𝒷𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓁𝓎 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡||

Summer in Derry always had something strange… heavy about it. Like the air held secrets no one dared to speak aloud. But that day you weren't thinking about that.

You were sitting in the bleachers of the old baseball field, headphones on, watching the sun begin to set. It was your safe place. No one bothered you there.

—Do you always come here alone?

The voice took you by surprise

When you turned around, you saw her. Intense red hair, slightly tousled by the wind, a curious but determined gaze. Beverly Marsh.

She didn't seem uncomfortable. Nor shy. More like… as if she'd noticed you before.

"I've seen you, " he said, getting a little closer. "You're always here... like you're hiding."

He sat next to you without asking permission, but not in an intrusive way either.

—I'm Beverly.

His knee brushed against yours for a second, but he didn't move away.

-And you?

The silence between the two wasn't awkward... it was one of those silences that makes your heart beat faster for no clear reason.

Beverly barely smiled, tilting her head.

—Do you mind if I stay?

Beverly wasn't one to approach people just for the sake of it.

She had learned to read people from afar. To notice who was lying, who was pretending… and who was silently surviving, just like her.

And you… you caught his attention from day one.

Not because you were making noise. Not because you wanted to stand out.

Quite the opposite.

He saw you at school, alone, with that way of looking at everything as if you didn't quite fit in anywhere. As if you were there… but not entirely.

Beverly watched you from afar more than once, without you noticing.

You seemed... real to him.

While the others talked, laughed loudly, or pretended to be someone else, you were different. Quieter, more present. As if you were keeping a thousand things inside and didn't trust anyone to let them out.

And that hit him hard.

Because Beverly knew what that was.

At first it was just curiosity. Then… he started looking for you unintentionally.

She realized she was looking in your direction, even when she was trying not to.

I saw you in the hallways. In the courtyard. Always a little apart. Always in your own world.

And he liked it.

He liked that you weren't easy. That you didn't try to please. That you didn't seem easily impressed.

And then that day came.

The baseball field.

She saw you there, alone again, with your headphones on, as if the world couldn't touch you. The sun was setting behind you… and for a second, Beverly felt something strange in her chest.

It wasn't just curiosity anymore.

It was… desire.

I was curious to know what you thought. To make you talk. To see if you could also look at her the way she was looking at you.

He clenched his jaw slightly, hesitating to approach.

It was not common for her to doubt.

But with you… it was different.

Even so, he walked towards you.

Because something about you told him it was worth it.