chapter five
jill vs. the homo sapiens agenda

☼ ☽

There were parts of herself that Jill hated; parts she couldn't even understand. She was a child born from flames, an unwieldy wrath burning through her viscera. Her hands were always clenched into fists, prepared to land a sucker punch on anyone who pushed her the wrong way. Her mother had seen this when she was a child. She even tried to have her talk to a therapist when she was around six, but Jill didn't want to talk. Yet, her mother didn't listen to the girl and instead of being an obedient child, Jill bit the therapist who was just trying to find the root of her anger. This, obviously, landed the Samsons in a small lawsuit.

Her father started to work more, oftentimes even sleeping in his cubicle so he wouldn't have to rush to the department every day. This was when he still worked for a company. It was before he got himself fired and he had to use his teaching degree to get a job at the elementary school; before Elizabeth Phenny left and became a memory.

Elizabeth was still there in ways Jill wished she wasn't, haunting her like a ghost. She wanted her mom back. She really just wanted her mom in the flesh not in some fucked up figment of her mind. But she understood why she left, she just wished it didn't hurt so much.

There were elements to Jill that her father had passed onto her—her anger, an incorrigible disease which plagued her mind. Though he didn't show it, David Samson was often plagued by the same disease he had passed onto his daughter. So Jill couldn't be mad at her mother for leaving when she understood the reason. After all, who would want to wait around and watch their daughter turn into the man they had grown to hate?

The whole thing just made Jill more angry. Sometimes she'd find herself refraining from punching a wall and other times she'd give in. Either way, it always ended in chaos. Except when Beverly was around. With Beverly, the air smelled better, almost clearer and everything seemed like it would turn out okay in the end. With Beverly, the world didn't seem so cruel.

Jill barely even remembered waking up that morning. It was just a blur of bliss and laughter as the two of them dressed for the day. No anger plagued her mind. Jill had to borrow some of Beverly's clothes—a second hand light blue dress that buttoned down the front. Jill hated dresses, but she didn't feel like sneaking back into her house. Plus, she liked the thought of wearing Beverly's clothes. Beverly was dressed in a patterned, off-white colored dress, and she looked great as usual.

The girls quickly snuck out the front door, grabbing snacks in the process so they wouldn't go hungry. Once the door closed behind them, they ran to their bikes, mounted them, and carried on down the road to the Quarry. The summer breeze felt deliciously tingly on Jill's skin as she zipped past Beverly, her laughter echoing through the air.

"Jill Samson, you come back here!" Bev shouted, peddling to the metal to catch up with her friend who was laughing hysterically.

The two arrived at the path to the Quarry, surrounded by tall trees and a windy summer breeze. Jill hopped off her bike, the smell of freshwater infiltrating her senses as she stared into the cluster of vibrant greens. The Quarry was nearby, probably just a few feet from where the girls stood, which made Jill's blood boil. Not a lot of people went to the Quarry, mostly because in the fifties a group of boys went there then the next day they were reported missing and their bodies were never found. That scared the town of Derry—the uncertainty of the unknown. However, Jill and Beverly had gone there many times since, but today they weren't alone. Today they had to deal with other people and Jill didn't know how to handle that along with trying to control her temper.

A strained sigh escaped her lips as she stared into the forest, trying to find the light at the end, but only darkness clouded her view. Her vision blurred and she could have sworn she saw someone in the shadows of the forest. "Jilly," a voice whispered her name. She glanced at Beverly, but the girl was too busy trying to get her bike to stand on its own. There was no way she could have called out to her. Her eyes snapped back to the forest, but nothing out of the ordinary stood out to her. The heat must have been getting to her, after all, it was awfully hot even for Jill, and she could take the heat, trust her.

The water was probably cold or at least chilled like a glass of water filled with ice. Sure, it was green and murky, but it was still cold and maybe the cool water would relieve her burning skin. She imagined as soon as the water engulfed her body, her skin would sizzle from the contact. The thought almost made Jill laugh.

"You ready?" Beverly asked, bringing the girl out of her trance. Her fave was rosy and graced with a charming smile. Even her hair looked more vibrant in the light. She really was the prettiest girl Jill had ever seen.

"Um . . . " Jill tried to think if she was prepared to deal with boys who probably didn't even wear deodorant for the rest of the day. The chime of church bells from the only church in all of Derry interrupted her thoughts, but it wasn't the tune that caught her attention. Along with the chime of the bells, she could hear the voices of the premature boys up ahead. Anger infiltrated Jill and she quickly regretted allowing Beverly to drag her there in the first place. A part of her had wished they had the time wrong which would leave them to swim alone, just the way Jill liked it.

