Chapter 47: Come Together
"Dustin? Dustin?" Mr. Clarke calls out. "Is everything all right?"
The science teacher sticks his head out into the hallway from the teacher's lounge, checking to see if he is there. All he is met with is silence.
He heads back toward his classroom, a warm cup of coffee in his hand. The only sounds are his footsteps echoing off the plain walls painted with the team mascot the Cubs. When he enters his room once more, he sees the keys lying on his desk, confirming that Dustin must have had to run home. Gazing out the window, the teacher couldn't blame him, for not wanting to bike home in the coming storm.
Taking a sip of his coffee, Mr. Clarke goes back to his marking, setting a time limit so he could get home before the rain began.
…
"H-How many p-people should be in the p-party?" Bill asks. "We need to c-consider h-how we introduce them."
He sits at Will's kitchen table, a large stack of white paper in front of him. He's writing a list of story elements while Will is making rough sketches. Balls of crumpled paper litter the floor and overflowing in the kitchen trash. Two half-drunk glasses of milk and a near-empty plate of cookies lay between them, courtesy of Will's mother. A saving grace to fuel their writing/drawing session. Both boys had agreed that they would only work at the Byer's home from then on because if they were at the Denbrough's, Bill's mother would never leave them alone and Georgie was not always an ideal companion either. Here, Will's brother Johnathan couldn't have cared less what they did, and Joyce knew when to leave the boys be, just happy that Will had met someone new as a friend and they shared similar interests.
Joyce had to work a later shift so she fixed the boys a snack before leaving, knowing Johnathan would be home soon to keep an eye on the teens. Even though she trusted her youngest completely, she knew that her eldest would ensure that Will ate something other than cookies and didn't get so wrapped up in his work that he neglected his schoolwork.
"I thought we could make it almost like a recruitment, that our one hero begins his journey and then gathers allies as he goes."
"Good idea," Bill says. "B-but who?"
"Well, we have Bill the Brave, a knight from a distant kingdom. Will the Wise, the mighty wizard…"
Bill is writing down the names in a list as his friend continues.
Will thinks back to all those days playing D&D with his friends, back when the Demogorgon was a piece of plastic in the game. He always liked their original character names and he figured they would get a kick out of being included in this story.
"Sundar the Bold," Will suggests. "A noble prince turned rogue knight/outlaw."
"Wh-why an outlaw?"
Will shrugs.
"How about…B-banished from his original k-kingdom, accused of c-corruption?" Bill says. He was already thinking about how to expand his backstory even further.
"I like that!" Will says. He'd never thought of why Sundar would have been rogue or an outlaw. "We could travel to his kingdom in another side quest, how he refused to join the war council and…"
"L-let's focus," his friend reminds him. They needed to start simple and then expand their ideas.
"Tayr, a great master."
"M-master of what? We sh-shouldn't have two magic u-users since we already have a wizard."
Will pauses for a moment.
"Some kind of combat? Archery?"
Bill thinks it over. "L-little too L-Lord of the Rings."
"How about duelling?"
Bill nods. "W-What about female characters?" he asks.
"Are we thinking love interests?"
"S-sure, but what role in the quest?"
"Healer?" Will suggests. "No, that's too cliché and played out."
"C-Could she be an oracle or a guide?"
"Lady Mysterium…"
"B-Blind but can guide through the lands and foresee the future,"
"How did she become blind though?" Will says.
"A-Another backstory for a-another time."
The boys continue until Bill notices the graying clouds outside the kitchen window.
"I-I should be getting home, i-it's going to rain."
"Oh wow, yeah," Will says.
Both boys begin to clean up their work, putting all their ideas in a file folder Bill had found in his dad's office.
Bill then hands the folder to Will, who rushes to his room to put it on his desk.
Just then the phone rings. While Bill gets ready to go home, Will answers.
"Hello?"
"Hey Will, it's Johnathan," his brother's voice comes through the other end of the line.
"What's up?"
Noises in the background indicate to Will that the newspaper office is bustling with activity.
"I'm stuck at work right now, trying to finish developing the pictures for tomorrow's deadline. I'm wondering if you can go to the store and grab some milk for dinner. I just remembered that Mom asked me to pick some up. There's money in the jar above the fridge. I'm really sorry, but they need these photos. If I can get out, I'll come and get you from the store."
"Sure… but…" Will assumed that his brother hadn't looked out the window at all and was mostly stuck in the darkroom.
