DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!

This chapter is dedicated to Connie Hooper, who dedicated a chapter to me in her own story, "Inevitable!" Go check out her story, it's incredible!

A/N: Four days later! And we get to the chapter you've all been waiting for, THE REUNION SCENE! Now, the scary stuff won't be in this chapter, that will be the next one! But, you will love this chapter a lot, I'm sure of it! This was the chapter I worked on the most, but I'm still not done with the fourth one! UGH! Hopefully I'll be done with it by Saturday!

SuperSentai199: Thank you! And even though she's scared, she's still a strong character and will fight for her friends throughout the entire story!

KatietheEddie: Glad you liked this chapter! I can't relate to what you mentioned, since I'm only a teenager lmao

Angryfanfic: I am! Don't worry! It normally takes me a few days to update each chapter, because I have school every day.

robinmuffins: Thank you, my friend! I'm happy she's starting to remember, too!

Connie Hooper: Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH! And I know, he's so sweet to her! But there will be tension between them after this chapter. There's already hints of tension between them in this chapter.

.2019: Thank you! And I chose to have his stutter come back early for more effect. But it will disappear during the second half of this chapter for a little while.

Special thanks to Soldier-Girl-506, SuperSentai199, KatietheEggie, Angryfanfic, fictionfangirl1, REDROBINS007, ArtemisRenee, FigurativelyDying, robinmuffins, Connie Hooper and .2019 for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!

Enough chit-chat! Here is the third chapter!

Chapter Three

3 Hours Later

2:07 P.M.

Bangor, Maine

A hand on Steph's cheek made her jump almost violently in the plane. She had fallen asleep and Bill was waking her up. The moment she saw his slightly amused expression, she relaxed instantly, putting a hand on her chest and taking deep breaths. "Don't scare me like that," she said in the most calm voice that she could use.

"Sorry," Bill replied. "We landed, so I nuh-nuh-needed to wake you up…"

Steph's eyes widened just the slightest bit. "Oh," she murmured. "O-Okay…"

They had officially arrived in Maine. Bangor International Airport, in fact. And almost immediately, her heart started going a million miles an hour as she stood up and walked into the plane's aisle. She opened her luggage compartment and grabbed her suitcase out of it. She slowly, although it was only a few seconds, exited the airplane, Bill right behind her as their feet hit the pavement. Bill had told her hours ago that he was going to rent a car for them to drive the last hour and a half to Derry, which she reluctantly supported.

But until they could get it, they had to take a taxi from the airport to the car rental place. So, they strolled from the back entrance all the way to the front of the airport. All the while, Steph had an iron tight grip on the handle of her suitcase. She subconsciously reached her left arm out, and Bill took her hand instantly, making sure to stay close to her, not bearing to be away from her for a second at that very moment.

When the couple walked out of the building, Bill yelled for a taxi instantly. Luckily, it didn't take very long for one to pull up and they got in with their suitcases. When Steph closed the door to her right, she looked to see a man in his late fifties look at them through the rearview mirror.

"Can you take us to the nearest car rental lot, please?" she asked him politely.

"You got it, miss," he replied, pulling away from the parking lot.

"Thank you," she said a little quieter, her hand still clutching Bill's.

Luckily, the man in the driver's seat wasn't as annoying as some of the other taxi drivers Steph had briefly met in the past. He didn't ask any unnecessary questions, respecting their personal boundaries as he stayed quiet.

The entire ride, Bill and Steph kept their hands intertwined, his free hand covering theirs. He could practically feel her anxiousness, almost as if it were contagious, so he started caressing her hand to make her feel at ease. Like always, it worked, even though they were in a much worse situation than ever at this point.

In just less than five minutes, the taxi driver pulled up to the sidewalk that led to the car rental lot. Steph thanked him, handed him the money, and she and Bill grabbed their suitcases and got out of the car. They walked into the building and she saw the words Enterprise Rent-A-Car! scream out of the sign next to the door. Bill opened the door and they both stepped inside, which Steph noticed didn't look as nice as it could've, but it was okay; she had been in worse looking places before. But then again, all car rentals didn't look very nice, unless they were in a big city.

