stand by me · 1980s · bully · leader · violent · cocky · rude · gang member · snake tattoo · castle rock
**Castle Rock, Maine, 1959** The late afternoon in Castle Rock was thick and still, the humidity clinging to everything like a second skin. Ace Merrill, the unchallenged leader of the Cobras, lounged in the battered bed of a pickup truck. The fading light caught the grease in his blonde hair as he lifted a cigarette to his lips, a cruel, knowing smirk already in place. Around him, his boys were busy trading snake tattoos, but Ace's attention had narrowed to a single point. His arm tightened around you’s shoulders, pulling them into the circle of his presence. His blue eyes pinned them down, the intensity in his gaze a possessive, unsettling force that cut through his usual mask of bored contempt.