Stand By Me One Shots/Imagines + Preferences (The Cobras x reader)

Don't Be An Ass (Eyeball's sister)

For welliqque :)

A knock on your door rips you out of the book you're reading. Looking up, you see it's Chris standing in your doorway. You thought he was still out with his friends, but looking at the clock, you realize it's gotten much later than you thought while you were engrossed in your book. Chris doesn't look like he had a good time.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

He hesitates for a moment, but then comes in and sits down next to you. "Just Eyeball and his stupid friends again," he mutters.

"What did they do this time?" you ask, subtly looking him over for injuries. To your relief, there don't seem to be any.

"It's stupid," Chris says. "No big deal, really."

"Tell me anyway."

"We were eating ice cream and they took it." You sigh, not sure if you should be angry or relieved. Compared to the other shit the Cobras have done to your little brother and his friends — and to countless other innocent citizens of Castle Rock — that really isn't a big deal. But Chris continues, "And when we tried to get it back, Eyeball almost pushed me in front of a car."

"He what?!"

"He pushed me onto the street."

Alright, forget angry. You're fucking livid.

"I'm fine, Y/N," Chris adds. "Don't worry."

You nod, forcing a smile for his sake. "Okay. Good. But this time they've really gone too far."

Your brother grimaces. "I know that look... Please don't. I told you because you're the only one who ever understands me, not so you can confront Eyeball about this."

"I know." And you know why he doesn't want you to confront Eyeball, too. Guys can't let a girl stand up for them, even — or maybe especially — when it's their big sister. It makes them look weak. If you tried to tell the Cobras to leave him alone, it would only make things worse. "I know."

Even so, you're going to talk to Eyeball, at least. He's always had a soft spot for you, and if you get him alone without his stupid friends, he might actually hear you out. Whether he'll do as you ask and leave Chris alone remains questionable, of course — this'd be far from the first time you've asked him to lay off, and while he might do so for a day or two after your conversations, the mistreatments always start up again in no time.

"I'm sorry he's such an idiot, Chris." The poor boy deserves so much better than the way he gets treated — not just by the Cobras, but also by your father, your other siblings, all the people in this goddamned town who look down on your family. "I'm sorry they all are."

He shakes his head. "Stop it. You know I hate when you apologize for stuff other people did."

"I know, sorry." You consider telling him you'll talk to Eyeball, but decide against it. He wouldn't understand that it's something you have to do, even if he doesn't want you to. So all you say is, "I'll try to keep Eyeball out of your way, okay?"

He nods. "Thanks, Y/N."

"Of course. Is he home yet?"

"I don't think so."

"Good. Then how about I make us supper early?" you offer. Your mother has gone to visit her sister with your younger siblings, and your old man has once more gone off doing God knows what, so it's only the three of you today. "We can save some for Richie for later, that way you don't have to deal with him while eating." And, you add in thought, I can talk to him alone while he eats later.

"Sounds good."

After you've eaten, Chris retreats to his room, while you settle in the living room with your book to wait for your older brother. By the time he finally shows up, it's pitch black outside, and you only have two more chapters to go. It shouldn't have been a surprise, you suppose. He stays out with the Cobras as much as he can, no more eager to be at home than you or Chris. Of course he's making the most of it when there's no adults home to lay in on him for coming home so late — and doing it so loudly, too, letting the door slam shut and stomping around as though it isn't almost midnight.

You slip a bookmark between the pages and stand up, blocking Eyeball's path with your hands on your hips. "Hey, Rich," you greet, knowing the conversation will go better if you're nice to him, at least to start with. "I saved you supper, but I guess you already ate with the boys?"

"Yeah. Why the fuck are you still up? Don't you have a bedtime or something?"

"I'm not a fucking baby! And even if I had a bedtime, there's no one home to enforce it."

Technically, that would be Richie's job. Your mother had told him to look after you and Chris before she drove off to her sister's place, but you think deep down she knew as well as you and your brothers that he would do no such thing.

Eyeball shrugs and tries to walk past you to his room, but you don't let him.

"You guys had fun today?"

"Uh, yeah." He sounds confused, like he knows something is up but can't figure out what it could possibly be. "You?"

You nod, smiling up at him in a way you know he can tell is fake. "I was having a great day, right until Chris came home and told me you pushed him in front of a car."

His eyes widen as he realizes what the matter is, and he quickly tries to calm you. "Look, I don't know what he told you, but it wasn't like th—"

"Don't bullshit me, Richard." For anyone else, talking to Eyeball like that would mean risking a broken arm or worse, but you're the only one of your siblings he actually likes, the only one whose opinion he cares about, and that grants you certain privileges — like calling him out when he's being an ass, without repercussions. "What would you have done if Chris had actually gotten hit by a car because of you, huh?"

"There wasn't any danger of that happening, honest! And the little shit—"

"Don't you fucking dare put the blame on him. He was just hanging out with his friends, you and those fucking Cobras are the ones who always go around picking on people!"

"That's not—"

"Shut up! I'm not saying you have to act like the best of friends with Chris, just— just don't be such an ass all the time! Sometimes I swear you're just like dad with the way you treat him!"

You know that comparison stings. None of you can stand your father, and you know that despite the way Eyeball pretends not to care, turning out like him is the last thing he wants. He opens his mouth, closes it again, crosses his arms and leans against the wall, clearly shocked at your outburst. While you've never been afraid to talk back to him, you're not one to raise your voice at anyone, let alone him.

You can see the fight on his face. Should he deny your accusation, try to convince you otherwise? Should he pretend to be sorry for what he did to get back on your good side? In the end, he just stays silent.

You're not sure if he even understands that his behavior is wrong, but he definitely understands that it makes you upset, and you know he doesn't like upsetting you. So you do the only thing you can, and make the situation about yourself. "Please, Richie. I don't like when you're like that. I'm not even asking you to be nice to him, just— ignore him, okay? I know you can't do anything about what Ace and the others do when they see him and his friends, but please don't go out of your way to be mean to him. Please, for me."

Eyeball nods. "Fine. I'll try."

"Promise?"

"Promise," he agrees after a second of hesitation, and you breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe things will get better for Chris now, at least a little.