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: You guys wanted more...well here it is xD Enjoy! To all you Victor fans, this chapter is especially for you guys. I really wished he had a bigger part in the film like he did in the novel, but alas that's what fan-fic is for. (: Also I'm loving how you guys are already picking who Gwen should end up with in the end, either with Stan or Victor xD But what makes you think she's gonna end up with anybody? After all IT loves to cause her misery, especially in the love department. Hmm...I'll let you guys chew on that. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the fluff...just know it won't last long! Not entirely anyways. :P
I don't really have a routine schedule for when I update, it's just whenever I have enough time to finish writing a chapter. I'm still in college and this semester I'm taking five classes. Sometimes I have no assignments but sometimes I do. So updates on this story will be random. ^.^
I do not own any music or songs mentioned in this chapter. Also if you guys haven't seen the show It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, I imagine Gwen's dancing close to the character of Sweet Dee. It's freakin' hilarious. Look it up if you haven't seen the show. xD
"Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer." ― Jean de La Fontaine
Chapter 9: Confrontations and swimming
After they left the boys, Gwen was quick to find out that Beverly had also stolen from the pharmacy.
The redhead was able to attain a pack of cigarettes for herself and a pack of Pop Rocks candy for Gwen.
Needless to say the Tozier girl had been extremely happy about that. She loved Pop Rocks. They were one of her all time type of favorite candy. She had no idea how Beverly knew this, but was she nevertheless glad.
The two girls didn't immediately part ways after leaving the boys. No, they hung out for awhile around town. For Gwen it felt nice having another female to talk to. Even if she was giving the occasional period advice to the young curious Beverly. The fact that she was helping someone with a subject that was deemed as embarrassing made the lonely feeling she had go away. A sense of delight flowed through her the more she and Beverly talked. Through the bonding they were going through, Gwen began to almost feel like her old-self again.
The carefree and happy version of her. And that was because she had another friend now. A female friend. Someone other than Francine.
That alone made her want to start smiling the way she used to smile before...but she didn't. Sure she smiled and laughed, but it wasn't the same type of smile and laugh that would appear on her face from last year. That upbeat smile hadn't made itself present since Chase's death and Georgie's "disappearance".
So the Tozier girl's old buoyant like ways weren't quite there yet, but she sensed they were close. Her friendship with Beverly felt like it was a step closer to gaining her happiness.
Before they parted ways, Gwen made sure to give Beverly her home phone number. She had to ask several people that were around them for a pen, but she looked past the awkward and embarrassing conversations she had with them in order to get what she needed. When Gwen did finally obtain a pen she hurriedly wrote her number down on Beverly's hand.
The redhead had been beyond amused by the dark haired girl's antics with the whole pen scavenging scene. The looks people threw Gwen when she randomly asked for a pen to borrow had been funny and Beverly found herself laughing to the point tears almost began to form. It was just that funny. At first she felt bad for laughing, but when Gwen turned and saw her brightened eyes and slightly red face, she too started to laugh along with her.
They were both able to settle down when Gwen finished writing down her number down on her hand. Though they almost lost their composure when Gwen threw the pen back to the older looking man that had let her borrow it. The teen said (without properly thinking) "Thanks! Here catch!" and then threw the pen at him. She expected him to catch it (as would anyone who would see a pen coming their way), but the older man wasn't paying attention and turned to look at her the exact moment the pen hit his forehead.
This right away had Gwen whimsically apologizing, but that only further annoyed the man. He gave her a glare as he picked up his pen and kept staring at her. His glare didn't falter even when he roughly walked past her, muttering something along the lines of, "Rotten good for nothing kid..."
It was then only when he was out of their sights that both girls gave into their laughter again.
Although she was sorry to have hit the man on the forehead with the pen, Gwen couldn't help but find the hilarity in the situation. That was something she was going to remember, especially since it happened with Beverly around.
That just added another memory with the red haired girl into her head. The Tozier didn't know this now, but that little pen fiasco was just one the many happy memories she was to gain this summer. The others that were soon to come were going to be more impactful and full of merriment. As it should be when dealing with growing friendships.
