The Sun is Shining

009

"You lied to us. That's not okay." Eddie and Richie began to get on Mike's case, with Stanley beside them wondering.

"Yeah, first words out of your mouth should have been like, 'Hey, man. You want to come to Derry and get murdered?'" Stanley let out a 'What?', as Richie continued, "Cause then I would have said no."

Meanwhile Ben and Beverly were conversing with the three newbies, as Bill and Violet sat down on the curb and watched it all happen.

"H-how've you been?" Bill asked, still not fully recognizing Violet as the woman in front of him. She'd changed so much from the small, fragile girl she once was.

"I'm actually feeling a lot better right now then I have in a long time. Just seeing all of you again... It's all I ever dreamed for." Violet said, picking at her fingernails.

"Guys!" Mike yelled, getting everyone's attention. "We have to stop him. I have a plan."

"Stop who?" Stella asked, as Richie started heading for his car.

"I got a plan. Getting the fuck out of Dodge before this ends worse than one of Bill's books." Richard pushed Richie back.

"Hey! William Denbrough is one of the best authors of today, so shut your mouth before someone else does it for you!" Stella and Charlie held Richard back, as Eddie and Stanley did Richie.

"Stop it!" Violet stepped between the two men. "Both of you! Richie, you know better! How many times have Eddie and I pleaded with you to shut your damn mouth?" Richie was already flabbergasted to silence from Violet's tone. "And Richard! I thought you'd be a little kinder to the man you were named after!" There was silence for a few moments before Violet realized what she'd said. Charlie, Stella, and Richard shared looks of confusion and slight fear, as to how Violet would have any knowledge about Richard and Stella's births.

"We made a promise to each other," Mike began, interrupting the fearful silence.

"Let's un-make the promise," Richie and Stanley spoke at the same time. This made Violet wonder why Stanley agreed to go with her in the first place.

"Rich, Stan, other people are gonna die," Ben argued for Mike's sake.

"Other people die every day, man! We don't owe this town shit!" Richie continued his rant. "Plus, I just remembered I grew up here, like, two hours ago. So, I'm fucking leaving. Fuck this." Richie headed for his car, finally ending the rant. Eddie began to walk with Richie.

"I'm sorry, man," Eddie mentioned, "I'm with Richie." Mike tried to convince him once more.

"Listen," Eddie started, "What? We stay, we die, that's it?"

"There's a chance we all could live, Eds," Violet said, defiantly. Eddie paused hearing his old nickname.

"I'm gonna go back to the inn, I'm gonna pack up my shit and I'm gonna drive to my home. I'm sorry, guys. Good luck." With that, he and Richie were gone, Mike still pleading with their retreating figures. Charlie looked so lost and confused that after Richie and Eddie left, he went off on his cousin.

"What the hell was that about?" Violet gulped. She knew all three of them heard her correctly back there, and now there was no getting out of this.

"Please, Charlie. I can explain," she started, as Charlie didn't stop there.

"No! What part of this can you explain? Why the hell are we here? You, what, came back to help your detective friend over here?" Charlie motioned toward Mike, who, along with the rest of the group, stood helplessly and watched the exchange. "I'm sorry for whatever may have happened here, but I- I just need to understand more than what you're telling us?"

"Could we talk about this back at the Town House?" Beverly interrupted, seeing a few families leaving the restaurant, staring at them, curiously. Charlie ran a hand through his hair and headed back to the rental car. Stella and Richard followed him, leaving Violet with her friends. Violet nodded at Beverly, who stood up, heading to her car. Ben followed both women, knowing not much could come from them just standing around at a restaurant.

As Violet opened the passenger door, Bill started off on Mike himself. Violet could feel her heart pounding. She knew they all had to be here, to stop It, but she couldn't help it if everyone split up the same way they did when they were kids. She got in the car and buckled up, leaving Charlie to drive the five of them back to the only hotel in town.

All the Losers, minus Bill and Mike reached the Town House, ready to leave as they all raced inside. Charlie was fuming, as he pushed his way in.

"Let's get our shit and get the fuck out of here." Richie said, wanting to get back to his normal life. Eddie and Ben followed behind him, making sure they wouldn't forget anything. Violet came in last, with Stella and Richard guiding her. She had stumbled out of the car, looking absolutely frightened. They set Violet down in a chair by the bar, where Beverly was getting herself a drink, hoping she wasn't imagining this.

"Tell me," Ben said, taking a seat next to the twins. Beverly poured them all drinks, which they were very thankful for.

"Tell you what?" Beverly questioned, seemingly oblivious to whatever he wanted to know. She took one hard look at Stanley standing in the doorway to the bar, before back at Ben.

"Whatever it is you're afraid to tell me right now," Ben responded looking almost completely calm. Beverly gulped, taking another look at Stanley. Ben noticed this time and turned, receiving a wave from the man. Beverly took that time to try and slide past the man, unnoticed. She couldn't tell them what she knew, she just couldn't.

"Bev?" Violet questioned, reaching for Richard's hand. He walked with her and the rest of them into the main room, after said redhead.

"Back at the Jade when Violet and Stan showed up," Ben said, following her. Beverly caught Violet's gaze. For a piercing moment, the two knew exactly what the other was thinking. Violet caught a lump in her throat, seeing as the truth was going to come out. "You said that it was impossible for Stanley to even be here with us. I saw your eyes. You weren't expecting to see him at all, were you?" Richie came back down with his bags, ready to skedaddle, at the end of Ben's question.

"Whatever you guys are talking about, let's make it happen faster, all right? We gotta go." There was no way in hell he was going to remain in this one horse town any longer than he had to. Unfortunately for him, the rest of them weren't going anywhere until they got multiple explanations. "Eduardo, andale! Let's go!" He yelled up the stairs.

"There's something you're not telling us. You as well, Lettie." Ben pressured, looking at both women. Beverly and Violet sat next to each other, Beverly holding Violet's shaking hands. "You knew that Stanley was supposed to die. You knew." Violet's cousins, Richie, and Stanley looked so concerned at this revelation.

"Wait, what?" Richie questioned the silence he was getting, "She knew that Stanley was going to die, is that what you just said?" Ben, Stanley and the cousins all began to yell overtop each other, making Violet and Beverly tear up.

"How did you know?" Stanley questioned, a gulp in his throat. Beverly glanced at him, seeing something of the truth in his eyes. He truly was going to kill himself if Violet hadn't shown up on his doorstep.

"Because I saw it," Beverly whispered, everyone hanging on to her every word. Violet looked down in her lap and silently cried. "We both did. Violet and I have seen all of us die." It was dead silent, before Eddie fumbled his way down the stairs with his bags.

"Okay, I just got to grab my toiletry bag and then we can go," Eddie looked at the group, all of which looked solemnly at Violet and Beverly. "What'd I miss?"