Chapter Five

When school let out, I waited out front in our usual spot for Gordie. Except he didn't show. I knew he'd had biology last period which meant he should have beaten me outside but after five minutes I realised that something had held him up.

"Hey."

It was Chris who showed up at the old oak tree. Sometimes we all got on the bus together but more often than either me or Chris made ourselves scarce to avoid the awkwardness of the Gordie Lachance tug of war. There were days when I would rather sit next to Randy Crawford, who spat when he talked and annoyed the shit out of me, rather than sit with Chris and Gordie.

"Where's Gordo?"

"He got a detention."

I widened my eyes. Gordie getting detention was a real rare occurrence. He was a good student, the only time the teachers ragged on him was usually Chris related. It seemed that none of the teachers had quite forgiven the Chambers family for giving the school Richie 'Eyeball' Chambers. And yet Chris was standing here, so what had Gordo done?

"What for?"

"Writing his story in biology. He was being careful at first but I guess he got caught up in it. Old Farrell didn't appreciate it much."

I winced at the mention of Mr Farrell. He was the hardest teacher in school, who believed in discipline, discipline and facts. I could imagine what he thought of Gordie writing creatively in his Science class.

"Right, well thanks for telling me."

"No problem." He hitched his backpack further up on his arm.

The two of us looked at each other awkwardly for a moment and I was reminded of the previous night and how human Chris had seemed; how alike I'd thought we were…

We both jumped as someone honked their horn loudly from the kerb side.

"There you are! Sweet Jesus, I been looking all over!"

It was Ace's car and until I had heard the voice I had thought it was Ace. It wasn't; it was Eyeball. For a second I wasn't sure which one of us he was talking to.

"You ain't been looking too hard. We been in school all day long." I shielded my eyes from the sun to look at him as he climbed out of Ace's car.

Eyeball was tall and well built with wavy dark hair. He had the same color eyes as Chris, a deep blue, but where as Chris' eyes were wide and kind of innocent looking, Eyeball looked what he was; a troublemaker.

He'd gotten his nickname from the dark marking beneath the iris of his left eye. He told everyone that he'd gotten it in a bar fight, but Chris had told Gordie (who had told me) that their father had done it with a lit cigarette when he was fifteen. A couple of millimetres higher and Richie probably would have been blinded.

"Ace send you to pick me up?" I was desperately hoping Ace was tied up with his dodgy dealings but the uneasy feeling in my stomach told me otherwise. It wasn't every day that Ace loaned Eyeball his car.

"Not exactly." Eyeball stopped in front of me and rubbed the back of his neck. As I waited for him to say something, he finally seemed to register that Chris was there too.

"You want something, dip shit?"

Chris gave him a scathing look.

"A brother with more than one brain cell but I guess I'm shit out of luck."

Eyeball seemed to grow in size at the insult.

"Oh, feeling brave today, pussy?"

"Where's Ace?" I interrupted impatiently.

"Down at the police station. Courtesy of your step-daddy." Eyeball was kinda grinning as he said it, but my heart sank into my shoes.

"Ah shit." I kicked the oak tree which didn't achieve jack shit apart from hurting my foot. "How bad is he?"

"Well, he's hopping fucking mad but asides that-"

I stared at Eyeball's smug face before Chris butted in.

"She means how is Stan, Richie. What'd Ace do to him?"

"He gave him a fucking hiding, that's what. Sounds like the jerk deserved it. What do you care anyway, Nina? Ace did you a favour."

I put my hands over my face and tried to level my breathing. How in the hell was I gonna be able to go home now?

"Some fucking favour." Chris snorted.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Eyeball shoved Chris' shoulder but Chris moved forwards quickly, shoving his big brother right back.

"Hell, why don't we send Ace round to see our old man now he's done with Nina's? Both heavy handed pricks who deserve it. I'm sure we'll be thanking him the same way she'll want to."

I could tell Richie was uncomfortable with the comparison of his old man and Stan. Not because he didn't see it, but because he didn't want me to hear it. Eyeball was a show boat and talking about his old man's abuse was not part of the presented package.