Unfortunately, for Gwen not all the memories she was going to have during the summer of 1989 were going to be funny or even remotely good. No...for the most part many of her adolescent memories were going to be sorrowful and frightening. Memories that unknown to her were going to eventually start to slowly fade away as she grew older.
Gwen (or even Beverly) didn't have any knowledge of this misfortune. How could they? The was still other drastic events that needed to take place. It was getting close...but right now the two of them were just girls laughing with one another.
They were acting their ages.
They were almost to the point of complete exuberance.
Almost.
They did, however, have a feeling of serenity.
It was a feeling that didn't fully go away for either of them until they each went inside their homes.
Magge Tozier had left.
Well, she left to go to visit one of her friends.
Her absence hadn't surprised Gwen. Besides the note she left behind stuck on the fridge, Gwen knew her mother was going to be out for most of today. On Saturdays (not all of them, but most of them), her mother would go out and spend time with her friends. Her reason was because she and a few other women in town were in a book club together. Which was true, her mother was in a book club. Except (even with her ADHD) Gwen was observant enough to know that her mother had not been reading a book this last past month. Unless of course she read at night in her bedroom, but the teen doubted that.
The Tozier girl had a feeling her mother used this time to get away from all the responsibilities she had. It was the only time she got be away from the home life she had and it was because of this that Gwen didn't call her out. She figured her mother needed a break every now and again. If she didn't get any form of break, her moods would for sure be way more intense. And Gwen did not want that. Not for her or Richie's sake.
Her father Wentworth tended to do this as well. Only his reasoning was that he needed to get some work done in the garage, fixing his car or whatever he thought needed fixing. Nothing ever needed fixing though.
Like today, her father had been in the garage most of the morning. He ate breakfast with Richie and her, but once he was done he told them that he needed to fix something involving the backup generator they had. That was total bull. Since locking himself in the garage neither Richie or her heard any sounds of tools being used. They did hear what sounded like a radio announcing whatever baseball game was currently on. So, yeah...that was a big clue.
Still, neither sibling called out their father. They left him to have this moment of peace.
Anyway, as their father was in the garage "fixing" the so called backup generator they had, Richie had gone upstairs to his room. Gwen was currently in the kitchen. Although Richie had helped her wash dishes, the teen stayed back deciding to clean a little bit more. She had the hopeful thought that perhaps cleaning the kitchen nicely would make her mother happy. Hence why she was sweeping the floor.
Gwen never minded cleaning. So she did the sweeping with a spring in her step. Her extra enthusiasm might have been because of the song that was being played on the radio through her boombox. The Tozier girl had picked a random radio station and after the radio hosts stopped talking they played a catchy song that had her dancing around. And what song was it that had her so energized?
Working for the Weekend by Loverboy.
Taking in the opportunity that she was by herself, Gwen started to use the broom as a microphone and she along to the lyrics of the song. As she did this, she also started to increase her dance movements. Her singing was on point, but her dancing not so much. Sure her voice was melodious to listen to. Her mother always told her she had a beautiful voice. It was natural talent she had. Kind of like with piano. Now one would think (her mother sure did) because she was gifted with musical talents that dancing would come naturally to her...but no. Gwen's dancing was actually an amusing thing to witness. Richie had always told her that. Except at the moment her awful dancing didn't matter. The Tozier girl was too much into the song to even care how ridiculous she must have looked like.
Everybody's working for the weekend
Everybody wants a little romance
Everybody's goin' off the deep end
Everybody needs a second chance―
"What the hell are you doing?"
Ah, crap.
Gwen turned around and saw how her brother was now in the kitchen again. She should have heard him come down the stairs, but her singing and dancing had her distracted. Now here he was staring at her with an amused expression. It was clear he wanted to laugh his ass off. He didn't though and Gwen guessed it was because he wanted to hear what type of excuse she could come up with.
Now the way she saw it, Gwen had two choices here. She could have given into her embarrassment and blabber like an idiot, or she could act cool and playful towards herself. She was quick to pick the second option. Gwen swiftly put the broom against the counter and started exaggerating her dancing by lifting her arms in the air.
"What does it look like?" The Tozier girl asked as she comically moved her body around. Her arms still high in the air. "I'm getting my groove on."
