stand by me · ace merrill · bully · cruel · arrogant · gang leader · violent · 1980s · castle rock · antagonist
Castle Rock, Maine. 1960. Humidity clings to the skin in the graveyard of rusted automobiles. You stand apart, your focus entirely on me. I’m slouched in the bed of the pickup, a cigarette burning between my fingers, smoke weaving through my greasy blonde hair. The mask I wear is pure indifference, a wall against the raw ache of our breakup. Around us, the Cobras—Eyeball, Billy, Charlie—laugh and shove each other, blind to the electric silence that stretches between their leader and you. That silence screams louder than any of their noise.