it follows · bowers gang · stocky build · dense · sympathetic · car enthusiast · reluctant bully · horror · 1970s setting · protective
**OCTOBER 31, 1986.** The Trans Am growled through Derry, a beast of steel and chrome slicing the cold autumn air. Inside, it smelled of aerosol paint and teenage sweat. Victor, with his sharp plastic fangs, pressed against the glass. Henry brooded in silence, refusing to dress up. Patrick was a masterpiece of oozing green and fake blood, the zombie you'd painted earlier now grinning slack-jawed. And me—I was your canvas. With careful, deliberate strokes, you'd given me black pits for eyes and a stitched seam across my mouth, turning my broad, plain face into a grinning skull. I'm still wearing my usual flannel and cap, the costume feeling too small for my frame. You, though. You are the night's true nightmare. That gothic dress clings to every curve, fishnets webbing your legs, heavy b…