Chapter Text
Chapter 1
It was a beautiful morning, the kind of day when the sun shone brightly over Derry. The birds singing, the flowers blooming. On days like this, most teens wished they could skip school and stay in bed. This was also the case for Jane, who took advantage of the last few minutes of sleep she had left before having to get up to go to class. She could have enjoyed at least ten more minutes if her brother hadn't burst into her room.
"Get up sleephead! Today is a big day, and you have to get up early to enjoy it! "
She tossed a pillow at him but sadly missed.
"A great day? Tuesday? Math test?"
"It's our birthday! Wake up Jane, you're picking it up, we're 16. "
She mumbled something before turning around in her bed, snuggling up under her quilt.
"Jane! I want my present, get up! "
She was about to send him off, when she felt liquid running down her cheek. First a little trickle, then suddenly it grew bigger.
He had just poured a glass of water over her head.
Her blood swirled as she suddenly stood up, leaping out of bed and grabbing her brother, screaming.
"Richie! You're going to pay for that!"
"At least you're up!"
She chased after him, into the kitchen, where their parents lived their lives. When she saw them, their mother spoke.
"Barely up, and you're already fighting?"
She laughs.
"Sit down for breakfast. Since it's a special day, I made some pancakes."
She turned to them, and along with their father, she wished them a happy birthday.
"Jane... where are your glasses?"
"I just got up, mom... I'll put them on after..."
The Toziers were a happy family, Maggie and Wentworth had always lived in Derry and had two children there, Richard, also known as Richie, and Jane. Twins who, although they often quarreled, were very close. Some may have even called them accomplices.
After breakfast, the two teenagers got ready to go to class. As usual, Jane dressed as basic and comfortably as possible. A loose t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. She tied her hair up into a ponytail before finally putting on her glasses.
"You look like a nerd. You could at least untie your hair... "
"And you don't?" she questioned her brother sassily.
"Sure, but you're a girl. You could make an effort to be sexy, then I might be less ashamed to hang out with you...."
She grabbed the closest item to her and threw it at him.
"Jane! This sponge is soaked! "
Richie barked, jumping on her to throw the sponge back, setting off yet another futile brawl.
For once, they decided to go to class together. Biking down the road, they separated on the last street before the school. Since going to school, they had decided together that they would have different groups of friends and that they would not talk to each other. In short, they would have no contact at school.
It was no secret that they were brother and sister. Far from it, actually. They were just giving each other the space they didn't necessarily have at home, especially since by the time they came to this decision, they were still sharing their room.
"Happy Birthday J!"
Heather, her best friend since the beginning of school, had jumped on her as soon as she stepped inside.
"16 years old! I am jealous!"
"Your birthday is just over a month away ..."
"If two and a half months for you is equal to a little over a month, then sure ..."
"After that, it's just one day among many... 16 years is nothing. When I'm 21, that will be something! We'll have a party, and we'll invite all our friends! "
"So you and me. Not a bad plan... "
Jane gave her a friendly punch on the shoulder before heading to her classroom.
"Isn't that your brother with Bowers over there?"
She turned her head to look at him, meeting his gaze. Another agreement between them had been made when Bowers first targeted Richie. An agreement saying that only one Tozier was to be having issues with the gang at a time, so no intervention when Bowers went after one of them.
Strangely, it was Richie who imposed this rule, knowing that Jane had never had any problems with the gang before. She wondered if Henry even knew of her existence.
She watched her brother run off, sneaking in with the crowd in the hallway to knock the boy off of his trail. Straightening himself, Henry turned to his friends.
"Tonight, we catch him outside the exit. We're gonna give him a birthday party he won't forget."
Jane was seriously worried, she wanted to protect her brother. She promised herself she would warn him as soon as possible. She met Hockstetter's gaze. He gave her an evil smile before she looked down and headed for her math class.
