Buttercup | r. tozier

↠ ben hanscom

The Next Day

We were riding our bikes on our way to Bev's apartment as we promised the other day. Leaving the quietness of the suburbs, we could hear a few cars honking their way in a hurry. We continued to cycle by the sidewalk, passing them as a shining red light put them to a halt. While the others were talking, I remained silent, listening to their conversations and observing the tall buildings.

After quite a while, we finally made it to a gray apartment. From afar, I saw Bev, talking with Jaz, before the former noticed our presence. The two girls rushed downstairs and went over to us.

"I need to show you something," Bev said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Or is what we saw on the quarry!?" Richie exclaimed.

"Shut up, Richie," Eddie scowled. A second of silence ensued before Bev spoke again.

"My dad will kill me if he finds out that I had boys in my apartment."

We looked at each other before agreeing.

"W-we-we'll have a look. Richie, j-j-just stay here," Bill said before we, except for Richie, got off our bikes, dropping them onto the stony path.

"Wha-wha-wha-what if her dad comes back?" Richie asked as the rest of us were about to head upstairs.

"Do what you always do," Stan fired back. "Start talking."

"It is a gift," we heard Richie say before we entered Bev's apartment.

The corridors inside the apartment were dark with the only lights coming from holes and windows. We walked towards a closed door with a red tint emerging through the door frame.

"In there." Bev pointed out the door in front of us.

"W-what is it?" Bill questioned.

"You'll see."

Jaz sighed before she said apprehensively, "I got a bad feeling about this..." It was then followed by Eddie speaking about all the dirty things that the room might be having.

Bill opened the creaky door, revealing a red bathroom. It had a stench of decaying blood, enough to make my stomach nauseous. I looked at the others to see if they were alright. While everyone else tried to hold in their disgust, Jaz's breathing became much more irregular and faster upon seeing the room. She too was trembling restlessly.

"I knew it," Eddie stammered before he grimaced.

"You see it now."

"W-what happened here?"

"My dad couldn't see it...I thought I would be..." Bev stated before I could hear someone collapsed beside me. All of us stopped talking for a while and looked back at Jaz. Her face was pale white and her eyes were droopy with fatigue.

"Jaz!" Eddie whisper shouted.

"Wait, what's wrong?" I asked, staring at her before the others further examined her as well.

"She just freaking fainted!" he panicked as his hands frantically reached for his fanny pack.

"Is-is it because of the bl-blood?" Bill asked before Jaz weakly uttered a few words.

"I...I want to..."

"No, Jaz, you need to rest!" Eddie pleaded while taking out an inhaler, "What if you got a brain injury or worse asthma!?"

"No, Eddie, I'm..."

"Fine!? You are practically sweating and shaking" Eddie said before grabbing one of Jaz's arms and dragging her body away from us to another room. "Bill, I'm going to take care of Jaz first."

"Al-alright. So, should we start cleaning now?"

"Okay," Bev replied after Stan and I brought out yellow rubber gloves, a few trash bags, a mop, a scrub, a few rags, and two buckets of water to the bathroom.

Half an Hour Later

It took us quite a while and effort to wash away any traces of blood left in the bathroom. After I finished wiping the sink clean and Bill pouring the blood to the sink, I took away one trash bag. I wandered a bit, seeing another room that was most likely to be Bev's bedroom. I was amazed at her room, but it didn't take long before I glanced back at the bathroom. Bill and Bev were talking with each other, seeming to be enjoying each other. Feeling defeated, I walked towards the door at the front. I happened to see Eddie and Jaz, who felt a lot better, sitting beside each other on a couch when I opened the door. I walked downstairs, still feeling hurt from seeing Bill and Bev together. I kept asking myself if I really ever have a chance to be with Bev.

"Hey, Ben!" Richie shouted, turning my attention to him. "What's on your face?"

"Nothing," I replied with dejection still clearly painted on my face.

"Nothing? Is it about Bev again?" Stan, who was sitting on his bicycle seat, asked dryly.

"Yeah you are right, Stan," I groaned. "I have no chance to be with Bev now that she is with Bill."

"No need to be upset, Sir Haystack," Richie told me in an admittedly terrible British accent. "You know I have fancied Ma'am Jasmine since we were young, and yet she seemed to fancy Sir Eds more than me."

I was shocked in disbelief. "Jaz fancies Eddie?"

"They haven't come down yet. I bet they are snogging right now."

"What's snogging?" I looked at Richie in bewilderment.

Richie fixed his thick glasses before he spoke. "Sucking each other's faces off until they both got laid."

"I guess that's enough talk for now." Stan was more than done with me and Richie.

"Ah, love, the old complicator strikes again," he silently muttered before I noticed Bill, Eddie, Bev, and Jaz coming down the stairs.