* outfit she wears above *
Elena didn't plan to go to Stanley's bar mitzvah. She didn't want to go. It would be way too awkward. After all, it had been over a month since the losers club had last spoken.
Elena had stayed in contact with Richie despite her asking calmly for some space from him. He had ignored this and kept following her wherever she went.
She was being forced to go this service by her mother, of course. Ella was friends with Stan's father and attended every celebration he held.
Elena finished straightening her long blonde hair and looked at herself in the mirror, unsurely. Her dress was tight at the top, but the bottom was flowy. It was a navy short dress.
Three knocks were heard from her bedroom door. She turned around. "Come in," The girl cleared her throat. The door opened and Ella stepped in.
"Hurry up. The ceremony starts in 30 minutes!" She hissed at her daughter. Ella was wearing a long white dress with a leg slip. Her hair was curled and hung loosely. As much as she despised her mother, Elena admitted to herself that her mother did look quite gorgeous.
"Yes, mother," She mumbled and picked up the small gold box with a black ribbon on it which was sitting on her desk. Inside the box was a star shaped pendant. 'The Star of David' is what the star was called. Elena had picked it out herself in a jewellers store for Stanley.
"Hurry! Quick, quick," Ella rushed Elena out of the room.
★ ★ ★
Elena and her mother entered the service, hand in hand. The blonde girl didn't expect to see any of the other losers there, but she spotted one. Richie.
The dark haired boy with glasses was wearing a light blue suit. His face lit up when he saw her. She just smiled back at him wearily.
"Glad you could make it, Ella!" Stanley's father walked over to the two girls. Ella grinned at him and they kissed each others cheek.
"Good to you see you again, Donald," She greeted him. "Elena, why don't you go find a seat?".
"Yes, mother," Elena sighed and headed over to Richie. She perched herself down next to him.
"Hi," He gulped. Elena faced him.
"Hey," She chuckled. "Why are you so red in the face?" The blonde girl smirked.
"I-I'm not.." He grumbled and looked away for a second. Elena rolled her eyes.
"Yes, you are. You're blushing," She laughed.
"You just look..pretty," Richie confessed. Now it was Elena's turn to blush rosy red.
"Pretty?".
"Yeah..really pretty," Rich looked her up and down. She smiled at him. "So, I notice you're wearing no sleeves,".
"Oh..yeah," She touched her bandage and sighed. "I told my mother what I originally told you and Eddie. I scraped it. She believed me,".
"Don't worry. It'll eventually heal," He gritted his teeth. Elena frowned at him.
"Why do you look so..angry?" She quizzed. He shook his head.
"I just..I just can't believe Bowers would do something like that to you," He traced the bandage on Elena's arm.
"Well, he's a bit of a psychopath," She looked at the ground and let out another sigh. There was a moment of silence.
"I miss it," Elena broke the ice and brought her eyes up to meet Richie's.
"Miss what?" He asked, tilting his head.
"I miss us. All of us," She stated. Richie stared at her for a moment.
"The losers club? Yeah..I kinda do too," He grumbled.
"I loved hanging out with you guys," Elena said awkwardly.
"Then why'd you walk away?" Richie questioned her. She bit her lip.
"Because I love staying alive too," Richie let out a snort when she said this.
"It's starting," Richie looked up at Stanley. Elena turned her head and shifted in her seat, ready for the ceremony.
She spotted her mother sitting on the other side of the room in the front row, looking up at Stanley. But Elena tried her best to not look in the direction her mother was in the whole time.
After Stanley read the Torah and was officially declared a man, Richie stood up and stretched out his arms. "Jesus, that took forever,".
"It wasn't that long," Elena rolled her eyes. Then, she saw a table packed with food and nudged Richie, pointing at it.
"Great! I'm starving," He pushed past everyone and stuffed his face with food. Elena stepped in beside him and stared at Richie as he piled food after food into his mouth. He caught her staring and swallowed his food.
"Like what you see?" He smirked at her. She shook her head and popped a macaroon into her mouth.
"Hi," A voice spoke from behind the pair. They swiftly turned around to see Stan standing there awkwardly. His hair was gelled back smartly and he was dressed in a grey suit.
"Stan the man!" Richie greeted him with his mouth full. Elena scrunched up her nose at the disgusting sight. Then she turned her attention back to Stanley.
"Hey, Stan," She waved at him, smiling. He stepped in between them and scanned the food table. "I got you this..".
Stan smiled at her and took the box. "Thanks, Lena. I'm not allowed to open the gifts now though," He muttered.
"It's fine," She shrugged and helped herself to more food.
As the hours passed, the ceremony continued to go on. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, even her mother. The three children spent the evening talking, laughing and recalling memories they had together.
Spending time together made all three of them realize that they missed each other more than they thought. Then, a slow song began to play. People on the dance floor started to slow dance.
Stan, Lena and Richie were stood in the corner of the room still chatting. Elena looked off on to the dance floor as Stanley and Richie spoke to each other.
"Do it," Elena heard Stan mumble to Rich.
"She'll say no!" Richie muttered back.
"Rich! Just do it!" Stanley grumbled a bit louder than before to him.
"Okay! Okay! Fine!" Richie sighed quietly.
Elena still had her eyes stuck on the couples dancing together, pretending she was watching them when in reality she was eavesdropping on Stan and Richie.
"Ahem," Richie cleared his throat. Elena turned around to face him. Stan was smirking behind him. "Wanna dance, spicy mama?".
Stan's smirk was wiped off his face and he face palmed himself. Elena snorted.
"Really? Spicy mama?" She giggled. Richie shrugged.
"Well, do you?" He questioned again. Elena sighed and nodded.
"Fuck it," She took hold of his hand and let him guide her to the dance floor.
He put his hands on either side of her waist and Elena put her hands on his shoulders. They looked into each others eyes.
"I can't dance, by the way," Elena informed him. Richie simply shrugged.
"Either can I," He snorted. "But it can't be that hard, right?" He smirked and spun her around. A look a surprise was all over her face.
They swayed to the slow beat of the song, both of them blushing like crazy.
"Can I ask you something?" Richie gulped. Elena nodded, still staring into his eyes. "Do you like Bill?".
"Yeah, of course," She nodded. "As a friend though,".
"Oh," Richie looked relieved. Elena squinted at him as they continued to sway.
"Why?" She asked.
"I-I just wanted to know," He muttered back. The blonde girl rolled her eyes.
"You asked me for a reason," She stated.
"I just assumed you did," Richie replied. "You're always looking at him. Like, always,".
"I feel bad for him, Richie. I mean, can you blame me? The boy lost his brother.." Elena sighed. Richie nodded.
"Yeah, right. Sorry," He looked back into her eyes again. "I was mainly asking because.." He trailed off.
"...Because why?" Elena frowned at him. Richie gulped and tried to avoid eye contact. "Rich? You okay?".
He didn't answer. "B-Because..".
"Spit it out, Tozier," She smirked at him.
"Because I like you,"