.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

【 𝐈𝐍𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 】

xii. unbreakable oath

VERITY MADE HER WAY THROUGH THE TREES, breathing in the fresh air, mixed with the heady scent of wildflowers. The Losers had agreed to meet in the meadows near the train tracks, but she didn't know why exactly.

She thought of when they had made it out of the sewer, bloodied and dirty, blinking in the sunlight. They hadn't spoken of It since, trying to at least partially return to the norm. She knew that she would never be able to fully forget what had happened, but she was determined to try.

She stepped out of the trees, running her hands through the long grass. The figure sitting a few feet away from her stood up, raising a hand in greeting.

"Hey, Verity," Bill said, offering her a small smile, which she returned.

"Hey," she eyed the bag he was holding. "Have you brought the things?"

He nodded, holding it out to her. "C'mon, let's go,"

Together, they walked to the edge of the meadow, stopping by the river. The water ran merrily at their feet, glittering in the sun.

Wordlessly, they got to work. Within a few minutes, they had finished, each holding a small paper boat.
Verity stood up, brushing grass from her knees. "You ready?"

He looked at his boat, then to the water. "Yeah,"

They took a few steps into the water, turning to look at each other.
Silent for a moment, then,

"He– He wanted me to go with him that morning," Bill said, his voice wavering. "But I was sick. Maybe... maybe if I had gone with him–?"

She shook her head. "What happened wasn't your fault, Bill. No one could have predicted what happened, okay? It is not your fault,"

More silence.

"Do you miss him?" He said suddenly.

"I do. I miss him every single day. Sometimes I forget, even after all this time. I think that I'll come home and he'll be there, playing in the yard or with his toys, but," she took a breath. "It's always the same, he's still gone."

He nodded, knowing exactly how she felt.

She put a hand on his arm, nodding at the river. "Come on, it's time,"

They put the boats in the water, where they bobbed and spun in the current. Even from where they stood, Verity could still make out the writing on each one; SS. Georgie and SS. Isaac making their maiden voyage.

"D'you think they would've been friends?" Bill asked, watching them float away.

She smiled slightly, sniffing as she dragged a hand over her eyes. "Yeah," she said, looking out over the water. "Yeah, I think they would've."

◇

After the boats had disappeared around the bend in the river, Verity and Bill slowly made their way back to the meadow, telling stories about their brothers as they went.

Stan was sitting in the grass, waiting for them patiently. His head was wrapped in bandages, which covered his cheeks and hid some of his hair. A few curls spilled from underneath, and Verity could barely conceal her grin at the sight.

She waved, shielding her eyes against the sun's glare, then moved to sit beside him, blushing happily as he scooted closer, their legs touching.

The others arrived in twos and threes, until the eight of them were together once more, sitting comfortably in the grass.

Beverly spoke up, looking at each of them in turn. "Before you found me.. I can only remember parts but.. I thought I was dead. That's what it felt like."

Her friends listened gravely, not saying a word.

"I saw us, all of us together, back in the cistern. We were older, our parents ages."

"Am I still handsome as an adult?" Richie asked, pressing his hands to his cheeks and pulling a face.

She laughed slightly. "You grow into your looks."

He turned to Eddie, frowning. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"What about me?" Stan said, smiling shyly.

She paused. "Like now, but taller."

His smile widened adorably, and Verity had to fight the urge to pick up her camera and take his picture.

Bill furrowed his eyebrows.
"Wh-What were we all doing?"

"I just remember how we felt. How scared we were.." she trailed off. "I don't think I can ever forget that."

They fell silent, the only sound around them was the birdsong, soft and sweet.

Bill ducked down, plucking a shard of glass from their feet. He held it up, eyes glittering. "Swear it. S-Swear that, if It isn't dead, if It ever comes back, we'll come back too."

Bev got to her feet, her fiery hair glinting in the sun. Then Richie and Eddie, wearing an almost-identical look of determination. Verity looked at Stan, and he nodded, standing with her as the others followed.

