THEY'RE GAZEBOS | it one-shots

four | sofia

"Remaining Two"

Third Point of View

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"Ben?" Beverly softly asked, lifting her head from his shoulder. Her green eyes looking at the boy, no not the boy, the man standing in front of her. A sleepy Ben looked up at her and smiled, Beverly Marsh, by his side! What would an 11-year-old Ben think? He would laugh nervously while turning red and fidgeting with the edge of his too-big sweaters. Those awful sweaters, he never understood why he wore them. Back then he used to think they were his protection, but looking back he knew how stupid it was. Those sweaters did not make him stronger, did not make him gain confidence, his friends helped him gain confidence. Bill, Richie, Bev, Mike and... dead, both of them, Stan and E-

"Ben?" asked Beverly again, poking Ben's arm lightly, snapping him out of his trance.

"What if they all start forgetting like the first time?" asked Beverly, biting her lip softly and looking at her still dirty nails, sewer shit wasn't so easy to scrape off.

"What if they forget Stan or Eddie?" She continued, her bright green eyes glazed over, she imagined Eddie's body resting face-down in the deepest part of what was left of Derry, his skin slowly rotting away, his aspirator still in his front pocket and his mouth still shaping words he would never say, or they would never hear.

"What if I forget?" She whispered the last part faintly if Ben hadn't been leaning in, he wouldn't have heard it.

"You won't Bev," he responded uncertainly, supernatural shit was unpredictable.

Maybe since they were still together they would never forget, maybe the memories would haunt them but he preferred that rather than forgetting all of them.

"We won't," he reassured himself, holding lightly her hand and squeezing it. Beverly leaned down once again on his shoulder, the soft humming of the plane soothing them.

Ben was about to fall asleep with Eddie behind his eyelids, he was just eleven running with his aspirator in his front pocket and Richie right behind him telling him to wait up, to slow down, he saw his final destination... but then a twinkle caught his eye, a familiar sense passed through him... he was suddenly taken back to the last day of school from that year and that summer, twenty-seven years ago. He remembered seeing Beverly walking away from him, with her old and big clothes and that ankle-bracelet that twinkled in the sunlight making his heart yearn for her, for Beverly.

"You were wearing that the last day of school," mumbled Ben and Beverly lifted her head once again.

"Hmm?" She hummed as she glanced down at her ankle, there it was, a cheap ankle bracelet her mother had given her on her 10th birthday.

"The day I fell in love with you," remembered Ben with heat creeping up his neck.

Beverly chucked and smiled at the memories, and she remembered how eagerly she had exited the school building wanting to go to the Aladdin, mostly to smoke and be as far from her house as possible. Ben looked at her as she entered a memory train, her eyes were loosely focused on the ankle bracelet and a small smirk appeared on her rosy lips contorting her face into yet another piece of art. Her eyes sparkled, but the sparkle in them was blurry as if there was a really thin linoleum curtain covering them. Her face then contorted to a frown, but not a painful one: a curious one, she was grasping for something in the back of her mind; she was searching and swimming in the depths of her fragmented memory.

"Winter fire," whispered Beverly and Ben tensed, he had hoped maybe she wouldn't remember.

Ben sat there in silence, the girl beside him lost in thought. A single strand of fiery red hair fell on her face standing out in her pale freckles and her emerald eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Mustered Ben, taking Bev's hair strand and placing it behind her ear. Her hair was just as soft and silky as he had fantasized.

"Your haiku Ben, don't you remember?" mocked Beverly, playfully poking his belly. "Come on!" She pressed on.

"I uh," started Ben, but Beverly started laughing at the bo- man in front of her who was almost the same color as her hair.

"Your hair is winter fire," said Beverly the memory of finding the little paper slip rushing back to her in short waves. "January Embers," Beverly stopped momentarily, the rest of the memory was blurred, and she had trouble sharpening the lens.

"My heart burns there too," finished Ben for her, she turned her head and looked at him. Her beautiful smile started forming this time it was slightly upturned to the right showcasing her pretty white teeth that had somehow never been affected by her smoking.

"Your hair is winter fire, January embers, My heart burns there too," repeated Beverly. "So sweet," she mumbled and came closer to Ben.

Ben was having an attack, but the good kind, he could see Beverly's long black eyelashes and could count how many freckles were on her nose. Ben had only kissed Beverly once in his whole life, twenty-seven years ago, under Derry. But he didn't like that memory, it haunted him and he wasn't sure if Beverly remembered. Ben leaned in just a bit more, the rumbling of the plane surrounding them, trapping them in this possibly endless moment.

"Bev I j-"

"Shut up and kiss me," replied Beverly and Ben leaned in their lips meeting once again, maybe this time forever. After what seemed like a whole day, they broke apart, and Bev placed her head on Ben's shoulder wanting to sleep but not finding the courage to do so.

"I honestly can't believe I wrote that!" admitted Ben burying his face in Bev's hair.

"I want to remember more," concluded Beverly, drawing small circles on Ben's arm.

"Bev I did not write more haikus..." started Ben but Beverly just rolled her eyes placing one finger with a chipped nail.

"I want to remember more about that summer. I want to remember how I stole cigarettes, how I always teased Richie with Eddie. How Bill always hid Silver. I want to remember..." Beverly said images of Eddie appearing once again in her mind, shattering her almost completely. She wanted to remember the boy, not the dead adult.

Ben grabbed Beverly's face delicately as if she were a fragile glass figurine and lifted her head from his shoulder.

"We will, I promise," he reassured, and after stroking her cheek once he smiled and a boyish chuckle escaped his lips.

"Remember when Richie used to pinch Eddie's cheeks?" laughed Ben and Beverly joined in.

They started talking and remembering. About Stan's favorite bird, Richie's best one-liner, Eddie's passion for running, Bill's crazy ideas and Mike's tremendous adventures. They sat there, 11-year-old kids trapped in adult bodies, sitting together on a Nebraska-bound airplane. The only Losers who were still together, the remaining two.

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Word Count: 1144

one shot by writersblock924

Hello guys! This is my first one-shot and IT fanfiction! To be honest, I am satisfied with the results BUT there's always room to improve and I am sure this could be a LOT better... baby steps guys! I was going to post one that was sadder but considering the last two one-shots left me on the verge of crying I posted something up that wasn't so heartbreaking. It was kind of hard since this is the least sad one-shot I have edited. I hope you enjoyed this one-shot, I am not really sure if Bev ever remembered Ben's Haiku but I am sure they were endgame so here it is! 

-ɐɟıos

PD: I always write my name upside down in school assignments, tests or basically everything.

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