#philbrough

Stanley Uris let his forehead press against the car window as the Georgia landscape whizzed past them, Patty occasionally glancing towards her fiancée and smiling to herself. Ben Hanscom was reading a newspaper outside the car rental store, sun shining on his face and smile on his lips at the lingering smell of vanilla on his clothes. Bill Denbrough wadded through the multiples of unpacked cardboard boxes, and knocked on the locked bedroom door at the end of the hallway. Mike Hanlon dropped a couple quarters into a payphone in Metro station and punched in the number he had written on the ripped napkin.

Richie Kaspbrak had his three year daughter tossed over his shoulder, rushing through the family’s New York townhouse making over-excited airplane sounds. Frankie shrieked in joy as her father dipped her suddenly, Eddie smiling happily as he reached out and answered the ringing telephone. “Hello, you’ve reached the Kaspbraks’.”

Mike gave the payphone an odd smile as Eddie’s phone came through. “Hey, uh, Eddie? It’s Mike.”

“Mike!” Eddie cried in a sharp, pitchy voice. Richie looked up from where he was dangling Frankie upside down and gave his husband an amused smile. “I take it if you’re calling that you made it into the city alright then!”

Mike laughed nervously, looking around the barely moving ridiculous traffic and the buildings that were nearly so large that Mike wasn’t sure if he was really even seeing the tops of them. He certainly wasn’t in Maine. “I sure hope so, or I’ve crossed over into some terrible alternate dimension of Derry that I really don’t want to give that much thought into.”

Eddie laughed with him over the line, as the buzzer signally the ringing of their door bell rang through their home. “What is this, Grand Central Station?” Richie laughed as he tossed a giggling Frankie onto their couch like a football in the touchdown zone. “I’ll get it.”

Eddie nodded at his husband as he turned his attention back to his conversation. “Good, good. You’ve still got a few hours before meeting with the real state agent your work gave you, right? You going to do any big city exploring before then?”

Mike gave a nervous chuckle, smiling against the phone. “I don’t know. It’s just… big, you know? I’m starting my life over from scratch. I just… It’ll be nice to do these things with somebody there.”

Eddie leaned against his kitchen counter, phone pressed against his ear. “Welcome to the Big Apple. Nothing is ever going to be the same again.”

Richie padded to the front door, his tiny toddle of a daughter hurrying in her small legs to keep up with her daddy. He turned the handle and yanked the door open, taking in the person standing on his front step with their whole life surrounding them in suitcases.

Beverly Marsh looked up at him from under her lashes, fiddling with the straps on a backpack that Richie recognized from high school. “Is your and Eddie’s invitation for a place to stay still open?”

 →  →  →

“Baby….” Bill banged his head against the locked bedroom door. “Will you please open the door? We need to talk about this.” The silence on the other edge make the anxiety in Bill’s stomach swill and sour, making the man unable to ignore how he was now only moments away from reducing to his childhood stutter. “Please, Audra. Please.”

It had been radio silence from his pregnant girlfriend since Bill had told her the night before that he was setting out from Derry. The conversations had been dim and unlively since she’d taken off to their New York apartment in the middle of the night, but Audra had not answered the phone even one time since hanging up on Bill with a simple “Okay” as he told her he was ready to come to their new home. It seemed the Bill having finally arrived hadn’t changed his girlfriend’s stance on potentially never speaking to him ever again.

Bill kicked lightly at one of the boxes closest to him and let out a frustrated sigh. “Okay, I know you’re in there because I saw you run from the kitchen into the room as soon as I opened the front door. I literally heard you turn the lock, and that’s really immature, I might add-“

The door flew open and his girlfriend was suddenly glaring angrily up at him. Bill’s heart lurched in chest, even knowing the fight they were about to half, and the struggles they were about to face, he’d missed the hell out of his girlfriend and seeing her still took of his breath away every time. For the first time since he’d been told, the thought that this beautiful woman he loved was carrying his child gave him a spark of excitement instead of a spark dread.

“Baby…” Bill whispered.

Audra’s eyes sparkled up at him. “Don’t you baby me because I’m only realizing right now how much I fucking missed you and I’m trying to be pissed at you!”

Bill cupped the side of Audra’s face, pressing their foreheads together. “Let’s put that anger on pause, fuck now and fight later?”

Audra giggled and leapt up to wrap her legs around Bill’s waist. “I guess that is how we should break in our new apartment.”

“I fucking love the way you think, baby.”

 →  →  →

Beverly leaned over the side of crib, peering down at the sleeping baby inside. She furrowed her brow and tilted it to the side. “So this is…” She started.

“Yep.” Richie confirmed.

“And you and Eddie…”

“Yep.”

“Huh.” Beverly stepped away from the sleeping child, running her fingers through her tangled red hair.  “And how long have you been….”

“Well, we met in 1982 so give or take…” Richie cleared his throat awkwardly. “Thirteen years this November.”

Beverly’s mouth dropped open as her mind went spiraling. “Thirteen… Wait, wait, wait. You guys were together in high school? What the fuck, why didn’t you…”

“Tell you?” Richie bitterly. “Bev, I adore you but it took you almost six months to even speak to me again after we broke up. The last thing I wanted to add onto that was ‘oh, hey, also I’m gay.’”

Beverly let out a small laugh, rolling her eyes at her friend. “You know, that might have made it better. If you’d told me that you liked Eddie, I definitely would have believed you. I didn’t cross my mind back then but now that I’m looking back at it- it adds up a lot of shit.”

“Ha ha ha,” Richie mocked laughed, but the amusement in his eyes was real. Tossing an arm around Beverly’s shoulders, he lead the girl back to the kitchen where Eddie was holding up two packages of pasta in front of Frankie’s face.

“Just pick one,” Eddie said in calm voice, a voice that Richie instantly recognized as I’m about to loose my shit with this fucking child and he grinned. “Bow ties or shells.”

“I want bow ties AND shells!” Frankie cheered, reaching out for the bags with gabby hands. Eddie clenched his jaw and widened his eyes, Richie ducking in and swooping the now-giggling girl into his arms.

