As Richie went to unwind after an eventful day knowing tomorrow will bring its own issues, he went into pondering.
"What I read today…about the two guys…and how people react; that sounds…awful."
Yeah, no shit.
Richie groaned as he sat down on his bed, his hands rubbing his groggy eyes. "Can you please stop haunting me, whoever the fuck you are?"
Why should I? Your deep self is trying to steer you in the right direction, but you want to take that left at Albuquerque every single time.
"Very funny – look, I don't know why I have feelings for…well, you know."
Mhm, I know all too well.
Richie didn't want to continue this debate, so he retired to sleep, hoping that days ahead will be better for him.
The Losers decided to spend the afternoon at the quarry, each wanting a day of pure fun.
"Okay, who invited Ben? Just curious, I don't know, I mean it was great that we helped him out yesterday, but—"
"Eddie, chill – I did," Stan responded.
"How's the c-cut healing?" Bill asked.
"It's a bit better, thanks for asking."
As the group stripped out of their normal attire down to their underwear, Richie took it upon himself to be the troublemaker.
"Hey, make sure you guys check for skids."
"Wait, what?" Eddie yelped, running his hands around his bottom.
Richie laughed. "Man, it's so easy to get you, Edster."
"Okay, one, don't start with the name-calling, and two, you can fuck yourself."
"Oh, as opposed to being with your mother, it'd be a pleasant time."
"Dude, shut up, c'mon."
As Eddie turned around to face the black water below him, he did a few double-takes, ensuring that nobody was going to push him down.
"So, who's first?" Eddie asked.
"I can go," Ben said but Stan interjected.
"Dude, with your cuts, it might not be safe to jump into this water."
"Boys, there is no such thing as greywater," Richie said.
"Ac-actually, there is su-such a thing…" Bill trailed off as he heard a pair of bike brakes behind him.
The group turned their attention towards Bev, who hopped off her bike and stripped down to her bare essentials.
"Bunch of losers," she said shaking her head as she bolted towards the edge and jumped feet first into the water.
"Holy shit, we just got punked by a girl," Richie said as the group looked down.
"…So, who's next?"
Eddie had his answer as Bill hopped on down, followed by Stan.
"Okay, see you both down there," Ben said as he was the next comrade to jump.
Hearing the others hollering down below made the two want to get the jump over with. Richie removed his glasses and set them down, slowly breathing and looking over at Eddie.
"…Dude, what?"
"Oh, I was just…a bit scared to—"
Eddie scoffed. "If I can do this knowing what I have to go home to, so can you."
At that, Eddie reached out his hand.
"You're joking, right?" Richie asked in a panic.
"C'mon, on three."
Richie grabbed a hold of Eddie's hand, and as they counted to three, Richie felt his heart near his throat.
'I don't know what's going to get me first, the adrenaline from jumping, or holding his hand.'
As the two jumped into the water and surfaced, Eddie was the first to splash his pal.
"See, that wasn't so bad!"
"No," Richie said between splashes, "it wasn't. Thank you."
As the group splashed around, played Chicken, and pretended to drown each other, they were all enjoying the comradery and the ever-single bond of trust. After an hour, they decided to swim to the shore and allow the heat to make them dry.
The kids all laid down, giving each other equal distance from one another. Beverly thoroughly enjoyed her time in the water and was wondering what other fun may come from being part of the Losers club.
The boys…were busy checking out Beverly.
None other than Richie.
'Alright, here's a teen girl, attractive as hell…her hair and eyes mismatch so beautifully; fiery red and sharp blue. I mean, what else is missing?'
I think I know your answer…
Just before Richie could answer his inner self, he noticed Bev started to turn from her front to her backside.
He turned away and gazed at Bill, who intently watched her flip over.
'Gee, give some privacy to a girl, Bill.'
Oh, don't be a saint, Mr. Attractive-as-Hell!
Richie silently groaned, knowing all too well that his conscience was right.
"Are you okay?" Ben asked as he heard the groan closest to him.
"Yeah…just, stuff and things."
"I hear you. I can't stop thinking about this city's history."
"Earth to Ben – school's out. You don't need to be buried under books."
Ben sighed. "I know, Richie, but before I met you guys, I was a bit of a loner. Nobody wanted to hang with me because…well…"
As Ben said this while moving his arms up and down his body to signify his point, Richie nodded solemnly.
"I get it. We all have our quirks that make us losers. Eddie is the germaphobe, Stan's Jewish, Bill has his stutter…and me…well…"
Richie ran his right hand through his near-dry hair, trying to figure out what oddity to give himself.