"Maybe we should go back," Jill bitterly muttered.

"Come on, Jill," Beverly pleaded as if to say 'just try'.

Jill rolled her eyes and dropped her bike, starting to cross her arms but before she could, Beverly tugged on Jill's hand and ran. For a second, Jill forgot about the boys waiting for them, her focus was solely on the hand holding hers.

As the two approached the group, the boys stayed completely oblivious to the two girls behind them. Jill shook her head. Idiots.

Jill reluctantly detached herself from Beverly and stealthily stalked toward the group, more specifically, toward Richie Tozier. She had her sights on startling him the second his stocky figure came into view. He had his arms crossed over his chest as he shivered and dug the heel of his foot into the dirt. Jill almost laughed right then.

"Ah—ah—all right. Who's first?" Bill asked, turning his head to the side to glance at the rest of the group. He caught sight of Jill, who jabbed a finger at him, then drew her hand up to her throat, pretending to cut her neck.

Bill blinked, but he didn't say anything.

Jill smirked, complacently, then continued with her plan. One second she was creeping toward the kid, the next she was springing forward and pushing his shoulders. "Boo!" she shouted.

Richie screamed, jumping back from the girl with his hands stretched out to his sides. His eyes were wide and his mouth had fallen open as he stared at the girl in shock. That made Jill laugh. The look on his face was just too amusing not to. She glanced over her shoulder to see Beverly muffling a laugh.

When Jill calmed her laughter, she glanced up to see five pairs of eyes staring at her. "What the fuck are you looking at?" Jill spat, her brows raised high on her forehead. She took a glance at all their faces, halting when she came to Richie.

Richie looked much less terrified than he was a moment ago. His breathing had calmed and instead of a shocked expression on his face, he was smirking. "You know, you're lucky it's just you, sweet cheeks, otherwise I might have pushed you over the edge."

"If you did that, Rich, she might have hit her head and died," Stan chimed in, his lips pursed and brow raised. Eddie nodded his head in agreement, while Ben zoned out, staring at something behind Jill.

"Yeah, you would have killed me, dickweed!" Jill's face fell into a scowl. "Plus, you couldn't even attempt to do that," she spat, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm way stronger and taller than you."

Richie remained unfazed, opening his mouth to retort, but Beverly cut him off as she approached the group. "Shut up, you two. I think we'll jump first since you're all sissies." She smirked, looking at Jill.

Jill's heart raced. Beverly was looking at her, not the boys. Her eyes were only on her, and Jill adored it.

"Yeah, you guys are fuckin' pussies," Jill chimed in, but her eyes were trained on the ginger.

All the boys glanced at Jill then stared at Beverly, their eyes wide and mouths slightly agape as the ginger began to unbutton her dress, leaving her in nothing but a white bra and underwear. Jill couldn't help but stare at the redhead, she was just so beautiful and it didn't help when the ginger flashed her friend a charming smile and held out her hand. There were butterflies in her stomach—pesky, stupid butterflies. Jill had forgotten about the boys' presence and longing stares as she shoved off her own dress which left her in her yellow undergarments.

Jill gave Beverly a small bashful smile and attempted to grasp her hand, but the redhead took off instead with chaotic laughter escaping her lips. She jumped from the cliff and plunged into the murky green water below.

"Cheater! You didn't even say go!" Jill yelled, chasing after the ginger and jumping off the cliff after her. She bellowed out a scream as she fell, the water forging a way for her body as she expelled into its depths. Her breath was knocked out of her, making it hard to hold air. She resurfaced a second later, gasping for air as she wiped her face. A wide grin presented itself on her face as she tilted her head back and laughed. She angled her head to the side, meeting Beverly's awaiting gaze—she looked more ethereal with sun rays beaming down on her.

"What the fuck!" Richie expressed, his voice like an echo. Jill ignored him. Actually, she didn't even hear him because all she saw was Beverly, all she heard was the melodic chime of her laughter, all she smelled was her scent of honey and cigarettes, all she knew was Beverly.

