He Likes Boys//It (2017)

e l e v e n

Chapter Eleven:

Each member of the losers club shivered at the thought of facing their own fears, all except Bill, who was braver than most of them. And after already having faced the death of his little brother, Bill was fairly certain that at this point, he could take almost anything.

The rest of the losers seemed to admire his bravery. Each one of them wishing they could be as brave as he was, but Bill didn't honestly feel very brave. For the most part he felt weak and nervous, not being as strong as Ben and Mike, or as funny as Richie, or as smart as Beverly and Stan, nor did he have Eddie's natural sense of direction and ability to steer clear from danger. Bill felt like he had nothing important about him. He felt he had no special skills and was constantly feeling self conscious about his stutter.

"Bill, are you okay?" Eddie asked, giving him a look of concern. After Bill had made his big announcement about facing their fears the whole group had gone quiet.

Bill was suddenly shaken from his thoughts by Eddie's question. He hadn't even noticed that his eyes were beginning to water.

"Yeah yeah." Bill replied. "I'm fine, Don't worry about me. What we all should be worrying about is how we plan on defeating It."

"Are you sure we'll be able to hit it down in those sewers?" Beverly asked him, still feeling unsure of her being the one to give It the last firing shot.

"N-No. I'm not sure. But we have to have a few different plans in case anything goes....not a-according t-to plan." Bill finished.

Everyone what he meant by 'not according to plan'. They knew that It meant serious business, and that It would only continue killing more and more children as time went on. If It killed one of them, the rest would just have to keep carrying on with the plan, or change it. It was either kill or be killed, and Bill hoped it wouldn't come to the later.

"So, we really have to kill this thing?" Hom asked the group. They all nodded.

"If we don't kill It," said Beverly. "It will just go on killing."

"Oh." Hom wasn't quite sure of what else to say. He'd never seen the beast up close. He didn't know what sort of thing they were facing. But then again, he vaguely remembered having one or two dreams about It.....

....he tried to rake his mind as to what had happened in the dreams, but he simply couldn't remember.

"Let's talk about something else now."
Richie suggested, still looking at the ground and feeling fairly shaken. He didn't want to think about the monster they had to face. He didn't want to think about how scared he was.

"R-r-Richie. Tell us a joke." Bill asked him, also feeling quite shaken himself. Richie would never pass up the opportunity to tell one of his infamous dick jokes.

Richie straightened his posture and cleared his throat a few times. "Did ya hear about the penis-less man who ejaculated?" Richie asked the group with a smirk on his face. They all waited in silence for him to deliver the punch line.

"He just came out of nowhere!" And there was a typical Richie Tozier punchline, funny as ever. The whole group burst up into laughter and Ben, who was previously drinking a box of apple juice accidentally made it go out through his nose when he laughed.

Richie felt proud of himself. He always knew how to make a group laugh.

"Beep-beep, Richie." Ben said, and it only made everyone laugh even more.

"Remember yesterday when Richie kept on swearing in front of those first graders?" Stan reminded them. "And that lady kept on glaring at us and covering her kids ears?"

They laughed at the memories of just yesterday, when Richie was once again doing something so completely idiotic only he could get away with it.

"Frankly, I think I should he allowed to say what I want in public." Richie said, trying to justify his actions.

Beverly elbowed him. "Not when it's in front of a bunch of first graders."

"They should get used to cursing by now." Richie huffed, crossing his arms. "I bet they hear that type of shit from their parents all the time."

"Just because you heard it from yours doesn't mean they heard it from theirs, Richie." Beverly said, rolling her eyes at him. What she really wanted was to go somewhere more private with Hom. She wanted to kiss him again, and tell him how much she loved him. She wanted to be with him, and for him to hold her in his arms.

"All human beings on this planet have sworn at least once!" Richie declared, as though that made it right to swear in front of children.

Beverly leaned over to Hom, whispering in his ear. "What do you say we get out of here?" She suggested. "Go one a real date for once?" She was anxious to take him on an actual date, to show Hom how much fun she was both away and with the crowd.

Hom looked up at her. He'd never been on a real date before. He'd never been with someone before. He didn't know when to do what, and now he was wondering if the first date was supposed to come before the first kiss? Everything about relationships made him nervous and panicky. He didn't like that feeling of uneasiness that came with it all. He was trying his best not to do something embarrassing and going on a date with Beverly seemed like a gateway for embarrassing things to happen. But if he didn't go with her, she might think he didn't like her. And Hom really, really liked Beverly.

He looked back over his shoulder at the losers club, and then back at Stan Uris's lovely face. He stood up.

"Lead the way." Hom replied, taking Beverly's hand as they started the date.