September 1987

Darling you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go?

A small chuckle escaped from Bill's lips as he watched the girl dance goofily in front of him as she mouthed the words of her favorite song to him. Y/N's e/c eyes sparkled as they stared at him and a hint of a smile appeared on her face as she mouthed the next set of words.

If you say that you are mine

I'll be here 'til the end of time.

Using the straw in her drink as a microphone, Y/N got up from her seat and slid across the floor and over to where Bill was, making the boy laugh as he watched her in both adoration and amusement.

So you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go?

"I think you should go home," Richie called out as he spared a glance in Y/N's direction before looking back at the arcade game him, Eddie, Mike, and Stan were currently trying to beat. "You two make me sick and I'm not going to be able to fucking beat this game if you two keep up the gross couple shit."

"We're not a-" Y/N quickly began to say at the same time Bill stuttered out, "M-m-me and h-h-her?"

Richie rolled his eyes and locked eyes with Eddie, the two shaking their heads at their friends were so oblivious it hurt. It was no surprise that Bill liked the girl as much as he did, in fact, the Losers' Club was pretty sure he might even be in love with her at this point. The only one they weren't sure about was Y/N, but from the way she acted around him, they were pretty sure she felt the same.

"Richie, leave them alone. I think they're cute," Beverly said as she winked at Y/N, the girl blushing in response.

"Of course you do. Why am I not surprised?" Richie asked. "I think it has something to do with the fact that you and Ben are dating now. You're still in the 'I love Ben and everything that has to do with love' phase of the relationship."

Beverly sent a glare in his direction which only made Richie smirk before he asked, "Where is lover boy? He was supposed to be here tonight."

Deciding she had better things to do than argue with Richie, Beverly went to grab another quarter from her cup of change and didn't look at the boy as she said, "He had some big research project he wanted to do. I think he's still trying to research Hawkins cause of how weird it is."

"Hawkins? Ain't nothing weird about that town and you all know it. There's no way the shit Y/N says is true. No way!" Richie exclaimed. He then seemed to realize what he said and looked to Y/N. "No offense, Y/N. You know I love you like a sister, but come on. There's no way Hawkins is that weird."

"It is, Tozier, and I know that you know I'm right. Besides, a killer clown that can change into your worst fears? That sounds like a load of bullshit to me," Y/N said.

"Can we go a night without the two of you arguing, please?" Stan asked with a small sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's a Sunday night and we have school in the morning. All I want to do is have some fun without the two of you arguing about whose story is more believable."

"Stan's right. This argument has been going on for two whole years now. You are both seventeen and about to be adults in a couple of months. Just let the topic go," Mike told them.

Richie frowned and went to open his mouth, but Eddie, without even glancing at the boy, muttered, "Beep beep, Richie."

"But I haven't even-"

"Beep beep!"

Richie let out a huff and slumped against the game console as he turned his attention back to Eddie who was only two hundred points away from beating the high score of the PAC-MAN game in the arcade.

Bill tore his gaze away from his friends and looked over at Y/N who was staring off into space with her shoulders slumped ever so slightly. He knew it had to do with the fact that they had mentioned Hawkins, seeing as this always happened when the topic came up. Not a day went by where she didn't miss her friends and the fact that she hadn't seen them in two years was hard for her which Bill knew.

The boy didn't hesitate before getting up from his seat at the table the two had just been eating pizza at before gently taking her hand in his. Y/N let her eyes flicker up to lock with his and he gave her a tiny smile before tugging her hand softly and pulling her over to the closest game, Dig Dug.

"I don't have any-" Y/N began, but Bill cut her off by pulling some quarters out of his pocket and holding it out to her.

He gave her that cute smile of his before saying, "I b-b-brought some for y-y-you just in c-c-case."

Y/N gave him a soft smile in return before he dropped the coins into her hands. "Thank you," she whispered before turning to the game and putting some of the change in. Bill silently observed her as she began to play the game and a grin appeared on her face as he watched her relax and get lost in the game.

And the moment she won and turned to him before throwing her arms around his neck and letting out a loud laugh was the moment Bill was once again reminded of just how much he liked her.

Y/N pulled away from the hug ever so slightly, but kept her arms around his neck as she looked up at him. Bill's arms were around her waist and his breath hitched in his throat for a moment, but their moment was quickly ruined by the sound of Richie fake gagging.

"Ew! Guys, they're doing that gross couple shit again!"

"Richie, I swear to god!" Y/N yelled before suddenly breaking away from Bill and running after her friend. Richie let out a high pitched scream before bolting out of the arcade with Y/N on his heels.

Beverly snorted before saying, "We should probably stop her."

"W-w-where's the fun in t-t-that?"

- - -

"How can you say some weird alien shit is more believable than a killer clown?" Richie asked, his eyes wide as he looked to his friend in disbelief.

Y/N kicked the small rock next to her feet and watched it skip across the path ahead as she walked home with the rest of the Losers' Club, minus Ben, behind her. She glanced at the boy that looked so much like her friend from home and shrugged, "Cause my story is more believable."

