Author's note: Hello! This is my first ever Stand By Me story, I probably wouldn't be even thinking about publishing a Stand By Me story if it wasn't for Mrs. Ace Merrill who convinced me to do one, helped me with all the ideas that I had and gave me some amazing ones to put in, not to mention giving great feedback and encouragement, so I owe her a huuuuuuge THANK YOU! Hopefully I can do our awesome ideas justice in this story. This chapter is just more or less an introduction to the OC I created and to start the story off. I'll be updating this every Friday, I should have plenty of time during the week and on Friday to write it but in the worst case scenario I imagine it would then be Saturday, but I'll try to stick to Fridays. So anyway, thanks to Mrs. Ace Merrill and hopefully people like the first chapter! Please leave a review and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Stand By Me, just my OCs.

I stared out the window in disdain as we drove through Castle Rock, the word "dull" couldn't even begin to describe this place. Everything was bland, the buildings, the people, they all seemed like someone had drained the colour out of this place. Living in California already seemed like a distant dream, I gave it a week tops before I put a gun to my head out of sheer boredom.

We eventually arrived on a road with houses too cheery for me to live in. Boxes of flowers sat on the windows, neatly trimmed hedges sat pretty in the front yard and the white picket fences may as well have been prison bars to me.

"We're here!" Aunt Emily said in a bright tone I was already sick of. I glared at the house for a few seconds before throwing my door open and climbing out of the car. I made my way around to the trunk where Uncle Richard was lifting my bags out of.

''That's alright, kiddo. You head inside and I'll get these." He said in a similar bright tone but anyone could sense he wasn't exactly giving me a choice, more like a polite order. Let us not forget Uncle Richard served in WWII, he has apparently earned the right to boss me around like one of his men.

"It's Jesse, not kiddo. I can get my own bags." I said and bent down to pick them up, turning on my heel and heading for the house before he could protest.

"This is the hallway, through there is the kitchen. Over there is the dining room and through that door is the living room. Now, how about we go see your room? Richard! Did you not take Jessica's bags in for her?" Aunt Emily asked with a worried look towards the bag I had over my shoulder and the other in my hand.

"I told him I got them. And it's Jesse, not Jessica." I said in as calm a voice as I could manage, not even my parents called me Jessica.

Aunt Emily merely nodded with a polite smile on her face. She was the epitome of a little nifty housewife. Her sausage curls framed her subtly made-up face. Her modest polka-dot dress reached past her knees and her glasses hung from a delicate chain around her neck. She had aged gracefully, I will give her that. She had subtle signs of crow's feet appearing at the corners of her eyes and I had no doubt she fretted over them constantly.

Uncle Richard was clearly everything a woman like my Aunt would have looked for in a man, strong and commanding but I noticed his smile softened when he looked at her, his eyes trailing over her face like she was still the twenty-year-old beauty he fell in love with. I already felt out of place with them, my somewhat rebellious nature would surely clash with their conservative one, I could see now it would only be a matter of time before they would regret taking me in.

"So," Uncle Richard said with a clap of his hands, "shall we show Jessica to her room?" He said and I fixed him with a glare over the name mistake.

"Oh, yes! You will love it, Jessica! I've been preparing it ever since we found out you were coming!" Aunt Emily said gleefully, clapping her delicate hands together before waving one at me in the direction of the stairs, she danced up them and I cast a worried glance towards Richard who merely shrugged.

"She's been like an excited puppy since she's found out you were coming."

"She's peed on the carpet and ripped up the sofa cushions?" I asked with a raised eyebrow and he chuckled.

"Nah, kiddo. Excited to finally have a little girl around the house." He said with a wistful smile.

"Do I look like a little girl to you?" I asked incredulously and he rolled his eyes.

"You've been here five minutes, Jessica. Don't start causing trouble." He said in a tired voice.

"Jesse." I hissed and turned on my heel to storm up the stairs, I heard him sigh before following me. Here goes nothing.

Oh… shit. This place looks like it's been hosed down with Pepto Bismol. Everything is pink!

"What do you think?" Emily asked and spread her arms to indicate the room. She was obviously too happy to notice the horrified expression on my face at the fact that almost everything was the most obnoxious shades of pink. The bed had about ten little pink pillows on top of a white bedspread with pink roses. A little pink teddy bear sat in the middle and its glassy black eyes stared back at me. The drawers, beside table, wardrobe and dressing table were all white wood. The drawers had a little china vase with pink roses sitting in it, a little pink trinket box lay beside them. The dressing table had a matching white stool with a pink cushion. Bottles of perfume sat in front of the three mirrors and a box I didn't even want to open sat over to one side. I am in hell.

