02:00
It was now two o'clock in the morning, and Sydney laid awake in her sisters bed. She couldn't sleep after what had happened not hours before, and after seeing her sister she couldn't sleep in her own bed, so she tried to go to sleep in Betty's, but nothing worked.
Her mind was racing, she had seen Betty. She looked alive, like she was really there. But she wasn't. She couldn't have been, that clown couldn't have been real, none of it could have been.
That leper looked exactly like her father before he left, she had no idea what he looked like now, but then the leper disappeared, as if it were never there.
Sydney had been tossing and turning under the covers for hours now, trying to get even an hour of sleep, but nothing worked.
Her mother had fallen asleep on the sofa downstairs, and Sydney had covered her over with a blanket before going to her own room to go to bed. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about that clown.
She let out a heavy sigh, throwing the covers back and standing up. She was in her pyjamas, her rings still on, with a pair of cotton socks which sunk into the soft carpet of her sisters floor.
She left the room, quietly making her way down the stairs, past the kitchen, through the living room, and down the hall to her bedroom, where she sat down on the edge of her bed.
She lifted up her bag, that was still full of her painting supplies, and began taking everything out. That's when she saw it.
A small bracelet at the bottom of her bag.
She placed the bag back down against the side of her bed and took the bracelet out.
It had three layers, and was beaded with small wooden-like beads, with three light pink crystals on each layer, and rose gold beads next to the crystals.
A smile found her lips, Sydney about to slip it on when a loud thud came from the basement. She let out a groan, "Honey, again?"
Honey was the neighbours cat, and she would sometimes sneak into the basement, eventually knocking something over and waking Sydney up.
She placed the bracelet on her bed, standing up and leaving her bedroom, making her way down to the basement without waking her mother.
Sydney used to hate the basement when she was younger, because it terrified her. It was dark, and it always felt like someone was watching her. She wasn't scared of it now, because when she was five she and Betty turned it into their area.
It had multicoloured lights, and a den area made of sheets, painting supplies, a small library area for when Betty would read to her at night, when she was little, they had eventually grown out of it, but it had helped a lot after their father left.
Sydney opened the door to the basement, slowly taking the steps down. "Honey?"
She flicked the light on, which flickered for a moment before it lit the room up dimly. A box was on the floor, presumably what Honey had knocked over, although Sydney could not see the ginger and white cat anywhere.
"Honey?"
She knelt down in front of the box, which had been full of the drawings and paintings she had done when she was younger. She began picking up the pieces of paper, taking quick glances at them while she did so.
She let out a loud gasp when something nuzzled against her leg, but she let out a relieved sigh when she saw Honey rubbing her face against her ankle. "Jesus, you scared me."
Honey just meowed, Sydney letting out a light chuckle.
She turned her attention back to the pictures, although her face fell when she landed on a whole load more.
There was the clown.
It wasn't a very good drawing, but for a five year old it was better then most. There was a drawing of herself, and beside her, holding her hand, was the clown.
The same clown she and Eddie had seen just hours ago.
The same clothes, same hair, same face, same smile.
Everything.
"Oh, my God."
She picked up another painting.
The clown was there too.
And another.
Another.
All of them had the clown.
Every single one.
"Sydney?"
Sydney dropped the paintings, spinning around to see her mother, who still looked very tired. Sydney let out a relieved sigh, running a hand through her hair.
"Hey, mom."
"What are you doing down here?"
"Honey got in again, knocked over a box." She shrugged, her mother nodding as Honey ran up the stairs, nuzzling against her mothers leg.
"What time is it?" Her mother asked, Sydney glancing at the clock hanging on the wall.
03:00
She had been looking at those pictures for an hour, and she hadn't even realised it. "Um, half two, mom."
"Oh, okay, try and get some sleep."
"I will."
Her mother smiled tiredly one last time before going upstairs, Honey staying in the basement with Sydney, who took one of the paintings and folded it up, leaving the others in the box and going back to her room.
~
"Morning." Sydney's mother smiled as the red-head entered the kitchen, taking a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Morning, mom."
"Did Honey go home last night?" She asked, Sydney nodding softly.
"Hey, mom, can I ask you something?" Sydney wondered, taking the picture from the basement and placing it on the counter.
"Anything."
"Who's that?" She pointed to the clown on the page, Sydney's mother letting out a small, tired, chuckle.
"That's Pennywise. Don't you remember?" She smiled, Sydney shaking her head. "He was your imaginary friend when you were little, after your father left, you would always call him Pennywise the Dancing Clown. He was practically your best friend."
Sydney let in a slight gasp, squirming slightly from where she stood. "Thanks, mom." She jumped when the phone began ringing, her mother picking it up and holding it to her ear..
"Hello?"
Sydney took a sip of her drink, staring down at the photo. She remembered everything now, after her father left, she would have dreams about the clown, although he seemed much less frightening back then.
"Syd, it's for you." Her mother handed her the phone, "She says her name is Beverly."
"Oh, thanks." She smiled, taking the phone. "Hey, Bev, what's up?"
"I need your help, it's urgent. Meet me at my apartment in twenty."
