Disclaimer: I do not own IT or any of the characters. That all belongs to the awesome and talented Stephen King. I only own my OC and other characters I make up along the way.

A/N: A lots happened since I last updated. I finally got a new job and have been working there for a few weeks now. It's been going well but I still have the new hired jitters. I just need more time to feel as if I belong there. My dog also passed away during this time of absence :/ which sucked because my family and I had her since 2012. It's still weird not having in the house because I miss seeing her sitting in the living couch or coming into my room to jump on my bed. The house is definitely lonely without her. I at least have the reassurance that she's resting and not in anymore pain.

R.I.P. Lupita, you were a great dog.

Anyways, I'll move on since I don't want to depress anyone anymore. I hope this chapter lifts your guys spirits. It was rather fun to write this chapter because we get the club house flashback scene. I can't begin to tell you guys just how much I missed writing younger Gwen and the rest of the young Losers. It really made me reminisce to the time I wrote the IT:Chapter One part for this story. I was still in college and now I'm not. I can't believe it's already been three years. Where did the time go? It's weird I tell you. But anyways, enjoy the fluff and humor in this chapter because the next few chapters are going to be intense, especially when I get into Gwen's personal encounter with IT. I am excited yet anxious to write that particular scene.

Just bask in the happiness while it lasts.

BTW, have you guys watched the show I Am Not Okay With This on Netflix? I did. I actually binged watched it all in one day and I loved it. The whole cast did an amazing job, and with the way the show ended I need a seasons two...I mean, the last episode was mind blowing xP. I recommend you guys give it a watch.

Also, I don't own any of the movies or music mentioned in this chapter. Though they were fun to mention! Where are my 80s movies/music lovers at?

I'll fix any spelling errors later!

"Back on its golden hinges the gate of Memory swings, and my heart goes into the garden and walks with the olden things."― Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Chapter 35: The clubhouse

If Gwen was asked just how many men she'd been with over the years, she wouldn't know the exact number. In fact, she wouldn't even be able to say how many men she'd awoken naked next to in bed after a night of drinking and partying. All she knew was that with her experience the number of hookups definitely went into the double digits.

A part of her always dreaded waking up next to someone random after a night of drinking and scandalous acts. Yet another part of her wasn't quiet as bothered (or at least that's what she told herself), only that part wasn't as strong as it used to be. Maybe it was old age, but she no longer took any joy in the aftermath when it came to hookups.

Although to be fair, there really wasn't much joy to begin with...unless you counted being able to leave the next morning undetected. Gwen hated getting caught leaving after having sex because that often led to awkward conversations. Which then led to the question of...when will I see you again?

To which Gwen would give an off handed answer. The truth, however, was that she'd most likely wouldn't see them again...with the exception of Cole. He was the only one she would take to bed again and again without fully resenting herself. Not that having sex with Cole made her feel anybody better about herself...emotionally speaking that is.

So when Gwen woke up a few hours later, her breath hitched...and for good reason. She found herself in a familiar intimate situation again. Only it wasn't a random hookup, nor was she with Cole. Gwen also wasn't lying in bed naked, or hungover. Instead she was with Stan, and they were on the floor.

Strangely enough the floor felt as comfortable as being in a bed, but perhaps that had more to do with the fact that Gwen had awoken in Stan's arms. Her head was on his chest, and their legs were intertwined. Gwen didn't know this but both of them were actually quite comfortable even with their day clothes on. The position they were in also made it seem like they had been lovers for a while now. It was a natural position one could say.

Well, almost natural.

Unfortunately for Gwen now that she was up, it felt like she was about to do another walk of shame.

Gwen had done the walk of shame many times in her life but this one felt worse than any of the others. And once again there was a good reason for that. She had no idea how Stan was still soundly asleep (with that angelic face of his) but she took the opportunity to somehow look at his wedding ring. After she did this the familiar feeling of guilt returned. It also wasn't helping that Stan's free hand was wrapped around her waist in a gentle yet firm hold.

Now not only was her heart going berserk, but so were her thoughts.

He's a married man. He's a fuckin' married man and here I am cuddling with him. The fuck is wrong with me? When was the last time I cuddled with someone anyways?

Gwen tried to get it together, telling herself that it wasn't like she slept with him...well okay, she did but in that way. Not in the way she'd done it with Cole and her past hookups. No matter how much a huge part of her shamefully wanted to...a part she didn't want to fully take over her thoughts. The brief images she had about the two of them was enough for her finally pull away from Stan.

That was what woke Stan. The feeling of her no longer in his arms.

When he opened his eyes he saw how Gwen was already up on her feet, fixing her clothing back into place, as if something did happen between them. Stan felt his cheeks heat up. Despite waking up before her, Stan knew that she must have found the closeness between them to be surprising. It didn't surprise Stan but it did make him feel contentment right before the same guilt Gwen felt took over.

Patty and him had been sleeping in the same bed for years now but Stan never felt the same happiness for her like when he saw the flushed state Gwen was in. It'd been a long time since he felt that attraction towards his wife. Not that Patty was ugly because she wasn't. Even at the age of forty Patty still had that whole girl next door look. A nice look. Except as rude and horrible as it sounded Patty didn't hold a candle to Gwen.

One look around the room, and Stan saw how the other Losers were there. For a moment there he thought that it was just Gwen and him...but that wasn't the case. If they had been alone Stan would have definitely said something about their sleeping predicament. Except he didn't get the chance.

A single cough caught their attention.

Richie was standing by the doorway, not saying anything. There was, however, a grin on his face. The grin made Stan lower his gaze as he stood up and Gwen let out a small huff. The look her brother was throwing them was enough for her to feel both embarrassment and amusement. It was confusing to say the least. Leave it to her brother to try to make light of the situation.

The youngest Tozier wasn't the only one throwing amused looks their way. The other Losers would look at them two, hinting that they had seen the same thing Gwen had but were kind enough to spare them words. Smiles and low chuckles though were not spared their way. Although the awkwardness still lingered because of a certain wedding ring but a for moment there things seemed okay...and then the realization of what they needed to do came back to all of them.

And then they were off.

The Barrens.

