.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

CHAPTER NINETEEN

xix. the house on neibolt street

--------------------------------------------------------------

THE GROUP UNMOUNT THEIR BIKES, abandoning them in the middle of the road and stumbling after Bill who was already approaching the steps of the house, climbing them by the time they enter the gate.

The house was the classic horror house, April taking one look at it and shuddering. A nauseated feeling taking over her at the thought of any of the me entering it. It was covered in dead foliage, broken beer bottles scattered around the lawn and the wood was moulding and brown. It was probably damp to the touch.

"Bill!" Beverly yells, dragging April by the hand towards the steps. "Bill, you can't go in there! This-this is crazy!" She reasons, sputtering over her words as April stares up at Bill's face.

A pout on his lips, eyes full of desperation and she wants nothing more than to run up to him, take him in her arms and make everything better. Bring Georgie back, tell him it was all a bad dream. But, it wasn't and Beverly's words go unheard.

Bill shakes his head, looking down from the steps to his friends. "Look, you don't have to come in with me. What happens when another Georgie goes missing? Or another Betty? Or another Ed Corcoran? Or one of us! Are you just gonna pretend it doesn't happen like everyone else in this town? Because I can't. I go home and all I see is that Georgie isn't there. His clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals but he isn't. So walk into this house for me. It's easier than walking into my own," He says, his eyes glazed over and lip quivering at his words before he turns, wiping his face with his arm and approaching the door.

April sucks in a breath, her heart shattering at his words. He was hurting. She knew that before this but he's hurting and there's nothing she can do about it. Her heart aches as she listened to each of his words, hanging onto each one intently as if he were her favourite song.

"Wow." Richie breaks the silence, eyes burning holes into Bill's back that stood staring at the front door.

"What?" Eddie asks, looking to him curiously.

Shrugging, Richie looks to Eddie. "He didn't stutter once," He responds as he begins to follow up the stairs. Ben following close behind. April still lingering back beside Beverly, looking to her nervously.

"Wait! Shouldn't we have some people keep watch? Y'no, just in case something bad happens," Stan asks, voice wavering in fear as they all look to him.

Nodding, Bill looks around the group. "W-Who'll stay out here?" He asks.

Like clockwork, each member raises their hands. The only one not to being Beverly. Huffs of defeat escaping their mouths as they drop their hands and looks around one another.

"Fuck." Richie whispers, realizing that they would have to figure out a way to separate them. They just weren't sure how.

♧

April stood in front of Bill, her eyes staring at the ground in worry as she hands one of his hand in hers, her grip on it tightly. "Be... Be careful, okay? We don't know what's in there and... And, I don't want you getting hurt. Please, be careful, Billy, okay?" She mumbles, her voice week as she plays with his fingers with her other hand, fiddling with them before intertwining their fingers shyly.

They had drawn lots. Using sticks as straws and thankfully, by some twist of luck, April had chosen the longest one. It was Bill's idea to go into the house. He was going on either way. He hadn't even participated.

Bill nods to her, watching as she sputters, biting at her lip in a nervous panic. "I w-will, Sunshine. D-Don't worry, a-a-alright?" He whispers to her, lifting her chin to look at him and he stares into her eyes with adoration. His free hand going to her feathery light brown hair and pushing stray strands from his face.

There was something about this particular light, the way it made her glassy eyes sparkle brighter than ever and hit her tan skin. It made butterflies appear in her stomach and he hold back the urge of pulling her towards him and pressing his lips... No! He can't think like that. Not right now. She's his best friend. They've grown so close throughout the days and he easily considered her the best thing he's had in ages. That's all, he thought. She's his best friend.

"P-Promise? I need you to come back, Billy," She practically begs him. Her eyes looking up at him desperately, glossy, her cheeks flushed red and curly hair messy.

He nods, feeling his heart ache at her face. He was going into the house for Georgie. He was leaving the house for her. They mattered most. This house was where he would find his answers. Where he'd find Georgie. Where everything that happened this year would fade away and go back to normal. He was going in for Georgie. He was getting out for April.

