Lollipop // Richie Tozier x OC ( IT 2017 )

The Sadie Hawkins Dance (Chapter 7)

The classic Dracula had introduced fangs and red contact lenses to the gang, but in the end, the monster was slain and the main character saved. The inside of the theatre seemed to have more drama than the big screen because of the lingering feelings. Lolly nibbled on her lips every time Richie moved; she was nervous to see if he was going to hold Beverly's hand at the scary parts of the film. At one moment he had placed a hand on both girls' knees, more to reassure himself than to make either of them feel better. However, it had made Lolly's heart jump into her throat with excitement, and she had to remind herself that he had done the same to Bev.  Stanley felt at ease with the lack of speaking or contact between his friend and his crush, until the moment his hand touched her leg. He tried to focus on the vampire asleep in her coffin on the screen, but his eyes kept darting back to Richie's hand on Lolly's bare leg. 

"I'm being crazy, aren't I?" Stanley whispered to Bill
"I think he's juh-juh-just scared." Bill answered.
 Bill gestured to Richie, whose brown eyes were blown open and fixated on the screen. 
"Huh-he'd have his huh-hand on Henry if that's who was nuh-next to him." 

The movie ended and the group that was on edge before, whether from the movie or from the love triangle felt much more at ease. The sun flooded into the theatre through the small opening of the exit door as they slid out the back entrance and into the alleyway outside. 

The five stopped dead in their tracks; Henry Bowers and his gang were torturing a poor soul at the other end of the alleyway. The movie theatre exit only opened from the inside. They were trapped between a dead-end and a bully. 
Lolly stood close to Bill, her heart was in her throat again but this time with fear. Being near her dearest friend was the closest thing she could get to comfort at that moment. Richie had ended his sentence in the middle, speechless. Which was unusual for him. Stanley and Bev's eyes both opened wide while they weighed their options. 

"Fuck dude, I think that's Eds," Richie breathed

A thin brunette boy was on the ground below the gang, and Henry had hocked a large loogie onto his red polo shirt. The boy cried out in response.

"Huh-huh-hey!" Bill yelled down the alley, his converse sneakers scraped against the pavement as he closed the distance between the two groups. Lolly followed close behind him, hiding slightly behind his shoulders. 
Henry looked up from his victim and turned toward Bill, "Aw look, It's Buh-buh-buh-buh-Bill! And who's that behind him? His cute little girlfriend?" 

Henry stepped forward and grabbed Lolly's arm, "Let's take a look at her, huh", Henry pulled Lolly out from Bill's shadow, "Oh, fuck no." 
The rest of the group still stood down toward the end of the alley; they looked between each other sharing glances that screamed, "what do we do?"

Henry waved off Lolly's arm and used his hands to push Bill to the ground.
"Listen here mushmouth,", Henry grabbed a handful of small rocks and dirt from the ground and straddled Bills' chest, "You don't fuck around with a man's girl, alright?" Henry pressed the rocks into Bill's face, cutting his lips, and crunching against his teeth, "It's not like you can ruh-ruh-ruh-really talk anyways, the rocks are probably an improvement. Remember this next time, you think of asking out my girl."

Lolly's face was bright red and hot to the touch, her hands were shaking and twitchy. She was positively frightened and positively pissed.
"I am nobody's girl." She pressed the words into the air like venom, they stung her lips on the way out and her anger seemed to float into the alley.
Beverly rushed forward and grabbed Lolly's right hand; she gave it a quick squeeze. 

"Oh look, two sluts came to save the day," Patrick called from behind Henry, he had one booted foot on the boy in the red polo's chest. Victor Criss, an older boy with bleach blonde hair peered over Patrick's shoulder, an uneasy look on his face. 
Henry climbed off of Bill. Two footsteps quickly killed the distance between himself and the two girls. 
"Well, I know you're not here with the two chicken shits over there," he motioned to Stanley and Richie who were glued to the same spot by the movie theatre door. "So you must be here with stutterin-"

"I'm not here with anybody. Not Bill, Not Richie, and most certainly not YOU." Lolly forced the words out, her adrenaline was fading into plain fear but she couldn't back down. 
"Listen here slut," He pressed a hand to her cheek, before ripping her hair back from her neck, "You see this shit here?" He said eyeing the bruises he had left on her neck, "Denborough didn't make this, fucking Jew boy didn't make these.. You know who you belong to, and if you don't you better fucking figure it out before the Sadie Hawkins dance or you'll all gonna be fucked." He shoved Lolly to the ground by her hair, and Bev tackled the ground with her. 

"Let's get the fuck out of here," Henry called to his friends and they hopped into a car as quickly as they had come. 

"What the fuck just happened?" Beverly whispered in Lolly's ear
"More than I wanted to," She breathed

The fragile boy who had been the original victim shakily raised himself from the ground and helped Bill up from his back. His name was Eddie Kaspbrak; he was nervous about everything, and Lolly had never seen him without his aspirator. He plucked it out of his back pocket the moment he stood up and took a deep whiff to the back of his throat. 
When Lolly looked up, all four boys were standing above her and Beverly while they lay on their backs on the cold pavement. 

"That cuh-cuh-could've gone better, hu-huh?" Bill smiled, flecks of black dirt stuck to his gums and he extended both of his hands; one for Bev and one for Lolly. 
"I don't mean to be rash, but what the fuck did happen to your neck?" Richie said to Lolly
"Since when have you ever cared about being rash?" Lolly sighed, she pulled herself up with Bill's assistance.

She took a few deep breathes and told the group the story of what had happened on the last day of school during her run-in with the Bowers Gang. Lolly felt unbelievably close to this group and found herself searching for Bev's hand again when she got to the harder parts of the story to tell.

"You guys must think I'm a real slut." She finished
"Stop. You didn't want that to happen, it's the same thing as Henry pushing you down and then calling yourself clumsy after. You're not a slut." Beverly interjected 
"I promise I don't like Henry, or want to date him, or whatever," Lolly said

Thank god, Stan thought

"Hey, wuh-we got yuh-your back." 
"Can we talk about what Henry said just before he left? The Sadie Hawkins dance?" Eddie said

The Sadie Hawkin's dance was a Derry summer ritual; it was organized by the PTA of the school regardless of the fact that school had been let out for the summer. It was the last Saturday of every July. A sweet school-type dance with music and refreshments; tickets were $2 per person, but the most important part was the Sadie Hawkins part. It meant that it was girls choice, the girls had to ask the guys to the dance as their dates instead of the traditional guys asking girls. 

"I guess he wants to go with you?" Bev said making eye contact with Lolly
"No way." Stanley's voice came out more sternly than he had intended, and with all eyes, on him, he had to cover his tracks, "We wouldn't subject you to a date with Henry, that'd almost be as bad as a date with Richie." 

I only wish that was my problem, Lolly thought
"If it wasn't girls choice, I'd ask you right now my candy girl," Richie winked
"I don't really want any of you guys to suffer through Henry because you went with me, that's not fair," 
"And it's not fair that he's trying to make you go with him," Bev fumed, "I'm tired of guys like Henry."
The group nodded in agreement and trudged toward the opening of the alleyway to head to their respective houses.

"Let me walk you home, " Stanley whispered to Lolly
Lolly smiled at Stanley, "That'd be really nice," she looked at Bill, "Did you want to walk with us?"
"Nuh-no that's okay, " Bill beamed at his two friends, he felt a little bit like he was playing matchmaker, "Yuh-you guh-guys go ahead."