.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
【 𝐈𝐍𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 】
v. the quarry
THE NEXT MORNING WAS BEAUTIFULLY PERFECT, a true summer's day; the quarry was full of life, ranging from the monotone hum of bugs to the flutter of birds overhead. The small group of boys stood on the rocky outcropping dressed down to their underclothes, trying to convince Verity to partake in a loogie contest.
The girl shook her head, almost falling over as she took off her shorts. "You said we were coming here to swim, might I remind you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"We are, but why not have a little fun first?" Richie rolled his eyes, and the others murmured in agreement.
"Boys," she huffed to herself, removing her striped t-shirt and tossing it on to the rest of her clothes.
"That is fucking disgusting," Verity said in distaste, watching her new friends.
"It's not disgusting, it's a sport." Richie corrected.
"Yeah, c'mon Verity. It's fun." Eddie chided.
"Don't be a wuss!"
"Alright!" Verity said in exasperation. "But I'm pretty sure this is that peer pressure stuff they warned us about in school." She grumbled, getting to her feet and joining the others, standing in a line along the edge of the rock.
"Alright gentlemen. And Verity," Richie added as an afterthought, "best loogie wins."
Each one of them took turns spitting, and although Verity would never had admitted it, it actually was fun.
"Oh my god, that was terrible," Richie said happily after Eddie's turn.
"I win!"
Eddie frowned. "You won?"
"Yeah,"
"Did you see my loogie?"
"Yeah, but mine went the furthest. It's by distance!"
"No, it's mass. It's always been mass."
"What the-? What is mass?" Richie asked, obviously revving up for an argument.
"Ah Jesus here we go," Verity said under her breath.
"Who cares how far it goes? It's if it's green or white. Or if it's juicy and fat-"
"I think that's all the description we need for now." Verity said quickly, cutting him off.
"Alright," Bill gestured below them. "Who's first?"
They stared at the distance between them and the water. No one volunteered.
"I'll go," Said someone behind them.
Verity turned and saw Beverly, noticing how the other girl had cut her hair. She always looked pretty before, but damn, she's gorgeous now, she thought, giving the redhead a smile.
Bev unbuttoned her floral dress, dropping it on the grass as the boys gaped at her. "Sissies," she laughed, running past them and leaping off the edge.
"What the fuck?" Richie yelled, already magnified eyes widening comically. "Aw holy shit, we just got shown up by a girl!"
"Two girls," Verity corrected, taking a running jump after Beverly, her fit of laughter whipped away by the wind as she sped closer to the surface of the lake. She hit the water, and for a moment, everything stopped. She allowed herself to remain for a second or two, spellbound at this new world; the sounds were muffled, peaceful, and crystalline bubbles spun and danced in the current, tickling her bare skin. She surfaced, brushing her soaked hair from her eyes and laughing at the boys' astounded faces peering down at them.
Feeling the other girl's eyes on her, she swam closer to Bev, treading water as she offered her a shy smile. "Beverly, right? I'm Verity," she introduced herself.
"Well, nice to meet you, Verity," the redhead returned the smile, blue eyes glittering in the light that bounced off the water. "You're the one who takes the photos for the paper, right?" she asked, and the other girl nodded. "Wow... I've seen a few of them, you're really good!"
Verity blushed, bashful. "Thank you... Your hair looks gorgeous, by the way," she said, listening to the boys bicker overhead. "It really suits you,"
"Oh- thank you," Beverly said softly.
They gazed upwards, watching in amusement as Bill inched towards the cliff's edge, before jumping. He hit the water beside them, and one by one, the boys followed suit, landing in the water in a series of spluttered yelps and curses.
"You're such pussies," Verity sighed, watching as they splashed around, relieved they 'survived'.
Eddie turned in the water, searching the current with a frown. "What was that?"
"It touched my foot, right over there!" Richie said, eyes tiny without his glasses.
"It's a turtle!" Bill laughed.
"Poor thing, touching Richie's foot like that," Verity joked, making Richie splash her in the face.
"Shut up!"
She spat water out of her mouth, dark hair completely obscuring her face as her friends laughed. "That's it, you little shit," she swam over to him, trying hard to glare despite the giggle trying to escape her lips.
"Rich, you'd better run," Bev shook her head, chuckling at the pair, but it was too late. Verity disappeared under the surface, and next second Richie was dragged under with a scream, drawing more laughter from the group.
Soon enough all of them were splashing around, joking and pushing each other under.