"I promise. J-Just stay here, o-okay? S-Stay by Mike or Bev. S-Stay safe," He pokes her cheek softly, leaning in and kissing her forehead.

It was quickly becoming their thing. A casual kiss to her forehead, her nose, her cheeks. It was normal! He did it to calm her down and every single time, it worked. He was her safe place and she was his.

She nods, leaning into him, her eyes hooded as she nods. "I will," She responds, looking to him straight and brushing her curls from her face. "I'm serious, Billy. Be careful in there," She goes on once more as she looks up to him worriedly once again.

"I-I will, Sunshine. Okay? I'll be f-fine," He responds, feeling his heart swell at her worrying. She looked so nervous with her wide eyes and quivering lip and he swore that by the end of this he'd bike her home and leave dozens of kisses to her forehead and maybe, even tuck her into bed.

Things were rushed after that, he hardly even was able to tell her bye before Richie had grabbed his hand and practically dragged him to the door muttering something under his breath. 'Alright, lovebirds. We have things to do and shit to figure out,' .

April felt truly, genuinely, physically sick as she watched Richie, Eddie, and Bill all push open the moulding door. A creak coming from its hinges as it reveals the inside of the decaying house. She watched beside Beverly as they took their first steps into the house, the door suddenly slamming shut behind them. Leaving the group separated with three inside and five out.

She stood motionless for a moment, her heart pounding in her chest as she took a deep breath in order to calm herself down. She was worried. Obviously, she was and rightfully so. They had just witnesses the same clown that was terrorizing Derry climb out of a projector and now her three closest friends her venturing into IT's house. It didn't get anymore frightening than that.

Biting at the inside of her cheek, she pulls at the thread of her pale blue and pink bracelet on her wrist. Closing her eyes and turning away completely from the door as if, somehow it's rid of the pounding feeling in her chest. Rid of the pit in her stomach at the thought of them inside that place.

It was a nightmare, 27 Neibolt Street was. Horrifying and something out of one of those freaky horror movies dad and Holly would insist on watching everyday Saturday night. Vines across the molded walls, dust all around the area and the odd scent of dampness filling their noses. It gutted her stomach, making her want to throw up on the dead grass at the thought of even being inside.

She was blocking everything out, staring at the brown grass that was anything but alive. It was dead, crunchy, prickly and would likely scratch at your skin horrifically if you even dared falling onto it. She wasn't sure what was going on around her. All she knew was that she was closest to Ben and Beverly and Mike and Stan were to the side talking.

Her back was to them. Eyes darting from grass to bushes which lacked leaves before something caught her eye. It was odd. Bright yellow Sunflowers. Her favourite. It was odd enough that they were growing in Derry, they never had them here. In fact, April had only even seen them a good few times in real life. But, it was even more strange that they were growing here of all places. The most barren, dead, haunting places in Derry had seemingly the most bright thing she had ever seen.

Humming curiously, she walks closer. Her steps apprehensive but still carrying her towards them. She kneels down, her light pink floral shirt underneath her overalls pulling up and revealing part of her waist. She reaches for one, softly plucking the stem from the ground and looking at it with glossy eyes. Looking at them made her feel calm, less anxious. She didn't feel as scared as she was right when the boys entered the house.

But, her eyes were still glossy and her throat was still choked and every thought she had lingered back to the clown in Bill's garage and how they stood outside where IT lived. There was nothing that would be able to calm her down completely until the boys exited that house, unharmed. Nothing will come her down until she's on the back of Bill's bike, arms around his waist and heading far away from this place.

"Your boyfriend went into a haunted house. I don't think you should be making flower friends right now," She hears a soft voice from behind her, turning around startled. Her body jolting for a moment.

April looks up to the voice. Beverly, looking down to her with a bittersweet smile. Shrugging, April stands straight, the flower in her hand, much like a beacon of light in her hand smiling towards the sun. "It's pretty, isn't it?" She mumbles, staring down at the bright yellow flower. It looked so perfect in an area of desolation. As if it was placed there deliberately, for her to pick, to brighten up the solemnity.

