youngblood // p. hockstetter // 0.1

//two

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You couldn't tell she was the new girl from the way she carried herself, but in a town as small as Derry you could recognise a face a mile away. And no one in town knew her face.

When Gretta Keene arrived at the Fennler's house at 7:45 the next morning, Rosemary stood by the gate of the fence whilst her brother sat in his car several metres away from her on the street, yelling at her from the driver's seat. "C'mon Ro!"

Rosemary turned to her brother solemnly, "Nate said that we're walking, so I'm walking. And I think you should to"

"Since when have you listened to anything that fuckhead says?!"

"Jude! Language!" There was a calming respectfulness behind Rosemary's arguing in comparison to Jude's. It was like watching a young girl reason with an aggressive, fully grown man. There was a plead for reason with the smallest sliver of fear. "We talked about this, you said you'd give Derry a chance!"

Jude looked forward and closed his eyes, his grip on the wheel tightening considerably as he breathed heavily through his nostrils. "Ro, get in the car. Now"

"Jude, I am not getting in the car. I'd like to walk with Gretta"

"Who the fuck is Gretta?"

As if on cue, Miss.Keane came jogging up the path, her backpack bouncing against her lower back obnoxiously as she stopped in front of Rosemary. While Gretta had opted for her short denim overalls on the warmer than average spring day, Rosemary was dressed in yet another baby doll dress, her pale yellow hair in two small buns on either side of her hair.

"Hey Rosemary!" She grinned, slightly out of breathe. "Am I late?"

"You're right on time" Taking her hand, Rosemary began walking down Kansas Street with Gretta in tow. "I'll see you at lunch Jude!" She carelessly yelled into the wind, not really caring whether he heard her or not. He yelled something incoherent back and Rosemary quickened her pace, "Quickly!" She giggled and the sound to Gretta reminded her of a child. They quickly made it down Kansas and stopped when they hit the corner that turned onto Costello Avenue.

"What was that all about?" Gretta asked, hunching forward as she tried to stop the erratic gasping of her lungs.

"Two things-" Rosemary took a deep breath. "Two things you should know about my brother. One-" She held up a finger, "Don't ignore what he says, and two-" She held up another finger before coughing slightly. "-don't tell him what to do. He's annoyed because I didn't want to drive with him" Gretta suddenly felt incredibly guilty, if she hasn't said she'd walk at such an ungodly hour then Jude wouldn't be made with her. "Where are we?"

Glancing upwards, Gretta coughed. "Well, if that's the bridge, then after we cross that well be nearing Costello Avenue, then we go up the hill"

Rosemary listened to exactly what Gretta said and as the pair walked across the bridge and further into town, she seemed unable to contain her energy. She jumped and skipped around Gretta with energy Gretta rarely saw so early in the morning. "I'm so excited! My first day at my new school"

Gretta smiled in the way a parent may smile at their child. "Yeah, but stick with me during the morning and lunch, we don't want use mixing in with the wrong sort of crowd"

Rosemary stopped, looking at Gretta in confusion. "Wrong sort of crowd?" Her eyes widened and she moved closer, staring at Greta with wide eyes. "You mean sinners?" She whispered, clutching her bag closely to her chest.

"Uh, yeah? Some of them are probably sinners..." Rosemary placed a delicate hand on her mouth, staring at the ground in thoughtful surprise before muttering a small prayer and holding her cross. "But, not everyone at schools are sinners..." Gretta was taken aback by her surprise, but more so confused. She herself was in no way religious, what classified as sinning?

"It's alright" Rosemary kissed her cross gently before looking at Gretta. "The Lord forgives. Even the most hateful and wicked people can be saved if they are faithful"

"Really?"

"Really" She skipped forward, the white lace on her dress shining in the early morning sunlight. "So what's down Costello Avenue?"

They'd reached the corner of Kansas and Costello, the markets looming before them. In a few short hours they'd be alive with activity, but for now they was barely a murmur as people silently prepared their stalls. "That's the market, and if you go down Costello you'll eventually get to the Elementary School or the Church" Rosemary looked down the street with obvious excitement. "I can take you after school if you like? I don't think the Church will be open at this time?"

"Not open? That's odd. But thank you, I'd love to see it after school"

Continuing down Kansas Street, Gretta continued to point out various things around town which Rosemary listened to with child-like enthusiasm. She very much wanted to see the baseball field behind the Tracker Brothers Warehouse, as well as the parks and public library. "If you come down here...." She turned left after they arrived at the library. "This is how I get to school. When we get to Canal Street, we'll go through Bassey Park and across the bridge to school"

As they walked, Rosemary was incredibly quiet, her head moving silently to look at various walls and posts around the street. "There are a lot of missing kids posters..."

Gretta cleared her throat. "Yeah, police are saying it might be a trafficker or something? I don't know, but I think they're going to be putting a curfew in pretty soon with how much shit is happening at night" Gretta quickly noticed how Rosemary cringed away when she swore. "Sorry"

"It's fine" They walked silently, a few stray kids walking in the same direction casting them looks as they stared, transfixed on Rosemary's energetic form. "I think I'm going to like it here Gretta"

Gretta smiled at her as they walked through Bassey Park. "That's good"

"Even though bad stuff is happening, the town feels...snugger? Everything is close together and protecting each other. It's much nicer then my last home" Quite suddenly, she turned to face Gretta only a step or two away from the Kissing Bridge. Placing her bag on the ground, she took Gretta's hands and held them gently. "I'm happy I've made such an amazing friend so quickly. You didn't have to walk with me, but you did anyway" Rosemary looked at the ground and giggled. "I promise that I won't get up this early regularly if you wanted to walk together?" Gretta giggled.

"I'd like that" Gretta stared, feeling as though she just had to appreciate Rosemary's presence before her. She'd never met someone within Derry so naturally kind-hearted and pure. "You wanna head to school?"

Without another word, Rosemary picked up her bag and begun towing Gretta excitedly across the bridge. Behind her, Rosenary couldn't see the smile that she knew was on her face.

In front of her, Gretta couldn't see the slight smirk that graced Rosemary's beautiful face. She was smirking because she knew she had her. She'd gotten Gretta; hook, line, and sinker.

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