Darnell's do it yourself garage had been boarded up since the death of Will Darnell. It was nothing but a derelict building that would most likely never see the light of day again. Good. Dennis had never liked the man, or his shady business exchange. He'd heard many stories from the time his father had worked for the man, and witnessed the horror first hand as he watched Arnie take the man's offer. He hadn't felt even a twinge of sadness when he heard about the murder, but it wasn't something he'd have wished on Darnell. Or anyone. As much as Buddy Repperton and his gang of thugs had been assholes, he had never wished death upon them. It wasn't his place to want someone to live or die. All he remembered feeling after the news was broken to him, was fear. He'd been afraid that it would be his name in the headline next, or Leigh's, with a passage about a '58 Plymouth Fury being at the scene.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Leigh asked for the hundredth time since they'd left his home.

"I have to." He stated, drawing in a deep breath.

Dennis took a step towards the junk yard gates, and then hesitated as he glanced over at Leigh. Making his mind up, he took her hand and intertwined their fingers, then continued forward, with her keeping a steady pace beside him. His grip tightened as they reached the spot they'd stood, watching as Christine was crushed, less than a month ago, and he laid eyes upon the remains of the '58 Plymouth Fury.

"See?" Leigh sighed. "As dead as a doorknob, exactly how we left her."

"Yeah." He agreed, letting his hand slip from hers as he cautiously started towards the remains of Christine.

"Dennis, what are you doing? Don't go near that thing."

But he was already there, and waved her concerns away with his hand. Leigh rolled her eyes, and looked on elsewhere before deciding to check out what was left of the rest of the garage. Dennis didn't notice as she trailed away, his focus remained on the remains. All that was left of the car was a cube of dirtied autumn red and dusty white, and the front grille, the silver slowly starting to rust, all squished together like Chinese food in a tupperware tub, and bent so far out of shape that if one were to see it for the first time, they'd never guess that it used to be a an evil Fury.

"I knew it." He laughed humourlessly. "You see, Chrissy… how easy it was to crush you. Arnie had his whole life to live and you stole it, and many others too, but you can't hurt anyone now. You're nothing but a big block of scrap metal. A hunk of junk." He mocked.

Despite having seen her, or what was left of her, Dennis still felt unsatisfied. All the evidence he needed was right in front of him, but it wasn't enough. It didn't ease his anxiety in the slightest.

"You can't hurt anyone anymore." He said, more to convince himself than to gloat. "I can prove it."

Taking in a breath and holding it, he reached out a shaky hand and patted the compressed cube, running his fingers along the rough surface and over the jagged edges. As he made contact with the left corner, his finger slipped and the sharp edge sliced straight through his skin.

"Ah!" He hissed, pulling his hand back and glaring at the remains of the car as though it were a dog that had just bitten him. "Nope. That wasn't you. That was my clumsy ass."

Though he was unconvinced, he shook the thought away and examined his bleeding finger. The cut wasn't deep, but it stung and was beginning to throb, making him uncomfortable. He wiped the blood off on his jeans, and ignored the pain as he looked around the rest of the yard, only now realizing that Leigh was no longer behind him.

"Leigh?"

"Sorry, I was just wandering the yard." She said as she crept back over to the remains of the car. "Are you done having verbal sex with Christine yet?"

"Uhh…" He trailed off, almost completely dumbfounded by her choice of words.

"Joke." She explained quickly, and smiled in amusement as his shoulders slumped in relief.

"Yeah, I knew that."

"Sure you did." She teased. "Can we get out of here now, this place gives me the creeps?"

"Okay." He agreed, and started back towards where his blue Duster was parked just outside of the junkyard. "Leigh…"

"Hmm?"

"I- I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Dragging you here… and for being a jerk when it comes to Arnie and you."

"Come on, don't be silly. You didn't drag me here, I chose to come with you and as for the other thing, you have every right. I've not been very fair to you."

Dennis stopped as they reached the car, and turned to her with wide doe-eyes and his lips in a firm line. He wanted to speak, feeling like he was close to getting a truthful answer from her at last, but he remained silent, afraid that it would only ruin that chance.

"You asked me for the truth, do you still want to hear it?"

Unable to form a coherent sentence, he nodded and swallowed. Darnell's garage was the last place he wanted to hear it, but he didn't want to push his luck. As dull as it was to be having this conversation outside a junkyard, he would take it over not hearing her truth at all.

"After the incredibly long and trying past few months, and today, I've been trying to come to terms with everything and- and make sense of it all yet the more I try, the harder it gets." She rambled, catching his eyes with her own. "My point is, I'm done trying to make sense of everything, and Arnie can stay where he belongs; in the past."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that my answer to your earlier question is yes, I do want you and no, I'm not just using you. Nor was I ever using you."

