Disclaimer: I do not own IT or any of the characters. That all belongs to the awesome and talented Stephen King. I only own my OC and other characters I make up along the way.
A/N: OMG you guys I am beyond overjoyed that this story is getting more follows and favorites as well as comments. It makes me happy that you guys are liking this story. I actually went to go see the movie for a second time. Let me tell you I loved it more the second time I saw it. However, the Georgie scene always gets to me :/ I always find it more sad than scary. Poor little Georgie :( The film's score just added more to the feel of the whole scene. Despite how emotional it is the whole movie is fantastic. I wish I could keep watching it over and over again. Also, I'm happy that you guys liked how I put ITs POV in the last chapter. There's gonna be more from ITs POV as we go further into the story. The thoughts IT has on Gwen are important to know. They are beyond complex to understand and because of that I have a feeling you guys are gonna like the story as we progress. I know a lot of people like complex characters and IT/Pennywise is very complex indeed - at least I think so when it comes to Gwen.
Another character that is complex is Victor Criss. I'm glad you guys are noticing how subtle he is with the way he acts around Gwen. Some of you already have guessed why that is (which I mean it really isn't that hard to guess- but in case you guys haven't figured it out he likes her). I know in the movie Victor had a very small part, but in the novel he was more involved. Out of all the guys in the Bowers' Gang, Victor was the one that had more of a moral compass. He still acted like a bully but even he had his limits. He even tried helping the Losers' out in one point in the novel, but ultimately changed his mind at the last second.*Spoiler, I guess?* In the novel he along with Belch end up getting killed by Pennywise, but that didn't happen in the remake so that's gonna cause some changes in the story. I have ideas though. Anyways what I'm getting at is that Victor is gonna be more involved in this story than he was in the movie because of the interactions he's gonna have with Gwen.
This is important to know! If you guys have not read the novel (which I advise that you do) then you guys are gonna have no idea what I'm talking about since the movie (neither did the mini-series) didn't really mention it other than one or two small references, but the reason I keep mentioning the Turtle in the story is because the Turtle plays a big role. The Turtle (other wise known as Maturin) is a kind and benevolent being. The Turtle is the one who had created the main universe by vomiting it out because of a stomach ache it had (as read in the novel). Anyways, the Turtle is the complete opposite of IT. Since IT is an entity of consumption, IT views the Turtle as an enemy. Because the Turtle isn't active within the universe (as it rarely leaves its shell) IT views the Turtle as lazy and stupid. The Turtle though does hold a lot of power, but only ever actually intervenes when Bill did the Ritual of Chud (which sadly wasn't in the movie). Anyways, sorry for that but I felt like I needed to do a brief lesson. The Turtle is just an important character within the novel and I wished there was more attention brought up on it in the movie. Maybe they'll get into the whole Macroverse in the second part. That being said I still loved the movie, but for this story I'm gonna add a bit more of the novel (involving the Turtle) because it has a lot to do with Gwen and why she has an important role to play within the Losers' Club. There is a reason why IT has both intrigue dubious thoughts towards Gwen and that all has to do with the Turtle.
A lot of you are wondering how old Gwen is. I would like to make it clear to my readers that Gwen is 15 years old. She's the same age as Henry Bowers and the others in the Bowers' Gang. Also remember she's two years older than Richie and he along with the others losers are 13 years old. So there you guys go. (:
"May your adventures bring you closer together, even as they take you far away from home."― Trenton Lee Stewart, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
Chapter 6: Let the madness begin
June, 1989
Papers were being carelessly thrown into the air as piles of students were hurriedly exiting their last class. Summer had officially commenced in Derry, Maine, and students were happy to show excitement in not having to go to school anytime soon.
Gwen Tozier and her best friend Francine Simmons were one of the many students who were trying to navigate through the crowded school hallway. Francine, blonde and perky, had a full on smile on her face. She was happy classes were finally over. While Gwen's excitement was more subtle. She instead had on a even-tempered expression and her smile was small and forced if anything.
