Saturday. July 4, 1987

Before camp began, it'd been a year since Elle had worn a dress. Now, with Beverly as her cabinmate, it seemed like a sort of routine. She twirled in the dimly lit room, reveling in the way the fabric flowed around her. The dress was blue with small flowers scattered across the print and it sat just bellow her knees. Beverly marveled at how Elle could've ever enjoyed wearing anything but a dress, when they suited her so well. She rose to her feet and walked over to her best friend with an enormous smile.

"You look so pretty," Beverly grinned. Elle lowered her head, bashfully. The red-haired girl grabbed her hands and she looked up. Elle gave her a questioning look but the other only replied with a small bow of her head before she began twirling. Slowly, Elle joined in and the two were spinning around the room, hand-in-hand. Colors were flying around in Beverly's vision but the girl in front of her remained clear.

"Thank you," Elle giggled as they spun faster and faster, feet growing tired of shifting their weight. Beverly's hand slipped and she stumbled away from Elle in a dizzy haze. The brunette screamed as she watched her cabinmate who was dangerously close to hitting her head against the dresser on the far end of the room. Elle sprang forward, trying to grab Beverly once again but the girl was losing her balance. At the last second, as she was about to go flying into the dresser, Beverly was pulled upright and suddenly stood straight up. Beverly's eyes widened at how quickly their fun could've turned out disastrously. Across the room, Elle sighed with relief.

"Are you okay?" Elle questioned, slowly sliding down the bed and onto the floor with a look of exhaustion on her face. Beverly frowned.

"Me? What about you?" Beverly rushed over to the other girl, concerned.

"What about me? You're the one who almost crashed into furniture." Elle laughed softly, wincing at how her head ached suddenly.

"Elle, your nose is bleeding, did you get hit?" Beverly was sitting next to Elle, now. The brown-eyed girl looked confused, she tried climbing to her feet to get to a mirror but quickly stumbled back down.

"Hey. Hey, sit down," Beverly grew worried. Her first instinct was to hold Elle but she figured the girl needed air at a time like this, so she fought her urges. She'd seen something similar a few times before. She could recall her mother having had problems with her health and Beverly was the one to pick up the pieces. As a young child, those were the only memories she'd kept of her mother. Everything else was a blur.

"Are you dehydrated?" She remembered a particular case with her mother was due to her lack of fluids. Beverly was quick on her feet, retrieving a bottle of water from the desk in the corner of the cabin. Elle accepted is gratefully.

"Beverly, I'm fine." She smiled. Beverly raised her hand to feel Elle's forehead and Elle laughed at the dramatics. "Bev!"

"Sorry," The girl laughed, embarrassed. She was so worried for her friend she realized she'd began to act a bit intensely. Bev had always had a tendency to overreact when it came to those she loved. The list was small.

Once Elle was feeling well enough to get back on her feet, the two joined the losers for breakfast in the cafeteria. With their arms linked, they walked in, Bev in her red dress and Elle in the blue.

The losers gaped at the pairing as they sauntered in. Ben was poking at his hash-brown with a fork when Richie shook him furiously with a hand on the shoulder. Mike smiled, scooting over to make room for the two. Eddie was at the end of the table, eyebrows raised. Will was by his side, smiling absently. Bill was unfazed, staring fondly at Stan who was doing the same.

"Happy fourth, losers," Beverly squeezed in next to Mike, with Elle on her other side. Across from her, Ben was smiling with tinted cheeks. He was amazed at how beautiful Beverly looked, always. Across the cafeteria, Jonathan was in charge of breakfast duty along with another counselor. Steve and Nancy were nowhere to be seen. This gave Richie an idea.

"So, Bev," He smirked, a wicked look in his eyes. It made Eddie feel uneasy. Elle frowned. "You up for an adventure?"

Beverly stroked at her chin, a faux look of contemplation on her features. Bill smiled, leaning in to hear the big proposition Richie had in mind. Ben twiddled with his thumbs, anxiously trying to hear from the other side of the table.

"I'm listening, Trashmouth." She played along, intrigued by the mischief in his voice.

"Word on the street is Steve-y boy's got a stash of beer in his cabin just sitting there for us to take." Richie whispered dramatically. Stan rolled his eyes, because of course this is what Richie had in mind. Eddie reached for his inhaler.

"Your point?" Bev raised an eyebrow, unimpressed suddenly. Richie shook his head, shamefully and okay, these two were a match made in friend-heaven. Mike pursed his lips, nodding along to the surprise of Will who had never seen him take much interest in the ongoings of the group.

"I'll do it." Mike piped up. Ben's mouth fell open. Richie looked like he couldn't be prouder of his friend. It was amazing.

"That's my boy. We'll discuss the mission later. The rest of us will help out." Richie nodded. "Make your country proud, son."

Almost everyone at the table rolled their eyes at that. Damn it, Richie Tozier.

//

ripppp. finally! sorry it's crap rip. next two chapters will continue the 4th of July portion. Blame jay kmsreddie for distracting me on facetime lololol or i wouldve updated sooner. Jk it was also my fault. I just started school and Im super busy but im trying.

pls comment and not just "update" i like feedback: what worked? what didn't work? though ur "update" comments motivate me, some of u are super violent and aggressive lmao ily but pls be nice, im doing my best ok sksk

also a bunch of kids in my film class were talking about IT and i was crying and my professor was like omg it must be good

and my boss told me she watched it bc she knows i love it so much, rip she has no idea

q: what's your name?

a: katherine :) I like KAt tho... or Rin. maybe sometimes kathy if we're close.

-kat

1/31/18 @12:26 am