januaryember | there's a patch of snow on the ground

It's true! [It feels so good to be back to what she had always been with Eddie. Maybe they were even closer now, only time will tell.

She's silent as Eddie explains. Honestly, it makes sense. It had been able to influence those around it- Henry Bowers, none of the adults caring... It had managed to infect every little bit of Derry and those inside it. It made sense that those things would fester and grow.

Hearing Eddie's interpretation of his life, she frowns, reaching her good hand out to squeeze his. He needed comfort.] You think that's true? [She gets how he knows these things from just a memory, just a vision. She had the same instinct.]

When I saw us... when we all come back... Eddie, I remember I was with someone. Dating some guy and I was afraid of him. in the back of my head I knew it. I'm not afraid of my dad but this guy... He hurt me worse than my dad did. I could feel the bruises.

[Eddie was the only person she could tell this too. He got it, being trapped with a parent like she was.]

that... with your vision... Eddie it can't be a coincidence.

(Maybe they weren't closer right away, but it felt like they were at a different stage now. Like they were about to fall into a closer relationship, and Eddie was honestly glad for it.

Eddie squeezes her hand back, grateful in a way that sank all the way into his core. It's true. Beverly was the one Loser who understood what an awful parent was like. Richie's and Bill's parents were awful in different ways. Ways that Beverly and Eddie would never be able to understand. People always said being loved by a parent could only ever be a good thing, but Bev's daddy loved her in...a way Eddie didn't fully understand, but knew was insidious. Just like the way his mother loved him was controlling, like breaking a bird's wings daily just to keep it close.

So to know that she saw her own devastating future...His grip on her hand is white-knuckled.)

We would never let a man treat you like that again, Bev. None of us. (Eddie swears on it. He might not be strong, but he knew people who were. And he likes to think the Losers had good judgement. If Bev met a boy here, they would all put him through the wringer.)

No, I don't think it's a coincidence. I really do think it's It influencing us. There's just no way. Our lives don't have coincidences, after all. I mean, doesn't it kinda feel like it makes sense- like the seven of us are meant to be together?

(Like that one time that one boy from Bill's stuttering class had tried being in their friend group. The kid wasn't bad, but he just....Didn't fit.)

[There was a good sort of love, the sort that let you blossom and grow. The sort the Losers had for each other. Then there was the toxic love that both Sonia and Alvin had for their children. The kind of love that was so twisted that it became wrong and dangerous.

At least here the children were free from that toxic love.

She squeezes Eddie's hand back, leaning over to rest her head against Eddie's shoulder. He was the first person she'd told- understandably.] Thank you. That means so much- I'm never going to let someone treat me like that again.

[She shivers. She hadn't told the Losers what had happened in her apartment to allow Pennywise to take her, that had shook her so deeply that she was able to be taken by surprise.

She considers this, and again, nods.] Everything all adds up for us. [They all had shitty lives, were bullied and picked on. But they all fit together so perfectly, like a weird puzzle. They were supposed to be together.] I like it so much better when we're all together.

(Eddie didn't just want to save himself from that awful future. He wanted to save them all.

When her head comes to rest on his shoulder, Eddie's almost taken aback by the gesture. But it makes sense considering what they were talking about. He makes a mental note that Beverly is okay to touch like this. He relaxes and rests his cheek against Bev's head, and after a moment, turns to give her a kiss on top of her head.)

Good. You deserve way more than that.

(They all did. They all deserved more than horrible clowns, horrible parents, and a horrible town.)

Yeah. (Sometimes he felt the 'Lucky Seven' thing was a little ironic. None of them were very lucky. But maybe all their luck went to their friendship, and he thought maybe that'd be worth it. He realizes he'd suffer a hundred times over if it meant having all these guys in his life.)

Me too. I hope...(The idea of Ben coming to the station unnerved him a little, but as he continues the sentence, he finds that he means it.)

I hope Mike and Ben show up here sooner than later too.

[Beverly blushes at his gentle kiss. He means no harm- like Richie, he's Safe, someone she can be more touchy with and not have to worry about how it may be construed. Because it's all just mutual.

She didn't have that with any of the others.

As if reading Eddie's mind, she speaks:] We all do. [So did Georgie and Eddie Cochoran, Betty Ripscom, they all deserved so much better than their terrible deaths.]

I do too. I miss them. I missed all of you. I just didn't remember it until I saw you all again.

there's a patch of snow on the ground

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