"It's… um… it's… pink." I said for lack of a better description, somehow I didn't think she'd appreciate me telling her the place gave me a migraine.

"You don't like it!" she said with a fearful expression, her wide brown eyes looked distressed with the possibility that I'm not in love with a room that is like walking into my worst nightmare.

"Now come on, Emily, the girl probably just needed a minute to look at everything. You like it, don't you Jessica?" Richard said with his arm around my shoulder, the gentle squeeze gave me the feeling it would be better to smile and lie through my teeth.

"Sure. It's great." I said with my best attempt at a smile, "Thanks, Aunt Emily." I said and she threw her arms around me for about the third time since I arrived, her perfume making my eyes water.

"It's no problem Jessica." She said and I guessed Jesse just wouldn't catch on with her.

"Told you she'd like it." Richard said triumphantly and patted my head, I resisted the urge to glare at him as Emily pulled back to smile at me.

"Well I'm glad, it was either this or lavender but I figured a young lady like yourself might like something delicate and feminine." She said, I wonder if my Chuck Taylors, ripped jeans and grey t-shirt gave me away. "Well you're bound to be hungry! I'll bring you some cookies and milk and we can unpack your stuff!" she said and skipped off before I could say a word, pecking Richard on the cheek as she practically skipped downstairs.

"Thanks for the save, kiddo. Just let her have her fun, she's always wanted a daughter like you." He said with a sad smile before closing the door. I sat down on the bed, my bed, and sighed. It was a widely known fact Richard and Emily had always wanted kids, a doctor told them when Richard came home from the war that children weren't possible for some unknown reason. I remember always getting amazing gifts from them for Christmas or my birthday, although as I got older I became less and less fond of the teddy bears and make-up I got. Still, I suppose there are worse things that could happen than staying with two people who you at least know would notice you, I should be thankful for that.

I stand corrected, I should kill Emily.

I stared at the dresses and skirts that filled my wardrobe, touching the soft fabrics as if they would turn out to be some mirage that decided to taunt me. But no, they were all real. I walked to the drawers and pulled out each one, pastel coloured shirts and jeans, cardigans, god-awful nightdresses and frilly underwear laughed back at me as I stared at them in disbelief. I took a few steps back to survey the horror that lay before me. At the bottom of the wardrobe lay sandals, white plimsolls and ballet pumps. I leaned down to pick up a pair and saw they were my exact shoe size. What the fuck?

"Do you like them?" Emily asked from behind me as she crossed the room to set a tray of cookies and milk on my bed.

"These are mine?" I asked in a high-pitched squeak.

"Well of course they are, silly! I found out your shoe size and clothes sizes a while back and thought you might like some nice changes." She straightened the hangers up from where I had knocked them slightly out of place in the hopes they would disappear.

"But what's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I asked and she gave me a once-over with an awkward smile.

"Nothing, sweetie. I just thought you might want a change, perhaps it's time you start dressing like a proper young lady. Those clothes were fine when you were younger and running around playing, but now that you're older you should dress more mature. We wouldn't want all the handsome men around here thinking you're a tomboy, would we?" she said with a smile.

"I don't really care what anyone around here thinks of me." I said with a clenched jaw and she sighed.

"Give the clothes a try, Jessica. I think you'll find they suit you better now that you're living here. And I even got you some nice bands to keep your hair out of your face and some make-up to emphasise those beautiful features of yours." She said and opened the box on my dressing table and I saw soft beige and pink powers for my face. I went and sat on my bed with a huff; Emily came over and brushed some hair away from my eyes.

"Don't be difficult, dear. Richard and I only want to help you become a proper lady." She said and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead before smiling and walking out of the room. I stared at the cookies and milk which sat on a pristine, white tray, a little frilly circle under the china plate with the cookies. My stomach growled as I tried to resist the treats and I ultimately gave up and decided to eat them. I stood up and crossed to my window, staring out onto the quiet neighbourhood, suddenly feeling like I may just lose my sanity before I can escape from Castle Rock.

Alright, the bed might be ugly as hell, but it sure is comfy. Sunlight streamed through the window as I buried my head under a pillow to try and catch a few more minutes of sleep.

