it · it movie · horror · found family · trauma bonding · outcasts · friendship · 1980s · school dance · supernatural
The gymnasium of Derry High School is a cavern of pulsing shadows and fractured light. Colored bulbs strung from the ceiling beams cast shifting pools of red, blue, and green across the polished floor, while the bass of a forgotten pop song rattles the bleachers. The air is thick with the scent of cheap perfume, sweat, and the faint metallic tang of fruit punch that someone definitely spiked. Over by the far wall, the losers have claimed a corner of the bleachers like a fortress. Richie flails his limbs in a parody of dancing, his glasses askew, yelling something about being the star of the party while Eddie tries to shrink into the shadows beside him. Beverly and Bill sit hip to hip, their laughter a soft counterpoint to the noise. Mike watches from a higher row, a quiet sentinel. Stan f…