"I've realized that..." he started, then took a shaky breath. "Earlier today, when Stanley pulled you aside... seeing you two so close and secretive, I hated it." The words tumbled out in a rush. "I don't like how others make you smile..." He traile...
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*•°Third Person's POV°•*
The Losers were gathered in Bill's garage, the air thick with a tension that had nothing to do with the summer heat. Bill was pinning a large map of Derry to the wall while Stanley diligently covered the windows, blocking out the cheerful daylight. When Ben arrived, Mike closed the garage door, sealing them in their makeshift war room. Vanessa and Eddie worked in quiet tandem, setting up the old projector, their movements a silent language of comfort.
They all took their seats on the dusty floor. Vanessa settled herself between Eddie's legs, his presence a solid, calming anchor against the fear coiling in her stomach. She always felt safer when she was close to him.
"Okay, look," Bill said, his voice cutting through the quiet.
Everyone focused on the map. Bill pointed with a determined finger. "That's where Georgie disappeared. There's the ironworks, and the Black Spot. Everywhere it happens, it's all connected by the sewers, and they all meet up at the..."
"The well house," Ben finished, his eyes wide with the realization.
"It's in the house on Neibolt Street," Stanley pointed out, his voice hushed.
Eddie's breathing hitched. He fumbled for his inhaler, taking two quick, desperate pulls. The familiar hiss sounded abnormally loud in the tense silence.
"You mean that creepy-ass house where all the junkies and hobos like to sleep?" Richie asked, his face pulled into a grimace of disgust.
Eddie was gasping, the air seeming to thin around him. Vanessa turned to look at him, her worry for his health spiking into genuine fear. His face was pale.
"I hate that place. It always feels like it's watching me," Beverly murmured, hugging her knees to her chest.
"That's where I saw It," Eddie whispered, his voice strained. "That's where I saw the clown." Vanessa's heart ached for him as he struggled to draw a full breath.
"T-t-that's where It lives," Bill stated, his gaze fixed on the nexus of sewer lines on the map.
Eddie took another frantic pull from his inhaler. "I can't imagine anything ever wanting to live there," Stanley said, trying to inject logic into the mounting terror.
"Can we stop talking about this?" Eddie suddenly exploded, lurching to his feet. "I can barely breathe! This is summer! We're kids! I can barely breathe. I'm up here having a fucking asthma attack. I'm not doing this!" In a surge of panic, he ripped the map from the wall.
"Eddie-" Vanessa was on her feet instantly, going to him.
"What the hell? Put the map back!" Bill snapped.
But Vanessa was already there, her hands cupping Eddie's face, forcing him to look at her, to focus on her and not the suffocating fear. "Breathe, Eds. Just look at me. Breathe with me," she whispered, her own heart hammering.