“Come on, Franks. Bowties are your favourites! Why don’t we just make those and we can have shells another night?” Richie asked her, balancing the little girl on his hip.

Frankie furrowed her brow and smacked at Richie’s chest. “Don’t call me Franks, Daddy! You know I hate that!” Beverly raised her brow at Richie as Eddie chuckled under his breath.

 →  →  →

Patty ducked back into the apartment, two bags of take out food in her hands. Stanley had been mostly silent the entire ride back to the city and she chalked up to Stanley’s dislike for travelling. Back home now, in their half packed up apartment, and Stan still hadn’t said anything, and Patty felt her anxiety rising.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Patty asked, unpacking the food onto their table. Stan looked up at her, frowning slightly. “And don’t tell me that you’re fine, because we both know what a terrible liar you are. You’ve been practically mute since we left Derry, so please tell what’s going on. I’m worried.”

“I…” Stan shook his head. “I guess it’s just… Richie. I think there was a part of me that really thought I’d go to this reunion and everything would be sorted out. I’m just sort of struggling with knowing there’s really nothing I could do to make it up to him.”

Patty sat down across from him, beginning to pick at the food. “I can’t help you feel better or worse when I don’t know what happened, baby.”

Stan let out a shaky breath. “In our senior year of high school, I tried to kill myself.” Patty’s eyes blew wide but Stan carried on right over. “I’d fought with depression since middle school, but Richie and my parents are the only people who knew about my attempt because…” Stan cleared his breath. “Richie found me that day. He saved my life.”

“And that’s why you stopped being friends?” Patty asked slowly. “Because that’s not on you, Stan, if he-“

“No.” Stan interrupted, looking tortured. “No, but that’s what started it all. And that’s why I’ll never be able to forgive myself for what I did to him.”

 →  →  →

“What do you think?”

Mike looked around the small apartment. Very small, even smaller than he’d expected and he felt his heart sink. There was no way they’d be able to have a Golden retriever in this apartment, but he couldn’t possibly ask for more from a job he hadn’t even started at yet. A job that was already putting themselves out for him more than they needed to, when they could simply hired another person for the job. Blinking back tears, Mike smiled at the real estate agent. “It’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

She beamed at him. “That’s wonderful! I’m go glad, we’ll just go over some paper work and this place is yours. Your girlfriend is coming up to live with you as well?”

Mike forced a smile. “My partner is back in my hometown, we’re still putting a few things into place for the move. It was more than a little unexpected.”

“Life is like that sometimes,” the real estate started unpacking papers from her brief case. “But I think you’ll find the most sudden of changes are sometimes the best ones.”

Mike nodded, thinking of Alexander back in Derry. He couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t true.

 →  →  →

Ben opened the door to his apartment, sighing as he pulled his jacket tighter around him. His landlord had turned on the buildings’ air conditioning mid-April and Ben’s home was always freezing. The walls were a bare, ugly grey and if Ben himself didn’t know he lived there- he’d assume nobody did. The amount of time Ben Hanscom spent in his office, he knew that he might as well live there- and this apartment was just for appearance. For the occasional days off or the even more rare time that Ben got out of work early enough to sleep in his own bed instead of hunched over a desk.

Rubbing sleepily at his eyes, Ben stumbled through his apartment and thought- not for the first time- that maybe he should get a dog. There was an loneliness in Ben Hanscom’s heart that he once been used to- a sadness that he hadn’t realized he’d had because he’d never known anything differently- until he’d moved to Derry. Meeting the Losers had shown Ben a life of friends and connection, and it was something he’d once more forgotten about until this weekend. The loneliness was settled deep in his chest now.

His phone had six messages from his trip to Derry, even though he’d been gone through weeks and weeks of getting approval for the time off. The last one was from his direct superior, Robert Gray. A very brief, straight-to-the-point demand. Be in your seat at 7 am on Monday morning or don’t bother showing up again. Ben sighed, looking up as the clock hit midnight and gave up on having dinner for what he knew wouldn’t be the last time this week.

As he hung up his jacket, Ben pulled the folded paper out of his pocket. [email protected]. Sighing, Ben crumbled the paper up and dropped into his waste paper basket as he walked past it.

 →  →  →

Patty pulled her sleeves up over her hands and pressed her face against them. She and Stan were sitting side by side on the living room floor, Stan’s face wet with tears and eyes pleading. Patty swallowed at the sick feeling in her stomach and looked at her fiancée.

“I’m not going to lie to you,” she said slowly. “What you did… is not good. But baby, you aren’t what you did ten years ago. If Richie can never forgive you for it, then I guess we can’t blame that. You told me yourself what a bad place you were in then, and while it doesn’t excuse it, I just… the Stanley Uris I know would never do that.” Stan looked away, face burning with shame but Patty reached out and grasped at his hands. “And I think the reason it hurts you and it hurt Richie so much was because the Stanley Uris he knew would never have done it either.”

Stan and Patty held each other’s gaze for a long time, Stan’s body trembling from the unexpected support. He had given all his thought to having her turn her on back on her the way Richie had the day he’d found it, expecting to see a mirror of Eddie Kaspbrak’s horror in Patty’s eyes and suffer the brutal slap of Bill Denbrough’s words come from her mouth.

“If you want to mend things with your friend,” she said slowly. “You need to prove that you’re not the person who did that. If your friendship was real as you believe it was, he’ll see that someday. But you’ll have to put in effort.”

Stan leaned his head onto Patty’s shoulder and her wraps went around him.

 →  →  →

“I know,” Mike said into the phone, squeezing his eyes shut as he leaning against the pay phone outside his building. “I don’t know what else to do.”

The line was quiet on the other side, if it wasn’t for the persistent barking of Henry in the background Mike would almost think Alexander had hung up on him. Hell, Mike wouldn’t have blamed him if he had. “I’m not sure what you want to say here, Mike. Do you want to give up Henry?”

