𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗,, stand by me

chapter 2

(friday 4th september 1959)

it was nearly time to go back to school and i was dreading it, but i have to make the most of what's left of summer, despite it being september already. so after getting ready, i went over to the lachances.

it's been six months now since denny died, it's been really difficult for gordie and gracie, especially since their parents are still in a haze.

"hey," i smiled, entering my neighbours house. "is gordie ready to leave yet?" i asked his twin.

"nearly, he's still fixing his hair, and i'm just finishing my breakfast."

"okay, I'm gonna go see him." i said sneaking up the stairs and into his room. i crept up behind him, luckily he was too distracted with his hair to notice me. I swear he's actually angelic.

"gordie!" I yelled grabbing him by the arms

"ahh! for fucks sake y/n, you made me mess up my hair!" he yelled, pissed off at me.

"sorry... but i finally scared you," i apologised, wrapping my arms around his stomach from behind him. He hugged me back, forgiving me for messing up his hair. i'd been trying to scare him all summer, cause teddy and i made a bet i couldn't. ha teddy owes me 5 bucks.

once gordie fixed his hair again the three of us left, avoiding their parents and made our way further into town, Gordie and I hand in hand, Gracie and I looping arms.

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we had a treehouse in a big elm tree overlooking an empty lot in castle rock. it was our nameless club.

there was 6 maybe 7 guys and us 2 girls, and sometimes the guys sisters, that came often and some others that just hung around, they'd be let up when there was a card game and fresh blood was needed. one of the guys sisters was nicki, she moved here from la last school year and her and her brother quickly joined our little 'gang'.

most of the time we played blackjack, jack change it or rummy (which i taught them all how to play). usually enough people came about for there to be a decent baseball team but the past week or so had been too hot.

gordie knocked the secret knock and we climbed up into the treehouse. chris and teddy were already there playing a card game.

teddy was the craziest guy we hung around with.

he had massive, thick black framed coke bottle glasses and a beatles haircut. his hair was like that to cover the lump of wax that was once an ear. he always wore an ugly patterned shirt like the guy from magnum p.i. or a plain t-shirt, with his hearing aid battery rolled up in the sleeve.

chris was the leader of our gang and the nicest person i knew. i know nice is how you usually describe a person when you don't know what else to say but chris chambers really was genuinely nice. though everyone else just 'knew' he'd turn out bad. we all knew he wouldn't of course, but everyone let his family define him. his dad was a drunk, his mother was off the grid somewhere for weeks at a time. one of his brothers in prison, his other brother eyeball was in ace's gang and the other 2 kids weren't even 5 yet.

"good morning, weirdos." i said once i settled down in my usual seat between gordie and chris.

"well if it isn't the nerdiest couple in castle rock," teddy snickered at gordie and i."oh shut up, that joke is so old," i sighed. "i don't shut up, i grow up and when i look at you i throw up," he chanted, pretending to gag. "you're are so funny teddy, like actually hilarious." i said, bored of him already.

"hey, how'd you know a french man's been in your backyard?" chris asked us, already giggling at his joke. "hey, i'm french okay," teddy defended, though he was about as french as i was elvis presley.

"your garbage can's empty and your dog's pregnant," he laughed causing gordie to do the same. "didn't i just say i was french? gracie, you wanna play?" he asked dealing out the cards. "yeah sure,"

i let out a small laugh and started to flick through the near ancient, cola covered magazines that had been left here over the years.

"i knock. 29," chris said, "22," teddy muttered, "18," gracie sighed.

"piss up a rope!" gordie snapped, chucking his cards on the makeshift table. he leaned back next to me and opened the new detective magazine he bought 10 minutes earlier.

"gordie's out. old gordie just bit the bag and stepped out the door. eee-eee-eee." he laughed bobbing his head. they started dealing out the cards again and I decided to play this time chucking my magazine to gracie.

"i knock." teddy says just before i do. "you four-eyed pile of shit!" chris yelled in shock.

"a pile of shit has a thousand eyes." teddy replied, making us all laugh. he was always coming up with the weirdest things to say and he was funny without meaning to be a lot of the time. sometimes i understood why gracie liked him. other times i thought she must be more insane than he was.

"what? what's so funny? come on, i got thirty. what have you got?" he asked us looking between chris and I. "sixteen." chris laughed no way he has 30, the liar "go ahead. keep laughing. you're down to your ride, pal. come on. let's go."

"ha! i got twenty, i win assholes!" i laughed throwing my cards down in victory. a fast knock came through the old wood reaching our shoes. "that's not the secret knock," gordie hollered down.

"i forget the secret knock, let me in guys, please. y/n! let me in please!" he pleaded. "vern," we all said looking to each other and rolling our eyes.

we moved the crate table and a chubby kid with spiked hair and dirt on his face flew in through the trapdoor. vern tessio. he was the youngest of our group and the most... well, there wasn't really any words to describe vern.

he was sweating and out of breath when he flung himself on a seat.

"youguysaren't..gonnabelievethis... thisissoboss!" he panted "lemme catch me breath... i ran all the way from my house-"

"I RAN ALL THE WAY HOME, DO WA DO WA OOOOHHH. JUST TO SAY IM SORRYYYY SORRY OHHH" the four of us sang awfully.

he tried talking over us but we kept singing. something in his tone must've caught chris' attention cause he made us stop. but when vern began talking again we kept on singing.