Richie stared at his sister with an amused and questionable expression. "Gwen, you look like one of those dancing air puppet things in front of car dealerships." His sister was great at a lot of things. She was an awesome softball player and was talented when it came to singing and playing piano. Her musical talents, though, did nothing for her dancing because wholly damn she couldn't dance for shit. It was more funny than sad.
Gwen scoffed as she continued her ridiculous dancing. "Shut up. No, I don't."
"That's exactly what you look like when you're waving your hands in the air." Richie playfully replied back. He then imitated her absurd dancing by waving his own hands before putting them back down to his sides. "How's that dancing?"
Gwen stopped her movements. She lowered her hands and threw him a halfhearted challenging stare. "Fine, how about you show me your moves then, huh?"
Richie looked at her with a "yeah right" type of expression. "I don't need to dance in order to show you your dancing is awful."
"What are you, chicken?" Gwen asked with a low laugh.
"Oh no, don't try that Back to the Future reverse psychology on me." Richie said pointing a finger at her. He wasn't about to fall for that trick again.
"Whatever. All I have to say is that my dancing little brother is top notch stuff." Gwen joked as she started dancing again. This time her arm movements were more whimsical. She threw her head back and forth making her hair messy and tangled. That proved to be a wrong move because soon long pieces of hair entered her mouth. She immediately stopped dancing and started coughing. "Okay, I'll stop now." She manged to say as she used her hands to get out the pieces of hair that went into her mouth. "Blah." She muttered.
"Your dancing should come with a warning label saying, will cause hair to go into your mouth." Richie said finally laughing his ass off. Watching Gwen's weird dancing and failing was too hilarious to not release any laughter. He saw his sister playfully roll her eyes at his comment. He took a few seconds to compose himself before he spoke again. "Anyways, are you going today?" He asked getting back to the question he wanted to ask before her terrible dancing made him momentarily forget.
Gwen shrugged her shoulders as she tried fixing her hair back into place. "Uh, not sure." Which was true. Even though she and Beverly hung out yesterday, they didn't really focus on the invite that was given to them by the boys. They had been more into getting to know each other instead. So Gwen had no idea if they were going or not. Maybe Beverly would show up like last time, or call to let her know what's up. Gwen hoped that she would.
This answer had Richie's smile fall a little. "Oh..." He said, sounding disappointed before he cleared his throat. "Well, can I borrow your boombox?"
The Tozier girl nodded her head. "Sure, but if you break it you shall have to endure my wrath." She said giving him a faux narrowed look.
Despite her joking manner, Richie knew to take her warning seriously. His sister was cool and all but heaven forbid if he broke or ruined one of the few things that she liked or even loved. He remembered when they were younger, he accidentally ruined her favorite teddy bear―Mr. Snuggles.
Gwen got the teddy bear when she turned five for her birthday by their father. And even by the age of ten, Gwen loved that stuffed animal. That was until Richie dropped grape juice all over it. It was a complete accident but no matter how much their mother tried washing it the stains wouldn't come off. Despite him apologizing, Gwen was mad. She didn't talk, nor engaged him in any type of communication for almost a full week. But of course, his sister couldn't keep ignoring him forever. She let the grudge falter. If one were to ask her if she was still mad, she'd say no.
The fifteen year old still had the teddy bear. Although she didn't sleep with the teddy bear like she did as a child, the stuffed animal was placed near her bedroom window. Gwen once jokingly told Richie it was because Mr. Snuggles liked the outside view. But now that she was older, she had other materials that she held close to heart. Her boombox being one of them. Richie couldn't imagine what the consequences would be if he broke her precious boombox. That was something the Tozier boy did not want to find out.
Richie raised one of his hands. "I'll be careful, I swear."
Although he made a promise that sounded slightly droll, Gwen knew he was being real with her. She walked to where her boombox was and turned it off before handing it to her brother. Richie thanked her and was now making his way towards the front where his backpack was, ready to head down to meet the rest of his friends by the quarry.
Gwen was quick to stop him. A question had been nagging her since yesterday and she needed a proper answer. "Hey, Richie?" She called out.
Richie turned to look at his older sister. "Yeah?"
Gwen played with her fingers, sheepish. "You don't mind me hanging out with you and your friends, do you?"
