derry, maine | it imagines ✔️

24. forest trail - bill denbrough

Requested?:
Yes: [✔️] ; by @AstralAllie
No: []

Song?: No

Throwing one last pinch of seed to the chickens, Allie walked out of the coop, closing the gate behind her. She laughed quietly at the sounds of the birds scrambling to get the last bits of food, and headed back toward her aunt's farmhouse.

Allie lived with her aunt on their farm, on the south part of Derry. Their nearest neighbors were the Hanlon's who lived about ten miles to the east. Allie liked working on the farm, taking care of the animals, and spending time in the fresh air that surrounded it. The chores were hard work, but they were worth it.

Adjusting the glasses on her face, Allie walked into the house, wiping her feet before doing so. She turned into the kitchen, where her aunt was chopping vegetables. The woman looked up from her cutting and gave the girl a smile.

It wasn't hard to see the resemblance between Allie and her aunt. They both had dark brown eyes that twinkled in the light, and bright smiles that lit up a room. Tan skin was a trait in the family, and it found its way to both of them naturally. Their hair was the same, curly and the color of dark chocolate, but her aunt kept hers in a bob-style, while Allie let hers grow about mid-length.

"Hi, Auntie," she greeted, giving the woman a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, Allie," she replied, scooping the vegetables into a bowl. "Did you do all your chores?" The girl nodded, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge and taking a sip. "Would you take Darling for a ride to exercise her, while I finish cooking?"

Allie smiled. "Of course!" She left the house and walked to the barn, stopping at the pen. "Darling, you wanna go for a ride?" Darling was her aunt's horse. She was a simple brown horse, with a white star between her ears. Her mane and tail were black, and both had small braids in it. She gave a whinny, and a huff, causing Allie to laugh. "Okay, okay."

In less than ten minutes, the girl had the horse saddled and ready for a ride. Pulling herself up and throwing her leg over Darling's back, Allie gave the horse a light tap with the reins, signaling a slow walk. She led the horse out of the pen, and began the ride towards the forest.

When she reached the tree line, she spotted the trail she had found a few days before. Darling began down it, and Allie sped her into a trot, still not very fast. Allie and her aunt usually didn't have Darling gallop unless there was a good reason; they didn't like to tire her out, seeing as she was their only horse.

The trees had been painted with autumn, the warm colors decorating the leaves as they fell one by one onto the ground. Allie liked the calmness of the forest during this time, or anytime really. No one usually ventured far enough through the trees to reach the farm, so it was peaceful and quiet. It soothed Allie, and she breathed deeply, savoring every moment. She didn't mind people, but she was shy and was more comfortable around animals than others, considering she got nervous in social situations.

The path came to a slight curve and Darling took it perfectly. However, she quickly jolted to a stop, rearing up. "Darling! What are you doing?" Allie cried, gripping the reins. She jumped off the saddle, calming the horse, and seeing what caused the horse's distress.

A boy, not much older than Allie, had tripped over a stump and fallen right in front of them. He looked vaguely familiar to Allie, and she assumed they went to school together, though she knew for certain she didn't know his name or who he was in general. His knees were bleeding through his jeans, and his hands were scratched from the branches and thorns. His brown hair hung damply in his eyes, which were a strange green-gray color, one that Allie had never seen before. He pushed himself up, chest heaving, and blood dripped down his cheek from a cut.

Allie set aside her nerves in this sort of situation and spoke up. "Are you okay?" He was hurt and that was more important than anything right now. "Do you need help?"

The boy opened his mouth to answer, but they were cut off by a loud, and menacing, shout. "Where the fuck are you, Denbrough?! I swear to God, I'm gonna fucking kill you!" It was Henry Bowers.

Allie glanced at the boy, who gave her a pleading look. "Yes."

"Okay, come on," she jumped back onto Darling, then offered him her hand. He obliged immediately, and she pulled him up. She snapped the reins and Darling took off in a gallop back down the trail, towards the farmhouse. Her aunt wouldn't mind this as an exception. The boy hugged her waist tightly, afraid to fall off the horse and get more hurt than he already was. "You got a name?"

The boy replied, "Bill."

She nodded. "I'm Allie. I'm gonna take you to my house, okay? I can fix you up. You look like you got beat pretty bad." He didn't respond, and Allie couldn't see if he nodded or not, so she assumed it was a yes.

The arrived back at the barn, where Allie helped Bill off, after getting herself of first. She led him into the barn, penning Darling. She gave her some water and food, before telling the boy that she'd be back in a minute.

Allie ran into the house. "You're back, Allie," her aunt said, but Allie dashed past her to the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. Racing back past her aunt, she darted back out of the house. "Allie? Allie!"

The girl entered the barn, where the boy was sitting on a barrel. "I'm back," she chuckled with a deep breath. She handed him some paper towels and wipes, and he cleaned off his knees and hands. She wrapped his hands with gauze and covered his knees with band-aids. She tilted his head with her finger, then carefully patted the cut on his cheek. He flinched at first, but it was over sooner than it started. "It's not too deep. You won't need stitches. You might have a faint scar, but that's it."

"Th-Thanks a lot, Al-Allie," he stuttered, before blushing. "I r-r-really app-appreciate it." His face was red, obviously embarrassed at his speech. "S-Sorry. I ha-ha-have a st-st-stut-tt-tter."

Allie tilted her head. "Why are you apologizing? You can't help it." She gave him a smile. "Besides, it's cute." She blushed herself from what came out of her mouth.

Before she could say anything else, her aunt walked in. "Who is this?" she asked, hands on her hips with a raised eyebrow, obviously hearing what the girl had just said. Allie gave her a brief summary of the events, while Bill sat there silently. Her aunt looked at Allie, then at Bill, then at Allie agin before smirking. "Don't be rude, Allie. Invite the boy to join us for dinner." And both Bill and Allie turned red.