"Rise and shine kiddo!" a cheerful voice called from the bottom of the stairs. Guess sleeping in is out of the question. I groaned and leaned up on my elbow to grab my watch from the dressing table, laying back down when I realised I had genuine proof my uncle was insane if he thought eight o'clock on a Sunday was a reasonable time for a teenager to wake up at.

A couple of minutes later I was just on the verge of sleep when my door opened.

"Jessica! Breakfast is ready, didn't you hear me calling you?" Richard asked as he walked over to my bed. I threw the covers off the bed and rubbed my eyes.

"It's eight o'clock on a Sunday, I don't get up until noon on a Sunday." I said through a yawn.

"Not in this house, Emily made porridge for you." I practically gagged at the thought of porridge. Richard left me alone and I slid my feet into my slippers before I slouched down the stairs.

"Jessica, I had plenty of nightdresses in your drawers, why are you wearing that?" Emily said and I looked down to see I had checked pyjama bottoms on and a white t-shirt, what the hell was wrong with that?

"I normally wear this to bed." I said with a shrug as I made my way over to the table.

"Well now you have some lovely night dresses to wear, you don't have to wear those things anymore." She said with a smile as she set a bowl of lumpy porridge in front of me.

"I prefer these, if there's a fire or some psycho breaks into the house, I don't want to die because I tripped over my stupid fucking nightgown." I said and Uncle Richard's fork hit the plate with a clatter as he pointed at me.

"I don't ever want to hear that type of language in my house again! Do you understand me, Jessica?" he demanded.

"Sir yes sir." I said with a bite of sarcasm and he glared before resuming his breakfast.

"Where do you guys keep the sugar? I don't take porridge without sugar." I said, I didn't take porridge at all for that matter, but I was hungry.

"You can have sugar on your porridge when you apologize to your aunt. Not a minute sooner." Uncle Richard said and I raised my eyebrows, I pushed my bowl away from me slowly and folded my arms. Richard and I had a bit of a stare-down for a few seconds before Emily put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, Richard. Jessica probably isn't used to speaking like a lady, soon enough she will. Isn't that right, Jessica?" she asked me and nodded her head, as though she had power over what I said.

"If you think I'm going to prance around in frilly little nightdresses and do whatever you say, you are very wrong." I said through clenched teeth.

"Seems to me you don't really have a choice." Richard said and I glared at him, asshole just had to pull that one.

"You're right. If I did I sure as hell wouldn't be here."

"Well you are. You're here for the long haul. I suggest rather than acting like a brat you try to be grateful for the fact we are taking you in out of the goodness of our hearts." He said.

"You're taking me in because no one else wants me and you can't have kids of your own." I spat.

"Can you really blame people for not wanting to take you in when you act like this? The sooner you realise this little rebel act is fooling anyone and that all you're doing is destroying your life, the better off you'll be." He said and I dragged my bowl back towards me, lifting the spoon and letting the lumpy porridge fall into the bowl again, eyeing it with disgust. I let the spoon fall back into the bowl and my chair legs scraped the floor as I flung myself away from the table and marched upstairs.

"Jessica, get dressed! We have to go to the store!" Aunt Emily called after me.

"I'm not going to the damn store!" I called back and slammed my door, flopping onto my bed.

A while later the door to my room opened and Emily peeked in, frowning slightly at me as I stared at her from my bed.

"Why aren't you dressed for going to the store?" she asked and I sat up, my eyebrows knitted together, was she deaf or something?

"Did you not hear me earlier? I'm not going to the store."

"Well I think you need some fresh air. Obviously you are stressed from the move." She said. I waved an arm towards my open window.

"I have all the fresh air I need, thanks. And I'm not stressed from the move, I'm stressed because my aunt and uncle think they have some right to change who I am." I accused and she sighed.

"Nonsense, Jessica. This," She waved towards me, "is all just a little phase you're going through. You just need a fresh start and a new look and this whole rebellious streak will be over. I'll pick you out something nice to wear." She said brightly and walked over to my drawers. She lifted out my t-shirts and jeans that I had stuffed in last night and held them out my two fingers, like she would catch a disease.

"What on earth are these things doing in your drawers?" she asked.

"Those are my clothes. I wear them." I said with deliberate slowness.

"Not anymore." She said and lifted them out, throwing them over her shoulder. She set some light lemon trousers on my lap and a white shirt with short, puffy sleeves.

"You'll wear these. Now come along, your uncle is going to give us a lift to the store and take us home, he doesn't like to be kept waiting." She said and set a pair of while plimsolls on the floor in front of me and went to the dresser, returning with a lemon headband.

