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: Based on the reviews I got you guys really liked the last chapter because of how fluffy it was. The Gwen and Stan scenes had you guys seeing bright colors. Because of that I have a feeling you guys are gonna like this one too, even with the way it ends xD Anyways, enjoy this chapter!
For some reason I had Led Zeppelin's song Immigrant stuck in my head when I was writing this chapter. Just a random little fact I wanted to share with you guys.
"I accept the hard reality that I maybe might possibly be just the slightest tiniest littlest bit kinda sorta interested in him." ― Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer
Chapter 15: An unexpected development
After Gwen finished her performance, she wasted no time getting off the stage to meet up with Richie and the others. Her friends immediately surrounded her, and she let out a smile when she noticed her brother's carefree behavior.
"Alright, you guys can now bow down to the talented one in our group." Richie announced before doing an exaggerated bow. The rest of them joined Gwen's laughter, amused by Richie's antics.
"That was amazing!" Eddie cheered. His cheeks were tinted pink by the gazing he had done when Gwen had been on stage. The color only intensified when Gwen's smile was directed onto him. However, her attention was soon caught thanks to Beverly.
Beverly stared at her older dark haired friend in amazement. "I almost forgot how great your voice was."
"You really were great, Gwen." Stan shyly confessed. When she looked at him, he felt his cheeks start to warm up. He cleared his throat as he felt butterflies invade his stomach again. "I liked the song you chose."
Gwen's eyes softened upon his shy demeanor. "Thanks, I had a feeling that song would be a good choice." Her mother hadn't wanted her to sing that song, but luckily Gwen was able to persuader at the last minute.
"It was!" Beverly chimed.
From beside her, Mike tilted his head, curious. "You ever think about joining a band?" He suddenly asked the older girl who he considered a close friend now. Since the rock fight with her and the others helping him out, Mike had become a member of their group.
Gwen gave him a light playful punch to one of his shoulders. Mike pretended as if he got a serious hit, faking a grimace. That of course only amused her and the others. "As if." Gwen said drolly. She didn't think her singing was band worthy.
"Maybe you'll be a professional solo singer." Ben said with his own smile.
Gwen laughed, shaking her head. "I don't see singing as my career." The others once again joined in with the laughter. "I see myself more as a professional softball player." Little did Gwen know, that singing was exactly what she would be doing in her adult years.
"I c-c-can see that." Bill commented, having no trouble picturing her playing softball in the outfield. His eyes suddenly narrowed when he saw what was missing around her neck. "Hey, w-w-where's your necklace?" He asked, bewildered that she wasn't wearing her signature silver Turtle necklace. That was an unusual thing to see considering she always had it on. The necklace had sort of become her main thing, like with Richie and his glasses. Of course Richie needed his glasses, but as of lately Bill had begun to view Gwen's necklace with the same importance Richie's glasses had.
"Oh." Gwen touched her neck briefly. A gloomy expression appeared on her face. "My mom made me take it off. She said it didn't go with the dress." Gwen had protested greatly with taking her necklace off, but her mother wouldn't give up. The argument ended with her mother undoing her necklace and taking it away from her. Needless to say Gwen was really annoyed and mad at her mother for doing that.
"It's kind of weird seeing you without it." Richie admitted to his sister. He too had gotten used to seeing her wearing the necklace. Richie had no idea who gave her that necklace, but it was obvious to him now how that necklace meant a lot to Gwen.
Gwen nodded her head, ready to say something else, when Bill's voice filled the air.
"We s-s-s-should probably start t-t-talking now." He told his group of friends with a serious voice.
And so they did.
It was time to finally discuss the issue at hand.
They had moved across the street to where the ice cream shop was at. Currently the annual parade which Derry had was happening but none of them were really watch it. Well except for Richie, but he was more focused with the baritone one of the male marching band members was playing. The rest of them (excluding Eddie who was buying ice cream at the moment) were looking at a missing kids poster that had Eddie Corcoran's face plastered on it. The missing poster had been hidden underneath one of the fourth of July festival fliers. Now Gwen liked the annual festival but this deeply upset her. It was like none of the town members cared about the disappearance Eddie Corcoran anymore. Like they were trying to forget about...or maybe they already had...that sent chills down her spine.
"They say they found a part of his hand all chewed up near the stand pipe." Stan voiced adding to the disturbed tension filled air.
