Holding true to their promise, Ebony wanted to come to the drain to talk to their new and nicest friend, Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

The only way Ebony would know if Pennywise was available for their now daily chats was by the presence of a tiny deep red balloon covering part of the entrance of the sewer drain. At first unsure, and then excited, Ebony understood that Pennywise would be thek ind of clown to carry red balloons, they made sure their dad was gone, which he now was because he was working for today, and they went towards the sewer drain to greet them.

This time, Pennywise looked happy, but in a different way. Their gleaming eyes were shining with a strange delight—It looked so much more powerful than simple curiosity, it looked a bit more like a big need for knowledge or interest. Of course, that would make Ebony so much happier, knowing that someone seemed to appreciate them so much despite barely knowing each other.

However, despite their growing attachment to the clown, little Ebony felt like they couldn't tell anyone. If the Losers were to know, they would probably guess that Pennywise could be that It creature they keep talking about, and would try to harm them. On the other side, their father maybe wouldn't mind as much, since he's not really all that vengeful or protective, but would definitely keep the kid away from the sewer drain for a long while, and they would have to constantly lie. Planning their moves much like a gambler would, Ebony did their best to play their cards right.

They would only see Pennywise once their father is away and working, and while the Losers aren't around. That's basically most of the time, which means Ebony has plenty of time to talk to their new friend and hang out with them. They would always keep their guard up, even if there was literally no apparent harm whatsoever, just to be safe. That's how Ebony could tell if the Losers were coming from very far away, hearing the very familiar sound of bikes and the use of mature language. By swiftly warning Pennywise, they also benefit the clown from ever getting attacked, or worse, beaten to a pulp, and they hurriedly slink to the darkness of the sewer until it's safe to come out again. As soon as the Losers are gone, Pennywise would pop back to the drain, and would graciously thank Ebony, looking pretty grateful of their help and support.

As they stayed beside each other for most of the day and talk about various things in their lives and interests, with Ebony only leaving to eat or hang out with their father and the Losers, Pennywise was apparently very patient, since as soon as Ebony comes back and calls for them, they spring back from a corner of the sewer, and their eyes already start to shine with excitement. Their blue eyes would glow with interest as soon as they saw the round face and the fluffed ebony colored hair, and the clown was quite captivated by the unique sense of fashion Ebony would sport, as most humans they see are distinctively masculine or feminine—Ebony was sort of... Neither. It looked pretty neutral, which Pennywise hasn't seen too often, apparently.

The hours stretched to days, and as Ebony knew more and more about Pennywise, thanks to the Losers, they began to learn about the clown's various information, such as their likes and dislikes, their pros and cons, their exact height, and even their diet—It was meat. Well, mostly meat. Pennywise had an attire for things like popcorn and cotton candy. Following that logic, thanks to the spare change they stashed in their piggy bank to much later, they would buy sweets like wrapped caramels and teacup-sized cupcakes, and eventually began to buy small amounts of meat that can be eaten without cooking it yourself, such as pre-packaged ham... All for Pennywise, and just for Pennywise. And all without being caught by the other pre-teens and their father. Life is good.

Strangely enough, since Ebony began to offer Pennywise those various goods, the look he'd give them changed. Instead of looking more enticed, they appeared more relaxed, and would look more genuinely happy to see them, instead of being a living spring of excitement. They also sounded less like an adult talking down to a baby, and actually started to sound more like a child themselves. Could it be that Pennywise started to pick up on their comrade's habits?

At first, Ebony didn't quite notice the change, and when they did, they said nothing about it, to avoid upsetting their friend. It's not like they were minding it anyway, since Pennywise was glad to meet them since the beginning...

Right?

Two weeks have passed since the child and the clown have formed a friendship. Checking once again to make sure their father is gone, which he thankfully was, Ebony then looks at the sewer drain... This time, strangely, there was no sign of it. It would usually calmly fly in the corner of the entrance, but it's disappeared. Maybe Pennywise— Or Penny, as the human would affectionately nickname them, forgot to put it up to tell Ebony they can come to talk? At least, that's what the kid believed. Habits are hard to break, yes, but everyone can forget about them from time to time, after all.

Since no one was around, they silently walk towards the drain, and slink their face towards the entrance. Gradually starting to get worried, they looked around to see if there was any signs of the clown.

''P'nny?'' They called, ''Are ya d'ere?''

