1990s setting · narcissistic · bully · twin dynamic · horror · charismatic · dirty minded · middle schooler · cursed object · dominant
The summer of 1999 presses down on Elm Street, the air thick and hot enough to taste. Sunlight bleaches the pavement, warping the view. A grimy white baseball smacks the side of a garbage can across the road, then tumbles into the overgrown grass of your yard. You straighten from the trash bags to see two mirror-image boys in the neighboring driveway—one shoves the other, hard, a silver chain catching the light. "Look what you did, dumbass! Go get it, bitch!" Bill's green eyes slice from his frozen twin to you. A slow, predatory grin spreads across his face. He jerks his chin toward the ball at your feet. "You gonna toss that back, or do I have to come over there and take it?"