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5. Empire
I see the lights and the stars align The world is lost, girl now's the time I've got a fire running through the night It's burning bright, girl now's the time
- by Vancouver Sleep Clinic, 2017
The thing about turning back time is that it's not easy when the target is starting to resist.
It knew that the Tozier boy was getting sick of this game— It had been sure he would give up this time around. How could someone so broken drag themself back from the edge of a perfectly steep cliff? How could the sound of one man's voice be enough to change their mind in an instant?
Love.
The word made It's stomach churn. But right now, It could hardly feel anything else radiating from the man who was cradling the body of the dead waste of space he called a suitable partner. That, and all of the hate in his heart, directed at the entity itself. But that wasn't something It was afraid of.
The repulsive feeling of love and longing was coming off of the disgusting human in waves. Grimacing, It reared back, and began to reach out, an easy habit it had settled into thus far.
Everything ended. Then it began again.
Time moved backwards, in reverse, spinning like a top.
Then it stopped.
And the world started spinning once more.
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When Richie opened his eyes, he drew in a careful breath and exhaled just as steadily.
Something inside him felt different this time. The hate was still there, broiling hot and heavy in his stomach, but he felt a new sense of determination— part of him almost didn't even feel scared anymore.
Richie wondered if he should take a shower— he felt grimy and sweaty from the past few minutes, but he knew it wasn't really there. He opted to get up and do it anyway, but made it quick and flopped back onto the bed when he was finished, boxers hanging low on his hips. He lay on his stomach and look up at the window, placing his cheek in the palm on his hand.
It was raining again.
Heaving a great sigh, he rolled over and got to his feet, walking over to his suitcase and kicking it over. He rummaged through it and yanked out his sweatshirt, glancing at the window and observing the gentle grey hue trickling through the dirtied pane of glass. He pulled his sweatshirt over his head and pulled out his glasses, shoving them on his face.
