IT WAS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL. Everyone was ready to be rid of the place for the summer, and the teachers knew better than to try to get their kids to focus on anything other than the upcoming free months.

The final event of the day was the school pep rally. The tiny football team was running laps around the gym while people talked over each other. The entire gym smelled like pre-teen sweat and angst, and the chatter buzzed with excitement.

But the main focus of the room were the cheerleaders. The prettiest and most popular girls in the grade were in the center of the basketball court, tossing each other around and flipping across the floor. They smiled their dazzling smiles, knowing, even at their young age, how enchanting they were to their peers.

In the very front, shining ever-so-slightly brighter than her friends around her, Hayley Forbes was laughing and shouting, shaking her pom-poms and bouncing around. Her hair was pulled up in a tight pony-tail, and the swish of her skirt made her look almost like a modern-day princess. She was stunning and bright, and she held the attention of the room.

One of the many pairs of eyes on her belonged to Bill Denbrough. In fact, there had never been a time in which his eyes had not been on her. Crushes had come and gone, but the one constant for Bill had always been Hayley. He knew that it was hopeless. She was Hayley Forbes after all, and he was a Loser. But for some reason, he just couldn't let her go.

All around him in the bleachers were the other losers. They had all noticed him staring, and after a few minutes, Stanley Uris patted him on the back and sighed, "Another year gone, another year without talking to Hayley Forbes."

"He did ask her for a pencil in science in November," Eddie Kaspbrak pointed out. He remembered that because Bill had a two-day breakdown afterward. He hadn't been able to speak for a few hours, and he could not stop stuttering for the rest of the week.

It wasn't like he had never talked to her. They had actually been friends when they were, like, eight. That was when she first moved into the house down the street from him. But, as they got older, cliques formed, and they fell into very different ones. Bill still thought about the time that she came over every day, though.

"That hardly counts," Richie Tozier scoffed, as if he had any experience in the matter. "If you want some of that, you're gonna have to do better than a pencil, pussy."

Bill rolled his eyes at his friends' teasing. "Shut up."

"I mean, she's nice and all, but she's way out of your league," Eddie told him, shaking his head. He had a way of being honest about things like that. He was right, though. Not only was Hayley stunning, but she was also kind and good-hearted and dazzling.

Richie added, "I heard she went to second base with Jason Neely under the bleachers after the football game."

"I thought I said shut up," Bill snapped, more aggressive this time. He knew that was just a rumor, at least, he had convinced himself that it was. People liked to make up rumors about people who seemed too perfect or too happy.

Stan nudged him and teased, "Aw, getting defensive about your girlfriend who doesn't know you exist?"

"You literally live down the street from her," Richie reminded him, and he made a suggestive gesture as he shrugged and said, "If it were me, I'd have gone over there already."

"And done what?" Eddie asked as Bill stayed silent. He was not entertaining that kind of talk, not about her. He was completely and utterly pathetic when it came to Hayley.

Richie answered, "Closed the deal, that's what."

"Hayley Forbes wouldn't look at you if you were on fire," Stan reminded them, shaking his head. Bill felt his words deep in his chest, and he was hit by a wave of sadness and hopelessness. "She wouldn't look at any of us."

HAYLEY WAS GRINNING AS SHE TALKED TO HER COACH. The pep rally had gone just as they hoped, and she was feeling good going into the summer. "If things keep going how they're going, the captain spot is yours next year."

"Thank you," she replied, and she couldn't even hide her excitement as she skipped into the locker room. She spun as she entered, walking down the small hallway toward the back where the rest of her friends were getting changed to go home.

However, she stopped in her tracks when she heard her name coming from one of best friends' mouth. Shirley scoffed, "I can't believe Hayley thinks she'll be captain."

"You've got it next year for sure, Shirley," one of the other girls, Vivian told her, and all of the others voiced their agreements. Hayley's stomach dropped when she realized what was happening, and it took her a second to process the shock.

Someone else commented, "Clearly, the coaches don't know how big of a slut she is." That hurt. Hayley knew about the rumors going around involving her, but she hadn't even had her first kiss yet. She thought that her friends knew better than that, though.

"Disgrace to the sport," another chimed in. Each comment was like a stab in the heart.

