𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫

𝟎𝟐 ~ 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫!

[chapter two - title]

For the next month and a half, all that Richie and [Name] could talk about was the Devil House. It became such an odd obsession of his that he began spending time in the public library, where he would return bursting with knowledge about the Devil family and their tragic history. Every now and then, Richie, Eddie, [Name], and Bill would bike to the edge of town near the hill where the house rested, dark and decaying, just to stare at it, hoping that something would happen. A shadow in the window or a flock of crows creepily exploding from the chimney.

And yet, the house lay silent. Dead.

However, now that September was coming to a close and the leaves were not just falling but collecting in clumps in the drains, the Losers were worrying about other things, like Halloween and the winter formal. Mike had the brilliant idea to cut holes into old white sheets to wear as simple ghost costumes in substitute for something more elaborate, as the teens would be discarding them on the corner where Neibolt street began.

"I'm nervous, [Name]," Eddie admitted to his friend as they waited in the lunch line. "Seriously. If either one of us has an asthma attack, it's game over. You know that, right?" He grabbed an orange from the counter and put it on his lunch tray, handing the lady his lunch money and then following [Name] back to their table.

"Don't be wimpy, Eds. Just take a deep breath and you'll be fine." Eddie opened his mouth to correct her, knowing fully well that she was aware of his asthma, but quickly shut it. She would never like someone who corrected and nitpicked her all the time, right?

"I mean, I don't know what Richie's all on about, this whole thing about the blood moon being important or whatever," [Name] continued, crossing the aisle and stepping over someone's backpack. She gasped and turned to Eddie with an excited expression. "Oh my gosh, we should totally go to the library after school and do our own research! No offense, but Richie isn't exactly a scholar, so he's bound to miss something—"

Eddie interrupted her with a nervous expression. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why do you care all of a sudden? I thought this wasn't your 'thing' or whatever," he pointed out, readjusting his grip on his plastic tray as a clot of mashed potatoes flung from someones spoon and splattered on the back of a boys head standing two feet away.

"No, it's not your 'thing,'" the [color] haired girl countered with a smug grin. "I can handle it, but you know, if you're too chicken . . ."

"Count me in," Eddie sighed, begrudgingly setting the tray down on the table. [Name] smiled and copied his actions, feeling a mixture of excitement and nerves. She couldn't believe that this was all happening, that they were going to go explore a legitimate haunted house. However, beneath the excitement of the promise to an adventure of a lifetime, there was the underlying fear and nerves that exploded even at the thought of biking up to that path.

[Name] was brought back to the lunchroom at the sound of laughter coming from her friends, and she was quickly absorbed in the positivity their lunch table radiated. As long as she didn't die, she would be fine.

Right?

Eddie and [Name] allowed their bikes to drop to the damp ground behind a large pine tree, concealed from any potential hobos looking for a fresh pair of wheels. Eddie clutched his fanny pack to his chest, layered in a wool sweater that was a size too large for him. [Name] blew a strand of hair out of her face and gestured for Eddie to follow her up the front steps into the coolness of the library. They immediately fell into a shallow rhythm of hollow footsteps punctuated by the occasional whisper.