"No, I don't mind." Richie answered her honestly. "I think it's cool."
"Really?" Gwen asked, sounding relieved.
Richie nodded his head. "Yeah." He gave her one of his goofy tooth like smiles. The one that was only reserved for her. "So, I'll see you there?" He asked again, this time more hopeful than before.
Gwen released a small smile. "Maybe."
It wasn't a yes but it sure felt like it. Richie's eyes brightened behind his glasses. "Alright, see you later." Before he fully stepped out of the kitchen, he used the hand that wasn't holding the boombox and waved it in the air. He was once again imitating her awful dancing. Gwen gave him a look of amusement but she wasn't able to retort anything back to him because he ran out of the kitchen laughing.
She shook her head at his retreating figure. It wasn't out of anger, though. It was out of fondness.
Her brother was quite the character.
Was he annoying? Yes. Did he make a lot of immature jokes? Yes. Did he not know when to shut up? Nope. But that was her brother and Gwen wouldn't change anything about him.
Not ever.
After he left, Gwen continued her cleaning. This time she didn't break out into sporadic dancing...but she still had a small spring in her steps.
About thirty minutes later after Richie left, the house phone started ringing.
It had been Beverly who called (much to Gwen's delight). Her merriment was short lived once she heard how Beverly sounded. Gwen could tell something was up. Beverly didn't tell her what was wrong. The redhead only told her to get the stuff she needed for the quarry and to meet her at the town center, near where the Paul Bunyan statue was at.
Gwen said that she would be there soon. It really didn't take the Tozier girl that long to get everything ready. All she got was her backpack, a towel, and a pair of sunglasses. It felt weird to not pack a bathing suit but she out grew the last one she had. So it seemed like she was going swimming in her undergarments. Which really wasn't that much of a difference with how her bathing suit was designed. It'd been a two piece as well.
After leaving her house, she rode her bike to the destination where she was going to meet Beverly. As she rode her bike there, Gwen basked in the warm weather, feeling excited that she was soon going to be swimming in cool water. By the time she reached the town center, Gwen's eyes wandered around the area. She frowned when she didn't automatically spot Beverly. Her eyes widened once they saw a girl sitting down on a bench. She had red hair but it was short. Was that her? No, it couldn't be. The Tozier girl was proved wrong once she rode her bike closer. She came to a stop once she was next to her.
It was Beverly. Except she no longer had her flowy locks. She instead had short slightly curly wavy hair. It was evident that Gwen was surprised by her change of hair. "Wow." The teen said in awe.
The redhead lowered her eyes. "It's awful, isn't it?" She asked, insecure now.
Gwen's stare became earnest. "You know what I see?" She asked causing Beverly to look up again. "I see a girl rocking out a badass haircut."
Beverly's expression showed self-consciousness. "So, I don't look ugly?"
How could she think that? Gwen's dark eyes softened with endearment. "Beverly Marsh, you're nowhere near ugly. Don't you ever forget that."
Beverly offered her a smile as she now confidently ran a hand through her short hair.
"If you don't mind me asking, why the sudden change?" Gwen asked her gently.
Beverly's thoughts went back to her father. Fear but mostly anger ran through her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Once she felt better she opened her eyes again to look at Gwen. "I wanted to have control." She answered with heavy resolute. "That's why I did it."
"And do you feel like you do now?" Gwen inquired intently.
Without hesitation, Beverly nodded her head. "For the first time in the longest time."
Good. Gwen gave her friend a smile. "I'm glad for that." Feeling that things were getting too seriously emotional, she decided to lightened things up a bit. "You kind of look like Molly Ringwald now."
Beverly tilted her head. "Is that good or bad?"
Gwen was quick with her response. "Good! Molly Ringwald is a beauty!" The Tozier girl exclaimed.
That finally made Beverly release a soft laugh. Not only did she feel a lot more confident with herself but she was starting to feel untroubled thanks to Gwen's presence. She gave her a grateful expression, and although Gwen didn't know it, Beverly was still thankful for her advice and soothing words.
"Is it okay If I make a quick stop by the music shop?" Gwen suddenly asked her.
Beverly got a hold of herself. She managed a small nod. "That's fine. I was actually gonna go back to the pharmacy to see if I can sneak out a few snacks for us and the boys."