"This will keep those ratty tails out of your face until we can get your hair cut." She said and at that she finally left me alone, taking my clothes with her. I glared at the clothes on my lap for a few minutes until the car outside honked impatiently. I threw the clothes on and left the hairband on my dresser, running a hand through my shoulder-length chestnut hair before trudging down the stairs and out to the car.

"Jessica, tuck your shirt in! It's not proper to have your shirt hanging out like that." Emily scolded as I got out of the car. I rolled my eyes and ignored her as we headed into the store. Which is a pathetic store; there are little tiny isles and hardly any variety.

I dragged my feet down the aisles after Emily, I blocked out her bubbly chatter about what she was making for dinner. I finally made it to where the drinks were and grabbed a root beer of the shelf, I was about to put it in the cart when Emily seized it.

"I don't think so. We don't want those pearly white teeth destroyed by these sugary drinks." She tutted disapprovingly.

"Please? I'm thirsty. Just this once." I attempted whining hoping it would work. Sure enough she smiled slightly after a moment.

"Just this once." She said and waggled her finger at me. I smiled falsely and she returned a genuine one before going to the counter.

We had only just exited the store when Emily gasped.

"Oh dear!" she said and I peered around the paper bag in my arms to see Richard with a boy a few years younger than me. He had blonde hair and thick glasses, blood oozed from his nose and he whipped it on his khaki shirt which had dog tags hanging from a chain on his neck. I smiled slightly, thinking he looked like a mini-solider.

"I'm going to drive Teddy home before we head back. Caught that local gang of hooligans bothering him, I gave them an earful and they left Teddy alone but I'm gonna make sure he gets home alright before we head back to the house." He said.

"No, really sir, it's fine." The boy, Teddy apparently, insisted but Richard patted his shoulder.

"Nonsense. It's no trouble." Richard said and opened the door of the car for Teddy to climb in the back. He turned to grab the bag off me and set it in the trunk, I followed him and plucked the root beer from the bag and headed back around to slide in beside Teddy.

"Here," I said and handed him the root beer, "you look like you need something stronger, but this'll have to do." I shrugged and he smiled.

"Thanks, I'm Teddy by the way. Teddy Duchamp." He said and held out his hand.

"Jesse Michelson." I said and gave his hand a firm shake.

"Have you introduced yourself to Teddy, Jessica?" Emily asked as she got into the front passenger seat.

"Nope I just stared at him." I said and Teddy chuckled.

"Don't be rude. Teddy this is Jessica." Emily said and Teddy nodded.

"Yeah she told me." He said.

"I thought you said you didn't introduce yourself, Jessica?" Emily asked in confusion and I rolled my eyes.

"I was joking. And I didn't introduce myself as Jessica, I used my actual name which is Jesse." I said pointedly.

"Jesse is a boy's name." Emily sighed as Richard started the car.

"Jesse is a nickname, like Teddy. You have no problem calling Teddy by his nickname even though it's a type of bear. Why can't you call me by my nickname?" I asked.

"Because your full name suits you better." She insisted.

"I disagree completely. In fact-"

"Enough!" Richard cut me off sharply and I glared at him in the rear-view mirror. Soon enough we arrived at Teddy's and he held the rest of the root beer out to me.

"Keep it." I said.

"Thanks. Thanks for the ride, sir." He said to Richard.

"No problem, Teddy." My uncle said and with that Teddy shut the door and went to his house.

"He's a nice boy." Emily said fondly.

"Sure is. Pity his dad is the way he is." Richard said with regret.

"What way is his dad?" I asked.

"His father was in the war, like me. We were in basic together and became very good friends. Unfortunately not everyone is equipped to deal with the stress of war; his father has become unstable in the past few years, he's now in Togus, it's a mental institution for veterans." Wow, poor Teddy.

"It was good of you saving him from that gang, dear." Emily said.

"Well I'd hate to see a nice young kid get beat up by a bunch of thugs." Richard spat the words.

"What did you say to them?" I asked tiredly, knowing Richard, he made it worse.

"I told them that they ought to find better things to do with their time and that beating up kids is not a valuable way to spend one's life. I think they'll think twice the next time they target a boy like Teddy." He said with a proud smile.

"Either that or you've just made it worse and they'll target Teddy even more because they now have proof he needs an adult to protect him rather than stand up for himself." I said and Richard glanced at me in the rear-view mirror.

"I don't think so." He said.

I do.