Bill brought the razor-edge of the glass along his palm, face screwing up in pain.

Richie swore under his breath as Bill made the cut, putting a hand on Eddie's arm when it was the smaller boy's turn.

Mike winced, shaking his hand and hissing through his teeth.

Next, it was Verity's turn. She gasped as the cool glass bit into her flesh, blood welling from the cut almost instantly. She clutched her hand to her chest, her palm stinging.

She watched anxiously as Bill moved on to Stan. His face twisted in pain when the other boy made the cut, bright blood falling into the grass at their feet.

Bill moved on to Ben, then Beverly, eventually moving to stand in between Richie and Bev again.
He took their hands, and soon the others followed.

Verity took Mike's hand, then Stan's, her eyes closed against the bright sun.

As they stood all in a circle, hands joined under the cloudless September sky, they felt as though they had been disconnected from everything else; it was just them in the world. Even though the future was uncertain, they somehow knew that as long as they were together, they would pull through.

They had found something that Summer, something that was far bigger than any of them knew. They had stood against a great evil, fought it, and won.

Standing with her friends, Verity knew then that they were connected as one, part of something amazing and indescribable.

They broke the circle, and at once the feeling was gone, just as swiftly as it had come.

Verity looked at her friends, searching their faces to see if they had experienced the same feeling. She met Stan's gaze, then smiled as she realised that their hands were still joined.

"I gotta go," Stan said, his voice seeming louder in the quiet. He looked at them, suddenly stony-faced.
"I hate you."

They looked at him gravely, until he broke his composure, grinning.

He turned to Verity, his expression earnest. "You coming?"

"Of course," she said.

She glanced at the others, raising her eyebrows. "Well.. see you all soon?"

"Obviously, we're hardly gonna ditch you now, it's too late for that." Richie teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Well of course I'll be seeing you Rich, me and your mom have a date tomorrow night, don't you remember?"

"Shut up," He muttered.

Eddie cackled, his laughter ringing out around them, and Mike snorted.

Smirking, Verity gave them one final wave, before she and Stan began the journey home.

◇

"Hey, Stan?" She said after a while, slowing her pace.

"Hmm?"

The street was deserted, and the sun cast dappled light on the ground.

She took a breath. "I.. I listened to the mixtape–"

He opened his mouth, closing it as she held up her hand.

"–and it was, well it was beautiful, Stan. You chose some songs that I love, but also some new ones too. And then there were ones that made me realise something."

She thought of some of the songs in question, Put your head on my shoulder by Paul Anka, Just like heaven by The Cure, Crazy little thing called love by Queen.

"Ver?" He looked at her, his eyes wide.

"It made me realise that I like you, Stan. I like you a lot," She laughed shakily. "And I have since we were kids,"

He blinked, not saying anything.

"It's okay though," she said hurriedly. "Like it's okay if you don't feel the same, I'd–"

And then he was kissing her, his lips soft and tentative against hers. Verity stiffened in surprise, then leaned in slightly, closing her eyes. She reached up, running her hands through his curls; something she had wanted to do for years.

They broke apart, identical spots of colour burning in their cheeks.

"Um," she said, staring at him. "That was..."

He nodded, flustered. "Uh, yeah,"

There was a pause.

"So.. I'm taking this as a sign that you like me back?" She said slowly.

He nudged her, giving her his usual crooked smile. "Yeah Ver, I do."

Another pause.

"Wow." She blinked, "Call you later, then?"

His smile widened, and the butterflies in Verity's stomach spun and danced wildly.

"Call you later, Summers," he said, eyes sparkling happily, the look of pure happiness on his face mirroring her own.

Opening the front gate and practically skipping up the front path to her house, the girl stole one final glance at Stan, beginning to beam at the sight of him. He stood facing the street, punching the air and releasing a loud whoop of joy, completely oblivious to her gaze. 

"Dork," Verity said affectionately, rolling her eyes before going inside.