The two girls got out of the way just in time for a older looking boy to pass by them. He was running towards the front of the school in a hurry as he shouted, "School's out for summer! School's out forever!"
Francine laughed at the comedic scene. "Looks like he's in a hurry to escape this prison. Maybe we should do the same thing." She joked to her best friend. The blonde was a little muddled that her best friend hadn't joined in with the laughing. She turned to look at her as they now continued walking again. The hallways were getting less and less crowded now. "Earth to Gwen?" She called out waving her hand at her.
"Huh?" Gwen responded getting out of whatever dismal daze she was in. Unlike Francine, she wasn't really excited for summer. Sure, not having to wake up early in the morning and endure the teasing she got at school (it was more often now than before) was a plus, but for the most part the idea of summer had her more on edge. She had no idea why. Well, maybe she did...
Everything (well for the most part almost everything) had gone to shit.
From Chase's death to Georgie's disappearance that was soon ruled as a murder and death with no culprit found, and now there was other kids "missing." Kids that were Richie's age. Betty Ripsom had just been of the many kids to have vanished. So, how exactly was she or any other kid in Derry supposed to have a good summer? The bigger question was, why wasn't anyone else having these same worries as her? There were times she wanted to bring up this topic with Francine or with anyone really, but the worry that they'll think she was crazy or losing herself to the black hole that was her depression again stopped her. She managed to slowly get somewhat of a handle on her depression these last few months, but because of how low she had gotten she needed to start taking her ADHD medication more frequently than before, along with antidepressants. Which she hated taking because it made her feel like a total loon.
Gwen could see from the corner of her eye how Francine was waiting for her to give her an actual response. She knew her best friend worried for her and because of how self-conscious she was about her thoughts, Gwen decided not to burden her with them. "Sorry...I was, uh, just thinking about this stupid dress I'm wearing." Gwen told her as she gave an eye roll trying to show her displeasure with the outfit she was wearing. What she said was an excuse to get Francine to forget about how distracted she was, but it was also the truth. She did think the dress she had on was stupid.
It was a dark ivory colored knee length casual summer dress that had flower designs all over it. The dress way too girly for Gwen. Which just amused Francine, who was now focusing on the dress. The blonde haired girl was fighting the urge to laugh at how uncomfortable her best friend looked in the dress. Sure Gwen wore dress every once in a while, but she always chose the ones she wanted to wear. That's why she disliked this particular dress because her mother had been the one to have picked it out. As she told Francine, her mother bought the dress without even asking her opinion. The Tozier woman just presented it to Gwen and expected her to wear it on the last day of school. Which as she heard her best friend throughout the day say, Gwen was not at all happy about that.
Francine was trying her best to not annoy Gwen, but she couldn't help the giggle she let out. "I still can't believe your mom made you wear a dress today."
That seemed to get Gwen back to her usual talkative self. All sense of worries and self-consciousness were momentarily forgotten.
"I wanted to wear my new The Smiths t-shirt I bought but she thought it wasn't last day appropriate." Gwen rolled her eyes finding the excuse her mother had given her to be very lame. "As if what I wear on the last day of school really matters." She briefly looked down at her shoes. "At least I got to keep my Converse."
"At least it's summer time." Francine exclaimed happily.
"Yeah, and you're gonna go off and do your own thing." Gwen said with a low voice. "Remind me again why you have to go?"
"My parent's want me to know my dad's side of the family more. So it's off to Florida for me." Francine right away saw how crestfallen Gwen was getting again. "But it's not exactly gonna be a fun trip. I mean, I will have to help look after my grandmother."
Gwen immediately started to feel bad. Here she was feeling sorry for herself about her best friend leaving, that she totally forgot about Francine's grandmother's condition. As Francine had told her a few weeks ago her paternal grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The fact that Gwen had forgotten of such horrible news freaked her out. The thought of having Alzheimer's for herself scared her. It scared her more than spiders and more than that icky looking Tarman from the Return of the Living Dead movies. Which was saying something because those things scared the living hell out of her. Even when she'd been little (when she didn't know the name of the disease) she'd always been afraid of losing her memories...the things that made her...well her.
