underdog. - stanley uris

5 ║why do you have two fanny packs?

as we rode on our bikes down to the pharmacy, with Ben on the back of Bills bike, Eddie would not stop complaining.

''i think its great that we're helping the new kid but we also need to think of our safety. i mean he's bleeding all over and you guys know that there's and AIDS epidemic happening right now as we speak, right? and my moms friend i-in new york city go it by- just by touching a dirty pole on the subway, and a drop of AIDS blood got into her system through a hangnail. A HANGNAIL!'' eddie rambled on.

''oh my god Eddie will you PLEASE stop talking for one second?'' i yelled from behind him. he looked back at me while still riding. ''no, y/n. i wont.'' he said. we turned the corner into an alleyway beside the pharmacy. ''a-and you can amputate arms and legs and- but how do you amputate a wai- HOW DO YOU AMPUTATE A WAIST?

you guys do know that alleyways are known for the dirty needles that cause AIDS right?'' he kept rambling on. me and Stan dropped out bikes while Eddie continued to ramble. ''Richie wait here'' bill said while walking backwards. ''come on.'' he said, signaling Eddie, Stan, and me.

we all ran inside and went straight to the medical care aisle. Eddie started grabbing a bunch of stuff, putting stuff back, and then grabbing the same thing. i gave stan a dollar bill, and Bill had another dollar, which made a total of 2 dollars.

Stan tried to straighten out the two crumpled dollars while Bill asked "can we afford all of that?" to eddie. ''it's all we got'' Stan added. ''are you kidding me?'' eddie asked.

''wait, you have an account here, don't you?'' bill asked. eddie leaned in and whispered ''if my mom finds out i bought all this stuff for myself, i'll be spending the rest of the weekend in the hospital getting x-rayed.''

just then a girl came around. i knew her as Beverly Marsh, or the town slut. i knew she wasn't a slut, but then again, i've been called one too. she quickly hid something behind her back as she stared at us. eddie dropped somme medical tape on the ground. ''y-you okay?'' bill asked.

''im fine. what's wrong with you?'' she asked. ''none of your business.'' stan said. ''there's a kid outside that looks like someone killed him. eddie said. i smacked him in the back of his head and he groaned. ''we need s-some s-s-supplies but w-we don't have enough money.'' he said while looking around.

we watched as Bev entertained Mr. keene, the pharmacist. he had always been a pervert. we all watched as she took his glasses and put them on her face. when she tried to give them back to him she knocked over the container that was sitting on the counter, i'm guessing on purpose.

he bent down to pick it up while Bev turned around, giving us the sign to run. we turned around and ran as fast as we could. Bill bumped into Eddie causing him to knock some things off of the shelves.

we ran out back into the alley way to find Richie hitting his head against the wall. ''come on dumbass we have work to do'' i told him. he jumped and turned to us and glared.

''just suck the wound!''

''i need to focus right now.''

''you need to focus?''

''yeah, can you get me something?''

''jesus, what do ya need?''

''i need my bifocals, they're in my second fanny pack."

''why do you have two fanny packs?''

''well i need to focus right now and its a long story..."

as the boys were talking to each other i went over and leaned against the wall. i looked over to see Bill and Bev talking on the sidewalk.

''woooooh! get some Bill!'' i yelled.

(a year later and i STILL think that's the funniest line in this whole book)

he glared over at me with a mad face and blushed.

''o-Oh my god he's bleeding, oh my god.'' i heard stan say. i walked over to his side. he grabbed my waist and tucked his head in my neck. ''what are you doing stan...'' i asked while giggling.

''i don't like the blood.'' he said. i just kept laughing. ''what are YOU laughing at?'' he asked. ''nothing...'' i said, still laughing ''hmph'' he said.

''you have to suck the wound before you apply the band aid, this is 101!''

''you don't know what youre talking about.''

''are you okay? that looks like it hurts.'' Bev said from behind us. i tried to turn around to see her but i couldn't move.
  Stan was still holding on to me. ''hey, Stan c-could you let me go please?'' i asked him. ''i could!'' he said back.

''oh my god guys just do eachother and get it over with!'' Richie said. surprisingly, he wasn't being overprotective as usual. ''shut up richie!'' i said and held my middle finger up with a smile.

after talking with Bev for a little, and Bill asking her if she'd come to the quarry.

''nice going, bringing up Bowers in front of her.'' stan said. ''yeah, you know what she did.'' Eddie said.

''whatd she do?'' i heard ben say after she left. ''more like who'd she do! from what i hear the list is longer than my wang'' richie said while grabbing his crotch. ''that's not saying much.''

Stan said while unwrapping his arms from me. i laughed but i also felt really cold. ''they're j-j-j-j-just rumors'' bill said, coming up behind us.

-------

i looked over at the street to see a..

animatronic?

shit.

i felt myself being pulled towards, and no matter how hard i resisted i couldn't pull away. once i was face to face with the most terrifying thing, it did something i never imagined. it reached out its hands. for a hug.

no.

no way.

this.

this. was my biggest fear.

next thing i knew i was leaning in for the hug. no. i never wanted this. i didn't do this. somethings making me do this. then. we touched. we hugged each other. it dug its nails into my back, slowly devouring me. i couldn't scream. i couldn't get away. then i saw it.

the clown.