More Than The Upside Down - An IT (2017) & Stranger Things Crossover

Regret

Stan

Stan was the first one to wake up after the group's nap. He slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Richie holding Eddie close to his chest, completely awake but serene. Richie acknowledged him with a slight nod. He stood up and began to stretch his aching legs.

He was beginning to worry about Mike, Eleven, Dustin and Lucas now. They had all been gone for a while now and Stan was starting to think that they had been taken, or something worse. He shook his head, his curls bumping into his eyes as he pushed those thoughts out of his head. They would be back soon, somehow.

Stan's gut began to roil in disbelief, causing the middle section of his body to pinch, but something distracted him from the sensation. He began to feel light-headed and lose control of his feet as he stumbled back. The feeling of falling overwhelmed him as he slammed onto the floor.

"Stanny!" Richie cried out. "Holy shit, are you okay?"

Stan began to taste something salty and thick in his mouth as his lip flared with pain. His head ached as he grumbled back, "I guess."

Richie shouting had roused the others from their sleep, but something woke them up even more. A loud banging began on the basement door, startling all of them.

"Open the door!" The Chief's voice called through the door.

Stan looked around at the others hesitantly, nervous about what the outcome of opening the door could lead to.

"Guys!" Mike's voice yelled out. "Open the door for us."

Stan saw Richie quickly dismantle himself from Eddie's embrace and run to the door. The Chief, Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Eleven spilled into the basement with their eyes darting to Stan on the floor.

Dustin rushed over to Stan, helping him up, "Oh shit, you okay man? What happened?"

He rubbed his head, wincing in the process, "I'm alright, I was just feeling light-headed."

"Are you kidding me? You fucking tripped over nothing!" Richie retorted.

"Well, at least I didn't shapeshift into weird ass shit and try to kill my friends!" Stan snapped back at him.

That obviously struck a sensitive nerve within Richie, as he quickly shut up. Out of all the years that Stan had known the boy, this was the first time that he was actually quiet. This made him realise the impact of his words even more and regret it even further.

"I'm sorry Richie, that was harsh."

Richie shrugged, "It's fine, don't worry about it."

Although Stan knew he should, he felt like an idiot for hurting his friend.

"Wait, shapeshifting?" Dustin asked confusedly.

Stan simply replied, "We'll explain later."

The Chief cut into the conversation, "I hate to interrupt, but we've gotta get out of here and to the Byer's house."

"Will's mother and brother are helping us find him," Mike said.

"And Mike's sister," Dustin added.

"Unfortunately," Mike sighed dramatically at the mention of his sister.

The Chief growled impatiently, "Enough dawdling! Let's go!"

"Okay, Chief," Stan replied hurriedly.

"Just call me Hopper, everybody else does," The Chief said, running up the stairs to the basement.

The kids and Hopper all began to exit Dustin's basement into the cold, night air. They all began to travel to the Byer's house. Unbeknownst to them, that tonight would turn their lives crazier and crazier than it had the past couple of days. Compared to what would happen in the next few hours, the past few days were like a stroll in the park on a summer's day.