IT (Richie Tozier X Reader)

-'☆》𝟐《☆'-

"Take everything but the Delicious Deals, guys. My mom loves them." The first full day of summer break found us raiding Eddie's pantry for snacks before we head to the Barron's. I opened the fridge and dug through it.

"Hey Eds, you got any Squeezit?" I question, glancing back at him.

"Top row behind the Pepsi." He nods, pointing before going back to whatever he was doing before. I push it aside to find one apple flavor and one punch flavor. I stand there for a moment before deciding to grab both.

"Hey, first you said the Barrens, and now you're saying the sewer. I mean, what if we get caught?" Eddie asked as I open a pantry door.

"We won't, Eds. The sewers are public works. We're the public aren't we?" I question him with a small smirk, grabbing the box of shark bite fruit snacks and the bag of cool ranch Doritos, stuffing them in my bag.

"Hey, Eddie, these your birth control pills?" Richie asks, opening a cabinet with tons of medication and pill bottles. He grins, throwing his eyebrows up looking at us as Eddie walks up to the cabinet.

"Yeah, and I'm saving it for your sister. This is private stuff." He huffs, closing the cabinet with a glare. Richie and I giggle as Eddie walks out of the kitchen. I lean over to Richie and try not to giggle too loudly.

"It's weird to think that Mrs.Kaspbrak was once sexually active. I don't think I would believe it if it weren't for Eddie. " I whisper. Richie lets out a loud, crude laugh and I punch his arm.

"Shut up! Rich, be quiet!" I whisper tell at him as I try not to laugh. Eventually, I cave as Eddie death stares us from the hallway. We lean on each other for support. Our laughter fizzles out after a minute and we enter the hallway, clutching our sides. Our giggles alert Mrs. Kaspbrack of our attempted exit.

"Eddie Bear, where you kids off to in such a rush?" She questions from the living room. Bill steps forward.

"Um, j-j-ju-just my backyard, Mrs. K. I got a new..." Bill stops talking and just stares.

"A new croquet set. Jeez, spit it out B-B-Bill." Richie chimes in, Mrs. K watching us suspiciously as she blows on her wet nails. She nods.

"Okay. Oh, and sweetie, don't go rolling around on the grass. Especially if it's just been cut. You know how bad your allergies can get." She cautions.

"Yes, Mom. Let's go." Eddie mutters, lightly pushing Bill towards the door. Mrs. Kaspbrak's eyes fall on you as the kid's channel on the tv chatters on in the background.

"Y/n honey, how's Brenda doing?" She asks. I gulp and shake my hands. As I awkwardly glance at the floor.

"Mom's been better. She hasn't gone back to work yet but Jonathan's been picking up extra shifts at the mechanic and started up another job sorting mail at the post office." I answer. She tuts.

"That boy works too hard. The number of germs on those letters, the number of tongues that seal those envelopes shut, disgusting," She shutters. I just nod and glance between her and the boys. She sighs, shaking her head before looking back at you. "Well, I hope you and your family overcome this. It's a downright shame to watch an old friend struggle like this. Send them my love." I nod, muttering a small thanks before walking out the door. I faintly hear Sonia call Eddie back before the boys followed quickly behind me. I zone off as we get on our bikes and start heading for the sewers.

Mrs. Kaspbrak knew all about my family, having gone through High School and College with my mother. Two negative make a positive and their friendship blossomed. They grew apart a bit once they became adults but having kids the same age as each other pushed them back together. Frank Kaspbrak died of phenomena when Eddie and I were five years old. My mom started helping them out more, spending her work breaks feeding into Sonia's newfound hypochondria. I spent more and more time with my dad and brother but that was completely fine with me. January is when it snows the most in Maine. It was also when my dad was the busiest. He would drive in and out of town for business meetings and deals constantly. In January this year, he was driving back from a week-long trip. He'd been in New York, meeting with higher-ups and settling some stuff. It was supposed to be his last big trip since he was being promoted and would have been allowed to do alot of work from home. Police couldn't figure out exactly how but his car tires had slid on the icy road when he attempted to stop. They don't know why he tried to stop but his car went straight through the thin frozen layer of the lake next to the road at around 11:30 pm. They found him the next morning still in his seat, his body bloating and turning grey in the freezing water. His eyes were wide open, his hands clutching the seatbelt that kept him in. Mother wailed. I had never heard her scream as loud as she had when she got that call. Then she went quiet. Mother doesn't talk much anymore. She'll talk to Mrs. K for a few minutes every weekend on the phone but it's nothing compared to the hours of conversations they used to have daily. She doesn't really speak to me. The only time she has spoken to me since the accident was the day after. She came up with a glare and a little box wrapped in torn-up, water-damaged wrapping paper. The yellow ribbon wrapped around it was untied. Mom had opened it thinking it was a present to her from her dead husband. She shoved the box into my hands with a sneer.