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IT WAS SEPTEMBER, AND THE summer was soon coming to an end. Cordelia, of course, didn't want it to end because she'd miss all her friends dearly when she went back to her out-of-state boarding school. The eight of them grew very close over the summer events, and she wasn't ready to leave it behind.
The cool air swept across Lia's small body, and she shivered. After being used to the hot and humid air of the summer in Derry, Maine, the Watson girl had yet to get used to the chillier weather.
Her thick tights protected her legs from itching as she walked through the tall grass with Eddie. They were on their way to meet up with the others—Beverly had something important that she needed to share with them about what had happened in the sewers.
The two walked side-by-side, glancing at one another as they spoke with grins. Lia's hair blew back with the breeze without the restriction of her blue ribbon. The long brown locks occasionally swept in front of her face, but she smiled as she brushed it away. She felt free.
When the two met up with the others, Cordelia let out a grin when she saw Stanley. Bandages were wrapped around his face where the teeth marks and also around the top of his head to hold it in place. She giggled when she noticed his curls poking out between the two sets of wraps.
She quickly ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He gave a small smile as the two embraced. It was a short hug, but it was very meaningful between the two. After they made it out of the sewers, the two apologized to one another. Cordelia apologized for bringing him into the house, and he apologized for how he reacted to her after he was attacked by the lady in the painting.
Richie grinned at the two, proud of himself. He tried very hard the whole summer to make Stan jealous enough of him and Lia to have the Uris boy snap and confess his feelings for her. Now Richie cared a lot about Lia; his friendship with her was not just to aggravate Stanley. He thought of her as his sister and would do anything for her.
When everyone arrived, their attention drifted to Beverly who started her story. The group sat in a circle, on different wooden logs that were placed there. Stan and Lia sat next to one another with their hands entwined. Richie, who sat across from them, gave Lia a cheeky grin as he looked down at their hands. Lia's face flushed before turning back to her girl friend.
"I can only remember parts, but I thought I was dead. That's what it felt like." Cordelia glanced down at Beverly's hands that were anxiously toying together. She wanted to grab her hands to stop her from doing it, but Ben was between her and Beverly. "I saw us, all of us together back in the cistern, but we were older, like, our parents' ages."
"W-W-What were we all doing there?" Bill asked from between Richie and Beverly. The Marsh girl shook her head slightly as she tried to recall back to her vision.
"I just remember how we felt. How scared we were. I don't think I can ever forget that." The group stayed quiet, a few glanced down at their feet with frowns on their faces. Lia grew worried. She didn't want to go back down there, and she especially didn't want to fight the clown again. Once was enough for her.
She laid her head down on Stanley's shoulder as she linked their arms together. Stan could feel the nervousness radiating off of the brunette beside him. He went to lay his head atop of hers, but had to pull back because of how painful it was to put pressure on the sides of his face.
Bill abruptly stood up and looked around the group with a piece of glass in his hand and a determined look on his face.
"Swear it. S-s-swear that if IT isn't dead, if IT ever comes back, we'll come back, too." Glances were casted around the group before Beverly stood up before Richie and Eddie followed. The others stood up, too, and soon they were all standing in a circle.
Bill let out a sharp inhale as he slid the glass across his skin, the shard drawing blood as it dug into his palm. He moved on to Richie who adjusted his glasses. He let out a gasp as the glass cut his skin before shaking it erratically in pain. Eddie was next followed by Mike and Stan.
Bill looked down at the brunette in front of him, noticing how she barely winced when her palm was sliced by the shard. Stan took notice of her reaction as well. Unbeknownst to both of them that Cordelia had dealt with far greater physical pain and injuries than the cut on her hand.
Ben was next, and last was Beverly. The red-haired girl had a similar reaction to Lia. Bill and Beverly linked hands, and slowly everyone in the circle held each other's hands. There was a bond between all of them now, and nothing could ever break that bond. Not even twenty-seven years later.
Hands slowly dropped back down by their sides. No one spoke for a while, until Stan broke the silence.
"I gotta go," he announced before glaring at Bill. "I hate you." Bill frowned and looked down at the ground before he heard a chuckle escape Stan's lips. The group soon joined in the laughter before Stan came to a stop. "I'll see you later."
"Bye, Stan," Bill called after as the Uris boy walked away from the group after giving Cordelia a small smile. Lia watched him leave, pursing her lips slightly.
She knew that she wasn't going to see him for the entire school year, seeing as she was leaving in a week. It upset her greatly, knowing that she wouldn't be able to see any of the Losers' Club members for an entire year.
Eddie announced that he and Lia were leaving before him and Richie hugged. Lia felt inclined to do the same with Beverly because she knew that the Marsh girl was going to be leaving for her aunt's house to stay there.
The two walked off together in the direction of their homes. However, Eddie decided to take a different way than the way that they came. Cordelia was confused, but she didn't mind. She didn't want to go back home. After her mother saw what she did with her doll and ribbon, the Watson household became worse than before.
Eddie stopped abruptly in front of Lia, causing her to let out a small squeak as she collided with him. His attention, however, was at the house in front of them.
"Why are we here, Eds?" she asked, genuinely confused as to why they stopped in front of a random house.
"This is Stan's house," he explained which resulted in Lia being more confused. "Okay, well, you're not going to see him for an entire school year, and you two are basically dating but I want you two to actually get together because Richie and I can't stand the tension anymore."
The slightly shorter boy pushed her forward towards the house, and she bit her lip as she approached the front door. Did they really act like they were dating? Her heart beat fast in her chest before she shook her head. After facing a child-eating clown, talking to Stan should've been easy.
Her small finger pressed on the doorbell and quickly made its way back to her side. She stood in front of the door with her hands clasped in front of her. Lia heard footsteps from the other side of the door, and the door opened to reveal Stanley. He stepped outside before shutting the door behind him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked with his eyebrows furrowed. Lia looked behind her to explain that Eddie made her, but the Kaspbrak boy was no longer at the foot of the driveway. "Lia?" She snapped her attention back to him, her cornflower blue eyes were wide with slight panic.
"Um, well, Eddie wanted me to ask you something. I mean—I'm not doing this just for him, but I wouldn't have done it if he didn't force me to. H-he's not forcing me! I wanted to ask, I-I just didn't know how." Stan grinned at her rambling. He knew why she was there. Richie had talked to him about getting enough courage to ask Cordelia before Eddie forces her to his house.
He glanced down at his feet with a slight blush to his face as he grabbed her hand—the one that wasn't cut—and glanced up at her face. His brown eyes met her bright blue ones, and her breath caught in her throat.
"Lia, I was wondering, if this is why you're here, if you want to be my girlfriend?" Lia's face burned at his question. It was easy to tell that she was blushing because of her alabaster skin, and Stan took the blush the wrong way. "If not, that's totally okay, I just assumed—I shouldn't have assumed."
Lia stood on her tip-toes and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. Stanley stopped rambling immediately as he looked down at the brunette in front of him. Their faces were both pink, but they both adorned large smiles on their faces.
"I'd absolutely love to be your girlfriend, Stanley," she grinned.
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lia is probably one of my favorite characters i have ever written & parting with her younger self was hard for me. re-writing made me love her more & i'm glad that i'm not the only one who loves her
see you in the sequel (maybe)