"You know that terrifies me." Gwen admitted to her best friend. When she saw the questionable expression Francine had Gwen decided to elaborate. She let out a sigh as she ran a hand through her dark colored locks. "I wouldn't want to lose my memories. Not even the sucky ones."
"Then I guess you're lucky Alzheimer's doesn't run in your family." Francine replied back to her. Yes it sadden her that her grandmother had a horrible disease like Alzheimer's, but she was one to guard her emotions when it came to her family. Plus she didn't want to cry in front of Gwen. She felt crying would only trigger Gwen's emotions. And she didn't want to see her best friend cry.
Francine's reassurance didn't help Gwen in the slightest. "I could still get it though." She worriedly insisted to her best friend.
"I doubt it. Now can we please move our conversation towards something else less morbid?" Francine asked softly.
That question had to be asked now, didn't it? Gwen thought as she and Francine stopped walking. They were now standing in front of the now empty locker that once belonged to Chase. Both girls were staring at it. Francine had sadness in her eyes of course but it wasn't as somber as Gwen's. The dark haired girl stared at the locker with a doleful expression. Finally she spoke and her voice held such sorrowfulness.
"He should be here with us."
Francine kept quiet letting Gwen have this impassioned moment to herself―interrupting it would only make things worse. The heart rendering moment however was soon ruined.
"So the dyke decided to wear a dress today. How cute."
Both girls felt their bodies stiffen in defense. They instantly recognized who that voice to belong to. It was Henry Bowers and he was making his way towards them. Unfortunately to make things worse and as they saw for themselves, Henry wasn't alone. The rest of his goons were there too. Belch, Victor, and Patrick. The sight of Patrick made the girls hearts start to race in apprehensiveness.
Henry was in the lead, followed by Patrick who was next to him, then Belch, and finally Victor―who unlike his buddies was off a little bit further to the side. The sleek white-blond haired boy was watching everything with an illegible type of expression.
"I think she looks adorable." Belch taunted before he let out a loud burp. This caused Gwen and Francine to scrunch up their faces in disgust.
"Adorable?" Patrick added to the ridicule. One didn't need to actually see him to know he had a grin on his face. His voice had been enough for that. His stare was once again making Gwen want to cover herself up. He bit his lower lip as he looked her from top to bottom―his stare lingering around her chest area for bit. "There ain't nothing adorable about her." He snidely told the guys. "She's all woman. Trust me, I know."
Gwen's breathing picked up at Patrick's lustful gaze. She mentally now severely cursed her mother for making her wear this stupid dress. The Tozier girl let her eyes wander around the hall hoping for someone intervene, but the few remaining students that where there didn't dare look their way. They all appeared trying their best to ignore them. She knew why though. No one missed with Henry Bowers and his gang. It was like an unspoken rule at school. Still, couldn't they see they needed help? She gulped when her eyes landed back on the group of boys.
Francine gave Gwen a side glance. The blonde could see how much everything was getting to her. "Just ignore them." She whispered to her best friend before grabbing her hand. "Come on, let's go." They started to walk away but what Henry said next made Gwen let go of Francine's hand as she came to a stop.
"Aw, you're just gonna run away with your girlfriend? Gonna go eat her out some more?" Henry gave her a cruel laugh. He saw how Gwen was holding in her anger. This made his taunting increase. He gave her a withering look. "What would your boyfriend say? Or actually you know what maybe he wouldn't say anything. He did kill himself. What a fuckin' pansy he was." Henry muttered the last part causing Patrick let out a laugh. Belch too. Victor kept silent. He was keeping a watchful eye on Gwen. Already he knew that Henry's last comment was about to get a bad reaction from her.
All of a sudden all the nervousness she had went away. Gwen actually found herself stepping closer towards Henry as she looked him dead in his eyes. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me." Henry replied giving her a condescending smile. "I said he was a pansy for killing himself."