“You know I don’t,” Mike said, the sound of his puppy barking in the background making his heart hurt. “What if… What if you stayed on the farm for a while? My dad is supposed to move into the home on Wednesday but until I figure out something in New York, just stay there with Henry? You haven’t left your job yet, we could just-“

“Do long distance?” Alexander asked through the phone line. “Mike everybody knows what that’s like, the cost it has on relationships-“

“It’s not forever,” Mike pleaded. “It’s just until something else comes along. Just until I find a way to fix all this.”

Alexander sighed. “Alright, Mike. I’m with you.”  

 →  →  →

Audra wrapped her bathrobe around her naked form and turned to face Bill as he struggled into a pair of pajamas pants. “Do you want me to get an abortion?”

Bill startled, tripping and nearly falling onto the bedroom floor. Audra watched him with a blank expression. Bill’s answer came to him without a moment of hesitation. “What? No. Of course not.”

Audra looked relieved for a spilt second, then her frown returned. “We’re going to have to change things. You know I love your writing, Bill, but hopes and dreams won’t pay for a baby. We need to get a real jobs, we have to get our shit together. Or… or maybe we’re not ready, I get that, I do, I didn’t really plan to-“

Bill came forward, pulling Audra against his chest. “I know. I know, I started looking at jobs in New York while we were in still in Derry. I’m fucking terrified, okay? But I’m serious about us, about our lives together. Maybe this isn’t exactly planned, but I think it’s what’s meant to happen.”

Audra laughed wetly, wiping at the tears falling from her eyes. “You know, for a dumbass, sometimes you say exactly the right thing.”

Bill beamed and kissed the top of her head.

 →  →  →

The Kaspbrak house was quiet as Beverly came out from unpacking as much of her belongings as she could fit into Eddie and Richie’s spare room. She came into the living room, smiling at the sight. Richie was fast asleep on the couch, baby Marty resting in his arms with Eddie asleep pressed beside him, leg draped around waist. Frankie was curled on Richie’s other side, half disappearing into the couch cushions, with her baby sister’s little hand dropped onto her forehead.

Bill caught sight of Richie Tozier ducking through the crowds of classmates and had barely shifted his weight before Audra was squeezing his wrist. “Bill, please,” Audra pleaded, though her voice was almost cold. “I’m not spending another night with you squrrielling after the Toziers. I’m not doing this anymore.”

“I wasn’t going to…” Bill sighed, and stared into Audra’s eyes. He pleaded with her in a way he could never say. He understood now, he did. “Just… all the things Tozier was saying when we visited him… about Richie… and I just-“ Bill swallowed harshly, unable not for the first time, to imagine growing up in a home where his own father could speak so terribly, so casually about him.

Audra face softened slightly, nodding towards him. Her hand slipped down further Bill’s wrist until their fingers tangled in together. As Bill took the steps towards Tozier, the hyper awareness of his blue eyes and cocked of his smirk made Bill more than a little suspicious that perhaps there was less alcohol in Richie’s red cup then he might been letting their classmates believe.

“Where are your shadows?” Bill asked, shifting his weight from the front of his feet to his heels. Audra seemed to grow stiffer beside him, and he mentally cursed himself. Tozier merely smirking and shrugged one shoulder loosely.

“I don’t control Stan and Bev, believe me,” Tozier snickered, swishing the dark liquid around in his cup. “I don’t keep tabs on them. They can do whatever they want, they can take care of themselves.”

Bill pulled his hand away from Audra and took another step closer to Tozier. “Look, Richie, I just wanted to say-:”

Tozier waved his hand and shook his head. “No offense, Denbrough, but I’m really not in the mood for some bullshit fight tonight unless you’re actually going to throw up punches. The build up has been rather disappointing you know? I’m bored.”

Bill rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t going to fight with you! Why is that everybody’s immediate thought?” Audra and Tozier gave Bill unimpressed looks that looked so similar that it gave him chills down his spine. “I was going to apologize for being such a dick to you. I should’ve known you weren’t capable of doing that to Guh-Georgie or Juh-Juh-“

Tozier raised his brow. “Does this have anything to do with you two going all Betty and Jughead on my dad the other day?”

Bill blinked once and glanced over to his girlfriend. Audra was standing stone-still, eyes wide and looking at Tozier in shock. Tozier let out a snicker. “You really think you two were going to just waltz into the Long Float and nobody would’ve noticed? And nobody would’ve told me? You guys are smarter than that.”

Bill swallowed roughly. “I’m apologizing. I don’t give a suh-shit if you accept or not.”

“Nah, whatever, brother,” Tozier chugged back the rest of his drink and licked at his lips. The shining in his eyes made an uncomfortable tension settle in Bill’s stomach, unable to see the look as anything other than a predator looking at its next meal. “I have more important things to-“

Tozier was cut off by a body breaking through the crowd with an annoyingly loud, persistent “Richie!” and coming forward to tug at Tozier’s jacket sleeve. “You promised that we’d…”

Bill’s mouth dropped open slightly at the sight of a messy, rushed-looking Eddie Kaspbrak. Audra glanced between Eddie and a now almost nervous looking Richie Tozier. Tozier had placed his red-solo cup somewhere, and despite both boys looking ready to turn tail and run, Eddie’s hand was still tangled up in Tozier’s jacket while Tozier had shifted slightly to stand almost in front of Eddie.

“I…” Bill shook his head. “Eddie! You said your mother wouldn’t let you uh-out!” Bill’s cheeks were burning at how prominent his stutter was that night, worse than it had been since before he’d hit puberty. “What… What…”

“I didn’t lie,” Eddie said, hand tightening more in Tozier’s jacket sleeve. “She didn’t want me coming, and I’m not- I’m not staying I just..”

“Needed Richie?” Audra said, arms now crossed tightly around her chest. Bill could feel his hands shaking at his side. Had he been so consumed, so blind sided by his own problems, that hadn’t noticed his own best friend slipping away? Slipping into the arms of a devil?

