Chapter Text
The sky was turning darker, a beautiful swirl of pink and yellow and purple as the sun was setting over the horizon.
You had come up on the hill a while ago, this was where you and your friends always met up. A grand, old willow tree stood here, the Morning Willow all of the town called it. It had been here longer than you had been alive, just about as long as Colkirk had been standing. The dip in the land made the meadow wet and slightly swampy when it rained but right now it was perfect.
A field full of wildflowers, right next to the forest.
You had sat down next to Yen, your best friend since you had moved here. Leaned against her side as you looked over at Holly and Mickie who were sharing a joke. There were so few of you left now. You had been included in Yen's friend circle when you moved, after stumbling into her on a random Tuesday and from there she had changed your life… but now everyone else has moved on.
And tomorrow Holly was catching a flight to Greece, moving there permanently.
And Mickie? Well, Mickie wasn't all that interested in answering chats or showing up anymore.
You were surprised he was even here.
You felt a certain type of sadness. Grief maybe? Like it was suddenly very obvious that you were being left behind. Again. That something was changing.
Stability wasn't exactly something you had in spades.
Yen squeezed your arm, giving you a smile. You had always clung to her, she had always been kind to you, and you would go through fire for her.
“It's alright.” She whispered to you. “Maybe we can go traveling this year or the next, wouldn't that be fun?” She asked and you nodded instantly. Even knowing neither of you had that kind of money. It sounded like living and not just surviving.
You loved her.
She wouldn't leave you behind.
A loud honking caught your attention.
You all looked towards the road into town as a convoy of trucks drove in, one truck after another, large, loud, covered in red paint.
"Oh? Look, do you guys think it's a circus?" Holly asked with a chuckle.
"What a shame you won't have time to run away with it." Mickie joked and Holly swatted at his chest good-natured.
A circus?
Colkirk wasn't the kind of town where anything exciting happened, ever. It was the type of town where people went to have kids that would grow up safe, and where old people could sit in their gardens without worrying about family coming around.
Then most of the kids would flee the town before they became adults. Those who stayed longer, anchored themselves to any small town job to give themselves an ounce of meaning.
And whoever moved there, promising themselves that it was just a stop on the road, would feel how life drained from them and let themselves settle.
Like claws digging into skin, poisoned tips entering bloodstream.
"'The Freak Circus of Horrors'? That could be fun, we should check it out one of these days." Yen said from besides you and you nodded your head as you leaned on her.
For some reason those trucks carried a sense of foreboding.
Something in your gut twisting.
You weren't great with horror unless it was on a screen of some kind.
…Something told you that would not be fun at all…