Her trance was broken when one by one the boys dived into the water, their masses creating waves. A wave smacked Jill in the back of the head, forcing her body farther away from Beverly. She whipped her head at the group of boys and glared. Bill met her gaze first and she could have sworn his eyes widened before he whipped his head around and splashed Stan. Stan sent him an unamused look then splashed him back. Jill rolled her eyes. Whatever. It didn't matter what she did at that point. She could glare at them all she wanted, but they'd be too busy splashing each other to even notice.

Jill grumbled, turning back to face Beverly, only to be met with a splash of water hitting her face. "You didn't," she scoffed, clicking her tongue.

Beverly laughed more, throwing her head back and bellowing out a loud cackle. Jill couldn't help but laugh as well and she splashed Beverly back. Beverly let out a small squeak and soon the two were splashing each other back and forth.

"Guys!" Richie called out to them, waving his hand in the air. "You guys have to come here!" He looked stupid, but then again, he always did.

"Why?" Jill grumbled. She'd be crossing her arms if she weren't trying to stay afloat.

"We found a turtle," Stan clarified, a gleeful smile stretched across his face. That was one of the first times Jill had ever seen him smile. Odd.

Jill didn't move. She didn't want to. She wanted to stay there with Beverly away from the boys. But apparently she didn't have a choice in the matter since one second she was glaring at the boys then the next a hand had slipped into hers and tugged her in the direction of the group.

Jill snapped her eyes at Beverly who smiled at her. "Come on," Beverly said, softly, nodding her head in the direction of the group. Jill obviously complied, because who could say no to that face?

"Ow! It bit me!" Richie whined, reaching down to rub his foot.

Jill snorted. "That's what you get for being annoying," she retorted, a smug smirk on her face. "Maybe you shouldn't have bugged the poor thing." She squinted to see what had bit the annoying boy, but the water was too dark to see through. "What did you say it was again?"

"A turtle," Stan said before he dove into the water to get a closer look at the animal.

Jill's brown eyes widened and her face filled with childlike joy. "Really?" she asked, her voice light and airy. The anger was gone with the mention of the creature. She hadn't heard Stan before when he mentioned what they had found—the anger had plugged her ears, but now that she knew, she couldn't help the smile which lifted onto her face.

Here was the deal with Jill Samson: she didn't like many things. She hated walking in the rain—it smelled weird and the drops of water pelting her skin made her itchy. And she absolutely despised boys and everything that came with them. But there was one thing Jill loved other than her best friend, Beverly, and that was turtles. At home, she had like a kazillon stuffed turtles that she had bought. Every time she walked into a store and saw a stuffed animal resembling a turtle, she'd buy it. She remembered even asking for a real one when she was little, but her parents didn't have enough money to support an animal as far stretched as a turtle. They offered to buy her a dog, but Jill didn't want a dog or even a cat, she wanted a turtle. Turtles were interesting creatures. Jill wished everyone else could see that.

"Richie's probably got salmonella now," Eddie commented with a grimace as Jill approached the boys and began her search for the turtle.

"Really?" Richie smirked, his lips stretched in a way that gave Jill the creeps. "Give me a hug, Eds." He swam toward Eddie with open arms.

"No, ew." Eddie retaliated by splashing the boy with water and frantically backing away from him. "You're diseased . . . mentally and physically!" His splashes got out of control and he accidentally sent a wave in Bill's direction who responded by splashing Eddie repeatedly. However, Eddie dodged the last splash and instead it claimed another victim—Ben. Ben looked dazed and awfully quiet, but then again he was never one for words. He still managed to land a few splashes of water onto Bill. And soon, they were all engrossed in a water fight. Even Beverly had joined in, but Stan stayed out of it and instead dove under the water. Either he was looking for the turtle or trying to drown himself. Jill couldn't even blame him if the latter were true.

Jill exhaled, shaking her head as she stared into the murky water. She could barely see her feet kicking below, trying to keep her above water. From where she resided, she could have stood and still been a few inches above the water due to her tall stature, but she didn't feel like being a freak by towering over the boys. She wanted to punch herself. Why did she care what they thought of her? She inhaled deeply and held her breath before she sunk into the water, letting it consume her long limbs.

The world faded away as Jill sunk further into the water. She used to do this thing as a child where she'd try to sink to the bottom of the pool and lay down on the floor. It used to be comforting. The world would just go away for a minute and everything would be muffled, almost serene. But Jill was sure if she tried that tactic now, she would have drowned. Instead, she forced her eyes open, ignoring the burning sensation caused by the dirty water.

