Stand By Us [discontinued]

Chapter 6: Chopper, Sic Balls! (Teddy)

The trip to Quidaciolu's was, in short, uneventful. Just a quick sibling outing that only got awkward when Mr. Quidaciolu mentioned your brother. He asked whether or not Gordie played football, like Denny. He shook his head in a no gesture, and we moved on. After picking up the four sodas and the hamburger meat, we were on our way back to our group of friends.

About 5 minutes had passed, when Gordie turned to you. You looked back up at him in a way that asked him what was wrong.

He seemed to take a minute to find the right words and eventually asked, "Do you like Chris?"

You weren't expecting this question, and visibly stumbled at the sock of the question. You felt your face grow red in a blush as you replied.

"No"

He didn't seem at all shocked at your answer, as if he had been expecting it.

(From now on, this is for Teddy. If you chose Chris, go to the previous chapter. I know it's kind of confusing but you'll get the hang of it in a few chapters.)

He nodded in response.

"I get it," he said, "Teddy's going to be pumped up, though."

He said that last part too quiet for you to hear, but before you could ask what he said, you had arrived back at the Junkyard.

You both slowly walked to the spot where your friends had been, only to find it empty. Gordie looked at you confused, and you simply shrugged. As the two of you walked further into the junkyard, you spotted the others just reaching the top of the fence, escaping what would come in but a moment.

Now out in the open, you were in Milo's line of sight. He had recently returned and was now working on a car. Suddenly you hear the gravel of the yard crunching under angry footsteps.

"Hey! Hey, you kids! Get over here!"

The junk man called out to you and your brother while walking at an alarming speed. He looked ready to murder.

Like any person with common sense would do, the two of you took off running with Milo chasing after you. It was quite a sight to see. The two of you gracelessly and unceremoniously screeching in panic while running away from an overweight junkyard man.

It would have been much calmer if you hadn't heard what Milo yelled next,

"Goddammit get back 'ere or I'll sick my dog on ya!"

Your friends at the fence yelled for the two of you to speed up, but were ultimately useless in helping you reach the fence.

All of a sudden, underneath the yelling and panting, there was a ferocious command.

"Chopper! Sic 'em! Sic 'em Boy!"

Now he said, "sic 'em boy," but what Goride heard was 'Chopper, sic balls"

Your brother burst out in a scream and pushed himself to run even faster. The two of you hit the gate with such a force, that it almost knocked Vern over. You climbed as fast as you could, not once looking back until you were over the fence.

You flopped to the ground and Teddy and Chris came rushing over to help you up. Teddy reached you first, and gently grasped your hands. He lifted you to your feet, and kissed your knuckles. 

"My lady" Teddy joked, pretending you were a princess.

You played along, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"My knight."

He blushed, as did you, and he shot a glace over to Chris. He was smiling at the two of you, but it looked pained and sad. 

Teddy mouthed something to Chris, just as Chopper finally reached the fence you were safely behind.

Chopper was your first lesson in the vast difference between myth and reality. There, digging at the ground trying to get after you guys was the cutest golden retriever. He was one of the least threatening things you had ever seen. The boys around you whooped with laughter as your brother wheezed "That's Chopper?

We all laughed as Teddy teased the poor dog over and over, with chants of

"Kiss my ass, Choppy, kiss my ass"

He pressed his butt up against the fence and Chopper bit his shirt through it. Teddy, of course, was just fine...for now.

All of your fun was ruined when Milo run up to the fence as well. The smiles were wiped right off of your faces as he said

"Hey kids! Stop teasin' that dog, y'hear me? Stop teasin' that dog!"

He scolded you all until he was insulted over and over by Teddy. He never knew when to stop, but the Junkyard owner took it a mile too far by insulting Teddy's father.

There was a silence that fell over the group as the blond boy went silent.

"My father stormed the beach at Normandy," Teddy said, almost too quiet to hear.

Milo continued pushing the young boy,

"He's crazier than a shithouse rat. No wonder you're acting the way you are! With a looney for a father."

"You call my dad looney again, and I'll kill you," Teddy threatened.

You all started getting tense, knowing that Teddy meant what he said. You shuffled forward and put your hand on your best friend's shoulder, trying to calm him down. He seemed to calm down for a moment before tensing back up as Milo chanted,

"Looney-Looney-Looney-Looney!"

Out of nowhere Teddy jumped at the chain link fence with promises to Milo to rip his head off and shit down his neck.

The four of you tried to pull the overwhelmed boy off of the fence, but he was hanging on tight. The two shouted insults and threats at each other until you finally managed to pull Teddy off of the fence. You hauled Teddy off as he cried out

"My father stormed the beach! He stormed the beach you faggot!"