Gwen could have handled the insults thrown at her. By now she was used to the lesbian taunts she would get from him. So that was fine. What was not fine and what she couldn't handle were the insults thrown at Chase. Never. Acting out on pure rage, Gwen leaped forward and began hitting Henry mercilessly. "Shut up! Just shut up!" She vehemently yelled at him.
"Wow, the kitty has claws!" Patrick bellowed with a nasty grin.
"Watch out, Henry! Looks like she's gonna tear you a new one." Belch said not at all taking Gwen's hits seriously.
"Gwen, stop! Stop!" Francine shouted as she tried getting a hold of her best friend. She was the only one trying to stop her. It was futile though, Gwen's anger had made her stronger. She kept relentlessly hitting Henry over and over again.
It was all fun and games for Henry. He was letting out laughs like there was no tomorrow. He found the Tozier's girl attempt to hurt him to be highly entertaining. That was of course until she suddenly punched his nose. That ceased his laughter. All of them became quiet after that. The hit made Henry muddled and he staggered back from her. It wasn't until he felt the dripping of something going down his nose that he composed himself. He touched his nose and once seeing it was indeed blood his glare on her intensified than ever before. It was a glare that made Gwen want to cower, but she didn't. She remained up front ready to strike him again. Her valiant behavior pissed off Henry even more. "You fuckin' bitch." He seethed moving forward to grab her.
Once he saw that Henry was about to be real physical with her, and that she wasn't backing off, Victor acted quickly. He swiftly made his way towards Gwen before Henry did. Unlike with Francine, Victor had managed to get a hold of Gwen by her midsection and he carried her like that to the side, away from Henry's wrath. She wasn't making it easy for him to diffuse the situation.
"Let go of me! Get off!" Gwen shouted as she tried getting out of Victor's surprisingly firm yet gentle hold. Though his hold on her wasn't anywhere near being painful, she still expected the worst from him. She thought now that he had her in his arms that he was going to let Henry get a piece of her. To her immense surprise, he didn't. Instead she felt him lower his face near her ear.
"It's not worth it." Victor discreetly whispered to her.
Gwen immediately stopped her rapid movements after that. What he said made the anger she felt falter a bit. Instead she became more confused by him. She took in what he said and carefully thought it over. Nothing came to mind for an explanation for his strange nonviolent behavior towards her. He'd discreetly helped her out before but never like this.
Sure to the others Victor holding her looked like he was manhandling her, but that was far from the truth. He was actually helping her. Really helping her. Only Gwen and Victor knew this. Which is why when he and the rest of them heard heavy footsteps coming their way he was quick to let go of her. He wanted to stop things before they escalated. That, however, didn't mean he wanted get involved with teachers. It was the last day of school. He backed away as did Gwen. He went back to where Henry and the guys were standing and Gwen went closer to Francine's side. As Gwen did this she noticed how Henry was giving her a hateful stare as blood continued to run down his nose.
The stare match stopped when Mrs. Walters, the overweight History teacher, stopped in front of them. "What in God's name is going on here?" Her voice was hard and Gwen could tell she was more irked than concerned. She had a feeling her teacher wouldn't be of any help. So she answered with a grim response. "Nothing." She muttered as she fixed her dress.
"Nothing?" Mrs. Walters repeated incredulously. She took in Gwen's disheveled state and Henry's bloody nose. "Is this what you call that? His nose is bleeding."
"She's right." Henry spat out as he used his hand to clean the blood that was running down his nose. "It's nothing."
Mrs. Walters eyed the two teens taking in their answers. A few seconds passed before she took a deep breath coming to a decision. "It's the last day of school." As she said this Gwen took notice how tired looking her eyes were and how she had on an expression that said she was completely down with their shit. "So I'm gonna turn a blind eye and let this go. Handle whatever personal conflicts you guys have with each other outside school property." Then right after she said this, Mrs. Walters walked off.
Gwen blinked a few times at her retreating figure going down the hall. She knew she wouldn't be of any help but was that all she was gonna say? That was her damn advice? Seriously?!
