A/N: Hello, everyone! I hope you are all doing well and staying safe out there.
Just want to drop a little note that all the events that will happen in the next few chapters are long before The Losers confront Pennywise towards the end of the film. However, I will slightly deviate away from it by a year as I had done in my previous adaption.
I did make quite a few adjustments and alternative outcomes in this chapter. So, I hope you like it.
Anyway, enjoy the read!
It's pretty decent this morning.
The temperature is tolerable, and the sun beamed brightly with not a cloud in sight.
Stan decided to go for a walk to clear his mind. Ever since Ruth's disappearance, Stan has been deathly worried about her. The others are equally concerned, as well. He, on the other hand, is taking the news a lot harder. His crush, whom Stan is beginning to fall in love with, is missing for over a month. He's starting to think the worse.
Oh, G-d, please let Ruth be alright. Give me some clues to find her or, his thought trails off when he hears a familiar voice.
Stan stops in his tracks, listening carefully. The voice he hears is refined and silvery. Yes, he knows who that voice belongs to. His heart flutters in excitement, and his stomach flips. Stan glances to his right from a corner and sees the fiery strawberry blonde hair cascading down a female's back. Stan instantly recognized the lilac top.
He starts forward, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. He doesn't see anybody look in his direction or in Ruth's. It felt like they didn't exist. Stanley thought it was weird but thought nothing of it. Even if people did see them, he wouldn't care then. All Stan sees is Ruth talking to the Basset Hound at her side. He ignores the "conversation" she's having. All Stan knows is that he saw Ruth and is overjoyed.
"Ruth?"
Stan sees her stiffen from the sound of his voice.
"Ruth, is that really you?"
She whirls around, looking frantic. Ruth's long gentle waves swirled with her, flinging into her face a little. When her widened, beautiful eyes land on his, Stan rushed at her. He heard Ruth's beautiful voice ring in his ears again.
"Stan?"
Upon approach, Stan doesn't give her a chance to speak further. He roughly takes Ruth into his arms, hugging her tightly. It's a hearty hug in which Stan would have lifted Ruth off her feet if she hadn't gotten slightly taller. Stan weeps, relieved and over the moon that Ruth is alive.
"Y-you're alive! Thank God, you're alive!" He cries hysterically.
Ruth's arms hung limply at her sides for a moment, then timidly wrapped her arms around his neck to return the embrace.
"I was so afraid I lost you!"
"Um, it's okay, Stan. I'm okay."
Stan sobs lightly onto her shoulder. "I've missed you so much," he whispers.
Ruth doesn't say anything back, but her brows furrow and lips turned downward.
The two teenagers embraced for a long moment, more prolonged than Pennywise wanted. He watched them in strange wonder. He and Ruth hugged before but not anything like what is before him. Ruth and Stan clung to one another like life partners. Except he knew better. From Stanley's tears and Ruth's uncertainty, they don't seem like the perfect happy pair anymore. Something changed, and Pennywise knows what that something is, too.
Pennywise inwardly pouts. Alright, back off, Loverboy.
Stan finally pulls away, breaking the embrace. He immediately started to ramble.
"I'm so glad you're okay. When we found out you were missing, well, after finding your parents dead, we didn't know what to think. I didn't know if you were okay, hurt, or even worse, dead."
Ruth stared at him for a moment, her brows furrows. "Wait? You went into the house? Why?"
"I had to know if you were okay! We all went in_."
"Wait, we?"
"Yes, we. Bill, Ben, Beverly, Richie, Eddie, Mike, and I went to your house, Ruth. Well, Beverly insisted we stay out, even Eddie agreed."
She stares for a moment, her features slightly scrunched.
"Why did you go there, to begin with?"
"We don't know why we went there. I can only assume we all had this feeling something was wrong. Even your stalker R," Stan quickly stopped himself from revealing the stranger's name.
He knew if he accidentally said the guy's name and Ruth met him somehow, the stalker would kill him.
Ruth glared at Stan for a second, a little perplexed at his sudden reluctance. "My stalker?"
"Yeah, he came looking for you. He's a real mess right now. The guy is freaking worried sick about you and quite literally, too. He doesn't look too good."