"Thanks, buddy. I'll see you at home."
Then the line goes dead.
Will looks over and sighs. He goes to the jar above the fridge and grabs a few dollars for milk.
"Everything o-okay?" Bill asks, who has his backpack all packed and ready to go home.
"Yeah, I guess I'm riding with you until we get downtown. I need to pick up milk."
"Sure," Bill says.
Both teens hurry for their bikes and begin the relatively fast-paced journey along the road Will and his friends knew as Mirkwood. Bill was secretly glad that Will was riding with him because he was still not completely familiar with Hawkins and since the Byers lived further out of town, he was unsure if he could get back. Stan and Eddie were always the ones with the best sense of direction.
Another rumble of thunder forces the boys to pick up the pace as they attempt to beat the coming rain.
Come on Silver, Bill thinks to his bike, reliable as always. Fast enough to beat the Devil.
…
"Are you sure the Warden said you were allowed to come?" Max asks.
El just rolls her eyes and nods. "I need to have a life sometimes."
After tutoring, Max had come over and the girls decided to go into town together. Hopper was still at work, allowing this escape to be much easier than usual. They still have to watch over their shoulders because the chief could be anywhere.
The two best friends are walking down the street, heading for the drug store, hoping to grab some junk food. They had no plan for getting back to the cabin before the rain, but at this point, they didn't really care.
The next round of thunder feels like the whole street is vibrating, but they barely notice.
"You've got money right?" Max asks. "I only have a couple of bucks because of the arcade."
El nods. Hopper had been giving her an allowance for almost a year by doing chores and now, with her tutoring, doing a really good job with her assigned work. She'd saved quite a lot and was more than happy to spend some of it on fun things.
Once reaching the store, they head inside and head for the candy aisle.
El begins examining the shelves, looking for something she really likes. She loved chocolate, but other candies like gummy worms would also be on her list of favourites. Spying a pack, she quickly grabs them.
"What kind of chips?" Max is asking, sorting through the bags. "BBQ?" She begins piling the various snacks in Eleven's arms as they browse through everything.
El looks around because she's already got what she wants when she notices someone with short red hair standing with someone much taller than her at the counter.
Immediately, she recognizes Beverly. She wanted to talk to her again, especially after the sleepover drama. She wanted to be friends with her, she seemed cool and nice.
"I don't understand why Dad needs me to bring him his afternoon cigarettes when he literally works down the street," Damian groans as he begins to pay for said item. He'd also secretly bought a pack for himself that he was splitting with his foster sister, provided she chip in for them.
"It's to get you out of the house," Bev explains.
"Hey, I get out a lot," he says defensively.
"And what were you doing at home?" she smirks teasingly.
"I was reading a book."
"How about watching Thundercats and drinking milk straight from the carton?" she suggests.
"Watch it Red," he says before getting his change from the clerk. He then pockets the cigarettes. "Are you cool to hang here while I run these up to Dad?"
"Yeah, I'll survive," Beverly says.
"Cool, see you in a few minutes."
Damian hurries out the door, leaving Bev to go to the nearest magazine stand and pull out a random one. She flips through the pages, looking for something interesting to read.
When she looks up she sees Jane standing in an aisle nearby, trying to wave to her, but failing due to the stack of snacks in her arms. Bev waves back before walking over.
"Hey Jane," Bev says. When she sees Max. "Hey, Max."
The other redhead briefly looks up, nods, and then goes back to looking for more snacks.
"Hi Beverly," Jane says. "Who… who was that you were with?"
"That's Damian, my foster brother. He just has to run some cigarettes over to my dad at the newspaper office."
"Mike's sister works there," El points out.
"Really? That explains Damian talking about the girl with curly hair who's always running around… Anyways, my dad is trying to get my brother to work with him at the office."
"Don't know why, sounds like a boring job," Max says, standing up and adding the last few snacks to the pile.
"Need help?" Beverly says, offering to grab a few things before Eleven drops everything. "I can help take them to the counter."
Jane just nods and the girls bring everything over. While the clerk at the counter is ringing up the purchases, the phone beside the counter begins to ring. Another employee who was stocking the shelves goes over to answer it.
"Is there a Beverly Marsh here?" the employee calls out.
"Here." the redhead says, holding her hand up.
"It's your brother. He wants to talk to you."
A little concerned, Bev hurries over and picks up the receiver.
"Hey Damian, what's going on?" Beverly asks, a hint of worry in her voice.