That's where the Losers were heading. They had to walk through town bright and early in order to get there. Now Gwen couldn't fully say she disliked the journey to get to the Barrens.

As they made their way there it made her feel warm, welcomed. As if she were being accepted again. Yet there was another feeling there, it wasn't a strong feeling but it wouldn't go away. The same way the smell of coffee would invade ones kitchen when a fresh batch was made, and even after eating breakfast the smell remained. Only this feeling couldn't exactly be described like the smell of coffee because Gwen liked the smell of coffee and Gwen didn't really like this feeling she had. It was a sad one.

It was weird...to feel happy and sad at the same time.

As the journey continued it became clear that not all of her friends liked going through nature. Eddie, who had a major freak out when learning they had to cross a stream, ended up rolling his pants in order to not get them ruined. Needless to say that got a laugh out of Richie.

And Stan...well, Stan unlike Eddie didn't hate the nature part but that didn't stop him from pointing out anything that resembled poison ivy.

"Guys, I think that's poison Ivy." Stan told his friends as he pointed to a dark green looking plant with a frown. He did the same thing when he saw another dark green looking plant to the side of them. "That's poison ivy too."

"This one?" Eddie asked nervously. He made sure to put even more distance between him and said plant. Given everything that was happening, the last thing Eddie wanted was to step in some poison ivy. Not that he ever had, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Stan nodded his head.

Richie groaned at how silly he thought Eddie and Stan were being...Stan especially. "Not every fucking plant is poison ivy, Stanley!" After saying that the bespectacled man paused and made a face. "Wow, talk about dejavu."

Gwen who was behind Ben turned to look Stan, Eddie, and Richie. "I have a feeling that's gonna happen a lot from now on." She had said it so earnestly that the three men just nodded their heads. Stan's gaze lingered on Gwen though, but she said nothing as she faced forward again.

The group continued following Mike, making their way through the grassy field before they came to a stop. From the looks of it they were deep inside the Barrens now. Mike watched his friends with anticipation as they each looked around the area, hoping they would soon remember just how much they place meant to them as kids.

Thankfully it didn't take long.

"Holy shit, I can't believe we're here again." Gwen announced in amazement. She now knew just what the place was. Her reaction made Mike let out a breath of relief and then hearing the rest of them speak had him smiling.

"The Barrens." Beverly breathed out in joy. Her blue greenish eyes shined as she looked around.

Ben appeared just as delighted as Beverly and Gwen. "This is where we came...after the rock fight. All eight of us."

"After the group was completed." Gwen added as she looked at all her friends. "I remember that now."

Richie's eyes behind his glasses brightened up. "The clubhouse!" He exclaimed. The memories of his friends and him hanging out in the clubhouse were now slowly returning. How did he forget about that? A lot of his happier memories with his friends happened in that clubhouse.

Beverly laughed as she pointed to Ben. "You built that for us."

Richie nodded his head. "Yeah, the hatch has got to be around here someplace." He began to walk around the area as did the others.

"You did." Eddie joined in with his own smile. "I do remember that."

Gwen didn't mean to but she did a twirl as she now looked at area with even more fascination. That feeling of sadness was slowly going away. Happiness was now taking over. "The clubhouse was like all of our second home."

"It was." Stan right away agreed. He couldn't help the awe breath he let out when he caught sight of Gwen again. The way the sun was shining on Gwen at the moment made it seem as if she were on stage. That was exactly how she must have looked like when she was performing...radiant. Just like the sun. He didn't stop looking at her until he saw Gwen looking towards Beverly and Bill.

That allowed the curly haired man to get a hold of himself, and he lowered his gaze. Gwen on the other hand paid attention to how Bill and Beverly were talking, and she couldn't help but think back to Stan and her. Guilt once again ate away at her, and she looked away. It was then that she saw the crestfallen look Ben had on. Gwen felt her heartache once more for him when she saw that. She approached Ben, giving him a pat on the back.

Ben didn't need to ask her in order to know this was her way of comforting him. He offered her a small smile, as he took further steps inside the middle of the Barrens. "You know what? I actually think the door was more like around..." He drawled in slight puzzlement. He put more weight on the ground but nothing happened.

The others were now still as they watched Ben with curious. Gwen though walked over to where he was standing. "Here?" She finished his sentence.

Ben didn't get a chance to answer her because they were both suddenly falling. Gwen let out a gasp and she mentally prepared herself for the pain that she was about to surely experience. Now she did feel some pain but the pain wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it was going to be. She ended up falling on top of Ben who had fallen on his front side. That meant Gwen had the fortune of landing on the softness (or actually the firmness) of his backside.

Unfortunately that meant the Hanscom man took most of the pain for both of them.

"Shit! Are you guys okay?" Richie's immediately called out to them. Neither Gwen or Ben answered right away. The shock from the fall stopped them from doing so. Dust from the old roof top, and ground they landed on, surrounded them.

Gwen groaned. "Ah, crap." She had yet to fully realize that she was lying on Ben's back. The only thing she could focus on was that she didn't feel like she had broken any bones. That was a good thing.

"You okay?" Ben asked after coughing away the dust and dirt that lingered from their fall. His body ached from the fall but other than that he wasn't harmed in any other way.

"Yeah, I think so." Gwen reassured. "Nothing's broken, so there's that."

Ben let out a relieved sigh. "That's good." He looked upwards to where their friends were. "We're okay. Come down!" There was a pause before Ben spoke again, voice low. "Gwen?"

"Hmm." Gwen hummed. She looked down at him, realizing she hadn't moved off of him. "Shit, sorry Ben."

Ben waved off her embarrassment with a smile. "All good."

Just as she was getting up, a few of the Losers were already making their way down using the old set of stairs. Most of them caught sight of Gwen and Ben on the ground before she helped him up. Stan being one of them. He was about to ask if everything was alright (not really liking how they had fallen on top of each other), but Richie got to ask the question before him.

"You two really alright?" Richie asked. He didn't liking seeing his sister fall through the roof top of the clubhouse. It had been unexpected, and unexpected right about now was not something he wanted to experience.

Gwen nodded her head. "I'm good. I actually landed on Ben. So he took most of the fall." She gave Ben an apologetic look. "Sorry, Ben."

