broken hearts club! • bill denbrough

seven.

"just because they can't see it doesn't make it any less real."

"Hey, Rich, I'm gonna stop by the pharmacy and go to the bathroom. You wanna come wait inside?" Guinevere smiled at her best friend, hopping off of her moving bike, slowing down as the duo approached the pharmacy.

"Well, I'm definitely not gonna leave you." Richie shrugged and they both parked their bikes outside. Guinevere rushed to the door and held it open for him, saying, "Ladies first" as she beckoned into the pharmacy. He flipped her off and they both laughed, greeting Mr. Keene.

"Hey, kiddos." He waved, leaning against the counter and smiling at the two friends. "How can I help you guys? Here for Eddie?" They'd been there many times to pick up their friend's medication when he asked. Guinevere had always been the one to volunteer and forced Richie to join her.

"Not this time, Mr. K." Guinevere saluted the man before swinging open the door to the ladies room and smiling at Richie as she closed the door. The boy leaned on the wall right next to the bathroom door, ankles and arms crossed.

Guinevere did her business quickly, not being a huge fan of the smell of pharmacy bathrooms. Did they ever really care to clean them? Guinevere was happy to just be out of the house. She and Richie took the rest of the day, after leaving Ben's, to explore the few parts of town they'd never been. They offered for Eddie to join, but he reluctantly declined, saying how his mother would kill him. Nonetheless, she enjoyed her time with Richie. She smiled down at her hands, thinking about how many times she'd seen Richie smile at her stupid jokes throughout the day.

She had always contemplated looking in mirrors when she was around them, but she did have a slight concern that her brown hair could have been just a little out of place, so she decided to look up. What a huge mistake that was.

She saw herself, brunette hair, pink strand and all. But behind her stood something she thought she'd never see again. She saw her mother standing behind her, slowly approaching her. How could her mother be there? Why would she be there? And why would she be in the bathroom? She left Derry years ago with no concern for either of her children.

In the blink of an eye, the woman turned into something even more unimaginable; a clown. But it wasn't just any clown, it was scarier. It had large, buck teeth and it had a demonic look to it, drool running down it's chin.

Guinevere was going crazy. Yes, that was it. She was making an attempt to quit smoking because Bill wanted her to, so she was having withdrawals; hallucinations. That's normal, right? You're so wrong, Guinevere. She wanted to believe it, but she was scared, so she wanted to run to the one person she felt could help her feel a little less scared; Richie.

Guinevere did a one-eighty, spinning around on her heels before darting toward the door and gripping the doorknob. "Where are you going, Vere?" Her mother's voice cooed, but it was only her voice. Guinevere twisted and jiggled the knob but it didn't budge. She ignored her mother's chuckle, which quickly turned to the high-pitched cackle of the clown.

"Richie! Please, Rich!! I can't get out!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, pounding her palm against the heavy, metal door. Richie jumped out of his skin, startled by the sudden noise, but he was quickly at the door, trying to pry it open just as much as she was. Maybe even more. He couldn't stand the pain in her screams.

Richie said her name back and asked her what was wrong. She could hear him hitting against the door, until she couldn't. "Rich?" She breathed out, still ignoring the fact that the clown was now yelling at her while asking her why she was leaving so soon. "Richie, please don't leave me! Not now!" She pressed her forehead to the door, the cold metal biting at her face as a tear rolled down her cheek.

With the little strength she had left, she pulled at the grey door in one last attempt to get back to him. While pulling the door, she had even yelled for the clown to go fuck himself. After prying at it a few times, the door flew toward her, opening with force. Her face was wet and startled, his was startled as well as confused. She didn't say a word to him, she just threw her arms around him. "I am never gonna let you go, Trashmouth."

Meanwhile, Logan had been making her way to pick up Trinity's food order from the store, though Trinity knew damn well that she would make a few detours along the way; one to meet Kalo and see if he was okay and the other to the gas station across the street from the pharmacy. She needed new gum and was, obviously, going to steal. If Trinity found out she used the money she gave her for food, she'd make sure Logan got even more probation.

After checking on Kalo, who was very happy and well, she entered the gas station, hearing the bell ring, but she didn't hear the usual greeting from Mr. Wallace, nor did she feel the usual stares from any customers around her. The Sunflower gas station was a unique spot, ran by a unique man. Mr. Wallace was in a wheelchair and was in his final days, yet he enjoyed speaking with Logan because he said she reminded him of his daughter, who left Derry for New York without saying a word to him ("That's shitty, Wallie. I'd never do that to you, sir," Logan would say). He knew Logan stole from him many times, but he protected her from his employees calling the cops.

Despite him being welcoming, the gas station was quite the opposite. Way back in the day, it had windows all around every side, but had been shot out so many times that they needed to put bulletproof brick in place of them instead. Naturally, the place was pretty gray and, since the family running it didn't have much money, the interior was old and the lights were dim and yellow-ish. Nevertheless, this was the one place Logan had actually been able to feel at home before the losers came.

"Wallie?" Her voice was higher than it would've normally been, due to the fact that she had a soft spot for the old man. "Sir?" When she didn't hear any response, not even one from an employee telling her to get out, she became concerned for the man she grew close to. She looked through every isle of the small store area, furrowing her brows. Mr. Wallace never had anything better to do than talk to the regulars who came in everyday, whether it be for a pack of cigarettes or a pack of gum.

The lights flickered off, then on, then off again. Because of the lack of windows, the inside of the building was almost pitch black, excluding the light from the small television in the corner of the ceiling, which was playing the children's show that Miss Polson had an odd interest in. It was no secret that Logan was afraid of the dark, but this was a whole different story. She was alone and wishing Wallace was there to tell her that this would be a valuable lesson one day, or Bill to tell her to be brave, or even Richie to tell her she was being dramatic.

"Is anyone here?" She called out, trying to catch any light she could from the screen, but it was too small to shine on anything but the terror on her face. She was about to walk out of the building when she heard a giggle from behind the counter. She approached the sound slowly, jumping slightly when she ran into the wood of the checkout area. The lights flicked back on quickly, just quick enough for her to see the source of the bone-chilling laugh. It ended up having an even more bone-chilling appearance. 

It was the same clown that Eddie, Guinevere, and Beverly had seen just a while before her and Bill would see it just hours later; blazing orange hair, buck-tooth smile, and every other creepy thing about it. "Holy shit. Mr. Wallace? Is this another prank?" She nervously chuckled as she slowly backed away from the counter once again, getting startled when she ran into the shelves behind her. "It's not very funny, sir."

She knew it wasn't a prank when the lights flicked on once more for her to see anger on the clown's face before it began charging at her, screaming. She ran as fast as she could toward the door, pushing it open without ever slowing her sprinting pace. The afternoon summer sun blazed on her face, making her sweat even more than she already was. She didn't exactly know where she was running, but she knew it sure as hell wasn't to get Trinity's food.

Shit, She thought as she ran at full speed, feeling her bag bouncing violently on her back as the people walking around Derry watched the girl with the criminal reputation run away because she was scared. Fucking clown made me forget my gum.