Ok so I messed with Richie's timeline. Also, trigger warning. Richie lists suicide of a possible cause of death. Idk kf that matters to any of you. Also, even though I'm not in the It fandom, someone wanted me to write this. I wrote Richie using what I've seen from videos (because Finn Wolfhard). And I know Richie curses, so I just bleeped it out. Amd Dustin curses too, but pssh. And in later chapters (they're mostly going to be short) about Mike's death will be what I think is going to happen in season 3. If I get enough reviews saying that you want me to write that, I will. Also... REVIEWS PLEASE :) .

December 5, 1985

Richie "Trashmouth" Tozier didn't like to visit his cousin, Mike. Well, technically, twin brother, but that's a long and complicated story that Mike didn't know about and Richie's mom was too lazy to keep a secret. But basically it meant that trips to Indiana were awkward and boring.

Mike was a loser, like Richie. He guessed it ran in the family. But Mike was a different type of loser. He was a geek and a nerd. He cared about school and played games like Dungeons and Dragons, watched movies like Star Wars. Richie would die before sitting a basement with Mike's friends and playing DnD again. (Yes, again. On his last visit, two years ago, Mrs. Wheeler and his mother had thought it would be a good idea for Richie to sit in on the game Mike raved about. It was crazy boring.)

So when Mrs. Tozier put down her fork and announced that the family was taking a trip to Indiana in two days, Richie- who hadn't been expecting her to say anything along those lines and had been taking a sip of his milk- choked on his drink and splashed it everywhere on his face.

"WHY?" He'd yelled before even reaching for a napkin.

That's when his mom- who had a solemn resting face- began to cry. Richie's father ignored the act and looked at his son. And he told him why.

"Your brother's dead."

Richie never felt a connection to his geek brother. He'd seen him seven times in his life, and despised each trip. And even though Mike was so close, Richie never felt a longing for his twin.

Until now.

Slowly, he reached for the napkin he desperately needed. He dried his face with numb hands.

"How?" He asked.

"Aunt Karen doesn't want to say," his mom told him. Well, not his mom. Really, his aunt. Karen was his actual mom. "It's sort of a secret."

Richie scowled.

His mom was still sniffling and excused herself for bed. Richie soon followed her act of leaving the table, scurrying off to his room before his father could call him back for the dishes.

As he lay alone in the darkness, Richie contemplated the death of his brother. Dead, at fourteen. And his death? A secret?

Richie remembered back to his last visit. Who was that one kid that got lost in the woods? Bill? No, Bill was Richie's friend. Mike had a friend named... Will! The boy that "came back to life".

Every night, when he thought Richie was sleeping, he'd sneak out of the room they'd shared. Richie only followed him once, to the basement, where he sat in that odd blanker fort and spoke into his nerdy walkie talkie.

That wasn't the only odd part of Mike's behavior. He didn't let Richie eat any of the Eggos.

And he seemed... depressed. Richie wondered if the secret was suicide.

Richie's head was spinning and he wasn't even tired, so he snatched his glasses off his nightstand and ran to his desk. Reaching into his school bag, he pulled out his science notebook and tore a sheet of paper out. He grabbed a stubby- and sticky?!- pencil from the bottom of his bag and began to write down his thoughts.

"Zombie Boy", he wrote in one corner. A few centimeters from that his scribbled "Walkie Talkie". Under that he put "No Eggos" and adjacent to that he jotted "Depressed".

"Aw f*ck it, this sh*t is even more d*mn confusing," he muttered to himself.

He crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the trashcan across the room. He'd have to ask Eddie about it in the morning.

Wait! That gave him an idea.

Anytime he couldn't figure something out- which was a lot- or was too lazy- even more often- he asked his friends.

He'd ask Mike's friends.