A/N: Hey guys! I wanted to start a new story, and…stuff. So this is chapter 1, of course…..god, there isn't really anything to say for the first chapter, so yeah. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own it, not mine, wish it was, but it's not, only the plot and the sisters are mine. Not Chris Chambers…damnit.
"How do you know a Frenchmen's been in your backyard?" Chris Chambers questioned.
"Hey, I'm French, ok?" Teddy Duchamp replied, annoyed.
"Your garbage cans are empty and your dog is pregnant," Chris answered for himself, and after a quick moment of silence, he burst into laughter with his best friend Gordie Lachance, who was sitting at his left side.
"Didn't I just say I was French?" Teddy asked, like his two friends were stupid.
Chris rolled his eyes. "I knock. 29."
"22."
"Piss up a rope!" Gordie shouted, and threw his cards down onto the box table with defeat.
Now, it was Teddy's turn to laugh. That awful, cheap, but hysterical laugh.
"Ehehehee! Gordie's out! Ole Gordie just bit the bag and stepped out the door! Eheheheehee-"
"Come on man, deal," Chris ordered.
While Teddy began to deal, several complicated forms of knocking issued from below on the door to the treehouse.
"Who's there?" Gordie called out.
"General Andy Suther, at your humble service!" a girl's southern voice came.
"Pssh, more like the soldiers' nurse," Teddy let out.
"Yeah, and your dream of me taking care of you on the battle field faded when Gordie confessed his undying love to you, and you turned gay," the girl countered.
"HEY!" Gordie and Teddy shouted in unison, and Chris cackled evilly.
The girl climbed up into the treehouse, sat down next to Gordie and smirked.
"Not my fault you're different."
"Andrica, you are such a slippery devil."
"Theodore, shut your fucking mouth."
Gordie smiled brightly at the girl next to him.
(Andy's POV)
I'm Andrica Suther, but who the hell would want to be called that? So, Mr. Chambers invented the nickname Andy, and it just sounds so much more like me, so I go by that. I moved from Birmingham, Alabama to Castle Rock, Oregon when I was nine, now I'm thirteen going on fourteen. And I don't think I could have been happier. I was raised up to be the proper southern girl: lacy dresses with large hoops skirts, white dressy shoes, that oh so charming accent, the works. But once I moved, all I've got now is my accent, which mixes beautifully with the curse words that roll off my tongue, or so my boys tell me.
Oh, my boys, how I love them so! The four of them are a year younger than me, but frankly, I don't really give a rat's ass. They are so much better than the guys in my year. Firstly, I think they wanted to hang out with me because I'm the most tomboyish in Castle Rock. I wear ripped up jeans, baggy shirts over tank tops, black converse, and hair in a high ponytail, all of that stuff. The boys think I'm actually very pretty, but I really don't see how. I've got dark auburn colored hair that reaches the middle of my back that I usually wear in a ponytail. I'm pretty physically mature for my age, but definitely not in terms of what's going on inside my head. My eyes are a light, fluttery sort of blue, a soft snowy hue. And, I'm so lanky. God, my role would be "The beanstalk" in Jack and the Beanstalk. You know, that old tale with Jack and the beans and the giant….I wouldn't be the giant because I'm not fat. Then again, I'm not really all that skinny. I'm no Gordie Lachance, that's for sure. That boy is tall, but he's so thin. But hey, he's still cute. Well, what I mean is, Gordie and the rest of the guys are all cute. Girls would be all over them if they weren't so immature. But they're twelve, so, I say live it while you can. And I do that with them. I mean, people look at me and frown, but I don't really care. I'm still a kid, and I'm going to enjoy these years. My friends are like this too, they understand what friendship means. Well….at least Gordie and Chris do. I'm into those types of emotional things. But once I start rambling about my celebrity loves, I get an, "EW!" from Vern, a "Well, umm…wow." from Gordie, a "Good luck with that." from Chris, and of course the "Andy, you lovesick puppy, do you have anything better to do than to confess your stupid undying love for Buddy Holly, who died a couple of years ago? What I'm trying to say, is that you're fucking sick." from Teddy. I love those guys, I really fucking do.
I'm generally a nice girl, I guess. If you piss me off, you can consider yourself another slice of meat hanging in the slaughterhouse. Well…that's not a nice way to put it is it, since Chris is a vegetarian and all. But anyway, yeah, consider yourself dead. The only ones I wouldn't hurt would be the boys. They'd never hurt me, at least not on purpose. My parents are all strict and proper, and I want to get away. But when I think about it, they love me. And it's a shame, because I know I don't deserve the love like Gordie, Chris, and Teddy do. But my sister….oh god. I won't even start.
"I knock," Teddy said.
Chris stared at him with disgust and accused, "You four-eyed pile of shit!"
"A pile of shit has a thousand eyes!" Teddy exclaimed mystically, as if it were something to awe at.
Silence came over them for a minute, but then Gordie, Chris, and Andy snickered loudly.
"Hey, what's so funny? I've got twenty, what have you got?" Teddy shot at Chris.
"Sixteen!" Chris wheezed through his laughter.
Suddenly, more knocks issued from below.
"That's not the secret knock," Gordie said all-knowingly.
"Well I forget the secret knock, let me in!" a voice confessed.
The four looked around at each other with exasperated looks.
