Chapter Text
The sun shone down, warm air surrounding the summer-filled town of Derry, Maine, inside and out, and rustling between the long, uncut blades of grass underneath the baby blue sky, without a single cloud in the sky. That familiar, June atmosphere hung between the trees, and the grass bent slightly as a slightly stronger warm breeze buffeted over them. Then they fully bent as a person came crashing down onto the ground, and light disappeared for those blades of grass for the time being.
Beverly was the first one to drop her bike and rush over to the field, throwing herself down and letting out a sigh of content, her eyes opening from their previously closed position to gaze upwards at the dome of the sky above them, wondering if this was what it truly felt like to live carefree from the rest of the world. A few seconds later, the sounds of bikes were to be heard, before they stopped a few feet away from her.
"Jeez Louise Bevs" Mike chuckled, as he let his bike fall onto the ground, the others following suit. "Are you trying to get away from us or what?"
"Actually, it's 'trying to run away', if you haven't noticed" Eddie replied, speaking quickly and with an edge of slight contempt at the situation at hand as always. "And don't you know how many bugs and other parasites there are in the grass? I mean I think they literally found three hundred new types of diseases that were traced back to pollen and insects in the grass and—"
"Shut up Eds" Richie said, knocking his shoulder into the others, which drew a whine of slight pain from him by doing so. "And stop complaining. We know you're likely to die from every single gust of wind, but surely it'll pass right over your small frame."
"Oh yeah, like you know anything—"
"I just wondered what a quiet life would be like" Beverly sighed as Mike came over and sat down next to her, as well as Bill, Ben, and Stanley. "But I'll guess we'll never know."
"Oh come on, it's only those two." Mike indicated to the two boys arguing with each other a few feet away. "And besides, doesn't it send out good old family feelings of the Loser's club?"
"T-they probably been wa-whu-waiting for the summer holidays to c-come to l-le-let this all out on each o-other." Bill agreed, stretching his legs out as he kneaded the grass in his hands.
Beverly sighed and closed her eyes again, the sun pleasantly hitting her face. "Yeah.....I've been waiting forever for school to finally end." She said with a small smile on her face. "And now we can just do whatever we want."
"And you don't have to hang around in the library all summer." Stanley turned to Ben on his right, who was watching the argument between Richie and Eddie, which was now turning into a 'poking' fight.
"I didn't hang around in the library all summer." He replied quietly, indicating at something hidden in sight, but plain in mind.
A heavy sort of blanket seemed to hang over the listening Loser members' heads. Last summer.......one could only remember the horrors of that time. Bill looked down at the grass, trying to stay quiet and keep himself together. It had already been a full year; but for him, it had come with the most pain. He desperately kept the name down his throat. Georgie.........
"Yeah... yeah..." Beverly tried to push the subject away and distract herself.
Luckily, Richie and Eddie tumbled to the floor at that moment. Richie was on top, holding onto him, and Eddie underneath, straining against his grip. "Oh! You little—do you know how many allergies I have? E-especially in the summer, I'll probably get malaria, and—"
"You little coward," Richie grinned, leaning over him almost languidly. "You're more afraid of dying of a pollen allergy than me beating you to death?"
"Like you ever would."
"Well, I beat your mother every night when I sleep with her, so—"
"Ewwwwww! Gross! Stop with those jokes, okay?!" Eddie whined, managing to roll slightly to the side so they were both lying on the floor, kicking each other in the shins.
"What? How am I supposed to when your mother's always begging for..."
"Alright, that's it." Eddie managed to free himself from his grip and with one last kick to the legs, got up and moved towards the others, sitting down next to Bill on Beverly's left. Grumbling slightly, Richie rubbed his shin and got up as well, standing before the group.
"Well; I am pleased to announce that the summer holidays have started!" He exclaimed in his best announcer voice, spreading his arms theatrically. "No books for Ben, no boredom for Beverly—all in all an all-round experience of freedom!"
"Oh shut up" Beverly mused, a hint of a smile on her face. Mike just chuckled.
"Yeah; freedom." Stan chewed his lip, while Eddie just fell backwards into the grass.
“Oh come on! More excitement! More enthusiasm! I want this whole town to hear your exhilarated cries of joy at the wonderful summer yet to come!"
"Was Richie always this way?" Stan wondered aloud, mindlessly pulling at the grass next to him.
“Yes." Was Mike's answer, as he tilted back his head slightly and gazed up at the endlessly blue sky, like it was straight out of a dream.
"J-ju-just let us enjoy t-this for now, R-Richie," Bill said, lying down as well, hands behind his head as he too enjoyed the serenity of it all. "S-school just ended; let's just s-sit back for a m-mo-moment."
