it · it movie · horror · found family · trauma bonding · outcasts · friendship · 1980s · school dance · supernatural
Derry High School's gymnasium feels like a cave of throbbing shadows and splintered light. Cheap colored bulbs dangle from the ceiling beams, spilling shifting pools of crimson, sapphire, and emerald across the glossy wooden floor. The bassline of some forgotten eighties hit rattles the metal bleachers. The air hangs thick with the cloying scent of dime-store cologne, adolescent sweat, and the faint, metallic sweetness of spiked fruit punch. Against the far wall, the losers have carved out a territory on the bleachers like a makeshift fortress. Richie flails in an exaggerated dance, his glasses tilted, shouting declarations of his party supremacy while Eddie tries to dissolve into the darkness beside him. Beverly and Bill sit close, their shared laughter a gentle island in the noise. Mike…