**Say What You Mean Out Loud**

~ S I X T E E N ~

The Wrath of Khan

Greyson Elliot was knocking on Stan's window, trying desperately to get his attention.
He looked up from his desk, frightened but happy to see her.

He put down his book and went to the window, opening it up.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.

She climbed into his room, thanking the lord his house was one story.
"I couldn't... I couldn't go home." She gasped, out of breath from the scare and then the run to his house.

"Why? Are you okay? Why are your clothes wet?" He asked.
She leaned against the window of his wall, closing her eyes for a second.

"You realize your-"
"Nose? Yah I know." She panted. "I didn't have time to clean it off on the run here."

He went to his bed, laying out a blanket for her to sit on and grabbing a tissue.
She plopped down, pulling her hair in front of her shoulders as not to get his sheets wet.

Why does hair and clothes take so much longer to dry?
Stanley sat beside her, tilting her head up and wiping her chin.
She hadn't realized it ran that far.

"S-so, why are your clothes soaked?"
"Trust me, they were drenched earlier."
"You didn't answer my question." He said, dropping his hand into his lap.

She sighed. "Henry Bowers. He and Logan Thompson threw me into the river off of the Kissing Bridge."

Stanley stared at her with wide eyes, and brought the tissue back up to her nose.
"So why did you come here?" He asked.

"N-not that I don't want you here! I just... you should probably talk to your brother."
She gulped and looked down.

Stanley threw the tissue away and tilted her head back, to keep her nose from continuing to bleed. She laughed awkwardly, sitting in suffocating silence.

"Hemophilia... am I right?" She laughed, holding her wrist over her nose and trying to lighten the mood a little. It was not working.
But now she understood Richie's needless joking a little better.

"Grey, tell me what happened." He said hesitantly, almost as if he didn't want to hear the answer.

"It showed up... at my house." She whispered. Saying the words gave them strength but she also knew talking about it was the only way to make things better.

"Jared left to go to work, and he came back in but it was really... the clown." She shuddered, hugging herself and shivering.

Stan sighed gravely and grabbed another blanket for her.
"Thank you." She muttered, a small smile on her face.

"So tomorrow you become a man." She smirked, knowing he probably didn't want to hear about the clown right now.
The subject change didn't seem to ease him anymore.

"Yes." He groaned, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling.
Grey watched his curls splay out around his face, and she laid down beside him.

"Well what are you so worried about? You're already a man."
He scoffed. "Yah, sure."

"No I'm serious. Do you seriously need me to keep reminding you how brave you are Stanley?" She giggled.
He looked at her. "You made me braver."

"Well I wouldn't go as far as to say that but-"
"No really." The two sat up and faced each other. "You make me a braver person."

He wasn't wrong.
She was the reason he ran after his friends in Neibolt. She was the reason he stood up to Bill and was confident enough to say no. She was the reason he leaned in and held the back of her head.

But he was still Stan the Man Uris.
So he froze and winced, closing his eyes.

"I...I'm sorry, uh... can I kiss you, I d-"
She pressed her lips to his.
It was clumsy and awkward, but also a sweet kiss.

A kiss that was pure love, without the exception of bloody bathtubs or getting dragged twelve feet underwater. It was wholesome, and sweet.

Grey pulled away gently and watched him carefully.
Everything about him, from the way he kept his eyes closed for a second longer, to the way he stared at her and pursed his lips.

It wasn't perfect, but it didn't have to be.
It was the most wonderful thing in the world to both of them.

"I uh... I didn't know you, er that... heh."
"You don't have to say anything Stanley." She smiled, kissing his cheek.

"But I think that I'm ready to go home." She stood up and pulled off the blanket off her shoulder, making her way towards the window.

Stanley stood up and watched her open it, and swig her foot out.
He knew she was leaving for the good, not because what they did was bad.

"Thank you." She smiled, before jumping out onto his lawn and taking off for her house. The sun was just about gone behind the clouds.

It left the town of Derry in a purplish, pink ambience.
The air was just cold enough to see your own breath, but not cold enough for Grey to freeze.

Her feet pattered against the pavement at a comfortable rhythm, and couldn't wipe the smile off her face from the world.

For the first time in weeks, she was completely and utterly not scared.
Not a single part of her was afraid of the monster, or Henry, or what might come next.

She just kept replaying the kiss in her head, over and over.
Her lips touched his and ke didn't kiss back at first.

Once the initial shock wore off though, he kissed back.
There was maybe too much teeth or something like that, but Grey loved every moment of it.

Stan made her feel a certain way she couldn't describe.
She didn't want to call it love, because she didn't quite know love. She was only twelve years old, she didn't quite know much of anything.

But she knew that Stanley was special.
She had never felt that way about a person. Not even her Kindergarten Boyfriend, who always talked about dragons and The Wrath of Khan with her.

And she loved The Wrath of Khan.
I mean, who didn't? It was a revolutionary movie. Still is.

She finally got ot her house, and slowed down.
The driveway was still empty, and she didn't hesitate when she walked inside.

The house was completely empty, except for the chair that had been knocked over.
She gingerly picked it up, and moseyed over to the bathroom.

She peeled off her damp clothes and hopped in the hot shower, running the stench and filth out of her hair.

She took a long, hot shower.
Maybe she heard voices whispering in the drain, maybe she didn't.

She wrapped herself in a towel and walked to her dark bedroom, laying down and clacking a Mind over Matter tape into her mini boombox.

She shut off the lights and stared at the glow in the dark stars on her ceiling.
Maybe mysterious whispers cut into her tape, maybe they didn't.

Maybe she noticed the evil shadows creeping and lurking around her room, maybe she didn't.
She was too happy to care about any of that.