Eddie was looking at his two friends as though in pain, and Tozier was shifting from foot to foot- staring them down. “I…” Eddie squeaked. “I… We have to go! Rich-“

“Rich?” Bill challenged in disbelief, voice raising. He could feel people watching them, people seeing what was happening. He could feel the rumours growing, the whispers and stares. Eddie’s reputation was as good as shot now, and Bill knew he was drawing the attention to them, but he couldn’t bring himself to lower his voice. “What the fuck, Eddie? Are you guys fuh-fuh-fuck-“

“Bill…” Audra said lightly, glancing around at the gathering of people around them.

“We’re not fucking,” Tozier said, his words delivering a disgust that didn’t reach the flush of his cheeks or the softness of his eyes. Bill’s stomach churched, glancing back down at where his best friend was pressed tightly beside his sworn enemy. Against one of the most problematic people Bill Denbrough had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

“We have to go!” Eddie cried then, tears swimming in his eyes. His hand slipped free of Tozier’s jacket, just to reach out and tangle into Tozier’s own hand. Bill was sure he was going to throw up then. The idea that he’d just been apologizing to Richie Tozier brought on another wave of nausea, knowing that he’d spent the last few days feeling bad for Richie Tozier while the bastard was out ruining his best friend’s life.

Bill watched Eddie pull Tozier away, ducking through the groups of student that always seemed to around right when there was something worth watching. “Bill, you need to calm down,” Audra was up against him, whispering in his ear, eyes on the crowd. Bill shook her off.

“What I need-“ Bill snapped, loudly, too loudly. Audra’s eyes widened, and her words from earlier just danced in Bill’s mind. I’m not doing this anymore. “Is a fucking drink.”

Audra’s lips turned down in disapproval, but Bill didn’t get the chance to heade another response before the front door was banging open and the crowd was parting. Bill and Audra turned towards the commotion, pressing together side by side on the reflex. Bill’s heart hammered straight up into his throat as the group of boys in Devil Jackets moved through the house, each student moving from the path as though burned by the sight of them.

“Well, well, well,” Henry Bowers clicked his tongue, lips stuck in a permanent smirk. “I heard there was a fucking party.”

--

Mike Hanlon handed Aurora Morgans another drink and leaned against the wall beside her. “You’re sure about this? I still think there’s a better way to get a story than hanging around with a bunch of drunk teenagers.”

Aurora shrugged, pressed happily in beside a flustered looking Ben Hanscom. “Maybe. But you realize that high school isn’t supposed to be all about getting this story? It’s senior year, maybe we just need to spend one night as drunk teenagers.” Mike and Ben gave her equal looks of disbelief and Aurora let out a soft chuckle. “I told you already, this party is guaranteed to blow up in everybody’s faces. Didn’t you see what went down between Kaspbrak and Denbrough?”

“That was bound to happen at some point,” Mike said with a eye roll. “Eddie and Richie weren’t exactly being subtle.”

“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s kind of cute…. all star crossed lovers and all that,” Ben said with a slow nod, “but they weren’t doing a very good job at hiding that they’re dating or whatever. If Bill wasn’t so caught up in his own drama, he would’ve figured it out a long time ago.”

“I don’t think they’re dating,” Aurora said lightly. “I mean, Tozier has been theoretically in love with Kaspbrak since like first grade, but they aren’t together. I think they’re working on something.”

“That’s obvious,” Ben agreed. “You didn’t see them when I brought up that picture. They know who the third person is. I get why Richie is chasing after it, because of his sister, but the question really is.. what is Eddie getting out of it?”

Mike frowned. He, truthfully, hadn’t given much concerned to that article or the third person with Wentworth and Zachary Denbrough. He still believed that their best chance at figuring out anything was Robert Gray and what happened 30 years ago. It was the only lead he was interested in investigating, and he couldn’t truly bring himself to care whether Eddie Kaspbrak and Richie Tozier were dating or not. It was a doomed couple either way.

A loud commotion jerked the investigating trio out of their thoughts as group of their classmates were forced into the living room where they stood. The music was cut out and Bill Denbrough was forced down onto his knees in the middle of the room. Henry Bowers moved in front of him, grinning like a hyena and Mike’s heart actually skipped a beat in his chest.

“I’m going to make this quick,” Bowers said, pulling gun clearly stolen from Sheriff Bowers from the loop of his belt. Aurora let out a soft gasp, clasping a hand over her mouth. Ben had gone sheet white, and was pressing a rough hand against her hip. Mike backed up slightly, unsure if he was going to rush at Bowers or make a run for it. He didn’t doubt for a second that Henry Bowers was capable of pulling that trigger. “I don’t want to hurt anybody,” lie. a clear lie, judging by the crazed smile on Henry’s face. “I just want to know where Richie Tozier is. You tell me what I want to know, and I let everybody go. No harm, no foul.”

Audra struggled against Victor Criss’s binding hold, pressing her tightly against his chest. Tears were pooled in her eyes, already running down her face. Bill Denbrough looked at Bowers, that look of stupid bravery that Mike knew all too well. “Why do you need us to tell you where Tozier is? Isn’t he your boss?”

Bowers tossed the gun outwards, ringing across Denbrough’s jaw with an echoing whack! Audra let out a loud sob and sunk backwards into Criss’ tight hold. Aurora whimpered as people throughout the room let out small screams and gasps. Mike caught sight of the slightly opened living room window, not opened enough for him to squeeze through without catching attention but maybe…He shifted forward so he was standing in front of Aurora and nodded towards it. Aurora’s eyes went wide with fear but she nodded back at him.

Denbrough was groaning and struggling to get to back onto his knees while Bowers stared down at him with a deranged rage on his voice. “I didn’t ask for your smart fucking mouth, Denbrough, but if you must know… we don’t take our orders from the Toziers anymore.” Bowers grinned while Criss tightened his hold on Audra’s throat, bringing out a small choking noise for a singular moment.

