When DJ walked into the synagogue with her parents, she immediately looked around for her friends. She hoped that miraculously the whole Losers Club was there, reunited, but she was disappointed. She hadn't expected the others to actually be there, but it was Stan's big day and she just wished the others could push aside their pride for that.

Quickly, she had spotted Richie though, who waved at her and gestured for her to sit with him. She sent him a thankful nod and nudged her father.

"Hey, could you two please sit down next to Richie? I just want to greet Stan real quick."

"The Tozier boy from next door?" Claudia asked disapprovingly, which DJ firmly ignored.

The girl simply nodded and walked towards Stan, who was standing a few meters away with his parents.

"Stan, hey!" DJ greeted him with a smile. "You look great."

"Thank you, Diana." Stanley muttered with a shy smile, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Oh, Stanley, aren't you going to tell the girl how pretty she is?" His mother scolded him, making him blush in embarrassment.

"It's okay, Mrs. Uris. I know how pretty he thinks I am." DJ teased Stan, who managed an eye roll at her comment.

Stan's mother chuckled at her remark, sending her a kind smile, "Please, Diana, call me Andrea."

"She doesn't like it, when people call her Diana. She goes by DJ." Stanley informed his mother, although DJ would've let Andrea call her Diana if she wished so.

"You call her Diana, Stanley." pointed his dad out, as a knowing grin made its way on Andrea's face.

"Good luck with your Torrah reading, Stan," DJ spoke up instead, changing the subject swiftly. "I know you'll do great. I'm gonna sit with Rich by the way."

Stanley thanked her, before she walked over to Richie, who had apparently been annoying DJ's mother, judging by Claudia's scowl. As she sat down between Richie and her mom, she couldn't help but watch the Uris family. Stanley was blushing greatly, while his mother smiled, as if Christmas had come early... Though Jewish people didn't celebrate Christmas. Wow, DJ really had to learn more about the Judaism.

Just then the Bar Mitzvah ceremony began and soon Stanley had finished his Torrah reading, which he had done quite well, thought DJ, once she noticed the pleased look on Mr. Uris' face.

"Reflecting on the meaning of what I just read; the word לשנות comes up a lot, which means to change, to transform, which makes sense I guess, because today I'm supposed to become a man. It's funny though. Everyone, I think, has some memories they're prouder of than others, right? And maybe that's why change is so scary, because the things we wish we could leave behind, the whispers we wish we could silence, the nightmares we wish most to wake up from, the memories we wish we could change, secrets we feel like we have to keep, are the hardest to walk away from. The good stuff, the pictures in our mind that fade away the fastest, those pieces of you, it feels the easiest to lose. Maybe I don't want to forget. Maybe i-if that's what today is all about: Forget it, right?"

DJ shared a surprised look with Richie, wondering where their friend was going with this.

"Thank you, Stanley." Stanley's father said, moving to take the microphone away from his son, but Stan quickly walked away from him and kept talking.

"Today I'm supposed to become a man, but I don't- I don't feel any different," He said, still moving away from his father, who followed after him. Then Stanley turned to look at Mr. Uris, "All right, I-I know I'm a loser and no matter what, I always fucking will be."

As the people in the crowd gasped, Stan let the microphone drop to the floor and Richie stood up to clap loudly. While everyone turned to stare at Richie, his mother pulled him down and DJ watched as Stanley left the synagogue.

"Come on!" DJ muttered to Richie, already standing up and moving past her parents.

She first checked behind the synagogue and sure enough, that was where Stanley had disappeared to. He was currently pacing back and forth, muttering to himself.

"Stan!" DJ called, as his gaze snapped to her.

Their eyes locked and she jogged towards him, as quickly as she could with her shoes. Once she reached him, she put her arms around his neck and it only took a moment for him to return the hug.

"Jesus, what have I done?" He mumbled. "I'm going to be grounded for the rest of my life. I just- I miss them, Diana. I miss our friends and I- I couldn't stop thinking about how only Richie and you came to attend my Bar Mitzvah."

DJ slowly pulled away from him, deciding to grab his hands. Then she swung them back and forth softly, looking up at him, "I think what you did was brave, telling your father what you were thinking. I'm surprised you didn't mention the things we talked about, though."

"I think I embarrassed my parents enough in public. I'll tell them the rest later, when we're alone. We can discuss the issues better then." decided Stanley in determination, causing DJ to grin teasingly.

"Speaking like a real man." She said, making Stan laugh airily.

"I guess that's what I am now..."

The Johnson girl squeezed his hands comfortingly, "You're still a loser, like you said. You could never be as ignorant as the adults in this town."

This time it was Stan, who pulled her into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she buried her head in his chest. They could've stayed like this forever, when another voice cut through the comfortable silence.

"Holy shit!" Richie yelled with his usual grin. "Stan the man, pun definitely intended, swears in front of everyone in the synagogue and drops the mike. I'm never gonna forget this epic moment, man."

The duo had pulled away by now, though there was no way Richie hadn't seen them hug. He didn't comment on it however, instead he clapped Stan onto the shoulder.

"Good for you."

DJ could tell he meant it. So did Stan, since he smiled at Richie — something that didn't happen too often. After that the blonde slung her arms around Richie's and Stan's shoulders, smiling widely as well.

"Don't tell anyone, but you two are my favorite people."