hard times// eddie + richie // IT

stan's club

*FROM THE POV OF STAN*
in order to enhance the experience, i suggest you play pumped up kicks (bridge law remix), when i tell you it's time. you don't have to, but i totally would.

"really stan?" my dad snaps. i feel my shoulders scrunch up.
"we've been practicing for so long." he sighs.
"i know, dad," i groan.
"you're gonna have to study more," my dad sighs.
"can i leave yet?" i ask him. he shooes me with his hand. leaving the book on the altar, i jog out of the temple to my bike. fuck my bar mitzvah, i wanna go see bev. i pedal my bike through the quiet streets of derry. i'm really excited to see beverly, but i'm not gonna show it. i turn down a back road, because shortcuts? duh? as i pedal, i spot bev's bike on the side of the road. why would she be near make out point? suddenly, my heart freezes. bill's bike is here too.
i drop my bike, not caring about the paint anymore. i run through the forest, searching for something, anything, to prove that they weren't doing what i thought they were. i run to make our point, which is a private little cliff side with a large boulder not too far in the distance. i really only think high schoolers use the boulder. there sit beverly and bill. they talk quietly, and i can feel bill's nervousness from the bushes i was standing in. i can't quite make out what they're saying.
bill touches beverley's cheek. beverly leans in.
no.
no.
NO!
they lock lips, right there in front of me. i was so STUPID! she never liked me! it was always bill. always had been. god dammit, i knew this would happen, and i still fell in love. STUPID. STUPID. STUPID. i knew this would happen, but it still hurt. i had never been in love before, and this hurt like hell. i couldn't watch it anymore. it hurt.
i turned around and ran. fast. i didn't care where i was going anymore, just that i needed to leave, fast. tears welled in my eyes, and felt hot against my face as they fell. i stopped in front of a large oak tree, where i tried to calm down. my tears just kept coming. god, this hurt like hell. why me? why does stan get punished?
distantly, i could hear music.
*START THE SONG HERE IF YOU WISH*
i wiped my tears on my sleeve and traveled towards the music. its upbeat tune brought me closer to it. soon, i ended up in a clearing. in the middle of the clearing was a huge, black building with purple windows. the sun was setting, so i could see lights flashing from inside. was this some sort of secret club? i walked towards the doors and opened them.
the music blasted so loud that i had to cover my ears.  a huge group of people danced on the dance floor, while others stood at the bar, ordering drinks. i was thirsty, maybe i could get a water.
i walked up to the bar tender, who must've been about twenty. she had purple hair and lots of piercings. she looked at me.
"what d'ya want kid?" she asked. i looked at her with a confused look. does she not realize i'm thirteen?
"just a water, please," i tell, over all the music. she nods and brings back a water. before she leaves, i had a couple questions.
"what is this place?" i asked her.
"this is escape from reality," she said, nonchalantly.
"what does that even mean?" i laugh.
"it means anyone can came here, no judging. you come here, you party. you can be any age, any race, and sexuality. it doesn't matter." she replies. before i can ask another question, she continues.
"you look like you need to loosen up. have you been crying?" she asks. i blush.
"hey, you look like a whiskey kind of guy. ever drank whiskey before?" she asks.
"uh, i'm thirteen," i say, shocked she would even ask.
"so? remember, we don't judge." she answers. i think for a moment. what would beverly say?
wait. fuck her, and bill too. i laugh.
"bottoms up, then!" i cheer. the barista laughs, and brings out an entire bottle of whiskey.
"we're gonna need this," she says.
*STOP THE MUSIC HERE*

shit. my head. i lay in the grass, not too far from my bike. what even happened last night? last thing i remember is drinking a glass of whiskey with the bartender last night at escape from reality. i sit up. i think i had fun? i can't quite remember. i guess i could ask the bar tender. so, i walk slowly back towards escape from reality. i walk past make out point. then, all the memories come back, each one a worse punch than the next. bill and beverly kissed. that's why i found escape from reality. that definitely improved my mood. i make it to the clearing, finally. i walk up to the purple building, and tug on the door handle. it's closed, and it doesn't open until 7:00 tonight. rolling my eyes, i turn back to walk to my bike. holy shit, hangovers suck. i turn to loop around a tree, and something crinkles in my pocket. i pull it out. it's a picture of me and the bartender, and there's a pretty girl around my age sitting next to me.  we're all laughing our asses off. i'm laughing way harder than i ever had sober. huh, looks like i DID have fun. i make it back to my bike, and i mount it. where to? certainly not home, i smell like alcohol. who's parents aren't home? for a few moments, i thought. then, i knew. i would go to richie's house.
after a long bike there. i dropped my bike in richie's driveway. i knocked on the door, and after a minute or two, eddie opened the door.
"you look like shit," he stated.
"i know," i answered.
"what the hell happened?" he asked.
"don't wanna talk about it," i mumbled.
"do you wanna come in?" he asked, and motioned me in. as i walked past him, he gagged.
"you smell AWFUL. go shower, please," he groaned. i rolled my eyes.
"that's why i came, dumbass." as i walked through the living room, i saw richie, curled up on the couch, fast asleep. i walked into the bathroom.
damn, eddie wasn't wrong. there were deep purple circles under my eyes, and my hair had been matted down, so it wasn't curly anymore, it just sat on my head awkwardly in chunks. my shirt was unbuttoned halfway, revealing my chest. stains covered my face, hands, and clothes. i wasn't even going to think about what they were. i peeled the clothes off my body and hopped in the shower. did i seriously get drunk over beverly? i would've gotten it if i were an adult, but i'm THIRTEEN for god's sake. what was i even thinking? the steam from the hot water helped my headache a ton, and lifted my spirits. when i was done, i wrapped a towel around my waist and walked out of the bathroom.
"my clothes are trashed, can i borrow some of richie's?" i asked eddie. he nodded and pointed towards richie's room.
i threw on a baggy hoodie and some sweatpants i found in the drawers. i walked out of richie's room and laid in the reclining chair in the living room. i was about to fall asleep, when eddie shook me gently.
"c'mon, you need to eat something," he told me. i nodded, and stood up very slowly. my headache was sure back.
i sat down at the kitchen table, while eddie boiled a pot of water. he sat down across from me.
"tell me everything." he insisted.

I never do stan's point of view, but this is a crucial part of the story. i may do more from stan's pov, as well as beverly and ben.