Ben just chucked. "No need to apologize. I just can't believe we're in here again."

Each of the Losers went quiet as they looked around the inside of the clubhouse. The first one to end that silence was Bill, and he held the wonderment each of the Losers were all feeling as he spoke.

"Yeah...it feels surreal." Bill looked over to Ben, a hint of a smile now on his face. "I think I remember now...the day you first showed us the clubhouse."

...

Ben was the first one to head down, wanting to be the one who would introduce the clubhouse to his friends. Beverly followed right behind, and Ben was beyond happy when he saw her smile at him. He was able to pull away from Beverly when Richie came down the ladder.

The youngest Tozier adjusted his glasses as he looked around the underground clubhouse. "What the dick is this?"

Gwen, who followed behind her brother, playfully bumped shoulders with him as she passed by. "It's an underground heaven. And Ben here built it, didn't you?"

Ben cheeks grew warm from sheepishness. He nodded his head though. By now Bill, Mike, Stan, and Eddie had joined them inside the clubhouse. They remained quiet as they observed their new surroundings. Richie though soon ended that silence.

"Well, how'd you build it?" Richie asked Ben. He may have appeared nonchalant about the whole thing but he couldn't deny how fascinating and excited he was about the whole thing. None of them had ever built something this cool before.

Bill, ever the curious one (even more than Richie at that moment), asked the next question. "When did you build it?"

Ben decided to answer both question. "Here and there, I guess." He looked at his friends but truthfully he was paying more attention to Beverly. The redhead appeared to be amazed by the clubhouse. Ben felt his cheeks warm up when he noticed that. "It was already dug out from something, so I just had to reinforce the walls and get some wood for the roof door, and that's pretty much it."

"Fuckin' awesome." Gwen smiled as she focused on a empty wall space. "Okay, this right here? Yeah, I am totally hanging my Michael J. Fox poster right here. Then I'm going to put my Lost Boys poster over there." She pointed to another empty wall space not that far away from her. "Dad bought it for me but mom won't let me hang it in my room."

"It's a real travesty." Richie added with a desolate tone. His hand over his heart though showed how he was joking around. The Losers laughed as did Gwen.

Ben was happy that Gwen already felt comfortable in the clubhouse. That was the whole point as to why he built the clubhouse in the first place. It was a hangout spot for just his friends and him. A place that would hopefully be like a second home for all of them. His gaze wandered onto Beverly who was once again smiling that beautiful smile of hers.

Trying his best to look suave (as one would put it), Ben rested his hand on one of the wall pillars. "Pretty good for my first time, huh?" He lost whatever cool he had when one of the roof tops fell behind Beverly. The redhead jumped in place making the others reacted as well.

Gwen, who had been standing a few feet away from the redhead, was still pushed back by Stan. The curly haired boy acted immediately when he heard that loud sound. His first thought was to push back Gwen from any danger, and that's exactly what he did. When he and the others saw that it was just a roof top and nothing serious they all let out a breath of relief.

Stan now felt like a fool for taking such action. Especially since Gwen wasn't anywhere near the fallen piece. However, Gwen's soft touch to his shoulder and the smile she gave him as a thank you was enough to send Stan into a butterfly stomach frenzy. He did his best to remain composed even when Gwen walked away from him.

Richie let out a scoff once the worry left him as well. "That's a cool feature." He told Ben. "What happens when you put your hand on the other pillar professor?"

Despite his sarcasm, Gwen knew there really was no anger there. Worry maybe but it was nothing compared to the worry she and the others were about to hear from a certain friend of theirs.

"Okay, you see this is exactly why there are safety codes! Why we have permits!" Eddie rambled as he waved his hands in the air. "This place is a death trap, you understand that?"

Ben let out a sigh. "Well, it's a work in progress, okay Eddie?"

Eddie continued to walk around the clubhouse, inspecting it. He stopped for a second to give Ben a serious look. "Just so you know, if I get hurt, you're reliable!" A object that was hanging suddenly caught his attention. "Also what is this?" He pointed to said object. It looked old and rusty, something that he didn't like. "Is this the switch from Iron Maiden?"

"I'd totally buy it from you if it is." Gwen jokingly added into the conversation. Richie let out a snicker when he heard his sister say that.

"No, it's just a flashlight." Ben answered calmly. He hoped that would have ended his smaller friend's rambles but it seemed that it only fueled Eddie.

"What is that, a horse hitch?" Eddie asked but then something else caught his attention. "Oh, this is cool." The Losers saw how he was now holding a paddle-ball.

"That was like three dollars, so be careful with that please." Ben quietly told him.

Eddie eyed the toy in his hand. "I have one of these." He said and then started using the paddle-ball...right in front of Stan. The curly haired boy was immediately startled. He backed away but Eddie just followed him. "Hey, Stan, you see this?"

Stan let out an annoyed huff. "Yeah, okay, can you maybe not?" He begged Eddie. He was holding up one of his hands, trying to block the ball from hitting him in the face. Peeking through his fingers he saw how his friends were looking at the scene with utter bemusement. Their eyes were going back and forth, as if they were watching a tennis match. He zeroed in on Gwen who was quietly watching too. The dark haired girl though had on a small smile. By the way she was biting her bottom lip it was obvious that she was holding back laughter.

Stan felt embarrassment but also a part of him liked that she was amused...even at his own expense. Truthfully, he'd do just about anything to get a smile or laugh from Gwen. However, maybe not necessarily getting hit in the face...at least not in front of the others.

"Maybe not what?" Eddie said causing Stan to refocus on him. "Yeah, yeah, hold on. Maybe not what? Be awesome and have fun and celebrate the magic of the paddle-ball?" All of sudden, due to how fast Eddie was going, the string that attached the ball to the paddle broke. Eddie's hold on the paddle fell and a frown graced his face when he heard Ben release a disappointed sigh. "Oh, good going fucknut." He told Stan. "You broke his thing."

Stan was not happy to hear that. He did no such thing. He narrowed his eyes at Eddie. "I broke it?"

"Yeah, you broke it with your face." Eddie sassed back. "I'm not putting my fuckin' hand down there." He pointed to where the ball rolled to.

