Chapter Eleven

"That's game, Chambers."

Teddy Duchamp poked his intended pocket on the pool table and smirked at Chris, who was leaning on his pool cue. It was Teddy's shot, his chance to pot the black and finish the game.

"Five dollars says you miss." Gordie challenged, as Teddy bent low over the table. I would have taken that bet too. Teddy couldn't see for shit.

"Done." Teddy muttered in agreement, slamming the white ball into the black before both balls were swallowed by the open pocket.

"You're right, Teddy. That is game. To me." Chris shoved Teddy playfully who, after catching his balance, strode over in annoyance to Gordie and held out his hand.

"You owe me five dollars."

Gordie looked down at Teddy's hand before he let out a snort of disgust.

"Are you kidding me? You just lost the game."

"But I didn't miss," Teddy insisted.

"He's kinda got a point, Lachance." I picked up my coke and smirked across the room at them before Gordie scowled at me.

"Go ask Willis for the money. She owes me for room and board."

Teddy's good eye rolled towards me while his weaker one seemed to stay looking at Gordie. Teddy gave me the creeps a little. He was okay, I mean, he never gave me any trouble. But there was something unbalanced about him.

Teddy Duchamp wore thick glasses and had a deformed ear, the result of an attack from his father years back. Rumour had it that Mr Duchamp held Teddy's ear against a hot stove, but Teddy didn't talk about it so nobody knew the truth. Teddy was prone to flying into fits of rage without warning. Once he'd near killed a guy in a fight over a card game. I wondered if he was about to lose his temper with Gordie.

Teddy stood by the side of the pool table, fists clenched, eyes twitching, before he gave Gordie a long hard look.

"You're lucky we're brothers, Lachance," he said, before he wandered away.

I watched him go, observing him pause at the jukebox momentarily before wandering outside. Brothers? Gordie hardly saw Teddy these days.

"Weird guy."

"Teddy's okay," Gordie and Chris said, almost in unison.

I didn't understand the allegiance these two had to either Teddy or Vern Tessio, who was Billy's younger brother and a real pain in the ass. I mean, Gordie had explained it to me- that the four of them had set out one weekend to find a missing kid's body. And they'd found it at around the same time Ace and the Cobra's did. There was a stand off, Chris used his old man's gun to gain the upper hand, and for some reason, the boys had never claimed the credit for finding the body. Gordie had said at the time 'that it just didn't seem right'.

But that was a long time ago and Teddy and Vern ran in different crowds now. Still, it didn't stop Gordie and Chris remaining loyal to both of them.

"Winner stays on," Gordie said. "Nina, kick his ass, would ya? He's getting way too cocky. Anyone want another coke?"

"Yeah, I will," I said. Gordie walked across the room to the bar, and Chris began to rack up the pool balls. It was right about then that the Cobra's walked in.

Ace didn't see that Chris and me were standing two metres apart. He didn't see that Gordie was just at the bar or that we were only killing time on a rainy afternoon in an almost deserted town.

All he saw was Chris Chambers alone with his girl.

"Well, what the fuck do you know about this?"

Chris glanced casually over his shoulder before ignoring the advancing Cobra's and leaning down to break the neat triangle of balls with his stick. But before he could even pull back the pool stick, Ace's hand shot out and he slammed Chris into the table.

"Ace, let him go," I snapped.

Eyeball stepped in my way but Gordie had already seen what had happened and had left our cokes at the bar in his haste to make it back over. Charlie Hogan hit Gordie in the stomach on approach and when I screamed, Ace loosened his grip on Chris and motioned to Gordie.

"Not him. Just keep him out of the way. You and me, Chambers. Just you and me."

Gordie was still struggling with Charlie, although Charlie listened to Ace and didn't swing another fist. As Ace released Chris, he straightened up over the table.

"I'm not gonna fight you, Ace."

'That's 'cause you're a pussy. And no pussy is gonna be sniffing around my girl like you've been the last few weeks."

"Jesus, Ace!" I groaned.

Chris rubbed the front of his rumpled shirt, a bemused expression on his face.

"What Nina sees in you, I honestly don't know, Merrill. But maybe if you treated her better you'd feel a little more secure."

"You little shit-"

But it wasn't true. Chris wasn't 'little' anymore. He towered over Ace by a few inches and Ace knew it.

Dougie the barman had finally realised the situation wasn't going to cool off on it's own.

"Merril, I ain't having another fight in here this week. I will call the damn cops myself."

