*author's note* Hey all! I promise I'll be working on my other stories again soon, but I'm... kind of Pennywise trash right now, so have this Pennywise x Reader garbage ovo;;

It was another night in the cold, desolate town that you find yourself hating more and more as the days rolled on. You didn't want to live here, but your mother insisted that you settle down in the cheapest, shittiest town in Maine so that you could live closer to your job. It's boring and lonely; not a thing to do and no one to talk to. The brisk, Derry air gently smacks your face as you pace through the soundless streets on your way home from work, the light of the full moon guiding your path.

You would always hear the whispers of the townsfolk murmuring not to walk home alone at night, but you had figured that they were just paranoid, especially considering how many of them have their blinds closed at all times during the day. The stroll home was always creepy, no matter what. The sounds of your footsteps echoing behind you were your only solace, your only company.

You reaaally wish you lived even closer to your job, like a five second walk from it. It wasn't a terribly long walk, but the solitude of it crept under your skin every time.

You watch as a single car drives steadily down the street. The car, beaten up and blue, sputters loudly as it passes by; finally, a fresh sound to drown out the silence. The driver turns their head to look at you, but you didn't catch a glimpse of who they were or what they look like… not like it matters much. You didn't really know much of anyone in Derry. You barely leave your home most of the time, and not many people in this town are willing to get to know you. Something about the town unnerves you to the core, but you didn't know what. You shudder and continue walking. Almost there.

You start whistling the tune to your favorite show to break the stillness. You step to the beat of it, lost in the groove as you strode past the church on Neibolt Street. The chill of the autumn air got colder as you read the sign. Neibolt Street. That street, above all others in this eerie town, felt the most desolate – the most unnerving. Whispers amongst the children of the town warned not to go near the abandoned house at the end of the winding road, for whoever does is never seen again. You couldn't help but chuckle; children have such wild imaginations. You've only seen the house a few times and can understand why children would be terrified of it; you're too stubborn to admit to yourself that it creeped you out too. Still, even if it is a hoax, a bizarre sensation of dread washed over you whenever you passed by the street sign. Absolutely chilling. You turn your head away, hoping to not stare directly at it.

You continue on your way, whistling louder to block the disturbing feeling that rattled you to your core. You could see your small, yet comforting house up ahead. This walk definitely felt longer than usual. You pull your keys out of your pocket, the slight jingle bringing a smirk to your face. Your hands tremble with the breeze, suddenly harsher than before, causing the keys to slip from your grasp.

"Fuck," you mumble to yourself. You bend down to pick them up. The silence of the town more overbearing than ever. That is, until you hear the tune you were just whistling echo nearby, which cut through the silence like an axe. You jump, dropping the keys again. "Shit!"

The whistling grew louder as you scramble to snag your keys off of the cold, dark asphalt. If there was one time you'd wish there was quiet, it would be right now. You grab your keys and look at the ground. The whistling was almost blaring in your ears now. A shadow nearly twice your size stretched along the road, consuming the shadow that once was yours. You feel your heart begin to race as the shadow continues stretching. You muster up the courage to turn around, the key gripped firmly in your hand for protection. You close your eyes and twist your body behind you.

You open your eyes. Nothing was there.

You notice a shadow sneak by the sign to Niebolt Street. You choose to ignore it, knowing deep in your heart that that would be a very bad idea. You take a deep, shaky breath and follow the path home, keys still between your fingers. When you reach the front door, you feel overwhelmed with the same sensation of dread that crept up on you when you passed Niebolt. You hesitate opening the door, but you know that once you walk in, that feeling will pass as it always does.

You shove the key into the lock and open the door. Home at last. The entirety of the living room was shrouded in darkness. It wasn't anything new, but you still can't help but have a lingering anxiety hanging over you as you walk in. You close and lock the door behind you, even securing the chain lock for extra protection; not like it would matter much if whatever you thought you saw was after you. You flick the light switch by the entrance, but to no avail – nothing turns on.

"Oh, beautiful," you sigh. You hear a pitter-patter of footsteps clamor in the darkness, causing you to gasp aloud. "W-who's there?!"

You take out your phone and turn on the flashlight, coating the room in a bloom of light. You don't see anything. A bead of sweat trickles from your forehead. You hear the footsteps again, this time emanating next to you. You rotate your body towards the noise. You begin to shudder; you're genuinely starting to freak out.

"I have to be dreaming," you mutter to yourself, shaking the phone as you tremble. The footsteps start to sound off everywhere until you can feel yourself surrounded by an invisible force. The light on your phone starts to flicker. "God damn it!"

The light flickers on and off. You hear a raspy laughter coming from in front of you. You tilt your flashlight upward as it brightens. You're greeted to nothing, yet again. You take a deep breath, hoping that this is just your imagination.

The light flickers off. You look up to see two bright, orange eyes that hungrily stared you down. You hear a low growl skulk from whatever those menacing orbs belong to. You whimper slightly, knowing that the thing in front of you is going to hurt you. Kill you.

The light flickers back on, revealing the pale, white face of a clown with elongated front teeth. The clown gave a wide, intimidating grin, revealing more jagged teeth as it slobbered onto the floor. The sharp, red lines that curved from the ends of its mouth to above its glowing, hungry eyes was widening alongside his smile, making the intruder's face contour frighteningly. You put your hand over your mouth, dropping your phone as you jumped backwards.

The light flicker off again. The eyes vanish into the dark abyss. The feeling of dread overcomes you, causing your entire body to quake with fear.

You sense a cold grip around your neck, whom you presume is death itself. The hot, heavy breath of whatever is grabbing hold of you moistens your back. You hear it snarl once more; no human could possibly be making that sound. You feel the room spinning, dropping your still-flickering phone as it gave brief glimpses of the clown thing as it drew its body closer to you. Incredibly warm, yet its hands were cold as ice.

You fade in and out of consciousness. The thing whispers your name as your fear consumes you.

"Time to float…"