|6|

"i-i didn't ex-expect for you to l-leave Ri-richie," Bill says as they arrive at the house on Neibolt.

"I-I um, this is to important," Lacey shakes her head watching her feet as she walks through the short dead grass.

As they are walking up the stairs they hear yelling, turning around they find the rest of the losers club piling in on their bikes.

"Lacey, stop you don't have to do this." Richie says jumping off his bike.

"Maybe she doesn't, but she wants to and I-i I have too!" Bill yells. "What happens when another georgie goes missing? are we just gonna stand around and watch it happen like everyone else? because i can't."

"everyday i go home to see that georgie isn't there, i see his toys and his stupid stuffed animals but not georgie." bills voice cracks as Lacey puts a hand on his shoulder.

"so walking into this house, is easier than walking into my own."

Bill looks down then at Lacey, she smiles and embraces him into a hug.

"Wow" Richie says. "what?" Bev asks. "He didn't stutter once."

Bill and Lacey turn around before stan yells. "Wait! Don't we need someone to keep watch? in-in case anything bad happens."

"okay" lacey hits her thigh. "who wants to keep watch" Everybody except for Lacey, Bill and Bev raise their hands.

"oh shit" Richie mutters.

To solve the situation they pulled from sticks, Richie and Eddie were the ones who joined.

"I can't believe i pulled the shortest stick, you guys are lucky we aren't measuring dicks." he mutters kicking around old beer cans and cigar packs.

"shut up!" Eddie yells. "ah that's disgusting" Eddie frowns at the dead rat in the corner of the room.

"Then don't breathe" Richie stammers. "Why?" Eddie questions "Because then you're eating it" Richie chuckles as Eddie makes gagging sounds.

Lacey rolls her eyes at the boys bickering. She looks over at Bill who is standing slump with his eyes closed, head down.

"We're gonna find him Bill, I-i uh I promise." She smiles lifting his chin up, earning a simple smile back.

"w-what is this?!" Richie mumbles just kid enough for the others to hear.

The others joined Richie as he was holding a piece of paper.

"It-it says i'm missing, im not-what i'm missing!" Richie's breath starts to get heavier and quicker.

"Richie calm down." Lacey intertwines her fingers with his. "No, i'm missing! That's my name my age, the date my clothes it can't, i'm missing!"

"Richie!" Lacey yells pinching the bottom of his chin with her index finger and thumb. "This isn't real, okay" She laughs and wraps her arms around his neck.

"you are here right? so you aren't missing,'okay."

Richie lifted his glasses up. "Yeah," He smiled.

"Help! Help!" They heard muffled screams up stairs.

"you think it's?" Richie questions.

"y-yep" Bill says. "well c'mon!" Lacey yells running up the creepy wooden stairs.

she turned down the hallway following the voice.

when she turned her head she saw her, Betty Rimpsom, laying there.

"Holy Shit!" Eddie yells backing up more while his attention was caught by something else going down the hallway.

"B-betty" Bill whispers while his voice cracks.

"Please someone h-" before betty could finish her sentence she was dragged away.

"Betty!" Lacey runs into the room better was in to see nothing but some chairs a couch and a broken window.

"Hey, where'd Eddie go?" Richie questions as him and Bill turn around taking their focus off of Lacey.

Lacey heard the door creak, she turned her head to see the door, slowly closing by its self.

"Richie! Billy!" Lacey yells. When they turns around their eyes widen.

"LAce!" They run to the door but it slams before they could make it though.

The door was locked and they couldn't get in and Lacey couldn't escape.

"shit shit shit oh shit, the love of my fucking life is in there with who knows what."

"L-look Richie, y-you stay h-here and keep t-trying the d-doors a-and ill go find e-eddie." Bill asks and earns a nod from Richie.

While Lacey was struggling to open the door, she heard faint footsteps behind her and the hairs on her arms stood up.

She turned around to find Richie, but not the actual Richie, the Richie she had saw the other day.

"See this," He points to the "Missing" Sign the real Richie was blabbing about earlier.

"I'm missing, and guess who's fault it is, yours, wanna know why?" he tenses up walking closer to Lacey causing her to back up.

"I-i don't know" She shakes in fear leaning against the door.

"you left me!!!" he yells while his skin slowly turns pale, his hair turns orange and he grows taller. Then that, clown appears.

Richie gives up on opening the door so he walks around rooms. He steps into a room filled with fake clowns.

"Leave me alone!" Lacey yells pushing It away and opening the door slamming it behind her.

"Richie!Bill?!" She yells.

"Lace!" Richie yells but his feet, they seem stuck.

"Richie!" She find the door way he is standing in. "I-I can't move!" Richie stutters.

As a TOTAL surprise (note the sarcasm) the door slams leaving Richie and Lacey in a similar situation as earlier.

"Richie, richie!" Lacey beats her fist on the door. She repeats his name over and over again. But slowly, she feels hurt, she doesn't want to lose him, and she feels like she is.

Slowly the beating on the door becomes weaker, she starts to sob and slowly slides down the door.

She curls her knees up to her chest and burys her face to them, sobbing harder.

"Holy shit" Richie reaches out to one of the clowns touching the face lightly.

He walks up to a small coffin and opens it.

Stuck to the top of the inside was his missing poster. Laying in the coffin was two dummies that looked like him and lacey with maggots and spider webs covering them.