Beverly hums, nodding her head as April stands in front of her, showing off the top of the flower. "They're my favourite," She goes on, plucking a brown leaf of the stem and dropping it to the dead grass.

It was odd, Beverly thought. Staring at the way April looked down at the flower blankly, get the adoration was so apparent on her face somehow. She seemed so bright and sunny on a property that represented all the worst things imaginable and Beverly wondered how she managed to stay positive in the face of danger.

"I've never actually held one. Only seen them in storefronts and on TV. They're much prettier up close," April rambles on, softly running her finger across the smooth petals.

Her eyes were glossed over, a tell-tale sign of tears beginning to well-up before they fell and Beverly began to understand, she wasn't calm or positive. She was ignoring what was happening. Pushing her feelings away, attempting to forget. Disassociating from the world, whatever you'd like to call it. That's what April Ambrose was doing in this exact moment.

Putting a hand on the girls shoulder, Beverly smiled weakly to her. A way to comfort her, understanding that whatever was going through her head must've been exactly the same as hers. If not, worse. April looks to her, pulling her bottom lip under her top, anxiously. Feeling a sense of comfort surge through her, realizing that she wasn't alone out here. She had Beverly. She had Ben. She had Mike. She had Stan. They were all here and Bill had Eddie and Eddie had Richie and they all had someone so it'd be okay. They had each other and that's enough to keep them all safe.

Nodding, she holds the flower in her hand, letting Beverly lead her towards Mike, Ben, and Stan. They all stood crowded together, Stan's eyes teary, Mike with his hand on his shoulder and Ben staring at the shadowy front door with a bleak expression. Once closer to the group, April finds herself wandering from Beverly's lead and towards Stan, going to his other side and very carefully, wrapping her arm with his.

"It's okay, Stannie," She mumbles, her cheeks pressed against his shoulder. Mike nodding at the simple statement which held too much power in this moment.

"We're okay, Stan. Everything's gonna be okay," Mike adds, patting his back as the air falls silent.

They stand crowded in group, staring at the shadowed house — worried for their friends safety while they bask in one another's presence. Comfortable with one another but they weren't sure they could say the same for the others.

♧

The boys push the creaking door open, the house dark with vines hanging from the ceiling. The air was dump and their nervous steps entering the house crunches against dead leaves and floorboards.

Looking around wide-eyed, Richie shakes his head. "I can't believe I pulled the short straw. You guys are lucky we're not measuring dicks," He mumbles.

"Shut up, Richie," Eddie responds, voice soft as he breathes in deeply at the sight of the interior. "I can smell it," He adds shakily as Bill stands staring at the staircase.

"Don't breathe through your mouth," Richie warns.

Walking deeper into the house, Eddie steps into an otherwise, empty room. "How come?" He asks.

"Cause then you're eating it" Richie scoffs, Eddie gagging at the response and instinctively reaches for the zipper of his fanny-pack.

The sound of his inhaler hisses fills the quiet house, the boys all staring in different directions. Before they follow after Richie into a room they assumed to be the dining room. He held a paper in his hands. Staring down at it with worried eyes before looking up to Bill and Eddie.

"What?" Bill asks, walking over as Eddie trails after him.

Inhaling sharply, Richie grips the paper tightly and stares back down at it. "It... It says I'm missing," He responds, voice becoming evidently breathless, body beginning to shake.

Going to his side, Bill looks at the paper. Reading the information plastered on it. It was all correct. But, it wasn't real because here he was. Richie was here and he was safe. "Y-You're not missing, Richie," He starts as Richie begins to shake more violently.

"'Police department, City of Derry.'. That's my shirt. That's my hair. That my face," Richie reads the information, listing off the characteristics, his voice becoming urgent and rushed in fear.

Bill grabs the paper, attempting to rip it from Richie's hands. "Calm down, this isn't real," He attempts.

"That's my name! That's my age! That's the date!" Richie begins to yell, tears flooding his eyes as he fights against Bill's grip.

