𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, richie tozier

xii. ( realization )

MISSING!

MELISSA SAT AGAINST a tree, her breath heavy. it's been almost two days. two days since she's run away, two days since she's seen her friends.

she's been trying to think of a way she could make it past the forcefield but she's finally come to a conclusion. it was too late now, she was dead. to never be set free, away from this town.

melissa placed her palm on the hard ground, feeling some kind of material. it felt like paper. she grabbed the thin and flimsy object, only to recognize it instantly.

of course, it was covered in dirt and almost three decades old, but she knew what it was. "my poster," she whispered out.

the word missing was above a picture of her. her lips were slightly parted as she stared at in realization. she had to go back. her return was long overdue.

though it's only been a short period of time, she really had to. it was time to suck it up and kill this clown for once and for all.

or at least they thought.

THE NEIBOLT HOUSE. she arrived at the house on neibolt, which turns out to be where pennywise lives. her eyes were stuck on the house before she heard something... bikes.

she spun around, seeing bill peddaling as fast as he can toward the house. "bill!" she shouts, causing him to almost fall over once he realized who it was standing infront of the wellhouse.

as he approached the girl, she could see the others coming their way. "melissa, i-i'm sorry, it wasn't my secret to tell and⎯" bill began.

she shook her head. "save it, i should be the one apologizing. he's missing, not dead. i was wrong to say that about georgie. i'm sorry."

by the time she finished her apology, the rest of the losers club finally caught up with their best friend, throwing their bikes on the ground. "we thought you left..." eddie says quietly, directed toward the brunette.

melissa looked down. "i couldn't. i wasn't able to." she confessed, making the bare minimum of eye contact. as silence filled their surroundings, bill went up to the steps of the house.

the flores girl didn't speak after, so bill decided to go up another step. expectedly, he was stopped once again. "bill, this is crazy, don't go in there." beverly sided with what melissa said before, standing next to her.

"says who? melissa? i hope you know she's only getting in the way because she doesn't wanna face that clown again, not because she wants to protect us." bill spoke. melissa stared at him in silence, as she always does. he wasn't wrong, spot on actually.

"look, you guys don't have to come with in me, but what if another georgie goes missing? or another betty, or another melissa, or even one of us? are you just gonna pretend it isn't happening like everyone else in this town? because i can't." bill took a moment to stare straight at melissa. "i go home, just to see georgie isn't there. his clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals... but he isn't. so walking into this house, for me, is easier than walking into my own."

"wow." richie let out. "what?" ben asks. the raven-haired turned to ben. "he didn't stutter once." he answers.

the group made their way up to the house, slowly but surely. stan hadn't moved much, he was still standing infront of the steps. "wait!" he called out, getting their attention.

they all turned to him with a questioning look. "shouldn't we keep a lookout? you know, in case anything happens?" the uris boy nervously suggests, scanning the crowd infront of him.

"w-who wants to stay out here?" bill asks. everyone except for beverly raised their hands. as richie looked around, he let out a large groan.

"shit."