Chapter 43: Under the Surface

"Can we please look at the toy store?" Georgie begs after the trio leaves Scoops Ahoy. He races ahead, nearly bumping into several shoppers and risking dropping his cone on them.

"Georgie come here!" Mia demands, sick of trying to keep pace and wrangle him while apologizing to the strangers he nearly rams into. "It's like trying to herd a cat."

"I want to go to the toy store," he whines.

"H-How about we f-finish our ice cream, f-first?" Bill suggests.

He finds a bench nearby and sits down, Mia follows suit, but the six-year-old remains standing, angry at his supervisors.

"I want to go now." he continues to whine.

"Grandma Marian always says that whining is not going to get you what you want any faster, except maybe to your room, so Squirt just chill out," Mia says.

Turning on a pouting face, Georgie stomps to the ledge next to the bench where a large fake tree had been planted to give the mall a natural "ambience" and continues to lick his ice cream, refusing to look at his brother and cousin. His face was smeared with pink and blue residue.

Mia licks her cone while Bill rolls his eyes and they both let out a sigh of relief.

"What time did Aunt Sharon say we need to be back?"

"5:30" Bill replies.

"It's 4:00, which gives us time to appease Thomas, who is pouting over there. Is there anything that you need to get here?"

Bill shakes his head.

The two sit in silence for a while, just watching the people as they walk past. All in their own little worlds, going about their lives like everything was perfect. But both kids knew better. Everyone had their skeletons and their insecurities. They all had the darkness that they refused to acknowledge, especially in front of other people. It was all a façade, to keep the world at peace.

The jazzercise people, heading over to the studio to see their blonde instructor, hoping to shed that last of the weight and end the summer looking good in those bathing suits. The frazzled mothers push their tired and cranky toddlers in their strollers while they move to the next sale, spending money they do not always have and wracking up debt that could be spent elsewhere. Higher class people, dressed in the fanciest regale, sometimes carrying tiny dogs in purses, trying to seem important and their arms filled with shopping bags, flaunting their wealth even though they felt very little on the inside. The teenagers, strutting around, trying to act cool, chatting with their friends about the latest trends or what was on MTV, pretending to be people that they weren't and panicking inside that their secret might be exposed. The lone individuals who simply had nothing better to do than walk around, killing time before having to home to their lives once more. All of it seemed normal and mundane, but all had their secrets, even the ones observing them.

Bill had a stutter, that made him incredibly shy and insecure. It prevented him from speaking his mind and kids mocked him endlessly for it. While the move to Hawkins allowed for a fresh start, he knew that the minute he was forced to give a presentation, the mocking would start again. High school was tough enough as it was, but having a stutter never helped. Plus, his friend group had blown up and the only people he talked with were his parents, his brother, his cousin, and sometimes Beverly, Ben and Will. The new friend shared the same interests as him. Plus, the fantasy story they were working on was the only creative outlet he had and the only time he got out of the house other than for school. Back in Derry, the Loser's Club had the arcade, the movie theatre, their clubhouse etc. He used to be out until nearly dusk every night. Now, most of the time he was in his room. Deep down he missed all his other friends. While they sometimes fought, he missed the laughs they shared and the dumb things that they did.

Mia was from a broken family. Her father was an alcoholic who had physically abused her and her mother since she was young. Even when she and her mother had left that final night, the night back when she was twelve when she was hospitalized because she and her mother fought back against Joel Rogers… even after breaking free, the nightmare did not stop. Then came the constant running after that, moving from place to place, being taken in by strangers, family, and friends, anyone who could shelter a mother and daughter from the abuse. No matter where they went, no matter how adjusted Mia felt in her new school, it wasn't long until her father resurfaced, trying to claim custody of "the only good thing in his life" and they'd be forced to leave everything behind. The longest place she'd ever stayed was her grandparents' farm and that was for about a year and a half. It wasn't much, but it was stability. Then when her mother decided to separate to find a job, this left the girl to fend for herself in many ways. Having to face the reality that her father would never leave her alone. Even if he didn't know where she was now… it was like a wound that was reopened and always came back, he'd find a way. While Joel Rogers was worthless in every sense of the word, the one thing he was capable of doing was being persistent… and avoiding the cops. Couple this trauma with normal teen problems like homework, saving for college, body image, and trying to make friends, it leaves someone a bit of a mess on the inside, even if they look fine on the outside.