The darkness of the Quarry engulfed her vision as she looked around to find anything recognizable. Everything seemed so much smaller when she was underwater like the world wasn't so big and scary, because maybe it wasn't, maybe it was just a mystery waiting to be discovered, not something to be feared.

Jill kicked off a rock, maneuvering her body so she could search for the turtle without interfering with the group creating a ruckus above her. She glanced around, briefly catching sight of Stan who was also underwater. He sent her a small wave, then pointed behind her. Jill turned around, half-expecting to see a shark heading her way (a stupid thought, she knew), but instead, she saw the turtle swimming against the current.

Stan swam past her, before breaking the threshold of the surface water so he could catch his breath. Jill followed after him, inhaling clean air into her lungs before she immersed herself into the water and swam closer toward the turtle. Stan followed after her.

The turtle had swam out of the way of the group and settled on a rock. The two kids swam toward it, clinging onto a part of the rock so they wouldn't float to the surface. Jill observed the turtle as it sat in peace. Scars were carved into its shell and a part of its foot was missing almost as if another animal had taken a bite out of it. Jill wanted to touch it, but she refrained and settled for observing it. Stan did the same.

When her lungs began to burn from the lack of oxygen, Jill swam to the surface, inhaling deeply. Stan resurfaced a second later, gasping for air. Jill observed him as he wiped the water droplets from his face and combed his fingers through his curly hair. He had a big forehead, Jill concluded, but he wasn't nearly as odd looking as most of the male population.

"So . . . you like turtles?" Jill asked, awkwardly. She figured she'd try to make small talk, after all, it wasn't like she could escape them.

"Yeah, I guess they're cool," Stan replied, the muscles in his face tense. "But I like birds more."

Jill raised her brows. "Oh, birds . . . uh . . . do they do anything cool?" Really, Jill? Do they do anything cool? She really was out of her game, but don't blame her, it wasn't like she went out of her way to talk to people every day. Actually, she couldn't remember the last time she talked to somebody other than Beverly, unless you counted the awkward exchanges between her and her peers in school.

"There are so many different types of birds to generalize them like that," Stanley explained, his brows furrowed, but his face had softened and was no longer as tense as it had been a few seconds ago. "But if you're looking for specifics, the Heron's pretty cool."

"Oh, what does it do?"

"Well, they have a rather odd appetite," Stan said in a low pleasant voice as a smile stretched onto his face. "They'd probably eat you or me if they could."

Jill stayed solemn, racking her brain for understanding. Then it hit her. Oh, he was making a joke. Laugh, Jill, laugh. Jill managed a pathetic strangled laugh. Not like that, idiot. Change the subject. Now. "So how long have you known the others?" she asked, her voice abrupt.

"Since we were kids," Stan replied. "What about you and Beverly?"

Jill smiled at the mention of her name. "Ever since I moved here." Her brown eyes searched the group who had gone on to play a game of Chicken Fight, and they landed on Beverly, who was preoccupied with pushing Richie off Ben's shoulders. She was sitting on none other than Bill Denbrough. Jill felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Stan asked from beside her.

Jill nodded in response.

"You know, Bill says you're scary, but you're not that bad," the boy remarked. "You remind me of a turtle."

Jill turned to him with a scowl on her face. "Uh . . . thanks?"

"You're welcome."

Jill glanced back at the group just in time to see Beverly push Richie over. The boy fell, the water claiming his body as Beverly and Bill cheered in victory. Bill stretched out his hand to give Beverly a high-five and that was all it took for Jill's final thread to snap.

"Hey, Stan," Jill muttered, her face grim, "wanna join the game?"

Stan glanced between Jill and the group, his brown eyes wide with wonder. "Uh . . . sure."

Jill smiled, complacently. "Good." She grasped his arm and pulled him toward the group. "Hey, can we play?"

The group turned to look at the two preteens who had decided to join the commotion. Beverly had a smile on her face and Jill knew why. She thought Jill was finally accepting it all and actually wanted to become friends with the group, but she had no idea what Jill's motives were.

"Uh . . . sh-sh-sure, you guys cah-cah-can play," Bill said, offering a smile. "How about you and St-St-Stan versus Bev—"

"No," Jill cut him off, "me and Stan versus you and Rich."

"Oh," Bill uttered, his face paling.

Jill smirked. "Oh."

The two stared at each other, Jill glaring at Bill as the boy tried to avoid eye-contact. No one moved until Stan took initiative and dove under the water, grasping onto Jill's thighs to stabilize her on his shoulders. She didn't like the way his fingers felt on her skin, but she refrained from slapping them away in fear she'd be chucked into the water. Richie did the same to Bill and the bloodbath commenced.