"He asked me to borrow a pencil once." Ben quietly admitted. Sadly that was about all the interaction he had with Eddie Corcoran before he ended up "disappearing."
Bill, ever somber, approached another fourth of July flier that was on the brick wall and lifted it up. None of them were surprised to see another covered up missing poster. This was one Betty Ripsom's. Bill yanked the fourth of July filer off and turned to face his friends. His expression anything but delighted. "It's like she and Eddie C-C-Corcoran have b-b-been forgotten because of all the d-d-disappearance that are happening."
From beside Gwen, Stan spoke again. "Is it ever going to end?"
Before anybody was able to answer his question, Beverly a little bit sheepish and amused looked over at Gwen. "Uh, Gwen?" She called out and once said older girl looked at her, Beverly gestured to where Richie was at.
Gwen instantly felt like face palming herself once she saw what exactly her younger brother was doing. She watched as Richie was desperately trying to take away the baritone from one of the male marching band members. She had to admit it was pretty hilarious but this was no time to laugh. When he had successfully yanked the baritone from the band member's hands, he looked her way.
"Hey, Gwen, check this out!" Richie merrily announced as he tried to show off his baritone skills to his sister (skills that he seriously lacked).
Gwen once again contained the laughter that wanted to escape. "Oh, my God." She said now fighting the urge to even smile at her brother's ridiculousness.
The marching band member let Richie play for a few seconds before he finally got fed up. Without saying anything to the bespectacled boy, he snatched the baritone back from him.
Richie glared at the boy for ruining his music session. "What the fuck, dude?" He asked throwing his hands out in the air.
The marching band member just gave him an annoyed expression before stomping away as he tried to catch up with the rest of the band. Richie just rolled his before he walked over to where his friends were.
"Really, Richie?" Gwen asked, only half serious when he came to stand next to her. "I'm the one with ADHD and even I'm paying more attention than you!"
"Yeah, yeah." Richie mumbled before he lighten up a bit. "I have mad skills, don't I?"
"I plead the fifth." Was all Gwen said before focusing on previous conversation. Richie was going to ask what that meant when the missing posters that were on the wall caught his attention.
At that moment Eddie came back with two ice creams in hand. "What are you guys talking about?" He curiously asked as he handed one of the newly bought ice cream cones to Richie.
Richie took a lick of his ice cream before answering the smaller boy's question. "What they always talk about."
"I actually think it will end." Ben informed his friends. They looked at him, hopeful yet muddled by such an answer. "For a little while at least."
Beverly got a puzzled expression. "What do you mean?" She asked voicing everyone's thoughts.
Ben sighed. "So, I was going over all my Derry research and I charted out all the big events. The Ironworks explosion in 1908, the Bradley gang in thirty-five, and then the Black Spot in sixty-two, and now kids..." He took a deep breath gathering his distressed emotions. "I realized this stuff seems to happen every―"
"Twenty-seven years." Bill and Ben said at the same time.
"But why every twenty-seven years?" Gwen asked vehemently.
Ben gave her a sad look. "I still have yet to figure that part out."
The group all looked at each other with anxiousness. Gwen being the one filled the most dread. Even if what Ben said was true and all this bad stuff would come to an end soon, it was just going to happen again later on in twenty-seven years. And despite being all grown up and hopefully away from Derry by then, Gwen in no way wanted this clown thing to attack any more people, especially kids. It was dangerous to even think about confronting it, but if not them then who? Who would put a stop to this evil entity's terror?
"Okay, so let me get this straight." Eddie began speaking as they were now back at the center of town again. The group of friends were close to the Paul Bunyan statue, with Beverly, Stan, Gwen, and Mike setting on a nearby bench, while Bill, Richie, and Eddie sat on their bikes. "IT comes out from wherever for like a year and then what? IT just goes into hibernation?" The smaller boy asked his friends.
"Maybe it's like? What do you call it? Cicadas." Stan offered as a sort of explanation. Was it rational? Not in this situation, but it was at least something. "You know the bugs that come out every seventeen years."
"My grandfather thinks this town is cursed." Mike announced as he looked at the fourth of July decorations that surround the town square. "He says that all the bad things that happen in this town are because of one thing. An evil thing that feeds off the people in Derry."