The two cousins continue to watch the other people amble along, trying to forget their own problems by wondering about other people's.

It wasn't until Bill saw someone that he recognized.

A woman holds her son's hand as they walk through the busy mall. She warns him to stay close and his pouch of medications bounces against his hip. They have just left The Gap, the woman with shopping bags in her free hand and leads her son along with the other, like he was a toddler, rather than a 13-year-old who was in high school. She wants to get this over with as soon as she can, hating all the dangers that could affect both of them. She puffs along, having one more thing on her list to buy.

In her mind, she's upset that she has to buy new clothes for Eddie. He continued to grow like a weed, and it made Sonia extremely paranoid and upset. No matter how hard she tried, her son was growing up. And lord knows what he was exposed to in that filthy high school. If it had been up to her, she would have stayed in Derry and homeschooled Eddie. She would have homeschooled him since kindergarten if she didn't need to make money to support the two of them. If her husband was still alive, this could have been possible. Instead, he was thrust into a world that was a cesspool of all sorts of horrible people. The one upside to this change is that the bond between Eddie and his friends seems to have broken. Sonia didn't know how it happened, nor did she care. She was happy that he'd finally learned how horrible these friends were for him. He was home much more; his grades were nearly perfect, and he listened to her without question… he'd always done that, but this time it wasn't with swearing under his breath or annoyance in his voice. However, despite how much she can control her son's behaviour, she cannot stop him from growing up. He continued to get taller and soon… soon he would want to do all the awful things that teenagers do. Drink, smoke, drive, "make love"… the only term she can bear to imagine. It was all too much, and she was screaming on the inside as her fear grew. What would happen to her little boy when… when he no longer needed her?!

As they walk past the bench, Eddie and Bill glance at each other. Their reaction to each other seems more delayed as it's been several weeks since they'd come face-to-face with each other. Bill tries to keep his face as neutral as possible, trying to mask the tiny sliver of hope that one of his former friends would be happy to see him. He wants to wave but decides to just nod in acknowledgement. Eddie, even though he's being drug along by his mother, nods as well. However, his dark eyes still hold hints of resentment towards Bill. He, of course, recognized Georgie, but the girl was a mystery to him.

His mind goes back to the last time they'd hung out and Bill had mentioned that his cousin was coming to live with his family. His cousin who'd had a rough life. So… he assumed that this was the cousin. She was kind of pretty, she sat there eating ice cream and trying to not look bored. Why had her life been rough? Was she into drugs? Were her parents into drugs? Was one of her parents in jail? All were possibilities because Bill had refused to tell any of his friends the real reason she'd come to live with them.

Edward Kaspbrak had retreated from the world around him. After the fight at the arcade, as far as he was concerned, the Loser's Club was dead to him… with the only person he found bearable was Beverly, but even then he ignored her if she tried to say hi to him in the halls or tried to call his house. His mother usually told her off anyway, which seemed to spare him from having to talk to her. The dirty trick Bill had pulled to get them all to talk and the incessant way Richie insulted him about the various problems he had. He honestly doesn't know why he'd blown up at his former best friend. In reality, he'd taken a lot worse from Richie, but that day… he was just at the end of his rope and reacted. Deep down, it was the stupidest thing he could have gotten upset about, and yet here he was. No friends. No social life. No extracurriculars. Just school and home, that was it.

"Hi, Eddie!" Georgie calls out, shattering everything. "Hi Mrs. K!"

Bill cringes, wishing his brother had just kept pouting and not noticed his former friend walking by.

