it.c.t
" treat yourself. take a bubble bath, drink tea... defeat a murderous space-clown from hell. it's called self-care ."
the thrilling sequel to the not-so-tragic story of losers, loss and love , or
in which derry's local losers come home for on...
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CHAPTER FOUR hallucinogens and a clubhouse.
...
"I can't believe you convinced us to stay. You were supposed to be the saviour, Nicky." Richie grumbled from her left. She stepped down on a stick and slipped as it cracked, sending Nicole straight to the ground. She was snatched from the disastrous fall by Bill's quick reflexes.
"Whoa, careful. Are you okay?" His eyes were rounded, soft and worried. Nicole managed a smile as she nodded.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks." They shifted apart and Bill hesitated a second before letting her go. She spun to Richie with an exaggerated frown. "I blame Nicole, too. Bad Nicole."
"So... why are we running around out here in the sticks? Isn't it, like, dangerous? Nicole almost wiped out, like, five times already." Eddie called to the front and Nic retaliated with an arm swung out at chest-height, hitting the bullseye perfectly. "Ow, why'd you do that? I'm not wrong!" Eddie chuckled.
"I have not fallen five times!" She crossed her arms. "Only four."
Mike was leading, but abruptly stopped and let the others catch up. "It should be here... Ben found it all those years ago."
Nicole watched him with a quizzical look.
"Your... what? Sanity?" Richie asked.
"Shut up, Richie." Eddie said quickly, earning a jaw-drop from Nicole. She gaped at Eddie, then it lifted into a smile. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You used to say that all the time... it's one of the few things I remember vividly." She chuckled. Eddie beamed.
"Yeah, well... someone has to say it. Or else the power goes to his head." Eddie poked his temple, as if to further demonstrate his point. Nicole snorted.
"Our clubhouse... it was here." Mike finally managed to get out around the others. Nicole looked at him with a quizzical look, then Ben hopped up onto a mound of dirt.
"Wait, guys! I think..." Ben moved to a spot and began tapping his foot on the dirt. "I think it was somewhere around here--" As he spun to them, the ground beneath him caved in and he dropped out of sight.
Nicole jumped into action and hurriedly crawled up to where he had been. She dropped to her knees, then chuckled.
Suddenly, they were kids again.
Nicole was in her little overall-shorts with a long-sleeve shirt tucked into them. Her hair was done in its usual little pigtails and she wore that child-like cheery smile.
