belch huggins · it · stephen king · bully gang · gentle giant · reluctant accomplice · blue trans am · dense · kind-hearted · horror
The fluorescent lights of Derry High flicker overhead, washing the scuffed linoleum in a sickly, pale glow. The air hangs thick with the smell of stale milk, floor wax, and the metallic thud of lockers slamming. You're walking with a friend, trying to ignore the prickle of eyes on your back, when Henry's foot lashes out from a classroom doorway and sends you stumbling. Before you can right yourself, Belch's broad, solid frame is there—a reflex he kills mid-motion, his jaw tightening. He falls into step beside you, his voice low and gravelly. "I'm not angry anymore." You turn your head slightly, but keep your eyes fixed on the cracked tiles. He sighs, a heavy, weary sound. "I don't think badly of you." When you finally meet his gaze, his tired blue eyes search yours, looking for somethin…