"Save yourself Bev!" his hushed whisper over the phone. "Dad ambushed me with a job interview with these prudes. It was all a setup! A conspiracy!"
Bev smirks at his fake panicked voice. "So let me guess, I'm going to need to find my own way home."
"Save yourself!" he hisses.
"I'll see you at home," she laughs. "Good luck."
"I don't need luck I..."
She then hangs up and goes back to the counter. The two other girls look at her, a little concerned.
"Everything all right?" Max asks.
"Yeah, apparently the buying cigarettes was all a conspiracy to get him in for a job interview. So, I have time to kill."
"Want to hang out?" Jane asks.
Max looks at her best friend for a moment. While not 100% cool with Beverly just yet, there seemed to be a sort of truce between them, and for the sake of Eleven who liked this Derry girl, they could hang out.
"Yeah sure," Bev shrugs. She then looks out the window at the coming storm. "Though I don't know how much we'll be able to be outside with the rain."
"We'll find a place," Max replies.
"That'll be 26.50," the clerk says.
El puts her money on the table and Max chips in what she has left. The clerk counts it.
"I still need 2.45," he says.
"Shit…" Max hisses, frantically searching through her pockets. "I don't have anymore."
"Neither do I," Eleven says. She'd counted exactly how much she'd brought, an exercise she'd been doing with Mia to practice counting money.
"Here…" Beverly steps in. She fishes some of her allowance money out of her pocket, enough to cover the cost.
The clerk finishes the transaction. "Have a good rest of the day."
The girls then begin to gather up their haul and head for the door. Beverly follows them out.
As they stand in the street that's becoming darker by the moment, Max looks up the street.
"Shit, the Warden is coming!"
"What?" Beverly says.
Without another word, Jane grabs her arm and the trio hurries into the adjoining alleyway between the two buildings. The two from Hawkins press up against the wall and wait until the police wagon drives by.
"Is it gone?" Max asks.
"What… uh what?" Beverly says, completely lost.
"Is the police car gone?" Max demands.
"Uh yeah, someone want to explain what happened?"
"El's dad has an issue with her sneaking out of the cabin," Max explains. "Without him knowing."
"It's a habit now," Eleven smirks.
The two girls snicker, leaving Beverly still feeling left out.
"Why does your dad have you homeschooled anyway? Why is he so strict?"
These questions cause both El and Max to freeze. They can't tell her the real reasons why, but before they can answer, another rumble of thunder shakes the street and the first drops of rain are felt.
"Shit, hurry," Max says. She begins to run, with Eleven and Beverly following behind.
They cut through the alley and cross another street until they get to the nearby park that has a covered picnic area. Max sets her loot down on one of the benches and El follows her lead. All three are laughing due to still getting soaked by the rain.
"Guess we're stuck here," Bev says.
"Well, at least we have food," Max says, grabbing the nearest chocolate bar and peeling off the wrapper. El goes for her gummy worms.
After a minute, Max reaches over and tosses a bar to Beverly. "Here, you chipped in, you get the benefits."
"Thanks," the girl from Derry smirks before opening the candy bar to eat.
At that moment, two boys on bicycles are seen peddling through the street in the rain. Max would recognize that bowl cut anywhere.
"WILL!" she calls out. "WILL OVER HERE!"
The boy looks over and begins peddling over, followed by the other kid, who Beverly recognized.
"Bill?" she says in disbelief.
Both boys ride up, ditch their bikes under a tree and head for shelter.
"H-Hey, Bev," Bill says, brushing his soaked bangs from his face.
"Hey Max," Will pipes up. "Hey, El."
"Why are you guys riding in the rain, you have some kind of death wish?" Beverly jokes.
"W-Will and I w-were finishing our project, and I w-was heading home."
"And my mom asked me to pick up some milk, but we didn't make it."
"Obviously," Max says. She then sacrifices another part of their stash and tosses it to Will, who fumbles at first but manages to catch it. "Here Derry boy…"
She throws a Twinkie, which Bill catches.
"His name is Bill," Beverly corrects. "This is Jane, but her nickname is El and that's Max."
"We've m-met," Bill nods. He recognizes the brunette girl's face but is having trouble placing it, but he remembers the other redhead from Science class and that one time on the playground. "And thanks."
The storm continues and the group just huddles under a sheltered space, eating and not saying much.
"Does Hopper know you're out?" Will ventures.
El just smirks and shakes her head.