"You are literally talking about the idea of a whole other world existing! One where everything we know is covered in decay and has monsters running around killing people!" Richie exclaimed.

"And you keep telling me that some clown can take the form of your greatest fear and has a mouth that opens up like a fucking shark and eats people! Not to mention that apparently its victims can float in the air? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?" Y/N asked.

"Obviously not as ridiculous as this conversation," Eddie muttered under his breath, but everyone could hear it. Bill, Beverly, Mike, and Stan let out small chuckles while Y/N and Richie glared at their friend.

"Eds, sometimes you really make me question why we're friends," Richie said with a shake of his head.

"Oh shut up," Eddie told him as he grabbed the boy's shoulder and began to push him in the direction of their houses. "Come on. Our houses are this way. And don't call me Eds."

"Sorry, Eddie Spaghetti."

Eddie rolled his eyes and turned back to his friends before waving slightly. "Night, guys. See you tomorrow," he said.

"Bye, Eddie. Bye, Richie," Y/N called out, the others following suit as they watched the two boys walk off, purposely bumping into each other as they did.

They didn't walk much longer before Beverly, Mike, and Stan had to split off as well. That left only Y/N and Bill. The two were silent as they walked back, but it was a comfortable silence filled with their small laughter as they nudged each other and snuck small glances at the other when they weren't paying attention.

Y/N's smile only faltered when she saw the road that Bill's house was on. Their houses were a few streets away from each other, so Y/N always ended up having to walk alone for a while before she even got home. In hindsight, she could've borrowed her mother's car and drove herself to the arcade and back. However, if she was being honest, the only reason she didn't do just that was because she liked getting to walk with Bill, even if it was only for a few minutes.

The two paused at the end of Bill's street and Y/N turned to look at the boy as she gave him a soft smile. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she looked down at her feet.

Bill stared at her in silence for a moment, his heart fluttering when she looked up at him through her eyelashes with that smile of hers on her face. With a sudden burst of courage, Bill said, "A-a-actually, I was w-w-wondering if. . .if I could w-w-walk you h-h-home?"

Y/N blinked in surprise and for a moment Bill felt his blood run cold, the fear of rejection washing over him almost instantly. But then she was smiling an even brighter smile than before and Bill swore her cheeks had even grown a tinge redder.

"I'd like that," Y/N told him, making the boy return her grin.

The two began to walk forward and Y/N effortlessly slipped her hand into Bill's before intertwining their fingers together. Bill's face reddened and he couldn't stop the smile that was growing on his face as he ever so slightly pulled her closer to his body, his hand tightening around hers.

A beat of silence fell over them before Bill looked at the girl curiously and asked, "So y-y-you really don't b-b-believe our story about I-I-It?"

Y/N looked up at the boy and gave him a look of disbelief before saying, "Of course I do. A psycho clown is nothing compared to the horrors I've witnessed. I just like to poke fun at Richie is all."

Bill let out a small breath of relief that he hadn't known he was holding. Something about knowing that Y/N believed him and didn't think he was crazy made it feel like a weight had been taken off of his shoulders.

"What about you?" Y/N questioned causing the boy to look over at her. "Do you believe my story?"

He could see the way she was trying to act like the answer wouldn't bother her, but he could also see the way she was nervously biting her lips and the way her hold on his hand tightened ever so slightly.

"I-I-It is kind of c-c-crazy," Bill muttered causing the girl's smile to drop. But then he was lightly squeezing her hand and saying, "I b-b-believe you."

Y/N's head whipped up so fast that Bill almost didn't see the movement. "You do?" She asked surprised.

"Of c-c-course. You said it, s-s-so of course I d-d-do," Bill said, his cheeks dusted a light pink as he said that.

Y/N smiled and leaned into Bill's arm, making sure to keep her hand latched with his while her other arm hug around his. She then laid her head against his shoulder and shivered slightly from the cold.

Bill didn't even hesitate before letting go of the girl and taking his jacket off. Y/N went to protest, but Bill cut her off with that smile of his as he wrapped the jacket around her shoulders. Then, before he could stop himself, he wrapped his arm around the girl and began to rub his hand up and down her arm as he held her close to his body.

Both teens blushed and looked away from each other as they walked, but Y/N still snuck a glance in Bill's direction, a goofy grin on her face as she looked at him.

The rest of the walk ended up being a lot shorter than either of them would've liked. Before they knew it, they were standing on the front porch of Y/N's house as both of them just stood there staring at each other.

Y/N broke their gaze by looking down at her feet as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Thanks for walking me home."

"N-n-no problem. I-I-I guess I'll see y-y-you at school," Bill said, his eyes flickering over her face and hesitating for just a moment on her lips.

Y/N looked up at the boy and he was quick to divert his attention back to her eyes. "Yeah, I'll see you then," she confirmed with a smile. She then let out a small gasp before beginning to take off the jacket, "Your-"

Bill's hands resting on hers had her instantly freeze as she looked up at him. He gave her an effortless smile and shrugged before saying, "You c-c-can give it back to m-m-me some other t-t-time. It looks better o-o-on you anyways."