Verity watched as Stan floated on his back, serene in comparison to the hoots of laughter coming from the others. She glanced at Richie, the two sharing a look before creeping closer to their friend. Once they were close enough, Richie held up his fingers, one, two, three. On three, the pair splashed, sending a wave toppling into Stan that sent him flying.
He emerged from the water, curls plastered to his forehead, mouth hanging open as his friends lost it. "Verity Elizabeth Summers!" he exclaimed, sending them into a fit of giggles.
He splashed back, but she ducked, turning to see Eddie, absolutely drenched, his freckled face livid. "I'm gonna get you fuckers!" he gasped, chasing after the three of them as they screamed and scrambled in the water.
As they floundered around, Verity realised that this was the happiest she'd felt in months. Her face felt sore from laughing so much, and she felt lighter somehow. As though some great weight had left her shoulders, and even as they played and fought, she smiled. She finally had somewhere to belong.
◇
The radio blared from the ground beside them, the upbeat lyrics to Bust A Move filling the humid air as the group cooled down after their swim. Verity lay flat against the sun-warmed rock, eyes closed as she nodded her head to the beat. The two girls lounged side-by-side, basking in the sun as the boys stared at them, slightly awed.
She rubbed her eyes, frowning at the feeling of being watched. Blinking, she turned her head to see five pairs of eyes staring back. The boys shifted about awkwardly, nudging each other and looking away, faces flushed.
"Perverts," Verity muttered, sticking her tongue out at the bunch. Richie scowled at her before he resumed his ogling, mouth hanging open.
Shaking her head, she reached for her bag, rummaging around until she found her camera. She adjusted the lens as the others looked over curiously, even Beverly raising her head to watch. "Well," Verity raised an eyebrow, motioning to the camera, "come on then. It's picture time,"
Her friends jostled together, pushing and shoving as they vied for a place at the front, making her smile. Richie grinned crookedly, elbow resting on Eddie's shoulder; Bill smiled gently, hair flopping into his eyes; Bev leaned her head on his shoulder, freckled face bright; Ben looked up at the red-haired girl, a soft blush colouring his round face; while Stan looked at Verity, head tilted as his mouth curved in a grin.
"Ready? One, two, three!" Verity called, snapping a couple of photographs.
They settled back where they'd been sitting, clamouring with demands to see the photos as soon as they were developed.
Richie leaned over, snatching up Ben's bookbag and promptly going through its contents.
"Newsflash Ben," he said, spilling papers and pens everywhere, "school's out for summer!"
"Oh, them? That's not school stuff,"
Richie pulled out a postcard. "Who sent you this?"
"No one!" Ben snatched it back, quickly stuffing it away.
"What's with the history project?" Eddie asked, looking over Richie's shoulder as he flipped through the pages.
"Well when I first moved here, I didn't really have anyone to hang out with." Ben looked at the ground. "So I just.. started spending time in the library."
"You went to the library?" Richie asked in disbelief. "On purpose?"
Bill passed the folder to Verity. "Easter explosion kills 88 children, 102 total".
"Jesus, Ben, this is a bit morbid." She said, handing it to Stan.
"What's the Black Spot?" Stan pointed to a newspaper clipping.
"The Black Spot was an old nightclub that was burned nine years ago by that racist group," Eddie said.
"How d'you know that?" Richie asked, goggling at him.
"Shut up,"
"Your- Your hair," Bill gazed at Bev, tongue-tied.
"Your hair's beautiful, Beverly," Ben said shyly.
"Oh," she raised her hand, self-consciously running her fingers through the shortened auburn curls. "Right, thanks,"
Stan glanced at Verity, giving her a look, which she returned, rolling her eyes.
Richie flicked through the folder again, eyebrows furrowed. "Why's it all disappearances and missing kids?"
Ben shifted uneasily. "Derry's not like any town I've ever been in before... They did a study once, and it turns out.. people die or disappear six times the national average,"
The group exchanged glances, growing quiet at his words.
"You read that?" Bev asked.
"Yeah, and that's just grown-ups. Kids are worse. Way, way worse."
Verity looked at Bill, knowing he was thinking the same thing; their brothers. "Do you have any more information on the disappearances?" She said quietly, leaning forward.
He nodded. "I've got more stuff, if you want to see it?"
"Definitely," She stood up, ignoring Eddie frantically shaking his head. "Let's go."
◇
After their conversation on the cliff, the group had quickly dressed, before gathering their things and cycling to Ben's house. Verity knew the others weren't exactly comfortable with investigating the disappearances, but she didn't care. She had to find out more about her brother's murder.
They left their bikes on the front lawn and followed Ben inside, looking around curiously at the new kid's house.