Gwen gave Mike a small nod after he said this. Although she had never met Mike's grandfather she had no problem agreeing with the older man's reasoning. There was something evil in Derry, and that evil thing was the reason for all the disappearances. From the looks of it, it seemed that everyone else in the group was agreeing to this...well except for one person.
Stan frowned at such reasoning. "But it can't be one thing. We all saw something different."
"Maybe...or maybe it knows what scares us the most and that's what we see." Mike suggested.
Eddie swallowed the lump in his throat. "I saw a Leper." He nervously confessed to his friends. He felt chills go down his spine talking about his encounter again. "It was like a walking infection."
"But you didn't." Stan insisted trying to remain rational with not only the group, but with himself as well. "Because it isn't real. None of this is. Not Eddie's Leper, or Bill seeing Georgie, or the woman I keep seeing."
"Is she hot?" Richie suddenly asked. It was meant as a joke but he was very curious to hear his answer.
Everyone gawked at such a random question.
"Richie." Gwen stressed out her brother's name. She was giving him a "are you serious?" type of look. This was not the time to be funny. In return to her mild chide stare, Richie just shrugged his shoulders becoming slightly sheepish for asking such a question. After seeing that she somewhat got through to him, Gwen focused her attention onto Stan again.
From the corner of his eye, Stan saw how Gwen was giving him a concerned expression. His face reddened, embarrassed that she had heard any of this. He sent a scowl to his bespectacled friend for asking such a coarse question in front of the girl he liked. "No, Richie. She's not hot." He felt his stomach sink in terror just thinking about that painting. "Her face is all messed up." He took a deep breath and then looked at all of them. "None of this makes any sense. They're all like bad dreams."
Mike shook his head. "I don't think so. I know the difference between a bad dream and real life, okay?"
"What did you see? You saw something too?" Eddie asked him. He knew (along with everyone else) based on what Mike told him that he saw the clown, but he hadn't mentioned what else he had the misfortune of seeing.
"Yes." Mike nodded his head. Besides the clown he had seen something else. Something that deeply disturbed him. "You guys know that burnt down house on Harris Ave?" He asked and they all nodded their heads. Gwen knew exactly where that house had been. "Well, I was inside when it burnt down. Before I was rescued, my mom and dad were trapped in the next room over from me. They were pushing and pounding on the door...trying to get to me...but it was too hot." Mike felt his eyes swell up at such mention. "When the fireman finally found them the skin on their hands had melted down to the bone." He took a brief moment to gather himself emotionally. During such time Gwen threw him a sympathetic expression and it was one that got him talking again. "We're all afraid of something."
"Got that right..." Richie muttered.
"Why Richie? What are you afraid of?" Eddie asked him. All this time and he had yet to know what his loud mouth friend was truly afraid of. The only one of the group to know his fear was probably Gwen. Which made sense, they were siblings. But other than with Gwen, Richie was never one to voice what scared him. Well not until now that is.
Richie released a nervous breath as he stared at the stage that was in the middle of the field. There dancing and entertaining the audience was a damn clown. He shuddered. "Clowns..." He admitted once he looked around at his friends again.
"I don't blame you." Gwen replied in agreement. She threw the clown that was on the stage a steel like gaze. She felt goosebumps go over her arms when the clown waved at her. Memories of her encounter with sinister clown came to mind. She quickly looked away. "Clowns can be scary as hell."
"G-G-Gwen?" Bill turned to look at the older girl he now came to view as an older sister. His gaze on her was soft, but yearning to hear her own experience."Can you finally t-t-tell us what you s-saw?"
Richie was quick to throw his friend a warning look. "Bill."
"No, it's okay." Gwen reassured her brother before changing her attention onto not only Bill, but to all her friends. From of the looks of it, Stan seemed the most intrigued and concerned. "I saw different things." She started explaining to them. "That day I left Ben's house, I didn't go home right away. I...I went to Chase's house."
"You did?" Stan asked.
Gwen nodded her head. "Just...something within me told me to go there and I did. It was then that I saw someone from one of his upstairs windows and I got mad." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "So I went inside."
"Then w-w-what happened?" Bill asked feeling on edge.
"Then...I saw..." Gwen took a deep breath getting a hold of herself. From the corner of her eyes she saw Richie give her a soothing expression. "First I saw the Tarman. He was all icky and gross looking and he went to touch me."