Shaking his head, Bill looks to him. "It can't be real, Richie," He goes on.

"No, it says it! What the fuck? Am I missing? Am I gonna go missing?" Richie goes on, Bill successfully tossing the paper to the ground.

Grabbing at his forearms, Bill continues comforting him. "Calm down, calm down. Look at me, Richie. Look at me. That... That isn't real. It's playing tricks with you," He states, looking Richie in the eyes calmly as his breathing begins to slow.

"Hello?" A muffled voice echoes through the house causing them all to look towards the stairs worriedly amd begin to walk towards the sound. "Hello?" It repeats. "Help me, please!". They follow after it, climbing up the dark staircase slowly.

The sounds of the floorboards creaking beneath them and rats squeaking filming their ears as they scan the empty hallway for whoever was calling out to them. They find them. A girl, coughing at the end of a hall in a room with a open door. It's Betty Ripsom.

"Betty?" Bill whispers, his voice unsure as he stares at the girl who laid in the floor.

"Ripsom?" Richie adds, softly.

There's a lull. A mere split second of silence before the girl is pulled back and she screams. Making all of them gasp at the sight. It should've have made them run away. They didn't.

They simply walked closer until they fully enter the room. Their eyes instantly beginning to look around for any sign of the missing girl. There was none.

"She was just where. Where the fuck did she go?" Richie asks, noticing the absence.

Suddenly, the door begins to freak shut before slamming all together. The floorboards shaking at the impact. Quickly, Bill and Richie turn at the sound and hear the sounds of Eddie screaming after them.

"Guys! Guys!" He screams through the door frantically. "What the fuck!" He yells out before it fell silent.

Pulling at the doorknob, Bill frantically calls to Eddie. "Eddie! Open the door! You okay?" Bill bangs at the door. "Eddie, what's going on? Eds!" He shouts, the silence worrying him as he continues to pull at the doorknob desperately. "Eddie!".

Giving up, Bill steps away from the door. Letting go of the handle as he searches for Richie. Noticing how he entered another room with a door. "Richie? He asks, the boy looking back to him. Before suddenly the door slams shut. "Richie! Richie!" He shouts, banging on the door worriedly.

They were all separated. Eddie was out there, Richie was in there, and he was in here. All alone. His heart was racing, thoughts rushing through his mind as he pulls in the doorknob.

"Bill, come on, open the door," Richie panics, his voice muddled from the other side. "It won't open!".

"What's going on? Richie?" Bill asks, his voice strained as both the boys struggle with the doorknob, pulling at it and banging the door. "Open the door, Rich,".

"I cant!" Richie calls to him.

It was like one minute he were there and the next he was gone because Bill listens as the boy who never goes silent fall quiet and the bangs on the other side of the door subside. "Rich? Richie!" He shouts frantically, his hands shaking as bad thoughts fill his head.

He breathing speeds up, looking around the room for something, anything to pry the door open. There was nothing. Quickly, he begins pacing, inspecting the room more closely in hopes to find anything. That is, until he heard a thump. Turning around slowly, he's faced with her.

On the floor, she kneeled there. Her hair messy and covering her face, breathing heavily in a dirty floral dress. "S-Sunshine?" He sputters out, staring down at her. His voice weak as he watches the girl look up to him, her eyes lidded and lacked that glow they always had. His glow. He was heaving in deep breaths at the sight.

"Hi, Billy," She says, her lips curling up into a eerie smile. Her eyes not fully focusing on him, it was as if they couldn't look in one direction, lingering off from one side to another.

The sight wasn't pretty. She didn't look like herself. Her curly hair more messy than ever, her face dirty, lips dry and cracked. What scared him most was her hairline, stained red with blood and bugs crawling about. It just about made his skin crawl.

"Why'd you leave me, Billy? You let IT get me," She says, her eyes trailing along the walls. Her voice meek as she stands. "Why'd you let IT it get me?" She asks, walking towards him as Bill begins backing up, shaking his head as he watches the girl he had spent the summer with look so far from who she was.

