it chapter two | reader insert [✔]

three | fortune cookies

The familiar hostess you'd remembered from earlier walked steadily into the room, holding a bowl of fortune cookies in her hands. You eyed the treats, before turning to Ben, who you'd been in conversation with for the past few minutes. The lady placed the bowl in the centre of the table before leaving the room quietly.

"I just find it so crazy, you know?" Ben commented, looking around the room at your childhood friends in adoration, his eyes landing on Bev for a little longer then the others.

"I d-do to. Have you spoken to her yet?" you asked politely, watching as his ears turned lightly red, and you knew he knew exactly who you were talking about. The familiar redhead sitting across the table from you, engrossed in a conversation with Bill. 

"No. Should I?" he asked. 

"Of course you should. You and her used to be... A thing, right?"

He looked at you for a second, smiling thoughtfully to himself. "Ok. I will, sometime."

That was a well enough answer for him, because he looked back up at the redhead, and seemed to notice the way she was staring into Bill's eyes, with a caring expression. You could not no longer hear the duo talking, and the way they were looking at each other made you uneasy. You felt jealous, and the thought made you rub at your eyes with annoyance. You knew he was a childhood friend- that's all you truly remembered. It was highly inappropriate to feel anything other then friendship towards him. 

"I mean, it's weird, right?" You heard Ben ask out loud as the table went quiet. You took your hands away from your eyes, looking up at everyone. "Now that we're all here, everything just comes back faster and faster. I mean, all of it."

You found yourself smiling slightly. He was right. The thought made you feel light and fuzzy, despite your jealousy still sitting in the bottom of your gut. Various people around the table made sounds of agreement at Ben's words.

"When Mike called me, I threw up." Richie randomly spoke up. "Isn't that weird? Like, I got nervous. I got sick, and I threw up. I feel fine now. I feel relieved to be here with all of you." He paused for a moment, eyes running over all of your faces. "Why is everybody looking at me weird?"

You found your memory pulling you back, and you remembered the way you'd practically fainted, smashing your best friend's door and cutting your arm open. Your thoughts were interrupted when Eddie spoke. 

"When Mike called me, I crashed my car."

You had to stop yourself from gasping from his words. His experience had obviously been far more dramatic then yours. 

"Seriously?" Bill asked the brunette man, and he simply murmured a "Yes."

"Shit, man, I hear you. My heart was like... Beating, so fast." Ben said, and you nodded in understanding. 

"I th-thought it was only me." You spoke up, and sighed. "I f-fell through my best friend's glass door- it was like, I-I could barely stand anymore. I felt so much adrenaline and... Fear." You shrugged, watching as the people around you nodded in understanding. You answered a few questions of "are you okay?" nonchalantly. You were far more interested with how the vibe of the table had suddenly changed from light and happy, to dark and brooding.

"You're right, (Y/n). It's fear. That's what you all felt." Mike suddenly spoke up softly.

"Why did we all feel like that, Mike?" Bill asked from next to him, and the dark-skinned man turned to him with an uncomfortable expression. "You remember something we don't, don't you?"

Suddenly, you felt an uncomfortable shiver run down your spine, and anxiety settled in your gut. You sat up straighter in your chair, watching as Mike took in a breath, before turning to the table to explain whatever was on his mind.