"Did he touch you?" Eddie asked. He felt like washing his hands now despite not having touched anything gross. He knew what the Tarman was. Although he himself wasn't fan of horror movies, there'd been times when Richie convinced him to see one. The Return of the Living Dead had been one of them and honestly the whole Tarman scene is what disgusted him the most. In a way the Tarman reminded him of the Leper he saw. Although in the end it was the Leper that really frightened him.
Gwen shook her head. "No, I ran down the stairs before it could. But I fell and..." This was the part that she was dreading to tell them. But she knew she had too. "Then I saw Patrick."
That had everyone in the group looking at her with shock and full out concern.
Beverly got a nervous expression on her freckled covered face. "You saw Patrick? As in Patrick Hockstetter?"
Gwen nodded her head. "He was decomposed and he tried to touch me. Actually, he did touch me..." She said, once again feeling the need to shower until her skin was red from scrubbing.
"He...he touched you?" Richie questioned, his voice trembling, but not because of nerves. It was trembling because of anger. Whatever hate he had for this clown thing doubled after she said this.
Gwen stayed silent, and it wasn't until Stan's soft voice reached her ears. "Gwen?" She looked at him and she right away got control from the soothing expression he was giving her. "It was just my legs." She answered firmly."But I kicked whatever that thing was off of me and then ran." Despite her firm voice she felt her stomach in knots. "And that's when I saw the clown. He said his name was Pennywise the Dancing Clown, but to call him Robert Gray."
"Pennywise?" Mike questioned. That was the name of the clown that had been terrorizing not only him, but all his friends? Somehow knowing the clown's name made it even ten times worse.
Gwen nodded her head again. "Yeah...Pennywise." The Tozier girl hated that name. The more she said it aloud and even in her head, the more hatred grew within her.
Although the clown had a supposed name, none of them wanted to openly acknowledge it. To them the clown was a thing. An evil creature. Not a damn person. Somehow though that information faltered everyone's thoughts. Well, not so much Richie's. He was still fuming over Gwen's safety despite her saying she got away.
"You're scared of Patrick?" Eddie asked releasing a shaking breath. He wasn't judging her by any means. He found (well used to find) the lanky boy to be quite the menace and was greatly on edge whenever he was around him or his friends.
"Well, more like creeped out." Gwen lamely corrected. She took a deep breath deciding to be thoroughly honest with them. "You see awhile ago the girls locker room was broken into and I was the only one in there...and I was changing." She sighed and ran a hand through her dark curly locks. "I didn't get a good look at the person, only saw their backside. But I knew it was Patrick." Her voice hardened a bit when saying this. "After that he would always have on this smug look whenever he would see me. It made my skin crawl. I felt...violated in a way."
Beverly stared at Gwen, completely empathetic. If anyone knew what it felt like to be violated it was Beverly Marsh. And it was because of her damn father. Although he hadn't done that awful inexcusable thing to her, his supposed affectionate touches and lingering looks were enough to make Beverly throw up. In fact, she had almost done so once or twice before. Now deep down Beverly did care for her father but the love she had for him was going away as time went on, and she had a feeling the longer she stayed with him the more affectionate his love for her was going to become. The type of affection a father should never express towards his daughter. Beverly reached for the key necklace she had, and as she'd seen Gwen do to her Turtle necklace, Beverly grabbed her key necklace for comfort.
"That fucker." Richie growled as his eyes behind his glasses darkened with anger. This was the first time he's heard about this. "Can't believe he got away with that."
"He's gone now." Stan added calming down not only Richie's anger, but his own as well. If Patrick were still alive he would have found the courage to confront him on what he did to Gwen, because what he did was dead wrong. "He won't cause us anymore harm."
"No, but there's s-s-something out there still causing h-h-harm." Bill stuttered, reminding his friends.
"There's something else I want to tell you guys. " Gwen added, nervously. "When I was little I would get these awful nightmares and all I would see were bright yellow eyes and sharp teeth...just like the clown had." She felt goosebumps on her arms as she said this. "Those horrible yellow eyes." She wanted to grab onto her Turtle necklace and was almost going to...when she remembered she wasn't wearing it. That caused her to feel even more distressed. "I'd tell my parents, but they never really did much." Richie nodded his head to that because it was the truth. Their parents never took Gwen's nightmares seriously. "Just said I'd outgrow them...and the nightmares stopped, until recently." She finished saying to them.