"That's a relief." He chuckled. "But I'm not going to make the first move, I feel like I already have time and time again only to be pushed away."

"I'm not going to make the first move either… at least not yet." She stated, and glanced over at Christine's remains. "Not here."

"Let's get out of here." He nodded, and opened the passenger door for her.

Leigh gave him a small smile as got in the car and watched him closely as she closed the door, and walked around to the driver's side. He wasted no time in starting up the engine and putting distance between them and the garage, having finally come to terms with Christine being gone, he saw no further need to remain in the area. The ride back to the house was silent, and Dennis was relieved to find both his parents and sister had already turned in for the night, allowing them to slip in without any unwanted interrogations.

"Did that little trip put your mind to rest?" She inquired as soon as he'd closed his bedroom door.

"I hope so." He answered, making himself comfortable on the air mattress and tucking his hands behind his head as he sank into the fluffed up pillow. "How's the bed?"

"It's… comfy." She said, searching for the right word as she shifted to get settled. "But you really didn't have to-"

"Stop right there." He cut in. "I happen to like the air mattress."

"Oh." She mouthed. "Okay."

"Just… Don't look under the bed."

"Why not?"

"No reason." He shrugged. "It's dusty under there."

"Dusty?" She arched an eyebrow.

"And my dad's playgirl magazine stash is hidden under there." He admitted.

"Your dad's stash?" She challenged him with a teasing grin.

"Yes. My mom would flip if she found them." He insisted, clearing his throat. "Anyway, between passing out in chemistry and going to see Christine, I'm beat." He added, switching the lamp off and rolling onto his side. "Goodnight."

"Night."

Soft snores were already piercing through the silence before Leigh had even had the chance to close her eyes, and she couldn't help but laugh as she remembered his no snoring rule and thought about him breaking his own rules. It took her a little longer to drift into a sleepy state, but eventually she did. Though her mind remained wide awake.

Dennis jolted awake as a scream cut through his peaceful sleep, and he bolted upright. His eyes darted back and forth in the darkness before he felt the air mattress beneath him, and remembered that he was not alone.

Leigh.

Scrambling to his feet, he stumbled over to the bed, perching on the edge and scratching the back of his head as he tried to think straight through the fog of sleep.

"Leigh?" He whispered in the darkness, and shook his head, feeling stupid.

With a brief hesitation, he reached out cautiously and placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle shake. Trying again, he repeated her name and this time got results as she stirred awake.

"Dennis?" She questioned.

"It's okay, I think you were dreaming." He said, sensing the frown on her face despite being barely able to see her through the dark of the night.

"Yeah." She sighed as she sat up.

"Happens to me too sometimes." He admitted. "More since Ar- in the last few months."

"I know, I don't need you to share your experience. I'm not scared or embarrassed." She snapped.

"O- okay."

"Sorry." She muttered. "That was rude."

"Just a bit." He shrugged.

"I miss Arnie."

"Me too." He said. "Not the possessed, Christine obsessed version, but the real Arnie."

"I wish I could have gotten to know that version of Arnie more."

Dennis drew in a breath, thinking back to how his best friend was before Christine came into the picture, and bit down on his lip as he thought about the socially awkward boy that he'd grown up with. All the times he had stopped him from being picked on, and the good times they'd shared, all of it seemed like it was another lifetime ago. He knew that if given the choice, he would choose to have those days back in a heartbeat.

"Are you okay?" Leigh asked, after a few minutes passed in silence.

"Yeah." He whispered. "You would have liked him, if he'd even had the courage to speak to you that is." He laughed. "Knowing him, he'd have gotten within ten feet of you and chickened out."

"It wasn't the same after… her."

"No, it wasn't." He agreed. "The Arnie that I knew would never have treated you the way he did."

"It wasn't him, it was that car." She reminded him.

"Sometimes it's hard to pin the blame entirely on the car… he was still Arnie, even after he found her. Just not the one we knew and loved."

Leigh remained quiet, thinking over everything that had happened since she'd met Arnie. Part of her wished she had never bothered with him, but the bigger part of her was glad she had. It had been terrifying, but she was grateful to have gotten closer to Dennis through it all.

"I know you don't like to hear it that way, but it's just how I feel. It doesn't take away the good times I had with him, but no matter how I look back now, the memories are tainted." He added.

"No, I get it." She assured him. "Listen, about what you said back outside the junkyard, did you mean it?"

"A lot of things were said, you're gonna have to be a little more specific."

"You said you weren't going to make the first move." She elaborated.

"That's because I'm not."

"Right." She nodded. "Does that mean that you want me to make the first move?"

"Well, I- I don't know." He stammered, feeling as though the room had shrunk two sizes smaller. "I wouldn't say no."