"You look pale, hot stuff," Richie remarked, peering up at Jill. "Want me to put some color back into your cheeks later?"

Jill clenched her jaw. "I will castrate you, dickweed."

Richie laughed, but he didn't have any time to retort because Jill already had her hands on Bill. She gave a harsh shove to Bill's shoulders, watching as the boy wobbled. She laughed, but before she could push him again, Bill shoved her hard. Jill faltered and Stan's grip on her thighs loosened, but she locked her feet behind his back so she wouldn't fall.

"Ow, Jill!" Stan groaned, touching his back with his hand.

"No!" Jill shouted. "Don't let go. We're going to win this, Stan!"

"I wouldn't be so cocky, sweet cheeks," Richie piped up, but his voice wavered. He was growing weak under Bill's weight.

Jill smirked. "Shut up!" She shoved her hands forward, giving Bill a hard shove. He faltered again, but didn't fall. Jill gave agroan of protest, but this time she didn't let herself get distracted, instead, she shoved the boy again, this time harder. Bill fell from Richie's shoulders, engulfed by the water. Richie pointed at the boy and laughed.

Stanley sunk under the water to let Jill climb off his shoulders. The girl used his shoulders to stabilize herself then tapped him so he knew he was in the clear to come up for air. "Suck it, Stenchbrough!" Jill shouted, smacking the water where Bill had disappeared.

Bill resurfaced, his face full of confusion. "Wha-what did you ca-call me?" he asked.

Jill's eyes widened when she realized her mistake, but honestly she didn't care if he knew she had nicknames for him. "Stenchbrough," she affirmed, smirking complacently. "By the way, you might want to invest in buying some mints." She waved a hand in front of her nose and pretended to gag.

Bill cupped a hand over his mouth and breathed into it, smelling it. Jill almost laughed. Oh, god, he really was an idiot. She would have continued bantering him, but instead something overcame her and she splashed him.

Bill looked up in shock. "Did yuh-you just . . . splash me?" he asked, his brows pinched together.

Jill lifted her brow, smugly. "Uh . . . no?"

A muscle in Bill's jaw twitched and he shoved water toward the girl, splashing her in the face. And because Jill's mouth was open from laughing, the dirty water went straight down her throat, throwing her into a coughing fit. As she coughed, she continued splashing Bill until the two of them were hitting each other with wave after wave of murky green water. It wasn't much longer before the rest of the group joined in with their splashes and in a matter of seconds, the whole group was splashing each other.

Pretty soon, Jill didn't even care who she was splashing. She had almost forgotten why she began to splash in the first place. All her hatred for the boys subsided in those few hours they spent in the water, at least for the time being. In those moments, she didn't care if Beverly was in love with Bill or anyone at all. She hadn't laughed that hard in a long time and for the first time in what seemed like forever, Jillian Samson felt happy . . . like a kid, not a broken girl fueled with hatred and anger.

────────────

Once everyone had calmed down, they dispersed across the Quarry. Some of the boys were still mildly splashing each other and laughing their asses off like there was no tomorrow. Eddie had gone to grab the sunscreen, claiming if he didn't lather his body in the milky-white lotion, he'd burn like a tomato and his mother would force him to go for a checkup. As he rubbed the lotion into his skin, Richie had snuck up behind him and in a split second, pushed him into the water despite his protests. The Tozier boy erupted into hysterics then plunged into the water after him. But it didn't end there.

Eddie sprung up from the water, gasping for air. He didn't even take a full breath of air before he started jabbing his arms at the boy and screaming. "Richie, you're an idiot!" he snapped, his mouth turned down into a scowl.

Richie stuck his tongue out. "Said the pot to the kettle." He grabbed the sunscreen floating in between them and swiped Eddie's nose with a glob of lotion.

The Kaspbrak boy grunted and flicked the sunscreen off his nose. "An idiot!"

Jill felt herself smile. They were still idiots, but at least they were somewhat amusing. She tilted her head back, letting her body follow in its lead so she was floating. A sigh escaped her lips as she stared at the clouds clustering the blue skies above. In the sky, the clouds inched closer together, creating a mirage brought to life before Jill's very eyes. She should have felt at peace, but the clouds wouldn't give her a rest, morphing into the shape of a clown head. It was smiling at her, or maybe it was more of a taunting smirk. She didn't know, but it made her blood run cold.

