To stand by him

"How many beers do you think it will take for me to pass out?'

"I don't know Teddy." I sighed as he worked on his third. We were currently the only ones, aside from a few couples, the only ones in the pub.

"I took me eight last time."
"So you already know the answer?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"No, last time it took me eight, I'm wondering about now." I laughed and rolled my eyes slouching against the back of the booth.

"you're really going to pass out on me?"

"Nah, I was just curious can't leave a pretty girl without company." he winked, then took another swig of his beer.

"Aren't you a charmer?" I smiled.

"Only for you babe." he grinned right back, a few moments of silence stretched out before us. "You know Chris and I may have been best buds but he'd kick my ass if he heard how I speak to you sometimes." I looked up at him from where my eyes had been glued to the table.

"You guys are good friends I don't think he'd care." I replied.

"Nah, I mean we were great friends when we were younger, been seeing less and less of each other through the years. I'd do anything for him but he'd still kick my ass."

"Why?"

"You know he's crazy about ya."

"I should hope so we're together."

"Nah, he's had girls before, but none he's gone to this much trouble for." I laughed at that and leaned my arms on the table.

"That so?"

"Look I may seem drunk but I ain't." I frowned at that, I had thought he was teasing me, Teddy wasn't one for serious conversations. "I haven't seen him this happy in a long time."

"He's great, but he deserves better." I muttered taking a sip from my own beer.

I had promised Chris that I wouldn't get drunk. He had taken my word for it, but threatened teddy that if I did get drunk he'd skin him.

Chris had grabbed Vern and Gordie to head over to Nicks house to talk about Eyeball and work on what was happening in court. I wasn't aloud to go because Nick was actually throwing a party and Ace would be there.

Vern was supposed to be the one to keep me company until he complained about not being involved in anything anymore, and Gordie pointed out that in case Ace left it might be better if I was with Teddy.

"Do you love him?" I choked on my beer, coughing repeatedly hoping the question would just go away.

"uh. . . ."

"You can lie to me if you want." he smiled. "But then I'll know the answer."

"How drunk are you?"
"You're avoiding the question."

"No." I argued.

"no to loving him?"

"Teddy!"

"Alright alright forget I asked." he laughed swirling his beer in the bottle. I glared at him.

"You love to make people uncomfortable don't you?" I asked.

"It's my favourite hobbie, besides I already know you do."
'You can't know that." I shook my head and looked away from him.

"Sure I can!" he boasted slamming his drink down in excitement, splattering a few drops on the table. "I may be blind as a bat with no glasses, but when I have them I can see, and anyone that can, can tell you're in love."

I rolled my eyes, Teddy was not the person I wanted to be discussing love with, he didn't take anything seriously and with his state right now I was sure he was just asking to bug me.

"Have you thought about what to do?"

"About what?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"What do you think? The ring shit you got yourself into."
"Didn't Chris talk to you about it?"

"yeah, but I'm asking you." Jesus he was direct, avoiding subjects was never successful with Teddy.

" I don't know."
He snorted. "Great answer."

"Why do you even care?"
"Jeez, Anna, I may not know you exceptionally well but I do care about people."

Well now I felt awful, Teddy was trying to help I could tell but these weren't conversations I wanted to be having.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but I really don't know what to do. Can't exactly threaten my way out of it."
He took another big gulp and belched right after. Charming. "Why not?" he asked pushing his glasses up a little bit.

"I have two alcoholic men on my case, threatening them isn't a good idea when they can overpower me."
"Chris did it." He said, I could hear the slight drawl to his voice and I knew in a little while he was going to be down for the count.

"What?"

"Nothing." he muttered, but I didn't miss the widening of his eyes for a brief moment, obviously catching a mistake.

But if I couldn't avoid conversations then neither could he. He went to take another drink but I snatched the glass before he could.

"Fuck are you doing?"

"Tell me." I hissed.

"Chris ain't told ya?"

"tell me." I demanded again.

He rolled his eyes, clearly not giving a shit about my tone or the fact I was angry.

"Fine, not like it's a big secret or anything. When we were twelve, Chris, Gordie, Vern and me went out to find this kids dead body. To get a reward and stuff, but Ace was looking for the kid too. When we found him Gordie pulled out a gun and Chris stayed, thats what happened. Ace is big and powerful too but if you have the right tools you can get out of anything."

"You did what?" I asked, went to see a dead body? This was the first I had ever heard of this.

"yeah I know stupid kids eh? But hell, we had fun, up until things started to get heavy on us. Learned some shit you know." I stared at him, they went off to find a dead body, thinking about it now it seemed stupid, depressing and horrifying. But that was the thing with being kids, what grownups thought stupid we thought eventful.

"So you pulled a gun on Ace?"

"Gordie did." he said reaching for the glass I snatched, I let him take it.

"What did you do?" I asked. He looked up then, almost like he was guilty.

"I uh, I ran."

He ran. . . . Chris had told be about how he and the guys weren't the best of friends anymore, that they were drifting apart but I never thought that it could have come down to something like that. "The guys had a fucking knife, they were gonna skin us alive." I had no doubt they would have. "What the hell was I supposed to do? We were cocky little shits outnumbered and out armed. I wasn't gonna stick around and have my other ear gone, cut off this time."

Teddy was explaining himself but I wasn't sure if it was to me or to himself.

"That's why things are so bad here?"

"Guess you could say that, ever since then Chris has been a bigger target then ever to them."

I looked down, something was missing from the story. Someone else's perspective, Chris'.

"Anyway, it's the past, so what do you wanna do?" Teddy asked leaning against the back of the booth.

I wanted to hear more but I knew the conversation was over.

"What are you doing after school?" I asked.

"The army." he responded.

"Army?"

"Yeah, like my dad, gonna kill and prove myself." I thought about how war really was and shuddered at Teddy's odds of coming back with his vision. "You?"

"I don't know."

"You are just full of great answers." he smirked I rolled my eyes and told him to shut up.

We sat there for a few moments deep in thought.

"Prove yourself for what?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"You said to prove yourself, prove yourself for what?" I asked again half expecting him to ignore me.

"That I can stick by my group. To prove I'll fight when I see danger. Not run away."