No response.

Now a bit more concerned, Ebony dug their face deeper in the sewers, ignoring the familiar cotton candy scent, and squinted their eyes to try to see better.

''Lookit what we have here, guys! It's the little dumbass brat with the weird accent!''

Ebony whipped their face away, and looked with wide eyes. Oh no, it was them...

Henry and his henchmen.

Those bastards.

Part of Ebony wanted to run away, but the other refused to be a coward, so they just stood up and glared at the older teens.

''What do ya want from me, cucks?!'' They didn't hesitate to fling some insults blindly, without necessarly knowing that they mean.

The tall blonde teen creeped towards the child, and just grinned as he showed them a knife, which made Ebony glare harder, and then their little teddy bear, which made them change their angered stare into a more horrified one. The other kids just calmly watched from afar.

''The stitching's a little stupid, don't you think? I'll cut it up for you.'' Henry mocked a soft and forgiving tone.

''Ye bast'rd, give it back!''

The members of the audience snorted and giggled at Ebony's attempts to sound brave, and the fat one, Belch, mocked it, and made his budy laugh pretty hard.

''Huuuuh, gimme my toy, ye mad cuck,'' he mimicked, ''Or I'll be meeeeed!''

''Dude, stop it, I'm dying!'' The leaner one, Patrick, was wheezing quite hard and was clutching his sides.

Henry looked very unimpressed at Ebony's frustration, and in fact, pulled the toy closer to the knife. His glare was quite dark, and would make an adult think twice before deciding to punish him.

Ebony, on the other hand, had enough. They slammed a hard fist onto his crotch, making him gasp and drop the toy. Ebony then tries to keep the toy in their small arms and began to run away towards their home, but Patrick and Belch catch up with them very quickly. While Henry keeps his ground low from recoil and pain, the henchmen start to pull Ebony away from their toy, but the child kept a very firm grip on it. Belch is grossly giggling like a madman, while Patrick is digging his fingers deep in the plush to try to pry it out of Ebony's fingers.

Suddenly, Belch is heard screeching in pain, letting go of Ebony, and alarmed, Patrick lets go of the toy as well.

''Some fucker threw a rock at me!'' Belch sounded very ticked off, but as soon as he turned around, he fleed as fast as he ever had.

It was Richie, the savior!

Patrick hesitates before deciding to follow Belch in cowering away, but Henry stubbornly stays n his spot and was about to scream at Richie to go away, only to get a sharp stone right on his face. He freezes from the impact, blinded by his quickly seeping blood, and more stones and sharp rocks are thrown at him before he finally decides to retreat as he growls and snarls in pain. As he runs away, a storm of quickly-thought insults are flung to him.

''Go fuck with another kid's business!''

''Your mom should've swallowed you, bitch!''

''That's right, run, you fucking coward! Ruuuuuun!''

''Wash that blood off with your daddy's piss, son of a bitch, and don't forget to wipe those tears in your own shit!''

''Go blow your dad, you mullet-wearing asshole!'' Richie, after screaming that, is seen flinging the middle finger towards Henry's direction.

Bewildered, Ebony curls themselves in a corner, and hold their thankfully intact teddy bear in their arms as tightly as they could. The teens approach them, but keep their distance to avoid making them too uncomfortable.

''Thank you so much, guys, thank ya thank ya thank ya...'' Ebony sounded like they were about to cry, but kept their chin up, knowing they are safe.

''Nah, it's nothing,'' Beverly tells them, ''you didn't deserve it.''

''Dude, are you alright? You don't look too good.'' Richie looked quite concerned.

'' I'm a'ight, Richie, Im gonn' be fine.'' Ebony sounded like they were already started to calm down a lot more.

After letting Ebony catch their breath and settle down, Mark approaches them as the rest of the Losers begin to whisper things to each other.

''Doing good?''

''Yeah, I'm good.'' Ebony sighed in relief.

''Okay, good. We were actually looking for you, 'cause we were wondering if you had anything new about It.'' Those words made Ebony freeze instantly.

As the gang looks at them, Ebony swiftly comes up with an excuse. '' I've seen no signs o' that It thing y'all keep talkin' 'bout.''

Mark didn't seem completely convinced, lightly tilting his head in confusion, and the other kids look equally as intrigued.