Ruth continued to stare at him. She wanted to pointedly glare at Pennywise for making them go into her home to discover the bodies of Jordan and Jonathan. However, after Stan mentioned her stalker, Ruth felt her stomach sickening drop yet fluttered excitedly. She knows she should have told Pennywise about her stalker, but at the time, she didn't think he would be a real issue. Well, maybe not a problem. Ruth never thought the guy would be involved in her life. So, to hear her stalker is sick because of her disappearance saddened her. Ruth hates she is putting him through turmoil when he deserves to know she is okay. He was looking out for her and made sure she was safe from harm.
The day she broke things off with Mike, the stalker followed Ruth but walked alongside her to comfort her. They talked the whole time about everything under the sun, which helped direct Ruth's attention elsewhere. He escorted her to the corner of Neibolt and Witchum because she didn't want to reveal her safe house to him. Doing so would have jeopardized her growing friendship with Pennywise. Ruth wanted to trust the stalker, but she found it hard to do after what happened earlier that day despite their lighthearted conversations.
I need to find him. He deserves some sort of explanation, Ruth thought to herself.
Below, Pennywise grew agitated yet perturbed.
"Stalker? You never told me you had a stalker."
"I will talk to you about him later. And did you point them in the direction of my old home?"
"I assure you, Ruth, I had nothing to do with the bunch intruding on your previous home. That is the truth."
"Ruth?" Stan called to her.
Ruth flinches slightly from being disturbed but won't show her grief towards the stalker or guilt from telling Pennywise.
"Oh, sorry. You went into the house because you had a feeling something was wrong? If you were that concerned, you should have called the police to investigate, not yourselves. I'm sure if I were someone who hasn't seen death before, I would be traumatized."
Stan opened his mouth to argue, only to stop. He knew it would be pointless because Ruth is intelligent. She would have waited outside for help to arrive and search the home like Beverly said. He eyes her, finally taking notice of Ruth's appearance. She is a little fuller in the face, pleasantly toned, and gaining emphasis in some areas. Ruth's petite frame is filling out to a sophisticated hourglass shape. Of course, being a boy, Stan eyed her growing swells for a second, then back to her eyes.
"Um uh, wow, you look um, you look," Stan stuttered, wetting his lips.
Pennywise rolls his eyes. Oh, for the love of galaxies.
"Great," Stan finished, blushing deeply.
Pennywise inwardly groans, face-palming himself.
A real compliment would have sufficed, you nitwit.
Ruth deadpans and stares at Stan, feeling deflated. Ruth wanted to hear a real compliment from him after a month of not seeing him. She did miss him to a degree and seldomly thought about him. Maybe not as much as the stalker, though. He always managed to weave himself into her thoughts.
"Oh, um, thanks, I guess," she mumbles.
Stan watches Ruth, who is a little lost in thought. Her response perturbed him as she doesn't seem herself.
"Are you okay?"
Ruth hums in response at first, "Oh um, yeah, I'm fine."
"You sure? You don't seem like yourself."
She glares at him, sighing in defeat yet is growing annoyed rather quickly. "I just saw my missing person poster, Stan."
He frowns, "Well, it has been a month since you've disappeared, Ruth. Everyone is worried about you."
"Really? Normally, people would be glad I was gone."
"Nonsense! Once the town learned the truth, they regretted doing the things they did."
"Really, regretted. I lived with being hated for fourteen years, and now all of a sudden, I'm liked because I'm some famous person's daughter! It's not exactly an easy change to adapt to overnight."
"I understand your frustrations, Ruth, really, I do. The group is concerned about you, even Beverly. Poor Mike is guilt-tripping himself because he feels it's his fault for what happened."
Ruth rose her brows, "It kind of is his fault. If he had stayed away and approached the situation a little more delicately, everything would have turned out differently. Except, he confronted the problem head-on, and it nearly got me killed."
"I know that, Ruth. He only went there out of concern, even when Richie and I told him not to."
"Wait, Richie?"
Stan visibly stiffened.
"Oh uh, he approached us after he nearly collided into you when we all last saw you. We ended up telling him."
She astonishingly gapped at him then morphed into rage.
"You told him? Whoa, hold on now, how in the hell did you find out?" Ruth questioned with voice rising.
"I found out on my own at the fair last month. I knew something was wrong for a while but didn't get confirmation until Mike almost revealed your secret. Plus, he did spill the beans to only me and Rich."
Ruth's jaw squared, and gaze hardened. Stan can tell she is livid and is trying to contain her anger. He stupidly added onto it, completely missing her trembling fists.
"Just so you know, I went to intercept, but I was too late. When I got Mike to back off and were leaving, Jonathan grabbed me from behind. Mike snapped and freaking punched him."