Mike could feel Aurora moving slowly behind him, but didn’t allow himself to turn towards her. Denbrough was pressed back on his knees, face bleeding slightly and already starting to swell, his eyes stuck on his no longer struggling girlfriend. Bowers pressed the barrel of the gun to the side of Denbrough’s face and used to force it roughly towards himself. Bowers knelt down to eye level with Denbrough.

“But… if you must know,” Bowers drawled, voice slick with a sick entertainment. “There’s a bigger player in the game now. Things are changing around here. We chose to be on the winning side.”

“You mean you chose to follow whoever you think is the biggest powerhouse,” Denbrough challenged, eyes still flashing. “Because you’re all talk and can’t do anything without being lead.”

Bowers smashed the gun against Denbrough’s face once more, though Denbrough seemed to have seen it coming this time. He managed to keep his up on his knees, spitting out a mouthful of blood as his eyes flickered closed for a singular moment.

“Anymore fucking lip from you, Denbrough,” Bowers threatened, all crazy amusement drained from him the quickest of turns. “And I’ll pain the walls of his house with your little girlfriend’s blood. Then you’ll fucking see what I can do without being lead. Now where is Richie Tozier?”

Denbrough stared him down, clenching his jaw despite the obvious pain it brought him. Tears filled his eyes at the burn, but he didn’t blink, didn’t move. Bowers let out a humourless chuckle. “Who are you defending, Denbrough? It’s certainly not Tozier.”

Denbrough’s eyes flicked, just for a moment, over to where Audra was leaning against Criss- eyes squeezed shut, breathing heavily. He looked back up at Bowers and spit out another mouthful of blood as a grin spread across Bowers’ face.

“It’s not Uris or Marsh, they’ve got their own roles in this,” Bowers tapped the gun lightly against the side of his face, every eye in the room except Audra’s following it. “So it must be your little faggy friend… Kaspbrak? Oh yeah, that’s it, it’s all over your face.”

Denbrough spit his next mouth of bloody spit directly into Bower’s face and Mike tensed his shoulders in preparation of what would happen next. To the open surprise of everybody in the room, Bowers merely laughed. “You have no fucking clue what’s going on here, do you, Denbrough? You think you’re so fucking smart but you know nothing… Eddie Kaspbrak is the safest fucker in this whole town. You don’t know him at all.”

Mike glanced at to find his friend already looking at him. Looking at Ben, Mike could see Aurora from the corner of his eye. The girl had made to the window, but was frozen against it, watching the scene unfolding around them. Swallowing roughly, Mike turned back just as Greta Bowie came flying into the room with a smirking Patrick Hockstetter behind her.

“What the hell is going on?” Greta cried, high pitched and shriek-y. “You can’t just come into my fucking house and start-“

What Greta was going to say, nobody would ever know. Bowers barely glanced away from Bill Denbrough’s face as he turned his gun and fired. The blow flew right through Greta’s upper forehead, the girl dropping like rock towards the ground. Blood flew out, splattering along the sides of Criss and Audra’s heads and directly against Patrick Hockstetter’s face. Audra let out a loud scream and even Criss looked disgusted and mildly horrified.

“Does anybody else,” Bowers stood and shouted out towards the room, sounding thoroughly like the unhinged maniac that Mike had known he was since childhood. “Want to fucking interrupt me?” He gestured towards Mike and Ben with his gun. “Morgans? Get the fuck out of that window and shut it, unless you want to wear the new kid.”

Ben whimpered beside Mike as a ghost white Aurora tumbled back into the living room and shut the window with shaking hands. “I didn’t want to do this. All I wanted was Richie fucking Tozier.” Bowers said then, gesturing around the room with his gun. “It wasn’t that fucking difficult! Tell me where Richie is and nobody gets fucking hurt! How fucking hard was that?”

“We don’t know where he is!” Audra broke through, hands pressed to her face. In his surprise, Criss seemed to have let go of the girl but neither teen had moved. Bloody and shaking, they both stood rooted to their spots. Criss’ eyes were stuck on Greta’s body that Patrick had tossed his Devil jacket down to cover. “He was here but he- he- he left! He and Eddie- they left, we don’t know where they went!”

“Somebody does,” Bowers grinned devilishly. “Don’t they, Morgans?”

Aurora glanced around, trembling like the leaves on the trees outside. “I….” She said in a shaky voice. “No, I don’t know where they went.”

“Don’t lie to me, Morgans,” Bowers pressed the barrel of the gun to Denbrough’s temple. “Or I’ll kill him, you know I will.”

“What do I care if you kill him?” Aurora challenged, body stiffening and eyes hardening. Mike could feel the fear radiating off her, but she’d managed to swallow all visible signs of it outside of her shaking hands. “And I know you won’t. You need him.”

Bowers jaw clenched visibly even from where Mike was standing. Ben was shaking beside him, eyes glued to Aurora. Bowers blew out an angry breath and repositioned his gun to point at her. “Maybe I’ll just kill you then? Don’t need you for anything. You really wanna die protecting Richie Tozier?”

“It’s not him I’m protecting.” Aurora shot back. “And I think you know that.”

“I’m not going to hurt Kaspbrak!” Bowers practically roared, while Aurora raised her brow.

“You weren’t gonna hurt Greta either, but she got in your way,” Aurora shot back. “You aren’t the perfect picture of self control right now, Bowers. You seem a little unhinged.”

As Bowers pulled the trigger, Denbrough dove forward and collided into him. The pair tumbled backwards, gun jerking upwards at the final moment and firing into the ceiling. Pieces of the roof tumbled down, Mike diving forward and dropping himself on top of Aurora as it landed on top of them.

Bowers was screaming in a pure rage when Mike pushed the debris off of them. Bowers pushed himself onto his feet, shaking from head to toe. “I FUCKING TOLD YOU WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU GOT SMART WITH ME, DENBROUGH. I FUCKNIG WARNED YOU.”

It did nothing to quell Ben’s panicky chest at the thought of being alone with Richie Tozier. The gangster’s son had seemed more than willing to talk to Ben about everything, but there was still the painful doubt that this was just a set up for Ben to disappear, never to be seen again.