Stan didn't really have response for that. "What?" He was still finding this whole thing to be absurd. He never was the one to be in this kind of situation. Okay, maybe with Richie but not Eddie. And even if it had been Richie, he still wouldn't have known what to do even after all this time. Stan just wasn't one to act disorderly, not without good reason that is. The rock fight was a perfect example of that because not only had he defended his friends, he defended Gwen from Henry who had insulted her.

Gwen, who'd been watching the whole thing from the side, finally said something. "I think that's the last time I buy you a root beer float, Eddie." She jokingly told the smaller boy, but also in a way she was coming to Stan's defense. The poor curly haired boy didn't know how to react in this kind of situation. Luckily for him she knew how to intervene. Richie was her brother after all. She had many encounters like the one Stan was having with Eddie.

"Told you not to give it to him." Richie laughed. "Now it's like he's on crack."

Eddie's attention was now on Richie. He threw the bespectacled boy a heated look. "I am not on crack!"

"Well Eddie, what can I say?" Richie shrugged his shoulders. "You didn't handle your root beer float with class like Gwen. I'm afraid you're now going down a slippery rope my friend." He shook his head in a mocking way. "I think maybe we should have a talk with your mother about this problem you have. Don't worry I can sweet talk her." He got a mischievous look and it was the same he got when talking about Eddie's mother. "Just give me five minutes alone with―"

Richie didn't get a chance to finish because Eddie interrupted him, as the Losers were expecting.

"Shut up about my mom!"

Gwen could only shake her head in amusement as the bickering between Eddie and her brother grew louder. She was paying too much attention to them that she didn't even notice the adoring way Stan was now looking at her.

...

As the Losers looked around the clubhouse, they were each able to find something that made them think back to their childhood.

For Eddie it had been the red ball from the paddle-ball he broke. For Richie it had been a few old comics that had been on the ground, long forgotten but were still in good condition to read. For Beverly it was a very old lighter, that she and Gwen had used to light up cigarettes when they smoked. For Ben it was just seeing his friends all together in the clubhouse again. For Bill it was colored pencils that he had used when drawing. For Stan it was the various cleaning products that he knew he was the one that brought them. For Mike it was the single loose swing set that was still somehow hanging there.

And lastly for Gwen it was a variety of things but one thing stood out the most to her.

"Holy shit! The Lost Boys poster!" Gwen exclaimed with a giant smile. She remembered just how much she loved that movie as a kid. Kiefer Sutherland as the character of David sure was the man in that movie. To think she had little to no interest in vampires before that movie came out. Still even she had to admit the vampire movies that were released now didn't match up to the awesomeness of The Lost Boys. There was just something about the movie that made it stand out from other vampire movies. Honestly, it must have been the fact that it was made in the eighties. As Gwen now knew, one simply couldn't beat the nostalgia of the eighties.

Beverly came to stand next to her to admire the poster. "God, I remember how much you loved that poster. As much as the―"

"The Michael J. Fox one! Look it's still here." Gwen smiled even brighter when she saw her poster of Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly playing the guitar. She let out a soft sigh. "I had such a thing for him back then." Michael J. Fox was one of her main celebrity crushes when she had been younger.

Being the singer that was now, Gwen over the years had met a lot of famous people in her life. So it wasn't often that she ever really got awestruck by a celebrity. However, one of the best moments of her life was when she got to meet Michael J. Fox. Like actually meet him. The man was a legend and it still felt unreal that she met him through a charity concert she had done.

If there was ever a time when she wanted to jump in place and giggle uncontrollably it was when she met Michael J. Fox. Gwen really didn't know how she was able to keep it together. Nonetheless, it was a story she often liked to tell people. She had told it to Richie so many times that her brother probably knew every word by now.

"Yeah." Stan couldn't help but grumble. "I think we can all remember that."

Gwen grew a bit sheepish as Stan grew a bit sheepish himself. It was obvious the comment was more aimed towards what had happened between them in the car, the room, and the sleeping incident, and not the crush she used to have on Michael J. Fox. The memory of this morning entered both of their minds. They locked eyes again before looking away from one another, as if they knew what was on each others minds. Beverly having witnessed that awkwardly made her way over to where Bill and Ben were at.

The inside of the clubhouse grew quiet as the Losers continued looking around, reminiscing what they could.

Just as Gwen was flipping through an old Wonder Woman comic, a snap coming from behind her caught her attention. When she turned around she soon realized that it had caught the rest of the Losers attention.

"Hey Losers. Time to float."

The comic book that Gwen was holding fell to the ground. She felt her heart start to race. Strangely enough her right shoulder wasn't causing her pain but she couldn't focus on that. Her eyes were wide towards the direction she had heard that voice. It wasn't her imagination getting the best of her because she saw how her friends were just as horrified as her.

This was actually happening.

No, God...no...please no. Not here...please.

It didn't take long for Stan to hear Gwen's uneven breathing. Managing to turn his eyes towards her the curly haired man saw how frightened the Tozier woman looked. Her face was pale and her eyes were wide open, and he could tell tears would soon start to show. Despite being afraid himself, Stan hurriedly went to her and stood in front of her.

The rest of the Losers remained in place, with the exception of Mike. He'd been able to pull through as well and grab a hold of one of the old baseball bats that was there. One of Gwen's old baseball bats. He gripped it tight as he kept his gaze forward to where the darkness was. He counted the seconds before he would soon be using the baseball bat. However, that never came to be.

Much to his surprise, and to everybody else's, Richie came out from the darkness, laughing. Without him having to say so, the Losers now knew that it had been him who had said those awful words. Anger and annoyance began replacing the fear the Losers had been feeling. Gwen, however, also felt like a damn fool for not noticing it had been her brother in the first place.

Eddie glared at Richie as Mike let go of Gwen's baseball bat. "Dude!"

Richie chuckled, not fully realizing his mistake. "Remember when IT used to say that? Then there was that whole dance bit." He did a weird dance and then stopped, waiting to hear their responses but total silence filled the clubhouse.