Ruth's eyes narrowed and seethed. "Excuse me?"
"It was a bad move, I know. Jonathan threatened to kill us if we returned there. Mike and I talked afterward. We should have gone to the authorities then. Maybe none of this would have happened."
She remained to stare at him, processing everything. Ruth presses and bit at her lips as if unsure of what to say now.
"Look, you've been through hell, I know. I'm terribly sorry you had to."
Ruth doesn't say anything back, just glowered.
They stood in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say now. Stan figured it out quickly.
"Will you tell me one thing? It's something I've wanted to know for the past month now."
"And what's that?"
"Are you safe?"
Ruth pointedly glares and crossed her arms with her left hip, jutted out.
"I am," Ruth answered tightly.
"Uh, where exactly would that be?"
Ruth cocks her head, "Why do you want to know? You thinking about coming to visit me?"
"Well, maybe, yeah."
Back off before I bite you, Pennywise growls.
"Can't answer that," Ruth answers quickly, fuming underneath her calm shell.
"What, why not? Don't you_."
"The thing is, Stan, I don't want to be found right now."
He looks at her, puzzled. "Why? Are you hiding from something? Or are you running away from a problem?"
Ruth glares at him, seething, "That is none of your fucking business."
Stan sighs heavily, not liking where this is going. He puffs his chest, readying himself.
"Do you not trust me, Ruth?"
She searched his gaze, frowning deeply. "I lost my trust in you when you and Mike confronted Jordan. I don't care if you went there with the best of intentions. You two almost got me killed. It's kind of hard to trust anyone now since everyone refers to me as Rutherford's Daughter."
He pauses, starting to understand her anger now.
"You're not just that, Ruth. You're still you."
"Am I?"
"You are. I know who you are, Ruth."
Pfft, do you now? Pennywise thought to himself.
Ruth refrains from making a snide remark. Instead, she stares at Stan with pursed lips.
"Look, I understand this is all hard all to process and adjust. I can't imagine how you feel about everything," Stan pauses to look at Ruth.
He can tell the attack still haunts her mind. Despite her healthy appearance, Ruth looks exhausted. The dark circles under her eyes are a clue due to insomnia. Stan doesn't doubt Ruth has nightmares. Her anxiety is most likely through the roof. Ruth gazing around nervously showed that aspect of possible trauma.
He sighs heavily, "You know, out of everyone here in Derry, I was the most worried about you, Ruth."
"Were you?" She questions tightly.
Stan considers for a long moment, sighing heavily again.
"When I went to go investigate your home, I feared the worse. Every corner I passed, I kept telling myself, "Please, don't let it be Ruth." It would have crushed my heart if I discovered your lifeless body. Ever since I saw you in school several years ago, I instantly developed a crush on you. You're intelligent and charming yet a strong-willed fighter, Ruth. And I like you a lot. I was so afraid that you were dead. I would hate it if I ever lost you. You're the sunshine to my world, Ruth."
Ruth stood rigid, searching his soft gaze. She stares at him for a long moment to process Stan's confession. He didn't have to say it. Ruth knows now Stan is in love with her. Is she, though?
Stan eyes Ruth, searching her gaze. He gulps lightly, stepping closer to where they barely touched. Ruth stiffens at his sudden closeness, breathing deeply. She can smell frankincense with a tinge of myrrh and cinnamon on him. It's a bit overwhelming, but Stanley's introduction to cologne fits him. He stares at her lips for a second, then lands his eyes on Ruth's.
"Can I get your permission to do something? I want to demonstrate how much I care about you, Ruth?" Stan timidly questions.
"What is it you want to do?"
Without leaving her gaze, and with a soft determined smile, "I want to kiss you. May I?"
Pennywise inwardly squeaks and glances from both Ruth and Stan.
Ruth searches Stan's gaze, mouth slightly parted. She doesn't answer, not even a visual cue, but her eyes seemed she wants him to. Stan closed his eyes and drew forward to mold his lips with Ruth's.
"Whoa, wait," Ruth suddenly voiced and backed away without his knowledge.
Like a record player scratching to a halt, Stanley stopped his advance and peered at Ruth through his eyelashes.
"Everything okay?"
She looks at him, guilt overwhelming her gaze, and gulps.
"I don't think you should kiss me."
