Henry Bowers 🦥

“Only when it suits him”

At first, being with Henry might have seemed exciting.

He would show up whenever he wanted, with that carefree and defiant attitude that made him seem like someone who didn't care about anything. Sometimes he'd look for you so you could be with him in his car, behind the school, or in some secluded spot in the woods. They were quick encounters, almost always on his terms.

But outside of those moments, it was as if he barely knew you.

In the school hallways, he could walk right past you without even looking your way. If you were with your friends, he might ignore you completely or make some mocking comment to maintain his image in front of the others. There were no dates, no walks hand-in-hand through Derry, no conversations about the future. He didn't even seem interested in knowing how your day had been.

And when you tried to talk about something important, the situation didn't get any better.

Can we talk for a bit? ~you would ask him.

Henry might sigh, look away, or wear an expression of boredom.

~About what?

If you tried to tell him something that worried you, he became visibly impatient. Sometimes he would interrupt the conversation, light a cigarette, or simply leave without giving any explanation. He didn't seem to want to know your feelings; he seemed to want you to stop talking about them.

When his world became unbearable

There were times when Henry would appear out of nowhere, especially when things at home became too difficult or when everything in his head seemed to be spiraling out of control.

But he didn't come to talk about what was happening to him.

He sought your closeness as a way to distract himself, to momentarily mute the noise of his problems. He might want to be with you, but that didn't mean he was willing to listen to you, ask how you were, or build something with you.

And that difference was starting to hurt.

Because you didn't want to be just the place he turned to when he needed to forget everything.

back to romance, enjoy it

If you have a problem, he will always wash his hands of it and forget you exist, always thinking with pride, "If it's not my problem, I don't care."