Richie seemed to be especially interested, telling Verity and Eddie in hushed tones about the rumours he had heard about the place. "I heard he has like, a rollercoaster and a pet chimp, and like, and old guy's fuckin' bones-"
"Richie, don't be an idiot," Verity shook her head, staring at him. "You know you'd never fit a rollercoaster in a house,"
"How would you know, huh?"
"Because I'm not mentally challenged, dipshit,"
"Shut up!"
Stan moved to stand beside her. "You handle Richie pretty well," he said, giving her a nudge. "I'm impressed."
She nudged him back, rolling her eyes. "Well, someone has to,"
"Wow," Richie looked around the room.
Ben smiled. "Cool, huh?"
"No no, nothing cool." He leaned over to inspect an article pinned to the wall. "Wait, this is cool, right here- oh wait no, it's not,"
"What's that?" Stan pointed to a newspaper clipping tacked to the wall.
"Oh, that?" Ben moved to join them. "That's the charter for Derry township,"
"Nerd alert," Richie said loudly.
"No, actually, it's really interesting. Derry started as a beaver-trapping camp-"
"Still is, am I right boys?" Richie raised his hand, lowering it as the others stopped and stared at him.
"You do know me and Bev are here too, right?" Verity asked frostily, scowling at him.
"Anyway," Ben continued. "Ninety-one people signed the charter that made Derry, but later that winter, they disappeared without a trace,"
"The entire camp?" Eddie asked, eyes wide.
"There were rumours of Indians, but no sign of an attack,"
At Ben's words, a chill went up Verity's spine. "Then what happened to them?" She said, her voice barely a whisper.
"Everybody just thought it was a plague or something. But it's like one day, everyone woke up and left.. the only clue was a trail of bloody clothes leading to the well house," He pointed to a sketch on the wall, an old shack surrounded by trees.
"Jesus," Richie muttered. "It's like Derry unsolved mysteries..."
Verity shivered. "You okay?" Stan asked quietly, out of earshot of the others.
"I'm fine," she said, absent-mindedly fiddling with her camera. "Just a little freaked out. How could they just vanish like that?"
He shook his head. "I don't know, but I doubt it was a plague."
Bill turned to face them, a "W-Where was the well house?"
"I don't know," Ben shrugged. "Somewhere in town I guess. Why?"
"Nothing.."
Verity checked her watch. "Sorry guys, I should probably be getting home now," She said ruefully. "If I break curfew my parents'll go nuts,"
"We'll drop you!" Stan said quickly. "Uh, won't we, guys?" He cast a meaningful look to the others.
"Sure Stanley," Richie smirked. "Since when did you become such the gentleman?"
Stan gave him a look that clearly said Shut the fuck up.
"But sure," Richie said hurriedly. "We don't mind."
◇
Gradually, the Losers broke off from the group and went home. And once again, it was Stan and Verity left.
"Well, here we are," Stan said awkwardly as they approached their homes.
"Could you come inside for a minute?" Verity motioned to the front door. "It won't take long, promise,"
"Sure, lead the way,"
Verity ran up the stairs ahead of Stan, bursting into her room to make sure it was tidy.
"You okay there?" He asked from the door, smiling slightly as he watched her frantically kick socks under the bed.
"Yep," She said, brushing hair out of her eyes.
"Your room still looks the exact same," he mused. "Wait- where did all your dinosaur stuff go?"
"We're not kids anymore Stan, I haven't liked dinosaurs for years,"
He raised an eyebrow. "Even though you used to say you'd be a 'dinosaur vet' when you grew up?"
"Shut up, Uris."
"So, what'd you want to show me anyways?" He asked.
"I was looking through some old boxes and I found-" she reached down and grabbed something "-this!"
The boy stared at her in disbelief, a wide smile spreading across his face. "No. Way."
Verity held up a slightly battered walkie-talkie, which Stan was looking at with bright eyes.
"Does it still work?" He asked, tearing his gaze away to look at her.
She nodded, laughing at how excited he was. "D'you still have yours?"
"Obviously," he rolled his eyes. "I think it's in my closet somewhere.."
She giggled. "Remember how we used to play secret agents with them-"
"-And we'd pretend that old Mr. Cooper across the street was a Russian spy!" He finished. "Ah shit!" he looked at his watch. "I'd better go, I didn't realise how late it was,"
Verity nodded, disappointed that he had to leave. "Alright. How's about we bring the walkies with us tomorrow?" She asked as he walked to the door.
He gave a lopsided grin. "Sounds good, Agent Summers."
"See you, Agent Uris." She said softly.