them both to shut the hell up, that they were gonna wake his Mom up if they yelled any louder.

'Sounds more fun than this,' he thought, biting in to his brownie. 'Ugh…burnt to a crisp'. He looked around but didn't see a trash can nearby, so when no one was looking, he tossed it under the table, hoping no one would see it.

Suddenly the music stopped and Mr. Brown grabbed his microphone. "Ok, all you cool cats and kittens," he drawled in an attempt to sound hip, "here's the latest hit from The Skyliners. Gentleman, hold your gals tight for this one!"

The needle scratched and hissed as it started up, then the opening notes to 'Since I Don't Have You' crackled to life. Sara pushed her way through the crowd of slow dancers and once she saw Gordie leaning against the wall, she clutched on to his hand and pulled him in to the center of the dance floor.

"There you are! Oh my god, I love the Skyliners!" she gushed. "Come on, Gordie, show me what you're made of!"

"Sara, I don't know," he protested, but it was too late. She already had him in the middle of everyone, her hand resting on his back as she guided him through the movements.

"Ok…I'll lead," she said with a smile. Her legs began to rock, and gradually he eased in with her, still feeling excruciatingly embarrassed.

"Hey, you're not so bad!" she noted and rested her head on his shoulder gently. He could smell the strawberry-scented shampoo she used lingering in her hair and he inhaled it, pulling her closer to his body. She sighed and looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.

"I'm really glad you went with me," she said softly.

"Yeah…me too," he agreed, and meant it. Once he'd gotten over his initial nerves, the dancing wasn't so bad. No one had made fun of his awkward, stiff dancing yet…even Sara had said he wasn't so bad.

'Let's hope this night stays as good as this,' he silently prayed to himself.

----

"Chris! Chris, open up!" Teddy yelled, pounding on Chris' bedroom door. Vern and Teddy could hear Chris' angry grumble a few minutes later as he shuffled up to the door, then the sound of his lock unfastening.

"What the fuck… is it 8 already?" he said groggily, his hair sticking up like he'd just rolled out of bed. "Why are you guys knocking on my door so loud? I was napping, for Christ's sake!"

"Just throw on some pants, Chris," Vern hushed. "All we can say is Gordie's in a lot of trouble!"

Chris' beady green eyes widened. "Huh? Oh shit, what did his old man do now?"

"Not his old man this time!" Teddy interjected impatiently. "Come on, we don't have any time to talk about it…get some pants on, we're going to the school!"

"The school?" Chris echoed, more confused than ever. Why would Gordie be up at the school? Wasn't the dance going on tonight?

Suddenly it hit him. Gordie must've been at the dance, which meant he'd lied to him about staying home to clean. 'Man, he must really not want to hang out with me anymore,' he thought bitterly.

"What…is his girlfriend fighting with him or something?" Chris asked, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. "Look, I don't care…I'm going back to bed. I guess you guys can help him out or whatever."

"No, it's Ace!" Vern gushed. "Chris, the word from my brother and Eyeball is Ace is going up to the school tonight to get us real good…except we're not there, but Gordie is and"-

"What Vern means is Gordie is fucked," Teddy interrupted. "We've got to warn him, Chris!"

Chris paused, leaning against the doorway, running a hand through his hair. This was all so crazy. Still, Ace was a mean fucker and he knew what he was capable of. And despite his anger at his best friend, he couldn't let him be thrown to the wolves like that.

"Go outside," he ordered, looking up at his friends after a moment of contemplation. "I'm gonna throw on some pants…whatever you do, don't let my Mother see you going out!"

"Ok," Vern said with a nod. They both took off down the stairs, and Chris sighed, stepping back in to his room. He searched through the piles of clothes on his floor, suddenly spying a pair of jeans rolled up in a ball underneath some nicotine-stained tee shirts. His feet slipped in to some sneakers, and before he could rush outside to meet his friends, he carefully stuffed a few pillows underneath his blanket to give the illusion of a body sleeping innocently.

"God, Gordie, the things I'd do for you," he mumbled, shaking his head.

-----

Ace leaned over a pool table at Irby's Billiards across town, his stick carefully aimed at the ball that would be his next victim and once he'd slammed it and three others in to the holes, he straightened up, lighting a cigarette that he kept behind his ear.

"I win," he announced.

"Are you sure you don't want to play another game, Ace?" Eyeball suggested. Eyeball knew he was stalling for some time, hoping Ace would change his mind about going up to the school once he hit his third bottle of beer and got on a winning streak with the pool game. Chris had said he wasn't going to that damned dance, but there was a good chance he and his asshole friends would venture out any way since it was a Friday night. In a small town like this, Ace would sure to spot them.