Gwen and Francine had on expressions of disbelief. The feeling of someone invading her personal space had her instantly backing up without looking. When she did look, Gwen was startled to find Henry leaning his face towards her. The Tozier girl didn't stop backing up until her back hit one of the lockers. She tried making her face steady but the crazed look Henry had was making it difficult for her.
"You lucked out this time Tozier." Henry seethed. His eyes held complete malice. "I'm warning you right now, this summer you're mine. You better watch your back, rug-munching bitch." He leaned away, holding his hard gaze on her until he reached his buddies. Patrick was grinning at how small and panicky she looked. Belch couldn't stop laughing at her. Victor was looking at her intently. He didn't stop his staring until the four of them finally left. Once they did, Gwen started to breathe more loudly.
Holy shit.
"Oh my God, I can't believe that just happened. Are you okay?" Francine asked her best friend in worry.
Gwen took a few seconds to get a hold of herself. She then nodded her head. "Yeah...I'm fine." She told her friend as she moved away from the lockers. The Tozier girl started to feel her face with her hands and was glad to find no traces of Henry's blood on her from when he had been up and personal. Then suddenly a smile wanted to break free. She made Henry bleed from his nose. Normally Gwen wasn't one for violence, but she had to admit it felt awesome to punch him. The little jerk deserved it. Downside...she was eventually going to pay for it.
"Why did you do that?" Francine asked shaking her head. "Now he's gonna be after you even more."
"I had to do it Francine!" Gwen rebuked as they continued walking again. They were making their way towards the front. "I couldn't let him get away with the shit he was saying."
"What? The lesbian comments?" Francine asked her.
Gwen shook her head. "No, what he said about Chase. I couldn't let Henry disrespect him like that."
"But he's gonna go after you now." Francine reminded her again.
Gwen briefly touched her Turtle necklace around her neck. When she did this a sudden ounce of bravery entered her. "Let him try." She sternly told her best friend.
Her best friend sounded so audacious right in this moment that Francine was both taken back and impressed by her. As they made it out throughout the front door another sudden thought entered Francine's mind. She turned to look at her best friend. "I hate how he calls you that."
Gwen was viewing all the students that were still lingering out in the front of the school. They all looked so damn happy. Couldn't they see that something in the town wasn't right. Hearing her friend's comment, she turned to glance at her. "What? Muff-munching bitch?" It pained her how she spoke so easily about it due to how frequent she'd been hearing Henry call her that.
"No―well, yes that too. But I was referring to dyke." Francine instantly felt bad for saying that. It was such an offensive word. She hated it how her best friend got picked on because of some ridiculous rumors Henry Bowers had made about her. Sure sometimes Bowers and his buddies picked on Francine, but it was nowhere near as awful as the bullying Gwen had to go through.
"Yeah, that one's pretty bad too." Gwen replied trying to sound as if those insults were no big deal to her now. "But that's Henry Bowers for you. Get on his bad side or pay him the least bit of attention and he makes your life a living hell. I mean, you've heard the stuff he's said about Beverly Marsh." Gwen's voice hardened a bit. "It's total nonsense. He's a flat out liar."
Francine looked towards the ground at the mention of the young red head. This made Gwen stare at her best friend in disbelief. "Francine."
"What?" Francine asked lifting her gaze. She let out a sigh when she saw how Gwen was staring at her. "I'm not saying I believe the rumors about her, but you don't really know her that well Gwen."
"So?" Gwen rebuked raising an eyebrow.
Francine moved her weight from one foot to the other. "So how can you really know it's not at least somewhat true?"
"Because I just do, okay? Plus it's Henry Bowers." Gwen said rolling her eyes. "Like I'd ever believe anything that mullet wearing asshole has to say."
Francine found herself giggling. "Mullet wearing asshole? That's a good one."
"I got it from Richie." Gwen confessed with a small smile appearing on her face.