“Seriously, you don’t need to worry about the Toziers,” Aurora said lightly. “If you need to be afraid of anybody, its Bill Denbrough. Your aunt totally exposed his deep dark fears in the freaking town newspaper.”

Ben swallowed roughly and crinkled his nose. “Thank you for the confidence booster, Rory.”

Aurora smirked and opened her mouth like she was ready to response but her answer was cut off by the door to the journalism room opening up and Richie Tozier strutting inside, a timid looking Eddie Kaspbrak trailing in after him. Aurora and Ben quickly exchanged a Look, watching as Richie leaned over to whisper into Kaspbrak’s ear. Kaspbrak looked up at him and there was something in that look, something that gave the reporter in Ben Hanscom a pause, a hint at deeper story.

Ben, admittedly, knew little to nothing about Eddie Kaspbrak. He lived on the North Side of town, in a big house that nobody could understand how they afforded it when Mrs Kaspbrak didn’t work and Mr Kaspbrak had left them years earlier. He was best friends with Bill Denbrough and he was gay.  And now… apparently was also friends with Richie Tozier.

Aurora was watching them with the same careful reporter eyes as Ben, maybe more so. She raised one brow at him as Richie and Eddie walked towards them and Richie sat down across from Ben. “So, Haystack,” Tozier said lightly, raising one brow and smirking like a jungle predator who’d finally found his next meal. “Heard you’ve got questions you’re itching to get answered.”

Ben’s panic must have shown on his face, because Aurora’s hand came down and clasped on his shoulder. “He does. We do.”

Richie shot a dark look towards Aurora, face moving from amusement to a dark stillness. “Well, I’m here to answer Ben’s questions. Not yours, Morgan. I’m not telling you a goddamn thing.”

Ben’s brow disappeared under his mess of dirty blond hair while Eddie glanced nervously between Richie and Aurora. The two stared each other down, neither expression wavering until Eddie sighed and shook his head. “If you want your story, Aurora, you might as well just leave. Story is still a story, even if he doesn’t tell you.”

“Maybe I’ll just interview you then, if Ben’s getting an exclusive.” Aurora stepped around the table and moved up into Eddie’s face. “You’re suddenly seeming rather interesting, Kaspbrak. Didn’t know you even knew how to do that.”

“Kaspbrak’s always been interesting,” Richie said thickly, eyes flashing in a way that made Ben’s throat tighten. He clenched his fists. “He’s not telling you anything, Morgan. Eddie’s stays and you go. Those are my conditions here. Take ‘em or leave ‘em. Doesn’t bother me either way.”

Aurora raised her brow. “You unable to speak for yourself now, Kaspbrak?”

“I can speak for myself.” Kaspbrak said darkly, narrowing his eyes. “But I would just tell you the same thing as Richie, so I didn’t see the point of wasting my breath.”

“Oh, it’s Richie to you now is it?” Aurora giggled heavily, grabbing her bag from beside Ben and moving towards the door. “I swear, this gets more ridiculous everyday.”

The three other teens watched as Aurora walked from the room, not sparing a single glance over her shoulder. Ben’s heart was pounding in his chest as Tozier turned to meet his gaze once again. Wiping his hands on his jeans, Ben cleared his throat and forced himself to make eye contact.

“So, uhm, I just I could just start off with uhm-“ Ben frowned at his own nerves and shook his head. “I already told you what we wanted to ask so I’ll just get right to it. What’s with all the bad blood between you and the Denbroughs?” Tozier smirked humourlessly. “My dad and Zach Denbrough were best friends growing up, lived right next door to each other.” He’d known it was coming but Ben still couldn’t keep the look of surprise from settling over his face. Kaspbrak seemed to sitting in the same boat he was, pressed his mouth to his knuckles as an attempt to keep his expression neutral. “Up until Denbrough married North Side Sharon Porter, they’d been south siders. They’d actually been the Devils leader, until my dad. When Bill’s grandfather died, he left the Devils to my dad because the Denbrough had abandoned the Devils for a North Side girl.”

“But…” Ben shook his head. “I thought the Toziers- you family- had always been the leaders.”

Kaspbrak glanced back and forth between them, bottom lip drawn between his lips.  Tozier chuckled humourlessly. “History is objective, Haystack. This was before we were even born, and people in Derry have always just believed whatever they wanted to. Zachary and Sharon Denbrough were the towns golden couple- still are- they could have been involved with such terrible things.”  

“Is that why your dad gave the paper that picture?” Ben asked lightly, noting the way Tozier and Kaspbrak glanced at one another from the corner of their eyes. “He wanted to expose him for betraying the Devils? Why did he wait so long to do it?”

“Because he didn’t do it,” Tozier said simply. “As I told Eds here-“

“Don’t call me that.”

“My dad has bigger fish to fry right now than Zachary Denbrough’s reputation in town.” Tozier continued as though Kaspbrak hadn’t spoken. “His daughter’s missing and since everybody is so convinced the Devils are behind the killings, he needs to make sure our people are all safe. I promise the last thing on his mind right now is the Denbroughs.”

“So, you have no idea who might have sent that picture in?” Ben asked, leaning forward on his elbows. Tozier smirked at him while Kaspbrak shifted awkwardly in his seat.

“It was your aunt that they handed it to, wasn’t it, Haystack?” Tozier challenged, smirking. “Wouldn’t you know better than me who handed it in?”

Ben shook his head. “A good reporter would never reveal an anonymous source. No matter what.”

Tozier nodded as though that made perfect sense. “I don’t know who handed in that picture or where they got it from.”

“Speaking of the picture…” Ben pulled it from his folder and slid it towards the pair. Neither teen looked down at it, the image well known to them both. “There’s a third person. Do you know who it is? Another gang member?”

Tozier’s eyes jerked to look at Ben while Kaspbrak suddenly seemed interested at every other thing in the room besides Ben or Tozier. “Why?”