"We're not at Darnell's anymore." She stated suggestively.

"Nope."

"Tell me what you want me to do."

"I think you already know." He gulped.

"But I want you to tell me."

"Um… okay." He agreed.

"Go on. Tell me." She prompted.

"I want you to- to kiss me."

Although he could not see through the dark, Leigh smiled as she closed the gap between them and grabbed his face, and kissed him. Reflexively, his eyes fluttered closed and he brought his hand up to her cheek. After a few seconds, he pulled back for breath and with something to say on the tip of his tongue.

"There's something I've wanted to say to you, never had the guts to… until now." He started. "I- I love you, Leigh."

"I love you too, Arnie."

Dennis's eyes flew open, and the high he'd felt less than a minute ago was washed away by her response, the way sand was carried by the tide of the sea. He removed his hand from her face, and gripped her wrists gently, prying her hands away from his own face, and putting some distance between them.

"What's wrong?" She questioned.

He couldn't tell if she was serious or joking, but either way, it didn't change anything. He had just opened up and made himself vulnerable, and the first thing he got was a nasty surprise.

"What do you mean, what's wrong? You just-"

"Was the kiss that bad?" She cut in.

In that instant, he decided that she hadn't been aware of what she'd said, and he wasn't about to bring it up. "No." He cleared his throat. "I just… I don't feel good, a little sick again actually." He half-lied.

"What? You said you were fine."

"Yeah, it was… rather sudden." He stammered. "I'm actually gonna go to the bathroom."

"It's not that bad, right?"

"No, but just in case."

Without waiting for a response, he got up and swiftly left the room and headed for the bathroom. It wasn't a complete lie, his stomach had flipped the moment Arnie's name had slipped from her mouth, but it was mostly just an excuse to leave the bedroom. Once he reached the bathroom, he made sure to lock the door behind him, then pressed his back flat against it, letting out a heavy sigh. He didn't come out for the rest of the night, spending it sitting on the floor, wide awake until the dark of night gave way to the first signs of morning. Sleep never came, and he didn't bother to try.

As the minutes ticked by, he knew he couldn't hide away in the bathroom for much longer. Soon his sister or one of his parents would wake up and be headed for a shower. He forced himself up off the floor, and unlocked the door, dragging himself back to his bedroom. Any hope he had that she would be still asleep was lost when he pushed the door open to find her sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Dennis?" She questioned. "What happened last night?"

"I told you, I felt sick." He said coldly.

"Yeah, but you were in there all night. Do you feel better?"

"Not really." He sighed. "I'm not going to school today either, but I'll ask my dad to give you a ride."

"Today's a practice exam. You can't skip."

"I don't feel well, so yeah I can."

Leigh opened her mouth to speak, then frowned, picking up on the frosted air between them. Everything had been fine until the kiss, then he'd changed and now she felt uncomfortable.

"Are you mad or something?" She asked cautiously.

"No. Why would I be mad?"

"You're just… you're acting differently."

"It's nothing, I'm just sick. That's all."

"But you were fine until we kissed, then… never mind." She shook her head. "And don't bother asking your dad, I'm actually gonna walk today. It's not that far and I'm leaving now."

"Leigh, come on-"

"I'll see you in school. Maybe." She dismissed, and pushed past him and out of the room before the conversation could continue.

As guilty as he felt, he couldn't help but be relieved after he heard the front door downstairs slam shut. Breathing had been a challenge of its own when she'd been in the room with him.

'I love you too, Arnie.'

The words had been going through his mind throughout the entire night, and they were loudest in a silent room. Dennis startled as a knock sounded on his already open door, and he turned around to see his dad standing in the doorway.

"Sorry, I don't mean to intrude but- wait, where's your friend?"

"She erh- she left already. Said she had to get to school early." He lied. "What's going on?"

"I just wanted to stop for a moment and chat, I'm working away until Thursday and probably won't get to see you until then. I wanted to say goodbye."

"Alright." He nodded, and unable to stop himself, he marched across the room, throwing himself into his dad's arms.

"Woah, a good talk last night and a hug this morning, getting soft on your old man now, Dennis?" His father chuckled, wrapping his arms around him.

"Yeah, you wish." He teased. "I love you, dad."

"I love you too, son."

After another few seconds spent inside the hug, Dennis finally brought himself to step back, earning him a pat on the shoulder from his old man.

"I'll see you Thursday."

"Thursday." Dennis repeated.

"And, I got us two tickets to the game on Saturday. What do you say?"

"Yes. Of course. That sounds awesome." He grinned, genuinely for the first time in a while.

"Great! A good father/son bonding trip, just like the good ol' days when you were younger."