"Genuinely can't stand her."

Vivian sighed, and Hayley ducked out of sight as she reached for her clothes on the hook near where she had been standing. "Maybe she'll get in some freak accident over the summer and not be able to cheer anymore."

"We could only be so lucky," Shirley agreed. By that point, Hayley could not take it anymore. The tears were streaming down her face as she ran out of the locker room, searching for any place that she could take refuge.

The first sob broke out when she ducked under the bleachers. She sat down and put her head in her hands, covering her mouth to try and make as little noise as possible. She heard the girls leave, but she couldn't find the strength to stand up and walk home just yet.

Bill Denbrough had been talking to his friends when he realized that he had left his water bottle in the gym after the pep rally. He quickly ran back to get it, but he froze in his tracks when he heard the quiet sound of crying coming from under the bleachers.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he peeked behind them. Hayley Forbes was sitting there, still in her cheerleading uniform, crying into her hands. If it were anyone else, Bill would let them be and bike home so he could get to the sewers, but this was quite possibly his only chance to get on her radar.

"H-Hey." He was surprised that he had said it. He half-expected himself to chicken out at the last second.

Her head shot up at the sound of his voice, and she quickly began to wipe her eyes, even though they both knew that she had been crying. She replied, "Hi, sorry. I didn't think anyone would find me under here."

"I was just looking for my w-water bottle," he told her, and he cursed himself internally for sounding so pathetic. He could've asked why she was crying or if she was okay, but he sounded like he had just been caught doing something he shouldn't be doing.

She replied, "Oh. Did you find it?"

"Y-Yeah," he answered, holding up the bottle in his hand for her to see. There was a pause of awkward silence, and he contemplated running away and never being able to look her in the eye again. But instead, he questioned, "A-Are you okay?"

"Been better," she told him honestly with a shrug. She felt bad for not making more conversation, but she was mostly trying not to cry again. Bill stood there for a moment, and he was about to turn to leave when she called, "Billy?"

He had never whipped around faster in his life, and something tugged at his heart when she used his old nickname from her. He honestly thought that she had forgotten his name, let alone that they used to be friends. But of course, she didn't because she was perfect.

She climbed to her feet and grabbed her bag, wiping her face one final time. She asked, "Would you mind walking me home? As long as you're not doing anything, that is." His eyes widened at her words.

"Y-Yeah. Sure," he stammered out, nodding quickly. She smiled at him. Jesus, that smile. Even when she was sad, it made him melt.

He waited for her to tell him she was joking, or something, but she continued to walk alongside him as he led them outside and to his bike. She normally walked home with a group of her friends, but, well...

He grabbed his bicycle and walked it along with them as they walked. It was silent for a long time, and Bill was feeling awkward. But it didn't seem to bother Hayley, who was taking in the nature views around them and smiling at random people passing them on the street.

After a few minutes, he glanced over at her and quizzed, "Can I ask why, uh, you were c-crying under the bleachers?" He half-expected her to tell him that it was none of his business, because it wasn't, but she shrugged and answered.

"Long story short, I walked in on all of my friends shit-talking me in the locker room," she explained with a sigh. It had hurt a lot in the moment, but as she thought more and more about it, they had never been the most loyal friends in the world anyway.

Bill frowned. What could they have said about her? She was nice, pretty, and good at cheer. He couldn't see a problem at all. "S-sorry."

"All good," she told him, shaking her head. The only thing that she was really upset about was that it was summer, and she had no one to hang out with. "Just gotta figure out what I'm gonna do with my summer, now that I have no friends and all that."

"W-well, if you want, I'm going to the B-Barrens with my friends. You can c-come," he replied, almost immediately jumping at the chance to extend their time together. Again, he thought she was going to politely decline and make up some excuse.

But instead, she grinned just as they got to her house on their street. She responded, "I'd love to. Lemme go get changed."

"Yeah, I need to talk to me D-Dad anyway," he muttered after a second of shock, processing the fact that she had agreed to hang out with him. He needed to go home and freak out before they went.

"Meet back here in ten?" she asked, gesturing to the piece of sidewalk in front of her house. She was excited about the prospect of an adventure, and this seemed exactly that.

He nodded. "Sure. And, uh, bring your bike."