What's up with Love-Stenbrough

----Ch 1

Note: It is best to read in dark mode

Present time

"Happy birthday, Stanly! You're sixteen!" exclaimed Stanly's mom. Stanly smiled and thanked his mom. He made a wish and blew out the candle on his cake. "Here's your gift, sweetie," his mom said, handing him a wrapped present while filming it on her phone. "Oh, Mom, you didn't have to get me anything," Stanly protested. "Nonsense," his mom replied, "everyone needs a gift on their birthday!" Stanly nodded happily and began tearing off the wrapping paper. When he saw the box inside that read "camera," he was thrilled. He hugged his mom and continued to open the box, revealing an expensive and amazing camera. "Wow, Mom, this is perfect!" he exclaimed. His mom chuckled and said, "I know, right?"

Stanly then took his first picture with his mom and finally ate his birthday cake. After that, he goes back to his room and checks his phone only to find many texts from his friends saying happy birthday. Stanly smiled and flopped down to bed answering all of the texts.

Losers .'-

Eds- Happy birthday. Love from me <3

Beverly- Happy birthday Stan. Have a great day

Trashmouth- Happy birthday man, you're sixteen now wow

Ben- You're sixteen now. Happy birthday Stan <333

Mike- Have an amazing birthday Stan, we all love you!

Thank you, love all of you too - Stanly

Stanly was lying down in his bed and placed his phone beside him. He picked up his new camera and began examining it. "This camera will be perfect to take some pictures in the forest," he whispered to himself. It had been four years since his father died, and Stanly had not gone to the forest since then. He was in the grieving stage and his hobbies didn't matter much to him during that period. However, he now feels better and is excited to go to the forest to take some pictures by himself. Stanly then placed the camera back on his nightstand and decided to spend the afternoon playing puzzles, as he usually does.

Finally, in the evening he walked downstairs and met with his mom who was watching the television while lazing out on the couch. "Hey Mom could I go and take some pictures in the forest, I want to try my new camera", Stanly's mom looked at him surprised. "It's been like forever since you stepped your foot in that forest, you really want to go there?", Stanly's mom asked him again. "Yes could I go?", Stanly asked his mom again for permission. "Of course, come back before dinner okay". "Yes, Mom". Stanly walked out of the house and approached his car on the driveway. He opens the car door sits in the driver seat and gets a hold of his steering wheel. He continues to put his seat belt on and sighs. "Let's go Stanly Uris". Stanly then started the car and drove away from his house to the direction of the forest. On the road he listens to the radio, it's just a piece of boring weather news and some shit songs but Stanly let it flow. He then opened the car window and enjoyed the wind brushing his curls and his face. The hot summer breeze is making Stanly feel more alive than before.

After arriving at the forest of Derry, Stanly parked his car on a muddy road. He stepped out, camera in hand, and gazed around the tranquil forest. Memories from his past came flooding back to him - he used to visit this place frequently with his dad on weekends.

Stanly took a stroll around, taking pictures of the beautiful pine trees and the squirrels he spotted. He then noticed a woodpecker and captured a picture of the stunning bird. Surprisingly, he found himself thoroughly enjoying his time in the forest and decided to venture deeper into the woods.

He took some more pictures and he stopped at a lake with clear water. He then checked all of the pictures that he had taken and smiled at all of them because they looked good to him. Suddenly he heard a voice "Careful to not lose your way back", Stanly's eyes widened and he started to look around from where he was standing trying to find the source of the voice. Stanly spotted something weird behind the pine forest trees right on his left.

He sees the shadow of a boy his age looking directly at him, and he gets scared he quickly covers his eyes hoping that the shadow is gone, but when he opens his eyes again the shadow is still there and he decides to back off and start to walk to get out of the forest. Stanly then remembers something, he remembers when he was six years old, he spotted the same thing in the forest and got scared too. He thinks that it's really weird and scary but now his focus is to get out of the forest. He tries to walk in the same mud path out of panic and he can't seem to find his way back. "Umm left or right", Stanly question himself and he can't seem to answer his own question.

"Right," the voice commanded out of nowhere. Stanley looked around, feeling puzzled. However, he made a firm decision to follow the voice, determined not to make any foolish choices. He continued his walk and eventually spotted his car in the distance. Without hesitation, he marched towards it with a sense of purpose and relief.

Stanly drove back home after his walk in the forest. He parked his car in the driveway and walked inside his house, ignoring his mom calling out his name. Stanly went to his room and shut the door silently. He felt strange and uneasy, as if someone had been watching him since he left the forest. He couldn't shake off the feelings, but he decided to ignore them. He picked up his telephone and called Eddie, hoping he could talk to him for the rest of the evening.

Stanly inserted Eddie's house number and waited for someone to answer the phone. "Hello, Sonya Kaspbrak here. Who's this?" a voice said from the other side of the line. "Hello, Ms. K, this is Stanly. Is Eddie available?" Stanly waited for a reply. "Oh, Stanly! Yes, Eddie is here. Eddie!" Ms. K called her son. "Hey, Stan, what's up!" Eddie's voice came from the other end of the line.

To be continued

01/04/2024