But Chris had made his point. Ace's actions were gonna make my life a misery.

"Well, look, he called me up from the jail. Told me if we could get Stan to drop the charges they'll let him go."

"We?" I echoed in disbelief. "You're out of your mind if you think I'm going home."

"Well, you kinda need to be there, doll. If I show up with you, I'm just passing the time with a friend's old man. If I go on my own, its a lot more like witness intimidation."

"It's all witness intimidation, asshole." Chris looked disgusted. "Don't go with him, Nina. Least not until you talk to Gordie, he'll set you straight."

"You shut your mouth and go get on your bus," Eyeball snapped. "This ain't none of your business!"

The brothers glared at each other as my mind whirled. I couldn't think what to do for the best and I cursed the fact that Gordie had been detained when I needed him.

"Is it really a choice?" Eyeball demanded of me. "Your boyfriends in jail for defending your honour and you ain't even gonna help me persuade Stan to drop the charges?"

When he put it like that, he was right, it wasn't a choice.

"Come on then, let's go." I started heading towards Ace's car and Eyeball hurried after me unlocking the doors and sliding into the drivers seat. I got in front and wondered what my Mom was gonna say to me when I arrived home. She may not even let me across the threshold.

Suddenly the back door slammed shut. I turned around to see Chris setting his backpack beside him on the backseat. Eyeball spun round too.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"Stopping you from getting her into trouble."

"And what do you care, you little faggot? You oughta know better than to be sniffing round Ace's girl."

"She's my best friend's friend," Chris said stubbornly, "and he ain't around. So I guess I'm stepping in."

"Your fucking funeral," Eyeball said, jamming the car into first and roaring out of the parking lot.

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You know that feeling you get when you feel like you've made a really bad decision? That gnawing of dread in the pit of your stomach? Well, that's what I had when we pulled up outside my place.

Stan's truck was on the drive but that didn't necessarily mean that he was inside.

I got out of the car and walked slowly up the path with the Chambers brothers on my heels.

I stopped on the front porch, willing myself to steady my breathing, and that was when Eyeball gave me a little nudge from behind.

"Come on, Nina, what are you waiting for?"

Hand shaking, I reached up to put my hand on the screen door when somebody else's hand took a hold of my wrist.

"You don't have to go in there." I looked up at the owner of the voice and into Chris' trusting face. He let go of my arm gently and shook his head.

"You don't owe Ace anything. You didn't even want him to come over here, let alone give Stan a beating."

"Would you shut the hell up?" Eyeball grabbed Chris by the scruff of his shirt but before Chris could react the door flew open and Stan stood there, swaying slightly. He was sporting a black eye and his left arm was in a sling. He stank of booze.

"Well, well, what have we here?"

"I-uh-what happened to you?" My question wasn't very convincing but I figured I better feign some surprise.

"Like you don't know!" Stan laughed a little then winced in pain. "Your boyfriend came round to see me today. After that I got his ass thrown in jail."

"Big mistake," Eyeball hissed from behind me.

It was suddenly easy to see why people were scared of him. He might have bowed to Ace and his father but that was it. Everybody else was fair game.

"Oh, you think so, do you, Chambers?" Stan was drunk and it was making him brave. "I think it's this little slut who made the mistake."

Stan took a step towards me but in a flash, Chris was between us, his arms wide as he backed up, pushing me off of the porch. He didn't make a move to stop Eyeball though, who approached Stan with an easy menace.

"You need to think long and hard about the next move you make, Mr Reynolds. Because you can send Ace to jail for as long as you want but we're Cobra's- you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. You won't be able to walk out of your house in the morning without looking over both shoulders."

Stan stiffened. I made to move around Chris but he put out an arm to block my path.

"You got until tomorrow to change your story," Eyeball said. "You go in in the morning, tell the sheriff you've sobered up and you got it all wrong."

"Is that a threat, Chambers?"

Eyeball pursed his lips and then smirked at Stan, pushing his face as close to his as possible.

"Uh-uh, Mr Reynolds, that's a promise." He was barely whispering but the effect was much more chilling. Stan looked sufficiently rattled and I figured now was a good time to interrupt.

