Shut Up, Tozier || R•T [✔]

The Sneaker

                    

"Dear Lord Eddie, must you be such a pain?" Richie whined, taking a sip of his water.

"I wouldn't be such a pain if you would just help for once! Sam and I are doing literally everything while you sit there drinking your water. Water that I got you might I add, because you agreed to help us if I did!" Eddie groaned, flourishing his hands about.

"Sam doesn't care! Right Sam?" Richie tried, only earning a glare from the girl. "Awe, she's mad. How cute." Richie smirked.

"Don't test me Tozier." She smiled playfully. 

Eddie gaped at her.

"Don't flirt with him when I'm trying to prove a point Samantha!" Eddie nearly shouted. Earning a smirk and a flip of the bird from her. Eddie rolled his eyes, turning to a group of trees. "When is Bill going to be back with more sticks? Him and Stan have been gone for ages!"

"You just whine about everything don't ya spaghetti?" Richie laughed.

"I swear, if you call me that one more time Richie!" Eddie shouted. Sam bit into her hand in attempt to stifle her laughter. Eddie snapped his head towards her. "And what is so funny may I ask?"

She didn't answer, instead she just broke out into laughter.

"W-What's so funny?" The three turned to the noise as they saw Bill and Stan coming through the brush.

"Eddie is being a whiny little b-" 

"Richie!" Sam cut him off.

"I was going to say biscuit Samantha." Richie lied, winking at her with a smile.

"How's the dam coming?" Stan asked, snatching the water from Richie's hand and taking a drink.

"Awful, your main man Tozier over here won't do squat." Eddie pouted, picking up a pile of newly acquired sticks.

"Q-Quit slacking Richie." Bill glared at him, Richie just flipped him off, taking his water back from Stan.

"I'm going for a walk, I can't just stand in one place all day." Sam shrugged, starting to walk away from the group.

"W-Wait Sam!" Bill called out, she turned around. "We'll c-come with you. W-We can go to the sewer." Bill said, packing some of his things up. 

"Sounds good to me." Sam said, skipping back to the group. Richie groaned.

"But guys! I just got comfy!" He complained, making Sam chuckle.

"Just? You have been sitting there at least 20 minutes, get up." She smiled.

"Only if I get a kiss." He winked.

"Not happening Tozier, nice try though." She laughed.

"You know, you might come off as creepy to some people Richie, best to not act like a total perv in public settings." Stan chuckled.

"Oh go screw yourself Uris." He chuckled back, standing up.

The group walked to the sewers together, Eddie and Richie in the front, arguing about whatever it was this time. Bill and Stan in the middle, talking about their visit to the quarry tomorrow. While Sam stood in the back, observing. 

Sam stuffed her hands in the pockets of her (surprisingly tight for 80's style) jeans. She wondered how she got friends like this, smiling to herself. The five of them had been best friends since they were in first grade. Sam never told any of them, but she deeply appreciated the bond that came of it. They were going on seven years of being the "losers", making her know how unbreakable their friendship was.

"Sam?" She broke from her daze when Stan snapped his fingers at her. She blushed. Had she been staring? "You were staring off into space, smiling like an idiot..." He said slowly.

"I um, had things on my mind." She said shortly. Stan furrowed his eyebrows, yet didn't push.

"C'mon! The water's fine!" Richie joked from inside the tunnel. Sam giggled and rolled her eyes, following him inside.

"Aren't you coming?" Richie asked Eddie.

He shook his head slowly, "Uh-uh, that's gray water." Eddie explained, gesturing at the murky water that they walked in. Sam knew a fight was coming on between the two, so she squeezed past and walked over to Bill.

"Lemme help." She said with a smile, pulling a flashlight from Bill's satchel. He smiled back as she shined the light into the water. 

Sam tuned into the conversation behind her just long enough to hear; "Doesn't smell like caca to me Senior!" she chuckled under her breath, before feeling the same breath get stuck in her throat as she saw something.

Sam leaned down to examine the small tip of rubber sticking out from the groggy water. Using her index finger and thumb, she gently griped the rubber, pulling it from it's depths.

"Bill." She choked out, shining the light on the white sneaker that she pulled from the water. She heard the sound of Bill's breath hitching as he saw the shoe as well. She stood up, handing it to him.

As Bill turned around, it caught the attention of the three boys behind them. "God, don't tell me that's-" Stan started, but cut himself off. Bill knew what he was getting at though.

"No... G-Georgie wore galoshes..." He said slowly, earning a mental sigh of relief from all of them before they realized that it still had to be someone's shoe.

"Then who's sneaker is it?" Eddie said, barely above a whisper. Richie walked over, gently taking the flashlight from Sam's hand before shining it into the inner lining of the shoe.

"It's Betty Ripsom's..." Sam closed her eyes tightly, they hadn't come to find the shoe of a missing kid, they came to get away from the dam. The stress overwhelmed her as she hugged herself. Richie seemed to notice her tense up, seeing as he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a hug. She buried her face into his soft tee shirt, trying to think happy thoughts.

"I don't like this." Eddie hissed.

"How do you think Betty feels?" Richie smirked. "Running around in these tunnels with only one freaking shoe." He snickered at his own joke. Sam propped her chin on his chest, sending him a deathly glare. His smile faded at the glare he received and decided to shut up for once. Sam and Richie made eye contact, but it was quickly broken when a loud splash came from the stream nearby. All five heads snapped to the due to the noise. Confusion washed over Sam's face as she saw a (pretty beaten up) kid, panting in the water.

"Holy s*** what happened to you!?"