derry, maine | it imagines ✔️

29. lost dog - eddie kaspbrak

Requested?:
Yes: [✔️] ; by @Megan_E_Schneider
No: []

Song?: No

The small town of Derry always knew Mike Hanlon as the animal lover. Living on his grandfather's farm and taking care of the animals there had shaped him into it. However, there was one other animal lover in Derry. Her name was Megan. She didn't live on a farm like Mike, and she didn't own a lot of animals. But, she adored her little dog, Oscar. He always followed her around town, even without a leash. Only at school was Megan ever seen without her dog trailing a foot behind her. She was extremely protective of Oscar, because if anything happened to him, it would crush her.

But, something did happen. One spring day, Megan went home after school, ready for the weekend, but when she arrived, Oscar wasn't there. He had slipped out of his collar, which had a leash clipped to it to keep him in the backyard. She searched her house and backyard for any sign of him, but she couldn't find Oscar.

Megan called up her friends, Greta and that group, and she asked them to come help her look for him. The girls agreed, but all of them except Megan gave up after an hour, saying it was getting late and they were tired.

She spent most of her weekend making 500 multi-colored flyers with Oscar's picture on it. She had the description of him, as well as a $50 reward, and she was going to hang them up before and after school. She was determined to find her dog.

When Megan walked into school, she immediately pulled out her stack of one hundred flyers that she separated specifically for the high school. She grabbed her stapler and worked on hanging one up on the bulletin board outside the office. After one was hung up, she turned her head and saw Greta. "Hey!" she called, making the girl turn her head. "Can you help me with this?"

Greta almost answered, but another girl pulled her away, and Greta made a fake pout and walked off with her. Megan sighed, but continued. She balanced the stack of flyers on her knee while she stapled another to the board. "Do you need help?" someone asked.

Megan looked over to the left and saw a boy with brown hair and eyes. He wasn't much taller than Megan, which meant he was very short too, because Megan was one of the shortest kids in school. He had a fanny pack clipped around his waist, but he gave her a smile.

"Um, sure, yeah, that would be nice. Thanks," she replied, and the boy nodded. She handed him most of the stack, while keeping about ten for herself. "Just hand these out to people. If there are any extras when the bell rings, you can just give them back to me after school. I'm Megan, by the way."

The boy nodded again, looking over the flyer. "Eddie," he told her with a small smile. A group of three boys appeared behind Eddie, and glanced at Megan. Eddie turned to them, then looked back at Megan. "These are my friends, Bill, Richie, and Stan," he gestured to each of them, and the only one Megan vaguely recognized was Bill. "They'll help too."

Eddie handed them some of the flyers, and they nodded. "Thank you so much, guys. It means a lot," Megan told them. The boys shrugged it off, and walked around the school, handing out the flyers.

Two weeks passed but there was still no sign of Oscar. Eddie and his friends had helped out several times, but to no avail. She had told them that they didn't have to, but Eddie insisted. A few times it was just Megan and Eddie, but that didn't bother them. She had grown to like the boy's company, actually.

Megan sat at the lunch table, picking at her food, waiting for Greta to show up. Once the girl did, Megan asked for her opinion, "Do you think I should make more flyers? To let everyone know that he's still missing?"

Greta placed her fork on the table. "Listen, Megan, I'm gonna be honest with you. You sound like a crazy person. It's been two weeks. Just accept the fact that Oscar isn't coming back. You're starting to sound like," she paused, then pointed over at Bill. Megan knew that his little brother, Georgie, went missing in October and they still hadn't found him. "Just get over it." Megan looked over at her other friends, and they all nodded agreeing with Greta.

"If you were really my friends," Megan started, standing up from the table, "then you would be helping me look for him, not telling me to give up. You're nothing but a bunch of stuck-up bitches who only care about themselves."

Megan walked away from the table, with the whole room looking at her. She was pretty sure she heard a few people clap for her, but she ignored it, and she spent the rest of the lunch period in the bathroom, hiding from Greta and her so-called friends.

The rest of the day dragged on, but one thought kept nagging Megan. She couldn't help but think What if Greta's right? Should she give up on trying to find her dog? Greta did have a point. It's been two weeks. It would be a miracle if she found him.

After school ended, Megan skipped out on looking for Oscar. Instead, she just walked home by herself, sadness in her heart. Oscar was gone for good. When she got to her house, she locked herself in her room, since her parents wouldn't be home until much later.

The house was completely silent, that is, until someone knocked on the door. Megan stood at the front door. "Who is it?" she called, pressing her ear to the door.

"It's Eddie," he answered. "Please open the door, Megan."

Megan pulled open the front door, and when she saw Eddie, she covered her mouth with her hand. Eddie was standing before her, holding Oscar in his arms. He slightly shrugged with a small smile. Tears poured down Megan's face, staining her cheeks. Eddie handed her the small dog, and Megan held Oscar close to her body. "How did you find him?" she choked out.

"I saw him rustling around in the forest as I walked home from school. Took me a while to get him to come to me, though," Eddie chuckled, slightly patting the dog's head.

"Thank you, Eddie. Thank you so much," Megan whispered. The boy nodded. "Stay here for a second." Megan placed Oscar down, giving him some food, which he happily began to eat. Megan returned to the boy, and threw her arms around him. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

When they pulled away, Megan leaned up and kissed his cheek. The boy blushed, mumbling that he had to leave, and the girl waved goodbye. As he walked down the sidewalk, Eddie couldn't help but look back to her. "You're welcome," he said quietly.