None of them knew why she had these nightmares, or if they really did relate back to what was happening (although they had a strong feeling they did), but either way it was a strange and awful thing for Gwen to experience growing up.
"It's like the adults don't care." Ben added into the conversation. "Well, they do somewhat but overtime it's like they forget and move on as if nothing ever happened."
Bill nodded his head. "Exactly."
Not wanting to appear weak and deeply afraid (even though she was feeling afraid), Gwen decided to add a lighthearted comment. "Boy, I wish we had a time machine to reverse all this madness. Where's Doc and Marty when you need them?" To her relief that got a few of them to release smiles. Richie's being the first she saw. Her friends smile somehow made her feel better, but not entirely. She didn't want to leave, but after that heavy conversation, she needed a breather. "I should go home and change." She said getting up from the bench. She gestured to her face. "Get this gunk stuff off my face. I'll be back in time for the fireworks." She waved at them before taking off.
The rest of them continued talking until they each went off to do their own thing. Before leaving they all agreed to meet up again for the firework show. Despite where they were heading to. Eddie went back home to reassure his mother with his presence. Mike rode back to his grandfather's place. Richie right away went to the arcade again. Bill and Beverly walked around town together. When Ben saw this he felt a little sad and dejected. He, however, didn't interfere. His displeasure was noticed by Stan who was still walking alongside him.
"You should tell her." Stan suddenly said to him.
Ben didn't answer back with an actual response, just a question of his own. "Are you gonna tell Gwen you like her?"
Stan faltered with his steps. "No...well...not yet."
Ben didn't pester him with his crush on Gwen. Stan would eventually tell her when he felt the time was right...whenever that going to be. He instead focused on another important question. "How'd you know I like Beverly?" He was curious as to how Stan knew. Ben hadn't told him his feelings for the beautiful redhead. Only Gwen knew about his feelings for Beverly, and he knew Gwen wouldn't have told his secret.
"It's obvious." Stan simply informed him. "Guess you're not that great at hiding your feelings either."
"Guess not..." Ben mumbled. He let out a sigh. "If it's so obvious how come Beverly hasn't noticed then?"
That sentence alone got to Stan. It really did. He felt his heart ache when he looked at how downhearted Ben appeared to be. It reminded him of himself. "I ask myself the same question when it comes to Gwen."
They both said nothing after that. Just continued walking together until they went their own way. The two of them aching for girls who hadn't yet noticed them romantically.
Gwen finally felt like her normal self again once she got out of the shower and redressed back into her usual clothing. She was happy she longer had the makeup stuff on her face and that her hair was its natural way again. Although she was slightly sad that she wasn't wearing her Turtle necklace. The Tozier girl had gone into her parent's room to see if it was in there but she couldn't find it. Her mother must have hidden it somewhere else. She'd have to inquire her mother on the necklace's whereabouts later.
Now by the time Gwen made it back to the center of town (due by her decision to walk) it was just almost time for the fireworks show to start. It was still daytime and the reason why the fireworks were going to be released so early was because of the curfew the town was given. However, despite it being early Gwen was still excited. A firework show even during the day is still a firework show.
Richie and her always liked the fourth of July. Not just because of the fireworks, but because it was one of the holidays where their parents (or actually their mother) didn't hover over them. When they were younger (Richie being around seven and Gwen around nine) Halloween used to be their favorite holiday. That all changed when their mother Maggie became more assertive with what they should wear for costumes. After that Halloween became less fun for them. Luckily though two years ago (in 1987 before any of the awful events took place) their father Wentworth (surprisingly) managed to get Maggie to back off. Which was something both Tozier siblings had been thankful for.
Now Christmas was a bit different. Richie and Gwen liked Christmas. The one thing they hated though was how their mother always forced all of them to spend time together. They knew she did this because in her mind this made them seem like a perfect family. Which was an image Maggie wanted other people in Derry to have on them. Even despite it not being one hundred percent true. Now Gwen and Richie didn't really mind this since they liked spending time together. Except there was a downside and that was that Maggie dictated how their time was spent. And none of them (not even Wentworth) liked all the activities they had to do as a family. Taking pictures with awful Christmas sweaters was fine, but hours of holiday crafting? Now that was just too much.
