IT31 || 31 days of IT

31- Return To Neibolt

It had been years since the group of losers defeated Pennywise. They were now high schoolers. Seniors to be exact. They finally hit a time in their lives where the clown doesn't show up every time they close their eyes. Of course, it was always going to be there in the back of their mind. But at least it was no longer in the front.

It was almost Halloween. Halloween never had the same touch since their battle with the child eating clown. They rarely found things scary anymore due to that experience. Unfortunately, that made Halloween a lot more boring than it used to be.

This year would be different.

Richie rushed down the path to the quarry, the hangout spot for the losers. He quickly slid along the dirt and stopped in front of his friends. They all looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you alright, there?" Beverly grinned, holding a lit cigarette between her fingers. She held it to her lips and inhaled harshly.

"I uh" Richie stopped to catch his breath, his arm folded over his stomach. "I may have fucked up majorly this time" he warned nervously. Eddie sighed heavily.

"What did you do?" Eddie asked. He dusted off his jeans and crossed his arms.

"I may have agreed to a really...very...stupid bet" he mumbled. He played with his sleeves and bit his bottom lip.

"What bet?" Eddie asked with a roll of his eyes.

"If I stay at the Neibolt house, I get five hundred dollars!" Richie exclaimed. He had a smile on his face but his eyes were filled with worry. The others physically tensed at the sound of that horrible building.

"And if you-....you don't?" Bill asked.

"I have to give them five hundred dollars" Richie kicked at the dirt. The others sighed hard.

"Richie, you're such an idiot" Mike grumbled as he stood up. He dusted himself off and grabbed Richie's shoulder. "You know you can't go back in there. Especially by yourself"

"That's why I thought maybe-"

"No!" the others yelled. They knew where he was going with that.

"Come on, it's dead. Alright? Dead. We can survive one night" Richie assured. "Guys, I don't have the money. You know Criss will hunt me down if I don't get the money to him"

"This bet is with Criss? Victor Criss?" Stan asked. Richie nodded a little. Stan sighed heavily and shook his head. "You are so stupid. How did this even come up?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know. But I may have been running my mouth. That really shouldn't be a surprise anymore" Richie said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Please guys, I really need this. You really think I want to go back there? I take longer routes if I know I have to pass by. Even when I'm driving" his voice cracked. "I can't go alone and I sure as hell can't make five hundred dollars before then"

"We'll go" Bill agreed. The others looked at him in surprise. Of course, they'd all sacrifice their nights for Richie but they couldn't believe Bill was the one to actually agree first. "Maybe it'll even give us a puh-peace of mind. We'll go, stay the night, and leave first th-thing in the morning"

"I guess we could" Beverly mumbled. She dropped her cigarette and crushed it with the toe of her shoe.

"Halloween night is when we have to do this" Richie stated. A relieved smile spread across his face. "Thank you guys. Thank you so much" 

"You're splitting the money with us" Stan demanded. Richie sighed heavily but nodded in defeat to a battle he wanted nothing to do with.

"We'll work something out" Richie replied.