I stood next to Richie in the water, ignoring the unshameful glances he took at my body. Eddie and Stan were splashing each other and Bill and Beverly were standing on the opposite side to us. I watched as Bill looked nervously at Beverly and how he looked away quickly when she caught him staring.

I felt a tightening in my stomach at the interaction but pushed it away. I had no right to feel this way - I had a date with Patrick tonight.

I noticed Ben looking at Beverly sadly and I felt a strong feeling of sympathy towards him. His feelings towards Beverly were so obvious it was painful to think about.

I took out the hair-ties at the bottom of my braids and combed through my wet hair. I dove down under the water and resurfaced, smoothing my hair back and drawing the attention of Stan and Eddie.

"I'm tired of swimming. Do you guys wanna relax for a little while?" I asked and everyone nodded. We started swimming towards the cliff before Eddie stopped us, suddenly screaming and splashing around in the water.

"Argh! Something touched me!" he yelled, swimming towards Richie and using him as a shield.

"What? Where?" Stan asked, peering at the water fearfully.

Bill dove underwater and came back up with a look of awe on his face. "It's a turtle."

"What?" Richie asked, pushing up his glasses.

"A turtle, right by Lara's leg." he replied. I brought my face to the water and peered down, seeing a flash of green swim in front of me. I reached out to touch it but suddenly it was gone.

A wave of otherworldly energy surged through me and I felt His knowing gaze guiding the minds of me and my friends.

- - -

"I can't believe you were freaked out by a turtle." Richie snickered as we sat down on the rocks. Ben turned on the radio and 'Bust A Move' invaded my ear drums. I stood up and started wiggling my hips goofily to the music.

"I wasn't freaked out!" Eddie replied, blushing a shade of pink. He spotted me dancing and made a face. "Oh my god, what the heck are you doing?"

"Busting a move." I winked and started wipping my hair about. Stan shook his head and I started giggling, unable to dance any longer. After Eddie's fit of laughter, we laid our towels on the ground and lied down. Beverly put on her sunglasses and I closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

After a while, I noticed that the boys were unusually quiet. I opened my eyes slightly to see all of their eyes glued on Beverly and I's bodies, their faces matching expressions of avidity. I sat up quickly, covering myself, and instantaneously they looked away. Bill faked a yawn and Richie digging around in Ben's backpack with pretend interest. Beverly noticed the sudden movement and sat up also, looking around confused.

"News flash Ben, school's out for summa'!" Richie joked as he flipped through the contents.

"Oh, that's not school stuff." Ben replied, trying to take his bag away from him, but not before Richie managed to grab a postcard.

"Who sent you this?" he asked, his enlarged eyes filled with glee.

"No one!" Ben replied hastily, snatching it back and stuffing it into his bag. "No one."

Richie, not letting up, picked up a book from the bag and opened it, examining it for a few seconds with a confused look on his face.

"What's with the history project?" he asked, turning it so we could see the pages filled with old newspaper articles and photographs.

"Oh, well..." Ben started, his face turning red. "When I first moved here I didn't really, you know, have anyone to hang out with. So I just started spending time in the library."

Bill took the book from Richie's hands and flipped through it with interest. I admired the concentration in his eyes as he scanned the pages intently and I felt Beverly nudge my shoulder lightly. I turned to see her with a raised eyebrow and knowing expression. She had noticed.

"You went to the library?" Richie asked incredulously. "On purpose?"

Beverly looked away from me and stood up. "Ooh, I wanna see." Bill scooted over and made room for her and she sat down next to him graciously, the boys' eyes following her every move. She looked over Bill's shoulder with her face remarkably close to his and I glanced away, biting my lip.

"What's the Black Spot?" Stan asked.

"The Black Spot was a nightclub that was burned down years ago by that racist cult." Eddie replied.

"The what?" Stan asked.

"Don't you watch Geraldo?" Eddie said dubiously.

"Y-y-y-your hair.." Bill started, looking at Beverly. I felt my chest tighten and I had to look away, hating myself for it.

"Your hair looks beautiful, Beverly." I heard Ben say. I smiled inwardly at him.

"Oh, hey, thanks." I heard Beverly reply. I traced my name into the thin layer of dirt.