It was now clear to Richie that no one other than him was amused. He lost some of the humor in his tone of voice. "Am I the only one to remember that shit? Gwen?" Richie asked looking at sister. That finally had him feeling guilt. Despite Gwen not looking as scared as before, it was obvious she was not pleased. She didn't even saying to him, she just shook her head, clearly pissed off. That had Richie swallowing the lump that formed in his throat. Okay, yeah...he fucked up. He hadn't meant to upset her...he just wanted to make her and his friends laugh...like he used to.

Richie now realized that when it came to IT and humor, one should not mix them together. At least not how he approached things.

"Nice, Richie." Stan rolled his eyes at him. He gave Gwen one last concerned look before giving her some space. He saw how mad she appeared and he didn't want to anger her more than she already was. Richie should have known better.

Eddie was just as mad. "Are you gonna be like this the entire time we're home?"

Richie's playfulness went away once hearing Eddie address him that way. "Alright." He said shrugging his shoulders. He tried looking causal about the whole thing but on the inside he was the complete opposite. "Just trying to add some levity to this shit. I'll go fuck myself."

"Thank you." Gwen answered, finally saying something. Her voice was hard and not at all forgiving. "You do that."

Richie's cool act dropped. He let out a sigh, his eyes softening. "Gwen."

Gwen shook her head. "The joke's over, Richie." Her voice lost the hardness and she lowered her eyes. "Just don't do it again."

"I won't." Richie immediately agreed. He walked to her side and was relieved when she didn't move away from him. He was expecting to her fully ignore him now, just as she used to do when they were kids whenever he really angered her. He didn't want that happening right now. "Look, I'm sorry." He sincerely told her. "That was a fucked up thing to do and I really should have known better. I just..." His voice took a vulnerable tone, and it was one the Losers weren't used to hearing. "I just wanted to make you guys laugh, like I used to."

Gwen gave in to his apology. Not that she wasn't going to in the first place but she just needed him to understand he couldn't pull that shit on her...not when it involved IT. Neither sibling knew it just yet (or any of the other Losers) but once all their memories came back, IT would soon cause even more distress for all of them...but especially for Gwen. At the moment though Gwen's features softened as she looked at her brother. "It's okay."

Richie let out a sigh as he brought her into a side hug. Thankfully Gwen didn't fight the hug. She quietly happily accepted it. The sweet brother and sister moment was interrupted when Bill called out to his friends.

"Hey, you guys?" The Losers quickly saw that he was holding an old paint can. Bill turned the paint can over until he saw something written on it. "Look, what I found." His eyes connected with Stan. "It has your name." He told the curly haired man. Stan frowned, panicking a bit but then relaxed with what Bill said next. "For the use of Losers only."

"What is it?" Gwen asked, curious. She looked at Stan but he remained quiet. He had on an unreadable expression as he walked over to stand next to Bill. If he did know what was inside, Stan sure didn't say anything. However, the Losers figured that if the paint can belonged to Stan it couldn't be anything bad. He gave Bill a nod, telling him he could open the paint can. Bill went to do that and once opened what they found inside was not at all what they were expecting.

Not that they were expecting something huge but a shower cap? That was a little odd. Not to Stan though. The curly haired man now had on a smile.

"Wow, I remember these." Stan said as a took hold of one. It had flower decorations all over it.

Gwen came over to his side. She took hold of another shower cap Bill had taken out. This one also had flower decorations all over it. They were matching shower caps. Gwen's dark eyes connected with Stan's light brown eyes, and a for a second there it felt like it was just the two of them inside the clubhouse.

"I remember now." Gwen softly told him. "You gave us these."

Stan wanted to reach over to hold Gwen's hand but he figured direct contact between at the moment wouldn't be a smart thing. At least not in front of the others, and not after the fiasco that happened between them that morning. He knew Gwen was still feeling awkward about it. Stan not so much but the guilt was there. However, he wasn't about to let that guilt win over at the moment because all he wanted to do now was think back to a time when there no marriage issues or adult problems.

So Stan went back to a time when it was just him and his friends. Little did he know all the other Losers were doing the exact same thing as him.

...

Gwen still couldn't decide on which cassette tape she wanted to listen to next on her boombox. She'd almost put on a Fleetwood Mac cassette tape, since she was wearing a Fleetwood Mac t-shirt but it didn't seem like playing Fleetwood Mac right now would fit the atmosphere.

What with how chaotic things were, and with chaotic she meant Richie. It was only until recently that he had finally stopped swinging on the damn hammock. Hence why she was now sitting near him.

The sound of soft footsteps suddenly caught her attention. Gwen looked up from where she was sitting on the ground and she was happy to see it was Stan who had made his way to them. She right away saw how he had on a shower cap with flower decorations on it. She couldn't help but think he looked adorable wearing it.

Richie on the other hand thought otherwise. And he made that perfectly clear when Stan handed him a shower cap of his own. Richie took hold of the shower cap with a scrunched up face.

"The fuck is this?"

Stan didn't let Richie's language get to him. He kept his smile. "So you don't get spiders stuck in your hair when you're down here." He'd bought just enough for all of them the day before because he knew the clubhouse (despite how much he liked hanging there with his friends) was still too dirty for his liking. Not to mention the risk of coming cross spiders was pretty high.

Richie rolled his eyes and he threw the shower cap away from him. "Stanley, we're not afraid of fuckin' spiders."

Stanley let out a huff, and was about to walk away when Gwen's sweet sounding voice made him stop.

"Says you." Gwen stood up in front of Stan. She held out one of her hands. "I'll take one, Stan the Man."

Stan happily gave her a shower cap. He made sure to give her the shower cap he'd specifically bought and saved for her. It matched the flower one he had on. It wasn't until she put it on that Gwen noticed that they were matching.

Gwen smiled. "Hey, we match. Look at that."

Before Stan was able to reply, Richie beat him to it.

"Yeah, look at that. First matching shower caps, and then what? Matching underwear!" Richie laughed causing Stan to get all red faced. Gwen noticed that but figured the redness was more out of general embarrassment rather then the feelings Stan had for her. Feelings she wasn't fully aware of just yet. Out of protectiveness for her friend, Gwen grabbed the nearest comic book and threw it at Richie's face.

"Hey!" Richie protested but really he should have known better. This was Gwen after all, and she had a good aim.