The sound of a car honking caught their attention. Francine waved at the driver inside the car. "That's my mom. I'll call you tomorrow morning before I leave, kay?"
Gwen nodded her head. Sadness was creeping up on her due to her best friend leaving. Francine saw this in her eyes and quickly brought her into a hug. "I'll see you soon. Try to have a good summer."
Gwen returned the hug but she didn't respond to what she said. Try to have a good summer? She didn't think that would be possible...not in Derry. She ended the hug and then offered her a convincing smile. Francine's mother honked one more time making Francine hurriedly make her way towards the car. Once she got in, the blonde gave her one final goodbye wave as the car drove off.
Despairing feelings were trying to resurface. Gwen quickly shook them down and went towards the bike rack. Her mother had been beyond displeased in the morning when she'd seen her ride her bike to school in a dress. Gwen couldn't give a damn. Sure it was uncomfortable to ride a bike with a dress, but she wasn't about to go walking to school. It was too damn hot and her mother wasn't able to give her a ride. So she figured, screw it, she'd ride her bike. Let people talk crap...they already did anyways.
Just as she was about to ride away on her bike, Gwen saw the familiar car that belonged to Belch Huggins. It was a blue Trans Am and it was now driving away. What got to Gwen was that it hadn't been that far away from where her younger brother Richie and his friends where at. They all had annoyed and worried expressions. Protectiveness arose in Gwen when she saw this and she quickly got on her bike and peddled her way towards them. If Henry or any of his shit headed friends messed with her brother or any of them there'd be hell to pay. She'd punch Henry again if she had to. Only this time in a spot where she knew would have him crying like a little sissy.
"Hey guys." Gwen greeted once she reached them. She right away knew all the boys. How couldn't she? They were three of Richie's closest friends.
There was Bill Denbrough, who she was already friends with. Gwen had worried at first that the friendship between them would fall apart because of what happened to little Georgie. It had been such a horrible thing for him (and for anyone who was close to Georgie). So she was expecting for Bill pull away from being around others like how she did when Chase died. But that didn't happen. If anything Bill became more closer with Richie and her. The Denbrough boy now spent a lot of time at their house because as Gwen found out, Bill's household was no longer warm and welcoming. She noticed this when Sharon Denbrough stopped her piano lessons and ended her babysitting service. The older woman was still in deep mourning over her youngest child, as was Bill's father. It saddened her to see how Bill's loving parents were now cold and distant towards him. The poor boy didn't deserve to have such a lonely environment in his own home.
Then there was the Jewish curly haired boy Stanley Uris―or just Stan for short. Stan who was the most well organized and mature boy she had ever met in her life. Seriously he was like a mini-version of an adult. He preferred things to be clean and for them to have a specific order. But when it came down to it, Gwen knew Stan was witty. More than once had she heard him say some pretty funny come backs to her brother. So Stan knew how to handle himself. Stan was also the boy who had a crush on Gwen (a crush that over the past few months was turning into something more serious). She, however, had no knowledge of that crush whatsoever. She just viewed him as Stan the Man. A good friend of hers.
The third friend that was there was Edward "Eddie" Kaspbrak. He like Bill and Stan, came over a lot to her house to hangout with Richie. Gwen had a sisterly fondness for Eddie. He was very small for his age and looked fragile. Apparently (according to his mother) he had a lot to deal with. Asthma being just one of the many issues he had. Still, Gwen made sure to treat him the same way she would treat anyone else. She knew how overbearing Eddie's mother was. Sonia Kaspbrak was someone she didn't necessarily like being around. The overweight woman always gave her the stink eye. Eddie, thankfully, was nothing like his mother.
Richie gave his sister a nod of acknowledgement when he saw her, but it was Stan who first spoke.
"Hello, Gwen." The curly haired boy gushed out. Even though he had seen her earlier in her dress, he was still having the same butterfly like feelings from before. From the corner of his eye he could see how Richie was trying to hold in his laughter. Stan quickly averted his gaze from Gwen. Her attention was then directed towards the Denbrough boy.
