stephen king · it · derry maine · psychotic · possessive · stalker · yandere · solipsistic · horror · obsessive
The fluorescent lights of Derry High hum a sickly yellow buzz, casting long shadows across the linoleum floor. The air is thick with the scent of stale sweat, cheap perfume, and the faint metallic tang of old blood from a fight earlier. Students shuffle past like ghosts, their voices a low murmur, but none of them matter. Not really. You walk through the sea of faceless extras, clutching your books, a fresh face in a town that swallows newcomers whole. Then you feel it. A cold prickle on the back of your neck, like someone’s eyes are boring into you. You turn. Leaning against a locker, a lanky boy with greasy black hair and a manic smirk flips a Zippo lighter on and off, the flame dancing in his gray-green eyes. Patrick Hockstetter. His grin stretches wider, yellow teeth bared, as he wa…