Gwen gave her brother a tight smile before looking at Stan again. "Just ignore him, he's just jealous he doesn't have one these cool shower caps." She patted her head making sure all of her hair was tucked in before sitting back down. Stan felt his face cool down but the tips of his ears still felt warm as he walked off to where Bill was. Even as he stood by him, Stan would discreetly glance towards Gwen. He could feel the beating of heart inside his chest intensify when he saw Gwen wearing the shower cap.

"Oh, yeah I am so jealous." Richie replied, shaking his head. "Besides you two, I'm sure no one else is going to wear these ridiculous shower―" He suddenly stopped talking when he looked up to see how all of his friends were indeed wearing shower caps. He blinked once, then twice. "Well..." Richie drawled. "I stand corrected." He did his best to not laugh at how funny Eddie looked when he took off his shower cap. If he had been trying to appear casual about the whole thing then Eddie had done a lame job about it, much to Richie's amusement.

Beverly grinned Richie's way. "That's a first."

"Touche." Richie nodded his head, focusing on the comic he was reading again.

Gwen shook her head in amusement before going back to what she was doing. Choosing her next cassette tape. Thankfully she was able to finally come up with a decision. She hadn't listen to her Joann Jett cassette tape for some time now. Once the cassette tape was in her boombox, with the song Bad Reputation blasting, Gwen started to read the comic she had moments ago before the whole cassette tape dilemma.

She was at complete peace with the comic book she was reading, and music she was listening to. So of course that peace was soon ruined. Eddie crossed his arms as he now stood in front of Richie and her. His stare, however, was directed onto Richie who was still chilling in the hammock. Gwen let out a sigh already knowing what was about to happen.

"Hey, Rich, your ten minutes are up." Eddie hurriedly began saying.

Richie acted as if he knew no such thing. "What are you talking about?"

"The hammock. Ten minutes each." Eddie's voice started rise. "That was the rule."

Richie made a show of looking around before settling on him again. "I don't see any signs."

Eddie lost whatever patience he had. "Are you seriously being this way right now? Really? No, no, no. Why would there be a sign if it was a verbal agreement?"

Richie made a face. "I don't remember verbally agreeing to anything. Do you, Gwen?"

"Don't bring me into this." Gwen begged her brother, her eyes still on the comic she was reading. It was one of Richie's and it was called The Saga of The Swamp Thing, issue twenty-four. She was invested in the comic because the Justice League members were in it, including Zatana, who currently happened to be one of her favorite female superheros.

However, it was too late and Gwen was now in the middle of their agreement. This wasn't as surprising considering that Gwen would often get thrown in the middle of Richie and Eddie's bickering. At this point it was just to be expected. "Gwen, Richie won't let me in the hammock." Eddie began whining. "Tell him to get out."

Richie playfully rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll get out but in a few more minutes. Hold your horses, Eddie Spaghetti."

"Don't call me that! Gwen!" Eddie called out again.

"Children, no fighting." Gwen calmly told them as she turned the next page of the comic book.

"Okay, that's it." Eddie then, much to Gwen and Richie's surprise, jumped into the hammock with him. The two began to fight inside the hammock with the others watched in both puzzlement and amusement. With the exception of Stan, who just rolled his eyes at how childish they were being. He soon went back to helping Bill hammer but of course the bickering of his friends filled the clubhouse.

It was during this fight of who got more room in the hammock, that one of them accidentally kicked Gwen in the back of the head. Gwen didn't know who kicked her and frankly she didn't care to know. She huffed, grabbing her boombox and the comic book she was reading and gladly moved away from Richie and Eddie. Her departure didn't go unnoticed.

"Nice going dickwad, you made her leave." Eddie complained to Richie once he saw Gwen walking away.

Richie once again kicked at Eddie's leg with his own. "I made her leave? You were the one who kicked her! And who you calling dickwad, asshat!"

"I didn't kick her! You did!"

The arguing between them didn't stop when Gwen tapped Stan on the back. The fifteen year old had seen how the curly haired boy was helping Bill with some of the hammering for one of the pillars. When Stan turned around to face her she gave him a smile.

"Do mind if I sit next to you?" Gwen gestured back to the hammock. "Richie and Eddie are bickering nonstop. I swear they sound like a married couple and its like I'm their kid they keep tugging back and forth."

Stan smiled. He knew exactly what Gwen meant by that. He nodded his head. He had no problems with her sitting next to him, no problems whatsoever. Bill hadn't stop the hammering on the pillar he was working on, but Stan's attention was elsewhere. The curly haired boy hadn't stopped looking at Gwen even after she had sat down with her boombox next to her.

Sensing his staring, Gwen glanced his way, eyebrows furrowed. It was more out of bemusement though. Stan nonetheless began panicking for having been caught admiring her.

"I recommend they get marriage counseling soon, otherwise they're going to end up divorcing." Stan managed to joke out as a way to get the heat off of him for staring at her. Much to his relief it seemed to work because it got Gwen let out a laugh.

"See, I told Richie to sign that prenup." Gwen replied lightheartedly before returning to the comic book.

"I tried but Eddie told me he'd let me sleep with his mom if I didn't!" Richie shouted causing Stan to roll his eyes and Gwen to shake her head in utter amusement. The bespectacled boy wasn't annoyed in the slightest that they had been talking about Eddie and him. It didn't seem that Eddie was bothered either. Eddie was actually more annoyed that Richie had brought up his mother again.

That last line of Richie's got him a tap on the face by Eddie's foot. Richie pushed his foot way right after Ben said something to Beverly. From what he was able to overhear, Ben and Beverly had been talking about leaving Derry...a topic of conversation that Richie had to join in.

"I'll do that." Richie said causing the Losers (with the exception of Eddie who was already looking at him) to look his way. "I'll do anything to get the hell out of Derry." After he said that he once again pushed Eddie's foot away from his face.

Mike spoke as he gently swung on the swing Ben and Stan had put in. "Man, when I graduate, I'm going to Florida." He told his friends with a dreamlike smile.

"What's in Florida, Mike?" Ben asked his friend.

"I don't know" Mike smiled softly. "You know, I guess it's just a place I always wanted to go."