Knowing she could handle herself well in that sort of situation, Gwen nodded her head. "Alright, we'll just meet each other by the front afterwards, kay?"
Beverly agreed and then made her way towards the pharmacy. Gwen went the other way to where the music shop was at. Derry's Music Shop was only a few buildings away from the pharmacy. Out of all the businesses the small town of Derry had the quaint music shop was Gwen's all time favorite place. Whenever she went in there she always looked at all the cassettes they had. She wasted most of her money in the little shop. She liked it that much. If the owner was feeling extra kind, Gwen would be allowed to play the piano that was in there.
Right now she wasn't looking for a piano session. She just wanted to buy a new cassette for her boombox. They were going swimming after all. So they were going to need some good tunes to listen to. The songs on the radio weren't going to be enough.
Just as she was about to open the door to the music shop, Gwen was startled when the door swiftly opened. She backed up by instinct but her departure increased when she saw who came outside.
Victor Criss.
Gwen's stomach dropped a little at seeing the sleek white-blond haired boy.
Victor's gaze immediately went towards her. The Tozier girl saw how his eyes barely widened a bit at seeing her. Whatever surprise he had quickly went away and soon a hard exterior replaced it. Gwen bit the inside of her cheek feeling down right awkward and nervous. Her nervousness went away for a second there when she saw the cassette Victor was holding.
Blue Oyster Cult.
Gwen was bemused and dare she say impressed? She liked that band too. Knowing Victor had somewhat the same type of taste of music as her created a odd feeling within her. It was then when Victor shoved the cassette inside his jean pocket that Gwen was thrown out of her thoughts. Apprehensiveness soon over powered her. She looked at the music shop in worry. If Victor had been inside did that mean...
"He's not in there." Victor's simply told her. He'd seen the chary expression she had on and he felt a need to reassure things for her. She slowly looked his way again causing him to look her straight into her dark brown eyes. "He's out with Belch looking for Patrick."
Gwen was relieved to hear that. She didn't want to run into the rest of them. She could manage with just fine with Victor alone. In fact, she'd rather preferred it if she were to just run into alone Victor all the time. That of course was a stupid thing to hope for. Still...there was a question she had in mind...
"Why aren't you with them?" She asked the sleek white-blond haired boy.
Instead of answering her right away, Victor pulled out a cigarette and lighter from his military green jacket. He lit the cigarette and then put his lighter away. He inhaled and exhaled a round of smoke. As he did this his stare on her was intense and it didn't linger at all.
Unlike with Patrick's or even Henry's staring, Gwen was not all scared by his attention. If anything she was annoyed at his lack of response. The Tozier girl frowned. "Well?" She asked again.
Victor took in her question and then scoffed as he let out another puff of smoke. "Like I'd waste my time looking for that asshole, Hockstetter."
That comment left Gwen severely confused. He called Patrick an asshole but they were friends...weren't they? Unless of course, Victor was only putting up with Patrick's crap because of Henry. Although that was just random speculation, it somehow seemed that was the right answer for such question.
Despite this odd encounter with Victor, Gwen knew she had to end it now. Without saying anything else to him, Gwen began making her way inside the music shop. Except before she even touched the door handle, Victor's firm voice stopped her movements. "You know that was a real stupid thing you did, punching Henry." He suddenly found himself saying to her.
Gwen was taken back by what he said. "Excuse me?" She questioned as she turned to look at him again.
Victor exhaled more smoke into the air above him. "I understand he made you mad. He makes everyone mad, but what the hell was that punch supposed to accomplish?"
Gwen furrowed her eyebrows. Was he actually bringing this up? She thought of all the things she could say to him and boy was there a lot. But her emotions got the better of her, so she ended up blurting out the first thing that came to her mind.
"What was hurting Ben supposed to accomplish for you, huh? I mean, you where there, weren't you?" Gwen retorted back to him. "Why would you do that to him?"
Now it was Victor's time to be taken aback. Despite this, he remained cool with her. His face hardened more along with his eyes. "I didn't do shit."
Gwen's expression darkened with upset emotion. "Just because you personally weren't the one to carve into him, doesn't mean you're not at fault. You could have stopped it!"
