Chapter 11

"What?" Georgie thought in disbelief.

He couldn't believe it; first Henry and now Betty, who else was next? It had been a few weeks since Henry disappeared, but why Betty all of a sudden? Could Pennywise have done it? Of course he did, but why? True, Henry and Betty were Georgie's best friends, but what did Pennywise want with them? To kill them? To use them as hostages? To possess them? If that was the case, then why wasn't Henry found? Come to think about it, when Georgie met Pennywise, he hadn't possessed anyone, so where was Betty and Henry? Is it possible that someone else took them? Perhaps, but it seemed too eerie and coincidental. Georgie was concerned that Pennywise would use them for intimidation and hostage purposes, but what could he gain from Georgie? It's not like he had anything that Pennywise would want.

"May...May I come in?" Mia asked.

Georgie snapped out of his thoughts; there would be a time to ask questions, but for now, he needed to comfort Mia.

"Yeah yeah, sure come in." Georgie rushed.

He held the door as Mia walked in. Georgie closed the door and locked it, then headed to the kitchen. Mia sat down on the couch and wiped the last bit of tears from her cheek.

"Can I get you anything? We have milk, tea, soda..." Georgie offered.

"Milk please." Mia said.

"Okay then." Georgie said.

He opened the fridge and got out the milk carton, then got out a glass cup and poured the milk into it.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to the hospital sooner, it's just...we didn't get the news until nighttime, two days ago. Mom suggested that I let you rest and wait until you got home since you were found unconscious and that you would have to go through a process. You do know my dad's a cop right?" Mia explained apologetically.

"Of course. So what happened?" Georgie asked.

He finished filling the cup and put the milk carton in the refrigerator. Georgie grabbed the cup and gave it to Mia. He sat next to her as Mia drank her milk. She was halfway finished, but stopped and looked down; upset and was almost about to cry.

"E-Eversince Henry went missing, Betty's been a wreck. She wouldn't eat, she had a hard time sleeping, and she's been distant around everyone. You know she has a crush on Henry, right?" Mia explained.

"Of course, everyone knows about that; even Henry knew." Georgie said.

"Well, three days ago, Betty, her mom, and Henry's dad were at our house; talking and cheering him up. I was comforting Betty, because she was crying and was scared that Henry would never be found. My dad came home as Betty went to the bathroom and I overheard my dad saying that Henry might be good as dead since it had been weeks. I guess Betty must've heard him because I heard the front door slam shut and I saw Betty walking home from my window. The next day, we get a call from Betty's mom saying that Betty never came home from school and that she left a note saying that she was going to go look for Henry since the cops weren't doing a good job and that she couldn't sit around and do nothing. She said if I don't get home and I don't find Henry, at least I died for something." Mia finished.

She covered her face and started crying and bawling again. Georgie hugged Mia and just let the tears flow. If there was anything Georgie learned from his grandmother, it's that love can make you do crazy things. Betty loved Henry so much that she was willing to risk her own life just to find him. As crazy as this seems, Georgie was impressed by how far Betty was willing to go to find Henry. Betty was known to be brave, smart, stubborn and cared for her friends and family, but most importantly, for Henry.

"This is all my fault! I should've talked her out of it, I should've..." Mia cried.

"No it's not Mia; it's not your fault. Betty wasn't going to stop, even if you did try to talk to her. She's stubborn, you know that." Georgie comforted.

"You're right, but what if they don't find her like Henry?" Mia asked sobbing.

"They will; i'm sure of it." Georgie promised.

"Thanks Georgie." Mia sniffed.

She let go of him and wiped away her tears, then got off the chair.

"I have to go." Mia spoke.

"Okay that's fine." he said.

Mia headed for the door as Georgie got off the couch.

"Don't worry Mia, i'm sure they'll find Betty and Henry." he reassured.

"Do you think so?" she asked.

"I know so, I have faith." Georgie promised.

He ran to the door and opened it, then allowed Mia to leave first. When she stepped outside on to the porch, Mia turned around and smiled at Georgie.