For some reason, the clown felt familiar like Jill had seen it before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It felt oddly similar to the smile photo-Beverly gave her before slitting her own throat.

Jill blinked, but the clown was still there when she opened her eyes. Odd.

She remembered reading about this one nuclear bomb detonating somewhere she forgot the name of and its explosion created a mushroom cloud in the shape of a clown. Maybe that was similar to the cloud hanging above her. She didn't know. And something told her she didn't want to find out.

"Hey," a soft voice interrupted her thoughts. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

Jill sprung from her spot, standing to her feet so her toes were bouncing on the surface of the slippery rocks below. She turned to see Beverly standing beside her, looking up at her with wide, curious eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked, furrowing her brows.

Beverly let out an amused laugh. "You're hiding under a bunch of rocks," she said, pointing to the archway of rocks shielding them from the sunlight and the group of boys.

Jill glanced up. Huh. She must have floated over there and not even realized it. But it wasn't like she cared anyway. The boys were over there somewhere doing their thing and Beverly was here with her. Beverly had come to find her. Jill smiled. Beverly had come to find her.

"I wasn't hiding. I was . . . " Jill trailed off, glancing up at the archway and digging her thumbnail into the ridges, "distracted."

Beverly raised a brow. "Uh-huh, distracted by what?" she asked as she shot out a hand to stabilize herself against the rocks. The redhead was only a mere five foot, so even standing on her toes, her chin barely passed the surface's threshold. Jill found this amusing. Call it height superiority or whatever, but Jill had more than a couple of inches on the redhead. Being one of the tallest girls in her grade sucked sometimes, but right now with Beverly staring up at her, she didn't care. It did, however, make her laugh.

"By your height, stumpy," Jill snorted.

"Shut it, Samson," Bev joked, holding out her arms to balance herself for support.

"I didn't say anything, peaches. Maybe grow a few inches," Jill poked fun, trying to hold a straight face, but she burst into a fit of giggles when she took a glance at Bev's unamused expression.

Bev couldn't help but smile as well. She rolled her eyes and shoved Jill's shoulders, but her actions backfired on her and her feet slipped on the slimy rocks below. She let out a small surprised shriek, expecting to fall face-first into the water, but warm hands caught her.

"I'd say I'm your knight in shining armor, but you don't need anyone to save you," Jill said as she helped Beverly to her feet. Her hands stayed on the redhead's freckled arms almost as if she were afraid to let go. Or maybe she just wanted to be ready if Beverly decided to fall again.

Beverly rolled her eyes. "Does that make me a princess?"

Jill smiled. "You're already a princess."

The two shared a laugh, but their chuckles died down once they noticed their proximity. Jill giggled nervously and gulped as her eyes trailed across Beverly's soft features. The sun was shining down on her pale complexion, making her freckles stand out more in the daylight; the sun always made Bev's beauty stand out above all. Jill tried to control her feelings, but she couldn't help glance her eyes down to Bev's rosy lips. They were parted slightly with a few water droplets dotting the rims, and despite Bev never using lip balm her entire life, her lips looked as soft as velvet. Jill couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to have Bev's velvety lips pressed softly against her own. Would there be fireworks like in the movies? It didn't matter because Jill was sure her heart would explode, anyway.

Beverly furrowed her brows, wondering what had caught Jill's attention. "Hello? Is anyone in there?" she asked as she tapped Jill's forehead for emphasis. "Are you okay?"

Jill snapped her eyes to Beverly's. "Uh, yeah . . . I just . . . if you knew doing something would make you so much happier, but you were afraid of what the outcome would be, would you still do it?"

The Marsh girl was silent for a while, biting her lip as she thought. "Depends . . . how badly do you want it?"

Jill's eyes softened. "More than anything."

"Then, do it," Beverly said with a laugh. "Fuck fear!"

"Right, " Jill grinned, "fuck fear."

Her hand shook as she detached it from Beverly's arm and inched her way to the girl's cheek, but just as she made contact, cold water drenched the two of them and they immediately split apart. The water forced Jill to float away from the red-haired preteen, causing her to release a groan of protest. She whipped her head at the culprit, shooting daggers at the son of a bitch. Once her foggy vision cleared, she saw none other than Bill Denbrough standing in the middle of the girls with a look of shock etched onto his face. Richie was cackling behind him as the other boys watched.