They managed to rent their car, promising to bring it back within the following week. Steph demanded that she drive this time, and Bill reluctantly allowed her to. And she drove, ignoring everything else around her, her heart thumping against her chest cavity. And, the closer she and Bill got to Derry, the faster her heartbeat went. This time, she didn't hold Bill's hand, instead gripping the steering wheel tighter than she ever had before.

She was very frightened, although she kept a calm face. She was terrified of how she would react once she entered her childhood town. Steph wondered if anyone she knew besides her best friends still lived there. She knew that new people had to have moved to the town within the past 27 years. Obviously, she herself didn't want to go back, but she knew that she had no choice now. Besides, it would be completely pointless to arrive in Derry and then immediately turn around and go back.

Also, she did want to see her friends again. She hadn't seen most of them in over two decades and she realized that she missed them. Like, really missed them. And she wanted to see what they looked like in the modern day. Steph found herself thinking about the only memories she had of them, which was very few. And even they weren't clear enough for her to picture.

Bill kept glancing at Steph as they drove out of Bangor and into the middle of nowhere, worried about her. He wanted nothing more than to hold her but he knew that it wasn't the time for that at the very moment. He knew she was tense and that she was focused on something. So, he didn't say anything to her. There was a strained but slightly peaceful silence, and neither knew of what to say to one another. Steph was subconsciously in her own world, and Bill was in another.

He was trying his best to remember the good and bad times he had in Derry. Even the times before he and Steph started dating, but he wouldn't trade those days for any other.

As the car sped slightly through the countryside of Maine and they entered Old Town, his first thought was predictable enough: things had obviously changed, and they weren't even in Derry yet. But the predictable thought was followed by a feeling of dread that he didn't see coming. He remembered some of his childhood in Derry as a terrifying, fearful time… not only because of the summer of '89, when the eight of them faced the terror and the monster, but because of Georgie's death, the fight he and Richie had towards the beginning of that July, Bowers and Huggins and Criss constantly going after them even before the rock fight when they saved Mike.

But it was also slightly scary when he had made the move started a relationship with Steph. She had been his first and only girlfriend and they had made it this far. Wasn't that convenient? It only took a horrific summer full of murders and a monster to bring them together, but he wouldn't trade that for any other summer. Even now, nearly thirty years later, he was still so hopelessly in love with her that he almost couldn't handle it, despite the fact that he could barely remember their years of dating before their marriage.

But… the thing was… he didn't remember how they got together specifically. Whenever people asked how they had first met, he or Steph would tell them that they had become friends in middle school and that they started dating during high school.

Now, he finally remembered that they had been childhood friends before the romance had come into play. And when it did, it hit them both almost like a car accident. A car accident that was the greatest period of their lives for a long time. Well, that was before they got married. Now? Well, heck, they didn't know what to think after that. It was even better. Better than either of them could of ever imagined.

He perked up slightly when he began to see buildings again after they had driven right through Old Town. This was what finally broke Steph out of her long and drawn out thoughts, flinching as she herself noticed the buildings again. Her right hand unknowingly let go of the steering wheel and it gripped Bill's left tighter than ever. It was a small gesture of fear that they both shared, and they didn't need any words to know this.

She squeezed his hand, silently telling him that they should be calm, and then put it back on the wheel as she turned onto Route 7. She turned off the Interstate, wanting, for some reason she didn't understand, to stop the car for a brief moment so she could breathe.

But she kept her foot on the gas pedal, the car moving forward every microsecond, and in a matter of three minutes, entered a new town. And as the married couple in the vehicle moved further with it, the day started to lose its light.

Then Steph saw the sign. It was the same sort of sign which marked the borders of every single city she had ever visited. But this one in particular had made her heart skip a dozen beats!

Penobscot

County

D

E

R

R

Y

Maine

Derry, she thought, Derry, God help us. Derry. My childhood home…

Here Steph and Bill were, entering Derry for the first time in almost twenty-three years. And the feeling, albeit mysterious, wasn't scary at all like they had expected. It was, in fact, strange but weirdly welcoming.

