tag, you're it. r.tozier. act l.

fourteen | guess who's back!

TAG, YOU'RE IT!

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A

FTER A FEW seconds, the kids finally stopped, heavily breathing as they tried to catch their breaths.

Arianna breathed heavily, bent her knees and gripped her hands on them, hanging her head down as she struggled to catch her breath.

Sydney's eyes flickered to Bill as her bottom lip started to quiver, and Bill held out his arms to her. She let out a small sob as she walked into his arms, feeling more safer than she had before.

Bill put his face into her small shoulder, hugging her tightly and rubbing her back. He didn't know what to tell her at the moment, so hugging her was enough. The boy started to softly cry as well.

Arianna blinked the tears back in her blue eyes as she looked up at the two, hating the idea of what had just happened. She wished her dad wasn't abusive or obsessed, but that's just the way it was. She couldn't change it if she wanted to.

She had almost watched her own father murder her sister in front of her, and Bill had almost watched the girl of his dreams get murdered in front of him, too.

Syd sniffed into his shoulder. "I don't wanna go back."

"But where would we go?" Ari asked, knitting her eyebrows at her older sister.

She didn't get an answer.

Bill placed his hands on Sydney's shoulders and pulled away, looking into her brown eyes. "You could stay with me. You both c-could."

"But, Billy, your mom-" Bill interrupted Arianna.

"She won't care." He said, but he knew that was a lie. He just didn't want them to end up with their parents again. "C'mon... Bev's in trouble."

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Arianna, Sydney and Bill walked up to the house on Neibolt Street. The dried up grass made a crunch sound beneath Arianna's converse as she walked onto the lawn. Richie, Eddie, Mike, Stanley and Ben were already there, for they were waiting for the three to get there.

Richie furrowed his eyebrows at the sound of people walking behind him, and so he turned to look, seeing Arianna, Bill and Sydney. His eyes widened at the sight of Arianna's face, for she looked as if she had been crying.

"Shit, Ari, have you been crying?" Richie asked Arianna as he held out his arms to her, and she walked into his arms, hugging him. She nodded as she hugged him tighter.

The teenagers all looked at each other before they looked around and grabbed any type of weapon that they could find to fight the demon clown that held their best friend under the ground.

"What about this?" Arianna grabbed a bat with nails hammered into them and turned around to face Richie, but jumped as he smashed an empty beer bottle into the staircase railway.

The teenagers all glared at the boy for making so much noise, and he sighed and dropped the small piece onto the ground.

Arianna started to look around at everybody, who had found their weapons.

That's when her eyes landed on Eddie, who had a cast on his right arm, with the word 'Loser' written with black marker, but the s was crossed out and was replaced with a red V.

She smiled and waved him over.

"Yeah?" He said, biting his bottom lip out of nervousness. He was scared to face the clown again, but he knew he had to.

"Lover?" She asked with a smile.

Eddie rolled his round, brown eyes. "Shut up."

The teenagers all walked into the house, ready to face whatever was to be in there.

Arianna slowly looked to the side of her, shifting the nailed bat to her left hand and grabbing Richie's hand.

Richie looked up at her and squeezed her hand, trying not to panic. She stopped walking and placed her hands on his shoulder.

"Rich, it's going to be okay." She reassured with a warm smile.

Richie nodded as he tried calming his heavy breathing. "I know, gorgeous."

"Stanley?"

They all looked behind them, seeing Stanley still standing at the front doorway, trying not to cry.

"Stan, we all have to g-go," Bill told him. "Beverly was right. If we all split up like last time, that clown will kill us one by one. But if we stick together, all of us, we'll win. I promise."

Stanley kept his brown eyes on the ground, then slowly took a step forward. Mike gave the terrified boy a pat on the shoulder, letting him know that he wasn't alone, and they all continued walking.

They reached the basement, seeing the well that Bill had told them about.

"Hey, Eds. You got a quarter?" Richie asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

Eddie looked at the well in disgust. "I wouldn't wanna make a wish in that fucking thing."

They all peered down the well around it, seeing nothing but pitch blackness.

"Beverly?" Ben yelled down, his voice echo-ing down the well.

"Oh, yeah. Like she's going to answer back. 'Yes, Ben, babe, I'm here!'" Richie mocked, but his face dropped at the glares. "Sorry."

"How are we gonna get down there?" Eddie asked, peering down the well in fear.

"I think I know." Bill said, letting go of Sydney's hand and walking to the corner of the dark room, reaching down to grab a long rope.

Mike and Ben helped Bill hook the rope over the well, and they were ready to climb down.

"I-I'll go first." Bill announced to everybody, grabbing his flashlight.

"Wait!" Sydney gently grabbed his arm and turned him around to face her. "Be careful when going down, please?"

Bill nodded at the smaller girl. "I promise."

One by one, they all climbed down the well, leaving Arianna, Sydney and Mike.

"You go down first." Arianna told her older sister.

"But-"

"Please, so I could watch you, and when you go down, the boys could protect you." Arianna explained, and Sydney slowly nodded.

Just as Sydney had grabbed onto the rope, the girls both heard a loud thud, and Mike cried and fell to the ground.

Standing behind him, with a bar in his bloody hands, was none other than Henry fucking Bowers.

The girls both looked at him with wide eyes, and they could both hear the boys trying to call for them from the well.

"Look what we have here." Henry said in a tone they had never heard from him, blood on his face.

"Shit." Arianna whispered, frozen in her spot in front of the well.

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