He Likes Boys//It (2017)

t h i r t y t h r e e

Chapter Thirty Three:

Beverly was still standing over It's dead body, looking at the strange clown costume it seemed to have decided to wear to it's own funeral.

Stan gasped as he saw it was dead, all the losers circled around it, each wanting to get a good look. Each wanting to make sure that the monster haunting both their nightmares, and Derry was finally dead.

They all looked around, both at the monster, and at one another, none of them believing it was really dead.

Richie picked up a long fallen branch, and poked the monster with it. It didn't move.

Then, they watch as the monster faded to dust, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes, slowly blown away by the wind.

"Jesus christ." Richie spoke first. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" He asked.

"Beep beep Richie." Ben spoke up, still staring, wide eyed, at the spot where the corps of the kid killing monster had previously sat.

"I saw it alright." Hom replied, although his mind could hardly process it.

Stan nodded. "I saw it, too." He spoke quietly.

Then, quite unexpectedly, Beverly reached into the pile of ashes, and pulled out a shiny silver bullet. She examined it in her hand, turning it over, trying to determine whether or not she had really killed the creature.

She nodded. "This happened alright."

Bill looked down at the spot where he'd seen the thing that killed his brother. A feeling of happiness and ease seemed to fill his mood. Georgie's death had finally been avenged.

"W-what if it c-come back?" Bill asked the question everyone was too afraid to ask. He asked the question everyone feared would come true. That the monster would come back. And that it would be angry, and it would eat, and never forgive. Bill knew the monster was a being beyond any of their true comprehension. No one could understand what this thing was capable of.

"Bill's right." Beverly spoke up. "If it comes back, we'll have to join up and kill it again."

Bill pulled out his pocket knife. "W-We'll make a blood pact. If It comes back, we all come back." The circle nodded, although Eddie looked nervous and quite a few shades paler.

Richie held out his hand, and Bill cut a thin slice across the middle, the carried on throughout the rest of the group, until he reached his own hand, and winced as he cut into it.

Bill nodded, and they all held hands.

"D-Do you swear?" He asked them.

And one by one the losers all uttered a small, 'I swear.'

The spell was complete, and the monster was dead. And if it were to ever return, they would be forced to return along with It. They would have to go through everything and kill it again.

Suddenly, tiredness was beginning to catch up with Beverly, her eyelids felt a heavy as bricks, and she found herself barely able to keep her eyes open. It'd been a long day. It had been a hard day. And today she needed her rest.

The group split up, each of them going their separate ways, apart from Hom and Stan, who walked down the street together. Although they didn't hold hands, they still walked side by side. They couldn't take the risk after Hom's mother had found out. Who knew who else might already know about them.

Sure, it was true that the whole school already knew about Hom, but they didn't need to know about Stan too on top of it all. Hom knew that'd just make things worse, on top of all the taunting and devilish stares he received every time he passed by someone in the halls. He knew any day now, Henry Bowers was destined to attack him again.

"Are you okay?" Hom asked Stan.

Stan nodded. "A little shaken, but I'll be fine. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Hom replied. "That thing was pretty freaky, but I'm glad it's gone now. Even if it might not be for forever."

They continued walking along the path to Hom's house. And Hom realized that Stan still hadn't seen all around his home, and had only been in the kitchen. It wasn't that late out, and some of his neighbours were working around their yards. He supposed he could always take Stan on a short tour of the house.

"Wanna come inside?" Hom asked him. "I'm sure my mom will have made cookies or something." He doubted this would further persuade Stan, but he figured it was worth a shot regardless.

"Sure." Stan shrugged, and then checked his watch. He still had quite a bit of time left before he exceeded his curfew. Then he realized that there was no real reason for the curfew anymore. The monster was already dead, although if he tried to tell his mom that, he figured she would lock him up in a looney bin.

Hom held the door open behind him for Stan. "Mom!" Hom called. "I'm home! And I haven't been kidnapped or raped by some weird murdered."

His mom put the kitchen knife down and sighed. She went to go meet them at the door.

"Hello." Stan greeted his mother shyly, remembering that she knew about the two of them.

"I made cookies," she offered. "Do you want some." She held out the try in front of them.

Stan grabbed a cookie from the tray.

It felt welcoming.