The morning passed relatively quickly, the math test had been easy. She had studied with her brother the night before. Now she sat in chemistry class, the last class before her lunch break. Jane liked the teacher, she seemed to be one of the few who called students by their first names. She really encouraged the students to make progress, which made the girl excited to participate in class. The only downside was Henry Bowers and Victor Criss were also enrolled in the class. When they weren't skipping, they would stand in the back and do nothing but mock and insult students who answered the teacher's questions. Once she distinctly heard Bowers whisper when she answered a question about copper sulfate. "Bitch" an insult she simply ignored.
In the dining hall, she found Heather at a table they often occupied. Jane desperately wanted to find her brother to tell him what she had heard. He sat with his friends at a table not far away.
"Richie? I can talk to you?"
With his mouth stuffed full, he looked at her questioningly, before gesturing for her to sit down.
"Tonight, skip the main outing, Bowers wants to give you a... birthday present. He said he'll be waiting for you outside the school... So... please avoid him as much as possible... "
He looked at her amused.
"You know, I'm used to his 'surprises' now ..."
"Richie, this is no joke! Be careful please. I worry ... "
"Okay, I'll be careful. But in return, I'll do this!"
He took his knife from his tray and cut the elastic that was holding the girl's hair back before running off, laughing at his own joke. Jane grabbed the glass of water from her brother's tray.
"You're dead Tozier."
She whispered. She rushed in pursuit, under the amused gaze of the losers, accustomed to the childishness of twins.
As she ran, she bumped into someone, knocking the glass all over the person. The violence of the shock knocked her down and her glasses slid away.
She mumbled a bit in annoyance.
"Excuse me ... I didn't see you ..."
"That's funny, because I saw you just fine."
The young girl's heart skipped a beat, it was Bowers. And, judging by the sound of his voice, he didn't really seem to find it funny. Looking up, she could make out the blurry figure of the boy, along with those of his friends. Even playing him very well, she was unlikely to get away without problems.
"Bowers!" She laughed nervously, "I didn't recognize you without my glasses!"
Her eyes were slowly getting used to the lack of glasses, and she could see then that the water had spilled on him, soaking his shirt. She looked around for her glasses.
"My reputation precedes me, are you new? I've never seen you here. "
Ouch. She had stayed low profile, but he insulted her not even thirty minutes ago...
"I..."
"Henry, she's been with us in chemistry since the start of the year. You called her a bitch earlier... "
Victor Criss had noticed her at least.
"So you know who I am?"
"Yes..." Again, she laughed nervously. "Unfortunately."
"So you know what's going to happen now?"
She didn't really have a chance of getting away. She looked down to find her glasses. Even if it means getting hit, at least she would be able to see the blows coming directly ...
"Is that what you want ?"
She still couldn't see clearly, but she was sure that the little fuzzy shape that the big fuzzy shape held was probably Hockstetter, with her glasses. She was sure that they would no longer be of use to her as she watched him let them go at Henry's feet. He had crushed them.
"Oops, sorry." He wasn't.
He walked over and picked up the glass that had fallen along with Jane. "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll forget what just happened."
A wave of relief washed over her, relief that was quickly dissipated.
"In one condition." He filled the glass with water from a decanter lying on a nearby table. "Are you going to do something for me?"
She nodded, not at all reassured.
He spat into the glass, then passed it to Huggins who did the same, then Criss and finally Hockstetter. Henry retrieved the glass, knelt in front of the girl, and handed it to her.
"You're going to drink this."
Jane's gaze alternated between the glass and the boy. She was still on the ground, and running away was not an option, there were too few people in the dining hall for her to hope to sneak up and lose them, and that was in considering that she might get up before they catch her.
Bowers seemed to be impatient, so she grabbed the glass, and looked at it in disgust.
"What are you waiting for? Do you want help?"
Her brain was racing, yes it was disgusting, but she preferred that to getting beaten, and if she didn't hurry, both we're going to happen.
Defeated, she raised the glass to her lips. She was almost grateful not to see anything. Even though she could sense the stares of the other students present, she convinced herself that she was alone with the biggest bullies in town. She drained the drink in one go, trying to forget that she was swallowing the whole Bowers gang's saliva.
Henry smiles, satisfied.
