The Siren - IT fic (Pennywise x Bill)

Ch 2: The Hot Mermaid

"Are you sure you saw a mermaid in the lake, new kid?" Eddie asked, glancing at the plastic bag Stanley was carrying that contained several, recently purchased, fresh market fish.

"Uh huh. I saw her swimming near the waterfall. She had long brown hair and pale skin," Ben stated.

"Was she hot?" Richie blurted out, forcing his way into the conversation.

"She was pretty far away. I think so, though," Ben answered. A moment later, he seemed to have another concerning thought. "Do you think she'll come out during the day? She's probably scared of people."

"She probably doesn't exist," Stanley grumbled, wondering how his friends had talked him into parting with his allowance to help them buy the fish he now had to carry.

"Brilliant, Holmes," Richie announced. "We'll meet back here an hour before dark, and then we'll go feed her."

"What about the curfew?" Eddie asked.

"Sneak out, stupid. Are you really gonna let your mom stop you from meeting a HOT mermaid?" Richie's arm wove around his shorter friend's shoulders, and he pulled him close with a grin.

"What if she's not hot?" Stanley asked, in that 'you're such a hormonal idiot, Richie,' way of his.

"She's a MERMAID! That automatically makes her hot," the be-speckled boy insisted.

"What if she eats... people," the newest member of the Loser's Club asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Why would she eat people?" Richie sighed, shaking his head in amazement.

"I saw this anime once. It was called Petshop of Horrors, and the mermaid ate a guy... then turned into a giant fish," Ben insisted.

"That's a cartoon, Ben. Not real life," Stanley answered. It was obvious that, out of the four of them, he CLEARLY didn't believe in Ben's so-called mermaid.

***

Billy stayed near the bottom of the lake as another dead fish dropped into the water above him. Hesitantly, he grabbed at the nearest sinking fish, and bit into it. A grimace crossed his face as the cold, but stale flesh slid down his throat. Pennywise was clearly spoiling him if slightly old fish seemed unpleasant.

It reminded him of the long ago days when his parents would take him hunting. Once in a while, they would come across surface walkers who had drowned. And, if they were still in good enough shape, the family would feast on their bloated bodies. The inner meat was the most savory, even if it wasn't fresh. His parents had promised that they'd take him and Georgie on a proper hunt someday, when they were older. But that day never came, and now Billy was the last of his family.

The siren's musings were interrupted by a loud splash that echoed through the water. Tilting his head back, the creature could make out chubby human legs paddling pathetically in the water above.

A delicious thought swam through Billy's mind, and made him smile a toothy grin. Perhaps Pennywise was playing with him, and the chubby human in the water above was the MAIN COURSE! Churning his tail back and forth, the siren raced to the surface. In his delight, he completely overlooked the fact that it was still daytime until he surged out of the water in an impressive air jump.

"There SHE is!"

Green eyes darted to the young boys on the shore, then down to the heavy-set boy staring up at him in wonder. Moments later, he flopped back into the water – his landing ruined by the unexpected reality of his situation. Humans saw him!