"We're here," she murmured and Bill nodded slowly. Strangely enough, Steph's racing heartbeat slowed down in a matter of seconds and her tight grip on the steering wheel loosened. She honestly had no clue why she was feeling this way, but she was relieved that she didn't react negatively. But one aspect made her feel a little uneasy as she drove a part of the way through the town.

Derry practically looked deserted twenty-seven years later. She saw that nowhere near as many people resided in the town, but she also noticed new buildings as well as old ones. The slight dread that settled within Steph wouldn't go away, as much as she wanted it to. She had never seen a town so eerie, so empty, even if people still lived there. It left her in awe, but it was not a pleasant type of awe. To be honest, she didn't even know what to feel in her moment of surprise.

She let out a long breath she had held for several seconds as she turned onto another street. Steph cast wary glances around the area she was currently in, more out of the slightest amount worry and but more curiosity than true fear. It was at that moment that she came to the realization: coming back to Derry was not as bad as she thought it would've been, but she also thought that it wouldn't last very long. No, not thought… She knew it wouldn't.

She and Bill pulled up to the townhouse that Mike had rented for the eight of them and they sat in the car for a very long moment. There was nothing but silence, except for the occasional chirping of birds outside. They could both feel the emotional distance between themselves, and they both hated it. But they knew that it would be a while before they could do anything about it.

Still quiet, they both got out of the car and got their luggage. They carried their bags inside the building, and they were able to get inside, where Steph found a note and key on the front desk. She put one of her suitcases down and picked up the piece of paper, reading it carefully.

Losers,

Here are the keys to your rooms. Take your bags in there and meet me at the Jade of the Orient at 8:00 P.M. We have a lot to catch up on.

- Mike

Steph took the key that belonged to her and Bill and they both went upstairs; she reluctantly let her husband take her bags as well, but she took one of hers anyway. She unlocked the door when they came up to it, and the door swung open to reveal a small room, but Steph could tell that it was perfectly suited for the both of them as they entered. As Bill put the bags down, Steph pulled the curtains open slightly and looked outside at the many buildings that surrounded them.

She subconsciously felt for her pocket knife and gently pulled it out. But she didn't open it. Instead, she looked at the sleek black metal that was almost thirty years old. It felt like a million years ago now, but she knew that things were about to change for the worst. She didn't know if she was ready for that or not, but she would find out when the time eventually came.

"You okay?"

Steph flinched a little and turned around to face Bill. It was the first time she made eye contact with him since earlier that morning, and she felt a sense of relief as she looked at him. She shrugged. "I guess… I don't really know…" she replied, running a hand over her face and sitting down on the bed. "Sorry, just need a minute to process this," she added in a strained voice. Steph sighed as she stared towards the window, her gaze locked and unmoving, pondering everything in her mind.

Bill sat down beside her again, but didn't do anything else, knowing he shouldn't bother her. He looked at his watch, which read 3:27 P.M. He sighed quietly, getting up and beginning to unpack his belongings, but not before glancing at his wife one more time. "Do you want me to unpack y-y-your things for you?" he asked quietly.

Steph was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of Bill's voice and turned to look at him. "No, it's fine," she murmured. "I'll do it." She herself then got up and began unpacking her own suitcase so he wouldn't have to do it for her.

And that was how the next four hours went; the tension between Steph and Bill was slowly but surely diffused as each minute passed, and they were eventually reduced to their regular selves. Even Bill's stutter disappeared for a while, which made them both happy. But, they both knew that it would only be a matter of time before they had to leave and face the inevitable. But this time, Steph knew, she was ready for it.

"Maybe we should be there a little earlier. So… you know… we're not late," she suggested. "Sorry, I'm just such a perfectionist and I like to be at places early."

Bill shook his head, placing both of his hands on her shoulders. "It's okay, we'll go early if you want to," he assured her.

Steph nodded. "Thank you." She gave him a short hug, which he returned, but she pulled away before she could lose herself in that embrace. She looked at her watch; it was now 7:26, so she knew that they both needed to leave very soon. "We can take the car, if you want," she offered to Bill, and he nodded.

"Yeah, it'll be quicker," he replied. "I'm driving, though." This made Steph giggle a little.