“I…” Ben cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I don’t know… I just… Maybe they’re the one who sent it in, and they cropped themselves out so they wouldn’t expose themselves.”

“Maybe.” Tozier said lightly, scratching the back of his neck and hyper interesting in the ceiling tiles. “I don’t know who’s in the picture, though.”

Ben narrowed his eyes and twirled the black pen between his fingers. He leaned forward across the desk and Tozier glanced down at his lap. “You’re lying, and you’re a terrible liar. Why are you withholding information from the press if you agreed to the interview in the first place?”

Tozier’s voice sounded heavy and sincere when he responded: “What at war, Haystack, you need to know which cards to play and which to hold onto until it works best for you.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Ben said, feeling his hands shake where around the pen he was using. The accusation made the back of Ben’s neck break into a sweat though his body had never felt so cold. “We’re not at war.”

Tozier looked up from underneath his messy fringe, a humourless smirk sliding across his face. “You’re a fool if you believe that.”

--

“I don’t know about this,” Audra said lightly, hands clutched tightly inside of Bills as they stood outside of the Long Float. She’d never felt more out of place in his floral romper as she watched the cluster of adults and teens alike walking in and about the place with their wore clothing and leather jackets. “They’ll probably shoot us on sight, you know? They’re not going to let us in!”

“They’ll let me in,” Bill said lightly, eyes moving over the building. There was a distance in his eyes that had left Audra unsettled and almost shaking in her wedged heels. She didn’t belong here, and if her mother found out that she’d crossed the unspoken border in town then she could kiss any freedom goodbye until graduation. “They have no right to keep from going in.”

“What are you talking about?” Audra pleaded as Bill took his hand from hers and began to walk towards the front door. Audra rushed forward and reached for her boyfriend. “This is crazy, you have to know that? Why on Earth would they let us in?”

Bill pursed his lips and gave the building the dirtiest look he could and shook his head. “The lease is in my family’s name. Has been since it opened, they can’t keep me from going inside.”

Audra’s mouth dropped open but Bill just turned and march towards the entrance. For a wild moment, Audra considered just leaving. Fuck Bill Denbrough and his roaring rampage of revenge, she didn’t owe him any of this. His rushings and thoughtless actions would get both of them killed, and she could feel it in bones. Walk away, Audra, she told herself stubbornly. He’s not the boy you fell in love with. Not anymore.

Audra sighed, thought once more about how she should be sitting in AP Chemistry right now, and hurried after her boyfriend as fast as she could in her heels. Bill was glaring at the tall boy standing at the entrance, whom Audra quickly realized with horror was Victor Criss. Maybe not the most dangerous of the Devils, not only, not without Henry or Patrick, but still not a welcome sight in any situation.

“No jacket, no entrance.” Criss said lightly, serpents venom in the back of his throat. “You’ll never have a jacket, Denbrough, so I guess you’re never getting in.” A joker smile grew over his cheeks and Audra could feel her pulse in her stomach as she gripped at Bill’s wrist.

“Look,” Bill said, voice deeper and stronger than Audra had ever heard it before. “Either move the fuck out of my way, or call Maggie out here and get her to show you the damn deed to the building!”

Audra glanced towards Criss with wide eyes, and his gaze met hers. She wanted the expressions cross his face, the the deep disbelief followed by fear. Maggie Tozier was a name you never wanted to be threatened with, and a person you never wanted to face if you weren’t forced to. Even Audra, in her sheltered North Side life, knew this.

Victor Criss stepped aside, and Audra followed Bill into the bar. They’d barely made it inside before Patrick Hockstetter looked up from his pool game and gave them a Cheshire Cat grin. He put down the pool stick and slithered his way across the bar, pressing a hand against the wall above Bill’s head. Bill didn’t so much as flinch while Audra fought every urge in her body to flee.

“Well, well, well. William Denbrough,” Patrick sleazed. “Been wondering when we were going to see your ugly face around here. We’ve been placing bets, you know, ever since little Georgie Porgie disappeared.” He leaned in even closer, nose pressed right against Bill’s. “Looks like I win. Wanna know what my prize was?”

Audra swallowed audibly when Patrick’s gaze moved over to her, settling as though he could burn her soul just by looking at her. Bill shoved at Patrick before he had change to say a word, the larger boy only stumbling slightly, but it was enough to re-earn Bill his attention. Patrick licked his lips and grinned deeply. Audra squeaked in horror but Patrick only managed to take a single step in Bill’s direction before a deep voice cut through the room.

“Now, now, Patrick. Go find another mouse to play with.”

Wentworth Tozier walked through the crowded bar like Moses parting the red sea. Every being stepped to the side to let him through, Audra almost expected them to drop down to one knee and bow their heads. Patrick stepped away, but the deep dark flash in his eyes when he turned to see Tozier wasn’t missed by Audra. Bill squared up his shoulders and stood his ground as Audra left that there had been no better time to melt into the floor and disappear completely from the world.

“William” Wentworth said in an almost a warm voice. He was wearing what Audra almost wanted to describe as a suit, but matched with the dark Derry Devils leather jacket rather than a suit coat. His hair was impeccable, not a single part of out of place, and Audra couldn’t help mentally comparing it to Richie’s mess of black curls. He looked so much like his father… a softer, nerdier version. Even now. “I heard you were down here, causing a stink about deeds to the building? If your father wants to take over the payments, I will happily hand them over. Goodness knows he has more money than I.”

Bill raised his brow. “As if you aren’t the richest bastard in this town.”

“There are many things that you don’t know about, William,” Wentworth said simply, sweet like summer honey. He glanced towards Audra, and she felt her heart skip. “And you brought Ms Phillips with you, how… brave.”

“You know who I am?” Audra asked airily as Bill shifted his weight so that he was standing just slightly in front of her.

“Oh yes, Audra, I know who you are.” Wentworth chuckled. “Come with me, I expect we have many things to discuss. I don’t believe this was a pleasure visit.”

