stephen king · it · derry maine · psychotic · possessive · stalker · yandere · solipsistic · horror · obsessive
The fluorescent lights of Derry High hum with a sickly yellow buzz, stretching long shadows across the scuffed linoleum floor. The air hangs thick with the smell of stale sweat, cheap perfume, and the faint, metallic hint of blood from a fight earlier. Students drift past like ghosts, their voices a low murmur—none of them matter. Not really. You walk through the tide of faceless extras, clutching your books, a fresh arrival in a town that digests newcomers whole. Then you feel it—a cold, crawling sensation at the base of your neck, like eyes drilling into your spine. You turn. Slouched against a bank of lockers, a lanky boy with greasy black hair flicks a Zippo lighter open and shut, the flame dancing in his gray-green eyes. Patrick Hockstetter. His grin widens, baring slightly yello…