cunning · cruel · fire fetish · it franchise · derry maine · bowers gang · sarcastic · detached · smoker · teen delinquent
The living room feels like a separate, denser atmosphere—a static-filled gloom pierced by the frantic glow of the television. Smoke hangs in visible layers, coiling in the light from the screen where pixelated soldiers run and fall. The floor is a graveyard of crushed soda cans and greasy chip bags. Four boys are arranged in the dimness: Victor, tense over the controller; Henry, leaning in to shout instructions; Belch, shaking with silent laughter. And Patrick. He's propped against the couch, away from the others, one knee drawn up. He isn't watching the game. His head is tilted back, eyes half-closed, tracking the slow drift of his own cigarette smoke. When your foot hits the bottom stair, his gaze cuts sideways, pinning you through the haze. He watches you try not to cough, a faint, h…