…
Ben hasn't looked back since leaving the middle school. His heart is pounding so intensely that he's convinced it's going to shatter his ribs. He's pedalling so fast that his legs are aching. He just needs to get home as fast as possible.
You need to tell Beverly and Bill; he thinks in his head. You need to tell everyone.
He shakes the thought from his mind and his side begins to hurt again. Tears flood his eyes to the point where he needs to pull over. He brakes hard and lays his forehead against his handlebars. He breathes through the pain and battles the tears as the memories come back.
The kid in the library, the Neibolt house, Bill's garage, the battle down in the sewers… It all comes back in flashes, painful flashes… It makes his entire body hurt.
How… how is IT back? We killed it! He screams in his head. How did IT find us?!
All he gets in response is a clap of thunder and the droplets of rain. Ben sucks up his fear and begins to peddle to find the nearest place for shelter.
"Jesus, here it comes!" he hears behind him.
Ben looks to see Dustin frantically peddling on his bike, trying to get out of the rain.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Dustin hisses and begins to swear under his breath. While his cap shielded his face from the oncoming rain, the rest of his stuff was going to be soaked.
Ben tries to keep pace with him until they round the corner near the park and see a group of people congregating in a picnic area. As he squints through the rain, he realizes that he knows a few of those people.
He pedals over.
"DUSTIN!" Will calls out.
The curly-haired teen looks over to see Will, Max, and El sitting in a place that is the least dry. He too changes his course.
"Ben," Beverly says, as he ditches his bike and comes under the shelter. "Are you okay?"
Before he can answer, Dustin rushes to the picnic area. "Good God, it's pouring like a monsoon."
He then high-fives Will. "Hey, man."
"Hey, got caught in the rain too?"
"Where were you anyways?" Max asks.
"At the middle school. To help Mr. Clarke with…" Dustin replies before helping himself to some of the snacks on the table. Max smacks his hand away and another clap of thunder echos around them.
"Ow, what the hell Max?!"
"Did you pay for any of this?" she asks.
"How come Will gets some, and…" he pauses at Bill and Beverly's names, blanking even though they've met before.
"Bill and Bev," the redhead from Derry prompts.
"Bev chipped in," El answers.
"I also find Will more tolerable than you," Max retorts.
"Plus, you eat like a pig sometimes," Will adds.
"I do not!" Dustin snaps defensively.
"You do," Eleven giggles.
"Here other Derry boy," Max says, surprised at how generous she is being. She tosses a bag of M&Ms to him. Ben barely catches them; before continuing to stare out into the rain.
"Oh, come on!" Dustin shouts. "At least share the chips!"
He tries to reach over, but Max and Will use their arms to block his reach. Eleven just laughs.
Ben doesn't even try to open the candy,
"Ben, are y-you okay?" Bill asks. Both he and Beverly see how quiet and pale their friend is.
Ben looks at his friends and they can see he's been crying. Both of their stomachs turn.
"He's still a little rattled," Dustin explains, finally managing to grab a granola bar from the pile. "The equipment in the A/V room went haywire. Malfunctioning, playing loud music, and the lights went crazy too."
Will swallows for a moment, he knows what lights mean. Eleven and Max also look at Dustin, but there's little fear on his face… at least as far as they can see.
"It played circus music," the curly-haired teen continues. "And some kind of voice came through… saying something about floating."
A/N: Cue the end credits. This would be a perfect cliffhanger for an episode of the show to end on. Happy 2024 to everyone. Hope that you are having a wonderful holiday season. Here's a new chapter. Also thank you to everyone who supported my skipping ahead a few chapters
Responses to Reviews:
GlaringEyes: (for Chapter 48) Yes, Rain is always a bad sign in any show or movie. It is cool that you noticed how the villains are approaching people who wouldn't know them. If I'm honest, it was completely unintentional. But now Pennywise has revealed himself to Ben, which means this is the beginning of it all.
(for Chapter 49) Yes, Billy is getting flayed like in the canon. It's a possibility his abilities might extend more with two entities at work. Mia does have some inner strength. She's dealt with a bully all her life, and while she's powerless and hiding from him right now, protecting others brings out an inner fight and she's not afraid to get her hands dirty. It is true about farm life, working the land builds your strength.
Larry: I love the coupling too. Mia does have some strength that we will hopefully see more of.
FanBoy01: Yes it is cute. We will have to see about Billy.
norozco772: Yes, I know a lot of people don't want this to happen to him. Just wait and see.