Dougie was a tall wiry guy but he knew how to handle himself. I think he liked Ace to an extent and he knew the Cobra's were good for business since they spent most of their ill gotten gains at the bar and on the tables, but he wasn't afraid of him.

"Hogan, get your hands off the kid," Dougie said to Charlie. Charlie gave Ace a look before Ace nodded and Gordie was released. He barged past Charlie Hogan to stand beside Chris.

"No worries, Doug, we'll take this outside," Ace said.

"How about you don't? How about you realise these are two high school boys and you find another way to settle your differences?"

Ace looked irritated at first but then his eyes went to the pool table.

"You just might be on to something, Doug. Pool game, faggot, you and me."

Surprisingly, Chris looked like he might play along.

"What are we playing for? Money?"

Ace snorted.

"Like you have any. We play for Christina. I win, you leave her the fuck alone; don't even talk to her. "

"Okay. Barring the fact that I generally don't use women as poker chips, what do I get if I win?"

"You can see her anytime you want, no hassles. Cosy pool games, someone to pretend to 'study' with. All that good stuff. That's what you both want, right?"

Ace's eyes went to mine.

"Ace, this is ridiculous-"

"But this is what you want. For me not to blow my lid when I see the two of you together. He wins the game, I won't say a fucking word."

"It's a trap," Gordie hissed."Don't do it."

"You want a beer?" Ace asked me in almost a pathologically calm manner. "Lachance? How about you, faggot?"

I shook my head dumbly while Chris and Gordie just stared at him.

"Well, I could sure as hell use a beer. See you girls in a minute."

As Ace strolled away, I felt an anger boil up in the pit of my stomach. It was bad enough he wouldn't come to the dance with me but now he was using me as a betting currency.

"Don't fucking do it," I snatched Chris' pool stick from him.

"Why?" He asked dryly.

"You know fucking why. I don't wanna be pawned off to the highest bidder. And he wont keep his word anyway."

"Afraid this isn't about you, Willis. It's just an opportunity for him to try and piss me off."

"And so what? You wanna piss him off right back? He wins this game, Chambers. No matter how it goes. He beats you, he gets to humiliate you. You beat him and I will never hear the fucking end of this. He'll go on and on about how you played this game for me-" A blush rose in my cheeks. "I mean, I know the game's not about me to you, but he won't see it that way."

Gordie moved closer to us and lowered his voice.

"She's right, Chris. Let's walk out of here while we still can."

Chris leaned against the table, his eyes shifting between me and Gordie.

Then he stretched towards me, prised the pool stick out of my hand and turned his attention back to the table.

"Afraid that's something I can't do."

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The game was tense as hell.

Ace was a sharp pool player but so was Chris. Ace favoured hard hits with his cue while Chris was all about estimating the angles. He would study the balls from each side of the table before making his move.

"Wanna take a fucking picture?" Ace demanded on a couple of occasions. But I could see he was unnerved. Chris was a hell of a pool player and this was making Ace nervous.

Despite being about evenly matched, the two of them had two completely different styles. Chris was careful and deliberate, Ace was quick thinking and quick moving. I didn't know who the hell I was rooting for but I had an unsettling feeling in my stomach that no matter which way it went, it wasn't gonna end well for me.

At one point, I caught Chris' eye as he leaned over the table. I got his full attention for a couple of seconds before he messed up his next shot.

"Missed the hole by a mile," Ace snorted. "Years of practice, faggot, years of practice."

As the Cobra's broke out into laughter, Gordie gave me a look of disgust.

"What the hell do you see in him, huh? He's nothing but an oversized fucking bully."

"Chris could walk away at any time," I hissed back. And it was true. I could tell Ace to let Chris alone but if Chris wouldn't walk away then what could I do about it?

The game grew closer and closer as it neared it's end. Ace hit a striped ball and followed up with a miss before Chris hit two circles, leaving with him the black. Ace was already cursing and grinding his cigarette out. The shot was an easy one- Chris had gotten the white balls around Ace's remaining balls and it was sitting in perfect line with the black ball and the bottom right pocket.

Part of me wanted Chris to win- he had a right to beat Ace just this once- for the underdog to triumph over the villain. But another part of me knew that Chris winning would be like lighting a fire under Ace. He would be convinced Chris was out to steal me away and the truth was, I needed Ace now, I couldn't be at Gordie's seven nights a week.

Chris had leaned confidently over the table when I caught his eye for the second time. The glance we shared lasted only a second but I saw his look of confidence change to hesitance, defeat, and then acceptance. Dropping his eyes, Chris tapped the ball ridiculously softly. It rolled a couple of inches, not even hitting the black and therefore, giving Ace two further shots.

