After finally getting to the barrens, they dropped their bikes off and walked toward the entrance, Stan pointing everything out as poison ivy. 

"Okay, wait what? What's poison ivy, this?" Eddie pointed at a random plant that clearly wasn't even poison ivy. 

"Definitely not." Alice turned away from Bill, smiling at the small boy. "You have nothing to be afraid of, poison ivy is further back that way, not here." She said as they approached the entrance of the barrens. 

She walked in next to Bill, staying a little close ever since the clown incident. Her knee was in lots of pain, but she brushed it off, trying to ignore the smell that the barrens had. Richie followed behind her and Bill, Stan and Eddie stopping at the entrance.

"Well I'm starting to get really itchy and-"

"Do you use the same bathroom as your mother?" Richie cut Eddie off, turning to the boy.

"Well, yeah, sometimes." Eddie replied, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Then you probably have crabs." Richie shrugged, earning a loud laugh from Alice.

"That is so not funny." Eddie said, crossing his arms.

"I'm- I'm sorry." Alice tried to stop her laughter. 

"Are you guys even going to come in? Or not?" Richie asked Stan and Eddie.

"No, no. Definitely not. Grey water. You're standing in grey water." Eddie said, pointing at the water the other three were standing in.

"What the hell is grey water?" Richie asked, a look on his face. Alice was still focused on the other boys, she didn't notice Bill walk a little bit away from her.

"It's basically piss and shit, so just telling ya, you're walking around in millions of gallons of Derry pee." Eddie said, holding his hands up in defense. Alice watched as Richie bent down, picking a disgusting stick up.

"Wait- what- what the hell are you doing?" Eddie asked, his eyes wide. Richie sniffed it, before holding it out.

"Doesn't smell like caca to me senor," He said, causing Alice to laugh once again.

Bill looked back, noticing how easily Richie made Alice laugh. He wouldn't admit it, but he was a little bit jealous. He loved her laugh- more than anything, but he wasn't the one making her laugh.

He just continued searching, as Eddie made a disgusted face. "Have you ever heard of a staph infection?" 

"Oh, I'll show you a staph infection," Richie said, and they got into another bickering argument as Stan just rolled his eyes, and Bill cut them off, turning to them with a white shoe in his hand.

"Who's shoe is that?" Stan asked, fear written on his face.

Alice made her way over to Bill, along with Richie. They stared as they saw B. Ripsom written on the inside. 

"Oh my god." Alice said quietly, tears filling her eyes. She remembered delivering brownies to Betty's mother. 

"Betty Ripsom's." Richie whispered.

As the boys talked about whether to go further or stop here, Alice zoned out. All she heard was Richie go 'How do you think Betty Ripsom feels? Walking around these tunnels with only one freakin shoe!' 

She got out of whatever zone she was in, and furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at him. Even she didn't laugh at this joke. 

"Maybe we should get out of here." Stan finally spoke up, the silence between the five unbearable. 

Alice went to agree, but heard laughter. Not just any laughter, but the clown's laughter. She knew it had to be the clown, it was close enough to the way it said Alice's name. Turning her head to the darker area of inside the sewers, she felt herself making her way into it.

"A-Alice." Bill's eyes widened, noticing her wandering off. He caught up to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her back.

"Do... Do you hear that?" She pointed her free hand's pointer finger in the direction of darkness. "It's a laugh." She added, blinking a few times.

"If you head a creepy ass laugh you don't go near it, what are you, stupid?" Richie asked, finally dropping the stick he'd been holding. 

Bill turned to him, glaring. "She's not s-stupid, don't e-ever say anything like th-that again." 

"Okay well I'm sorry your little girlfriend here is trying to go inside the sewers even more, to find whatever is laughing. Kinda stupid that I don't even hear what the fuck she's talking about. Do you guys?" Richie turned to Eddie and Stan.

"I heard something but I don't know if it was laughter, it's hard to hear, we're not inside the way you guys are," Stan said, getting a little annoyed at the way that Richie kept saying Alice hearing things was stupid.

"Let's just go, please." Eddie said, worry all over his face.

"Just come inside dude." Richie argued, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No! My mom will have an aneurysm, okay, if she finds out we're playing around down here. I'm serious. You know how she is." Eddie argued back, causing Stanley to roll his eyes once again.

Bill turned away from the bickering, looking at Alice. Her eyes weren't full of life the way that they usually were- they were dull. He could tell she was scared, but intrigued. He watched as her eyes scanned around the sewers, wandering to herself if she should go in further, or leave and never come back.

He sighed, looking down at their still intertwined hands. Bill liked the feeling of holding her hand- it calmed him down. 

"Maybe we shouldn't g-go anything f-further." He quietly said, looking back up at her.

"What the hell happened to you?" Richie's voice asked, causing Bill to look at the group once again.

It was Ben Hanscom, bleeding as he tripped over to the entrance of the barrens. 

"Are you okay?" Bill asked, not taking his hand away from Alice's. He was scared if he let go, she'd wonder off somewhere she wasn't supposed to.

"He needs help," Stan said.

"Well thanks Captain Obvious, I didn't notice that." Richie said sarcastically.

Bill lightly took a few steps away from Alice, to get a better look at Ben. 

"G-guys." Alice mumbled, not loud enough for anyone to hear her. The laughter was getting louder, as if the person laughing was getting closer. 

"Guys," She said louder. "We gotta go."

A giant pop erupted in the barrens, causing everyone to look up in fear. Stan and Eddie helped Ben away from the entrance, getting a head start and leaving. Richie kept mumbling curse words under his breath, as Bill stayed to pull Alice away from the barrens.

Finally getting Alice out, they ran the way to their bikes, struggling to get away from the barrens and to the drug store where they could get supplies to help Ben. After getting a good distance away they took their time, Bill studying Alice's face carefully.

"You're n-not okay." Bill said, walking with his bike in hand.

"I know." Alice admitted, struggling to find the words to say. "It's like- it's like, I'm normally this happy jolly person, but I keep seeing this clown. This fucking clown. And he's there one second, gone the next. Nobody else has seen this clown, which makes me feel crazy and stupid and-"

"You're not s-stupid." Bill cut the girl off, feeling sad she'd think of herself in that way.

"But maybe I am, Bill. You haven't seen the clown. Richie hasn't, or Stan or Eddie or anyone. I'm the only one. I'm the only one that heard the laughter and this clown- he knows my name. All I've heard all day is him whispering my name and it's just creeping me out." Alice said, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

"I don't know what's wrong with me Bill. I was perfectly fine yesterday. No clown, no fear. I woke up today fine, same way as yesterday. Then I get to the ice cream shop and as I'm waiting for you guys I see it." 

"Nothing's wrong w-with you Alice. You're p-perfect the way you are." He said, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Well thanks, I'm glad you see me in that way..." Alice trailed, not knowing what else to say to the much taller boy.

--

I ended this horribly and i'm sorry, I tried i really did.

i know i did some quotes from the movie because i looked them up yikes

and saw them in the trailer tbh.

but anyways, please vote and comment!!! i try really hard on this story :)

but on a completely different side note i got back from homecoming a couple hours ago and it was lit it was the best night of senior year so far :)