BLOODY BATHROOM
june 1989
When Dawn made friends, which wasn't often, she swore to always be there for them, no matter what. That's how she found herself biking along the streets of Derry next to Richie Tozier at 8 in the morning.
"Remind me again by we're going to Beverley's?" The young boy asked, still in his clothes from the previous day.
Dawn shrugged, her sunglasses giving her a dull expression. The bandana she tied on her head masked her messy curls she didn't have time to style that morning, the loose shirt and mom jeans she threw on last-second complimenting her figure perfectly. Richie couldn't help but steal glances at the young girl he had grown to admire.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing," He blushed, facing the front and keeping is eyes on where they were headed.
They eventually met up with the other losers on the main road, greeting each other quickly before peddling to the apartment complex.
"She didn't say anything, she just said we need to hurry over," Stan bickered with Eddie, setting their bikes down on the grass as their redheaded friend ran to them.
"You made it. I- I need to show you something," Beverley smoke quickly, wiping her sweaty hands on her denim shorts.
"What is it?"
"More than we saw at the quarry?" Richie laughed.
"Shut up! Just shut up Richie."
Beverley sighed, "My dad will kill me if he finds out I had boys in the apartment."
"W-we'll leave a lookout," Bill replied quickly, always the quick thinker, "Richie s-s-stay-stay here."
Richie raised his arms in protest, watching everyone run up the several flights of stairs, "Woah Woah Woah, what if her dad comes back?"
"Do what you always do. Start talking," yelled Stan, following the group to the apartment.
"It is a gift!" The blind boy called out to no one, defeated.
.....
The green door stood ominously at the end of the short hallway, cracked open slightly. Beverly stopped in her tracks.
"In there."
"What is it?" Stan wondered aloud.
Beverley gulped, "You'll see."
Dawn stepped forward cautiously, looking back to see her friends following her tracks. They listened to Eddie ramble on about how bathrooms are the least sanitary places, covered in bacteria and fungi. Bill pushed the door lightly, swinging it open to reveal what looked like a normal room doused in paint. But they could smell the foul stink and the metallic taste intruded their tastebuds. The entire bathroom was covered in blood. Bright red blood.
"I knew it," Eddie gagged, turning around, hoping to unsee the sight before him,
"You see it too?" Beverley questioned the group.
"Bev, I think a blind man would be able to see this."
"Yes," Ben breathed.
The losers shot questions at Beverly while Dawn stepped onto the slippery tiles, her white converse squeaking on top of the blood, "We have to clean it."
Her bucket of water had turned a maroon color as she dipped the bloody cloth into it, scrubbing every drop of red off the yellow walls. Dawn had thought about helping Ben clean the floor but decided against it, being the only one with long pants on. The group of unlikely friends wiped down every lost inch of the room, refusing to leave until it was completely done. Eddie, Ben, Stan, and Dawn made the walk down the stairs to the dumpsters, throwing out black trash bags filled with paper towels, empty cleaning products, and rubber gloves while Bill and Bev finished cleaning.
.....
"No, I love being your personal doorman," Richie exclaimed sarcastically, riding around the group in circles, "Really, could you idiots have taken any longer?"
"Alright. Shut up, Richie."
"Yeah, shut up, Richie!" Stan joined with Eddie, hoping the chatterbox would listen to them.
"I see how it is! Trash the trash mouth, I get it. Hey, I wasn't the one scrubbing the bathroom floor and imagining that her sink went all Eddie's mom's vagina on Halloween."
Bill defended the girl, tired of Richie's input, "She didn't imagine it. I s-s-saw ss-something too."
He stopped walking, the rest of the group pausing to look at the stuttering boy.
"You saw blood too?" Stan asked, confused about the whole situation.
"Not blood," He shook his head, "I saw gg-g-g-Georgie. It seemed so real. It looked like him but there was this ...."
"A clown," Eddie finished Bill's sentence, not daring to look at the other losers, "Yeah. I saw him too."
Ben and Stan both nodded when Bill looked at them, confirming his suspicions.