"Thank you Georgie, I really needed this." she smiled.

Mia hugged him, in which he hugged her in return. Both kids blushed as they hugged each other; their love growing stronger by the minute. After a few minutes, they let go; placing them back into reality. Mia skipped off home, but not before waving a goodbye to Georgie. He waved back, then turned around, and went back inside. Georgie closed the door and locked it, then exploded with relief as he sat down on the floor. He looked back at what just happened while blushing and covering their face. Georgie knew he did everything right; he opened the door for Mia, he got her a drink, he listened to her, he cheered her up, then held the door as she left. Basically, your everyday gentleman-like behavior. For once, Georgie didn't screw up and the results were perfect; he made a girl happy. After a few minutes, Georgie calmed down, got up, and went upstairs.

Meanwhile

"Bill, what the hell? Why did you push us into your room?" Richie asked.

"I'm sorry i'm sorry, i-i-it's just...P-P-Pennywise b-b-broke in-in-into our h-h-house." Bill explained.

"What?! How did he get in?" Beverly asked horrified.

"According to G-G-Georgie, h-h-he g-got in from his b-b-bedroom w-w-window." Bill explained.

"My god, what was he doing in your house?" Mike asked shocked.

"Well a-a-according to G-G-Georgie, Pennywise said h-he w-w-wanted to g-give G-G-Georgie a reward for l-lying t-t-to th-th-the c-c-cops and s-s-said he would l-let go of E-E-Eddie, but o-o-o-only for f-five minutes. He let him go, th-th-then G-G-Georgie t-t-told him what happened. E-Eddie s-s-said that he watched himself h-h-hurting Gr-Greta and B-Beverly and that he c-c-couldn't st-stop himself. He said that he th-th-thought that th-th-they were b-bad d-d-dreams and that he's been s-s-seeing fl-fl-flashes of R-R-Richie and a o-o-old pictures of a boy." Bill explained.

"What did he look like?" Ben asked.

"I don't know, Georgie d-d-didn't get a d-d-description and I don't th-th-think E-Eddie told him." Bill responded sadly.

"And about the flashes, did you mean memories of Richie?" Ben asked.

"I guess they're l-l-like the faces of him sm-sm-smiling like h-how Georgie d-d-described them. Anyway, a-after Georgie a-a-apologized to Eddie for attacking him and h-h-hugging him, P-P-Pennywise regained c-c-control of him. Before he left, Georgie th-th-threatened to get me i-i-if h-h-he didn't release Eddie...that's when he ch-ch-choked G-G-Georgie." Bill continued.

"He choked him! Is he okay?" Beverly asked.

"Georgie's fine, b-but he has a h-h-handprint on his neck." Bill answered.

Then, Georgie entered the room and looked at the group. Everyone stared at him; horrified, terrified, worried, and unsure about what to ask or say to him. After a few minutes, Beverly was to first to approach Georgie and see the hand print mark on his neck.

"Oh Georgie, did Pennyise do this to you?" she asked.

"Yes, but i'm okay." he said.

"Is Eddie still possessed?" Richie asked.

"Yes, Pennywise isn't going to let him go. We need to find him fast!" Georgie urged.

"Alright, then lets be-be-begin, we n-n-need to fi-fi-figure out what we can g-give to Ale. She's gonna want s-s-something in return, so w-w-we need to figure o-out what we can g-g-give her." Bill begin.

Meanwhile

Bill and Georgie's grandmother left her bedroom and walked downstairs. Truth be told, she wasn't really asleep, she was just waiting for everyone to leave the room. However, she did see that little stunt Georgie did; how he managed to comfort Mia and be a gentlemen to her. It was really sweet and Bill and Georgie's grandmother knew all about Georgie's crush to Mia; he didn't tell her, but she knew about it. Bill and Georgie's grandmother walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone. She dialed the phone number and after a few minutes, the other line picked up.

"Hello?" a voice asked.

"Micheal, it's Audra, we need to talk." she spoke.