#derryleft

“Damn, look at that face.” It’s ironic, how they both have gotten used to pulling all-nighters and working their butts off. So used to it, that they always look radiant. KC took a break to have lunch and decided to bring some food to share at Lynn’s, in the shelter. “I was wondering if you wanted to share some Chinese goodies with me. Straight outta the kitchen.” He holds two bags in both hands, before reaching to press a kiss atop Lynn’s head. “Want some ? Answer before these pupperonis come and steal.”

He hated always feeling like he needed someone to hold onto, but since that fucking clown, Eddie definitely had deeply planted issues. He was sure the rest of them did, so he didn’t need to be so embarrassed about it, but he still was.

How he had let Lynn go off into the dark woods after hearing a sound, he didn’t know, but he found himself frozen in fear. Then when she appeared again, he let out a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding in.

It didn’t happen often, and it had only been a few years since they beat the clown, but sometimes the panic came back. Sometimes he heard something that threw him off guard, and he was falling into a state that usually took some time for him to calm down from. It was a quick shot of colours -- reds and oranges of sorts -- that caught the corner of his eye, and Eddie was convinced the clown was around.

He hadn’t even known Lynn was around, but she must have noticed him when he was trying to calm down, close his eyes and tell himself IT was gone. Eddie surprised himself when he didn’t panic at the feel of her arms around him, and it instantly seemed to calm him down. Or at least begin the process of relaxing him. He normally would have been a bit tense, but he welcomed the feeling. So he relaxed completely against her.

Richie was gone. Flipped them over at the last minute, and the blow clearly meant for Eddie had gone to his best friend.

They left him down there. Eddie hadn’t put up much of a fight... he hated himself.

Whether or not Eddie seemed like a crying person, he’d be in his room at the Town House, crying since they’d gotten back from the sewers. He hadn’t showered yet, he just cried. For maybe an hour, he was lying on the floor, but he never passed out; Eddie didn’t think he would sleep for a long time, even though he knew biology would prove him wrong.

He’d been careful to keep his distance since then; it seemed smarter, let her have some space so she could think things over.  Sure, it made him nervous, and on edge, because he didn’t know where things were going to land, what she was going to do with the knowledge.  Whether she’d take things at face value or whether she’d go to the cops, and that thought in and of itself was enough to put him even more on edge, but he wanted to trust she’d understand.

He’d expected her to avoid him forever, honestly, not that he would have blamed her.  But now, she stood in front of him, his face in her hands, asking a question that promised to change things moving forward.  A question that was heavy, so much behind it, so much resting on the answer, and for a moment he couldn’t look at her.  It was too heavy for that.

It was well known that TJ was awkward. He didn’t have a way with words, or with social skills. Often seen as a freak. But as he stepped into the diner on his way home after his shift at the arcade, he can’t help but feel uneasy with the eyes that landed on him.

He sat on a table near a window, by himself. Notices a girl, a few years younger than him walking her way towards him. He’s seen him around with other kids, what’s his name, Eddie, Braxton... ? It was like he knew everyone and no one in Derry at the same time.