Eddie was caught off guard, and Sonia was as well. The two stop, turning towards their names and see the little boy waving at them. While Eddie's mother just wants to move on and continue with their errands, she decides that the polite thing to do is wave back, especially to a young child.

"Well Hello George, how are you?" she says politely.

"I'm good. I'm having ice cream. Bubble gum with sprinkles."

"Well, that certainly sounds delicious," she says through a faked smile.

She then turns to the others. One she knew very well and had once trusted to be Eddie's friend and the other was a stranger. A stranger. Her faked smile fades when she faces Bill and the other teenager.

"Hello Bill, I hope you are doing well."

Bill licks his cone before responding. He's struggling to control his stutter. It's just like Georgie to completely derail everything.

"H-Hello Mrs. K-Kaspbrak. H-How are you?"

"I'm well thank you, and…" she bites her lip with suspicion at the girl. "You are."

"I'm Mia Rogers," the girl says, offering her hand for a formal handshake. However, Sonia does not even try to return the gesture. Mostly out of distrust, but also because her hands were full of shopping bags. Mia realizes this and retracts her hand. "I'm Bill and Georgie's cousin."

"She's staying with us right now," Georgie announces, before biting the opposite end of his cone to drain what's left of the ice cream.

Both Bill and Mia panic inside worried that the six-year-old is going to blab something out.

"Sh-She-" Bill begins.

"My mother is currently travelling so I'm staying with Bill and his family," she cuts in.

Sonia's lips purse into a thin line. While skeptical, especially with the worried looks on the two older children's faces, she didn't have time to stand around and chat or gossip.

"Nice to meet you. It was good to see you, George and Bill. Unfortunately, Eddie and I still have some errands to run. Have a good day."

She then attempts to hurry off, dragging Eddie with her.

The entire exchange, Eddie was pretty much just looking anywhere else, not wanting to look Bill in the eye. He wasn't sure how he felt about seeing him. Maybe still a little angry, maybe even happy to see him, he wasn't sure how he felt. But the way Bill avoided his gaze indicated that both felt the same way… maybe.

After the Kaspbraks had left, Mia turned to her cousin.

"Who were they?"

"E-E-Eddie was one of my f-friends," Bill stammers before swallowing. "B-B-B-Bef- Bef-…"

"Before whatever happened, happened?" she finishes for him.

Bill just nods.

She gives him a sympathetic smile and pats his shoulder before turning to finish her cone.

Georgie, having devoured the rest of his ice cream, hops down from where he is sitting and goes to the bench.

"That was Eddie," he states.

"I-I know," Bill says.

"Wasn't he your friend?" his brother continues.

"Was."

"What happened?"

Before Bill can answer, Mia cuts in.

"It's none of our business Georgie. Sometimes things happen and people don't want to talk about it. At least, not until they're ready and even then, they may not share it with you. So, let's move on and go to the toy store like you wanted and then we'll go home."

"Yay!" the six-year-old lights up in excitement. He begins to run, forcing Mia and Bill to follow and scramble to keep up with him.

…

Deep beneath the mall, a creature is navigating deep within the abandoned depths of the bunker, searching for nourishment. It was perfectly cool down there and dark. The two things it loved the most. The tiny hole allowed it to travel back and forth, meet with its ally and visit its domain before returning to the hellish landscape known as Earth.

A rat nibbles on some crumbs next to a downed piece of equipment. It cleans itself before continuing to eat.

The dark presence looms behind the tiny creature. Creeping through the shadows, coming closer and closer. The poor tiny thing had no idea what surrounded it.

The rat shrieked as something came over it. It was no longer in charge of its own body. It squeaked in complete pain as their limbs moved like a puppet on a string. It was forced to move forward, away from its food. The entity entered into its mind, with the strength that it had. There was another piece of itself out there, having escaped that human boy's body quite some time ago. This piece was too weak to reunite with its other part, but maybe… just maybe… this creature could carry it to its missing piece.

A/N: Sorry it's been such a long time. This chapter, while seemingly mundane, with the Mind Flayer there's a lot more going on under the surface.