That struck something within Victor.
Yes, the fat kid really had shitty luck. But Victor was relieved when Henry and them had run into him instead of crossing paths with Gwen. That was what the Bowers' boy originally wanted. Henry knew she hung out at the library, so he was waiting outside for her. Needless to say Victor was glad it had been Ben instead of Gwen who came out of the library that day. If it had been Gwen, Henry would have wrecked her. Patrick too. Henry had his own ways with how he wanted to get even with Gwen (and none were good). But at least Victor knew what to expect from Henry (at least he thought he did). As for Patrick? He was a wild card.
More than once had the dark haired boy mention to them how he really want to nail Gwen. Henry had past sexual interest with her as well. The reason being was because Gwen developed fairly earlier than the other girls in their class. So her mature exterior was what set her on Henry's and Patrick's radar. It was the same thing that Beverly Marsh girl had the misfortune of experiencing for herself. But it was Gwen rejecting Henry's advances and Patrick's oddness that was her downfall.
Henry was now more focused on how much he wanted to get even with Gwen. It first started with the rumors Henry spread around about her. Except now his need for wanting to get even with her grew after she punched him. Henry was severely pissed off about that.
As for Patrick? Victor didn't know what he exactly wanted do to her...well he had a strong (awful) guess of what exactly that might be. He didn't want to think about what Patrick would have done to her if he had gotten his crummy hands on her. The twisted thoughts that he had about her made Victor feel sick to his stomach. Victor was still pissed off when Patrick told him, Henry, and Belch, of the time he watched Gwen change in the locker room. His lewd comments about her body made Victor's blood boil. He didn't make his anger obvious in front of the guys. No, he waited till night time and he went over to Patrick's place and smashed two of his front windows. Patrick never found out he was the one that did it. And Victor planned to keep it that way.
Despite that window warning, Patrick's zany behavior towards Gwen didn't falter. If anything it grew the more time went on. So Victor didn't want to ponder the ways Patrick would have hurt her if it had been her they saw.
Victor had to admit that Henry did cross a line with Ben. He went too far. The whole carving his first letter of his name had been insane.
Hell, even Belch had been shocked that Henry had actually done it. The burly built teen had made his discomposure more well known than Victor's own, but either way Henry was quick to shut him up. Victor knew Henry would of done the same thing to him too if he didn't follow his orders. And Victor knew (even though it was messed up) it was better to be quiet and do as Henry ordered. It was never smart to piss off Henry...especially since when this whole thing went down he had a knife. Although deeply troubled by what Henry did, Victor wasn't stupid. He knew where his place was during then...and even now.
Victor stared at Gwen as he took another round of smoke. Better him than you. He thought as he let out a slightly shaky exhale.
His eyes softened for just a second there before they went back to their stringent ways. He cleared his throat. "If you really believe that I could have done something, then you're out of your Goddamn mind."
"You've interfered before." Gwen heatedly reminded him.
She just had to mention that, didn't she? "It's not the same." Victor lowly replied back to her.
"Why not?" Gwen insisted.
"Because it's not! Fuck!" Victor exclaimed, heavily affected by her questioning. He kept quiet for a few seconds, composing himself. When he spoke again, he was much like his stern self. "It's just fuckin' not, alright?"
Gwen could tell her questions were getting to him. Good. She continued, only this time she was more mild than before. "Why'd you do it?"
Fuckin' hell. Victor released a heavy sigh. He threw the cigarette he had on the floor and stepped on it. "I already told you..."
"No, I'm talking about what happened at school now." Gwen softened her voice a little. "Why did you drag me away from Henry?"
Victor's eyes were steady on her. "You guys were causing too much of a scene." He replied, shrugging his shoulders.
Gwen refused to accept that. "No...no there's more to it. Why did you help then? Why even help me at all?"
Did she seriously not have a clue? Her puzzled expression gave Victor his answer. He shook his head, displeased.
"You're so fuckin' oblivious." Victor muttered, hurt. Although emotionally wounded by her lack of attention, he was not at all surprised. There was only ever one boy that held her heart. Chase Campbell. And even after his passing, the blue eyed boy still held all of her affections. Victor wanted to hate him, but what would hating a boy that was now dead do for him? Absolutely nothing. His indignation had to go somewhere, though. And unfortunately for Gwen, it was aimed towards her at the moment. He narrowed his eyes at her and his expression became steely.