"gross" he mumbles to himself and slams the coffin down.

suddenly a clown that Richie has never seen before jumps up on top of the coffin. suddenly he whispers. "beep beep richie" he smiles.

Lacey decides to stand up and go find bill. Suddenly she hears beating in the door. The door swings open revealing Richie and he slams it behind him.

"Richie." Lacey jumps into his arms and he wraps his hands around her waist.

"Please don't leave me, again" Richie tears up causing his voice to crack.

"I won't," Lacey looks into his eyes. "I promise," She miles giving him a soft peck on the lips.

"Guys!" Bill runs up the stairs. "Billy!" Lacey runs up to him and wraps her arms around him feeling relieved he wasn't harmed.

"i-i'm happy you g-guys are o-okay b-but Eddie n-needs o-our help" He says in a serious tone.

"Let's go!" Lacey yells running downstairs.

Suddenly she stops and so does her heart. That same clown is on his knees covering Eddies face who seems to be crying.

He slowly turns around to Lacey. "This isn't real enough for you Lacey? Ask Billy it was real enough for Georgie!" He yells.

"Get away from us!" She yells as the clown jumps up. She grabs a pipe and stabs it into his eye.

Suddenly the rest of the crew join in fighting off the clown.

Lacey and Richie go over to Eddie. "Eds" Lacey gasps seeing his broken arm. "I'm just gonna snap it back into place." Richie slightly grabs his arms.

"No, do not fucking touch me!" Eddie yells

Suddenly they heard a snap "ohhhhhh" Eddie moans in pain.

Then outside of the house they all hear a car horn, when they turn attention back to the clown, it's gone.

Turns out the car horn was "Miss Kaspbrak."

"you kids are fools all of you," she mumbles helping eddie into the car.

when she drops her keys Bev tris to pick them up for her. "No! I don't need your help!" As Miss K stands back up she noticed who tried to help her.

"Oh i've heard of you Mrs' Marsh, and I don't want a dirty girl like you near my son." She scowls.

"No p-please we need Eddie" Lacey tears up, only because her 2nd best friend was about to leave her.

"Well, starting today, he doesn't need you!" She yells slamming her car door and driving off.

They run to the middle of the road and watch the car drive away, as soon as it disappears Lacey puts her head into Richie's shoulder and cries.

Bill then turns around "I saw the well, w-w know where it is an-and next time we'll be better prepared-" Stan cuts Bill off.

"No! No next time Bill, you're insane!"

"Why?" Bev asks."We know Bill won't do anything."

"But It kills!" Richie yells frightening Lacey as she backs away from him.

"And look at this motherfucker, he's leaking hamburger helper!" He points to Bens new slash on his stomach.

"We can't pretend it's gonna go away, Lacey and Ben you guys said it yourself it comes back every 27 years."

"yeah, i'll be 40 and out of this town by then, didn't you say you wanted to get away from this place?" Bill fires back.

"Yeah, i want to run to something not from something," Bev says.

"okay but really who invited Molly Ringwald into the group?" Richie asks casing Bev to flip him off.

Richie is now clinching his fist "I'm just saying let's face facts, Georgie is dead."

Lacey gasps. "Richie, stop." She stutters.

But Bill steps closer to Richie "Georgie is NOT dead!"

"You couldn't save him, now we need to save ourselves." Richie tries to get away but Bill steps back infront of him.

"No, T-t-t-take it back! You're scared, i mean we all are but," Bill pauses.

he then pushes Richie while yelling. "Take it back!" Then Richie pushes Bill.

Bill grabs on to the collar of Richie's shirt and punches him right in the face, causing him to fall down.

"Bill!" Lacey yells.

"YOU GUYS ARE A BUNCH OF LOSERS YOURE GONNA GET YOURSELVES KILLED TRYING TO-" Richie is pulled away from bill.

"stop!" lacey yells. "this is what it wants! to be divided! you saw what happened in there! we were all together, that's why we're still alive."

"oh yeah?" Richie interrupts,"I plan to keep it that way." He pushes Ben and Mike out of the way, but they follow him to their bikes along with Stan.

"Wait- Rich-" Lacey runs up to Richie while he grabs his bike.

"Go away-" He pushes her down. She stares up at him in awe.

Once he realized what he had done he felt terrible. "Oh my gosh Lace, I-" she cuts him off while Bill helps her up.

"No Richie! You, this- this isn't you!"  She backs up more, towards Bill.

"well I mean look at you, you've broken all of your promises!" Richie yells. "what?" Lacey tears up.

"You promised Bill we'd find georgie, hmm where is he? oh yeah i don't see him," Richie says sarcastically.

"You promised me you would leave me again and well, your standing by who? the boy who will GET YOU KILLED!" Richie yells and turns around on his back.

"No Richie" Lacey's voice cracks and a tear rolls down her cheek."You are the one leaving me."

"You've made me like you so much, you-you were my first kiss, I saved you and you've saved me, so if you stay here, it means you still want me and that you want to work this out, but if you leave, it means you lied about wanted me or at least you don't anymore."

Lacey is now almost balling. "Well, " Richie pauses. "I guess i'm a damn good liar." He then turns his head and pedals away with the rest of her best friends leaving Bill and Bev.

"Richie" ---

oh shih this was deep and i wanted to cry writing the ending ahhh