"Suh-suh-sorry Beverly and Jill," Bill muttered, a rosy tint to his cheeks. "Rich-Richie pushed me."

Beverly laughed it off. "Don't worry about it, Bill," she said, nonchalantly. "We're cool."

Jill scoffed. No, we certainly are not cool. Fuck you, Stenchbrough. Yeah, she was bitter, and could you blame her? There went Bill Denbrough ruining everything in her life once again. She hated him. She hated that he was the thing between them. She hated that she had to sit and watch the scene unfold in front of her as a fire ignited deep inside of her, turning her organs to ash.

"Erm, we're going to seh-seh-sit out if you guys wah-wanna' join," Bill offered with a smile. His eyes stayed on Beverly the entire time like he was fucking entranced or some shit. He didn't even so much as glance at Jill.

Fuck this. Fuck him, Jill decided as she trudged through the water and plopped down on a bed of rocks near the landing where the water touched the land. This was getting old and she just wanted to go home. She groaned and flopped down on her back, ignoring the pain which seared through her back from the rocks digging into her spine.

The entire group crawled out of the lukewarm water after the brunette. A few unlucky members had taken a trip to the top of the Quarry to gather everyone's belongings at the start of the day, so all the towels and sunscreen were already thrown sporadically across the landing. It was messy and unorganized but give them a break, they were just kids after all.

"Throw me a towel," Jill demanded as she reluctantly sat up straight. If there was one thing she hated more than Bill Denbrough, it was the feeling of water on her skin. She hated the way it made her itch.

Richie threw a towel her way, then plopped down beside her. "Hey, sweet thing," he said with a wink.

Jill groaned and continued drying off her skin. She wiped the water droplets from her face then attacked her hair, relentlessly rubbing the towel against her scalp. She wrapped the towel around her body because if she was being honest, she hated having her skin exposed especially in front of people. Yeah, she knew she was a cliche, but she didn't particularly like the way her stomach stuck out slightly when she sat down. She ignored those feelings and instead focused on her hair, deciding to tie it into a knot above her head with the scrunchie around her wrist. The hairstyle made her ears stick out slightly, but she decided she'd rather her ears stick out than have water dripping down her back.

The boys had all sat around her, drying themselves off. Richie had turned his attention to Eddie and begun to tease him about putting more sunscreen on. Ben sat on the ground next to Bill, but Jill barely even saw the Denbrough boy. As far as she was concerned, his face was nothing more than a target and she was in desperate need of some darts. As for Stan, he was seated on the opposite side of Jill, watching Richie and Eddie bicker with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Hey," Jill muttered to Stanley. She didn't know why she was acting somewhat nice to him, but maybe it had something to do with him also liking turtles.

Stanley's expression morphed into a small smile. "Hey."

At that moment, Beverly approached the group and situated herself on the ground to dry off in the sun. She shoved on some sunglasses that Jill had given her for her birthday last year, then turned on her back to face the sun. She draped one arm over her stomach and rested the other behind her head. Those little movements were enough to catch all the boys' and Jill's attention. Jill hated the fact that the boys were practically drooling over Beverly, but she couldn't even blame them. Even she couldn't tear her eyes from Beverly and her pale moon skin with constellations of freckles painting her body. Even as Beverly slowly turned to face the group, Jill didn't take her eyes off the redhead, instead, she gave a small smile and tried to hide her rosy cheeks with her hands.

Richie cleared his throat and shoved his large glasses up his nose. He grabbed Ben's backpack and sifted through it. "News flash, Ben, school's out for the summa'."

Jill rolled her eyes. Idiot.

"Oh," Ben replied, softly, "that's not school stuff." He attempted reaching for his belongings, but Richie pulled them closer to his person.

Richie halted digging, glancing up at Ben with a leathery grin. "What's this?" He pulled out a postcard, flipping it around. It had a lighthouse on the front and a few words etched onto the back. "Who sent you this?"

"No one," Ben immediately sputtered, snatching the postcard from the boy's fingers and shoving it into his backpack.

Richie shrugged and paid no mind to Ben's rosy cheeks. He dug deeper through the boy's bag again, pulling out a binder that must have been filled with thousands of pieces of paper. "What's with the history project?" he questioned, flipping through the binder, ignoring when a few papers went flying.

Jill furrowed her brows and leaned close enough to see the binder, but not close enough so she could smell the sweat perspiring from Richie's oily pores. She felt Stan lean over her shoulder, but she didn't mind his presence that much. She liked Stan. He was tolerable.