"I'd hurry up now. Don't know when they might show up."
And with that being said, Victor walked off. Leaving behind a very flabbergasted Gwen. What the hell did he mean by saying she was so oblivious? Oblivious to what?
The Tozier girl had been so affected by his sudden leave and cryptic comment that she didn't even hear when Beverly came to stand next to her. The red was holding a variety choices of small snacks she was able to steal from the pharmacy.
"What did he want?" Beverly asked, her voice was filled with concern for her friend as she warily watched Victor Criss make his exit.
"I never know." Gwen whispered, thoughtful. She shook her head. "Let's just go before Henry and the others show up."
"Did you get what you wanted?" Beverly asked her.
Gwen shook her head again. After her encounter with Victor, she no longer wanted to go inside the music shop. "No, let's just go."
Beverly could see how bothered Gwen was and she wanted more than anything to ask if she was okay. The forced reassuring look Gwen gave her though stopped her from doing so. So the redhead just gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. The Tozier girl appreciated that and without saying anything else, they got on their bikes and went to the quarry.
The ride to the quarry allowed Gwen to momentarily forget about the encounter she had with Victor.
Beverly had the bright idea to see who could get to there the fastest.
So they raced.
All Gwen had to say was that she was thankful for softball. The practices enhanced her fitness, so she didn't tire easily with all the fast peddling. Neither did Beverly (but that had to do with wanting to win), and at the end the two actually ended up getting to the top of the quarry at the same time. They laughed at how flushed and out of breath they looked, finding humor in their disorder.
Both girls suddenly became quiet once they heard familiar voices. They rode their bikes to where the voices came from and stopped when they saw Richie, Stan, Ben, Bill, and Eddie. They were stripped down to their underwear and were lined up in that order by the side of the cliff. Since Gwen and Beverly were a lot closer now they able to hear the topic of conversation that had them so animated.
They were talking about loogies. Typical boy stuff.
Gwen and Beverly exchanged amused smiles at the boys bantered with one another about which loogie went the furthest.
Finally, it had been Bill who called for order. "Alright, who's f-f-first?" He asked looking at his friends before averting his gaze down towards the large body of water. Now that the friendly bickering had ended between the five of them, they were now finally letting the nerves from jumping from such a high place get to them. Each boy peered over the edge, inwardly dreading to be the one who would have to go first.
From behind them, Beverly and Gwen once again exchanged looks. Gwen nodded her head as if mentally understanding her. Beverly smiled as she laid her bike on the ground. She swiftly kicked her shoes as she did so.
"I'll go!" She announced as she stepped forward.
Simultaneously each boy turned around when they heard her voice. Each boy had on surprised faces when they saw how both girls were there. Their shock value expression grew even more when they saw Beverly unbutton her dress, leaving her just in her undergarments. She smiled brightly and then took off running towards the cliff. She laughed musically as she passed by them. "Sissies." And then she bravely jumped off.
"What the fuck?!" Richie's shocked voice filled the air. He along with the rest of the boy peered down into the water once they heard a loud splash. Beverly popped out and she gave them a wave. Richie stared back towards the boys. "Ah, we just got shown up by a girl!" Shaking his head he turned to look over at his sister. "Gwen, can you believe this sh―" He stopped talking when he caught sight of her.
During Beverly's jump, Gwen used that time wisely to strip down. She'd already taken off her shoes and shorts, and right when the rest of them turned to look at her, she was taking off her t-shirt, leaving her in her undergarments.
All the boys (minus Richie) were flustered at seeing her this way.
She had on a light colored purple bra and a pair of grey colored underwear. It was a total mismatch but none of them cared for matching undergarments at the moment. They were all looking at her with wide awed expressions. Bill's and Ben's faces were slightly pink at seeing her so exposed, but they had to admit they were more allured toward Beverly. However, it was Stan and Eddie who were extremely flustered at seeing Gwen in her undergarments. In the complete opposite of things, Richie's expression was a mixture of disgust and disturbance.