Stan's heart drops, his stomach twists unpleasantly. His fingers unknowingly curled into trembling fists. He gulps himself, preparing himself for the dreaded cliché statement, "It's not you, it's me," bullshit. Stan just professed he deeply cares about her and is in love with Ruth. She invited him to kiss her, so why all of a sudden would she not let him.
"Why not?"
Ruth shrunk from the tightness in his tone with a frown and innocently stared at him. She opens her mouth to explain, only to close with a sigh, and directs her gaze elsewhere. He can see the wheels turning in her head, considering her words before delving into her reason, which ultimately worried him. Stan has never felt his nerves this tense before, fearing the girl of his dreams is about to turn him down flat. The thought of her admitting she likes Mike more had a green monster develop in his stomach.
"The thing is," Ruth started with her gaze looking down at the pavement. "I don't think kissing you, or anyone else for that matter, just to show me how much they care is a good idea right now."
He blinks, his head twitched sideways, and furrowed his brows.
"What do you mean?"
"I went through a lot in the last couple of months, Stanley, more than you can ever imagine, and I'm still trying to cope with it all. Mind you, it's getting a little better, but I still have a lot of work to do with myself. So, jumping into a relationship or kissing someone wouldn't be fair to anyone if my heart wasn't in it."
Stan exchanges a sympathetic and remorseful gaze, understanding Ruth's hesitation now. Sharing their first kiss would probably make her feel confused about what she needs right now. Plus, Ruth is most likely still dealing with post-traumatic symptoms after witnessing Jonathan and Jordan's brutal murders. He would be traumatized, too, if it had happened to him. You never know the state of someone's mind after an ordeal such as that. Not kissing her is probably for the best. Although he is still a little hurt now that Ruth decided at the last minute to not kiss, especially when Stan fantasized for a couple of years having his first kiss with the cutest girl in school.
"I think I understand," he replies finally after a long moment in silence.
Ruth attempted to smile, but it falters into a frown. "I'm really sorry."
He gently shook his head, brushing the apology off. "No, it's okay, Ruth, don't apologize."
"I should be, and it's not okay. I gave you the wrong signal, or maybe I should have something instead of staring dumbly at you. I shouldn't have done that."
"Yeah, I know you didn't mean to, but you did. It's pretty shitty of you, too." He admitted tightly.
Her features fell, and she took a step back.
Down below, Pennywise growled at the boy.
Make her cry, I'll make you pay, you little imp, Pennywise snarls.
Stan glanced down when he heard the growl and backed off from the look in the dog's eyes.
"Uh, nice doggy."
Ruth smirks from Stan's uneasiness but vanishes when he regards her again.
"Uh, sorry. I probably should not have made that jab. I am glad I ran into you, though. Everyone will be_."
Ruth scowls. "Don't say a fucking word to anyone you saw me."
"Everyone is looking for you, Ruth. They need to know you're alive, especially your stalker."
"Yeah, he deserves to know, but no one else. Just keep your mouth shut."
Stan stares, astonished. "Why don't you want me to say anything to anyone except for him?"
"Because he's making himself sick worrying about me. I hate that he is, and he deserves to know that I'm okay. It will ease his mind."
"Alright, why are you showing more concern for him when I and the others are just as worried?"
Ruth wanted to tell him the ugly truth but stopped herself. Letting him know how she really felt about him and the others would cause unwanted stress. The only thing that truly worried Ruth is her stalker stressing himself to the point of continuously feeling sick.
I need to find him. He needs to see that I'm alright, Ruth thought to herself.
"I told you before, I don't want to be found. Do you have any idea what would happen to me if the police find out I killed Jordan?"
His brows furrow, and lips curved downwards. "Wait, you killed Jordan?"
Ruth mirrors his expression. "Of course, I did. Who else would?"
Stan stared at her for a minute with mouth gaping, then a metaphorical lightbulb clicked in his gaze.
"He must have cleaned your prints from the murder weapon!"
"Who did?"
"Your stalker, Ruth! When they discovered the butcher knife, the investigators didn't find your fingerprints on it. That's why he had us wait outside. He must have wiped it clean so they wouldn't suspect you for murdering Jordan."
Ruth stared at him with mouth gaping, and her eyes widened. She felt a swarming flutter in her stomach of what the stalker has done, yet is alarmed he would do something like that. Ruth now wonders who her hunky Swedish stalker really is.
"He, he did? Why would he do that? Wait, who do they suspect murdered Jordan now?"
