ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀɢʟᴏᴡ || ʀɪᴄʜɪᴇ ᴛᴏᴢɪᴇʀ

~ Tension ~

The losers slowly made their way back to the Inn, all equally worried about separating from each other. Richie paced in their hotel room, Elaine watching as she quietly sat on the bed in front of him. She observed him stride back and forth, adverting her vision from him and bringing it to her hands. His constant walking was starting to make her dizzy and she wasn't even the one pacing.

Her hands sat on her lap, the black skirt she wore making her red nail polish pop. "Are you sure?" He interrogated her, repeating the same question over and over again. "Yes, Rich, I already told you that." She soothed but Richie was still unsatisfied with her answer. He grumbled, "I just don't want you to get hurt," Elaine stood up, her heels making her much taller and intimidating to Richie.

"I'm not a little girl anymore. You don't need to worry." She reminded him, cupping his face. "Yeah well, I can't really help myself," He shrugged. She pressed a reassuring kiss against his lips, "It'll be fine, I can take care of myself," Beneath the embrace, a frown formed on his face. He moaned, pulling away from her, "Why do we have to fucking do this?" He couldn't bare letting Elaine out of his sight in general, let alone with a killer clown on the loose.

"Why are you agreeing to this?" He finally remarked, looking down at his hushed wife. "I'm not agreeing Rich, I just-" Richie scoffed, stepping away from her. "You're with him on this now?" He questioned, talking about Mike. "Oh god," Elaine sighed, preparing herself for his stupid arguments. "I'm not picking any sides, I just think-" Richie groaned, frustrated with her. "You literally are!"

Elaine backed away, rolling her eyes at him. "Why are you doing this right now?" She whined, implying he'd picked the worst time. Richie ignored her question, "It's dangerous out there, Elaine!" She groaned at his use of her full name. "You don't think I know that?" She snarled back, returning the energy. He hid his face, turning away from her. "You're being fucking stupid!" Elaine furrowed her eyebrows at his unnecessary comment, sneering as she taunted, "I'm being stupid?"

He argued, "Oh, no, you don't get to say that!" "And you do? How is that fair?!" The argument heated, Richie taking a breath and turning back to face her. "I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry, look-" She interrupted, "You don't think I'm scared too?" Richie stayed muted, slightly ashamed of what he'd caused. "We have to do this," She smiled sadly. Richie's face withered at her words.

"Whether you like it or not, we both agreed and made that promise." He threw his arms up yelling, "I don't care about a fucking promise, Elaine!" She lamented at his childishness, "Well you still did," She spoke firmly, Richie glowering at her as she pursed her lips. "You can thank your fifteen-year-old self for that one," Richie rolled his eyes, "You are insufferable sometimes, you know that?" "Oh really, that's fantastic because you're unbearable!" Richie smirked, "At least we share something in common!"

Elaine shifted away from her husband, "Fuck you," She muttered. He smiled reaching for her body, "Gladly," She pulled away, not understanding how his mood could change so quickly. "Stop!" She pushed, calming herself down. He definitely was an expert at getting on her nerves. "Do you think I want to do this all over again?" "Well, you sure as hell act like it!" Richie yelled back. She groaned still irritated, "How could you even say that?!"

"Look at you, you're just so excited to be back here, huh?" Elaine crossed her arms, "Stanley died Richie." She tried, tears forming in her eyes as the tension in the room grew. "More people are going to die because of it." "Yeah well, I'm not going to let that happen to you," He shouted, her bottom lip beginning to quiver. "Don't cry," Richie started, reaching his hand out for hers but she stepped back, not looking him in the eyes.

The sole reason he was angry was because he didn't want Elaine to go off on her own and get hurt. Sadly for him, she was too much of a rule follower to let him tag along. The minute a tear began to slide down her cheek he engulfed her in a loving hug. Richie apologized for raising his voice at her, wrapping two tight arms around her torso. His chin rested on her head, "I'm sorry." He repeated, holding her tightly as if it were the last time.

"I can't lose you." He admitted, a sick feeling in his stomach. "Just please be careful. You have to be okay." He stated, holding her firmly. "I love you," Elaine sighed into his shirt, taking in his scent before she left to go find her token. "I love you more," He replied, kissing the top of her head. The couple slowly made their way back down to the main floor, their hands interlocked as they walked down the steps of the Inn.

The rest of the losers quickly looked away as they noticed them coming. "Are you guys stalking us or something?" Richie joked, though no one laughed. His smile faded noticing a strange tension circling around this room as well. "What's going on?" Elaine asked confused as she pulled Richie down the rest of the stairs. Beverly smiled shyly at the pair, "Everything alright?" Richie huffed, "You guys just heard that whole thing, didn't you?" They nodded, "The whole thing," "Everything," Ben nodded.

Elaine shrunk, wondering what they all thought about her now. Her face was completely red, not knowing what to say. "Everything's fine now," Richie quickly cut in. "I-I guess we should go now," Bill told the group, each of them following him outside the small hotel. Elaine and Richie parted hands, going their separate ways. "Be careful!" He yelled back to his wife, blowing her a kiss.

Elaine pretended to catch it, blowing it back to him. "Be safe!" She yelled in response, making her way toward the street she once lived on. She hoped her parents didn't live there anymore as she was dreading running into them more than anything. Elaine cringed at the sudden pain that shot through her foot. She had once again forgotten to take off her heels. "Stupid shoes," She muttered, yanking them off and carrying them as she walked.