"What are you smiling about?" Stanley stared at him. "She called you a dumbass."
Eddie's smile only grew bigger. "I know. Ali Sumner called me a dumbass."
***
in which ali sumner befriends a group of outcasts and finds herself harassed by ronald mcd...
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TWENTY-TWO: Not a Stutter
Words: 863 (including non-story related words such as these)
Author's Note: this scene was actually quite cute ***
"Bill!" The losers called out on their bikes.
They were gaining on him but Bill was an impressively fast bike-rider, despite his bike being an old one. He was a couple metres ahead of them.
"Shit, I need to breathe..." Eddie panted, pressing the brakes to take a puff from his inhaler. The others continued on except for Ali who stayed behind to make sure he didn't pass out.
Neibolt was a lot farther than they had thought. They have been biking for nearly fifteen minutes. Usually that amount of time wasn't bad, but they were also chasing Bill at the same time.
They could see the house now, a bit of a distance from them.
"You okay?" Ali asked, taking a moment to catch her breath herself.
Ali studied him closely.
His cheeks were a deep red and he was all flustered and nervous.
Ali never seemed to really notice it before, but he had pretty eyes.
She shoved the thought away though.
"Mhm." Eddie nodded, trying to take deep breaths. "God, this summer is awful."
"Right?" Ali shook her head. "If I knew what I know about Derry now, three months ago, I would've ran away screaming when my aunt offered for us to move in with her."
Eddie shifted his weight and bit the inside of his cheeks. "Well, yeah. But I mean, Derry's not that bad though."
Ali almost laughed. "Eddie. We got attacked by a leper and a clown. Beverly's bathroom got a blood shower. Bill doesn't have a brother anymore. There is literally a human-eating monster in our midst and worst of all, Bowers and his gang are here. Yes, Eddie. Derry is 'that bad.'"
Eddie shrugged slightly. "Well yeah. But I mean, would you still have run away from your aunt if you'd known you would meet us too?"
Eddie looked a bit hurt and Ali didn't like it.
If she had the chance to move away from Derry and leave the losers, would she take it? Or would she stay with her friends and with Eddie?
She was a little annoyed by the fact that she had a hard time answering herself that question.
There was a small moment of silence before Ali opened her mouth to answer his question, but before she could, the sound of Bev's voice stopped her from doing so.
"Bill! Wait!" they heard her yell.
"We should go." Ali cleared her throat, getting on her bike and taking off.
Eddie followed her.
The pair of them joined the rest of the losers.
They were off their bikes and their bikes were lying on the ground in the streets. Except for Stan's of course, which was neatly parked along the sidewalk.
Bill was one step away from the front steps leading to the house and the others were facing him off. Eddie and Ali quickly joined them before somebody noticed they were gone.
"Bill, this is crazy!" Bev pleaded. "You can't go in there!"
"Yeah, Bill, are you out of your mind?" Ali added.
Bill turned to them, his eyes glistening with determined tears.
"Maybe." Bill shrugged. "But I don't care. I'm going in."
"Jesus fuck, Bill!" Richie gasped. "Did you not see that giant-ass clown?!"
"Yes. Yes, I did." Bill stared defiantly. "And I'm planning on making sure no other kid gets to see that face ever again."
When the group stayed silent out of disbelief, he sighed.
"Look." He began. "You don't have to come in with me."
He took a shaky breath before continuing.
"But what happens when another Georgie goes missing? Or another Betty? Or one of us? Are you just gonna pretend it's not happening like the rest of this town?"
The losers stayed quiet.
"Because I can't." Bill's voice broke. "Everytime I go home, all I see is that Georgie isn't there. His clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals. But he isn't."
Bill took another breath. This one wasn't shaky, it was determined.
"So walking into this house." Bill finalized. "It's easier than walking into my own."
Bill turned around and began to go up the front steps.
"Wow." Richie said quietly.
"What?" Bev asked.
"He didn't stutter once."
Bill turned back around again with a pleading look. The losers nodded to his relief.
Ali exchanged glances with everyone. "You're sure, Bill?"
Bill nodded. "Very."
Ali reached down her pockets for her switchblade, when she realized she had left it at Bill's garage.
She instead looked around the yard and spotted a box of empty glass bottles sitting out in the open by the fence. She walked towards it and grabbed a Coke bottle.
The losers watched as she smashed the bottle until she was left with only the neck of the bottle and some shards sticking out. She had made herself a weapon.
She turned back around and was greeted by the losers' confused looks on their faces.
"What?" She shrugged, her newly-made weapon by her side. "We're about to fight Ronald McDonald's fucked up crackhead cousin, and you think I'm going in there unarmed?"
The losers shrugged.
Ali began to make her way towards Bill and Bev followed. The others began to follow as well until Stan stopped them.
"Wait. Shouldn't we have some people keep look out. Y'know, just in case something bad happens?"
The losers exchanged agreeing glances.
"Alright." Bill said. "Who wants to stay out here?"
Everyone's, besides Ali and Bev's, hands shot up in an instant.
Ali rolled her eyes as the boys slowly put their hands back down, embarrassed.