"No one," Stanley quickly answered with fingers fidgeting. "It's a closed case. They felt her murder warranted no investigation. Especially, since she has no living relatives or family members to interview. Also, they didn't really care either. No one liked her other than her brother and Officer Bowers."
Ruth frowns then glances away from him to consider the pros and cons of the situation. Ruth ultimately made a decision, and he's not going to like it either.
"I need to go, Stan."
Ruth immediately turns, crossing her arms.
"Ruth, please wait."
She whirls around with eyes lacking emotion.
"I'm sorry, but I need to go," Ruth stresses.
"Where exactly do you need to go?"
"Sorry, can't answer that."
She inwardly smirks and chuckles to herself as it reminded Ruth of her stalker.
"Ruth, please, talk to me. Let me help you through this."
"I really appreciate you want to help, but this is something I have to do on my own."
Stan deflated and became slightly agitated. "You don't have to do this alone, Ruth. Please let me help."
"You can't help me," Ruth replies firmly.
She turns away, Pennywise, the dog right at her heel.
"Move it along," he growls.
"Ruth, come on now. Why won't you tell me anything? What about us?"
Ruth immediately stopped in her tracks.
Us?
With a hard sigh, she looks back at him. Below her, Pennywise bit and tugged at her jeans.
"Damnit, Red, move it!"
"Just wait one more minute, Pen," Ruth told him.
A corner of her mouth turned in a weak sneer. "There is no us, Stanley Uris."
Crestfallen, stuttered. "What, what does that supposed to mean?"
"It means I used to have feelings for you."
He sniffles, struggling to keep himself from crying.
"U…u-used to?"
"Goodbye."
With a yank from Pennywise, Ruth rushes away to leave a weeping Stan alone on the sidewalk.
His bottom lip quivered as he watched the girl of his dreams walk away. He wanted to chase after her, but his heavy feet kept him grounded. Instead, Stan stood there, clenching and unclenching his fists while trembling. He desperately wants to cry but refused to shed a tear. At least, not yet. He'll do that later, and somewhere so no one could hear him.
The trek to her home is unbearably quiet.
Ruth stuck close to Pennywise this time and kept her gaze ahead while hugging herself. Pennywise knows the girl is stuck in her head, thinking about what happened earlier. Ruth and Stan almost kissed, which he is glad they didn't. Pennywise understands his female companion had feelings towards the Jewish boy, but to witness the two's connection irritated him. Well, lack thereof now. Ruth made it clear she didn't feel the same and broke Stanley's heart. Pennywise wished she shouldn't have done it so heartlessly, though. If he hadn't gotten himself distracted, the boy wouldn't have seen them.
He might be agitated about it, but Ruth could be in a jumble of emotions right now. Pennywise glances up at her, unable to see Ruth's face. He inwardly puckers his lips, determination crossing his eyes.
"RED!"
Ruth jumped slightly from his booming voice.
"Sorry. I was just thinking."
"Apparently. Will you enlighten me about this stalker you failed to inform me about?"
"Not right at this second. I'm still out in the open. I'll tell you everything when we're in closed quarters.
"Hmm, you're right about that. My apologies. Are you at least okay?"
"I'll be fine," she replies weakly, then clears her throat. "What about you? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, and you're not okay, Ruth." Pennywise quips.
"I told you, I'm fine. I'm not upset that I crushed Stanley's heart. Why are you so worried about it, anyway?"
"I'm not that worried. Why are you so bent out of shape about it?"
"I am not bent out of shape! I told you I am fine. Now drop it."
Pennywise stops in his tracks as Ruth walked ahead of him a couple of steps. He knows she is not alright after what happened with Stan. Pennywise doesn't have to guess Ruth feels horrible for what she did and is trying to deny her affection for the boy. Ruth lied when she told Stan she used to have feelings for him because she still does. It may not be like it was before, but Ruth still cares for him. Why did she lie? Pennywise wished he knew and is going to find out before returning to her former home.
"Ruth," Pennywise called out to her, who stopped at his unspoken request.
He trotted over to her, then sat at her heels, and looked up Ruth with a low growl. Pennywise watched Ruth slowly dip to his level and sat on her shins on the hard, warm concrete. He stood on her thighs with his front paws and lowered his gaze to land on hers. There he can see unshed tears brimming her eyes and bottom lip quivering.
"Please, don't cry," he pleaded sadly. "You know I hate it when you do."
"I'm sorry," she starts, her voice soft and small. "I didn't mean to lash at you. The thing is, I'm not okay."