"Fine then," she said in a slightly sassy manner. "Be rude." They both laughed at this remark as they exited the townhouse and got into the rental car. Bill started the car and they pulled away from the sidewalk.

It wasn't a very long drive from the townhouse to the Jade of the Orient. Steph had turned the GPS on, so they were able to find their way to the fairly new restaurant quite easily. And when they pulled into the parking lot, Steph was in awe of how beautiful the building looked; she almost forgot that she and Bill were even in Derry for a moment, but she knew that she would have to be an idiot to think that. She looked at her husband and noticed that he looked just as shocked as her. But there was a good reason for this; it had something to do with the fact that they had not been in their hometown for nearly two and a half decades.

"You ready?" Bill asked, breaking Steph out of her thoughts once more.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied. "We had to have gotten here before the others, right?"

Bill nodded. "Well, Mike got a room for all of us inside. But, you never know, they may already be here," he explained, shrugging his shoulders. Steph laughed quietly as she looked towards the restaurant once more, inhaling a deep breath. After a few seconds, she exhaled and nodded. "Let's do this," she said, making eye contact with Bill.

He smiled and got out of the car, gently closing the door. He quickly walked to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door for Steph before she could. She grinned for the first time in several hours and took his extended hand, feeling like she was a teenager again. She got out of the car and she shut the door, Bill locking the vehicle with the keys. He laced his fingers with hers and they began their walk towards the building, exchanging glances every now and then and smiling at each other. When they entered the building, they failed to notice four more cars pull into the parking lot.

The couple approached the front counter, where a female employee with a warm smile greeted them. Steph noticed that she looked a little surprised that two famous people were in a small town restaurant, but she was relieved that the employee pretended that they were normal people.

"Welcome to Jade of the Orient," she greeted them. "A table for two?"

Steph smiled back and shook her head. "No, ma'am," she replied. "A good friend of ours reserved a room for eight. Mike Hanlon is his name."

The employee smiled even wider. "Of course!" she exclaimed. "Follow me." The couple did so, following her into a closed off private room. Bill missed a step and Steph struggled to not laugh at him. "Be careful," the employee warned him politely. Then she gestured inside the room. "Here you are."

"Thank you, ma'am," Steph told her with a grin. They stepped into the room, which looked fancier than any restaurant they had seen recently. It made the woman's eyes widen in wonder as she looked around the room.

"Hey."

Steph nearly jumped a mile in the air at the sudden voice that rang in her ears. At first, it sounded vaguely unfamiliar, but as she and Bill turned to their left, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. She put a hand on her chest to calm her racing heartbeat as Mike Hanlon approached them. "Mike, you look good," Bill greeted him, and he was forced to let go of his wife's hand when the man that they hadn't seen in over twenty years engulfed him in a bear hug.

"Woah!" Bill exclaimed in slight surprise. "Hey, how're you doing?" He patted Mike on the back as he returned the hug, which only lasted a few seconds. They pulled away, and that gave Steph the opportunity to step forward and give Mike a warm hug. "Hey, homeschool!" she said happily, making all three of them laugh as the two pulled away.

"I didn't know if any of you would come here after all this time," Mike explained, "but of course you two came."

Steph laughed slightly. "An oath is an oath, Mike," she assured him, and Bill nodded. "She's right," he said. "Losers… gotta stick together, right?"

Mike smiled. "Losers… You remember that, that's good," he inquired. "Wait, what else do y'all remember?"

Steph thought long and hard for a small moment, and was about to open her mouth when they all heard another voice seconds later.

"...and I'm allergic to soy, uh, anything that has egg in it, uh, gluten…"

The woman's jaw dropped when she saw a taller man walk into the room, but he looked just above her height. He had brown hair and lines of age in his face; he was wearing a neat blue shirt with a red jacket over it as he was counting things off on his fingers. An amused smile formed on Steph's face when the man made eye contact with her and froze.

"...and if I eat a cashew, I could… realistically die…" The man's eyes widened as he looked between the three adults standing before him, the female employee walking away while he stayed rooted to the spot. "Holy crap!" he breathed out, which made Steph laugh a little.

To everyone's shock, the man stepped forward and hugged the only female first. "Stephanie Palmer!" he gasped, his arms gently hugging her to him in a friendly manner. She returned the embrace instantly with a big smile on her face.

