Hey, there. Here's a new Stand By Me story I cooked up one day while reading some good SBM fanfics. It's an Alternate Universe story, and it takes place a few days after Ray Brower's body is found. Hope you like it!

(By the way, I'm still trying to get ideas for "The Rapist of Castle Rock", and standbyme406 (aka Bridget)'s idea is a great one! Thanks, my friend. That means a lot to me.)

Disclaimer: The geniuses at Paramount Pictures own Stand By Me. I own the fanfics I cook up from time to time.

His eyes upon your face
His hand upon your hand
His lips caress your skin
It's more than I can stand

Roxanne
Why does my heart cry?
Roxanne
Feelings I can't fight
You're free to leave me
But just don't deceive me
And please believe me
When I say, I love you
-Ewan McGregor, El Tango de Roxanne

It was a new day in Castle Rock, Oregon. It was June. But it was also pretty hot – about 70 degrees, of course. Castle Rock was a small town. Its population was only 1200 people, but to 12-year-old Abigail Watson, it was the whole world.

Well, I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Probably die in a small town
Oh, those small communities

All my friends are so small town
My parents live in the same small town
My job is so small town
Provides little opportunity

Educated in a small town
Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town
Used to daydream in that small town
Another born romantic, that's me
-John Mellencamp, Small Town

Abigail was a lovely girl with hair the color of chocolate and cobalt eyes. She was often sarcastic, but only when she wanted to be. But often she was actually quite nice. She wanted to be a famous writer when she grew up. And she was very smart for her age, having been precocious when she was little.

She was wearing a green T-shirt covered by a royal blue coat with blue snaps and gray pockets, blue jeans and white socks.

She sat on her bed, listening to her parents discuss their problems with each other. But sometimes those discussions involved her.

"A writer? Huh, I don't think so."

"Abigail's not going to survive on peanuts as a writer."

"She should give up being a writer. It's a waste of time anyway."

"She's a girl, and girls shouldn't be writers. Stuff like writing should be left up to men only."

Abigail shook her head and smiled to herself. She knew they were wrong. She believed that she would become a great writer, just like her friend Gordie Lachance.

It was then that Abigail had an idea. She slipped off her bed, put on her black Velcro sneakers, snuck over to the door, then put her ear to it. At first she didn't hear anything.

Perfect, she thought. So she quietly opened her bedroom door, then walked on tiptoe to the front door. She listened just in case her parents heard her. Luck was on her side, as they hadn't heard anything.

So she opened the door, slipped out and closed it quietly behind her.

"Time to begin my adventure," she whispered to herself.

With that, she headed off. Her idea was that she and her friends – Gordie, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio – would go on an adventure.

Chris Chambers was the leader of the gang. The Chambers family was seen by everyone in Castle Rock as a bad family. The dad was an alcoholic. The mom was a streetwalker. The older brother was a rapist. Richie, who preferred to be called Eyeball and hung out with the Cobras, was a juvenile delinquent.

Chris was seen as a thief ever since the milk money incident at school. Everyone would hide their purses and their wallets as though they thought he would steal them. All those people knew was his last name. They judged him because they didn't know.

But to Abigail, Gordie, Teddy and Vern, Chris was seen as a good kid.

Vern Tessio was an overweight kid who was often the subject of the gang's jokes. At the beginning of the school year he had buried a jar of pennies underneath his house. He drew a treasure map so he could find them again. A week later his mom cleaned out his room and threw away the map. Vern had been looking for those pennies for nine months. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Teddy Duchamp was the craziest guy the gang all hung around with. He didn't have much of a chance in life. His dad was given to fits of rage. One time he held Teddy's ear to a stove and almost burnt it off.

Gordie was a quiet, bookish boy with a penchant for telling stories that he could make up off the top of his head. The only person who supported his dream of being a writer was his brother Denny. Denny loved Gordie's stories, and thought they were very good, as well as thought-up and creative.

But sadly Denny died in a Jeep accident a few months ago. Gordie's parents never got over the tragedy of losing their favorite son.

Now they would ignore Gordie and pretend he was the invisible boy. Sometimes Gordie's father would compare Gordie to Denny, which Gordie had recently taken a disliking to.

Once he asked,

"Why can't you have friends like Denny's?"

"Dad, they're OK," Gordie replied.

"Sure they are. A thief and two feebs?" Mr. LaChance asked.

"Chris isn't a thief," said Gordie.

"He stole the milk money at school. He's a thief in my book."

But little did she know that the "bad boy" of Castle Rock himself, Ace Merrill, was watching from his car.

He had short blond hair, blue eyes, and a handsome face. He was given the nickname of "bad boy" of Castle Rock because he was always popular with the girls, and their parents never liked him much. And he was the leader of a gang called the Cobras. They consisted of Vern's big bro Billy, Eyeball, Charlie Hogan, Jackie Mudgett and Vince Desjardins.

Ace was wearing a black shirt, a pair of black Levis, and black shoes. He looked pretty cool.

He had noticed Abigail a few days earlier, when it had been the last day of school…

"Abigail! Hey, Abigail!" a voice yelled.

Abigail looked up at the speaker who had called her name and smiled. It was Mr. Smith, her writing teacher.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I just want to say, thanks for all your hard work. I'll treasure your writing forever."

"You're welcome," Abigail replied.

Ace could not believe what he was hearing. He was also quite impressed at Abigail's politeness.

Then he remembered Abigail saying, "I'm a brain. Therefore, I don't get a boyfriend" whenever some guy would work up the courage to ask her out on a date.

Ace shook his head. A brain, huh? And she never dated.

Once, when some guy tried to give her a kiss, she backed away and then took off like a startled deer or a fawn. Eyeball, having seen the whole thing, told him what had happened…

"Hey! Abigail!"

Abigail looked up. A guy with dark brown eyes and black hair had ran up to her.

"You look…great," he said, smirking.

Abigail felt a little uncomfortable. "Uh, thanks," she said.

"May I…"

He seemed to be having trouble with his next words. Abigail waited.

"May I…kiss you?" he asked.

"No. Now get away from me!" Abigail said, and then turned and ran, her sneakers pounding the pavement.

Eyeball was surprised as he watched the whole scene unfold in front of him. That guy had nerve; he knew that.

Ace then smirked as he cooked up a plan…

Well, hope you like it so far. :) Nice feedback is appreciated, of course.