"Another game?" Ace parroted, his teeth gleaming as he smiled in the dim lighting. "You like getting your ass beat, Chambers?" A few of the guys laughed at Ace's joke, but Billy Tessio merely shot a nervous glance at him, knowing exactly what was about to go down tonight. He cleared his throat.

"Hey, how about we go find those girls we met at the Lookout last night?" Billy suggested. "I think that chick Katy really liked you, Ace…I bet with a few beers, she'd be up for anything."

Ace paused, smoking his cigarette thoughtfully. "Yeah, she was pretty cute, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, definitely, Ace," Eyeball agreed. "You know, Billy's right…I bet those girls are up there right now. Maybe we should go find 'em?" He waited with baited breath, hoping Ace would be buzzed enough to chase some skirt rather than prey on his brother and his friends. Sure, if it was an innocent little beating, Eyeball might just let it happen…hell, he might've even held him down for Ace. But he knew when Ace was really angry enough to cause some serious damage, and seeing that his rage has been festering for the past few weeks, he knew that time was now.

"You know…that sounds like a really good idea," Ace finally said. Billy and Eyeball eyed each other over the group, both with the same bewildered expression. That was pretty easy; Ace usually wasn't one to go along with Eyeball's plans. "Since you were such a good sport about losing to me, I'm gonna let you take passenger tonight and I'll drive." He grinned, his mouth a bit lazy from too much alcohol. "Keys?"

"S-sure," he stammered, reaching in to his pocket and throwing them to Ace. He still felt a bit shaky, but was ultimately relieved that he'd delayed Ace's fury for another night. This was getting a bit tiring.

"Ok, folks, in to the car!" Ace called jovially. The boys hooted, ready to meet some girls and hopefully get lucky. Vince, Eyeball, Billy, John, Charlie and Ace all hopped in to the car waiting in the parking lot.

Ace put the key in the ignition and fired it up, backing out with ease. "Gentleman, your driver for the night will be Mr. Ace Merrill," he announced. "Let's hope none of you fuckers get killed tonight on account of my driving skills."

They all laughed, settling in to their seats. Eyeball looked back at Billy, giving him a small smile, to which Billy replied with a thumb up. Vince and Charlie began discussing which of the chicks they wanted to nail, and Eyeball listened half-heartedly for a little bit, not really giving two shits about the girls—he was just glad they were there as a distraction.

Ace carefully took a turn off the main road, veering on to Castle Rock Road, which was in the opposite direction of the Lookout Point.

"Hey, Ace, didn't you mean to go that way?" Eyeball said in confusion, jabbing his finger in a westerly direction.

Ace was eerily silent and kept driving, ignoring the probing stares of his cronies.

"Ace?" he repeated.

"You must think I'm fucking stupid, Chambers." Ace's voice was quiet, barely audible above the sounds of the tires careening over the road. "You think I'd really forget about those kids?" He reached over and patted his pocket. "Got my lucky knife with me for tonight," he announced proudly.

Eyeball was stunned. Ace was fucking crazy! He couldn't believe this was actually happening…he was actually going to fucking kill 'em!

The junior high loomed in to sight, the music pumping out from the cafeteria windows on par with Eyeball's frenzied heartbeat. He pulled in to a far corner behind the school and cut the engine; the car was silent, everyone but Ace unsure of what to do.

"Ace, come on, man," Billy nervously piped up from the back. "This is taking it too far."

"Ok, you've got a point," Ace agreed. "And you'll see my point once I stab you if you keep flapping your mouth, Tessio. You feel like joining your fat brother six feet under, that's your choice." Billy shut his mouth, not wanting to be on the receiving end of his switchblade. He knew Ace was crazy enough to do it too.

"Ace, they ain't here," Eyeball tried to reassure him in his calmest, most non-threatening voice. Maybe he could make Ace see reason. "Look, my brother ain't gonna hang around no dance."

Ace leaned back in his seat, the leather squeaking against his weight. "Well, I guess that's for me to find out. We're gonna be waiting a little while, gentlemen…I hope you're comfortable!" He laughed and lit another cigarette, putting one arm behind his head like he was resting up before a big night of bloodshed.

"Fuck," Eyeball muttered under his breath. There wasn't any getting out of this one. If he ran, he knew Ace was get out and knife him on the spot and still go after his brother alone if he had to. If he stayed, his brother still got knifed in front of his own eyes.

Either way, those kids were in for some serious shit tonight.