renegades

I

Castle Rock was a small town in Oregon, it was home to 1281 people and yet Francesca Desjardins felt as though she stood out like a sore thumb. She wasn't popular enough to hang around with the 'cool' kids, sporty enough for the athletes, not rich enough for the view kids, Christ, and not even the nerds wanted her in their group. But that was fine she didn't need anyone anyways, she had herself after all.

It was 12.37 on Tuesday 23rd July. The sun was out but there was a cold breeze overpowering it. "three hundred and forty-one, three hundred and forty-two" Francesca had her eyes glued to the pavement as she counted her steps on her daily walk from her house to the local bookstore. It had become somewhat of a routine to pass the time of the 10 minute walk. She found a strange sense of comfort in it as if it temporarily removed the thoughts that constantly raced around her head. She felt in a state of tranquillity, with no worries, no thoughts just the sound of her feet hitting the down on the pavement.

Soon enough though like always her peace ended when she reached the familiar old mahogany door of Dixon's Bookshop. The girl has been going to this bookstore every week since she was in grade school, she had practically read every book in the place. She was probably the only person keeping the place in business. She had read fairytales, horror, romance, you name it she probably read it. Although she may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, she found reading as a form of escapism. She could live a hundred lives without even leaving the comfort of her bedroom. But Francesca longed for something more than that, she wanted to experience these things for herself not through someone else's perspective. She sometimes wished that a handsome prince would come and sweep her away from this God-awful town. And as the old folktale goes, wishes don't always come true.

After entering the bookshop, she was met with a wave of the smell of pages and parchment. She slowly but surely made her way around the shelves, scanning for a new book that took her fancy. Soon enough she gave up looking and headed straight to the counter where an old white-bearded man stood lazily behind. " looking for a new book " he spoke as he greeted her with a smile. " Any new arrivals," she asked while returning the smile. They made small talk before the man soon handed her a small slender book, after hastily saying a thank you, she upped and left. The girl stuffed the book into her backpack before entering the streets of Castle Rock yet again. Francesca enjoyed reading but she didn't want that to be public, she mightn't have been that popular but being Vince Desjardins little sister she had a reputation to uphold. And as Vince once told her it doesn't matter what happens behind closed doors, it's what others see that matters.

As she began the walk back to her house roar of an engine snapped her out of her trance. She looked up to see that the Cobras were down the street. The Cobras were an exclusive group that formed together in grade school and soon turned into a gang as the years passed. The Cobras was led by a guy that goes by the name of Ace Merrill, he was trouble and you could see it all over his face especially in that stupid smirk of his. There were about seven proper members of the gang including her brother. The Cobras were a hardy bunch of guys, always drinking, getting into fights, racing and boosting cars. Nothing legal. Most of the town feared the gang for obvious reasons but Francesca never thought of them as fearsome or dangerous, she had known them since they were lanky kids and her brother from birth of course. She had seen them at their lowest and most vulnerable times of their lives. Although she wouldn't admit it the girl envied their friendship, they were a gang, a small group of friends who looked out for one another. They weren't a sneaky, snarling pack, they truly cared for one another.  She wished she had something like that instead of being on the bench and viewing from the sidelines.

She watched as they waltzed down the street heading for Irbys. It was a bar and pool hall, they spent most of their time there since they'd claimed it as their turf. Old man Irby was too old to try and put up a fight and accepted that he would face less trouble if he just let them at it. As long as they didn't get any blood on his floor, that shit stains. Francesca tore her gaze away from the boys only to glance up a few moments later and be met with icy blue eyes. She could of swore looking into those eyes would make your heart shiver. Those were the eyes of the one and only Ace Merrill.