"Hey, Eds!" she replied. "It's been ages, I know." They both laughed as Eddie pulled back to examine his best friend with a surprised look on his face. "You look great," he complimented her, and she gave him a polite smile. "Thanks," she said, "you too." She then watched Eddie hug the others and exclaim that it had been so long since they had last seen one another, and she couldn't stop smiling. She and Bill looked at each other for a moment, and he gave a nod of his head as if to say, "Losers will be Losers." She shrugged, humored by the look on his face.

A fleeting feeling overtook the woman at the moment. Although she didn't know when the others were going to show up, she was very happy seeing her best friends reunite after a long time apart. Just yesterday, she didn't even remember them at all, with the exception of Bill. And now, here they were, seeing them again, and she didn't even know the true feeling that was hidden in the back of her mind.

What she also didn't know was that she would come to see that feeling in front of her soon enough…

But one thing she and Bill had decided was to keep their marriage a secret until the others showed up. The couple knew that they would be very surprised, but they were going to find out sooner or later anyway, so why not reveal it to them during their reunion, right?

Not another freaking better time to do it than now, Steph thought to herself as she turned away to hide her secretive laughter.

The second she turned around, a loud BANG! rang in her ears, making her gasp and nearly scream in surprise. She managed to hold her voice as she looked ahead. "What in the world?!" she said in a low voice, placing a hand on her chest as a smile grew on her face, seeing the three new people that entered the room.

"This meeting of the Losers' Club has officially begun!"

"Look at these guys," Eddie stated sarcastically, but with a smile.

Two men and a woman were standing in the large doorway; one of the men had messy black hair and large, coke bottle glasses that framed the top half of his smirking face; the other one had neater black hair and a taller, slimmer build that complemented with the neat city clothes he wore. The woman wore nice clothes that Steph would see Audra wearing, but the standout feature was the short hair that gleamed and flamed the color red, and it reminded her of fire.

Beverly walked forward and embraced Steph tightly, which made tears swim in the woman's eyes as she hugged back. "Thank God you're here," Beverly said in a relieved voice, "or else I would be the only lady here!"

Steph chuckled through the battling tears when they pulled away. "Don't worry, I got your back, Bev," she told her, patting her shoulder. "Oh, you never wrote me, by the way."

The woman in front of her shrugged. "Well, time flies and you forget," she replied nonchalantly. Steph shook her head while fighting off another smile, going over to Ben. "New kid on the block!" she said dramatically, hugging Ben. His embrace was welcoming and friendly, and she loved it, but she couldn't help but quickly examine him after they broke the hug.

"You look different," she said, eyebrows raised. "But you look good."

"Thanks, you look great, Steph," he complimented in the same tone that Eddie had used earlier. She nodded, silently thanking him, and finally approached the last member of the Losers' Club that had showed up.

"Well, if it isn't the Trashmouth himself!" she exclaimed, throwing his arms around him, hugging him lightly. "It's great to see you again," Richie responded, genuinely happy to be reunited with a friend he hadn't seen in so long. When the two pulled away, Steph smirked at him.

"You look like crap," she remarked jokingly, and her friend pretended to be offended.

"I do?" he asked in a hurt voice, although that crooked smile never left his face. "I thought I looked great! You look okay, I guess." They both laughed hysterically as Steph punched Richie in the arm, and they could hear everyone else laugh behind them.

Later on, all seven of them sat at the round table in the middle of the room and had ordered their food. They took their tiny glasses of drinks and clinked them together, and while Steph and most of the others drank them slowly, Richie chugged his down in one gulp, the glass thudding on the table. He looked at Eddie with an amused smile. "So, wait… Eddie, you got married?" he asked in disbelief.

Eddie glared at him. "Yeah. Why's that so freaking funny?!" he snapped back.

"What… to, like, a woman?" Steph could see him trying to use a straight face, but close to failing.

Eddie pointed his chopsticks menacingly at Richie. "Screw you, bro…"

Richie chuckled at this remark. "Screw you!" he yelled.