"Okay." Sydney nodded, hanging up the phone and grabbing the picture. "I'm going out with my friends, I'll see you later, Mom."
Her mother nodded with a small smile, "Syd, be careful, please."
"Of course, mom, always." She told her, before walking through the living room and into her bedroom.
She tried to put Pennywise at the back of her mind for now, so she could focus on Beverly and what she needed, but after what happened the night before, her mind was racing and her hands hadn't stopped shaking, which her mother had noticed, but didn't say anything.
╓┈♔◦☓◦☙◦◦☙◦☓◦♔┈╖
Sydney dropped her bike just outside the stairs that led up to Beverly's apartment, where she lived with her father. "Syd!" Beverly called, running down the steps.
"Hey, are you okay?" She asked, Beverly nodding with a sigh.
"The others are on their way."
"Oh, okay." Sydney smiled, her mind was still racing from what her mother had told her, and she couldn't focus on anything else at that moment.
Beverly handed her a cigarette, the pair sitting down on the steps and smoking while they waited. About five minutes later, they heard the boys talking down the street.
"No, we gotta go through the alleyway." Stanley's voice echoed.
"The alley takes way too long." Eddie argued.
"No, they alley is so much faster."
Beverly stood up, jogging down the steps and looking over the railing, Sydney following.
"The alley is more dangerous and it's disgusting."
"How is it more dangerous?"
"It smells like piss and it's gross. Just take the side streets for once."
Beverly ran down the steps while Sydney stayed where she was, watching over the railing.
"Oh, my God. The side streets smell the same. They smell like piss and shit."
"Okay, okay. Can you just tell me what she said already?"
"She didn't say anything. She just said that you guys need to hurry over."
"She didn't say anything. Okay. Okay."
The boys reached the small gassy hill, Beverly already down while Sydney stood watching from over the third railing. "You made it. I... I need to show you something."
"What is it?" Ben asked.
"More than we saw at the quarry?" Richie smirked, both Sydney and Beverly rolling their eyes.
"Shut up! Just shut up, Richie." Eddie yelled, "Where's Sydney?"
Beverly pointed upward to the third railing, where Sydney was stood, elbows against the metal and a cigarette between her fingers. She and Eddie shared a look, neither had told anyone about what happened the night before.
"My dad will kill me if he finds out I had boys in the apartment." Beverly breathed.
"Then we'll leave a lookout." Bill stated, "Uh, Richie, s-s-st-stay here."
Eddie, Bill, Stanley, and Ben dropped their bikes to the ground, practically racing up the stairs. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What if her dad comes back?" Richie threw his arms out.
"Do what you always do. Start talking." Stanley called back, before following everyone up the steps. Sydney straightened up, carrying on up the stairs.
"It is a gift!" Richie voiced, just as Sydney entered the apartment. She waited for Beverly and the others, throwing her cigarette over the railing.
Beverly led them through to the hall, where a door stood alone at the end. Sydney was stood beside her, arms crossed over her chest. Everyone had noticed how quiet she had been, and her hands shaking, but they didn't ask, Sydney had a temper, everyone knew that.
"In there." Beverly said, staring at the door at the end of the hall.
"What is it?" Stanley asked, standing behind Sydney as if she were his shield.
"You'll see."
"Are you taking us to your bathroom?" Eddie queried, voice slightly shaky as Beverly and Sydney walked slowly down the hall, the boys following after. "I just want you to know that 89% of the worst accidents in homes are caused in bathrooms. And- and- and, that's where all the bacteria and fungi are and it's not really a sanitary place."
"Eds?" Sydney muttered.
"Yeah?"
"Stop talking."
Sydney slowly pushed open the door to the bathroom, her eyes immediately widening as a gasp escaped her lips.
The bathroom was coated in blood, every corner of the room drenched in the liquid. Blood was everywhere, the bath, the sink, the ceiling, the windows, the mirror. Everywhere.
"I knew it!" Eddie gagged, Sydney placing a hand on his arm. It was only now he noticed the bracelet on her wrist, and a smile immediately formed at his lips, but it fell when he looked back to the bloody bathroom.
"You see it?" Beverly asked.
"Yes." Eddie breathed.
"What... What happened in here?" Stanley wondered.
"My dad couldn't see it. I thought I might be crazy." Beverly muttered, Sydney letting out a breath, hands shaking slightly worse than before.
"Well, if you're crazy, then we're all crazy." Ben sighed, Sydney and Eddie sharing a quick look.
"We c-c-can't leave it like this." Bill said, he and Sydney taking a step forward, and into the blood coated bathroom.
The group shared a look, but in a matter of minutes they were all down and ready cleaning Beverly Marsh's bathroom.
Beverly was cleaning the mirror, Bill cleaning the floor, Ben wiping the walls, Eddie and Sydney draining out the bloody towels, his inhaler held between his lips as he did so, Stanley cleaning the windows, and eventually everyone was helping wipe the floor, bin bags full of blood covered towels they had used to clean.
Sydney took out her bin bag, throwing it into the outside bin and taking off her gloves. She let out a sigh, slowly going into the back pocket of her jeans and pulling out the picture. She stared down at it, as if she was expecting it to change.
"It has a name."