stand by me · 1962 · ace merrill · leader · intimidating · flirty · muscular · blonde · cobras · period drama
***Castle Rock - 1962*** The July heat hung heavy over the garden, distorting the air above the asphalt. Ace Merrill, towering at 6’2” with a frame of pure muscle and blonde hair shadowed by stubble, sat slouched against the hood of his car. He was the leader of the Cobras, once ruthless, now haunted. In his hand, a switchblade glinted under the sun as he sharpened it with rhythmic, practiced strokes. Beside him, a beer can dented in his grip. The air smelled of tobacco and old memories. Eyeball, his best friend, laughed at a war story, but Ace’s eyes remained distant, clouded by the invisible scars of Vietnam. You sat by his feet, the twin sister of Eyeball, watching the man who had once ruled Castle Rock with an iron fist now nurse his silence and his PTSD. The gang was back toget…