Suck It Up (Mike Hanlon x Reader Fanfiction)

Chapter 10 (Drowning)

(Y/n's pov)

It's July 4th and the Losers Club and I are at Derry's annual parade. I honestly didn't care for the celebration, but I still want to hang out with my friends.

So here I am, in yet another alleyway, staring at yet another missing person sign with my friends. This time it was Edward Corcoran. We had the same math class, but I rarely talked to him.

"They say they found part of his hand all chewed up near the Standpipe," Stanley said in a shaky voice.

Richie was blowing into some poor guy's tuba, sounding horrible and Eddie was getting ice cream while the rest of us stood beside each other in the alleyway.

"He asked to borrow a pencil once," Ben sighs as Bill lifts up the sign to show Betty Ripson's missing person poster.

"It's like she's been forgotten, because Corcoran's missing," Ben says, glancing at us. "Patrick's isn't even up there," I say which makes them look at me with a sympathetic look. "I get it he was mean to you guys, but he was still my friend."

Beverly nods her head at me before we turn to the poster again. "Is it ever going to end?" Stanley asks.

I hear Richie shout, "What the fuck, dude?" as the tuba is ripped away by it's owner. I purse my lips and shake my head slightly. Trashmouth.

"What are you guys talking about?" I look over at Eddie as he licks one of the two ice cream cones that are in his hands. "What they always talk about," Richie says as he walks up to us, grabbing one of Eddie's cones.

"I actually think it will end," Ben says and looks over at Stanley. "For a little while at least." Bev gives him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"So I was going over all of my Derry research and I charted out all the big events. The Ironworks explosion in 1908, The Bradley Gang in '35, and The Black Spot in '62," Ben explains, crossing his arms over his chest. "And now kids being..." Ben trails off and looks down. "I realize that this stuff seems to happen.." Bill joins in, "Every 27 years," they say in unison.

I look down at my feet before looking at Bill. "We should talk about this somewhere else," I say which Bill nods at.

We grab our bikes and walk over to the feild. "Are you alright?" I ask Mike which seems to break him out of his thoughts. "Yeah, it's just..." he pauses. "All this is so weird and I want to make sense of it."

I nod softly. "Me too." We all sit in a circle on some rocks and a bench. I sit in between Mike and Ben on the bench.

"So, let me get this straight, It comes out from wherever to eat kids for, like, a year? And then what? It just goes into hibernation?" Eddie asks, looking at us.

"Maybe it's like..." Stanley starts, "What do you call it? Cicadas. You know, the bug that comes out once every 17 years."

I look at Mike as he starts to talk, "My grandfather thinks this town is cursed. He says that all the bad things that happen in this town are because of one thing. An evil thing that feeds off the people of Derry."

"But it can't be one thing," Stanley protests. "We all saw something different."

"Maybe," Mike says. "Or maybe It knows what scares us most and that's what we see."

"I-i saw a leper," Eddie stutters, looking at his feet. "He was like a walking infection."

"But you didn't. Because it isn't real. None of this is. Not Eddie's leper, o-or Bill seeing Georgie, or the woman I keep seeing," Stanley says.

"Is she hot?" Richie asks which makes me roll my eyes. "No, Richie! She's not hot!" Stanley says aggravated which makes Richie look down at his feet. "Her face is all messed up. None of this makes any sense. They're all like bad dreams," Stanley goes on.

"I don't think so. I know the difference between a bad dream and real life, okay?" Mike says back.

"What'd you see? You saw something, too?" Eddie asks. "Yes. You guys know that burned-downed house on Harris Avenue?" Mike answers.

Mike lived in that fucking house? I already know that he was in a fire and his parents died, but I don't know that details.

"I was inside when it burned down. My mom and dad were trapped in the next room over from me. They were pushing and pounding on the door, trying to get to me. But it was too hot. When the firemen finally found them, the skin on their hands had melted down to the bone. We're all afraid on something," Mike explains.

I put my hand on his knee and give him a reassuring smile which he gives back.

"What did you see, (Y/n)?" Stanley asks and I look up at him. Mike put his hand on mine and stares at me. I think he knows what I'm afraid of even though he has never asked.

"Drowning," I say, looking at the ground. Sure drowning is scary, but it isn't terrifying.

Eddie turns his attention to Richie. "What are you afraid of?" Thank God.

I feel Mike's hand curls around mine which makes me blush slightly. Richie turns around and looks at the stage to see a clown, holding out a balloon to the crowd. "Clowns," he says as he looks back at us, straightening his glasses.