"My friend Francine is in Florida right now." Gwen said to Mike with her own smile. "You should totally go if you ever have the chance. It's the sunshine state."

Richie looked over to Stan, who had gone quiet. "Stan, you should go with Mike to Florida. You already act eighty. You'd clean up with all the grandmas." He joked as he made kissy noises. He expected Stan to at least roll his eyes but to Richie's surprise he didn't do that. As the rest of his friends laughed, Stan remained silent much to his worriment. He didn't want to call out Stan though, so Richie continued on. He looked at his sister. "Gwen's gonna be a singer and get all famous."

Gwen scoffed. "Doubt it."

"You can sing?" Mike looked at Gwen in excitement. He hadn't known that about her. Mike thought it was cool that he now knew someone that was able to sing. His mother used to sing to him. Even though she died when he was at a young age, Mike was still able to remember how she used to sing to him before going to bed.

Gwen shrugged her shoulders. "Somewhat."

"Don't be modest. She can sing alright." Richie said and then snickered. "She just can't dance."

Gwen rolled her eyes at her brother before becoming somewhat earnest. "Honestly, I don't care what I'll be...just as long as I'm happy."

"If you're famous, you'll be happy." Richie casually pointed out.

A small frown now appeared on Gwen's face. "That's not really guaranteed."

Richie remained nonchalant with his answer but deep down it got to him more than he wanted to admit. "It is when you have millions. Then at least you can pay for therapy."

"Beep beep, Richie." Gwen replied after a pause of silence

Stan looked at all of them now, gaze lingering on Gwen's before he finally spoke. "Do you guys think will be friends... when we're older?"

That had all the Losers stop what they were doing. All of their attention went onto the curly haired boy. Bill who had been hammering finally stopped. He lowered the hammer down as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"What?" Richie questioned. What kind of serious shit question was that?

"Why wouldn't we be?" Ben asked, the idea of them not being friends deeply upset him.

"Do any of your parents still hangout with their friends from middle school?" Stan nervously asked them.

Gwen stayed silent as she thought about what was asked. It didn't take long for her to come up with an answer in her head. No, Gwen didn't think her parents were still buddy buddy with their childhood friends. High school friends maybe but even then she wouldn't say her mother or father were very close to them. Not like Gwen was close to her friends.

"I mean, things might be different then." Stan quietly continued saying. His eyes flickered to Gwen as they took a soft, almost longing, approach. "We all might be different."

That last sentence struck a chord with Gwen. It felt like the sentence was meant for her more rather than the rest of the Losers. She was the oldest after all, and she was the only one in High school. However, to be honest, with all the time spent with her new friends she never once thought about what would happen once school started in September.

But now that Stan brought it up Gwen couldn't help but think...would things still be the same between her friends and her once September came?

"We'll always still be friends." Bill right away stated. The leader in him tried to sound as reassuring as possible. He didn't want Stan feeling doubtful when it came to their friendship. He didn't want any of his friends to feel that way. "I don't think that g-g-goes away because we get older."

"I agree." Gwen went to backup Bill. Her voice became serious as did her expression. "We'll always be friends, best friends actually cause that's what we all are. No ones going anywhere." Not that she thought about it better, Gwen couldn't picture herself just abandoning her friends, not even school would start. It hurt to even think about losing the connection she had built with each and every one of them.

Beverly nodded her head. "Yeah, you don't have to be so sad."

Stan said nothing, just lowered his head. His friends words of reassurance sadly weren't comforting him as much as he had wanted them to.

Gwen perked up causing Stan to lift up his head again. "I say it's time for a chance of tunes...something we can really jam to." Gwen pressed stop on her boombox. After taking out her Joan Jett cassette tape out, she began looking through her collection of cassette tapes again. A huge smile appeared on her face when she found what she was looking for.

Richie already been shaking his head, knowing what his sister was planning. "Oh no...you're not going to do what I think you're gonna do."

Gwen nodded her head. "Oh yeah." She put the cassette tape into her boombox.

"Gwen, no." Richie begged. "Don't do it."

"Do what?" Eddie questioned, puzzled. Unlike Richie the smaller boy had no idea what was happening. In fact, none of the other Losers knew.

Gwen remained mischievous. "Too late. It's gonna happen." That was the last thing she said before pushing play. Soon enough the Losers began hearing the familiar song of Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners.

"Is she gonna?" Beverly inquired, lips going upwards.

"I think she is." Ben answered watching as Gwen began moving her shoulders up and down. Her feet followed such movements as she started going side to side. Her hands went up in the air for a few seconds before she brought them down. She continued doing this until the chorus part of the song hit. It was then that she started to twirl around, and it didn't take long for her shower cap to fall down. Her hair was now let down and out of control as her dancing.

"This is just sad." Richie muttered as he watched his sister dance like there was no tomorrow. He may have looked against his sister's terrible dancing but on the inside he actually liked that his sister was letting loose. He knew this was her way of bringing some joy to the Losers, more specifically Stan. Richie hadn't liked how glum Stan appeared to be. He hoped Gwen's awful dancing would fix that.

"I don't know...looks kinda fun." Eddie quietly admitted. That got Richie to stare into his eyes. Eddie quickly felt his staring due to their proximity in the hammock. Richie quickly looked away, pushing away the feeling he got from looking into Eddie's eyes. He needed to get out of the hammock, and he knew a good excuse. Although, it wasn't much of an excuse...he actually did want to dance around like a fool...just this one time.

"Ah, what the hell. Let's boogie, Eds." Richie said before getting up from the hammock. Eddie followed behind, not all giving Richie the usual crap for calling him by that nickname. Beverly, Ben, and Bill soon joined after. Mike got off the swing and started to dance as well. The only person left who wasn't dancing was Stan.

Come on, Eileen, oh I swear (what he means)
At this moment, you mean everything
You in that dress, my thoughts I confess
Verge on dirty
Ah, come on, Eileen

Gwen stopped her dancing as she made her way over to where Stan was. She was slightly red in the face, not that Stan cared. He still thought she looked beautiful.

"Come on, Stan." The Tozier girl smiled gesturing to where the others were dancing. "Dance with us." When Stan remained quiet, Gwen lowered her voice and softened her face. "Or...you can just dance with me?"

