𝐍𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐄 - 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐳𝐢𝐞𝐫

Chapter 4

THE GROUP DID EXACTLY AS THEY PLANNED, and went to the quarry the next day. Oliver would rather be at the arcade with Richie but they had no choice to join everyone else.

"So, who's going first?" Eddie asks while all the boys look down into the water, standing in nothing but their underwear, yet all of them were too scared to jump down.

"I'll go." Beverly yells while stripping off her dress.

None of the boys had even heard her show up.

"Sissies." She yells as she jumps.

"What the fuck?"

"Ahhh, holy shit, we just got showed off by a girl." Eddie says, defeated.

"Do we have to do that now?" Stan asks, contemplating his life choices.

"Yes." Oliver muttered, knowing they had no choice.

One by one the boys all jumped, until it was only Richie and Oliver left. Richie was refusing to jump and Oliver was left to try convince him.

"Don't be a pussy, Rich." He pleaded. "Even Eddie jumped."

"I'm not scared." Richie defended himself, lying completely. "I just don't want to get in the water."

"I can tell when you're lying Rich." Oliver crossed his arms over his chest. "Look, we have to do it one way or another, so what if we jump at the same time."

Before Richie could protest, Oliver grabbed his hand and pulled him down with him as he jumped.

After splashing around for a while and playing chicken fights (that Oliver and Richie claimed to be the champions of), the group had moved up on top of the cliff they had previously jumped off. The boys had been sitting on a pile of large rocks while Beverly sunbathed in front of them, music blaring from her large boombox.

Four of the five boys stared in admiration, another in jealousy. Oliver envied the way she had them all drooling over her, the way that the boys thought she was pretty and most of all the way Richie was starting at her.

Oliver wanted Richie to look at him like that. Although he had the repetitive thought that it 'wasn't in a gay way though', he just didn't want Richie to replace him with some girl.

Beverly slowly turned her head to look at the group as she felt their stares, causing them all to avert their eyes to anywhere but her.

"News flash ben!" Richie said in a weird presenter voice to break the awkward silence, "School's out for summer."

"Oh that? That's not school stuff." He said and his eyes widened as Richie pulled out a post card from the bag.

"Who sent you this?"

"No-one." Before he could read it ben had snatched it out of his hands about to shove it away, but was stopped when Olivier stood up from beside Richie and took it out of his hands.

He read it and smirked at the boy, who was now as red as a tomato and handed him it back.

"Boring." He fake yawned, making the others lose their interest in the card. Richie started rummaging through the bag again and pulled out a large folder full of pages.

"What's with the history project?" Eddie asked, moving closer to read what Richie had in his hands.

"Well when I first moved here I didn't really have anyone to hang out with. So I just spent time at the library."  Ben told the others.

"You went to the library?" Richie asked in shock. "On purpose?"

"I want to see." Oliver said curiously and sat close to Richie, looking at the page over his shoulder. Richie felt his heart racing at the closeness, feeling Olivers arm pressed against his. Beverly soon followed, curious about what they were reading.

"What's the black spot?" Stanely asks, pointing to a spot on the page.

"The black spot was the nightclub that was burnt down years ago by a racist cult." Eddie states, creepily in Olivers opinion.

"Y-y-y-your hair...." Bill started as he stared at Bev.

"Your hair is beautiful Beverly." Ben cut in, earning him a glare from Bill.

"Why is it all murders and missing kids." Oliver asked taking the folder from Richie, ignoring the others.

"Derry is not like any town I've been in before. There was a study once and it turns out people die or disappear each year, 6 times the national average." Ben explained.

"You read that?" Beverly asks in shock.

"That's just grown ups. Kids are worse. Way, way worse. I've got more stuff... if you want to see?"

Eddie immediately shook his head no, while the others nodded in agreement. And just like that, majority rules and they were on their way to Bens house.