Pennywise waited for Ruth to continue as he did want an explanation.
"I guess… I don't know. I think I just wanted Stan to hate me, or maybe push him away so I would stop harboring old feelings. I care about Stan a lot, but I don't know if I could return his affections. Trying to understand my emotions, let alone love and everything else, is hard as it is. I don't know how to move forward or let go."
He still said nothing but nodded in understanding. Pennywise knows this is a challenging journey for her to face alone. Ruth could get the help she needs by seeing an actual therapist instead of consulting books, but she is headstrong in seeing this through herself.
Pennywise observed Ruth for a moment, then heaves a grunt.
"Do you want a hug?"
Ruth captured his sorrowful, puppy eyes and softly smiled. Despite his slight squirm, she gently scooped Pennywise into her arms and hugged him tenderly. Unlike any other time they had moments like these, the feeling of security usually washes over her. This time, though, Ruth didn't feel that complete. She knows something is not right when Ruth doesn't feel entirely safe with him, which is concerning. Or maybe it has something to do with Ruth hugging a different form of his and without arms to wrap around her.
"Better?"
"A little," she whispered in his ear. "It would be better if you had arms."
Pennywise inwardly grins with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"I can arrange that," he replies.
Ruth wasn't sure what he meant at first until she felt his dog form slightly quiver.
"Don't you even think about it, Pennywise," she warns lightheartedly.
"Too late," he responds excitedly.
She attempts to shove him away, but Pennywise had already sprung not one but two limbs from his body and anchored himself to her shoulders. Ruth makes a startled yelp and tried pushing him again, only for more appendages to sprout and cling to her like the head spider thing from The Thing. She squirms to get away but to no avail as Pennywise continued to morph in her arms.
Ruth felt a bubble of fear develop in her stomach and made to whine but stops. A thought occurred to her on how to immobile the shapeshifter. She took his face into her palms and pulled him close.
"Hey, what are you," Pennywise started to protest but stops.
Ruth's lips found the tip of his nose for a kiss, then between his eyes, then forehead with a mwah at the end.
Pennywise's form quivered to a stop, languidly rolls down her thighs, and lands on his back. The appendages twitch as he laid there in a stupor with eyes crossed from when Ruth kissed his head.
Ruth pleasingly smirked as she stared down at him, giggling at his stunned half transformed doggy-spider self.
"What's the matter, Pen? Did I break you?" She cooed.
He inwardly grinned goofily and unknowingly wagged his tail gleefully with a groan.
Teehee, maybe, Pennywise chuckled to himself.
"I guess the little fright helped get me out of that funk after all. Thanks, Pen."
You know, I would do just about anything for you, Pennywise thought to himself.
"Now that you managed to scare me a little, I do feel a little better now, and enough to talk."
Pennywise inwardly smiled, ecstatic that he finally accomplished something and can get Ruth to talk about what happened.
"I am upset about how it all turned out, but I stand by what I said. I like Stan a lot, but I can't resend his affections when I lost my trust in him. How I went about breaking his heart was cruel, and I should not have done that. However, there are some hidden positives to the altercation."
"Like what?"
"Well, it's gentlemanlike for a boy to ask permission to kiss a girl as it shows respect, especially when it's their first kiss. Boys don't do that very much. Although I do like a guy, who I'm interested in, take me by surprise and when the moment calls for it, not just to show me how much they care. Plus, I would like to have my first kiss with someone else."
Ruth rubs his ear and pets his neck before standing to continue her trek to the house.
He watched her retreating form, his mind whirling with curiosity as to who Ruth would rather kiss instead of the Jewish Boy, Stanley Uris. Pennywise doesn't believe it's Mike. Ruth lost her trust in him, too. Maybe there's another boy Ruth likes that he's not aware of yet. It's certainly not him, that's for sure. Why would she want to kiss him anyway? Well, Ruth did peck a couple of kisses on his head but not on the lips. Besides, they're just friends.
Maybe, it has something to do with this stalker of hers? Nah! That can't be who she wants to kiss, Pennywise thought to himself.
"Are you coming, Deadlights?"
Her voice, along with his name, seemed to have snapped him out of his thoughts. Pennywise quickly got on his four feet then rushed forwards while still grinning on the inside. He just hopes that whatever Ruth finds in the place she once called home, it will answer all of Ruth's questions. Maybe once she learns the truth, Ruth can finally move forward.
Her journey for self-healing is only just beginning.