lies || stanley uris x reader

16 || july fourth festivities

For as long as you could remember, the Fourth of July, or Independence Day, had always been a greatly celebrated holiday in the town of Derry. People went all out with bright decorations and everywhere you looked, you could find someone selling a box of fireworks, sometimes legally and sometimes illegally.

This year wasn't any different. American flags were hung everywhere on the canopies above shops, and the red, white, and blue balloons tied to all sorts of objects were a stark contrast to the dull brown bricks that made up the buildings.

You had always spent the day alone sulking in your room since your parents were always working, but this year, for the first time in what felt like forever, you'd actually be celebrating, and with the people you'd grown to call your friends.

After the rock fight with Henry Bowers and his minions took place, the eight of you decided to go to your house to cool off and rest since your parents were never home. All of the boys were thrilled to discover that you had a Nintendo Entertainment System that your grandparents had gifted you a few years back. You all spent the rest of the day glued to the screen, and, unsurprisingly, Richie and Beverly were the best (and most competitive) players.

Beverly crashed at your place that night after calling her dad to let him know, and, even though Richie begged to stay and continue gaming, you eventually had to kick him and the rest of the boys out so that they could return home. Before leaving though, they all made it very clear that they wanted to have a group sleepover at your house sometime, something that made you very happy.

They came over the day after that, too, all in one large group - even Mike, who should've been out delivering meat for his grandfather. It was a drastic change from always being alone to having constant company. But it was nice. It made you feel like you were actually cared about (even if you were ninety-nine percent sure it was just because they wanted to play on the Nintendo).

Yesterday, everyone was busy spending time with their families, leaving you by yourself. Although it was lonely without your companions, you finally got a chance to go to the pharmacy to grab some antibiotic ointment and replace the gauze and bandages in your bathroom, allowing you to tend to the untreated cut on your arm. Fortunately, it was slowly beginning to close up and form a scar.

After bandaging up your arm, you received a call from Richie, who invited you to go out with everyone the next day to celebrate the Fourth of July together with everyone.

Which brought you to where you were now.

In the middle of your town bustling with excitement, standing off to the side of the busy street next to your five friends while one was off grabbing ice cream and the other was tormenting a poor member of the marching band parading down the street by attempting to play his tuba.

While you were waiting for their return in bored silence, your eyes were all naturally drawn to the multiple black and white missing posters hung up on the side of the building. The poster that really grabbed your attention was the missing poster for Edward Corcoran, stating that he was last seen July first, which was only three days prior.

"They say they found part of his hand all chewed up near the Standpipe," Stanley spoke up.

"He asked to borrow a pencil once," Ben said solemnly.

"He was my science partner." Your voice was barely above a whisper, utterly heartbroken. "He always stood up for me against Greta and Henry."

Beverly looked over at you with sympathy and patted your shoulder comfortingly as Bill lifted up Edward's poster to reveal Betty Ripsom's missing poster hidden underneath.

"It's like she's been f-f-forgotten since Corcoran's missing."

Just then, the tuba Richie was blowing into emitted a loud discordant sound, turning both yours and Beverly's attention over to him.

"Is it ever gonna end?" Stanley asked with uncertainty, glancing around at everyone.

The marching band member irritatedly yanked his tuba back from Richie, who angrily shouted, "What the fuck, dude?" He huffed and walked back over to join your group just as Eddie came back around the corner from the ice cream stand he went to, holding up two vanilla ice creams in his hands.

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked, handing Richie one of the ice creams, to which he responded, "What they always talk about."

"I actually think it will end," Ben asserted confidently. "For a little while, at least."

"What do you mean?" Beverly looked at him questioningly.

"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 '35, and The Black Spot in '62. And now kids being..." he trailed off. "I realized this stuff seems to happen—"

Bill spoke in unison with Ben. "— every twenty-seven years."

A/N: Hi guys! I'm so sorry for not updating sooner, I've been incredibly busy with schoolwork + personal things! No worries, Chapter 17 will be out by the end of this week and Chapter 18 not long after!

I'd also like to say that it's been over a year since this book was first published (September 30th, 2019)! To those who have stuck with me from the very beginning, thank you so much! I appreciate you more than you'll ever know! And to any new readers who are enjoying this story, I'm glad that you are! I hope that this chapter and future chapters won't disappoint you. Stay tuned for more!