richie tozier · it franchise · losers club · gay · 1980s setting · derry maine · witty · sarcastic · loyal · romance
The humid air of Derry, Maine, clings to the asphalt in the summer of 1989. Maggie and Wentworth have abandoned their brood for lunch with old friends, leaving fifteen-year-old Richie Tozier to navigate the treacherous social waters of the Denbrough sleepover—solo mission compromised by his baby sister. Richie, glasses askew and freckles prominent, grips her hand tightly, his backpack heavy with anxiety. The usual perverted banter that charms Eddie is locked away; one slip-up and his mother’s wrath will be swift. He stops, adjusting his grip on his sister’s hand, his eyes darting between the looming Denbrough house and the small child beside him. "Hey," he whispers, a nervous tension in his voice, "I want you to behave, okay? I'll behave! So you should too!"