✓ | BETTER WITH YOU → richie tozier ³

eighteen

RICHIE HURRIEDLY dropped his bike onto Ash's front driveway, hearing the rest of them do the same to theirs, clatters ringing down the sidewalk.

He thundered up her porch steps and flung open her door, ignoring the once again sharp stab of pain from his wrist as he skidded into the front foyer.

"Allen!" He shouted, and slowly squinted in confusion as his voice echoed throughout the empty house.

He hesitated, and then stormed into the living room, looking wildly around as he searched the house.

When he finally ended up back in the kitchen, where the Losers and Mike were watching him with nervous glances, Bill said, "Ruh-Richie, I don't th-think she's here."

Richie raked his hands through his hair, his voice starting to slightly tremble. "I don't understand. I was sure this was were he would have brought her. She always needed me, and I always needed her."

He sank down at her dining room table, swallowing hard and trying to think.

"Where the hell could she be?" He asked, his tone ringing as he looked up at them.

As he strained his mind to think, they all nearly jumped out of their skins as the telephone let out a loud, piercing ring.

His eyes connected with it, and he was out of his seat and grabbing the receiver, jamming it to his ear.

"Hello?" He said, his voice slicing through the air.

"Richie Tozier." A foreboding voice slipped through the speaker, and Richie's words became so quiet with rage it was scary.

"What did you do with her?" He said, and Spencer laughed silkily, making the hairs on the back of Richie's neck stand up.

"We're playing a game." Spencer replied. "We're playing hide and seek. Except she couldn't hide very well. And I found her. Do you want to play, Richie? It's not very enjoyable with only two people."

"You sick son of a-"

"Ah, careful!" Spencer said lightly. "You wouldn't want to ruin the game, Tozier. It's no fun when someone ruins it for everyone playing."

Richie was so angry he was seeing white, and said in that same, scarily calm voice, "Where are you?"

"If I tell you, you have to promise to come alone. We don't want your friends getting any ideas, Richie. This has to be fair. No cheating. And if you are stupid enough to bring them along. . ."

The threat hung empty in the air, but Richie shakily swallowed. He had a good idea of what would happen, and the thought made him want to vomit.

"Fine." He said sharply, and Spencer continued, "Good. We're at your high school. We had to turn off all the lights, because it's more fun playing in the dark. And Richie? Don't get any ideas. Because if you do, there's a bullet waiting to go straight into her head."

Richie's blood went icy, and Spencer said, "See you soon."

And the connection went dead.

~

Ash's eyes snapped open, her breath coming short and ragged.

She blinked, her vision adjusting the darkness, and she could make out shapes and the only light was the faint almost pitch black dusk coming though the windows.

She winced as she felt the bump on the back of her head where Spencer had hit her, and she looked anxiously around for any sign of him, seeing none.