"I need some clothes," I said, finally darting around Chris and ducking past Stan into the house. My Mom was on the other side of the door.

"How could you do this?" She yelled at me as soon as I stepped inside. "You told Ace a pack of lies and got Stan hurt and Ace sent to jail! What's wrong with you?"

Behind me, I saw Stan step back inside the house and try to slam the door on Eyeball and Chris. My heart lurched in my chest as I realised I would be trapped inside with him. But then the door clanged open again and I realised someone had put their foot in the door.

I expected Eyeball to come walking in but it was Chris who stepped assertively past Stan and my Mom, taking my arm and leading me towards my bedroom.

"In here?" He asked.

When I nodded, he opened the door, waited for me to go inside before he started to close it behind us.

"You can't burst in here like this! This is my house, damn it!"

"We'll make it quick." Chris kept his voice neutral as he shut the door firmly in Stan's face.

"Hurry up and pack some things," he said urgently. "Get what you need for school too."

I did as he asked, slinging clothes, underwear and my school books into a bag I pulled out from under the bed.

"Ready?" He asked. I nodded before his eyes drifted over to the curtains. "Unlock the window. Leave it open but not so it's noticeable."

I looked at him in confusion.

"Why?"

"Because you might need to get back in here. And this way you won't have to use the front door."

As I scooted over to the window, I realised that operation-flee-the-house was a little too familiar to Chris Chambers.

Still, I felt safe with him in front of me as we made our way back out past Stan.

"You better not come back here!" Stan yelled out of the front door. At first I didn't know if he meant me or the Chamber boys. "I don't care what your hood of a boyfriend does to me, I'll break your neck, you hear me?"

Eyeball was in the driver seat of the car by this time but he rolled down the window after Stan said this.

"You get one pass, Mr Reynolds, and I'll pretend I didn't hear that. You lay a finger on Nina again though, and I'll tell Ace exactly what you just said. I bet my last dollar it won't be her with the broken neck."

My mother was crying when we pulled off in the car. I saw Stan push roughly past her into the house and felt an involuntary twinge of guilt. It would be her on the receiving end of his temper now.

I must have let out a sniffle at some point because Eyeball gave me a wary look from the drivers seat.

"You ain't gonna cry or nothing, are ya?"

"No," I half laughed at his horrified face. "Just take me to Gordie's, would ya?"

The drive there was silent. When we pulled up outside the Lachance property, Eyeball patted my knee awkwardly.

"He'll change his story in the morning and Ace'll be home. Everything'll be cool." He leaned back to look at Chris sat behind us. "This is the end of the road for you too, Faggot. I ain't no taxi service."

"Are you not going home anyways?" Chris asked him.

"It's none of your fucking business where I'm going," Eyeball snapped. "Out of the car. Now."

Chris muttered something under his breath as he picked up his backpack and climbed out after me. The two of us watched Eyeball speed away in Ace's car. I hugged my bag to me and stared down the hill to where Mrs Lachance was hanging out some washing on the line.

It was a funny situation with Gordie's parents. They didn't like any of his friends including me and Chris but they also thought Gordie wasn't to be trusted either. I thought it was the stupidest thing ever that the most trustworthy guy I knew was looked at by his parents as a tearaway.

"You think Gordie's home yet?"

"Naw." Chris shook his head. "He missed the bus so he'll have to walk or hitch."

I was starting to regret coming here. It was the first place I had thought of but Gordie wouldn't be home for another hour maybe and even then I'd have to sneak in and hide in his room until he'd had dinner. It was a lot easier to sneak into the Lachance house after dark.

"I should have gone to Ace's," I muttered. "It was stupid coming here."

"How you gonna get way out there now?" Chris asked.

"Hitch, I guess." I started back down the path towards the road with Chris hurrying after me.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it ain't safe for girls to hitch alone?"

"No, my mother was too busy getting drunk with all the down and outs of Castle Rock," I replied.

The corner of his lip twitched when I said this and I elbowed him.

"You think that's funny, Chambers?"

"No, but I think you're funny. I'm starting to see why Gordie likes you." His blue eyes were filled with mischief as he looked at me.