Y/N blushed at that and let the jacket fall back onto her person as she stared at the boy in front of her. The two were silent before Bill finally whispered out, "G-G-Goodnight, Y/N."

A smile broke out on her face before Y/N pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and pressed a small kiss to Bill's cheek. "Goodnight, Bill," she whispered back, a small chuckle escaping her lips at the sight of how red his cheeks were.

She pulled away and sent one more smile in Bill's direction before turning and walking to her front door. Bill didn't move from his spot until the girl was inside and it was only then that he let himself stumble back in a daze as a goofy grin appeared on his face.

The small flickering of the street light had him furrowing his eyebrows, but the light quickly went back to normal and Bill thought nothing more of it. He then began to walk home with a small skip in his step, his thoughts consumed with the beauty that was Y/N L/N.

- - -

A sigh of relief left Mike Hanlon's lips as he caught sight of his bike resting against the alley wall. The others had all met him in that alley before walking to the arcade together, so Mike had left his bike there for later. Thankfully, he had hidden it well enough behind some garbage cans and wooden crates that no one had stolen it. Finally, he could bike home instead of walking.

The bike ride home wasn't too bad, but it was only when he turned onto Neibolt Street that things turned for the worst. Mike always did hate riding past the Well House, the memories just too much for him, but something always had him riding past. It was like a force that made him want to make sure everything was still the way it was supposed to be, that nothing was out of place. . .that It wasn't back.

Mike could see the Well House coming up on his right and he had to take a second just to calm his breathing. "Nothing's going to happen. You're going to be fine," Mike assured himself, those words enough to make him put on his confident look and pedal down the street.

He only took his eyes off the road when he was biking past the Well House, but that was his first mistake. His second mistake was not noticing the flickering of the street lights which seemed to all be flickering in the same sort of pattern.

When he was past the house, Mike let out a small chuckle at himself for even being afraid and turned back to look at the street. His eyes widened when he saw a figure in front of him and he quickly stopped his bike.

An eerie silence fell on the street at that moment and Mike squinted his eyes as he tried to see what was standing only a little ways away from him. The streetlights flickered a few more times before suddenly all turning on, the brightness of the lights so intense that Mike stumbled back a little in surprise.

He had to adjust his vision a little and blinked a few times before looking up, his eyes locking on the figure in front of him. He didn't know what to think when he registered the figure as something he had heard Y/N talk about many times before.

Mike couldn't help but notice that everything she had said, every little detail, was correct. Even the sound she described was exactly the same and Mike found himself shivering as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

The creature, the demogorgon, let out an eerie sound before its face began to open up in a way that looked a lot like Pennywise. Shaking his head, Mike quickly turned his bike around and was about to bike away when he noticed another demogorgon had come up behind him.

Both demogorgons were only ten feet away in each direction, but they were blocking his only means of escape. "Shit," Mike muttered. It was in that moment that Mike made his third and final mistake of the night.

Mike ditched his bike on the edge of the street and ran towards the Well House with the demogorgons hot on his trail. He didn't necessarily have a destination in mind, so Mike just did whatever the first thought to pop in his head was and began to run up the stairs.

He could hear the demogorgons growling and making that weird sound of theirs as they stumbled up the stairs after him, the two running and bumping into each other as they tried to reach or do the boy.

Mike's own breathing was all he could hear as he ran down a few hallways, trying to find some place to go. However, he made one wrong turn and was suddenly trapped in a hallway that had a single door at the end. The demogorgons were right behind him and he knew that if he ran in that direction, he would be dead for sure.

So Mike did the only thing he could think of and ran down the hallway and into the room. He slammed the door shut behind him and locked the door before turning around to see that he was in some sort of coat closet.

He heard the cries of the demogorgons and jumped slightly before beginning to back up, the coats covering him the further back he went. There was only one lightbulb in the room so Mike had enough light to be able to see where he was going, but he had barely even made it halfway into the closet before the lights flickered off and the demogorgons suddenly went quiet.

This caused the boy to stop cold and all he could hear was the pounding in his ears and his ragged breaths as sweat trickled down his face. Something suddenly clamped over his mouth and Mike's eyes widened once he recognized it as someone's hand.

An eerily familiar laugh filled the air before a voice whispered into his ear, "Hello, Mike."

He didn't want to look back, but his eyes betrayed him. As soon as Mike's eyes locked on the person holding onto him, he let out a scream that was muffled by the hand over his mouth.

Laughter filled the air as Mike desperately tried to escape, his hands clawing at the person holding onto him. The light in the closet turned back on before beginning to flicker on and off while the laughter and screaming grew louder.

But then there was nothing. The light flickered back on before staying on, illuminating the now quiet and completely empty room.

The only sign of Mike having ever been at the Well House being his bike that was lying on the ground outside with one wheel slowly turning in the wind.

- - -

Y/N let out a small sigh as she pulled Bill's jacket closer to her body. The wind roared all around her as she walked and she looked up at the sky in annoyance as she realized a storm was about to come their way.

It amazed her how only an hour before, when Bill had dropped her off at home, there had been no traces of clouds in the sky. But the force of the wind was enough to give her an answer as to how it had appeared so quickly.