THE SEVENTH WHEEL.. mike hanlon x pennywise ✔️

iv. the meeting

Penny smiled at Mike. Mike smiled right back. "Hi, Penny!"

"Hey, Mike," Penny said shyly.

"I want you to meet my friends," Mike said, smiling even wider.

If Mike were to turn around at that exact moment, he would have seen Richie's eyes widen in horror as he watched his friend talk to a clown that had appeared out of nowhere. Richie grabbed onto Eddie's arm and Eddie just stared. Bill and Stan took a couple steps back, and Stan was gripping Bill's hand so tightly it was turning pale. Ben and Bev just stood and stared, similarly to Eddie.

But as Mike continued to talk to Penny, the clown continued to grow more shy. "I don't know if your friends would want to meet me," Penny admitted. "I can see their faces from
here. They don't want to see me."

Mike turned around. The Losers tried to act natural, but Richie couldn't hide anything. His mouth was gaping, his eyes were wide, and Eddie's arms were wrapped around him. Mike noticed Eddie murmuring into Richie's ear. Probably words of comfort, Mike thought angrily. Then he remembered that Richie was afraid of clowns. He suddenly felt sympathetic towards his friend.

He turned back to look at Penny. The look on his new friend's face was devastated. He looked so sad that Mike's friends were afraid of him. "I'm sorry, Penny. I'll be right back."

Penny nodded, the frown on his face still evident.

Mike strolled back over to his friends, but the Losers said nothing. Eddie, who was still basically holding Richie (even though Richie was twice his height), was the first to speak.

"Um, Mike? I'm sure, you know, I'm sure your friend is nice and all, but I'm not sure they're a match for Richie."

Richie said nothing. He was looking at the ground.

Bill spoke next. "Euh-Eddie's right. A-as much as I-I'd like t-to m-m-meet your fruh-friend, I don't know if now is a-a good t-time."

Mike understood. No one wanted to meet Penny. But then, the small cat appeared next to Mike's foot. It was gray with tabby stripes, and had dark yellow eyes. He picked it up and stroked it, knowing it was Penny.

He held it out for Richie to take, knowing Richie liked cats. His friend took the little cat and Eddie backed away. "I'm allergic," he explained.

The little cat climbed up Richie's chest and rested on his shoulder. "Where'd you come
from?" Richie asked the little gray cat in a gentle voice.

"Oh, just from the sewers," said Penny the Cat.

Richie jumped in surprise. Penny went flying, but Bill reached out and caught him. "Y-you can tuh-talk?"

"Oh, of course I can talk. I'm not really a cat," Penny explained.

Ben gave Mike a hard look, and them turned to Penny. "What do you mean, you aren't really a cat?" Mike had a sick feeling Ben knew the truth. And then what would happen? Would they try to kill him?

Mike decided to take Penny from Bill before he could answer. Ben, still confused, glanced at Beverly. Mike saw the look on Bev's face, and knew that she had figured it out as well. Fortunately, none of the other Losers thought as logically as Ben and Bev did.

Mike put Penny back down on the ground, praying he wouldn't turn back into his clown form. But, of course, that was exactly what he did.

The little gray kitten stretched out into a long gray human-cat thing that was terrifying to look at. Then, with a pop, he turned into the clown.

Richie screamed "What the fuck!" over and over again, and backed into Eddie, who caught him again. Ben didn't move. The rest of the Losers stepped back in fear.

"Hello, friends!" Penny said excitedly. "I'm Pennywise, but my friends call me Penny."

Mike smiled at Penny, but his friends did not. "C'mon guys, can't you be a little happy that I found another friend?"

Stan began to shake in fear. "Mike, I can't call— whatever that is— a friend." Bill took Stan's hand and nodded.

"I-I agree," he stammered. "S-sorry, M-mike."

Penny frowned. Then he turned around and ran into the bushes. "See! Look what you guys did! Now he's sad," Mike cried out. "I can't believe you guys just can't be happy for me for once!"

Ben looked at Mike with a face full of guilt, but he was the only one that looked even remotely sympathetic for Mike. Bill and Stan said nothing, and Stan just looked at the ground. Richie was still shaken from the sight of a clown in the first place. Bev just looked indifferent, and Eddie was back to his original job of trying to calm Richie down.

"Fine! Reject him! But by rejecting him, I guess you're rejecting me," Mike snapped. He got on his bike and raced away.