"Vern," they all said in unison.
Chris and Teddy lifted up the box table and Vern scrambled up into the treehouse.
"Oh man, you guys are not going to believe this. This is so boss. Wait'll you hear this, wait'll you hear this. You won't believe it. It's unbelievable!" Vern panted quickly, "Let me catch my breath. I ran all the way from my house."
Chris leaned into the other three occupants of the treehouse and started, "I ran all the way home!"
Teddy and Gordie joined in, but Andy stayed out of the trio of horrible singers and rolled her eyes. So immature.
"Fine, I don't have to tell you guys nothing!" Vern dared.
"Alright you guys hold up," Chris ordered, placing his hand out towards the other two boys, "What is it man?"
"Great, you won't believe this, sincerely-"
"I ran all the way home!" the three boys chorused.
"Screw you guys, forget it!"
"What is it?" Chris asked with a laugh.
"Can you guys camp out in my backfield tonight?" Vern asked anxiously.
"I guess so," Chris answered, "But I don't know, my dad's kind of on a mean streak lately…"
Andy looked down at her converse. She wished she could change the way her best friend's father hit him and beat him and drank until he couldn't even lift the beer bottle. Chris was the toughest person she knew, but she also knew that nobody could handle their own father abusing them. Chris always tossed it aside like it was no big deal, but deep down, Andy knew that Chris was always holding back his emotions.
"You've got to man, sincerely!" Vern exclaimed, "I can't believe this, can you Gordie?"
"Yeah, probably," Gordie responded in a bored tone, flipping through a detective magazine.
Again, another person Andy felt sorry for. Her other best friend. She couldn't even begin to comprehend what Gordie had to be feeling, what with his parents ignoring him and his brother Denny dead….Gordie had a rough life that to him seemed like he had to get through it alone. Andy always thought Gordie had a miserable family life.
"So what are you pissing and moaning about Verno?" Teddy asked, tired of waiting.
"I knock," Chris informed.
"WHAT?" Teddy shouted, "You liar, you ain't got no pat hand! You didn't deal yourself no pat hand!"
"Make your draw, shitheap," Chris said and smirked.
"You guys want to go see a dead body?" Vern asked with an odd, somber touch to his voice.
Everyone froze.
Jane Suther broke away from an intense kiss with Ace Merrill.
"God Ace," Jane said breathlessly, placing a hand to her heart.
"That's pretty much what every girl says after I do something with her," Ace replied arrogantly, "Now come on, we're meeting up with Eyeball at Irvy's."
"The pool hall?" Jane asked unbelievably, "Do I have to?"
"Yes, and yes," Ace answered simply and grabbed her arm, "Into the car. Now."
Jane sighed and let Ace drag her into the passenger seat of the car. Ace got into the driver's seat and immediately began to speed down the road. This didn't bother Jane much, as Ace always sped, and she looked out into the town around her.
(Jane's POV)
My name is Jane Suther. I use to be someone. And now I'm not. I'm a senior at Castle Rock High once the summer is over. I'm a girl who dyed her hair blonde from red and now smokes and drinks. But the one thing I'm not anymore is Denny Lachance's girlfriend.
Denny. Dennis. I loved him. He was the man of my dreams, coming to take me away from my proper southern family and heritage, and we would go wherever we wanted. But not anymore. I use to be a perfect girl, with perfect friends, perfect looks, perfect grades, perfect boyfriend. But not anymore.
Now, since Denny Lachance's death, I've chummed around with the Cobras: the most vicious, dangerous, and stupid group of teenage dropouts in Castle Rock. I'm apart of their group, but they didn't want to give me their official ensign: the tattoo of, a cobra, how creative. I've gone from little miss perfect to trailer trash because of my boyfriend's death. Weird how things work that way, huh? But I don't care. I'm happy. My best friends are now Ace Merrill and Eyeball Chambers. They are both so hilarious. And idiotic. But they make me happy. It's like I'm clinging onto them to survive.
The one person who makes me regret this sudden turnaround is my little thirteen year old sister, Andrica (Andy) Suther. She's a good kid pretty much, but a royal pain in the ass. She tries to tell me what's best for myself and others, and it's sweet of her to give advice, and it makes me feel bad, but frankly I don't give a shit. It's a real shame that her best friend is Gordie Lachance, Denny's younger brother, because honestly, Gordie is the one who should have died, not Denny. Gordie doesn't amount to Denny, bottom line.
"Hey you two, finished early with your make out session?" Eyeball Chambers greeted Jane and Ace.
Ace looked at Eyeball and blinked. "Shut the hell up. And yes, we decided to see you since we finished early. Be grateful."
The three strutted into Irvy's Billiards and Jane watched Ace and Eyeball challenge each other.
"Can I play one round?" Jane inquired.
"Try no," Eyeball answered.
"Oh come on, Richard, I could kick your ass to hell and back!" Jane teased.
"Alright, let's see you try!"
"Let's see me try and succeed, you mean," Jane corrected arrogantly.
She was just about to shoot a perfect Q ball when Ace's voice distracted her.
"Well, well, well, look who's walking down the street in our territory!"
Jane turned her head towards the window. Strolling along the sidewalk was Gordie Lachance and Chris Chambers.
"Perfect," Eyeball commented with a wide smirk.