The fourth of July was different. Which is why they preferred (especially Gwen) this holiday over the others. Their father Wentworth spent all of his time with his co-workers/buddies eating BBQ and drinking coolers, while their mother Maggie caught up with the latest gossip with her friends from book-club. Neither parent focused on their kids whereabouts. That should have bothered both Richie and Gwen, but it didn't. Not really. Despite them not liking how their parents didn't pay attention to them on a regular basis, their lack of attention at the moment was thrown to the side. Both siblings had other things (more important things) to focus on.
Walking through the crowds of people, Gwen let her eyes wander around. She had yet to find to her brother and friends. They had to be around here somewhere because this was where the firework show was going to be. Perhaps they were on the other side of the street? With this in mind, Gwen was about to cross the street when someone called out her name.
"Gwen."
That voice...that very familiar distinct boyish voice.
Gwen already knew who this was. She turned around (very much reluctantly) and released a heavy sigh once she came face to face with his face. "What do you want, Victor?" He was standing there in front of her wearing dirty boots, camo pants, and a dark grey tank. His signature sleek-white blond hair stood out even more because of the sunlight hitting it. Not in a bad way though. Gwen would never admit this aloud, but she'd always found his hair to be cool. However, what stood out even more beside Victor's hair was the angry red mark he had on the side of his head. A rock injury. Ouch. It hadn't been her who had hit him but one of her friends. Gwen had a feeling it was Stan, considering he had been aiming most of his rocks at Victor. For a moment there Gwen felt her concern fully take over but she quickly composed herself.
Reality had set in again. They hadn't spoken, let alone seen each other since the rock fight incident. Gwen was bewildered (and a little wary) as to why he was now initiating conversation with her. Now although her slight caution towards him, she knew deep down Victor wouldn't actually cause her harm...but that didn't mean the others wouldn't. Belch, she wasn't really worried about. It was more Henry Bowers. She'd put up a fight if she needed to. And she assumed there was going to be one because if Victor was here that meant Henry or even Belch could be around as well. She kept her guard up.
Victor remained where he stood. He appeared to be cool and in control on the outside, but on the inside he was ardently admiring her. He'd seen her perform, and just like the others he was blown away by how amazing she sounded and looked on stage. Although despite looking like a complete knock out in that dark blue dress, Victor preferred her as she was right now. Makeup free and her hair in natural waves. Victor had always preferred Gwen dressed in her usual casual everyday outfits. Which today consisted of a black Siouxsie And The Banshees t-shirt, jean shorts, and her pair of old sneakers. His heart swelled from looking at her true self. Now this was the Gwen Tozier he knew and liked.
As he was admiring her, Victor noticed how firm and on guard she appeared to be. Victor wasn't surprised by this. He hadn't spoken to her since the rock fight. The fight in which she let him leave scot-free'. Not exactly scot-free'...he did get hit a few times during the fight. None of those hits though had been from her. No they'd been from the other Losers (the one that hit him on the side of head had been from Stan). Victor wasn't one hundred percent mad him or at any of the Losers. It had been a rock fight after all and he was a part of it. He knew there would be consequences. The one who'd been furious (crazily so) was Henry. A couple weeks have passed and Henry hadn't calmed down from the defeat, unlike him and Belch. Not that Victor was there much to witness Henry's out-bursts considering he hasn't been around him lately. Belch yeah, but not so much with Henry. He knew this was why Gwen was so wary right now. Victor wanted to sooth away her chariness much like he'd done so when they ran into each other outside the music shop. Which now felt like forever ago.
"I'm here by myself." Victor told her, his voice low but candid.
Gwen knew right away he was telling the truth. Despite his reassurance, she still questioned him. Although her questioning had more to do with curiousness than wariness. "Where's Henry and Belch then?" She asked furrowing her eyebrows.
Victor shrugged his shoulders. He halfheartedly looked around the town and people walking around before his gaze landed onto her again. "I don't know. Around, I guess." His eyes became earnest. "I've been kind of doing my own thing lately."
Gwen was not expecting to hear that. Victor Criss doing his own thing? Not including Henry Bowers? He was always following around Henry. This was too bemusing to accept right away. "Are you no longer friends with them?" She asked him.
Victor processed that question. Unfortunately, no answer came right away and he found himself fumbling his response. "No, I am. It's just...well...I kind of needed my space from them since..."
