youngblood // p. hockstetter // 0.1

//twenty

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Henry skipped school on Friday in preparation for his party, and also because his dad had left town late Thursday night.

Sat in front Gretta's vanity, Rosemary for the first time since her arrival in Derry felt genuinely nervous. She stared at the powder brush in her hand, slightly annoyed that the nude tones weren't some vivid or primary colour. "You excited?" Gretta asked, sitting on the edge of her bed beside the outfit Rosemary had brought.

"Yeah, it should be fun"

"You drinking?"

Rosemary scoffed, hiding her irritation as she pulled mascara and lipstick from the make-up bag beside her. "Of course not, do I look like the sort of person to drink?" Gretta shrugged.

"Yeah, but you also don't look like the kind of person to hang around Henry Bowers" Rosemary grinned, pulling the dark nude lipstick away for a moment as she grinned.

"True" Slicking her lips entirely, she held her hand and leant forward as she tried to do the arch of her cupid's bow as perfectly as she could. "You sure you don't wanna go?"

"No thank you" Gretta stood, moving behind Rosemary's chair to play with her hair. "I see enough of that psycho when he's chasing after Denbrough's gang"

That name for some odd reason stuck to her and as she leaned forward to do her mascara, she glanced at Gretta. "Whose Denbrough? It sounds familiar, have you mentioned him before?"

"You remember how I was saying that trafficker's been around for a few months? The kid Denbrough's little brother was the first to be taken" Rosemary stopped, looking at Gretta from the mirror in false sadness. "He wasn't that old, 7 or 8 I think? They found his rain hat near a drain pipe not far from the house"

"That's horrible. Have there been any leads?" Gretta shook her head. "I don't really read the paper or anything, how many children are missing?"

"I think since the beginning of Spring about..." She bit her lip as Rosemary finished curling her eye lashes. Taking an extremely small brush, she dabbed it lightly into Gretta's make-up and smudged the lightest shade of blue along the corner of her eye. Just enough to be noticed, and hopefully not enough to anger her brother. "....I think about... 13 kids maybe?" Gretta sighed, turning away to face Rosemary's outfit on the bed.

They where silent, Rosemary putting the smallest shimmer of dark navy at the end of her eyes before staring at her work, satisfied. Standing from the chair, she moved beside Gretta and bumped her slightly, prompting her to turn and stare at themselves in the mirror. Staring at herself in the mirror, Rosemary smirked slightly and posed playfully, memories of New York flashing through her mind blissfully.

"Woah" Gretta stated in shock at Rosemary's natural posing. "You look, like, hot" Standing, Rosemary played with her hair in an attempt to give it volume before turning to Gretta sweetly. "Quickly! Your brother's gonna be here soon, you need to get dressed"

By the time Jude had pulled up to the Keene's house, Rosemary was walking down the stairs beside Gretta, fully done up and smelling like her best perfume. His hair pushed back and curling around his ears, Jude wore an NBA jersey with his usual jeans and nearly destroyed Doc Martens. Leaning against his running car, he was smoking when Rosemary finally walked out.

For a moment he stopped breathing. Denim shorts and a black crop top that showed off her toned legs and stomach, black converse and one of his own green and black flannel shirts open and rolled at the sleeves. He almost dropped the cigarette between his teeth when she jogged to meet him.

"Hey-!"

"What are you wearing?" In an instant her smile dropped and she was silent, staring at the ground as she played with the edge of the shirt.

"Party clothes...?"

"Wha-" He grabbed at the short necklace hanging around her neck, where a ruby, gummy bear shaped charm hung cutely. "What is this shit? Would you have worn this if I wasn't coming? If you think this is okay to be dressed like around boys when I'm not around-"

He complained, berating her for her outfit until she finally let out a frustrated groan of anger, smacking her hands at her sides, "Jude can we please just go?!" He fell silent.

Eyes narrowed, Jude ran a hand through his hair as he moved away from her door. "Whatever" Already the sky was darkening considerably, washing the sky in hues of purple and magenta. "Careful of your feet"

Two dozen cans of alcohol lay in front of her along with a half-filled bottle of vodka. "I thought you were supposed to be chaperoning me tonight?" Rosemary asked, her voice rising in anger as she buckled herself in. "And how wasted are you planning on getting if you're driving me home?!" He said nothing and she bumped his shoulder harshly and he grunted. "Jude, answer me!"

He shot the car forward slightly, the tyres screeching lightly on the road as he raced forward and around the corner of West Broadway onto Witcham Street before promptly stopping. Lurching out he caught his hand around her forearm, yanking her towards his seat so her ribcage was painfully wedged into the centre console.

He stared her down, his face inches from hers. "Do not get fresh with me Rosemary. Remember who's in charge here" She swallowed slightly, letting herself look fearful and slightly scared. "A friend of mine is picking us up between 1:30 and 2" Releasing her arm, he clutched the steering wheel and she silently played with her fingers atop her thighs, running her thumb over the dark teal polish. Jude stared at her legs for a moment, his grip tightening before he looked at her sincerely, his voice sweet. "You look good Ro"

She smiled despite the prominent aching of her arm, "Thank you. I like your jersey"

Jude grinned, his face lighting up considerably as he looked down. "Thanks, it's one of the only things she bought me so..." He shrugged, "I don't know, I like to wear it"

They continued driving down in silence, the sun gradually slipping lower though Rosemary knew the sky would remain light for another hour at least. She was surprised, not only by the distance of Henry's house from the rest of the town, but also that he apparently lived in a rather large farmhouse.

As they casually drove down the road leading to his house, they passed several other farm like houses, the most notable being a rather large, beaten down house surrounded by a white, broken fence. A large swastika was covered into the front of the gate and a dog barked viciously at their car as they drove past. "Damn" Jude chuckled as he eyed the gate. "They're subtle"

They knew they'd arrived when Rosemary saw the balloons.

Big, vivid red ones tied to Henry's mailbox that gently bumped into each other as the breeze wafted down the street. The wind picked up Rosemary's hair as she lent on the window. Pulling into the driveway, there where half a dozen other cars splayed around the property with several surrounding the make-shift bonfire further into the property. "Put the vodka under your chair" Rosemary listened to him, obediently putting the bottle beneath her seat. Parking beneath a large, looming tree, Jude ran his fingers through his hair anxiously, slipping a cigarette between his teeth. "You ready?" He asked, glancing at the other cars.

"Yeah" Rosemary smiled, reapplying her nude lipstick as Jude slid out of the car. Grabbing one of the cartons at her feet, Jude quickly opened her car door for her and she stepped out, smiling as the wind cooled her rosy cheeks.

"This should be fun"
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