His lip quivers as he watches a bug crawl down her cheek, blood trickling down her face. "Look what IT did to me, Billy," She follows after him, the bug crawling across her collarbone now.

His heart aches at the sight. This was his fault. He shouldn't have brought her here. He shouldn't have dragged her into this. "Sunshine," He whispers, his eyes clouded as he watches her stop abruptly, falling backwards onto the floor and begin moving erratically. He watches in horror, her eyes going wide as her hands grab at her face frantically and cup at her cheeks.

She lets out a laugh, looking up at him as she does so. "You are my Sunshine," She mumbles the song to herself as she fondles at her face with wild movements. "My only Sunshine,".

His knees feel shaky as he watches her. There wasn't anything he could do. "Sunshine..." He repeats, voice cracking as he looks down at her.

"You let them get me, Billy. All of them. Gretta, Hailey, Abbey. Even Bowers was there!" She starts in a sing-song voice, looking up to him with a smile. But, it wasn't her smile. It was as if it was plastered onto her face by someone else. "I'm so happy now, Billy. Do you wanna float too? It's not so bad. I even saw Georgie!" She laughs, falling back onto the floor as she becomes overwhelmed with giggles.

His eyes widen as he watches her, holding her stomach in a fit of laughter as she lays on the floor before sitting up quickly like a rag doll and slumping over looking at him with a pout. His lip is quivering at the sight of her, at the mention of his brother. This wasn't right. This isn't real. It can't be. She's outside. She's safe.

"Don't worry, Billy. He's not mad at you," She goes on in a monotone voice, raising her hand up to her face and pinching at her cheeks. "I don't think so! Oh, no, no, no," She giggles again. "He could never be mad at you!" She goes on, voice childish and sing-song-y. "Even though, it is your fault. Isn't that right, Billy? You killed him just like how you killed me!" She laughs loudly, her laugh echoing off the walls as she falls back onto the floor.

Bill's breath gets caught in his throat. Staring down at her as tears fill his eyes, hands shaking as he grips at the fabric of his shorts, his body shaking. "S-S-Stop," Bill whispers, stumbling backwards as he clenches his teeth. "You... Y-You aren't her. She wouldn't say that. Sunshine wouldn't say that," His voice breaks, walking backwards again, his back hitting against the door.

"But, I did, I did, did, I did, I did!" She continues to laughs. "You killed us both, Billy. We're dead and it's all because of you!" She goes on.

"S-S-Shut up!" Bill yells, watching as she sits up. "You aren't r-r-real! I-I-I... I didn't! I-I-I didn't m-m-mean to! I'm s-s-sorry!" He rambles, hd clenches his eyes shut, trapping the tears behind them as he twists at the door knob his back his against.

Suddenly, the door opens. Bill falling back into Richie, a gal escaping his mouth as he catches his balance. "Bill! Bill! Let's get out of here," Richie pushes Bill up straight.

"O-Oh God, Richie," Bill breathes out, opening his eyes and staring at his best friend in relief, his throat still tight at the previous sight. "She was h-here. S-Sunshine, and..." His eyes look around for her. She was gone.

A thud comes from the other side of the room, both of them looking towards a dirty mattress that lay on the floor. Laughter coming from the inside of it as Eddie pops his head from it. "Wanna play loogie!" He laughs before he retches, a black liquid spilling onto the mattress and beginning to flood the floor, his body beginning to convulse before being sucked back into the mattress.

"Go, go, g-go!" Bill shouts, pushing Richie backwards as they watch the liquid begin to bubble on the floor. Both of them turning around and being faced with three doors which had appeared on the wall in front of them. Scary. Not scary at all. Very scary. Written in blood.

They stare at each of the doors. Their eyes wide before they hurry towards the door that seemed most promising. Not scary at all. They fight for the doorknob, one of them twisting it successfully and throwing it open. It's dark.

"Where's my shoe?" They hear a voice ask softly. Bill reaching for the pull-light in the closet and they are faced with Betty Ripsom hanging from the ceiling by her wrists, missing the lower half of her body. They scream in horror, slamming the door shut.

