For my love of the Chamber's children and of Ace Merrill, here you go. Here's an intro, as every story has. But let's start seven years before the movie takes place; give you all a little taste of young John Merrill.

Identify Normal

1951

It was a normal house, in the middle of a normal neighborhood, on the outskirts of a normal town. I went to a normal school, with normal classes, and normal teachers. At home I was surrounded by normal parents and normal brothers. The list goes on and on. This was my life, day in and day out. The only thing not so normal was my friend, John. Sure I had other friends, like Dennis Lachance and all the girls that thought he was cute, but for the most part, they were all normal. John was what had made life interesting here in Castle Rock. He was the kid who would always look for adventure. Most of the time that adventure would lead us to trouble. All of the parents, teachers, and well, pretty much every adult in town would say that he was no good; a good for nothing bastard like his father. I don't believe that; John was only looking for fun, and trust me; it's hard to find in such a small town. Most of the time we would walk up the creek; we had a little hideout about a mile outside of town. That was the only place that we didn't have to worry about being yelled at by our folks, the only place we wouldn't be judged.

John wasn't a bad kid, but it really seemed that way. The kids up on the view, the ones in the shop classes, would all spread nasty rumors about him. In return, I would get a reputation of my own. I would literally knock some sense into those brats, to teach them to leave John alone. That is why all the teachers called me a good for nothing Chambers' kid – for standing up for my friend. John could always stand up for himself; there was no doubt about it, but I always got ticked by hearing all of the lies and had to do something about it. Well, next year I'm going to laugh when John and I are in the college courses, while they get stuck making birdhouses.

It was just another day I guess; a Saturday. My younger brothers and I were watching the Mickey Mouse Club on the small television screen. I was squashed in between Richard and Christopher the whole time. I was twelve years old, and was always watching over the two of them. Rich was only about a year younger than me, and we both had the same eyes: brown, like our dad's. He also inherited the dark, curly had from our dad as well. Chris was the exact opposite, and had the light eyes like our mother, and we both had her sandy blonde hair. He was five years old, and was always trying to keep the peace. Both of my brothers were good kids, and they would be mighty handsome when they were grown up. We all got along for most of the time, except when Rich wanted to pick a fight with little Chris. He had nothing to prove, but he loved to act all rough and tough and seem like a macho man.

As the show was over we heard our mom call to us that breakfast was ready. Hurrying into the kitchen, we were overwhelmed by the smell of pancakes, and rushed over to take a seat. Breakfast was quiet with just the four of us. Dad liked to sleep in, and that was usually the way it was. This morning however, was different, and he woke up earlier than normal. We didn't know it until he stormed into the kitchen though, and glared at mom.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Mom didn't say anything. "Well?"

"I-I thought-" mom stuttered. Quickly I looked to Chris and Rich, and we silently slipped out of the room while dad began to yell at mom. That would happen once in a while, and me and my brothers tried to avoid it. Dad didn't drink very often, but when he did, you could feel the effects. We went out front onto the porch, and I ran a hand through my hair, sighing.

"So, what's the plan?" Rich asked quietly, sitting down onto the dusty wood flooring. Chris quietly mimicked his brother, and I looked on, thinking.

"I don't know. Just stay out of the house for a while." I said.

"Where are you going Sadie?" Chris piped up. I thought for a moment.

"Just for a walk. I could use some fresh air." I said shrugging my shoulders.

"No way." Rich scoffed. "You're probably just gonna hang out with that Merrill kid." I lightly smiled.

"Well, if I happen to see John, I don't see why we shouldn't hang out." I called out as I jumped down the steps and out to the street. Neither of them said anything after that, and I made my way down the sidewalk, glancing at all of the houses.

I wandered aimlessly for a good half an hour before I heard a familiar voice.

"Sadie!" I turned to come face to face with none other than Denny Lachance. He was a good friend of mine, and was right behind John on the list. No one came even close to those two because they were just that special. He was out walking with his kid brother, Gordon, who was probably as old as my brother, Chris.

"Hello there, Denny." I said, walking backwards. "Gordie." I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hi." He said quietly.

"What's up with you two?"

"Well, we were going down to our dad's work. He forgot his lunch." Denny said, raising a sack in his hand.

"Yeah, mom was too busy to." Gordie added. Denny was such a good brother, always bringing Gordon with him. I was that way with Chris, but it was always a bit hard to get him away from his friends. Chris was friends with Gordie, the Duchamp kid, and with little Vern Tessio. I knew Vern's older brother, because we were in the same classes at school. He was always acting tough, and was after all the ladies. I cringed at the thought. He asked me out last year, and I didn't know what to say. Who wants a relationship when you're a kid? Honestly, there was nothing more awkward than that. When I didn't say anything he walked away towards Betty Harrison and asked her the same thing. She giggled and quickly said yes, and they walked away. I rolled my eyes and went home. I told Richard later on, and we laughed about how desperate the kid was. Denny brought me back into reality.

"So what are you up to this fine day?"

"Just walking around." I said, still walking backwards.

"You're gonna fall, Chambers." A new voice said, and as I span around, I ran straight into John Merrill. I hit the ground with a thud, but John pulled me up.

"I'll see you around, Sadie." Dennis said, glaring at John. John glared back at him. They had never liked each other, and always seemed to be fighting. What they were fighting over, I really don't know, but it was always uncomfortable when they were around each other. Denny and Gordie walked away, and John started walking me to the diner. Without another word, he walked inside and bought two cokes. As he came out, he handed me one and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"So, what's up with today? I usually don't see you until after lunch." He asked. I sighed.

"My folks got into it again, and I just needed to get away for a bit."

"Parents suck." He yelled. I nudged him in the shoulder.

"Shut it, Merrill. Your mother's a saint." His mom was the nicest, most welcoming person around. He could hurt someone if they said anything bad about his mother.

"Hell, that's not what I meant. You know what I'm talking about, Sadie." I knew immediately. He was talking about his dad, who had gone to jail for almost killing a guy. John's dad was an angry person, and I have no clue how his mom stayed with him for so long. John was an only child, so when his dad was around, he got hided. It was bad, and he usually had to stay home for a day or two afterwards.

After that thought, we silently made our way up the creek. I looked to him, and watched as he would absentmindedly run a hand through his golden blonde hair. He was looking to the ground, which meant he was deep in thought, and his light blue eyes were hidden. I was still a couple of inches taller than him, and his breathing was stiff.

"John, you need to breathe." I whispered, nudging his side. His head snapped up to the sky and he groaned. "Forget about him. He's not going to come back."

"But he's wrecked everything. He should be in the position of the guy he almost finished off; stuck in a hospital for the rest of his life. If he dares to come back, he'll be sorry." He snapped. I was worried, because this had happened quite a few times after his dad was locked up. He really doesn't need to have his father's temper, but how can I change that?

"John, forget him." I sighed. Then I looked ahead, seeing our little hideout about a hundred feet away. Smiling, I tapped his shoulder. "Race ya."

"Not now, Chambers."

"Come on. It's not that far." I whined. He smirked and looked to me.

"Begging?"

"You wish." I said, trying to trip him.

"Okay, Okay. Chill out." He chuckled. "You're on." He said, and took off.

"No fair!" I yelled, running after him.

"Come on, Sadie. Whoever said that life was fair?" he laughed, and continued running. Some friend I had, I thought, as a smile covered my face.

Let me know what you think, and tell me what you would like to come out of this story. Thanks a bunch, Crimsonsky132