Even though his father gave him a smile as he turned for the stairs, he felt uneasy. After going to see what was left of Christine, he should have felt more reassured, but he didn't. Though whether it was because of Leigh or something else, he couldn't tell, but if he sat around all day doing nothing then he would drive himself crazy. For a moment he thought about calling Roseanne, quickly deciding against it however, knowing that it would give her the wrong impression. He still cared about Leigh, no matter how much her words had hurt him.

School it was, he decided quickly. He'd said that he wasn't going, but he'd mostly only said it so that he wouldn't have to spend another awkward minute with Leigh, and he didn't feel nearly as bad as he'd made out. Physically speaking.

With his mind made up, he trailed over to the small, built-in closet and dug out the first fresh t-shirt he could find, along with a pair of plain blue jeans and his classic Libertyville high school, yellow and red varsity jacket, changing swiftly before heading downstairs. His dad had already left for work by the time he dragged himself into the kitchen, and not being too hungry, he pulled a carton of milk from the fridge door and a glass from one of the cupboards and filled it halfway. He downed it all in one huge gulp and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, placed the glass in the sink and headed for the door.

'I love you too, Arnie.'

"She'll never love you like she loved me."

Dennis shuddered as he imagined Arnie, after meeting Christine, saying something like that to him. It wasn't something that was said, yet he could hear his friend's voice clear as day in his mind. Or maybe it was LeBay's. There was no sure way to tell the difference anymore. The door to his blue Duster let out a creak as he opened it, and another when he slammed it shut. Memories of the Arnie that he'd grown up with flooded through his mind, and that hole in his life felt a little wider than before. Sometimes he didn't miss him at all, resented him, even, for the terror that he'd brought upon them, but it was more often that he missed his best friend. He closed his eyes, letting his head fall back against the headrest as one of his fonder memories surfaced.

Summer 1976

"Dennis, wait… up." Arnie panted, stopping in his tracks to catch his breath.

Stifling a laugh, Dennis glanced back over his shoulder and saw that Arnie was doubled over with his hands on his knees and his glasses having slid halfway down his nose. With a sigh, he backtracked and pulled a water bottle from the bag on his back.

"I told you that you should have brought something to drink with you."

"Well, I didn't think I'd need it."

"Arnie, we're hiking a trail through the woods. What did you think you'd need?"

"Nothing except the use of my legs." He shrugged, straightening up.

"It would have been easier to wait until one of us could drive, then we wouldn't have had to walk all the way from your house to here."

"Yeah, I know. But I was bored. I didn't think this through."

Dennis laughed silently and perched himself down on a fallen tree trunk, watching as Arnie came and sat down next to him. They sat silently for the next few minutes, watching birds fly from the trees around them, and enjoying the soft summer breeze that swept through.

"What would I do without you, Denny?"

"Come on, man. I told you not to call me that. I'm not your dog." He teased him, offering out the water bottle. "Here, take mine. If I drink anymore, I'm gonna have to take a bathroom break behind one of these trees."

A stupid grin broke on Arnie's face as he took the bottle and flipped it open, guzzling down the remaining water before handing it back. Dennis rolled his eyes, shoving the bottle back inside the bag.

"Thanks." He muttered. "Really, Denny… I'd be lost without you."

"Don't worry, Arnie. I've always got your back, I promise."

Present Day…

Even after the Duster was parked in the school's parking lot, Dennis remained in the driver's seat. There was still over an hour before classes would begin, and he was just praying that he didn't run into Leigh. With the whirlwind of events since the funeral on Friday, he wasn't sure how much more he could take. Especially after last night. He considered starting the car up and leaving before anyone saw him, but decided against it. Throwing away any shot he had at a decent future would do no good, no matter how lonely Libertyville high was to him now.

It wasn't a lack of friends. He had plenty; old teammates from his time playing football, girls who smiled whenever they passed him in the halls, and a few other nerds who he'd helped out here and there. Though none of his teammates had bothered since his accident, and the girls weren't looking to be friendly so much as they were trying to find a boyfriend of the week, and the nerds were just too shy to speak. With Arnie gone and the way things were between him and Leigh, he had no one else.

At long last he found the will to get out of the car, and the cold air of late January sent a shiver through him as he closed the door and headed towards the school building. With it being mid-winter, there weren't many students lingering outside, reassuring him that it would be easier to go about his day without running into Leigh.

'It could be worse', he reminded himself as he shouldered open one of the double doors and trudged down the hall towards his locker. At least Christine was gone.

'But so is Arnie', he thought quietly with a bitterness that crept up on him as he reached his locker, and glanced at the one second to the end of the row. Arnie's locker. Another memory attempted to surface, this one of the first day of school; the day Arnie had met Christine. Dennis pushed it away. The last thing he needed was another incident after what happened in chemistry class the day before.