Bill gave Gwen a small smile. "Hi, G-G-G-Gwen."
"Hey, Bill." Gwen said instantly feeling for him. Since what happened to Georgie, his stuttering had become worse. She lost count of how many times she had hugged him in order to calm him down because of how emotionally frustrated he would get from not being able to to say a sentence without stuttering. She offered him a solace gaze before her eyes went over towards Eddie.
"Hey, Eds." Gwen smiled at the fragile looking boy who was much smaller than the rest of his friends.
Normally Eddie didn't like it when people called him Eds (especially by Richie). Except he was quite fond of Gwen that it didn't bother him when she addressed him by that nickname.
Eddie often saw her whenever she went to Mr. Keene's Pharmacy to get refills for her ADHD medications. Every time he ran into her there or even at her house, when he was hanging out with Richie, Bill, and Stan, she had been nice to him. His mother Sonia didn't really have anything nice to say to about Gwen (but as he was starting to slowly realize his mother never had anything nice to say about any girls he's interacted with―not that he hung out with any). Her main dislike towards the Tozier girl was because of the rumors she had heard about her. The many rumors of how Gwen sexually preferred the company of girls rather than boys. Richie told him before that those rumors were all lies made up by Henry Bowers. But he also said if they true, who would give a shit? Now Eddie himself (and he knew the rest of his friends as well) didn't care about who Gwen liked. Girls, boys...what did it matter? His mother thought it was improper and wrong, but Eddie found himself disagreeing with her this time. At the end of the day all that really mattered was that Gwen was nice to him and his friends.
Therefore, there was no hesitation when Eddie gave her a friendly wave. "Hey, Gwen."
"Are you guys okay?" Gwen asked them as her eyes stared at the spot where the blue Trans Am had just been.
Richie putting on a brave act, waved his hand nonchalantly. "Nothing we weren't able to handle, dear sister." He said using a British accent. Bill, Eddie, and Stan rolled their eyes at his foolishness. Gwen gave her brother an amused smile.
"Right..." She drawled before her attention once again landed onto Stan. She gave him a questionable stare. "Stan, where's your kippah?" She curiously asked the curly haired Jewish boy. She had seen him wearing it earlier in the day.
Stan shyly looked at her again."Oh, Patrick threw it at one of the on going buses." He answered glumly.
Stupid Patrick. Gwen gave Stan an apologetic face. "I'm sorry." She said hoping that would make his despairing feelings go away. Then in a total harmonious way the Tozier girl reached to grab one of his hands. She gave it a gentle squeeze before letting go. An amused smile appeared on her face. "He's a flat out douche."
That got a bright smile out of Stan. His cheeks felt way warmer than before. She had actually touched his hand...
Wow.
It was obvious to himself and now the others, (minus Gwen) that he was still trying to find his composure after the friendly touch she had just given him. He was now looking at her with a soft gleam in his eyes. The urge to say something else to her was eating away at him, but he didn't utter anything out. It was then he realized how foolish he must have looked by how he was staring at her while saying nothing. Thankfully Richie spoke up making Gwen look away from him. Stan had no idea if his bespectacled friend did this randomly or if he was helping him out so he wouldn't look like a bigger idiot. Either way he was glad for Richie's motormouth.
"Speaking of douches, did you really punch Henry Bowers in the nose?" Richie asked his sister. There was eagerness in his tone of voice. She could see how the rest of the boys were just as eager to hear her answer as well.
So the jerk must have told him. Gwen nodded her head. "Hell yeah." She replied with an amount of self-confidence.
Richie laughed, thoroughly impressed. "Nice. That's pay back for when he tripped you and made your nose bleed."
Gwen stared at him in shock. "Wait, you knew about that?"
"Why do you think I came home with a busted lip that one time?" Richie told her as he pointed to his bottom lip. A while ago Richie had came home with a bleeding and swollen bottom lip. Their mother had been furious and grounded him for playing so rough. Richie had taken the grounding and didn't fight back. Now that she knew the real reason, Gwen's love for her brother grew. "I told him off saying he was a douche for doing that to you, and well, he didn't take too kindly to that."