"My eyes, my fuckin' eyes! They burn!" Richie announced covering his eyes. Even though his vision was already blurry since he didn't have on his glasses, he still blocked out any sight of her indecency. "Ahh!"
Gwen rolled her eyes at her brother. "Oh shut it, you'll live." What did he expect? For her to go swimming in her clothes? Besides, her brother and her had gone swimming before and even then she'd worn a swim suit similar to her undergarments. So he was definitely over exaggerating. She gave all of them a smile. "Last one to jump is a loser!" Before she took off running, she made a thinking face. "Oh wait, we're already losers." She shrugged her shoulders, not at all bothered by her lack of status. Her dark brown eyes were bright as she ran passed them. "See you guys at the bottom!" She then jumped, yelling a loud, "Woohoo!" Before creating a loud splash.
Once again the boys were left shocked and impressed by another girl's bravery.
Eddie was the first to speak about this.
"Dude, your sister has bigger balls than you." He gazed down to where Gwen had just jumped. An amazed expression was set on his face as he looked down to where the Tozier girl was now at. She was swimming next to Beverly and was waving at them.
Richie threw him a glare. "You haven't jumped either." He grumpily reminded him.
"Yeah, but she's your sister. So not only did you get showed up by two girls, but one of them was your sister." Eddie amusingly told him. He along with Bill and Ben, laughed at Richie's slightly annoyed expression.
It faltered when he didn't hear Stan laugh. The Tozier boy turned to look at him wanting to see why he wasn't joining in the good-natured teasing done of him. Usually he was one of the first.
The opened mouth and starry eyed look Stan had on aimed down towards his sister made Richie roll his eyes at him. "Stan, close your mouth. You look like a fuckin' idiot."
"Huh?" Stan uttered, still bedazzled by Gwen. He gave Richie a glance. "What did you say?"
Bill, Ben, and Eddie laughed while Richie shook his head. "Un-fuckin'-believable."
Stan was able to get a hold of himself. "Do we have to do that now?" He wanted to swim with Gwen but the nerves of jumping from such a high place still held power over him.
All the boys nodded their heads, but it was Eddie who spoke. "Yes."
"Come on guys!" Beverly yelled catching their attention.
Gwen was swimming backwards before she threw both of her hands in the air and started waving them around.
"Oh my God, I'm gonna cry if she starts dancing in the water." Richie said with a loud sigh. The rest of the boys gave him bemused looks, unaware of Gwen's awful dancing skills. The Tozier boy shook his head, letting his friends know it wasn't a big deal.
Then one by one each boy found their inner bravery to jump off the cliff to join their two friends in the water.
For Stan his sudden courage was all because of Gwen. The smile he was able to see and the laugh he was able to hear from her made him want to join in with her merriment.
And he was glad he did because now that they were all in the water together, the real fun and serenity began between them.
Everyone was happy. They felt normal. It was a feeling that they each hadn't felt in the longest time. While everyone was basking in this moment of peace, Stan made sure to take in Gwen's appearance.
She looked beautiful. Even with her hair wet and tangled, Gwen was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life.
Stan's heart fluttered.
So beautiful...
Right now she looked like her old happy self. So carefree and lively with her emotions.
He wanted to make sure he would be able to remember this moment with her.
Sensing someone was staring at her, Gwen turned to look at him. Stan instantly felt the blush on his cheeks, but to his luck (or maybe misfortune?) Gwen just playfully flicked water towards him. She laughed at his slightly surprised expression.
Richie caught sight of this and used it to his opportunity. "Water fight!" He joyfully shouted.
Gwen laughed. "Come on, Stan the Man. Let's show him who's boss." She said and then swam to where Richie was, already playfully splashing water at her brother.
He might have not known it now, but it was this exact moment where he, the logical boy that was Stanley Uris, ended falling in love with Gwen Tozier. The hyperactive girl who was clueless (and would be for a while) of his feelings for her.
Despite all this, with a smile on his face, Stan joined the high-spirited water fight that was going on with his friends and with the girl he immensely cared for.
A/N: The next chapter will continue the quarry scene. So there will be more lighthearted moments. However expect a disturbing scene as well ^.^ *dun* *dun* *dun* ;P