"Wait. Can only virgins see this stuff? Is that why Dawn and I aren't seeing this shit?" Richie broke the somber mood.
"Richie, you had your first kiss last night, shut up," Dawn responded snarkily before realizing what she said, clapping her hand over her big mouth, "I mean, what?"
"Oh shit, that's Belch Huggins car. We should probably get out of here."
"Yeah, and talk about Richie's first kiss with Eddie's mom," Stan chuckled.
Bill pointed to the trees, "Wait. Isn't that the homeschooled kids bike?"
"Yeah, that's Mikes," Dawn confirmed.
Beverly glance around the group, "We have to help him."
"We should?"
"Yes!" She snapped, dropping her bike onto the road and running through the forest.
The rest of the group followed her actions, Stan staying back a second to kick his stand up.
Henry Bowers stood over the kid, stomping his head into the rocks while his goons encouraged the whole act. Dawn stood at the edge of the river, horrified at the act playing out in front of her.
"Get up!" The monstrous teen yelled, scaring the life out of poor Mike. He obeyed, pushing himself up on shaky arms, only to be kicked in the head by Belch. Henry threw him again, fighting the arms Mike held out in an attempt to force the boy off him. He moved his knees to either side of the orphan's head, pinning him down while he grabbed a rock, holding it above them both, ready to strike down at any moment. A similar rock sailed through the air, knocking Bowers off Mike.
Beverly stood next to Dawn, the hand that lobbed the stone having limp beside her.
"Nice throw," Stan complimented, out of breath from sprinting through the woods.
Mike saw the opportunity to escape and took it, diving across the stream in order to reach Dawn's outreached arms. The losers all picked up rocks to use as weapons, standing up straight against the bullies. Dawn assisted Mike as he crawled, hoisting him up onto the ledge. The bottom half of her jeans were wet, as were her white shoes, but she didn't mind. They would dry when she rode her bike anyways.
"You losers are trying too hard, she'll do you. You just gotta ask nicely, like I did," Henry taunted, grabbing this groin through his pants.
"Leave her alone!" Dawn shouted, standing in front of her friends.
Henry laughed mockingly, "And when did little Martinez grow a voice? Did Patrick finally force one into yo-"
His menacing words were cut off by a rock to the face, thrown by none other than Ben Hanscom. Dawn thanked him quietly, glad he was there for his friends, before pegging another at the bully's head. He ducked, trying to dodge the stones and grabbing two off the floor for himself.
"Rock war!" Richie yelled, immediately getting hit by Bowers.
This initiated a series of events in which the losers club, now with an additional member, and their bullies try to take one another down with rocks. Eddie jumped into the murky water, splashing Dawn as she dropped down next to him. They chucked rocks across the river, striking the group as they moved closer.
"Fuck you, bitch!" Belch yelled, taking a hit.
Belch and Vitor end up running away, leaving Henry behind on the rocks. The losers club stood still, glaring at the boy with blood on his face. Stan helped pull Dawn and Eddie out of the water, who immediately went to tend to Mike and get him to their bikes.
"Go blow your dad you mullet-wearing asshole!" Dawn heard Richie yell.
The losers trodded through the valley. Dawn had taken her shoes off, hoping she wouldn't be sick from the water, and threw them over her shoulder, holding the laces. She could feel her jeans starting to dry and wrinkle, but it was fine. At least they had saved Mike.
"Thanks, guys, but you didn't have to do that," His limp was already starting to fade, you could see him stop wincing when he put pressure on it, "He'll be after you too now."
"Oh, Bowers?" Eddie laughed, "He's always after us."
Bill walked behind Eddie, turning to face Mike, "I guess that's one t-t-t-thing we all have in common."
Richie called out from the back, walking in step with Dawn, "Hey Homeschool, welcome to the losers club!"
"Hold on, didn't Richie have his first kiss yesterday?" Beverley reminded the group, nudging him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, but Eddie can just tell you guys tomorrow," Richie pointed, "After he asks him mom how it was!"
"Shut up, Richie."
.....
this one is written better than the others so I might rewrite them, but ill think about it. (12/04/20)