I didn't focus on Gordie's loud groan, nor the crowing Cobra's. I barely registered the smirk on Ace's face or the disparaging comment that came out of his mouth. All I could see was Chris- who was stepping back, his face devoid of emotion. And I knew then. I knew he'd missed that shot on purpose. And I knew he'd done it for me.

Ace cleaned up the table in three consecutive shots. He let the approval of his gang pour over him before he walked round the table to face Chris.

Chris held his hand out.

"Good game," he offered.

Ace grabbed his hand but instead of shaking it he squeezed it so tightly, Chris' tanned skin went white under his grip.

"Easy fucking game," Ace responded. " Now this is your last warning, faggot. Next time I see you near my girl you're a fucking dead man."

Chris didn't flinch until Ace let go. Then he turned and walked out of the pool hall.

I watched him go, a sinking feeling in my stomach as the opening door let in a filter of daylight before pitching us back into the dim light of Irby's.

"Ace, you can't tell me who I can hang out with."

Ace looked at Gordie pointedly.

"Clearly. But I can tell whoever I want not to hang out with you."

Gordie had been biting his lip since the game ended. But suddenly he turned and walked real close to Ace, drawing himself to full height. Gordie didn't have Chris' presence; he was a scrawny adolescent whose build hadn't caught up with his height yet; but Gordie had a sense of right and wrong; a moral nobility that he'd had since we were kids.

"You know, I feel sorry for you, Ace. You gotta bully or control people to feel like you're superior but you know what? It's only people who are weak or more fucked up than you that you can control."

"You saying Nina's more fucked up than me?" Ace's lip was twitching but his movements had slowed, a sure fire sign he was ready to lose his rag.

"Well, she sure as hell wouldn't be with you if she had a decent family to turn to," Gordie replied.

Charlie Hogan moved forward but Ace raised a hand to halt him.

"You know, Lachance, the only reason I haven't fucking killed you yet is because she calls you her family. I kinda like to think of you as her little faggoty brother but that can change real fast, asshole."

Gordie shook his head firmly even though his hands were shaking. He was outnumbered five to one and I was scared too. Not scared for me but scared for Gordie.

"I'm not scared of you, Ace. I haven't been scared of you since I was twelve years old and you and your gang beat me so bad you almost fucking killed me. I realised then what Chris knew all along. It's just a beating. You only outweighed us physically. We'll never agree with you, like you, join your stupid gang. And that's why you hate Chris so much. Because he's always known your power lies in scaring people. And he ain't never been scared."

Ace put a hand out and grabbed Gordie's arm. I suddenly found my voice.

"You fucking touch him and we're done forever!"

I must have sounded as convincing as I felt because Ace let go. Gordie glared back at Ace, not taking his eyes from him as he asked me;

"You coming?"

"I'll catch up," I said.

Gordie didn't look at me, he just turned and walked out.

I watched the door open and close just as it had for Chris before I turned to Ace.

"Why do you have to be such an asshole?"

The Cobra's who had been jeering at Gordie's exit fell quiet.

Ace picked up his beer and took a slow purposeful sip.

"Ya know what, Doll? I ain't the one who sides with everyone but you every other day. I'm getting sick and tired of your fucking tantrums too. So go run after your little faggot friend and I'll see you the next time you come crawling back. 'Cause let's face it, Doll, you will come crawling back. Just a matter of when."

It was then that I put down my coke, pulled on my jacket, and walked out of Irby's.

When I pulled myself in Gordie's window a little while later, he wasn't there. Even though it was early, I put my pyjamas on, brushed my teeth and climbed into the bed. I stayed there, a tight feeling in my stomach, with my eyes squeezed shut until I finally drifted off to sleep.

It was dark outside when Gordie finally came in. I sat up in bed and switched his bedside lamp on. I tried a 'hey' but he didn't answer. He took off his shoes and sweater before he stood up again. He switched the bedside lamp back off and got in on the other side of the bed, laying as far away from me as he could.

I couldn't be angry back at him. I guessed if I were in his shoes, I'd be mad at me too. In my mind, I knew Ace wasn't a prince but some part of me couldn't let him go. He was the only guy I had ever been with, the only thing I knew.

I didn't realise I was sobbing until I felt Gordie's arm creep about my waist. As much as he didn't want to hear me cry, my tears were not enough to break the silence between us.

I cried myself to sleep without either of us exchanging a word.

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