"Well, why he likes you is still a fucking mystery."

He laughed at that and I couldn't help but join in. He pulled his arms through the straps of his backpack, hitching it up on his back.

"Come on, Willis, hitch us a ride." He started walking backwards holding out his thumb and swearing as a lone car whooshed by us. "You're a lot more appealing to the hairy truckers than I am."

"I 'm not too sure about that," I countered. "Where the hell are you going anyway?"

"I'm taking you to Ace's."

"Haven't you got anything better to do?" I asked, as a car slowed down, pulling to a stop just ahead of us.

"Obviously not," he called, jogging towards it. He opened the door and said something to the driver before waving me over with his free hand.

Shaking my head, I hurried after him.

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The driver that picked us up was called Bob. He said that he rode the rodeos and earned a living from it. He also said that he'd bedded no less than five hundred women. This might have been easier to believe if Bob had had a tooth left in his mouth. Yep, that's right, Rodeo Bob had as much gum showing as a new born baby.

"You take some advice from me, young man," Bob said to Chris. "You treat em mean, keep em keen. That's served me right my whole life and the ladies love me." He threw a look over his shoulder at me. "No offence, little darlin'."

"None taken," I muttered.

Chris' eyes met mine in the mirror and I could tell he was dying to laugh.

"Uh, here will be great," I said, as we passed a junction I recognised. "Thanks, Mister."

Bob slowed down, looking half disappointed.

"Shame. I was enjoying the company. Gets lonely out on the road."

"Well, we would't wanna be in the way when chick five hundred and one comes along," Chris said seriously. I had to scramble out to hide my laughter. As Bob pulled off, the two of us began to laugh uncontrollably.

"What'd he give you?" I panted, pointing to the piece of paper Chris was holding. It was a poster for a Rodeo in Portland.

"He said for me to come on down," Chris grinned. "I think his exact words were 'With your looks and my charm, we'll have the ladies eating out of the palm of our hands."

"Best wingman ever," I wheezed. I had started walking down towards Ace's place. It was next to an old launderette a couple of streets away. Chris hurried to catch me up.

"Ace lives kinda outta the way," he said. "Guess it's good to put some distance between you and your folks."

I fell serious as I thought about Stan and my Mom.

"You worried he's gonna start in on her?"

Chris broke into my thoughts, hitting the nail on the proverbial head.

"No, why?" My voice came out sharper than I'd intended and he held up his hands in peace.

""Cause that's what I worry about. When I fight with my old man. I don't like leaving when my Mom's home."

"My Mom doesn't deserve to be worried about," I said.

Neither of us said another word until we were standing outside Ace's front door.

"So this is it?" Chris stood back and looked at the dingy building as I fished around for a key. Ace moved it regularly, sometimes I'd get lucky and find it, sometimes I wouldn't. Today I was pleading for just a little bit of luck.

I lifted the mat outside the front door and hunted around the dumpster a little further down but nothing.

"Would you look on the wall?" I asked Chris.

"For what? A key?" Chris reached up to pat the top of the alley wall while I pulled a face.

"No, a secret password. Of course a key!"

He narrowed his blue eyes at me.

"Do you know that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit?"

"Is it up there or not?"

He'd stopped with his hand on the wall and I stood underneath his outstretched arm impatiently, He gave me an amused look as he stared down at me.

"I've never noticed how short you are, Willis. Jeez, you should join the circus or something."

"Chambers!" I snapped.

He grinned at me and withdrew his hand, holding out Ace's rusty front door key. I snatched it happily and moved towards the door,

"Okay, so my work here is done."

I already had the key in the lock but I turned back to look at him.

"You not coming in?"

"To Ace's place? No way!"

I put a hand on my hip.

"Ace isn't here."

Chris seemed to turn this over in his mind.

"What if he comes back?"

I smirked.

"What's the problem? You scared?"

"No!" He retorted hotly.

The lock clicked open and I pushed the door wide.

"Well, come in then."

Darting a look back down the alley, Chris Chambers paused momentarily before he followed me into Ace's apartment.

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