DANGEROUS LOVE ▷ RICHIE TOZIER [✓]

xxii. september comes around

chapter twenty two — dangerous love.

"I ONLY REMEMBER parts, but..." beverly's voice trailed off, she glanced around the group. "I thought I was dead. that's what it felt like." victoria grabbed her hand, she'd never spoken about the deadlights and she finally felt comfortable. it took awhile but they understood. the whole clown incident messed them up. mentally and some physically.

"I saw us, all of us. together." she gestured to the group, "back in the cistern but we were older." victoria scrunched her nose. "how old?" beverly turned and grabbed both of her hands. "our parents ages." the girls sighed. it was the future and they knew it. they all did.

"w-w-what were we all doing there?" bill questioned the girl but got no straight answer. "I don't know, all I remember was how we felt, how scared we were." she removed her hands from tori's and wiped them over her eyes. "I don't think I'll ever forget that feeling."

bill stood up quickly and reached down to pick up a broken glass shard. one by one, the group turned to look at their taller, lanky friend. richie's hand never left tori's shoulder. anything to do with her calmed him down, she was his medicine and he was her cure. all the nightmares and bad memories disappeared when he was around.

"swear!" bill shouted, "if it isn't dead, if it ever returns, we will too." they all stood up besides stan, he was hesitant. he'd always been the afraid one. victoria always wondered if that's the reason pennywise got away. maybe he was feeding off his fear.

the losers club formed a circle, the last one they would as a completed group. after this beverly was leaving, mike was going back to the farm and who knew what would happen to the rest. bill went around the circle and sliced the palm of their hands. it'd scar. they knew that but that's how they remember each other. although unlike any others these would fade, fade so quickly nobody would remember until the right time.

bill stopped when he got to tori. he gave her a sympathetic smile before digging in the glass shard. she winced and squeezed richie's non-bloody hand with her own. bill sliced his own before they all joined hands. blood dripped onto the grass land below them. drip. drip.

silence fell above the group. nobody dared to speak, it felt like the circle was their protective barrier and this was where those memories were going to stay. everyone slipped out of each other's grasps. richie's hand stayed in tori's petite one. stan sighed.

"I gotta go... I hate you." stan held a serious face at bill before breaking into laughter. everyone smiled at the boy and waved as he left. everyone split onto rocks and the group and sat down, enjoying each other's company. mike was the next to leave, his grandfather wanted him back early. the remaining losers waved goodbye. everyone began to leave until it left, richie, beverly, tori and bill.

"just so you know, I never felt like a loser when I was with you guys." beverly whispered as the couple got up to leave. victoria smiled and hugged her best friend. "see you soon? right?" beverly nodded but that was a lie, as soon as she left for portland. she wasn't coming back. victoria playfully saluted the pair and dragged richie off with her.

"race you to the arcade?" richie gave his girlfriend a smug look. "try me, collins." richie raced off, causing tori to laugh and follow suit. "cheat!" she shouted as she passed him. richie knew she was the one. the only one.