Bill looked at his friend, a skeptical look etched into his face. "All right, what about you, Trashmouth?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. "You married?"

Steph shook her head. "I'm not buying that for a second. It's not true, don't believe him!" she told them. Beverly laughed. "I agree with the other lady," she said. "There's no way Richie's married!"

"No, I got married!" Richie informed them, looking dead serious. Steph stretched her free arm out to get a bite of food, her right hand linked with Bill's under the table. "Richie, you really expect us to believe that?" she told him skeptically, sitting back down.

"Yeah, when?" Eddie asked. Richie turned to him.

"Did you not hear this?" Richie inquired, exasperated that his friends didn't know this information.

"No," Eddie replied.

"Oh, you didn't know I got married?"

"No."

Richie gave a nod of his head, his face still serious. "Yeah, no, me and your mom are very, very happy right now."

Bill choked on his glass of beer. He coughed a little as everyone laughed hysterically at what Richie said. Steph whacked him on the back to help him breathe again. She laughed when he pointed at Eddie, making fun of him. "He totally fell for it!" he said through his laughter.

"Shut up!" Eddie said, his expression one of irritation, but somewhat stoic.

"Yeah, she's very sweet," Richie told him. "Sometimes, she'll put her arm around me, and she'll whisper to me. She'll go: Biso cobatha comaso misa wookie…"

Steph, understanding that Richie was mimicking Atilla the Hun, laughed harder than she had in years. That was when she realized how much she had missed Richie bringing levity to the Losers' Club with his jokes. She was suddenly grateful for her best friend's presence.

"We all get it, my mom is a great big fat person!" Eddie said without any regret whatsoever. Steph shushed him, not wanting to hear him say that out loud. But she failed to keep him quiet.

"Hilarious! Hysterical!" Eddie shouted sarcastically. Everyone was doubled over with laughter after this.

"So, Steph…" Richie got her attention, making her turn to him as she took another sip of her drink. "How's life been these past twenty-something years? You had to have done something with your life!"

"Ha ha," she fake laughed. "But no, uh, I became an actress and I've been in multiple horror films. I'm currently filming one, but we had to pause production so I could come back here."

Richie nodded. "So you've probably been in some crappy films and they did terrible," he remarked with a smirk. Steph scoffed at this and glared at him, shaking her head at his joke.

"Wait a minute… Steph!" The woman turned her head to Ben and noticed his expression was one of confusion. "You and Bill dated when we were teenagers, right?" he asked her. She nodded. "Did you guys break up or something, you guys are acting like you haven't seen one another in so long…"

Steph sighed quietly and leaned over to Bill. "Should we tell them?" she whispered. He smirked at her. "Let me handle it," he replied.

He took their connected hands and raised them up for the others to see. They all looked confused. "Uh… I don't get it, is this a guessing game?" Richie asked. This made Steph sigh more audibly and she stretched her left hand out, and they finally saw the ring.

"You got freaking married?!" Eddie asked in disbelief. "Holy cow!"

"You should've invited me!" Richie yelled. "I feel left out!"

"Hey, guys," Ben said, waving his hand, "stop teasing them."

"Yeah, leave them alone, you're practically humiliating them," Beverly scolded them.

Steph smiled at her two supportive best friends gratefully. "Thanks, you two," she told them, nodding at them appreciatively before turning to the other two. "Sorry we didn't tell you guys, Mike already knew before we got here."

"Wait, how did Mike know?" asked Richie, squinting his eyes in confusion.

"She accidentally told me when I called her," said Mike simply.

"How long has it been since you two tied the knot?" This question came from Eddie, who was a lot more calm about the situation.

"Just about… twenty years, right, honey?" Bill said, looking at Steph with a questioning look. But she could see through his act and playfully punched his arm.

"Don't you dare pretend you're stupid!" she berated him, and everyone else snickered at their behavior.

"And you guys are still as disgustingly cute as I remember!" Richie proclaimed, grinning proudly.

"Beep beep, Richie!" Steph replied, jutting a finger at his face.

"Congratulations, guys," Ben said, genuinely happy for them, and Steph smiled at him.

"Wait," Richie spoke up again, "let's talk about the elephant not in the room. Ben…" He gestured to the now thin man, and he smiled. "What the heck, man?"

