Lollipop // Richie Tozier x OC ( IT 2017 )

Periwinkle Sweater (Chapter 9)

Lolly opened the screen door, kicked off her shoes and made her way to the kitchen where her mother chopped vegetables for a soup.

"How was the movie?" Ms. Gellar asked
Lolly thought about Richie's hand on her leg, "It was great."

Her mother smiled and sent her up to her room for the next half hour until supper would be ready. Lolly flopped onto her bed and stared up at her white ceiling. At first, she had wondered if Bill was the only one who really liked her, but Beverly grabbing her hand today and Stanley walking her home made her feel that she really was part of the group. Lolly flicked to the radio on her bedside table to the "On" function and smiled as Girl You Know It's True belted into the room.

Girl, you know it's true
Ooh, ooh, ooh I love you

Humming to the tune, Lolly barely noticed a faint 'dripping' noise coming from the far right of her bedroom.

Drip

Drip

Drip

It hadn't rained outside, there was no way it was a roof leak.
I haven't left any drinks in there that could've tipped over.

Simple thoughts like these were on Lolly's mind as she walked to the closet to open it, she remembered her encounter in the bathroom, and then the prank call that had happened earlier. The oak door to her closet now seemed much bigger and thicker than she remembered. It felt like anything could be behind the door instead of just her winter sweaters. The gold knob distorted her reflection, she almost looked like a clown inside the gold circle.  

You're being silly, Lolly. It's your closet, just open the door.
Why are you scared? It's just a closet, you big baby.

Like something out of a movie time seemed to slow while Lolly reached for the knob.

Drip

Drip

Drip 

Her hands jittered, but this time it wasn't from the excitement of getting to go to the movies with Richie Tozier. With an abrupt hand, she yanked the door open. Her eyes opened so wide she could consciously feel her eyelids.

"Hiya Lollipop," said Henry's voice, but it wasn't Henry's body. At least, it wasn't the body that Lolly had become so accustomed to running and hiding from. This was a different kind of horror, what she now realized was Henry's face was attached to a body that looked like it had spent days at the bottom of a dirty pond. Henry's tongue protruded grossly from his mouth, thick slobber dripped from the tongue.  

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Pieces of skin had slid off the body on his hands and feet, it looked like socks made of skin that sat beside the body. His skin was white, no blue, Lolly could barely comprehend the color as she choked in disgust. The smell was earthy but tainted with decomposition, it smelled like someone trying to mask rotten potatoes with a cheap air freshener.

"You're not hot for me anymore baaaaby?"
"Henry? W-what happened to you? Are you okay?" Lolly's voice came out in squeaks
"I'll be better when I get to kiss you again," The tongue slid around the outside of Henry's mouth.

The creature grabbed the side of Lolly's head and licked the side of the tongue down her slim face. The tongue was painful, spiked almost like a cat's. 

Bile rose to Lolly's throat, and her own hand flew to her face growing warm with prickles of blood from the scrapes Henry's tongue had left.  Her eyes glazed over the entire scene, her favorite periwinkle blue sweater had a streak of brown dirt from Henry's back being pressed against the closet.

"You're getting my favorite sweater dirty,"

Henry recoiled like he had been hit. 

"My mom's not going to be happy," She continued, "it's a light color too, it better not stain,"

Usually, Lolly could barely stand up to the live version of Henry Bowers. She had no idea where this courage if you could call it that, was coming from.  She really was just concerned about the sweater at first, but Henry's recoil had sparked an idea.

Henry's tongued bobbed up and down in his mouth like a chicken's head.

"And don't drool on it, it'll set the stain."  She swallowed over a thick lump in her throat, and laughed, "I'll just close this, and come out when it's cleaned up, okay?" She laughed harder, she had no idea why she was laughing, but it was coming out abrupt and clear. She couldn't stop.
She slammed the closet door shut, 

Did that actually work?

She tiptoed down the stairs, she didn't want to be alone tonight. She knew she couldn't call Bill, or Stan, or Richie, her parents would never let her have a boy in her room especially at night. 

I could call Beverly.

"Mom," Lolly called as she walked toward the kitchen, "Can my friend sleepover tonight?"
"What friend?" She asked, a little skepticism in her voice.
"Her name's Bev,"
Her mother shrugged, "Just don't invite her over until after supper,"

Lolly flipped through her family's phone book, there was only one Marsh listed in Derry, Maine. Which was lucky. She dialed the number, and a gruff man's voice on the other end answered.

"Hello?"
"Hello, I was looking for Beverly Marsh."
"Who is this?"
"My name's Louise sir, I'm a friend of Beverly's."
The voice scoffed, "Just a minute."

Lolly could hear what sounded like an argument through the muffled phone for a moment before Beverly's voice came through the receiver.

"Hello?"
"Hi Bev, it's Lolly. I was just wondering if you'.. maybe want to come over for the night? I want to talk to you about something." 
"Oh um, let me ask my Dad."

Lolly could hear more arguing which slowly got louder as it continued at the end she heard a clear, "You better be home to make my breakfast in the morning."

"He said okay," Beverly said
"Great. Did you want to come over around seven?" 

The girls worked out the rest of the details before hanging up the phone. Shortly after seven, Bev was sitting on the end of Lolly's bed while she paced back and forth the length of her bedroom.

"I guess I want to talk to you about two things," Lolly said, she stopped pacing, "The second thing is the Sadie Hawkins dance, and the first thing is.. This."
Lolly yanked open her closet door, and a puddle of bloody water sat on the floor where the Henry figure had stood before. Dirty streaks on her periwinkle sweater with a bold, bloody, "Next time it'll be you, Lollipop" scrawled across the front.