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"you should walk away with me, in your heart and keep me in your mind."
JUNE 26, 1989. 2:11 AM. DERRY, MAINE ________________________________ dellas pov:
i dreamt of stanley uris that night. we held hands as we walked to the quarry. he told me i was pretty, and then jumped off. i woke up after, sweating and heavy breathing as if it was a nightmare. i was jittery, wound up like a kids christmas toy, ready to pop any moment. i didn't quite know why he had the affect. but, it felt nice. i felt like i liked him.
i decided to go to derry library that morning after i woke up. i put on a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt. i laced my shoes up real tight in case i met face with henry bowers. hell knows he'd be looking for trouble. i didn't understand why bowers acted like such a twisted soul, he was an asshole to half of the town and a bully to the other. even parents couldn't stand that god forsaken bowers kid, or even his friends. i heard one of his friends would freeze animals, but that was another secret the town never talked about. but again, i didn't wanna think too much about it. waving goodbye to mama, i left.
i walked slow, not in a big hurry to my destination. i counted how many cracks there were, and changed the words so i would be breaking gretta's back. it still hadn't come to me that i was friendless, or if she even considered us friends. i hated that gretta, but that didn't mean i wanted to be alone.
i approached the entrance doors soon enough, and hurried to my business. i didn't know what i wanted to read, i just knew i wanted to. books lined the walls, and shelf's in the middle offered more selections. there wasn't too many people there, a few elders, and one boy.
i didn't know him very well, and perhaps if yesterday didn't happen, i wouldn't have tried to. but it was summer, and even if it meant being in a library with the boy they called "haystack," i wasn't intending on spending it alone.
"hey there." i smiled, pulling up a chair to him. "you're ben, right? i don't think we had classes together, but im smart enough to know your name." i teased. ben was in advanced classes. i only knew that because i was in period 6 advanced english, he was in the other class, and id see him before he left. he would walk alone, and walk fast. 1,2,3 he stepped. never 1,2 like everyone else. he clearly walked fast and probably for a reason. everyone knew he was bullied.
his flash flushed a deep red color, deeper than the hair on his head. i laughed, and waited for his reply. "y-yeah. im new. you're della?" i shook my head, telling him he got it right. he looked nervous, too nervous for my liking.
"what are you reading?" i ask, peeking over at his books.
"DERRY HISTORY. V1."
i smiled even wider than before. "volume two is better. have you reached the easter bombing?" i scooped the book up, walking away and whispering a slight come on. we made our way down a couple stairs, and sat third row from the bottom. ben shook his head at my previous question.
"no, what happened?" he asked. i sighed, pulling up the page that read 172. easter bombing of 1879 was written in big letters. "the whole town had a egg hunt for the kids, while they were looking, some asshole set off a bomb. killed twenty, if im not mistaken. twelve of them kids." the hairs on my body raises, and little bumps appeared under the hair.
ben's lips were parted open, and a "woah" fell out. i nodded, handing the book back to him. "but, that was centuries ago. im sure there's no ghost eggs around here." i cracked a smile, and then laughed. ben looked at the pages for a while, not responding to me. i cleared my throat.
"i should uh, go. can't let you have all the fun reading," i joked. "have fun learning about derry, egg boy."
and with that, i got up and left. i found a book, checked it out, and read until he left. we looked at each other, nodded heads, and he walked out.
two or three minutes later, i decided to, too. and that's when i saw henry and his friends. he was going after ben. all he ever talked about was "beating that fat ass" after he failed finals because ben wouldn't give him the answers. it was funny then, but it broke my heart now. ben was sweet, and henry thought he was gay because of that. people teased, but never enough for the teachers to say something.
i watched as henry cornered ben, laughing and pushing him. my anger grew, but i didn't want my fat ass to be beat, i already knew what i had coming to me. but my legs moved too fast for my brain and i couldn't stop myself from yelling at what seemed to be my death wish.
"hey asshole. haven't we had this conversation before?" henry's head whipped around fast. in that moment, i wouldn't be surprised if he someone bombed that easter. if he had a time machine and did it over and over again. he looked angry, and i seemed to miss the knife in his hand, and the blood running down ben's fat stomach. i breathed in deeply, before gulping and looking at bowers in the eyes.
"leave him alone. you probably would have failed that stupid examine if he gave you the answers anyways. bubbles would be too hard for a dumbass like you to fill in." i spat.
"im gonna beat, too." he laughed. "let me finish chubby bunny before i do. i need to improve my carving before i do it on your ass." his friend grabbed me, and soon i was placed next to ben, squirming and spitting everywhere i could. "i can ruin you, bowers!" i shout, he didn't know i ruined my friendship with gretta, and thank god he didn't. he stopped for one second, and ben took the opportunity to kick henry in the lower stomach. i looked in horror.
he was brave for doing that, sure as hell. he looked like a superhero, somehow joker being henry and him wearing the bat costume. i had to make a decision in that moment. i could follow ben, or get beat 2x to make up for the loss. kicking the unknown in the groin, i fell back and we both ran fast.
we splashed through water, and tripped over each other a few times. "we're near the barrons," i screamed, "we can hide in a sewer, im sure they won't look-"
and then i fell, and heard another voice talk.
"what the hell was that?"
looking up, i saw stan uris. but i couldn't see much with the sun in my face. he bent down and offered a hand. "how come whenever we meet, someone is on the ground?"
