Lollipop // Richie Tozier x OC ( IT 2017 )

Buh-Buh-Bill (Chapter 2)

Shaken from the encounter minutes earlier, Lolly counted every step away from her small home at the end of Prescott street. With every number she felt a little safer, being just a little farther from whatever the hell had happened in there. 

"If I was a Richie Tozier, where would I be?" She asked aloud, the girl realized how little she knew about the pair she'd helped earlier. Lolly didn't have a clue where to find them at noon on a Tuesday. 

"Y-you could t-try his house," A cluster of words flew out of the mouth of the boy walking behind her.

Lolly's face turned red as a cherry, she knew the stutter and she already regretted what she said. Turning around she furrowed her brow and opened her mouth, she didn't have any excuse for why she was looking for the underclassman, especially not one his close friend would believe.

The boy behind her was Bill Denbrough, the brother of the younger child who'd gone missing last year. Bill was a part of the gang that Richie often hung out with; most of the boys considered Bill the unofficial leader. A pale boy who stood about a head smaller than Stanley, he had thick brown hair that clung to a single side of his face, but most people identified him by his strong stutter. The stutter hadn't been too bad in grade school but since the disappearance of his brother it had accelerated into every sentence. School children were cruel, and Derry wasn't an exception. Nicknames like 'mushmouth' followed Bill around like a shadow, and bullies like Greta Bowie and Henry Bowers often teased Billy, saying things like, "Ah-ah-anytime now Billy.". 

"I can explain!" Lolly shouted
"Ex-explain what?"
"Why I was looking for Richie!"
"I-I have never met a girl who ah-ah-actually wanted to find Richie, u-usually they run in the other direction,"

Lolly was the only one embarrassed about the fact that she was looking for an underclassman. Bill wasn't the type to care about those things, Lolly being so embarrassed stood out more than Lolly herself.  The raging thought in Bill's mind was why a pretty girl would ever want to spend time with Richie; Most girls didn't appreciate Richie's rumor. 

"I guess I'm looking for Stanley too," the girl said, "I'm Louise, you can call me Lolly."

"O-oh," this made a lot more sense to Billy, perhaps she was a girl from Stan's fathers Synagogue, "I'm he-headed to Richie's house n-now if you wanted to tah-tag along,"
He reached for the girl's hand before saying his name, after shaking hands the two began to walk together.

Bill wasn't shy but he stayed quiet, especially when girls were involved. Lolly didn't say a word, so Bill didn't either.  They walked in silence, neither was bothered by the quiet between them. If Lolly had more nerve, she would've asked about their friend group. She was dying to know more about Richie and more about Stanley. It felt almost like a television show to her, she needed some spoilers for the next episode. 

"How far is it?" Lolly asked

Billy looked her in her face for the first time, it was weird to be this close to a girl he'd never spoken to before. Even weirder that they were completely alone on the sidewalk in the neighborhood. For a split second, he wondered what would happen if his mother had glanced out the window and saw him alone with a girl; he guessed that she most likely wouldn't care. His mother didn't seem to care about anything since Georgie died.  Bill noticed a dark mark on Lolly's neck partially hidden by dark hair, was it a bruise? He pointed to a house down the street, the shutters were open and wild daisies grew below the window all at a perfect height with one another. 
She nodded, she thought maybe Billy didn't like talking, she didn't know if she'd like talking much if she stuttered either.  Their walk wasn't long, nor was it exciting. They didn't speak anymore, and they were both too focused on themselves they barely realized that walking together wasn't normal. It felt natural, hard to believe they hadn't been a thought in the other's world moments before.

A spew of swearwords called from the front window of Richie's house as Billy and Lolly climbed the steps to the home's porch.  Lolly flinched; it wasn't that she'd never heard a swearword before. It was that she'd never heard that many, in that order, in such a short amount of time.

"Y-you'll get used to that."

Bill knocked on the door and explained that Richie had called him a little earlier to come over. It wasn't anything important, Billy insisted that Richie wouldn't care that Lolly had come along.

The door swung open,  "Billy boy- wait a girl's here? With you?" Richie wasn't phased by Lolly, he really couldn't care less whether his friend had brought a girl with him. The surprise came with the fact that Billy had spoken to someone new for long enough to get them to go anywhere with him. It wasn't that Bill was particularly weird or unlikable, in actuality he carried a strong leadership quality around with him. However, showcasing a strong stutter that caused the name 'Stuttering Bill' to follow him like a shadow, and after the disappearance of his younger brother people tried their best just to not say anything to him.

"La-Lolly was looking for you."
"Talked to her once and she's already hooked," Richie caught Lolly's gaze and winked.
"She's looking for Stan too,"

Lolly wasn't sure if she found Richie's behavior uncomfortable, or attractive. Seeing someone that was so candid it was like stepping into cold water. Richie made all of her senses stand at attention, it was like being shaken awake every time he spoke. Stanley usually said that he was hyperactive due to his high metabolism, but nobody else was quite so sure it wasn't just sewn into Richie's genes.

Richie shrugged his shoulder, as he led himself outside to his porch steps. 

He walked close to the brunette's face, "Sooo, why are you staring? Did you want a date or something?"