Gwen nodded her head. "Got it." She said no longer staring at Victor with bemusement or with harshness. Instead her gaze on the sleek-white blond haired boy became softer. Her outward behavior definitely leaned more towards to being cordial with him. She was glad to hear he wasn't spending all of his free time with Henry and was out trying to do something on his own. It showed Gwen how he was willing to over throw his bully like tendencies. She opted to end the conversation with a single nod, but Victor said something that made her feel sheepishness.
"I saw your performance." He said continuing the civil conversation they were now having with each other.
Gwen groaned feeling the faintness blush cover her cheeks. She blamed the sun for that though. "Oh, great..."
Victor saw the tint of pink on her cheeks, and that sight alone dared him to continue on with his compliments. "I thought you were good." He openly admitted to her.
Gwen looked at him in disbelief. Did Victor Criss of all people just pay her a compliment? "Seriously?" She questioned, voice wavering a bit.
Her sudden bashfulness made Victor want to smile. An act that was a rare occurrence. He never really smiled. He just scowled when annoyed or angered, and grinned when amused. But for her, Victor found his lips going upwards forming into an actual smile and he didn't stop himself from doing so. "Sure, I mean, I always knew you were a good singer. Ever since the fifth grade talent show." He paused before his voice became the slightest bit upbeat. "I still think you should have won."
That comment got to Gwen more than she wanted to admit aloud. Sure she's received compliments for her singing, but for some reason Victor's compliment stood out more. In a way it sort of reminded her of when Chase complimented her all those years ago. Except Victor wasn't Chase. Victor was his own person with different (perplexing) qualities, and perhaps it was because of that made Gwen return the smile back. "Thanks." She softly said to him. It got quiet after that with only the sounds of people in the background being heard. If they'd been alone it might have been awkward, but they weren't. Not only that but the air between them was oddly pleasant. This was something that had never occurred when they interacted with each other, and Gwen wasn't about to pass up the chance to actually have a somewhat friendly conversation with Victor. Except like always she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "Did you like it?" She felt like running into a wall after saying that random question.
Now it was Victor's turn to be bemused. "Huh? Like what?"
Gwen cleared her throat. "The cassette?" She whimsically clarified. "You know, Blue Oyster Cult. I like that band too."
"Oh." Victor right away answered when she understood what she meant. It had been weeks since he bought that cassette. That didn't make his view on the band lessen. "Yeah, it was great. I've always been a fan of their music." And that was true. Henry and Patrick often dissed his choice of music. Not so much Belch, and that was something Victor liked about his burly sized friend. Belch wouldn't degrade the things he liked, which is why he always preferred hanging out him. Even if he lacked major manners and was bit of an ass, deep down Victor knew Belch wasn't all bad. Not like Henry or how Patrick was. Belch, however, wasn't as independent as he was becoming and spent most of his time with Henry. Victor decided to not dwell on that subject and instead focused on the conversation he was having. He looked at Gwen and he found his lips forming into a small genuine smile. "You can borrow it if you want."
Gwen was surprised by his kind offer but she had no problem nodding her head. "Thanks." As she said this the amiable atmosphere between them grew more. "I think I might just take you up on that offer." She flashed him a quick smile before it faltered. "See you around, Victor."
"Yeah...see you around, Gwen." Victor said giving her a single nod. In this one act alone, whatever objectionable feelings there still were, (from Gwen of course) dissolved away. The Tozier girl gave him a quick wave before crossing the street. And as she walked away, she left with a more positive view towards the sleek white-blonde haired boy.
After that unusual yet pleasant encounter with Victor, Gwen resumed her search for her brother and friends. She gazed around the field but they weren't there. On the upside, from where she'd been walking she was glad to see that creepy clown from early was no longer on the performing stage. Gwen had no idea where it was now but as long as it wasn't anywhere near her or her friends, then she was okay.
Her on going search came to a stop when she stood in front of Derry, Maine's jewelry store. A single diamond ring that was on display on the window caught her attention. Now she wasn't one for jewelry. The piece of jewelry she had worn consistently had been her silver Turtle necklace. Perhaps it was because she was sad from not wearing at the moment, but that simple ring was calling out to her. From the display she saw that it wasn't made from real diamonds, but Gwen didn't care. It was a simple yet nice ring. Except despite it not being real diamond, the ring was still around the one hundred dollar range. She cringed knowing she wouldn't be able to afford the ring. Maybe if she saved up...
