𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙, richie tozier

vi. ( a red balloon )

.⃗ . ༉‧₊˚✧ MURDERED!

THE GROUP OF seven sat near the edge of the quarry. the two gingers were stretched out on their towels side by side, sunglasses protecting their eyes from the bright sun rays.

stella laid on her stomach, her head resting on her folded arms. beverly was laying on her back instead.

bust a move was playing on beverly's boombox, the rhythm beating into their ears. of course, the boys were staring at the two females. the song only added to what they were thinking.

you couldn't really expect anything of them but to stare at the two as they sunbathed. the girls could easily tell that they were staring.

they felt eyes boring into their skin but it didn't really bother either of them. stella actually liked to get attention, she loved being in the spotlight for no reason.

stella rolled over to where she would be on her back, causing the boys to act as if they weren't looking. they soon realized that her eyes were still closed and resumed back to what they were previously doing.

beverly decided to finally sit up and pushed her sunglasses up to lay on het head. stella reciprocated the action, except she fully took the shades.

the boys were quick to look away, prentending they weren't staring. they began to observing anything else but them.

richie needed something to distract himself from the fact that they probably already knew they were staring, and so he did.

he grabbed ben's backpack in the intention of rummaging through it. "schools out for the summer!" richie announced.

he pulled out a postcard, examining it with interest. "who gave this to you?" richie asked. ben snatched the card out of his hand before he could read it. "nobody..." the boy answers.

richie then pulled out something that looked like a project of some sort. "what's with the history project?" (r)eddie inquired.

"oh that's not a history project," ben started explaining to the group. "when i first moved here, i didn't have anybody to hang out with so i went to the library." a disgusted look appeared on richie's face. "you went to the library? on purpose?"

stella only furrowed her eyebrows, not really caring to know what it was. she wasn't much of a nosy type of person like richie.

beverly seemed to be way more interested than stella. she got up and sat down next to bill, who stared at her hair with wide eyes.

he hadn't noticed before that the girl cut it short. "y-your hair..." bill was unable to finish his sentence. instead, he stared at it in awe.

"it looks beautiful," ben finished for the stuttering boy, complimenting his new-found crush. beverly said a small thank you with a smile.

stella looked between the two boys. it was way too obvious that they both liked her. richie noticed the look on her face and decided to ask what was wrong.

"what's up with your face, opalia?" richie questions, causing the girls head to snap toward him.

"why are you looking at it?" she retorted, taking the question as an insult. it was meant to be a genuine question but it came out as being rude. he remained quiet and focused his attention back on what they were talking about.

stella sighed, sitting indian style on her towel. she stared off into the distance before noticing something peculiar.

a red balloon.

she got up and started making her way toward it, not bothering to glance back. the groups' voices became more inaudible as she got closer to the mysterious object. she was debating on whether or not she should say anything. stella chose to stay quiet just in case.

she slowly crept up by the balloon and jumped when a clown appeared behind it. her eyes widened in horror. she was confused, but more scared than anything else.

"w-what?" stella asked, the simple word being the only thing she managed to get out. "your friends will never trust you enough to tell you," it teases, looking at her devilishly. eyes wide and full of fear, she backed up.

"they will..." she could already feel the tears prick her eyes, reddening her eyes. she couldn't bear being excluded like that. it was one of her biggest fears. the clown turned into richie within a blink of an eye. "just go away if you're so lost. it's not like we want you here anyway."

"stop," she demanded in a small voice, not being able to say much. "you know, we're much better without you."

she became angry, as she usually tends to do when she's sad. she blames it all on others and become mad at them instead of herself.

"richie would never say that." stella let out a scoff. richie— or the fake one at least, gave an 'are you sure?' look. she hesitated. this was it. she was cowering away from a figment of imagination. well, that's what she took it as.

stella ran. she ran as fast as her little legs could take her. as she reached her friends, they all stopped talking. worried expressions plastered themselves to the losers features.

there were tears filling her eyes. she was panting like she just ran for her life. which she did, so it was understandable at the very bare minimum.

"what—" stan started. stella interrupted him, trying to ignore what just happened. she hated the feeling of people leaving her in the dark like that.

"so guys, what were we talking about again?" stella asked as she calmed down, her breaths becoming less heavy.

"we were going to my house, if you wanted to come?" ben offered politely, getting that she didn't want to talk about it right now.

"sure, just uh, give me a minute." she agreed, smiling to cover up the fact she was about to shit her pants.

they all nodded and quietly got dressed while she did the same. the group got on their bikes and waited for her as she stood by hers and took a couple of deep breaths.

it was a small encounter, yes, but it still scared her to near death. the feeling just wouldn't go away. she was mad, relieved, sad, and confused all at the same time.

all stella wanted to know was what was that clown and what it wanted from her. luckily, or possibly unluckily, she was about to find out a bit more.

🍒, maybankz—
n/a

WRITTEN. unknown
EDITED. june 5, 2020