Bill and Audra exchanged a look and without the need to speak, they tangled their hands together and followed the man into the a room off from the rest of the bar. If Deep Float was like any sort gang bar, with a distinct smell of stale beer and sweat, and bad lightning then Wentworth’s room off to the side was like walking into a 1930s gangster movie. Audra’s breath hitched in her throat as she and Bill took the leather seats. Wentworth walked over to the desk with a bottle of golden whiskey and a glass cup.

“Normally in my business meetings, I’d offer you a drink but since I assume you’ll be heading back to school after this, I’ll reframe.”

“Who said anything about a business meeting?” Bill challenged, nails digging into the leather arm rests. “You have nothing to offer me, Tozier.”

“If I have nothing to offer you, then why have you come?” Wentworth asked as he poured his drink. Audra watched the liquid swell into the glass, unsure about what else to look at. There were no pictures on the wall, nothing personal anywhere aside from one photograph of Richie and Janie on the desk. It was facing outwards, as though Wentworth had turned it away from himself.

Bill scowled. “The only thing you can give me are an-an-swers.”

Wentworth cocked his brow. “You’d need to ask me a question to receive an answer, wouldn’t you, son?”

“Don’t call me son!” Bill snapped, cheeks burning a deep red. “I’m not your son.”

Wentworth stood then and Audra was sure for a moment that they were going to die. The older Tozier surprised her with simply chuckling. “More the pity. You’re better set up for leadership than Richard. He’s a good kid, but soft. Stupid. I had always planned on leaving everything to my Jane. Even as young children, she had a stronger grasp on what it took than Richard does even now. He’s never wanted the run, no more than I did.”

“You talk of your daughter as though you already know you won’t be able to leave the Devils to her.” Audra surprised even herself by speaking up. Bill’s eyes jerked over to her and Wentworth had a mild look a pleasure on his lips. “Thought she was just missing. Not dead.”

Wentworth smiled without warmth. “I am doing every possible thing in my power to find Jane.” It sounded like a badly executed lie even to Audra, and Bill’s narrowed eyes showed that he didn’t miss it either. “My primary focus has been, of course, protecting my people and training my son. Not that either of us want that, it was never meant to be Richard.”

“And who was it meant to be?” Bill scoffed. “Jane? Your fourteen year old daughter?”

“It was meant to be you, William.” Wentworth said seriously, moving towards a large armoire against one of the non-windowed walls. “It’s in your blood. Your father made a choice years ago, but that shouldn’t mean you are robbed of your birthright.” Wentworth pulled an old, worn Derry Devils jacket from the hook and brought it to place in Bill’s limp hands. “These are trying times for the South Side, and you prove your strength by coming here today. Dumb, blind bravery. A true sign of Denbrough. Your father never had what it took to rule, but you… You were born for it, I knew the second I saw you with Hockstetter. The position is yours, if you want it. I’ll train you myself.”

Bill ran his fingers across the red letters across the back. “What about Richie?” He asked then, sounding more like Bill- more human-like- than Audra had heard him sound in months.

Wentworth sat on his desk directly in front of the Bill’s seat. “Richard doesn’t want this life. He wants to be as far away from it as he can. He wants softness and happiness and something easy. My son was not built for this world he was born into, he would leave it if he could. If Richard takes command, he’ll be dead within the year.”

“Maybe that’s not a bad thing,” Bill said lightly and Audra actually choked on her breath, pressing a hand to her throat.

“Maybe not,” Wentworth agreed mildly. “But that doesn’t matter, Richard will live or he will die. It’s trying times, and he has a bigger role than he knows. Just not the biggest role.”

“And you think Bill has the biggest role?” Audra asked, voice pitched and terrified. Both men looked to her and Wentworth smiled softly.

“No, sweetheart. Not the biggest.” Wentworth shook his head in amusement. “Rulers are never saviours. There will be a hidden hero, just like last time.”

“Last time?” Audra and Bill asked in unison but Wentworth merely sighed.

“I’m sure you didn’t come here to listen to me talk and get your fathers’ jacket,” Wentworth said lightly. “Ask your questions, William. I will shed with little light I can.”

And oh, Wentworth Tozier was a dangerous man. Audra had been told this her whole life but had never imagined seeing it in any fashion of life. But sitting here, hearing him talk of his own child as though he had accepted he die young, there was sick discomfort in her chest. She felt, for the first time in their 13 years of education together, that she might somewhat understand why Richie Tozier was the way he was.

“I assume you’ve come here to accuse me of killing your brother,” Wentworth continued casually. “Do you still wish to do so? I won’t stop you.”

Bill bit harshly on his bottom lip. “I… I don’t know. I still think you did it but I… I just don’t know anymore.”

Wentworth nodded sympathetically. “Would it put you at ease if I told you that I didn’t? I was the first person Bowers accused after that night, and gave him my alibi then and it still stands. I would never have land a hand on my daughter.” There was ringing pause throughout the room, an unspoken sentence regarding Richie that even Bill looked uncomfortable over, but Wentworth carried on quickly. “Maggie and I hadn’t even been in town that night, we’d had important business to take care of in Bangor.”

“What important business?” Bill challenged and Audra wanted to smack him. Wentworth raised his eyebrows slowly.

“Now, William, you are not one of us- no matter much more foolish courage you may have.” Wentworth stood, suddenly towering over Bill. “I don’t plan on spreading around my personal activities to some puffed up child, no matter how deep his blood flows. It is, in the end, traitor blood at its root.”

Bill shot to his own feet, and Audra quickly followed. She pressed her face and hand against his shoulder. “Please, Bill, let’s just leave. Please.”

“Why won’t you tell me?” Bill spat, his body completely ridged and fists clenched. “What the fuck are you hiding, Tozier?”

Audra felt tears burn at her eyes and she pressed her face all the harder into Bill’s stiff shoulder as she listened to Wentworth chuckle.

“When at war, Denbrough, you need to know which cards to play and which to hold onto until a later time.”

“But we’re not at war,” Audra barely heard herself say as she shook by Bill’s side.