Identify Normal | Stand By Me

Eyeball?

Hiya! No time to waste, so let's get this show on the road!

Chapter 7

Sadie's Pov

To say the least I was uneasy, not because I was surrounded by hooligans...but that I was no longer one of them myself. I was void of the moxy I had remembered, and it was obvious that they knew something was off as well. I was sitting in a run down convertible with John, well Ace, behind the wheel and Richie having an arm over my shoulder. We were zooming through the neighborhood, and only stopped at one stop sign in order to yell over to another car. Ace looked at me, then to the other driver.

"Fuzzy, grab the others and head to the diner." The other driver nodded, and we continued on.

"Fuzzy?" I giggled. "What kind of name is that?" I asked, craning my head up to Richie.

"Oh, you don't wanna know." He answered, shaking his head and pulling out a cigarette. "Some things are better left unsaid."

"Damn straight." John murmured, and we continued on. I couldn't take my eyes off him; he'd grown so much over the years. His arms were tan and his cheeks red. His eyes grew more intense, and he held even more power than before. My Johnny was now a man, and a man with a danger about him. As if all of my spunk had transferred to him, he seemed almost unstoppable sitting behind the wheel.

The diner was still powder blue on the inside, and smelled of grease and malts. It was better than any McDonalds could be though, and I'd forgotten just how tasty the food was until I bit down into a burger. I hadn't eaten something as tasty in what seemed to be forever. So I sat, squished between John and Richie in a booth. Across from me sat one grown Billy Tessio, Charlie Hogan, and that Fuzzy kid...and I'll be damned if I didn't say they had grown to be quite the cuties.

I was too engrossed in my burger to care about their petty talk of booze and smokes...that is, until a waitress with too big of tits and a too little shirt came strutting up to our table.

"Can I get you anything else, Ace?" she spoke sweetly, batting her eyelashes and bending over the table so I could get a full view of her bust. Gross. Like, if my burger weren't nearly as good as it was I would've puked.

"Beth, I got all I need." John said snidely, adjusting his arm over my shoulder. Beth noticed and sent me a look that could kill.

"Well," she began, "how about you boys?"She asked, just as sweetly, and they happily gave her orders of more food and even a compliment or two thrown in the mix.

"Well aren't you a charmer." I joked, whispering to John. He grinned and looked down to me.

"You have no idea, Miss Sadie." And with that he pulled me closer to him, enveloping me in his cologne and smoky smell.

"Miss?" I snickered, and his eyes met mine. "More like professional trouble maker, Mr. Merrill." And we both grinned.

"We'll have to test that out." He concluded, sitting back. Beth was still there, clearing plates and sending me another glare. She tipped over a malt on accident, and it splashed all over the table, Richie, and me.

"Fuck." We said simultaneously, and looked at each other.

"I'm...so sorry." Beth murmured and hurried off.

"Here, go clean up." John said, letting the two of us out of the booth. Scurrying to the bathroom, my clean shirt was now drenched in chocolate malt. I tried to scrub out as much as I could, but was quickly interrupted when someone grabbed my shoulder and span me around.

"Who do you think you are, ya lil harpy!" A shrill voice spat at me, and none other than Beth had said it. "I've been working my butt off for Ace to notice me for months, and I'm not going to let some little reject steal my chances away from me. I've had dibs on him since we were kids, so leave him the fuck alone. He won't want someone like you. At least I'm pretty; you look like you belong in a garbage bin." She finished icily, clawing into my arm. I snarled at her.

"Since kids, huh? Some little reject, huh? I'm Sadie Chambers. You can go running back to Billy for all I care, like when we are kids. You don't fuck around with me. No one fucks around with me. I may not be bimbo gal pal material, hun, but at least I don't need that to get the attention." I was louder and louder, and pushed her away from me.

"Like you'd get any attention." She scoffed. The bathroom door sprung open and Richie hurried to me, throwing an arm over my shoulder and turning me away.

"It's not like I'm asking for any." I scoffed.

"You're a has-been." She spoke again. "Ace only likes pretty girls." I froze. "No one will want a whore like you. You're trash." Richie tried to move me, but I wouldn't budge.

"A whore like me." I repeated slowly.

"Sadie, she's not worth it." Richard whispered.

"Fuck you." I whispered back. "At least let me stand up for myself."

"It'll cause more problems."

"More?" I stared at him.

"What's the problem here?" A new voice entered. Ace stood at the door with a quizzical look, and Beth rushed over to him.

"Oh, she's so mean to me. Make her stop! She threatened to hurt me, Ace. Make her stop!" She cried, throwing her arms around him. He looked to Richie, then to me, and smirked.

"Is that so? She's a tiger." He finished, and grinned at me.

"GET OUT." Another voice entered, and a short and square man red in the face ushered us out of the diner.

We found ourselves on the road again, to a less populated hang out joint, and I found my energy returning. If a good hissy fit is what I needed to get my attitude up, then so be it. Doesn't mean that her words didn't sting though. And the entire ride to where we were going I couldn't shake the fact that some of them were true.

"Don't let her get to you, doll face," Richie soothed, pulling me closer.

"Yeah, yeah." I fake whined, trying to get away from him.

"What're you doin' to her, Eyeball?" John laughed, looking over to us.

"Eyeball?" I questioned. They grew quiet.

"Eyeball." Richie confirmed after a moment, and he closed one eye. It was all scarred and battered up...I suppose I wasn't the only one with a secret to hide.

Love you guys, and I hope you've enjoyed! Let me know what you think. Much love, Crimsonsky132