''So you know absolutely nothing of It?'' Bill sounded very intrigued. ''We've been talking about It for over a month, yet you knew nothing of it?''

''Nah, I didn't. Not in a long while. It soun'ed like some story you guys came up with. M'not sure if they're e'en interested in us anymore.'' Ebony sounded more confident, this time. ''Di'n't you guys scare 'em off anyway?''

''I don't know, Ebony. We saw It, but we didn't quite scare them off— And what do you mean by 'in a while'? You saw It, right?'' Beverly looked as patient as ever.

''Two weeks ago, ye'h. It looked like a big spider. It had long legs and a fat body.'' Ebony's lie sounded convincing to Bill, who instantly became less suspicious. ''Sorry, I forgot to mention t'at.''

''Nah, nah, it's fine. We're cool with that.'' Richie looked just as understanding.

Beverly looked okay with the excuse as well, but Mark remained a little defiant. Even if he settled down a little, he remained a bit stiff, and kept an eye on Ebony.

''At what hour are we gonna go in that rotten lair... Crackhead house... whatever ya wanna call it?'' Eddie looked at Richie right in the eyes.

'' I was thinking maybe after 5?'' Eddie nods at Richie's suggestion.

The gang have agreed on the hour to go inside the 'rotten lair', guiding themselves on Bill's approval, which he gave. The kids parted ways after saying their goodbyes to Ebony, and are seen riding their bikes away. The only one that turned his back was Mike... and he really didn't give a friendly stare, which made Ebony very uncomfortable.

Ebony has stayed in that same spot for over two hours, entertaining themselves by picking flowers and muttering some lullabies and kid-friendly songs their father would sing to them. Mary Had a Lamb was their favourite, closely followed by London Bridge is Falling Down, so those were the most popular when it came down to Ebony singing. Ring Round the Rosie was also a common pick. Just as they were about to sing Brother John, they saw a familiar shape inside the sewer drain—Pennywise!

Ebony comes towards them, but instead of cheerfully greeting them and lean their face closer to them, the clown flinched, clenching their eyes and turning their face away from the kid's, which surprised them. They also... whimpered? Yes, it was definetely a whimper. It sounded weak but also somehow strained and painful, like an injured puppy with a lower voice. There was also some black ooze coming out of their forehead, which Ebony immediately noticed.

''Penny, what's wrong...?'' Ebony's voice was very soft to try to appease their friend, or to at least distract them from the pain.

Pennywise didn't answer. They remained frozen in place, and were actually starting to tremble, their bells jingling with a desperate chime. The black sticky liquid was just slowly dripping down, but something that resembled tears were floating up from the corners of the clown's eyes. It tried hard to fake a grin, but ended up wincing in pain.

''Penny, I know you're hurt... Is d'ere anythin' I can do?'' Poor little Ebony was very scared.

The clown finally hesitantly started to look at Ebony, with with a more fearful look. The tears gradually stopped, floating away with what looked like misery, and looked like he was trying hard to keep his composure. Ebony showed their hand slowly to show they mean no harm, which seems to start convincing them there's no danger so far. Pennywise approached their trembling massive hand, and covered the smaller human hand with thers. Their grip was very soft, like they only had enough effort to just touch it. The two lock eyes for a moment—One was comforting, and the other was gradually coming back to its senses.

''Eb'nyyy, come 'ere!'' In the moment, Ebony's dad was calling them in.

Ebony couldn't even tell Pennywise goodbye as they knew they had to come, and they had to come now. They look at the clown with a saddened gaze, and it just looks back at them with clear fear, which was breaking the kid's heart. They watch as Pennywise slinks back in the sewer.

Once back to their father, they could tell he was getting serious.

''Eb'ny, I keep seein' ya towards t'at sewer drain. Ya know it's dangerous, so why do ya keep comin' back?'' No, he really didn't sound mad, but Ebony was very unsettled nonetheless.

''Dad, its 'cuz my friend can't go anywhere away from t'e sewers.'' They sounded soft and had a higher voice.

The parent shook his head, and sighed. He hated to do this, but he had to, if it was to keep Ebony from harm.

''Look, sweetie. Ya know ya ain't supposed to go d'ere. Despite me tellin' ya not to go d'ere, you still go d'ere. I'm gon' have to tell ya to stay in your room for tonight, and yer no longer allowed to come out without my permiss'on.'' He still didn't sound angered, but he was firm in his words.