They'd been so into their conversation that they sort of forgot they weren't alone. As Gwen noticed (many times before) that tended to happen a lot. Once her brother and her would get into a conversation they just wouldn't be able to stop talking. She supposed that was just a given. She gave her younger brother a genuine smile.
"He didn't take too kindly to me either. Guess we both need to learn how to keep our mouths shut―or in my case control my actions."
"Nah, if we did what would be left of us?" Richie jokingly asked his sister.
"Well, there'd be less violence for us to endure."
"But that's the best part!" Richie whined facetiously.
"Beep beep, Richie!" Gwen exclaimed lightheartedly.
Now that got the whole group to laugh. Gwen cleared her throat, but a smile remained on her face. "Anyways, I'll let you guys go back to what you were doing. Stay safe." She said this in an almost motherly kind of way. Deep down she knew that they would okay as long as they stayed together in group. "Catch you guys on the flip side." The Tozier girl then started to ride her bike away from them. They all said their goodbyes but it was Stan who shouted the loudest.
"Bye Gwen!" Stan shouted a second time. A heart felt smile appeared on his face when she shouted goodbye in return again. It felt like forever when in reality it had been only a few seconds. When turned to looked at his friends it was Richie who first caught his attention. "What?" Stan asked losing his heart felt smile.
Richie shook his head at his hopeless friend. His crush on his older sister was becoming more difficult for him to not tease him about it. "Bye Gwen!" He mimicked him before his voice returned to normal. "Really? Dude you're so obvious now it's not even that funny anymore."
Stan thew Richie a narrowed look. "Shut up, Richie!" He harshly whispered to him.
"Stan, it's o-okay. We know." Bill stuttered out.
Eddie nodded his head. "Yeah man like Richie said, it's pretty obvious."
Stan felt his face turn beet red in front of his friends. If they knew...did that mean...
"Do you think Gwen knows?" He asked, embarrassed.
Bill and Eddie gave him looks of uncertainty. Richie on the other hand shook his head. "Nah, it seems like Gwen's the only who hasn't noticed."
Stan should have been relieved but a part of him was hurt. "What? How's that possible?"
"Because she thinks of you as a little brother, duh. Plus you know she's not over you know who." Richie said as he adjusted his glasses.
"Isn't t-t-that what you w-want S-S-Stan? For G-G-Gwen to not know about yo-yo-your crush?" Bill asked him. He had to control his emotions as he spoke. His stutter would get the best of him, but he wasn't about to let it get him this time.
Stan sighed, still hurt. "I guess..." His gaze flickered towards the direction Gwen had gone to. "Do you know where she's going?" He asked, thoughtfully.
Richie shrugged his shoulders. "Probably the library. She's been hanging there a lot lately. Don't see the appeal of it though."
"That's because it involves books." Eddie commented jokingly. That remark had them (including heart wounded Stan) releasing smiles and laughs.
"You wound me with your quips, Eddie Spaghetti." Richie laughed as he playfully ruffled his hair.
Eddie stopped laughing as he pushed his hand away. A frown now graced his much youthful looking face. "How many times have I told you? Don't call me that. You know I hate it."
Richie remained jest with him and ruffled his hair once more. Their banter finally came to an end when Bill informed them it was time to go. Summer just started, but for the Denbrough boy he had more important things to think about than just having fun in the sun. He had a plan in mind that he wanted to share with his friends for what he wanted to do this summer and that all started with the Barrens.
As they each rode their bikes, following Bill's path, Stan glanced over his shoulder one last time towards where Gwen had gone. Although relieved she wasn't aware of his crush, it still hurt him dearly. Did that mean he was going to tell her he liked her? No. An actual rejection from her would have made things worse, not to mention awkward.
Her lack of interest didn't stop his feelings for her whatsoever.
If all Gwen wanted was to be his friend then so be it. He'd accept that...even if it did break his heart.