Chapter Ten:
"Happy Fourth, Time To Die!"
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"Okay, okay, okay." Heather breathed out, placing the sewing needle against the skin of her nose. "Holy shit."

"Do it!" Mike encouraged, Beverly nodded excitedly beside him. "Do it!"

Heather took a deep breath and started moving back and forth to get herself ready. She took a deep breath before speaking, "Let's do this, baby."

A short scream ripped from Heather's throat as she shoved the needle through her nose. Beverly winced from her seat on the bed. Mike cringed and looked away. "Ow! Fuck! Shit! Fuck Ow! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"Okay, okay, okay, maybe a bad idea. But you're gonna look so hot." Beverly complimented with a wink.

Mike nodded in agreement, "It'll look so great once all the.. blood.. is, well, um, gone.."

"Bill won't know what to do with himself." Beverly teased, poking her in the stomach. Heather jumped giggling.

"Oh, you're ticklish!" Mike exclaimed, poking her in the stomach. "Ha!"

"Bill's gonna have a lot of fun with that." Beverly laughed, "If you know what I mean. Wait.. ew, I don't wanna think about that."

"Oh, whatever!" Heather rolled her eyes, though she couldn't stop the blush from forming on her cheeks. "That's-"

"You're blushing!" Mike pointed out, a grin on his face. "I knew it. You like him!"

"Shut up! I am not and I do not!" Heather pointed at him. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I think I do." Mike nodded, crossing his arms. "And I'm all knowing, obviously."

"And I definitely do. Because I'm even more all knowing." Beverly agreed, "You're so hot, he won't know what to do and he will probably pass out from your sheer hotness."

Heather rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Whatever. You guys are so unbelievable!"

"Whatever twice." Mike pointed out, "We know what that means."

"You so have the hots for Bill!" Beverly laughed, throwing a pillow at Heather. "Just tell him!"

Heather caught it and tossed it back to her. "I don't like Bill."

Mike and Beverly shared a knowing look before Mike spoke, "And I'm white."

"What?" Heather pressed the cotton ball to her nose, staring at them from the mirror

"We're saying things that aren't true." Beverly pointed out, standing up and placing her hands on Heather's shoulders. "Because you apparently don't know what truth is."

Heather glanced at her in the mirror, "I don't like him."

Mike rose his eyebrows, also standing and facing her. He picked up one of her earrings and handed it to her.

"This one's gonna work." He handed her the small jewel, "You'll look real pretty."

"Thanks, Mike." Heather smiled, taking the jewel from his hands.

"And now, it's time for you to admit it." Beverly said as she took the cotton ball from her nose.

"Admit what?" Heather shook her head, "That I like Bill? Because I don't."

Beverly sighed, tossing the cotton ball in the trash can. "Just admit it!"

Heather sanitized the earring before pushing it through the hole she made in her nose, wincing slightly.

"Fine!" Heather groaned, slamming her hands onto her vanity, "Maybe I have a small crush on him. A small one!"

"Yes!" Mike shouted, "I could see it after the rock war."

Beverly nodded, "You should've seen how he was looking at you."

"And how you were looking at him." Mike pointed to her, "You're so in love."

"So in love it's sickening." Beverly giggled, slipping an arm around her.

Heather rolled her eyes, pulling down her tanktop a bit. "We are not."

"And how he softly touched you there." Mike poked the scar from where the rock hit her. "He was so careful with you."

"He's so in love." Beverly nodded, spinning Heather around to face her.

"And so are you." Mike finished for Beverly.

"If you say so." Heather chuckled, shaking her head. "If you say so."

~~

Heather walked up, taking a sip of her blue raspberry slushee. "Bill, I got you a slushee. It's your favorite!"

She shook the cup, the purple slushee sloshing around in the cup. She raised the straw to her lips, taking a sip to taste his drink.

He smiled, his face reddening, not yet looking at her new nose ring, taking the cup from her hand, "Th-Th-Thanks, Hez."

When his eyes finally fell on the piercing he swallowed thickly.

"Wowza! Hezza, you're lookin' hot as fuck!" Richie whistled, sliding an arm around her shoulders. "I love a girl in leather, wow-ow-wie."

Heather rolled her eyes, shaking her head at him. "Thanks, trashmouth."

"She already knows that, Richie." Beverly said, crossing her arms and raising a brow.

"I-I, uh," Bill cleared his throat. "I-I-"

"It's cool." Stan interrupted, "Really cool."

Ben smiled, "Yeah! It suits you a lot. It's really, really cool."

"I hope you were careful! You could get an infection and then you'd half to get your nose amputated and then you'd look- You know what? I want ice cream." He left quickly to go get his vanilla ice cream.

Bill glared at them briefly before speaking again, "I-I li-like it a l-l-l-l-lot. Yo-You look s-s-so b-ba-badass."

Heather laughed, blushing and shrugging off Richie's arm, though it did go right back around her. "Thanks, Bill."

He smiled to himself and cleared his throat, looking away.

Heather turned to Richie, his arm falling off again. "You know, I think  you'd look really good with a piercing. Hm. Maybe your lip?"

Richie smirked, licking his lips as he leaned closer to her. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Heather leaned forward, crossing her arms, "I think you'd look hot. I'd also like it if you'd shut the fuck up."

Richie's mouth fell open as he looked away, "O-Oh, thanks, Hezza."

Bill watched in jealousy, pursing his lips, in order to change the subject he pointed at a missing person's poster on the wall.

"Th-They s-s-s-say they found p-pa-part of his arm all ch-chewed up on the stan-standpipe." Bill spoke, gaining Heather's attention from Richie.

"He asked to borrow a pencil once.." Ben mumbled to himself.

"I cheated off him in math." Heather sighed, crossing her arms.

Bill turned to look at her, "M-Me too."

Heather grinned, licking her teeth, "No, you didn't."

"N-No, I didn't." Bill blushed, biting his lip nervously.

Beverly nudged Heather with a wink. Heather, in response, rolled her eyes but couldn't help but turn red.

"It's like s-she was f-fo-forg-gotten.. ever since he went missing." Bill said, taking a sip of his slushee.

"Is it ever gonna end?"

"Probably." Heather shrugged, "Unless we all die first."

Ben gave her a look before speaking, "I actually think it will.. for a bit, at least."

"What're you guys talkin' about?" Eddie asked, appearing with the ice cream.

"What they always talk about." Richie replied, taking the ice cream from Eddie's hand.

"What do you mean? It'll stop?" Beverly asked, tilting her head.

Without thinking, Heather reached up and brushed the hair out of her eyes before taking another sip of her slushee.

"Well, I did the math, unlike you-"

"Okay, one, rude. Two, fair." Heather nodded, finishing off her slushee.

"Anyways, I was doing the math and I charted all of the big events.. the ironworks explosion in 1908, the Bradley gang in '35, the blackspot in '62.. and now, with all the kids going missing, I realized that this happens.." Ben explained, solemnly before being cut off by Bill.

"Ev-Every twenty-seven y-y-ye-years.." He glanced over at Heather, worry etched on his face.

"Yeesh, that's like saying 'Happy fourth, time to die!' right?"

Bill laughed, sending butterflies through Heather's stomach.

Maybe it's a little more than just a small crush.

Well, shit.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

{ Word Count: 1343 }

{ A/n: I'm so excited to write the next chapter! There's so much beather content in it!! }

{ Edited: Briefly? }