Stan immediately walked over to her after hearing that. Just how was Stan going to refuse her a dance? Her dark brown eyes were practically twinkling from what he guessed was happiness when she took hold of his hand. He didn't even care that his shower cap had fallen off. All he cared about was that he was dancing with the girl he was in love with.

Never had Stan loved the song Come On Eileen as much as he did at that moment.

...

Richie chuckled making the Losers glance his way.

"Gwen, I know I've said this before...but you really can't dance for shit."

The Tozier woman didn't look the least bit embarrassed. She instead shook her head, almost fondly. It seemed that Richie too remembered the time she had danced in the clubhouse to Come On Eileen. From the looks of amusement the Losers had on Richie and her weren't the only ones who remembered that.

"You got all of us to dance." Stan said with a smile but his smile didn't last long. "It was after we talked about whether or not we were going to be friends when we got older." He handed Bill back the shower cap. Not long after a sad expression set on his face. "Look how that turned out."

Stan now was able to remember how at the age of thirteen he'd been fretting over the thought that none of the Losers were going to be friends once adulthood came. Although honestly he was more concerned that their friendship would hit a bump once summer was over. His concern, however, was more aimed at Gwen because once summer ended she would be entering her sophomore of high school, while he would enter the eighth grade.

Sadly that ended up happening. Stan was two years younger than Gwen, so that meant she was a junior by the time he was a freshman. As Stan recalled high school was weird. Gwen and him had been in good terms but they weren't friends. She had her own thing going on, and he was more of a wallflower in comparison to her. All he did was watch from the sidelines because he was just too shy when it came to her.

To him it had felt like everyone wanted her attention but not everyone got it...and he was one of those unfortunate people.

It was obvious now that their friendship wasn't like the one they had during the summer of 1989. Which sadly can also be said about the other Losers.

"We're here though." Bill managed to say without stuttering. That got Stan to momentarily stop thinking about how distant his friends and him became, or better yet how distant Gwen and him became.

"He's right." Gwen nodded her head. She too by that point had already handed Bill back the flower shower cap. "We're all here now..." She glanced at Stan before clearing her throat. "So let's just focus on that."

"Yeah." Eddie agreed. "But what exactly are we doing here, Mike?" He asked him. As much as he liked going back to one of his favorite spots as a kid, there must have been a bigger reason as to why they were there. Surely it couldn't just be for the happy memories. As he was starting to realize life wasn't that kind. At least not to them.

"The ritual." Mike began saying loud and clear to his friends could hear. "To perform it requires a sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" Richie interrupted. "I nominate Eddie." He said pointing to hypochondriac man.

Eddie's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

"Because you're little, you'll fit on a barbecue." Richie easily told him in a joking manner.

Eddie didn't see it as one and focused more on the comment about his height. "I'm 5'9, it's like average height in most of the world."

"Eddie's taller than me and Beverly, so what? You'd want us sacrificed too?" Gwen asked her brother in a non-serious way.

Richie shook his head. "Of course not. I just said Eddie because he's also the most innocent one out of all of us. You think he's done anything scandalous?"

Eddie gave Richie a bored look. "I'm married, asshole." Although he said that, Eddie didn't want to admit aloud how slightly accurate Richie was with what he said. Yes, he was a married man but he hadn't done half of things married men are supposedly expected to do with their wives. He just couldn't find it in him to do such things with Myra.

Richie gave him a gentle pat to one of his cheek. "You keep saying that to yourself, buddy."

Eddie rolled his eyes as he pushed Richie's hand away. He fought away the flustered feeling the bespectacled man provoked.

Mike shook his head. "It's not that kind of sacrifice, guys."

"Mike?" Bill called out as a way for him to better explain...and Mike did just that.

"The past is buried. But you're gonna have to dig it up. Piece by piece. And these pieces, these artifacts, that's why we're here." Mike solemnly looked a this friends. "They are what you'll sacrifice."

"So essentially something from our childhood?" Gwen asked quietly. "Something that had meaning to us back then?" Maybe even now, she thought that last part to herself.

Mike nodded his head. "Yes, it what will get you to remember again. Obviously some memories are going to be better than others. Like the ones we had in here." He gestured to the clubhouse. "While other memories are not going to be as good. The bad ones. The ones we've hidden away or purposely forgotten in a way. The one's were too afraid of. The point is to accept the good along with the bad. It's only way you'll be able to find your artifact. I just wanted you guys to start off with a good memory first before..."

"Before the shitty ones." Gwen finished evenly. Mike nodded his head.

"Alright, where do we find these artifacts?" Eddie asked the question all the Losers were thinking.

Mike suddenly became quiet. This was the part he was dreading to tell them but they needed to know. He just wasn't looking forward to their reactions.

Stan noticed how the nervous demeanor Mike now had on. That wasn't a good sign. That just added into his own nerves. "Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like the answer to that question."

"Hey, just as long as we don't have to go alone, then I'm totally fine." Gwen shared lightly but her whole mood shifted when she saw Mike's face. Now her nerves were skyrocketing. Suddenly the clubhouse felt too small for her liking. "Please tell me that's not what we have to do." She begged but of course that was just the case.

"Unfortunately, yeah." Mike calmly told her. He took a pause waiting to see her reaction to his answer. He'd expected her to flat out lose it. He was shocked when he hadn't heard any yelling from either her or the other Losers. Though they weren't yelling (not yet anyways), the look of terror on their faces told Mike that they were not at all happy.

As she processed what Mike confirmed, Gwen started to feel like a damn fool. Once again she should have known better than to expect things to be easy. When it came to stopping an evil entity like IT nothing was ever easy.

Gwen looked at all her friends. To her surprise most of them were looking her way...or actually they were looking at her right shoulder. During their staring she saw the concern in their eyes. The same concern they would give to Stan as well when looking at the scars that surrounded his face.

However, it was the intense concern behind Richie's and Stan's eyes that almost had her lowering her gaze. They were looking at her rather than just her right shoulder. The Tozier woman remained unfazed, or at least tried too. Except even she couldn't stop her voice from shaking a bit with what she said next.

"Well, that's just fan-fuckin'-tastic."