"Have you heard yourself talk for more than five minutes?" Eddie piped up as he made his way over to the duo. "I say that's a quirk to you."
"…Yeah," Richie said after some thought, "I have a trash mouth that I'm not afraid to spout off, just like Eddie's mother when he forgets to take his meds."
"Yeah, please don't mention that…"
"What, did it happen again?" Ben asked to which Eddie nodded somberly.
"So, what's mine?" Bev asked as she sat upright, "oh, wait, I get called a slut on a near-daily basis because of things that are out of my control."
As soon as she said this, she quickly bit her tongue and puckered her lips from the inside.
"I was going to say that you're a girl who's a firecracker, wanting to explode," Ben said, which made Bev blush like crazy.
"Thanks, I like that more; although I haven't exploded on anyone…yet…there is one person I want to personally destroy."
"Well, let's hope you end up with your wish," Stan said as he joined the rest of the group, with Bill following behind.
Bev nodded as he turned towards Ben, "So, I heard you were talking about Derry's history. I think we would all appreciate some insight."
"So," Ben began, "the history I've been delving into involves people getting killed. There were significant events that took place – for instance, the massacre of 1879 that involved five people in broad daylight."
Ben glanced around the group to gaze at everyone's interest point – all seemed fine, so he continued.
"Anyway, Derry is not like any other city that I've moved to, and I have moved a lot. Did you all know that adults die or go missing at least six times the national average? Because that's a fact, and the kids…"
He looked towards Bill who only gave a somber expression.
"It's much, much worse. There is more interesting stuff back at my place if you guys cared enough to go."
"I say let's blow this fine establishment of a popsicle stand!" Richie yelled with a raised fist, ready to aid on their quest.
As they started their march along the dirty grounds towards their bikes on the other side of the quarry, one was ready to flip.
"Okay, so nobody planned for this! I mean, who knows what kinds of creepy crawlers are on the ground waiting to prance at fine human skin!" Eddie cried right at the beginning.
"If you want to act like a baby, maybe we can treat you like one," Richie said as he walked backward and extended both arms towards the youngster.
"I don't need to be carried, thank you very much."
"Okay, then stop whining."
Eddie sighed harshly, "Fine!"
Seeing the scene unfold in front of her made Bev chuckle – she enjoyed seeing the two argue just as much as the rest of the Losers.
It wasn't too much longer that the gang all arrived at their bikes and their set of clothes. Richie walked near the edge of the cliff to retrieve his glasses and putting them on, breathed a sigh of relief.
'Finally, I can see without the haze.'
As the group got dressed and hopped on their bikes, their ride to Ben's house was mostly in silence, except for one member.
"Hey, Bev…" Bill whispered as he pedaled close to her.
"Yes?"
"I wanted t-to compliment you on yo-your…umm, face. It's re-really radiating."
Bev's eyes lit up and she sucked in an inhale of a breath. "Oh…well, thanks."
As the group arrived at Ben's, the host bolted inside, needing to tidy up his room.
"Okay, this goes here, and this goes there…"
Within a matter of seconds, his room was not disheveled, just in time for the others to wander in.
"Geez, Ben, what are you hiding?" Richie asked.
"Nothing – nothing at all."
The rest nodded as they looked around the walls of the room, which were papered with copies of old newspaper articles and photographs.
"This is…"
"Pretty cool, huh?"
Richie turned towards Ben and answered his question, "Meh, it's alright."
"I have the charter for Derry Township right over there," Ben said pointing towards the old document.
The group huddled around the hung paperwork, admiring its ancient beauty.
"So, truth be told, Derry Township started as a beaver trapping camp—"
"Still is, huh, huh?" Richie interrupted with a hand raised.
"Dude, not the time," Stan said.
"Anyway…ninety-one people signed the charter. Then, when wintertime rolled around, they all disappeared without a trace."
Eddie was the first to pipe up, looking around nervously, "The whole camp was just…gone?"
"Yep; they tried to frame it on Indians coming in from the midland, but that didn't stick."
"Wh-what are…you go-going to do with all of th-this information?" Bill asked.
"I don't know…to be honest, I was killing time."
"Homeboy, if you're going to kill time with us, you need to do it right."
"…Okay, what's the right way?"
Richie froze at Ben's retort, and as he started to respond, he sounded more and more defeated. "Oh…we were going to do our own thing…like me, I was going to play Street Fighter at the arcade for…some time…you know what, never mind, do your own thing, one life to live and all that shit."
Bev laughed, "That's probably the first time I have heard you down about yourself."
Richie looked up and gave a weary smile.
'Oh, if you only knew my inner monologue, Bev…'