With a slight huff, Richie dropped his arms and walked over next to Eddie, where he let himself plop down next to him. He in return tended slightly, as if waiting for another argument or unexpected punch from nowhere. But it seemed like Rich was really trying to keep himself down a bit, as he gazed up as well, the sun hitting his face and the warm breeze moving his typical Hawaiian jacket around a bit, ruffling through his curly black hair. It did feel nice to just sit back a bit and lean into the fact that it was indeed summer holidays.
"So......" Stanley interrupted the comforting silence after a while, needing to hear someone speaking, if not Richie. "What are the plans for these couple of free weeks we have on our hands?"
Beverly stretched her arms slightly in front of her. "Well I'm not planning on staying a minute indoors.” She exclaimed, before looking forward at the trees in the distance, the greenery of it all almost unreal in the warm sunlight of June.
"We're also definitely going to go to the quarry, right?" Mike asked, turning his head to look at his left side, wanting to know their opinions.
Bill nodded. "Y-Yeah.....I've wanted to do t-that again."
"We'll think of some things to do," Ben assured them, lying on his back and twirling some stray grass blades around his fingers. "Also......there's still the clubhouse."
"That old death trap?" Eddie's eyes opened again from their closed position, disagreement to be heard in his tone of voice. "There's dust and spiders all over and god knows what, Richie always hogs the hammock—"
"Um, excuse me mister—"
"And if my mom knew, she'd totally freak out, I mean, we could literally all get buried alive there if it caves in—"
"Are you really going to disregard Ben's architecture skills?" Richie slapped him on the arm lightly. "Have trust in the boy. And besides, that's exactly why your mother isn't here. Only in my fondest memories."
"Will you stop it already?!"
"Here's an idea." Mike leaned forward slightly to look over at the two arguing boys to his left. "How about you, as a summer challenge, manage to turn down your bickering and complaining for these few weeks?"
"Mike!" Richie looked over at him, an eyebrow raised.
"We've just been here for fifteen minutes! I'm not going to swear an oath about not being able to talk ever again! What am I without my wonderful quotes and accents and literature thinking?"
"Somebody nice, who we haven't met yet," Eddie mumbled from below, his eyes still closed.
"Hey!" Richie gently slapped his arm again. "I am the best person out of all of us!—"
“Enough." Quicker than expected, the boy below raised his hand and pushed his index finger against the other's lips. "Maybe you can do that challenge and shut up for the summer alone, and we'll all be at peace. And I swear to god, if you tell another 'my mom' joke, I will punch you."
Richie stayed still for a second, before pushing down his arm and turning the other way, his hand ghosting over his lips slightly. Nobody could see his face now.
"Anyway" Stan continued, a tone of boredom in his voice after that interruption "We'll think of something. And" he let out a sigh "I know that I'm not such a fan of those things, but I guess I'm okay with it......a sleepover?"
Everyone turned to him. Even Richie turned back towards the rest of the group. "That.....actually sounds fun." Beverly agreed, a sort of shine entering her eyes.
Richie had to bite his lip as hard as he could to stop a comment escaping his throat. He managed to turn it over to someone else. "Don't you snore, Stan?"
Stanley looked offended. "No! I bet you snore the loudest, since you probably can't even keep your mouth shut in your sleep!"
"Defensive." Richie grinned, wriggling his eyebrows slightly in challenge.
"If anyone snores, it's me," Mike admitted, wrapping his arms around his legs as he stared off into the distance. "I'll probably keep you all awake."
Beverly shook her head. "Nonsense! We'll all probably just sleep through it anyway." She gazed up at the sky above, feeling the warm summer air on her body, the rustle of grass in her ears. "And I'm just happy that we finally have time to do all those things."
"Exactly!" Richie just couldn't keep his mouth shut for long, as he sat up slightly straighter, beaming slightly at the bad jokes about to come. "More pharmacies to rob, more time to bully Ed's, more time to bang his mom—"
"You really do have an obsession with letting your mouth run." Beverly chuckled, unable to help herself smiling, while Eddie scowled from below.
"What you need, Rich, is a distraction," Mike suggested, leaning forward slightly to look at him. "Something to distract you from all this unnecessary talking and blabbering. What could make you give that all up, even for a summer?"
Richie straightened even more, puffing out his chest slightly. "Nothing can bribe me into silencing for a summer!" He exclaimed dramatically, feeling ten feet tall. He was Richie Tozier, for fuck's sake! Distraction? Bullshit! He was fine without it.
If only they knew.