The next morning, Eddie and Richie laid in each other's arms, Eddie being careful not to aggravate Richie's wound when Beverly knocked on the door. "Eddie? It's almost 8, we need to get to school." She said, trying to open the door but quickly realizing it was locked.

Eddie quickly got up and saw that Richie was still fast asleep. He quickly kissed him on the cheek before getting dressed and opening the door.

"I'm ready, who's taking over for the morning?" Eddie asked as he tried to fix his hair.

"Mike has his second period free so he'll bike here and keep an eye on Richie," Beverly told him as they walked out of the house and locked the door. "Stan will switch with him at lunch." They both got on their bikes and headed to school.

Half of the Losers met up during the ride to school, taking alleys to avoid Bower's Gang. Once they all got to school, Beverly gave the key to Mike, who placed it in his bag. "Alright, we a-a-avoid Bowers and his g-gang at all cost," Bill told them.

"Stick in groups and try not to act suspicious. We'll meet up at Richie's at the end of the day." Beverly said as the bell rang and they all started walking to class.

Over the last few years of being tormented by Bowers, especially after the events with It, the Losers kept an eye on him while trying to avoid him. They all figured out where he was most of the day and avoided those spots, but now each Loser was hypervigilant to make sure Henry didn't find them.

The school day consisted of following crowds, staying in populated areas, and being quick in between classes to avoid their bullies. During his free period, Mike managed to sneak out of the school with his bike without being spotted and made his way to Richie's house.

Mike unlocked the door and made sure no one was following him before going in with his bike and locking the door. He went upstairs and knocked on the door before opening it. "Hey Rich, how are you feeling?" Mike asked and Richie groaned.

"Like shit, Mike… like a warm shit sitting in the sun." Richie put a pillow over his face to block out the light from his window. Mike went over to the window and closed the blinds, making it easier for Richie to see.

Mike went to the bathroom and grabbed a cloth then ran cold water over it. He went over to Richie's bedside and carefully bunched up the cloth and placed it on Richie's eye. Richie hissed in pain but the cold eased his pain slightly. "Since when did you become a doctor?" Richie groaned.

"Since Beverly gave us all a lecture about how to take care of you. Hold that over your eye for at least half an hour." Mike told him. Richie wanted to complain but he relented, continuing to hold the cloth over his eye.

Mike went over to the tv and put on a movie for Richie to watch while he did his homework. Once he finished his work, he watched the rest of the movie with Richie and made sure he was drinking enough water and eating.

"I feel like a fucking child." Richie rubbed his head as Mike handed him an Advil. "You should feel like a guy who's lucky to be alive. Bowers could've killed you." Mike told him and Richie took the Advil.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Don't get used to me saying it though." Richie told him and Mike smiled, rolling his eyes.

During lunch, Mike brought his bike back outside and headed back to school, passing Stan and throwing him the key to Richie's place. The system Beverly planned out was working for the next few days, the only risk was when each Loser would leave the school during their free period.

Ben heard the bell ring and went out into the hallways and met up with Beverly. They walked together and went to the front door where Beverly handed Ben the key when suddenly Patrick stepped around the corner. He stopped and stayed back, peeking around the corner to see Ben get on his bike and rush down the street.

Patrick went over to Henry and tapped his shoulder. "What the hell do you want?" Henry said as they both saw Ben bike down the street.

"Looks like Tit's in a rush. Wanna see what he's up to?" Patrick told him and they both got into Henry's car.

Ben had his headphones on, listening to New Kids on the Block loud enough that he could barely hear the rumbling of an engine behind him. He didn't pay much attention to it until the pause in between the songs caused him to hear the loud engine behind him. He turned his head and saw Henry and Patrick gaining on him.

"Shit!" Ben peddled faster and quickly turned onto a bike path. His breathing became heavy as he tried to go as fast as his legs would peddle. He could hear the engine becoming softer as he gained distance from the car, but he didn't stop. He couldn't risk Henry finding out where Richie lived, and he sure as hell couldn't find out that Richie was home alone.

Ben went through the alley to go behind Richie's house and got off the bike in a rush. His breathing overtook his hearing as he strained to listen for Bowers' car. He stumbled, picking up his bike and opening Richie's back gate. He rushed through and shut the door, locking it and hearing the car drive past Richie's house.

He sat against the fence and tried to catch his breath, his legs feeling like jelly. He dragged his bike to the back porch and finally went inside. "Hey, Rich." Ben greeted his injured friend, still out of breath.

"What happened to you?" Richie asked, seeing how red Ben's face was and the sweat stains on his shirt. "Bowers tried to follow me but I beat him here." Ben sat down at Richie's desk and drank some water. "I don't think he saw me come into the yard but… he's going to try and follow us when we come to see you."

"You guys shouldn't have to risk everything for me," Richie told him. "I'm doing better." Richie didn't want to see his friends get hurt trying to help him; it made him feel like he was a liability.

"It's okay Rich. There are a lot more bike paths than roads, if we play it smart he won't be able to catch us." Ben told him. Richie nodded and started watching a movie while Ben did his homework.

Richie's parents checked up on him every few days and Richie tried to play it off as if he were completely fine, which his parents believed. His lie was so believable that they extended the trip by another week. Normally this would annoy Richie, but he was glad he had more time to heal and hopefully not have to explain what happened. The phone went off and Richie grabbed it.

"Hello?" Richie answered.

"Hello, this is Principal Waters, is this Wentworth Tozier?" He asked firmly.

Richie put the phone to the blanket and looked over to Ben, panicked, "It's Principal Water." Richie whispered as Ben's eyes went wide. "What the fuck do I do?" He asked and Ben shrugged.

He tried to think of a plan and the only thing he could think of was to pretend to be Went. Richie cleared his throat and tried to make his voice sound deeper to impersonate his father. "Hello, this is Wentworth" He said confidently.

"Your son Richard has skipped the last four days of school, do you know anything about this?" The principal told him and Richie realized he forgot to tell the school he wasn't coming. He frantically tried to think of an excuse.

"Mr. Tozier?" The principal spoke again and Richie cleared his throat once more. "Ah, yes. Richie is with us on vacation. We forgot to call the school before going, we will be gone for another week. If he has any homework, could you give it to one of his friends? Eddie Kaspbrak I think his name is or that Beverly Marsh girl." He tried to do his best impression of his father but he couldn't tell if the principal knew he was faking it.

"Yes, of course. Sorry to bother you, sir. Have a good day." The principal said before hanging up the phone.

Richie took a sign of relief. "I should be a voice actor or something." He joked, noticing Ben smirk before getting back to his homework.