More Than The Upside Down - An IT (2017) & Stranger Things Crossover

Society's Rules

Eddie

"Hey Eds, I have a question," Richie queried as the two sat on the couch together.

Eddie sighed, "I'll only answer it when you stop calling me fucking Eds."

Richie grinned cheekily at this, "Fine. Your Highness, I have a question."

"What is it?"

Richie's face turned unnaturally serious, with a curious frown forming on his face, "When Eleven was trying to train you to move the plate, you could barely do it. However, when Dustin dropped the plates you did it with ease, why is that?"

Eddie sunk into a deep confusion, he had been wondering that for a while now. Finally, he replied, "I guess it's because I wasn't really thinking about moving it with my mind when the plates dropped. I was only focusing on catching them and I didn't even realise I had moved them with my mind until I looked up."

"Than how come you couldn't do it with Eleven?" Richie asked.

"I don't know," Eddie answered in utter confusion.

Richie nodded and sat in silence for a minute. After that minute was over, he pointed to the TV, "Maybe try turning that on and changing the channels."

"Okay," Eddie said quietly.

He looked straight at the TV and began to focus on trying to turn it on. He could feel his mind begin to slip but he pulled it back to focusing on it. Maybe that isn't the way though. He thought. Maybe I should let my mind slip.

He allowed his mind to slip and numerous thoughts swirled around his head. Bill, the friend who felt like his big brother, Stan with his fatherly persona, Cassie with her determination, and finally, Richie.

Eddie thought of his dark brown eyes that would shine gleefully when he joked around and the smile that was so warm and beautiful it could make ice cream melt on a cold day. His chest began to bloom with warmth, safety, and a strange giddiness.

The TV flicked on instantly, causing a clash of voices to ring throughout the room.

"Holy shit, you did it!" Richie smiled brightly and proudly at his friend. "Bill! Come look at this! Eddie turned on the TV using his mind!"

Bill ran into the living room a few minutes later, "Ruh-Really?"

"Yeah!" Richie gasped excitedly, "It was fucking awesome!"

"Cah-Can I suh-suh-see?" Bill asked Eddie curiously.

Eddie nodded and changed the channel on the TV using his mind. Bill smiled proudly at him and Eddie bloomed with joy and pride. He absentmindedly wiped away the blood that had began to pour from his nose. A few seconds later, Eleven walked into the living room, except Eddie almost didn't recognise her for a second.

She was dressed in a pastel pink dress that had delicate hems of white. A light blond wig covered her head and her lips sparkled with pink lip gloss. Eleven smiled innocently at the boys as Cassie walked in.

"Hey Bill, have you seen my-" Cassie's sentence was cut off when she saw Eleven and her jaw dropped.

Eleven asked them all shyly, "Do you like?"

"Yeah, I almost didn't recognise you for a second," Eddie admitted.

"Mike called me pretty," She declared.

"Pretty?" Bill asked, wiggling his eyebrows jokingly at Eddie and Richie.

"Good," Eleven added.

The boys nodded in unison, but the looks on their face read that they knew that something else was going on.

"What does pretty mean?" Eleven frowned.

Mike dashed in before the others could reply. "Hey guys, we've gotta go now."

Eddie got off the couch and followed Mike out of the house. He walked beside Richie as he tried to keep down the rush of adrenaline and bubbliness in his chest. A part inside of him wanted to hug Richie, keep him warm and happy and play with his hair. But even if Richie did feel the same way, how could they be together? This was the 1980s after all, and it seemed like the world thought there was no place for people like him.

Perhaps it was time to break society's rules.