dusk till dawn ( stan uris ) ✔︎

six!

( WARNING:
mention of a homophobic slur and harrassment. also henry bowers. if any of these things trigger you or make you uncomfortable, please do not read on. your health is more important that this book. )

SIX

As soon as they had finished cleaning up, Levi heaved a sigh of relief, scurrying after Stan and taking a deep breath once they made their way to the fire-escape.

"Fresh, clean air. Finally," Levi groaned dramatically, her nose clogged up with the metallic smell of blood mixed with the sterilizing scent of cleaning supplies. She turned to Stan, grabbing his forearm and beginning to drag him down the small steps.

"Lev, slow down, you're going to make me trip," Stan laughed, tugging back to counteract Levi's pulling.

"I just...I can't stand being near there any longer. I love Bev, she's my friend, but something about that house just doesn't feel right, you know?" Levi shivered, gulping as she scrunched her nose up.

"Yeah," Stan nodded, his brows furrowed in understanding as he left Levi's side for a moment to shove the black trash bag he was carrying into a trash bin. When he returned, Levi had already picked up her bike and been joined by Ben and Eddie, both of whom had copied her actions. He could hear the faint voices of Bill, Hannah, and Bev coming down the fire-escape.

"Finally!" Richie exclaimed as he saw his friends coming towards him, biking in circles around them, whining dramatically, "I've been standing here for ages!"

"No, you haven't, Richard. Shut up," Hannah rolled her eyes as she walked nearer, grabbing her bike from the pavement and waiting for Bev to retrieve hers to start walking along with the group.

"I love being your personal doorman!" Richie continued, causing Levi to let out an exasperated sigh as she walked alongside Stan, who rolled his eyes slightly. "Really, could you idiots have taken any longer?"

"Richie, if you ride around one more time, I will knock you off that goddamn bike," Levi spit from behind gritted teeth as Richie pedaled past her.

"Shut up, Richie! Just shut up!" Eddie exclaimed, giving the bespectacled boy a wide-eyed look of frustration.

"Oh, okay. Trash the Trashmouth, I get it," Richie shot back at both Levi and Eddie, biking around in a circle for what Levi thought was the hundredth time; she had lost count at five. "Hey, I wasn't the one scrubbing the bathroom floor and imagining that her sink went all Eddie's mom's vagina on Halloween!"

"Gross, Rich," Hannah exclaimed from the front of the group, making to smack Richie in the back of the head as he passed her.

"She didn't imagine," Bill spoke up, causing the group to stop walking and Richie to finally stop his maddening turns. They all stared at each other, expressions full of a tinge of fear and worry. "I suh-suh-saw something too."

"You saw blood too?" Stan asked his friend, brows furrowed.

"Not blood...I saw Guh-guh-Georgie," Bill managed, making Levi tense up. At least now she knew that neither her nor Hannah were going insane. Or maybe they were all so scared and on edge because of the disappearances that they were experiencing folie à deux. But if that was so, how could they all be seeing different things if folie à deux meant they were all experiencing the same occurrences.

"It seemed so real...I mean, it seemed like he was there, but it wasn't him, it was a-" Bill continued, being interrupted by Eddie.

"A clown," The smaller boy finished, looking up at his friends with a conflicted expression. "I saw him too."