"Good." He picked up what was left of the girl's glasses, threw them in her face, shouting, "Now get out! I don't want to see you again for the rest of the day!"
She got up hurriedly and left the dining hall, heading directly to the nearest bathroom. She sat down at the back of the room and rested her head between her knees, huffing to release the pressure. It was the first time she had dealt directly with Bowers, and she was lucky he was content to humiliate her. She knew that several students had been beaten up for much less than that. A simple sideways look was enough to stir up hatred in the group.
After a few minutes, someone walked into the room. Without raising her head, she prayed it wasn't Greta Bowie, or a friend of hers.
"Are you okay ?"
She didn't know the voice of the girl who had just come in, so she looked up to find a beautiful redhead. Beverly Marsh, known for sleeping with any boy who asked.
"Can I sit?"
"The room isn't mine ..."
She laughed... A crystalline, magnificent laugh that instantly calmed Jane. The redhead sat down next to her and pulled out a cigarette.
"Do you want one?"
Jane politely refused... She didn't know what the young girl was doing there, but her presence was pleasant.
"I saw what happened. Bowers is a jerk, don't mind him." She blew the smoke towards the ceiling. "His friends too..." She laughed again and Jane joined in, not sure why.
After a few minutes, Beverly spoke again.
"I'm going to go, Greta will be here soon to touch up her hair and I don't want to be here when she is."
She watched as the young girl left the room the same way she had come. The sun shone on her hair, making it look fiery, a magnificent, almost unreal blaze, like a dream or a mirage.
Jane decided to leave as well, no one wanted to see Greta Bowie except her friends. She went to the room where her next class would be held. She was quickly joined by her brother.
"I finally found you! Where were you?" He exclaimed.
"I... I went to rinse my mouth, did you see what I had to put in it?"
She wasn't sure why she didn't tell her brother about her meeting with Beverly, but she felt like she had to hide it from him.
She laughed, followed by Richie who answered.
"I don't understand at all, it's like you've just kissed four handsome, dominant, males. That's a lot of girls' dream."
"You disgust me, please let me forget that."
"I should have intervened ..."
"No. We have rules, we follow them. Otherwise, I'd step in when you had problems."
He looked at her more seriously than he ever had before.
"What you don't understand Jane, is that this rule, I set it so that Henry doesn't fall on you. It was to protect you."
She looked at him tenderly before punching him in the shoulder.
"I've been watching you get hit for almost ten years all because you don't want me to get hit? Fool."
They laughed together as the bell rang.
"Richie! Remember to watch out for the exit!"
He gave her a big smile, before walking into his classroom.
The rest of the day passed quickly, but with difficulty. Without her glasses she had trouble following along in class and a headache had taken hold very quickly when she had to read or write. She was afraid of seeing her notes, surely messy from her lack of sight...
At the end of class, she looked for Heather in front of the main exit, she had not seen her since the lunch break. She decided to sit down and wait for her instead.
"Hey! You! Come here!"
She looked up at the origin of the voice, she knew it, but didn't know where from. She didn't see who was calling and, she didn't really care, people didn't call her often.
"Yes you! Four eyes without glasses! Come here!"
No mistake, it was she who he was calling.
"Don't make me repeat myself."
Patrick Hockstetter. It was his voice. She stood up and walked over to him, he was alone, but he was no less dangerous.
When she got to his level, he grabbed her by the collar.
"You know Tozier."
It was clearly not a question.
"Where is he?"
His voice was calm and composed, but he sure wasn't going to stay that way if she didn't say anything.
"I don't know ... I haven't seen him since midday ..."
He laughed.
"I do not believe you. I know you heard Henry this morning. Where is he?"
He was threatening. She strained his hand a little, and he finally let go.
"You do not want to answer? Well, should I make you talk?"
He walked towards her, slowly. She stepped back, not wanting to take her eyes off him let alone turn her back on him. She could only take three steps before bumping into someone who grabbed her and locked her arms behind her back.
"Huggins! I didn't see you there! I've always wondered, what's your real name?"
He tightened his grip on the girl's arms, causing her a slight pain, making her understand that she had to shut up unless it was to answer Hockstetter.
