Love Bites from Hell (IT Fanfic)

The Losers Club

    Aunt Roselyn engulfed me in a tight hug after I opened the door, "Oh Ramona, I was so worried!"
"Aunty," I sighed, pushing from her bountiful bosom, "I told you I was going exploring."
"Four hours ago!"
I stood there in shock, had it really been four hours? It seemed like it was only an hour or so once I left, so how did time pass me by so quickly? I quickly apologized and told her I lost track of time to which she only ruffled my hair and told me not to do it again.

    "Remember child," Roselyn spoke solemnly, "Never go out past seven o'clock--"
I cut her off swiftly with a chuckle, "Aunty, you tell me this every time I visit Derry! I'm a resident now, I'll be fine!"
She grabbed my shoulders and jerked me forward; it caught me off guard as she seriously whispered, "There's something in this town taking children. I can't risk losing you or Monika."
I swallowed the thick lump in my throat, coaxing myself to smile as I nodded; agreeing that I wouldn't go out after seven.

    It was only three in the afternoon, yet I didn't quite want to leave the house. Instead of asking aunt Roselyn if there was something I could do; I pulled out a small sketch pad and a pencil. I closed my eyes, trying to remember the blur and what I had seen in it. I started with the outfit; puffy collar and sleeve ends, three large Pom Pom like decorations, beige, old.... I couldn't see anything else after that. I set the pad down and turned over on my side, catching a glimpse of someone outside of my window.

    I hopped up and pulled my jacket on, walking over to the window and yanking it open. I didn't see anyone at first, but then a head full of dark hair and glasses popped from under the window. I shrieked and fell onto my backside, eyes wide with curiosity of who were they and why did they try to scare me. They boy laughed heartily, holding his sides as he attempted to climb in the window. I stared at him awkwardly; I was unsure if I should trust him after the stunt he just pulled.

    "So you're the new kid?" He spoke, holding out a hand for me to grab. Slowly, I wrapped my hand with mine. As he hauled me up, I spoke softly, "I'm Ramona. Ramona Boswell."
He smirked triumphantly, "I'm Richie, I'm friends with Ben."
"Okay... I see..." my voice wavered as I spoke, still unsure of the kid. He was just about my age, just around 13, so I didn't mind as much.
"Sorry for scaring you, just seemed like the perfect opportunity!" He placed his hands on his hips and struck a pose, laughing again as I snickered. The kid was kinda cute, a good sense of humor too.

    "Well, not so much scared as I was surprised." I smiled, brushing my butt off from all the dust that collected on my floor over the years that I have yet to clean. He sniffed the air then sneezed, nearly falling flat on his face. It was my turn to laugh, so I let out a genuine laugh; my sides hurting from the force of it. Richie stood up straight again and frowned, pushing me playfully, "Maybe you should clean this dump."
"Maybe you shouldn't climb through people's windows." I wiped a tear from my eye as my laughing attack finally seized.

    Richie grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the window, "Come on, Bill and the gang are waiting!"
"Shouldn't I tell my aunt I'm leaving?"
"Roselyn?" He questioned, "You're Roselyn's niece?"
His eyes went wide as he stared at me, his jaw so slack I thought it would fall from it's hinges.
"Um... yeah?" I looked him up and down, wondering what that look was about. He smiled wide and grabbed my hand, "She's told Bill a lot about you, come meet him!"

    I bit my lip nervously as I pulled my hand away and scribbled a quick note for aunt Roselyn, letting her know where I was and what as I was doing and left it on the door. Richie and I crawled out from my window and shimmied down the tree it was by; reaching the ground and grabbing our bikes. We sped off down the road; letting Richie lead me since I didn't know where Bill and his gang were. When we stopped, I pulled the rubber band off my wrist, quickly pulling my hair into a ponytail above my bandana.

    There stood five kids; Ben, Bill, some girl with long red hair, the Rabbis son, and a really small and skinny kid. I climbed off of my bike, putting down the kickstand and awkwardly rubbed my upper arm. Richie smiled, "Do you guys know Ramona?"
"I do." Ben smiled, Bill nodding slowly in agreement. The girl only smiled and waved; I smiled shyly and waved back. The scrawny boy looked skeptically at me, his fingers curling tighter around his handle bars.

    Richie cleared his throat and motioned to the girl, "That's Beverly, sweet girl. Eddie," he paused, " he's the spaz."
"Am not you asshole!" Eddie growled, glaring at the other teen. Richie snickered evilly before pointing at the rabbis son, "That's Stan."
Stan waved partially, a crooked smile playing on his lips. We stood there for a while and joked about a few different things, only for someone to drive by, throwing something at the back of my head.

    My eyesight was black momentarily, the shooting pain through my head rendered it useless. "Get out of our town you damn gypsy!" A teen yelled, and I knew that voice well. Henry Bowers was my bully through most of my childhood in Derry, and now he's found me again. Regaining my sight, I spun around and threw the thing I had in my hand, and old book I found by the sewers. It smacked his nose before I yelled, "Look in there for some better insults asshole!"

    The car they were in sped down the road, my book laying on the road. I frowned and walked to the road, picking up my book and studying the damage before a horn blaring made my head snap to attention. Just before I had been hit, somebody pulled me to safety from the other side of the road. My heartbeat was pounding in my ears, my guard down for a moment so I could breathe. I opened my eyes, not realizing I had closed them in the process. When I went to thank my rescuer, my breath was caught in my throat.

    Staring down at me was my uncle, still sixteen years old with a sickly purple color to his skin. He looked rotten, his skin peeling from his face; his eyes were missing and his teeth exposed. His bloated hand began to reach for me, coming in contact with my arm before I yanked myself away; starting to scramble my way out of the ditch I had fallen in.

    I ran from the loose patch of dirt, narrowly avoiding a dog that darted for me. My eyes darted from side to side as I searched for the others; finally my eyes landed on Stan, the teen sprinting over to me. "Ramona, what happened!?" My mind went blank as I tried to think of an explanation; they wouldn't believe me if I told them about my uncle. I quickly filed through my mind for an excuse, "I... I fell."
They stared at me for a moment before the sky grew dark, "Let's head back... aunt Roselyn's gonna kill us."