what are you afraid of? || eddie kaspbrak x reader

THIRTEEN

"Give him back the trumpet, trashmouth!"

"Never!"

You would've been with the others, talking about something important like the missing children, but Richie once again was being a total idiot. He had stolen a trumpet from one of the members of the marching band and was making these horrible noises with it, while the poor marching band guy was trying to grab it back.

"Give it to him!" You smacked the back of Richie's head and he shook his head, continuing to 'play' the trumpet. "Richie, I swear-"

You snatched it out of his hands and gave it back to the man from the marching band. 

"What the fuck, dude!" Richie whined. You dragged him over to the other guys. "Just stay here and don't be fucking annoying."

"What are you guys talking about?" Eddie asked, appearing from around the corner. He handed you and Richie an ice cream cone. 

"What they always talk about." Richie rolled his eyes. "Death, missing kids, evil clowns-"

"I actually think it will end." Ben interrupted. You smiled at him for stopping Richie's endless talking. "For a little while, at least."

"What do you mean?" Beverly asked.

"So I was going over all my Derry research," He started. "And I charted all of the big events. The Ironworks explosion, 1908, The Bradley Gang in 35, and the Blackspot in 62, and now kids being..." Ben stopped, looking up at Bill. "It seems all of this stuff it happening every-"

"Twenty-seven years."

~

"Ok, so, lemme get this straight," Eddie said. "It comes out from... wherever to eat kids for, like, a year? And then what? It just goes into hibernation?"

Stan shrugged. "Maybe it's just like... what do you call it? Cicadas. You know those bugs that come out every seventeen years?"

"My grandfather thinks this town is cursed." Mike looked down. "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 in Derry."

"I mean... it could be true if you think about it. I wouldn't have believed anything Mike just said if I hadn't seen a demonic evil clown the other day and Beverly's bathroom sink didn't throw up blood all over me." You cringed at the memory of the bloody sink.

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

"Maybe. Or maybe it knows what scares us most and that's what we see."

"I saw a leper," Eddie added. "It was like a walking infection."

Of course, that's what his biggest fear was.

"But you didn't. Because it isn't real. Not Eddie's leper, or- or Bill seeing Georgie, or... the woman I keep seeing-"

"She hot?" Richie smirked. You elbowed him in the stomach, and Stan got a little angry at his comment. "No, Richie! She's not hot!"

Richie looked genuinely disappointed.

"Her face is all messed up. None of this makes any sense! They're all like bad dreams."

"I- I don't think so." Mike shook his head. "I think I know the difference between a bad dream and real life, okay?"

"What did you see?" You asked.

"You guys know that burned down house on *something* avenue?" Everyone nodded. "I was inside it when it burned down. Before I was rescued, my parents were trapped in the next room. They were pushing and pounding on the door, trying to get to me. But it was too hot. And when they finally found them, the skin on their hands had melted down to the bone."

The group was quiet for a moment, not knowing what to say until Eddie spoke up. "What did you see, (Y/n)?"

You blushed and looked away. "Uh, nothing important."

"We won't make fun of you if that's what you're worried about." He said softly. That wasn't the case, you just didn't want Eddie to know he was somehow linked to your worst fear.

"It's, uh, it's stupid."

"W-we promise not t-to judge y-you." Bill stuttered. "R-right, guys?"

There was a chorus or 'yes' and 'of course' and a 'maybe' from Richie.

You scratched your neck awkwardly. "It was just Eddie coming at me with a knife, saying some stuff about everyone wanting me to die. It's dumb, I know."

"It's not dumb, we're all scared of something," Beverly reassured.

"Why did you only see Eddie, though?" Richie said with a smirk. "What makes him different from the rest of us?"

You had to think fast on this one, especially because Eddie was sitting right there waiting for your explanation. "Uh, maybe because it could only take the form of one person so it randomly chose Eddie."

"I don't know, there's gotta be a reason, right?" Richie pressed on. You quickly decided to change the subject. "How about you, Trashmouth, what are you afraid of?"

Richie's whole demeanour suddenly shifted. He adjusted his glasses and avoided eye contact.

"Clowns."