Before It Takes Us

Recovery

     The Losers Club... minus Stan... sits in Bill's house, none of their faces dry with lack of tears. Eddie gripped Richie tight, his fingers sinking into his waist. Bev was gripping a pillow tight, her short hair flopping over her face to hide her never ending tears. Bill was locked in the bathroom. Ben wanted to go after him, but Eddie said for him to stay put. He imagined if he had lost Richie... he'd be in the bathroom too. Except there would be blood in the bath.
     Eddie shivered as he thought of the idea of losing Richie. Richie looked down at him. "What's wrong?"
     "Everything." He whispered. "What if that was you?"
Richie pet Eddie's soft hair and wiped his tears away with his thumb. "I would never leave you."
Eddie grabbed his shirt and pulled him to his lips and kissed him gently. Richie kissed back and pulled away, his hand on his. "Please." He whimpered.
Richie nodded and rubbed Eddie's arm softly. Eddie relaxed and rested his head on Richie's shoulder. Richie adjusted his back against the wall to make Eddie more comfortable. Soon, he felt the smooth breaths of a sleeping Eddie. He smiled and looked at Bev asleep on the floor, still gripping the wet pillow. Ben was staring at the bathroom door, hoping Bill would come out soon and alive.

Hours later, Bill shuffles out from the bathroom, his face wet with tears and his hair everywhere. Ben looked at him. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"No, flubberguts, he's totally fine." Richie droned.
Ben glared at him. "Shut up, trash mouth, you know what I meant."
"G-g-guys!" Bill yelled.
Eddie jolted up. Richie rubbed his leg to calm him down. "Sorry." Richie said.
     Bev opened her eyes, saw Bill, and sat up. "Bill, are you okay?"
      He smiled to her and sat down next to her. She hugged him tightly. Richie wondered what happened to tear Bill's attention from Bev to Stan. Bev squeezed him tighter and Bill began sobbing again. Eddie buried his face in Richie's neck. "What are we going to do now?" Richie asked quietly.
     "I'm staying here." Ben said. "There's no way I'm leaving Bill."
     "Me too." Bev said, still holding Bill.
     Eddie looked up at Richie. "Should we go back to my house or stay?"
     "Whatever you want, maystar gay."
     He rolled his eyes. "Rich, you can stop calling me that. Everyone knows I'm gay there's no point in hiding it anymore." He began to blush. "With you, I want everyone to know you're mine."
     Richie smiled. "I'm still not gonna stop calling you that, babes." He kissed him. "But seriously, I think we should stay with Bill. He needs all the support we can give."
      "You're right." Eddie wobbled to his feet, his legs numb. "Bill, do you have any sleeping bags or cushions here?"
     He pulled away from Bev. "Check my closet."
     Eddie pulled sleeping bags and blankets from his closet. He set up the room for everyone to sleep comfortably. Bev decided to sleep in the bed with Bill, keeping her arms wrapped around him. Eddie saw the look of jealousy in Ben's eyes and sighed. Bev could be so oblivious sometimes. Ben turned over in his bag. Richie slipped under a blanket and made room for Eddie. He laid down next to him and took off his glasses for him. He unhooked his fanny pack and set it next to Richie's glasses. Richie brushes Eddie's hair out of his face and smiled. Eddie kissed him passionately. Richie pulled him closer by his waist and deepened the kiss. Eddie pulled away when he remembered where they were. Richie nodded and wiped away a fresh tear. Eddie curled up on his chest. Richie held him tight and let his breath sync with his. Soon, they both fell asleep.

     Richie woke to the sunlight spilling through the window blinds. He looked at Eddie peacefully sleeping and smiled. When he noticed the others in the room, the realization of Stan's death crashed into him again. He rubbed his eyes and put on his glasses. Hours passed before Ben woke up. He turned to Richie. "How long have you been up?"
     Richie shrugged. "Couple hours. Eddie sleeping calms me." He smiled.
     Ben looked at Bev holding Bill and frowned. Richie sighed and shot him a look of understanding. Ben nodded with gratitude and sat up. Richie pet Eddie's hair more and laid his head against the wall.
     Another hour passed, Ben had fallen back asleep and Bill had been rustling in his bed. Richie thought of trying to go back to sleep, but he doubted he could. Eddie whimpered in his sleep and curled up tighter. Richie held back a laugh and closed his eyes. He entered a half dream realm and heard soft voices. "Richie!" They whispered. "Richie!" Then they switched to a harsh scream. "Richie! Help!" Richie recognized Eddie's voice and called out to him. "Eddie?! Eddie!" Eddie kept screaming his name until it cut off sharply. In the dark, Pennywise's shoes squeaked against invisible ground. His face appeared from the shadows and he giggle maniacally. Richie screamed and jolted back to reality. Sweat was beading on his forehead and his breath was rapid.
Eddie was looking at him with concern. "Rich??"
"Sorry, I just had a dream."
He sat up and held his hand. "How long had you been awake?"
"Hours. Not really sure."
Eddie sniffed and looked at Bill slowly wake up. This woke up Bev and she called for Ben. He immediately turned over and sat up at her calling his name. "Yes?"
"Would you ask Bill's mom to make pancakes?"
Ben shrugged and stood up. "Sure, if it'll make you feel better."
     Bev smiled and got out of bed. Bill frowned and stared out the window. Eddie turned to him, out from Richie's grasp. "Hey, Bill."
     "H-h-hey Eddie."
     "Are you ok?"
     He looked at Eddie. "No. I don't think I ever will be. But physically," he sighed. "I'm doing fine."
     Eddie nodded. "As long as you're not physically hurt."
     "Pancakes are ready!" Ben called up.
     Bev dragged Bill out of bed and downstairs. Eddie smelled the pancakes and jumped up. "Wait, Eds."
     He looked down at Richie. Richie slowly stood up, feeling a little dizzy. "I had a terrible vision..."
     "Vision?"
     "I'm not sure what it was. It was like sleep paralysis in a way. You were calling out for me and were screaming, and then the screaming stopped and I saw... I saw It."
     Eddie stared at him. "Shit, what could that mean?"
     "Pancakes, guys!" Bev yelled. "C'mon slowpokes!"
     "I guess we better go." Richie walked out of the room, leaving Eddie standing alone, his eyes wide and his heart beating fast. A bad feeling crept into the depths of his gut. He saw eyes staring at him through the cracks of the closet door and ran after Richie.