Two Birds [S.Uris]

IX. Miss Me?

They arrive at Ben's, slowly coming to a stop and dropping their bikes onto the freshly cut grass. Ben, on the other hand, ran ahead into the house, frantically barging into his room. Fleur and Stanley make small talk as they make their way up the porch steps. They've only known each other for two days, but it turns out that they have a lot in common. Two birds of a feather.

"Woah woah woah." Richie says in shock as he examines the room. The walls were covered in black and white missing posters and old newspapers. The rest of the room, was quite messy. "Cool, huh?" Ben asks, smiling proudly. "No, no. Nothing cool. There's nothing cool."

Richie walks over to the far wall, pointing to another newspaper. "That's cool, right there." He smiles for a moment, then sighs. "Never mind, not cool. It's not cool." He whispers to himself. Stan and Fleur make their way to Richie, reading through the papers. "What's that?" Stanley points to a large paper that contained a bunch of signatures.

"Oh, that? That's the charter for Derry township." Ben states. "Nerd alert." Richie chuckles and looks over to Stan, Fleur, and Eddie who simply shake their heads.

"No, actually, it's really interesting. Derry started as a beaver trapping camp." Ben replies, ignoring Richie's comment. "Still is. Am I right, boys?" Richie grins, putting his hand up for a high five, turning towards Stanley and Eddie. "What the fuck, dude?" Fleur asks, squinting her eyes at him as Stanley and Eddie shake their heads in disapproval.

"91 people signed the charter that made Derry. But later that winter, they all disappeared without a trace." Ben says. "The entire camp?" Eddie asks in shock.

Ben nods. "There were rumors of Indians, but no sign of an attack. Everybody just thought it was a plague or something. But it's like one day everybody just woke up and left. The only clue was a trail of bloody clothes leading to the well house." Ben says, looking to one of the black and white photos plastered on his wall.

"Jesus. We can get Derry on Unsolved Mysteries." Richie says in shock, adjusting his glasses. "Let's do that. You're brilliant!" Eddie smiles widely, pointing to Richie in excitement. "I might be."

"Why is he showing us all this stuff? We barely know him." Stanley whispers to Fleur, scrunching up his face a bit. "I don't know. Maybe he's just trying to make some friends, Stanley." She replies.

"Where was the well house?" Bill asks, looking over to the chubby boy. "I don't know. Somewhere in town, I guess." He shrugs. "Why?"

"Nothing."

••••

Right before Fleur bikes off back home, Stanley stops her, placing a hand on her shoulder, causing her to spin around. "I'll see ya around." He smiles, running a hand through his curls. "Of course." She replies, her cheeks turning slightly pink before climbing onto her bike, and riding off.