.: Friday I'm In Love :|: Reddie :.

The Dancing Clown

Eddie was extremely nervous. He had sent Richie ahead of him so Parker wouldn't see him in the house. Of course, Parker didn't know where Eddie lived, so there was no way he could know the house belonged to Richie, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Parker could turn the trip right around if he found out Richie was going to be there.

When Parker knocked on the door, he had to force himself to steady his breathing. He had dressed purposefully kinda slummy, wearing a baggy sweatshirt (although it wasn't Richie's, so it wasn't hanging off of his shoulder) and a pair of jeans with some old converse. He had saved up and bought a new pair of frames for his glasses cheap at CVS, and although they weren't perfect, they looked as close to the same as the old ones as he could get. They were settled on his nose when he opened the door, avoiding Parker's eyes and stuttering out his greeting and keeping his head down.

"Hey, Eds. Come on, the front seat is empty. Georgie and Bella are in the back." Parker held the door for him as if he were a gentleman, but Eddie knew better. He opened the car door himself before Parker could reach for it and got in, nearly jumping out of his skin when Parker closed it for him instead. He buckled his seat belt and turned in his seat to smile a real smile at Georgie and Bella.

"Hi, guys. Are you excited?" To his surprise, Georgie was looking extremely pale. He looked anything but excited. He looked terrified. But Bella was too busy talking about the different things to do once they got there to notice. Eddie frowned a little bit, but glanced at the girl, listening to her as she read off the different events from her phone.

"There's so much stuff we could do there," she announced as Parker pulled out of the driveway. "They've got tons of shows with acrobats and tightrope walkers. There's a petting zoo, and a bunch of circus games obviously where you can win prizes." She scrolled down a little bit, and her eyes lit up with sudden excitement. "There's a whole show dedicated to this one clown. It says that he was gone for a while, and now he's returning. He's supposed to be a big hit."

"Hey, that sounds really cool!" Parker said suddenly, and Eddie flinched at the volume of his voice. He got a strange, hot feeling in his chest. It felt kinda like fear, but he wasn't sure what he was afraid of.

"Yeah, it says he's one of those silent acts, but he dances, so I guess that's kinda cool. I'm sure it's a silly dance. Plus, you don't have to pay extra to see the show, so that's a good deal." She shrugged, making an indifferent face. Georgie had gone from pale to an ashy gray color. Eddie was starting to get nervous. What was going on? The car stopped suddenly, and they were there. He got out of the car, along with the other three. He spotted the entrance and headed over, leading the pack. He pulled out his wallet only to feel a hand grasp his and pull it down.

"Nonsense, Eds. I've got this covered." Parker flashed what he seemed to think was a winning smile, but Eddie just pulled his hand away, stomach knotting uncomfortably. Bella was holding Eddie's hands as they payed for their entrance and headed into the fair grounds.

"Um.. Bella, did the page say what the name of the clown from that show was?" Georgie asked. Parker chose now to glance over his shoulder, and his eyes widened in surprise then darkened in anger. Eddie wasn't smiling anymore. He averted his eyes, looking instead at the two younger children. Bella hesitated, pulling her phone out.

"Something about dancing, I think. Kind of a mouthful." She typed something into her search bar and pulled it up.

"Why does it matter what his name is?" Parker interrupted, grabbing her phone out of her hand. She gasped, and tried to grab it back, but he held it up above his head. Eddie tensed, but Bella glanced at him and shook her head slightly. "We'll figure out his name when we go to see it! It's at sundown, anyway." Eddie rubbed his arms awkwardly, glancing around in search of Richie. He hadn't spotted the boy yet. They headed into the maze of fair games, and he wondered if he could get away with a 'bathroom break' so he could go find the boy.