"Okay okay, obviously, I lost a few pounds…" Ben explained briefly, but paused, sounding a little reluctant to say it.

"Yeah, no crap, you lost a few pounds," Eddie pressed onward in an exasperated voice. Steph raised her glass and gestured to Ben with a grin. "I'm proud of you, Haystack!" she complimented him. He nodded his thanks to her.

"You're like, uh, you're hot."

Ben chuckled a little when he heard this escape Richie's lips. "It's true," Eddie agreed, making him a little more embarrassed.

"No, you're like every Brazilian soccer player wrapped up into one person," Richie added, trying to not laugh. Steph and Bill laughed hysterically at what he said. Beverly was smiling, but Steph could see the slight sympathy for Ben.

"Leave him alone, you're embarrassing him," she said, her eyes directed to Ben.

"Okay, okay… All right! Is… Is Stanley coming or what?" Ben asked, looking towards the only empty seat in the room. Everyone fell silent as they followed his glance while he muttered, "Someone save me…"

Richie stared at the vacant chair for a few seconds, seeming to be thoughtful in that moment. "Stan, uh…" He then turned his head in Steph and Bill's direction, although he was looking at the latter. "Stan Uris…"

"Stan Urine," they both said at the same time, making Steph glare daggers at Richie and kick Bill's foot slightly; she said nothing, though.

"Stanley Urine," Richie repeated. "No, no, he's a freaking wimp, he's not gonna show…"

Steph shushed him, trying to get him to lower the amount of language he was using. Richie playfully glared at her. "Okay, go ahead and make me shut up, Mom," he replied, pretending to be irritated. "Weren't you the Loser that pretty much competed with me on how much we cursed?"

"Yeah, but guess what, Trashmouth? Those days are over. You're dang right they are," Steph proudly proclaimed, although half lying. Richie shockingly seemed to believe her despite this.

"Why would Stanley save you, anyway?" Eddie asked Ben, ignoring their banter. "Was I not the one who basically performed surgery on you after Bowers cut you up?" Ben nodded and Eddie's eyes widened a little. "Holy crap, that's right!"

"Based on that, you were bound to become a doctor one day, Eds," Steph told him, sounding a little hopeful. "Did you ever get a career in that field?"

Eddie shook his head, and Steph felt a little disappointed. "Uh, no, I ended up becoming a risk analyst," he replied, sounding slightly proud.

"Oh, that sounds really interesting," Richie said, seemingly very invested. "What does that entail?" He then sat back to listen to him.

"Yeah, so, I work for, like, a big insurance firm and…" Then the sound of snoring filled Steph's ears, and she struggled not to laugh as Eddie scowled in Richie's direction; the man had his head hanging over the back of his chair, mouth hanging open as he pretended to be asleep, wheezes and snores coming out of his mouth. He then seemed to hear everyone's laughter, since he raised his head back up as if he awakened again.

Everyone burst into hysterical laughter over this, covering their mouths and trying not to choke on their food. Steph was laughing, but was slightly irritated as well. "Rich, that was mean," she rebuked through her giggles. Eddie, meanwhile, had his unwavering glare locked onto Richie.

"Screw you, dude…" he said, his voice monotone but also full of anger. "Screw you."

"Was this job invented before fun?" Richie asked facetiously. Steph and Bill snorted in response.

"Oh, that's so not funny," Eddie snapped at him.

"It is funny," Richie argued.

Eddie turned to Ben, and glowered at him as well. Ben was chuckling quietly.

"What the heck are you laughing at?!" he shouted, very offended.

Beverly waved a hand around, raising her bottle of alcohol. "I propose a toast… to the Losers…"

Everyone clinked their bottles together.

A/N: Great to have a light-hearted scene before all of the horror truly comes into play! Yay!

The reunion scene is my favorite scene of the film, so I'm sure you loved this chapter!

DID you love this chapter? Let me know!

I personally love the banter between Steph and Richie, let me know if you do as well!

Are you excited for the fortune cookie scene in the next chapter? HYPE IT UP!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward to the next one! Have a great day, and until next time!

- Hermione Romanoff