"Do you like it?"
Gwen didn't jump from hearing Stan's soft voice. Instead she turned and gave him a smile, happy that she finally found someone from their group. She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not usually one for jewelry, but I do like it."
Stan gave her a quizzical expression. "Why don't you buy it then?"
"It's not exactly around my dollar range." Gwen said laughing a bit. "I know it's not real diamond but it still costs a pretty penny. I can always save up though." She sobered up. "Anyways, where are the others?"
Stan looked at the ring thoughtfully (an idea already forming in his head) before he switched his attention onto her again. "They're on the other side of the street, where that line of people are at to see the fireworks."
"Okay, let's go."
They quickly crossed the street and made it just in time before one of the comity people finally announced the the beginning of the firework show. It took minute or two before they were able to walk through the crowd of people, that they finally found the rest of the group. Beverly was the first to wave at them and soon the others followed behind. By now a few fireworks had gone off and Gwen saw how excited her friends were (especially Richie). Her brother kept wooing and imitating the firework noises.
Eddie alongside Bill, Ben and Beverly were laughing at the bespectacled boy's antics. Mike was too focused on just watching the show. He was watching the fireworks with great interest because this was his very time actually watching the fourth of July show in Derry. All the years before he felt too nervous to show up in town because of his lack of status he had in Derry. Except this time it was different and he didn't let any negative thoughts he had get to him. What made it even better was that he wasn't alone...he was with his friends. A smile grew on his face as the show continued.
Gwen stood a little bit further away from her friends. As she watched the firework show she also watched how much fun and happy her friends looked. This was how she always wanted them to be like. Not scared because of some stupid clown entity or whatever the hell IT was. She made sure to bask in this blissful moment because she had no idea if they were ever going to get another one.
A soft gentle touch caught Gwen's attention. She gazed down to see someone had taken a hold of her right hand. Before she even looked up to see such person, she knew who it was. As she eyed Stan she felt the unknown feeling from before return. She looked at him intently. Not out of annoyance...but out of bewilderment.
Her intense staring made Stan blush and he instantly thought the worst. Had he irked her with his touch? He hadn't meant to. He really had no idea where he'd gotten the courage to hold her hand...it just came and he went with it. Clearly this had been a mistake. "I'm sorry...should I-I let go?" He asked ready to let go of her hand. But after he said that the strangest (and greatest) thing happened. She intertwined their fingers together.
If the others weren't too focused on the firework show they would have been shocked (and happy) to see what was going on between them. But to Gwen this act seemed harmless, friendly even. There was nothing wrong with holding hands, right? Friends held hands all the time, and besides she'd held hands with Stan before. It was totally platonic. So why didn't it fully feel like that? Gwen slightly shook her head, throwing this thought away. It was absurd to think that way. Stan was her...friend. Once again she felt odd saying that word in her head, but she tried her best to ignore this odd feeling. She instead gave him a warm smile and gently squeezed his hand.
"No, it's fine." She softly reassured him.
It took a few seconds but a smile finally appeared on Stan's face. Blushing, he gazed down to look at their hands before he his attention went to the ongoing firework show. Every minute or two he would gently squeeze Gwen's hand. And despite the odd feelings she was getting because of Stan, Gwen found herself returning a hand squeeze back every time he did that. Both of their heartbeats picking up pace as they each did so.
While they were having this profound moment (a moment Gwen would later admit evolved their friendship into something more), underneath the house on Neibolt Street deep within the swears, ITs spine-chilling yellow eyes were furiously glowing. The cosmic entity was extremely angered by this new unexpected development.
A/N: So yeah...I ended the chapter like that. I'm awful, aren't I?
*Important Info*
If you follow me on Tumblr then you already know about this, but for those who don't, I plan on releasing an Stanger Things/IT crossover once I finish this story. The crossover is going be separate from the main IT story and it's going to feature Gwen and how she ends up in Hawkins, Indiana after the events of IT. Since Stranger Things takes place in the early eighties I'm gonna have to alter the timeline a bit, but there won't be any other huge changes, just enough so Gwen can be involved in the story line. I also plan on making it a eventual Steve Harrington x Gwen Tozier pairing, so look forward to that. Anyways, let me know what are your thoughts on this idea. Until next time dear readers!