"Give it here." Richie said and I heard the rustle of papers as the book was passed over. "Why's it all murders and missing kids?"

"Derry's not like any town I've ever been in before." Ben replied. "They did a study once and it turns out people die or disappear six times the national average." I felt a shiver go down my spine.

"You read that?" Beverly asked.

"And that's just grownups." Ben continued. "Kids are worse, way, way worse." I looked down to see I had traced Patrick's name under mine and I hastily brushed it away.

"I've got more stuff, if you want to see it?" Ben offered. I looked up to see Eddie shaking his head.

"Heck yeah, let's do it." Richie said, standing up. "Uh, not that I'm interested in this nerdy stuff or anything." I rolled my eyes and stood up with him, brushing dirt off my legs.

- - -

We rode down the streets of Derry in one big group, looking rather unusual for anybody who saw us. I had my arms wrapped tightly around Bill's waist and I could feel Beverly's gaze burning into the back of my skull.

We turned a corner and Ben pulled over in front of a relatively small suburban house. I peeled myself from Bill and hopped onto the ground as everyone dumped their bikes on the lawn. I watched with amusement as Stan took the time to make sure his bike remained standing.

"Nice place, Haystack. Reminds me of my grandparent's." Richie commented as we piled through the front door. I looked around his house, noticing a thin lady standing in the kitchen.

"Who are these people, Ben?" she chirped, making her way over to us while stirring a bowl of brown batter. I saw no resemblance in her face to Ben's.

"Oh, these are my friends. We're just going to be in my room." Ben said and rushed up the stairs. I shrugged and followed him up, hearing the loud footsteps of everyone else behind me. A door slammed as I entered his bedroom and noticed Ben leaning awkwardly against his wardrobe. I gave him an odd look and he blushed.

"Yeah, I heard he has a rollercoaster and a pet chimp and like an old guy's fucking bones." Richie said from behind me. He and the rest of the Losers fell silent as they walked into the room. Clippings of newspaper articles dating back as far as a hundred years ago adorned the walls, along with aged photographs and maps.

"Woah, woah, woah.." Richie murmured as he walked over to one of the walls, pushing up his spectacles. "Wow!"

"Cool, huh?" Ben said, grinning as he watched us admire his room.

"No, no, nothing cool." Richie joked. I walked over to Stan who was looking at an article titled 'Derry Easter Explosion'.

"Oh, this is cool!" Richie pointed towards photographs of Derry. "Right here, wait, no. No it's not. It's not cool."

Stan moved away from the articles and towards Richie. "What's that?"

"Oh, that?" Ben asked, looking at the document Stan was pointing at. "That's the charter for Derry Township."

"Nerd alert." Richie joked.

"No, actually, it's really interesting. Derry started as a beaver trapping camp." Ben replied.

"Still is, am I right boys?" Richie said, holding his arm up for a high five. Eddie and Stan ignored it.

"Go home, Trashmouth." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Ninety-one people signed the charter that made Derry. But later that winter, they all disappeared without a trace." Ben told us, and I walked over to Beverly who was standing by the door.

"The entire camp?" Eddie asked disbelievingly.

"There are rumours of Indians, but no sign of an attack. Everybody just thought it was a plague or something. But it's like, one day everybody just woke up and left. The only clue was a trail of bloody clothes leading to the well house." Ben informed him.

I peeked behind the bedroom door, seeing a large poster pasted on it. I nudged Beverly, and she grinned when she saw it.

"Jesus, we can get Derry on Unsolved Mysteries!" Richie exclaimed as Beverly pushed the door closed, the loud creaking sound causing Ben to swivel around. He noticed the New Kids on the Block poster and the grins on our faces. Silently pleading for us to stay quiet, we giggled and swung the door back open.

"Where is the well house?" Bill asked.

"I don't know. Somewhere in town, I guess." Ben responded helpfully. "Why?"

"Nothing." Bill murmured quietly, his gaze fixed on the posters of missing kids on the wall. We all piled out of the room, Ben making sure everyone was out before closing his door carefully.

"I think I've had enough of a history lesson for one day." I murmured to Beverly as we walked down the stairs. She covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.