"Oh well, when I first moved here, I really didn't have anyone to hang out with so I just started spending time in the library," Ben explained, a slight cherry red tinge to his plump cheeks.

"Wait, you went to the library?" Richie asked, surprised. "On purpose?" He passed the binder down the line of people until it reached Bill and the boy started to flip through it with concentration etched onto his face.

Ben only looked at Richie like he had said the most ignorant words on the face of the planet. Jill couldn't help but smile. Ben was all right, too, she decided. He was quiet and Jill liked it when boys weren't overly boisterous.

"I wanna see," Beverly exclaimed, standing up and walking over to get a closer look. She squished herself in between a rock and Bill. Bill smiled and Jill scowled.

Fuck Bill. Jill clenched her teeth and huffed out a heavy breath, closing her eyes tightly as she tried not to show how much Bill irritated her. Her chest tightened and her heart fell to the pit of her stomach as she watched Beverly lean closer to Bill and peer over his shoulder. Bill turned to look at the redhead, admiration in his eyes as he slightly smiled. Beverly connected her gaze with his, but she didn't smile, she only observed the boy.

"Yuh-yuh-your hair . . . " Bill trailed off, offering a wobbly smile.

Beverly turned a light shade of pink and smiled. Jill grumbled, remembering their talk last night about her hair. She knew the boys would like it. How could they not? This was Beverly Marsh . . . everything looked better on her.

"Your hair is totally bitchin'," Jill blurted out.

Beverly glanced up at Jill and gave her one of her charming smiles, the corners of her eyes crinkling at the edges as she continued to grin. "Thanks, Jill," she said, tucking a strand of her orange hair behind her ear.

Jill smirked to herself, but then she made eye contact with Bill's bitter face and instantly her smile fell. She held his gaze and narrowed her eyes at him, not breaking eye contact and crossing her arms over her chest. Bill tried to keep her intense gaze, but he crumbled under her glare and sheepishly averted his eyes.

"Here, pass it," Richie ordered and Bill handed the binder to him. "Why's it all murders and missing kids?"

Richie inspected the binder for a few more seconds, then he passed it to Jill. Jill and Stan ran their eyes over the pages and observed the new information. Jill turned the page and her heart dropped. In the middle of the page, there was a drawing of a boy smiling next to a corpse. The smile reminded her of photo-Beverly from her nightmare which didn't make any sense, but it felt right.

"You okay?" Stan asked from beside her.

Jill nodded, absentmindedly. "Yeah."

Ben sighed, drawing Jill's attention to him. "Derry's not like any town I've ever been in before." All eyes were on him now and Jill swore she could hear their hearts beating to the same fast-paced rhythm. "They did a study once, it turns out people die or disappear six times the national average."

"You read that?" Beverly pondered, a slight undertone of fear dripping from her voice.

"Not just grown-ups. Kids are like worse. Way, way worse," Ben said, solemnly.

Jill wondered what would happen if she went missing. Would her mother come back? Would she cry? Would she even care? God, her life would have been so much better if Elizabeth Phenny had just taken her daughter with her instead of leaving her with her insolent father in this cursed town.

"I've got more stuff," Ben interrupted her thoughts, and all eyes were on him again, " . . . if you guys want to see it."

Eddie shook his head hastily, but no one paid him any attention. Jill shook her head as well, already tired of the day. She wanted to go home. Fucking hell, she wanted to go home so bad. Fuck this shit, and fuck Derry. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Fuck this.

"I'll come," Beverly offered, standing to her feet.

A chorus of agreement encircled the group as everyone began packing up their belongings and following after Bill who had already started to make his way up the path to their bikes. Of course, he was the one in front. He always had to be the leader. Jill reluctantly stood up and put on her dress, buttoning it until it stopped just below her collarbone. She quickly followed after the group, catching up to Stanley who had (maybe?) waited for her.

"What the fuck are we doing?" Jill asked, sending a glance Stanley's way.

Stanley shrugged. "Learning."

"Great, let's learn about how fucked up our town is," Jill groaned. "What could possibly go wrong?"

a/n: i think we can all agree jill's obsession w/ turtles

also yes, you will see lots of hints at reddie in this fic because they are canon and v  valid. thanks.

n e wayz, i had some extra time to write this so yeah!! this is honestly one of my favorite chapters mostly because stan & jill are kinda a cute brotp! also jill being a bitch to bill is highkey funny in this chapter.

as always, thanks for reading!