IT au (Self insert)

CHAPTER TWO, PART FIVE.

Aspen jolted awake, heart pounding, drenched in sweat. He glanced around the dark room, disoriented. It took him a moment to realize he was in his own bed, safe and sound. He exhaled shakily, running a hand through his hair.

"A dream," he muttered to himself, the vividness of the nightmare still clinging to his senses.

In the dimly lit living room of Aspen's house, the atmosphere was thick with tension. The group sat around, the weight of their recent encounter with Pennywise pressing heavily on their minds. Jordy was the first to break the silence.

"Look, we need to get out of here," she said, her voice shaking.

"This town is cursed. We barely made it out last time. What makes us think we can do it again?" Sebastian paced back and forth, his face etched with worry.

"She's right," he said, stopping to face the group.

"We've all built lives outside of Derry. We should just leave and never look back." Vinny sat up, her eyes locking onto Sebastian.

"We can't just leave Aspen here alone. We need to convince him to come with us." Athien, his voice weak, said,

"I don't know if I can do this again. Pennywise... it's stronger than before. I don't want to die here... not like-"

"We can't let fear control us. We're stronger together. But if you really want to leave, I won't stop you." Aspen, who had been leaning on the doorframe, finally spoke up. Vinny stood up and walked to the door.

"I'm sorry, Aspen, but I can't do this. I can't face it again." She reached for the door handle, her hand trembling. Sebastian stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Vinny, wait. Let's think this through. We need a plan." But Vinny was resolute.

"No, Sebastian. I need to get out of here. I'm sorry." She turned the handle and opened the door. What they saw stopped them in their tracks. Instead of the familiar street and the night sky of Derry, there was an empty void. A swirling, endless abyss of darkness greeted them, a chilling reminder that there was no escape.

"Oh my god..." Vinny whispered, stepping back from the threshold. Jordy moved closer, peering into the void.

"What the hell is this?" Aspen's face was grim.

"It's Pennywise. It's trapping us here. We can't leave." Sebastian closed the door, his hand shaking.

"We're stuck. We have to face it. There's no other choice." Athien slumped back onto the couch, burying his face in his hands.

"I wanna go home." Vinny looked at Aspen, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and determination.

"Home... Athiens house!" She exclaimed.

"No, Vinny. I mean Hampshire.." She sighs but Aspen points at Vinny

"No, she has a point... If we want to really see what's going down we should all go to our old homes.." Jordy raised an eyebrow.

"What on earth are you on about?" The group exchanged looks. Aspen groans.

"Okay, it's hard to explain but maybe if we go back 'home' it would trigger something, memories, maybe a sound or explanation?"

As much as everyone was confused, they opened the door once more and there's no voice, the dark night was back. They all left the building and went off to their childhood homes.

The first to arrive at their house, Jordy. Mild shivers grew around her body as she turned the handle and went inside.

"Hello?" She knew nobody lived there, it was overgrown and no car was even near her house. She walked around the small house until she entered her room. The posters scattered all over her room, she had many more from the ones she packed but her move was very rushed.. One of her amps was still there. When she saw the amplifier, she remembered. There was a crappy old guitar she won in a bet at school in her wardrobe, she grabs the guitar and a cord.