INSTANT REPLAY | REDDIE

- 09 | INSTANT REPLAY

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Beverly Marsh was not happy, that could be seen from a mile away. Even with eyesight as bad as Richie's. In fact, Bev was angry. Eddie was mostly scared, but he knew that this had to be done, and he wasn't about to miss out on it, not when Richie was down there.

Bill was the one Beverly was so ticked at, though usually it was the exact opposite. Usually they were inseparable. Now Bev was glaring at him with her hands on her hips and a scary look in her eyes.

"You can just take that and stuff it with a long pole, Stuttering Bill! I'm in on this too, or aren't I a member of your lousy club anymore?" Eddie flinched, glancing at Bill, who held a patient look on his face.

"I-It's not l-like that, B-B-Bev, and y-you nuh-know i-it. Somebody has to stay u-uh-up here."

"Why?" She demanded harshly. Bill looked around, and Eddie realized with a sinking dread that his best friend was looking at him. He hesitated, searching for the right words to calm to girl down.

"It's what Stan said," Eddie told her quietly. "About the smoke." The smoke, indeed. Eddie had vowed never to smoke a cigarette in his life, but it seemed that he was about to do much worse. The Smoke-Hole Ritual was upon them, and as much as he hated Ben for having the idea, he knew it was important if they were going to stop all of the death that had been haunting Derry. It was going to stop the leper.

"Bill says that might really happen" he continued carefully. "We could pass out down there. Then we'd die. Bill said that happens to most people in housefires. They don't burn up. They choke to death on the smoke. They—"

"Well, okay," Bev interrupted, whirling to face Eddie, who took a step back. "He wants somebody to stay up on top in case there's trouble?" Eddie nodded reluctantly, pretty confident that he knew were this was going. "Well, what about you? You're the one with the asthma."

Eddie opened his mouth then closed it again, unable to find the words. It just felt like he had to. There was also the fact that Richie was participating, and he couldn't let the boy do it alone. He reminded himself gently that even if he didn't go down, Richie wouldn't be alone, but it didn't settle right with him not to do it anyway.

"It's because I'm a girl, isn't it? That's really it, isn't it?" Bev asked bitterly.

"Beh-Beh-Beh-Beh—"

"You don't have to talk," Beverly snapped, and Eddie averted his eyes. This was getting out of hand. "Just nod your head or shake it. Your head doesn't stutter, does it?" There was a collective gasp from the Losers who were just watching, but she didn't seem to hear. Bill's eyes flashed with hurt and guilt. Eddie clutched his aspirator tightly, face growing slightly pale. "Is it because I'm a girl?" Reluctantly, Bill nodded his head. She just stared at him for a few seconds, pushing her lips together into a thin line.

"Well, fuck you!" She shouted suddenly, and Eddie jumped, eyes growing wide as she turned and glared at every single one of them in turn. "Fuck all of you if you think the same thing!" She turned back to Bill and started to talk fast, faster than Eddie had ever heard her talk before. "This is something more than some diddlyshit kid's game like tag or guns or hide-and-go-seek, and you know it, Bill. We're supposed to do this. That's part of it. And you're not going to cut me out just because I'm a girl. Do you understand? You better, or I'm leaving right now. And if I go, I'm gone. For good. You understand?"