Two Birds [S.Uris]

X. Cleaners' Club

"Did she say anything else?" Fleur asks as her and Stanley leave the house, grabbing their bikes. "No, she said she called the others and we have to head to her place as soon as possible." He replies.

"I hope she's alright." Fleur climbs onto her bike and begins riding ahead. "Me too." Stanley replies, following shortly behind. "Race you there!" Fleur, who was already much further ahead calls out. "Hey! That's unfair!"

••••••

"No, we gotta go through the alleyway." Stanley argues as they all make their way to the appartement. "The alley takes way too long!" Eddie replies. "No, the alley is so much faster!"

"The alley is more dangerous and it's disgusting." Fleur rolls her eyes, trying to block out the yelling. "How is it more dangerous?" The curly headed boy shouts. "It smells like piss and it's gross! Just take the side streets for once."

"Oh, my God." Fleur says in frustration, placing a hand on her forehead. "The side streets are the same. They smell like piss and shit!"

Eddie sighs. "Okay, okay. Can you just tell me what she said exactly?" The boy asks. "She didn't say anything. She just said that you guys need to hurry over." He replies.

"She didn't say anything. Okay. Okay." Eddie shakes his head, rolling his eyes. As soon as they all see the red head approach, they quickly get off their bikes. She looked out of breath, as if she had run all the way here. "You made it. I..." She trails off, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"I need to show you something." She finishes. "What is it?" Ben asks with concern. "More than we saw at the quarry?" Richie chimes in. "Shut up! Just shut up, Richie." Eddie snaps, turning back to the black haired boy with a look of anger and disapproval.

"My dad will kill me if he finds out I had boys in the apartment." The red head sighs, eyeing the blonde. "This was a fucking waste a of time then. Couldn't you have just called Fleur?" Richie asks. "One person isn't enough." She replies.

"Then we'll leave a lookout. Richie, s-s-stay here." Bill says, dropping his bike and quickly following the others up the stairs. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What if her dad comes back?" Richie shouts, putting his arms up. Eddie, Stanley, and Fleur pause, turning back to face the boy. "Do what you always do! Start talking." Stanley says, earning a high five from the blonde.

"It is a gift!"

•••••

The six of them enter the dark, cold appartement. It didn't feel like someone's home. It felt like a house of tempers and problems. "Holy shit. It's freezing in here." Fleur shivers, following closely behind the red head.

Stanley, who was walking beside her, couldn't decide whether he should place an arm around the girl or not. He hadn't the confidence. In fact, this is the closest he's ever been to a girl- in terms of friendship. Or maybe more. He wasn't so sure.

Suddenly, he finds the courage and places his arm around hers, rubbing lightly. As the blonde feels their arms touch, she can't help but immediately feel warmer. It's like an electrical charge between the two. "

Finally, they all come to a stop at the end of a hallway. "In there." Beverly looks ahead at a door, ajar. Through that little crack, a small tint of red glow was shining through. Just from here, you could notice the change in aroma, now transforming into one of death.

"What is it?" Stanley asks, his body beginning to stiffen up. The suspense could kill anyone. "You'll see." Beverly breathes out, contemplating on whether to approach the door or not. Slowly, they all make their way.

"Are you taking us to your bathroom?" Eddie begins. "I just want you to know that 89% of the worst accidents in homes are caused in bathrooms. An-an-And, I mean, that's where all the ba-bacteria and fungi are and it's not really a sanitary place..." Eddie trails off, mumbling to himself as Bill reaches forward, pushing the door open.

It was a terrifying sight. The entire bathroom was red, covered in blood. The smell of death hit the group's nostrils once again. There was not one inch of the bathroom that didn't glow of crimson. "I knew it." Eddie gags, feeling disgust engulf his body.

Fleur feels the shivers return once again, but not because of the temperature. This was of pure fear. The type of fear she felt when she found out her parents left her and her brother, the fear she felt when Henry tried to assault her a while back. That was the reason her brother was so protective over her. She's the only one he's got left.

"You see it?" Beverly asks. "Yes." Fleur whispers, feeling sick to her stomach. "What.. What happened here?" Stanley asks. "My dad couldn't see it. I thought I might be crazy." Beverly ignores the question. "Well, if you're crazy, then we're all crazy." Ben adds quietly.

"We c-c-can't leave it like this." Bill says, slowly entering the bloodied room. Eddie watches in shock as Bill enters, making sure to push the others in before him so he could go last.

•••••

Fleur and Stanley took charge of the windows, Beverly swept the mirror, Ben had the walls, Bill had the floor, and Eddie wrung the rags into a bucket, now filled with blood.

As the two clean the windows, Stanley makes sure to wipe in clean lines, remaining organized. Meanwhile, Fleur couldn't care less while cleaning the window frame.

After about an hour of cleaning, the bathroom was finally starting to look much better. The buckets of blood and water were emptied into the drain, and the rags were on their way to the trash. Eddie, Stanley, Fleur, and Ben all made their way out, holding onto trash bags filled to the brim with blood-stained rags.

"I thought this was the Losers' Club. Not the Cleaners' Club." Fleur says, slamming the trash bag into the dump. Stanley doesn't answer, he simply chuckles, shaking his head. "What?" Fleur asks, smiling. "Nothing."

He quickly speeds off back to Richie, waiting beside the boy for Bill and Beverly to finish up. "Hey! Wait up!" Fleur calls out, running off behind him.