"I don't understand why you are protecting him."
He had come closer to her, with a contempt for all that was personal space. He ran his hand behind Jane's neck, and with his other hand, he grabbed her chin. He was close enough that she could make out the unhealthy smile that was plastered on his face.
"Come on, answer me. Then we'll both have a little fun... "
"No way... This lunchtime sample was enough for me..."
She bit her tongue. Surely she should have shut up. The boy's gaze darkened, and he let go of her chin, digging his fingernails into the back of her neck before sliding them to her chest. Jane couldn't help but moan in pain. In the same movement, he had grabbed her by the collar of her T-shirt.
He raised his fist, ready to strike.
"This is your last chance. Do you have anything to tell me?""
Even if she wanted to betray her brother, she couldn't since she didn't know where he had been hiding.
"Yes! What are you doing with your nails? As soon as I try to keep them long, they break ... "
Shut up.
Why couldn't she shut up? Maybe the blow she was going to take would put her mind back together, and surely the ones after would make her regret telling her brother.
"Hockstetter! You're supposed to find Tozier there."
"I'm sure she knows where he is, Henry!"
Patrick had let go of the young girl's collar to walk towards Bowers, who had just arrived. She took the opportunity to whisper:
"Hey Huggins? Won't you let me go? "
Don't we say that hope gives life?
He's laughing.
"Never, you daydream."
His laughter caught the attention of the other two boys, who focused on Jane again.
"But it's you! Didn't I say I didn't want to see you again today?"
"Bowers! How is it going ? I can see that your t-shirt has dried ... You have no more reasons to blame me ..."
A nervous laugh escaped her again. She wanted to shut up, but her mounting headache prevented her from thinking and reacting sensibly.
"Are you kidding me?" He turned to his friends. "She's kidding, right?"
He continued to speak, but a dizziness made her lose her balance slightly, she clutched at Blech who was still holding her. She looked at the ground for a moment, well... It seemed like a moment to her, but Bowers' annoyed snapping of fingers in front of her eyes made her think otherwise.
"I'm talking to you. Don't ignore me."
"Sorry Bowers... I zoned out."
He turned to Hockstetter.
"What did you do to her? She looks stoned."
"Nothing! I was going to start when you got here... I barely even touched her!"
He looked at him incredulously when Huggins intervened.
"He didn't do anything Henry, but she almost fell, I think she's drunk"
Bowers burst out laughing.
"She's a fucking nerd, I'm sure she cries when she's late. I don't think a single drop of alcohol has ever passed her lips. "
"It's my birthday Bowers, have to celebrate, right?"
Shut up! She had missed another opportunity to be silent.
"Your birthday? Maybe I'll get you what I planned for Tozier."
He smiled, and if Jane could have seen that smile clearly, she surely would have forgotten about her headache, and been scared to death.
"Can I refuse the gift? I mean, we barely know each other... "
SHUT UP! Her brain was screaming at her that the situation was too serious to make fun of the person who was sure to hurt her.
Her headache was getting worse and worse, she felt like she was going to explode.
"I insist, since through your fault I cannot... Offer him, it comes back to you."
She had another more violent loss of balance before she felt something run from her nose.
"I didn't even hit you, but you're bleeding? "
"Henry, she can barely stand..."
Bowers grabbed her hair and forced her to lift her head.
"Tell me what's happening to you. Because now it's starting to annoy me. "
"Without my glasses, my eyes compensate on their own ... I strained too much ..."
He stared at her for a moment, before rolling his eyes.
"We're leaving."
"But what about Tozier?"
"I said we bust, Hockstetter. She's pathetic, it's over"
She felt the Huggins' grip slowly loosen and strangely, he didn't let her fall, but accompanied her fall, which allowed her to fall to her knees without hurting herself.
Jane watched their car drive away, before picking up her bike. She had stuck a handkerchief in her nose, to prevent the blood from continuing to flow. She walked home, not feeling like she was pedaling.
It was after a third loss of balance that everything went dark, and she passed out, less than a street from her home.