ᴅᴀʏʟɪɢʜᴛ || ʀɪᴄʜɪᴇ ᴛᴏᴢɪᴇʀ

~ Gray water ~

"Well, I'm starting to get itchy now and-" Richie interrupted, "Do you use the same bathroom as your mother?" "Sometimes, yeah," Eddie responded, not understanding the boy's point. "Then you probably have crabs." He stated, nonchalantly, continuing to walk into the tunnel. "You coming?" Richie asked the three standing at the entrance of the sewer.

Only he and Bill had dared to enter. Eddie shook his head, "No way, that's gray water." "What the hell is gray water?" Richie asked, clearly annoyed. "It's pretty much a mixture of piss and shit. So you guys are stepping in millions of gallons of Derry pee, just saying." Elaine grimaced, backing up into Stanley.

Richie stuck a nearby stick in the water, sniffing it. "Are you serious? What are you-" "It does not smell like caca to me señor." Eddie groaned at the boy's action. "Okay, I can smell that from here!" "That's probably just your breath wafting back into your face." The two bickered. "Are you serious? Have you ever heard of a staff infection?"

Eddie complained, backing further away. "I'll show you a staff infection." Richie hissed, using the same stick to pick up clothing soaked in gray water. He threw it toward Eddie, making him yell and jump back. "This is so unsanitary!" He began, holding back a gag. "This is like swimming in a toilet bowl-"

Richie ignored him and splashed the water around, making Eddie continue to gag and groan. "Rich, leave him alone." Elaine motioned towards Eddie who hyperventilated, Richie only lifting his arms up in defence. "He was asking for it!" "Guys!" Bill called, holding what looked to be a shoe. "Wait, is that.." Stan began.

"No, G-Georgie wore galoshes." The kids let out a sigh of relief. Elaine gulped at the thought. "Who's sneaker is it?" Eddie wondered. Richie peered inside the shoe, reading a name written in Sharpie on it's sole. "It's Betty Ripsom's." Eddie began to hyperventilate, searching for his inhaler in his pockets.

Bill and Richie shared nervous glances, Elaine and Stanley both frozen in place. "Oh god, fuck! I don't like this, guys, I don't fucking like this." Eddie paced. "I want to go home, Richie. Let's go home," Elaine began, the boy shaking his head no in return. "How do you think Betty feels, running around these tunnels with only one freaking shoe!" He laughed jumping around on one foot.

The water splashed around, Bill sending him a glare so he'd stop. "What if she's still in here?" Stanley asked, nervously looking around. Bill and Richie began walking deeper into the sewer. "Aren't you guys coming? Eddie? Laine?" Richie asked, looking back. Elaine took a step forward, her red Converse getting soaked.

She gagged at the feeling of the dirty water seeping through her ruffled socks. "My mom will have an aneurism if she finds out we're playing down here, I'm serious!" Eddie started. "If I was Betty Ripsom, I would want us to f-find me." The three kids at the entrance looked down. "G-Georgie too." Elaine walked further into the sewer, feeling horrible for what Bill had endured.

After having your little brother go missing, I guess walking through the sewers wasn't so bad. She walked towards Richie, the boy reaching out to help her through. "Atta girl. C'mon Doll," She smiled at his comment. He claimed to use it because she was perfect, almost like a porcelain doll.

I mean, it was true. Elaine's hair was always well done, she was always clean, and her skin was always clear. Who in Derry didn't think she was perfect? So he had started to call her doll, the rest of the Losers following along. "What if I don't want to find her?" Eddie started, the rest of the kids looking back at the boy confused. "What?"

"I mean, no offence Bill, but... I don't want to end up like G-" Elaine shot Eddie a glare, warning him not to go there. "I don't want to go missing either." "He has a point," Stanley added, looking unsure. "Y-You too?" Bill asked, disappointed. "It's summer! We're supposed to be having fun!" Stan defended. Bill looked to Richie, hoping for some form of backup, but Rich only shrugged.

"This isn't fun, this is scary, and disgusting-" But, before Stanley could finish his sentence, a large splash echoed behind them. They all jumped at the sudden sound, making their way back out of the tunnel to find someone laying in the stream's cold water. The kids all rushed to see who it could be when a chubby boy struggled to stand.

He looked injured, struggling to hold himself up straight. "Holy shit, what happened to you?" Richie asked, adjusting his glasses. Elaine stood on her tippy toes, trying to look over the tall boys to see what was possibly be going on this time. She squeezed her way out from behind the boys, running towards the injured one in the water.

"Ben?" She asked, going to help him to shore. "Oh hey, Eli." He waved, his face still scrunched up from the pain. Richie's face twisted at the use of this new nickname. He'd never heard that one before. Richie stayed put by Eddie, Bill and Stanley slowly following Elaine.  "You know this fucker?" Richie asked confused, his voice laced with jealousy.

Stan and Bill shared a look, holding back laughs as they helped the boy out of the water. "He's in my history class," Elaine said, wiping her wet and sandy hands on her shorts. "Come on, we've got to help him!" She said, motioning for Eddie and Richie to come over and help as well. Eddie quickly walked over, Richie taking his sweet time. behind him.

I mean, he didn't know the guy, who cares if he was hurt?  They helped the boy onto the back of Bill's bike, Richie stifling a laugh at the creaking metal. He was sure the bike was going to collapse under all the weight. "Look, I think it's great that we're helping the new kid, but, we also need to worry about ourselves." Eddie started, the kids riding toward the town's pharmacy.

"Do you guys know that theres an aids epidemic going on right now? My mom's friend got it just by touching a post in New York!" Richie rolled his eyes at the boy's rambling. Eddie groaned louder, the group pedalling into an alley by the pharmacy. "Alley's are a hotspot for needles and-" "Do you ever stop taking?" Richie snarked, dismounting his bike.

Elaine frowned, smacking his shoulder at the sound of his words. He'd been fine all morning, why had he suddenly turned rude? She ignored her thoughts, helping Ben onto a crate so he'd be able to sit down. The boy slowly lifted his shirt, revealing a swollen bleeding 'H' that'd been carved into his skin.

Eddie groaned, "Oh my god, he's bleeding!" Still annoyed, Richie put a hand to forehead, "It's a cut, obviously it's gonna bleed." Elaine turned around, swallowing the pit that'd formed in her throat. Ever since she'd found Chris, brains spilling out, face pale and lifeless, blood didn't sit right with her.

The five kids quickly scrambled to get inside the pharmacy, Elaine rushing to avoid the blood. Bill stopped at the door, eyeing Richie and Elaine, "Richie, L-Lainey, stay here with h-h-him." He instructed, Stan and Eddie walking into the shop behind him. This left Ben, Elaine and Richie to sit in awkward silence together.

Richie couldn't help but let his eyes linger on Ben's bloodied body. "Glad I got to meet you before you died." Ben sucked in a sharp breath, now starting to worry about his state. Was it that bad? Elaine noticed the tension, looking at Ben's face to avoid making eye contact with the blood. "He's joking. Isn't right Richie?"  She turned to look at Richie, the boy only rolling his eyes.

Elaine was nice to everyone, Richie knew that better than anyone. But, there was something about the way Ben was looking at her that made him so jealous. "Hmm?" He hummed, pretending he wasn't paying any attention. Elaine soughed, placing a hand on Richie's shoulder. "Don't mind him, he's just on his period." Richie suddenly looked up, "What?!"