Lollipop // Richie Tozier x OC ( IT 2017 )

Drawing Toothpicks (Chapter 13)

Five days until the Sadie Hawkins dance and Beverly and Lolly were buzzing with excitement.

"Just tell me who you want to ask!" Lolly giggled her stomach down on her bed with her feet in the air. Beverly sat against the wall with legs dangling off the bed. Both girls wore overalls in the style of shorts; Beverly's were army green overtop a crimson red sleeveless top. Lolly's were a classic denim blue over a white halter. 

"It's hard," Beverly sighed, "Did I tell you about the postcard I got?"
"No, what postcard?"
Beverly shoved a hand into her knapsack and pulled out a small cardboard card. 
"It made me so happy when I first saw it,"
She handed the postcard to Lolly, who read it carefully:

Your hair is winter fire,
January Embers.
My heart burns there, too

"That's so sweet," Lolly said handing her back the card, "Do you know who sent it?"
"I think I do. He didn't tell me or anything, but I think I do."
"Is it who you wanted it to be?"
"No,"
"I'm a little bit jealous, at least someone actually has a crush on you,"

Beverly laughed a little because she knew someone had a crush on Lolly too. Much like Ben, Stanley's feelings silently sat in the open. While his face didn't turn red, and he was never at a loss for words when he saw her, his eyes followed her wherever she went. When she was walking in the sun, his eyes were on her. When he was talking to Mike, his eyes would always shift and find her.

"I think if a certain someone knew you wanted a postcard. He'd write you a hundred." 
"Really?" Lolly's smile was almost too big for her face, and her mind wandered to Richie.
"What if we just like, drew straws or something?" 
"What?" 
"To choose a date for the dance. What if we just get straws, or toothpicks or something and some magic markers. Assign the guys a color, color the straw, and pick one" Beverly suggested, "Nobody gets hurt, because of feelings, and we can keep our secrets a little longer," she ended with a wink.

Lolly shrugged, "I think I have a pack of markers left in my backpack from school."

The girls gathered six toothpicks and colored the bottoms six different colors.

Blue for Bill, green for Stanley, red for Mike, yellow for Richie, pink for Ben, and orange for Eddie.

"Who should go first?" Beverly asked
"You go,"

Lolly sandwiched the colored toothpicks between her hands and moved them back and forth to shuffle them. She covered all of the colors with her hands and held them out for Beverly.

"Here goes nothing,"

Please be blue, please be blue, please be blue, please be blue.

Her finger grasped onto a toothpick and she yanked it out. The bottom was green. 

"Stanley," Lolly wiggled her eyebrows and passed the toothpicks to Beverly. 

"Mix them up good," She said and she closed her eyes.
She weighed her options in her head, without the pressure of giving up her secret she really hoped she'd pick Richie's toothpick. 
"Okay, go," Beverly said

Lolly's fingers danced over the top of a few toothpicks and settled on one in the middle. The bottom was blue. Beverly's heart burned with jealousy.

"At least we finally decided," Lolly said
"Yeah, we should tell the boys tonight, or ask them I guess?"

Later in the evening, the Losers' Club sat around Bill's kitchen table with a monopoly board set out in front of them. Bill's parents had gone to a late-night movie, and the kids were home alone.

"So, it's not exactly traditional, but Beverly and I just drew toothpicks to decide who to ask to the dance," Lolly said
"We.." Beverly trailed off for a moment, "Couldn't decide."
"Okay, what happened?" Eddie said
"I got Stanley," Beverly said, "And I got Bill," Lolly finished
"So, if that's fine with you two, I think it's the easiest way to... decide," Lolly added

Stanley chewed at the skin on the inside of his cheek. He shouldn't be disappointed, he was getting a date after all. A date with a girl as pretty as Beverly Marsh even. 
The guys all nodded except Richie who said, "And they say romance is dead. Did you guys make a toothpick for Henry?"
"You're girly enough, we thought you might want to ask him," Lolly said.
"Wait, so you didn't make a straw for me either? Unfair, I want a do-over,"
"We made a straw for you too," Lolly smiled brightly, "We're just both so relieved that neither of us chose it," Lolly snapped 

Lolly's quips have slowly evolved over the summer to rifle Richie's trash mouth when he interjected. She very much liked their bantering, and Richie did too.

"What duh-duh-does that mean exactly? In tuh-terms of the duh-duh-duh-dance?" Bill asked,
"I guess we just have to show up together, and dance together or whatever," Lolly said
"Or fight Henry Bowers together, in Lolly's case," Richie smirked
"Beep-beep Richie," Lolly lowered her eyes in his direction
"I guess the rest of us are going stag," Ben smiled, he didn't mind too much that Beverly had gotten Stanley. Especially since he knew Stanley's heart was set on Lolly.
"I didn't want to be tied down to one girl anyways," Richie said
"Sure Richie," Eddie rolled his eyes, "Like any girl would want to be tied down to you,"
"Can we move on from the fact that Richie is undateable and gross?" Lolly asked
"Ouch. Lolly that really hurts, I thought we had something special," Richie feigned sadness and drew the trail of a fake tear down his cheek with his finger.

Lolly smiled,
I wish we did, Richie. 

"I'll save a dance for you,"  Lolly stuck her tongue out at him across the table
"Save one for me too," Stanley said lowly, that was the first thing he'd said since the subject of the dance had arisen. 
"Sure Stan," she made a heart with pointed finger and thumb of her two hands, "as long as your date doesn't mind me stealing you for a song,"