"God, will you ever stop smoking?"
"You're very funny, Tozier."
Holly Taylor and Richie Tozier had never associated with one another, it just wasn't normal. But when summer starts, she befriended them in the oddest wa...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Thursday, July 13th, 1989
"I said I was fine, didn't I?" Holly snapped as Cass asked if she was okay for tenth time today. "Jeez, I just wanted to make sure." said the red-head on the other side of the door as she stomped away. Holly sighed, pulling yet another cigarette out of the box and lighting it. Beverly had to go home to check on her dad and Bill ran to Keene's to get something. Waiting for him to get back, Holly thought about what the fuck was wrong with this town.
After what happened with her mom, Holly hadn't really had time to process what happened at the diner. The things Ben told her brought chills to her spine. Holly could barely sleep the night before. Every time she closed her eyes, that stupid clown popped into her head and kept her up. Holly kept replaying what Richie said in her head. What did he mean?
A knock on the door interrupted Holly from her thoughts. "Come in." she replied, taking another drag of her cigarette. Bill walked in, a shocked look on his face and carrying a plastic bag. "What?" she asked. He took the cigarette from her fingertips, stubbing it into the ashtray above the TV. "Hey! What was that for?" Holly yelled.
"H-Holly, t-that's your third one and i-it's only one." Bill replied. Dropping the bag onto the bed, chocolate, chips, and drinks spilled out. "This is why you're my best friend." Holly said, ripping open the Doritos. Bill laughed and put 'Beetlejuice' into the VCR. The pair laid on their stomachs, eating to their hearts content and watched the movie. Suddenly, Bill paused the tape.
"Holly, I- I have t-t-to tell you s-something." he said. Holly turned towards the boy. "What's up?" she asked. "Promise m-me, just promise me, t-that you w-won't run after h-him." Bill said. "What do you mean?" Holly asked, confusion lacing her tone. "P-promise me." Bill repeated. "Bill, just tell me!" Holly exclaimed, taking as sip of her drink. Bill took a deep breath.
"Richie a-and Pam were h-hanging outside of the h-hardware s-s-store."
Holly almost spit out her water. "What?" she yelled, standing up abruptly, pain shooting through her leg. Holly hissed and plopped back on the bed. "I know, I-I know, i-it s-seems bad-" Bill said, sitting up. "Itseems bad? It seems bad?" she yelled, frustrated as ever. "And it's not like I can even go kick his fucking ass 'cause I didn't use my crutches yesterday so now my leg hurts like hell!" Holly yelled.
"M-maybe, maybe t-they w-were just t-talking-" Bill started, but Holly cut him off. "Bill. It's Pamela Roberts, the girl who Richie talks about non-stop." "That's not t-true, he's dating you." bill replied. "And? Apparently that doesn't matter because he's with her right now. God, I don't even know what I did wrong." Holly exclaimed, leaning onto the metal of her bed. "He's j-just stupid." Bill said, sitting next to Holly.
The red-haired girl leaned her head onto Bill's shoulder. "A-are you g-gonna dye your h-hair again?" he asked. "Maybe. Probably not." she answered. The pair sat in silence before Bill un-paused the movie. Stuffing her face with Hershey's chocolate as Bill ate potato chips, the two kids watched movies for hours on end, trying to get Holly's mind off of the current situation.