"Where the fuck were her legs!?" Richie screams, looking to Bill as the liquid gets closer and closer to them. "Holy shit, what the fuck was that?" He screams again.

"T-This isn't real. Remember the missing kid poster? That wasn't real. So, this isn't real!" Bill coaxes, looking to Richie before they look back to the door. "Come on. Ready?" He asks, holding onto Richie's wrist.

"No!" Richie shouts, shaking his head before Bill throats it open. It's the dark hallway. "Oh, thank fuck!" He breathes a sigh of relief, holding onto Bill's arm.

Looking around the empty hall, Bill panics. "W-Where's Eddie?" He asks just before a scream echoes from downstairs. IT had him.

They rush down the hallway, listening to Eddie's screams as they bound down the stairs in a frenzy. Following the noises into what they thought used to be the kitchen. Eddie say on the ground at the end of the room with the clown clutching him.

"Eddie!" Richie calls out, staring at the boy. The clown turning to them with a sadistic smile. "Holy fuck," He whispers. "Eddie!" He panics as the clown breathes out.

"This isn't real enough for you, Billy! I'm not real enough for you?" IT asks, hands still on Eddie's face. Staring at Bill who breathes out shakily.

"Oh, shit..." Richie whispers, leaning into Bill in fear.

"It was real enough for Georgie!" The clown laughs maniacally and Bill can't help the way the laugh echoes in his head repeatedly, it was just like her laugh upstairs. His breath hitching at the mention of his brother as the clown pounces towards them.

Suddenly, Beverly runs in and stabs it in the head. Just in time. She holds the metal bar in its head, everything stopping for a moment as Eddie exclaims in a panic. Mike, Ben, Stan, and April all rushing in after Beverly in a panic. Beverly falling in line with Richie and Ben.

"Get Eddie!" Mike says as they all back away from the clown in fear.

Beverly, Richie, and Bill run towards Eddie who screams. The clown growling as it readies to pounce again. "Hurry up. We gotta go," April calls to them as they watch. Eddie screaming hysterically as they try to get him up.

IT turns towards them, face more distorted and saliva dripping down its cheeks as if growls at them before it begins walking towards the four at the end of the room.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God!" April screams, clenching her eyes shut as she grabs onto Ben's arm in terror as the clown jumps towards Eddie, their screams filling the room as they fall onto into cabinet behind them.

IT laughs before turning around swiftly, the sharp end of the bar through its head scratching along Ben's stomach and carving a line through it. "Ben!" Bill screams as Ben tumbles over, Mike catching him as April screeches, looking down at the cut in a panic.

The clown begins to retreat down the hall as April with shaky hands begins to cover Ben's cut with her hands. "Oh, God. Okay, you're okay. It's okay. You're gonna be okay," She whispers out frantically as her wide eyes attempt to offer comfort to Ben who stared back at her with tears in his eyes.

"Guys," He mumbles, looking between April, Mike, and Stan who all hovered over him worriedly.

"No, no. It's okay. You're fine. We... We just have to keep pressure," She mumbles, tuning out the screams of her friends and attempting to bring him comfort. "Don't need you... Losing blood and slipping into a coma," She repeats one of the first things she ever said to him, a bitter smile on her face.

"Don't let him get away!" Bill shouts out, breaking April out of her silence. Her eyes ripping away Ben as she watches as he turns the corner into the hall.

"Bill!" She screams, her hands still pressing against Ben's stomach gently to prevent blood loss, her heart dropping. "Bill, get back here!" She screams again.

"Bill! We have to help Eddie!" Richie shouts as they all stare at each other in a panic. Stan, April, and Mike holding Ben up as Bill hurries back.

"I-I'm gonna snap your arm back in place!" Richie panics, moving his hands frantically.

"Do not fucking touch me!" Eddie screams out as the group watches in a panic, eyes wide, cringing at the thought before the room is filled with a scream and the sound of bones cracking