Richie waded through the water, trying desperately, oh so desperately to get out of the water and onto the dry, flat land, which wouldn't stop him from running far, far away from the creature that he defeated. The creature that almost got away with Bill, but he saved him, he saved him.
And he's almost to the land, about to reach up and grab a branch when he feels the creature standing behind him, holding something, breathing, and he hears a child laugh.
"Aw, Richie! Join me!"
He slowly turns around in the cold, cold water, as dark as his hair. He turns and IT is standing there. The name Pennywise pops into his head, but that can't be the clowns name. It sounds too cheerful, too happy, too childish.
"Hiya there Richie." The clown grins, and Richie shivers at the thought of all the hidden rows of teeth. "Do you want to join us?"
The clown reaches behind him, pulling out a single red balloon.
"Or do you want a balloon? It's straight from the circus you never go to!" Pennywise grinned. "It's filled with candy and cotton candy and popcorn and hotdogs and all the prizes you could ever want! You can take it, but only if you'll float with us."
Richie still stood looking at he clown, paralyzed.
"Aw, don't act like that Rich!" Georgie grins beside Pennywise. "He's really nice! He's given me all the toys and books and food and anything you could want for! He's even giving me the chance to go back to Bill!"
"G-go b-back to B-Bill?" Richie stuttered, tears dripping off of his face into the water beneath him.
Georgie grinned. "Yes! He said I could go back and be with Bill again until I die if you go with the clown."
"W-with the c-clown?" Richie asked, taking a step back.
"Yes, with the clown!" Georgie said, taking a step towards Richie. "If you go with him, you'll float too."
"W-what?" Richie turned around and saw no one there.
"If you come with me, you'll float too." Pennywise grinned as he took a step towards Richie, then another.
Richie really started crying then. He wiped his eyes, and when he looked at where they had been, they were gone. He sighed and turned around.
"Boo."
Pennywise grinned as Richie fell backwards into the water, and Richie couldn't get out of the water.
He kept trying and trying, but all he could hear was the clown and Georgie laughing as he struggled and struggled and struggled and-
"Richie!" Bill shouted as Richie woke up in his bed, struggling with the covers as he looked around the room.
Bill was standing beside his bed, and Richie felt weak when he realized his best friend had seen this side of him.
Eddie's standing in the doorway along with Stan, looking at him with tears in their eyes.
He feels the tears come to his eyes again as he stuffs his head under his pillow, feeling stupid.
He got a stupid nightmare over a stupid fucking clown. They killed the fucker, they shoved a pile down its throat, but he still doesn't know why he's so afraid of IT.
"R-richie?" He hears Bill asks, and he feels happy because they're there, helping him. But then they're there, helping him.
"N-no." He cries, and Georgie smiling from the dream pops into his head, and he cries even harder.
"Maybe we should leave." He hears Stan suggest, and he cries even harder somehow because they're trying to help him.
"Y-you guys can g-go. I'll s-stau here w-with him." He hears Bill offer, and he hears the door close behind the other two.
Bill sighs and climbs into bed, laying beside Richie. He pulls the pillow off of his head, and pulls him close to him.
"I love you Richie." He mumbles as Richie wraps his arms around him, crying into his chest as he plays with Richie's hair. He kisses Richie on the forehead a few minutes later.
Richie slowly starts to calm down after that, but it's still a little while before he's stopped crying and feeling panicked.
He hugs Bill tighter and Bill pulls him in.
"I l-love you Bill." He says as he looks up at him.
"I love y-you too R-Richie." He smiled before tilting his head to kiss Richie.
And Richie kisses back.