✓ | BETTER WITH YOU → richie tozier ³

six

"HEY." RICHIE'S voice sounded over the phone as Ash held it to her ear.

"Um, hi." She answered. "So. . .what the hell was up with you today?"

He was silent for a couple of seconds, and Ash said quickly, "Don't. You're gonna answer with something rude or sarcastic, and I don't want to fight with you, Rich. Please talk to me."

Richie hesitated, and then sighed. "Yeah, I'm. . .I'm sorry for yelling at you today. Just, Stan, Bill, Eddie, and Ben they were all being dicks and getting on my fucking nerves, and I'm sorry for taking it out on you, babe."

She felt her cheeks flush at the nickname, but her forehead crinkled. "How were they being dicks?"

"I. . ." Richie started, and then trailed off. "Nothing. It doesn't matter."

Ash leaned against the wall, chewing her bottom lip. "But you guys are okay now right? Cause Eds didn't come back to the lunch table after he followed you out, and Stan and Bill acted like something was wrong."

Richie shook his head. "He was just jealous, I think, that I was spending time with you. I don't know, you know how he is. And when I called him on it he got pissed."

"Seriously?" Ash asked incredulously. "That's not like him."

"I know." Richie answered. "But uh, I worked it out with them and it's okay now."

"You sure?" Ash asked. "It's not gonna be all weird tomorrow with Mike, right?"

Her mind flashed to seeing Spencer Allen and the nightmares she had been having, and maybe Richie recognized this.

Ignoring her question about Mike, he asked, "Hey, are you okay? You've been acting kind of weird."

Ash shook her head to clear it. "Oh, no Rich, everything's fine. I swear."

"O-o-kay." Richie said slowly, and then said, "So, I'll see you tomorrow, beautiful. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Hey, and if something weird had happened, you'd tell me right?" Richie asked, and Ash said, "Oh, yeah of course."

"Okay. See you, angel."

"Bye, Rich."

The line clicked as Richie hung up, and with a sigh Ash put it back on the wall and headed upstairs to go to bed.

~

The place she was in was dark, the atmosphere and freezing wind seeming to close in around her as Ash looked wildly around.

"Shit!" She said, seeing nothing but fog and a dark, grassy field in front of her.

Her hair blew around her face, and she felt achy all over looking down and letting out a gasp.

Purple bruises patterned all up her hands and arms, and she squeezed her eyes shut, looking away from them and back up at her surroundings.

She saw a dark figure walking slowly towards her in the fog, and she yelled, "Hello!?"

The person didn't answer, and instead slowly continued towards her, the mist moving in swirls around Ash and its body.

Ash tried to back up, but found her feet would not move, and stared, terrified, as the person finally stepped into the faint glow of the moon coming from above.

It was Spencer Allen, and Ash let out a shriek.

He grinned at her, his teeth sharp and flashing white in the darkness, his eyes as empty and black as they had been when she had seen him by the bike racks.

Terrified, she tried to move again as he came closer, and then her eyes grew wide as she realized he was holding someone else against him.

A struggling Richie was trying to fight his way out of Spencer's grip, but Spencer clutched him tightly, and Ash saw a flash of silver in his right hand and clapped a hand to her mouth.

A knife.

"Let him go, son of a bitch!" She screamed, and Spencer's black eyes met hers as drops of dark red blood fell ever so slowly from his mouth.

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that Ashes." He said in a simpery voice, and then he had pressed the blade against Richie's throat.

"STOP!" Ash shouted, still unable to move, and Richie choked out, "Beautiful, I love y-"

But in an instant, Spencer had tilted his head at Ash and in one swift movement, slit Richie's throat.

She gasped, letting out a scream. "No!"

Richie's body crumpled to the ground, and Spencer looked up, an insane smile stretched across his face as he slowly neared her, the blade glinting in the faint light and-

Ash shot up, a hysterical shout bursting from her mouth as her body shook with sobs and she clutched her face in her hands.

This had been happening ever since she came back to Derry; ever since she had seen Spencer Allen standing by the bike racks.

She swiped at the tears streaming down her face and tried to breathe, shaky gasps coming out of her mouth, and knew she had to call someone.

She couldn't go back to sleep on her own.

Ash shakily got up from the bed, and went downstairs, getting ready to dial Richie's number when she stopped.

She couldn't call Richie. He couldn't know about this.

She concentrated, biting her lip, and then slowly dialed someone else, answering when they picked up, "Hey, c-can you come over?"

A few minutes later, a knock sounded at the door and Ash shot towards it, opening it.

There stood Mike Wheeler, in sweatpants and a white tshirt, his hair rumpled and his eyes wide.

"'Ley? What is it, are you-"

Ash felt tears slide once again down her cheeks as she threw her arms around him, and he immediately hugged her, closing the door behind him as he gently led her away from it and to the living room couch.

"Hey, calm down. Just breathe." He said softly, and he slowly lifted her arms from his body as he took her hands in his, gently rubbing her fingers until Ash calmed, swallowing hard.

"I've been having night terrors." She said thickly. "For the past couple of weeks, I've had them, and tonight I had one about Richie- and I can't tell him because I don't want to fuck him up and- and-"

She dissolved into more sobs, and Mike gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close to him.

"It's okay, 'Ley, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Just try to sleep, alright? I'll be right here."

And Ash listened to the sound of his heart and breathed in and out, wiping at her eyes and gently resting her head in his arms as he held her, and slowly sank into a restless sleep.