Ebony sadly nodded, but didn't say a word. They understood thir father was starting to get very worried, and they couldn't deny it.

''Stranger danger, Eb'ny... stranger danger. Y'er a smart kid.''

The two walk back in the house, and Ebony gives their dad a gentle warm hug, which he accepts and gives back.

''Sorry, daddy.''

''Lova ya, sweetie. I don't want ya to get hurt.'' His whisper was weak enough to make one assume he was about to cry, but he was perfectly calm.

Ebony then goes upstairs, jumping up to their bed to think about how their day went. They got attacked by the trio of bullies, the Losers are now suspicious of them, especially mark... Pennywise is injured and clearly needs some comfort, which Ebony can't give for now, and their dad gave them a punishment. Today really isn't a good day.

However, an idea popped in. Ebony rememberd that yesterday, they bought some stuff to share with Pennywise, and it's cleverly hidden in a drawer under their bed, Knowing their father doesn't snoop in their stuff, it can't be just thrown away. They pull the drawer... It's still there, and the meat is still nice and red. The cupcakes were in the second drawer of the bed, neatly stashed with other sweets like hard caramel and fruit-flavored suckers.

They'll just need to wait.

In the late afternoon, the elderly man is heard snoring loudly. Ebony silently sneaked out of their room, being very careful not to wake their father up. They managed to sneak some of the sweets in their pockets, and the meat is hidden under their coat—It blended well with the kid's overall body posture, so it couldn't be spotted right away. As soon as they opened the door to walk out of their house, they were glad to see the red balloon in the sewer drain. Silently closing the door behind them, Ebony walked out as silently as possible, and saw that Pennywise was already there, peeking their face out of the drain towards Ebony.

''Penny... We can't be too loud, a'ight? I'm not supposed t' be here.'' Pennywise looked bummed out, but they complied with a nod.

Ebony then slides out their candy, and took the raw meat and gave it to the clown. It gently grabbed the red juicy flesh, and the two began to eat quietly, the clown chewing very slowly instead of wolfing it down like it usually would do. Ebony made sure to only bring soft candies and suckers to avoid making too much noise, as they like to crunch the hard candy, and Pennywise is quite silent when they chew, so the two are okay for now. Neither of them strike a conversation. They just eat in silence. It still felt comforting, though.

Eventually, Ebony is done eating some of their candy, and they begin to talk to Pennywise. ''You di'n't seem that good earler t'day, are you a'ight now?'' The clown just nodded, still chewing their food.

The silence was just getting too deep, and not just for Ebony, but it seemed to be the case for Pennywise as well. After they were finally done eating their meat, they look at Ebony right in the eyes with a piecing gaze.

''I got hurt from the self-proclaimed Losers' Club today. That's why I wasn't doing too good.'' Their answer was fair and simple.

''Wait, they did that?'' Ebony's stupor annoyed the clown quite a bit.

''You didn't tell me. Why didn't you tell me?'' All the kid could see in those blue eyes was betrayal, and they were slowly shifting into more of a golden color.

''Penny, I was bein' suspicious already—And b'fore ya talk, lemme explain.'' Ebony said so just in time, as Pennywise was about to snap a reply. The clown keeps their mouth shut and listens to the kid, somewhat intrigued that they were not scared of it at all.

'Y'see, I had t' lie that I didn't see ya in a long while, and since Mike is pr'tty suspicious o' me, the rest of the gang will be soon, so I just couldn't tell ya 'cause they'd all hate me. Dad told me t' stay away from 'he sewers too, so that's why we go'ta be quiet, ya 'now? And I di'n't know they were lookin for ya, Penny. I r'lly didn't.''

It seemed to make the clown simmer down a notch. Instead of having a narrowed glare, Pennywise's gaze looked more and more understanding as Ebony kept talking.

''... Makes sense.'' They sounded rather reluctant, but were no longer ticked off. ''You can find me in the largest house of this city, if you ever need me and I'm not here.''

''A'ight, I'll keep that 'n mind. Thanks for understandin', Penny.''

''It's nothing, really. You helped me a lot, so I might as well return the favour, right?''

''I knew it, Beverly, I knew it!''

Pennywise immediately retreated in the sewer, and Ebony turned around in surprise. They were horrified to see a frustrated Mark and Beverly quickly pacing towards them, along with the rest of the Losers...