The losers were sat in the 'clubhouse' that Ben had made for them over the summer.
Ben, Beverly, Bill and Mike were sat in a circle on the floor whilst Richie and Eddie were playfully fighting in the small singular hammock. And of course, Stanley was sat in the furthest corner away from everyone with his nose stuck in a book about birds.
"B-But hows it work" Bill stuttered curiously at the tanned boy across from him.
"Well, I heard that from this guy that works at my grandpas farm that, we have to sit in a circle and all call the person to our left. Then a random phone will ring and the person the phone belongs to answers and asks the 'answerman' a question and in return he asks them one." Mike replied with fascination in his words.
"WE HAVE TO DO IT!" the only girl in the group called out almost leaping to her feet.
"The only problem is, afterwards, we have to burn our phones" mike continued
Richie spoke up from his and Eddies corner of the room, "This piece of junk I'd happily burn, it'll give me a reason to get a new one"
Richie stood up with a smirk on his face and faced Eddie.
"DON'T look at me like that chee, you must be fucking mad if you think I'm going to join. Do you know what would happen if it's real! We could get cursed, or possessed or...or-" Eddie rushed his words but it only made Richie smile wider and start walking slowly towards the latter.
"DO NOT FUCKING TOUCH ME"
However, Richie being Richie didn't listen and grabbed the small boys wrist and dragged him towards the losers. Stan and Bev exchanged knowing looks as the two boys sat on the beige-carpet floor, Eddie and Stan had insisted they buy some carpet the first time they ever laid eyes on the hidden room.
"You can let go of my wrist now Trashmouth"
"How do I know you won't try to run away Eds"
"You just have to trust me"
Richie scoffed but began to move his hand away slowly, in case Eddie tried to run away.
"S-s-stan are you joi-jo-joining?" Bill stuttered
"I don't know guys, it sounds sketchy to me." Stanley said putting a bookmark in his book as he drew his attention to the losers, his eyes met bills. Without another word, he stood up and joined the circle on the ground. Everyone questioned it but no one dared to ask him out loud. It wasn't worth feeling the wrath of Stanley Uris.
"Okay everyone, you just need to call the person to your left and place your phone on the floor. But DO NOT have it on speakerphone" Mike instructed.
The losers did as they were told and waited patiently for something to happen, well most of them waited patiently.
"I'm boreeddddddddddd" Richie whined
"Maybe if you shut the fuck up the-" Stan was cut off by an obnoxious ringtone of birds tweeting. Stan lowered his head to see his phone ringing.
"Of course it's mine" he sighed picking up the phone.
"remember don't have it on speakerphone and ask him a question first" mike reminded.
Stan nodded as he accepted the call with a shaky hand.
"H-hello" Stan begun when there was no reply, he remembered he had to ask a question "wait, so can I ask you anything?"
"Yes." The answerman replied, his voice wasn't lifeless and chilling like he had expected. It was calm and somewhat peaceful, which made stan feel more relaxed and comfortable.
"However that was a question so now it is my turn to ask a question" the answer man continued
"fuck" Stan mumbled under his breath
"Why did you agree to play?" As the answerman spoke his voice darkened and sent shivers through Stans body.
Stan hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Because of bill." An awkward silence filled the room as the Answerman let out a breathy laugh which set off a fire in Stans head. "But you already knew that, didn't you. You just wanted me to say it and confess in front of the losers. In front of my friends. In front of... him" As Stan said the word him his eyes met with Bills. Silence filled the room once more except this time there was no breathy laugh, only curious stares and the noise of the call ending.
"What the fuck does that mean" Richie joked to ease away the tension in the room.
"Yeah, what's because of me?" Bill curiously asked.
Stanley looked down as tears formed in his eyes, he blinked rapidly to keep them from running down his face. He couldn't cry, not today, not in front of the losers.
Beverly put a reassuring hand on his back, "It's okay, you don't have to tell us"
"Thanks bev" he whispered over the lump in his throat.
Before anyone else could say anything, there was another ringtone. This time the ringtone wasn't Birds but instead the classic theme song of an old arcade game, Street Fighter.
"Ah fuck" Richie chuckled lightly as he answered the phone. He paused for a moment to think of a question.
"So tell me answerdude, what's your intentions here?" Richie said with a smirk thinking he had outsmarted him.
"To make you all confess your secrets" Richies smirk quickly dropped as worry took over. "So tell me Richard, what's your dirty little secret?"
"I..." he took a deep breath "have a crush"
"How discreet. I bet you're pretty proud of yourself for thinking of that but don't worry. I'll be back"
Richie gulped as the line went dead once again. He didn't dare lift his attention to the losers, although he could still feel their stares on the side of his face.
There was another ringtone, this one unlike the rest, it was simple yet upbeat. It belonged to Eddie Kaspbrack. He started at the blaring screen on the ground but didn't move to pick it up. He was frozen in a trance, he could hear the losers screaming at him to pick it up. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. The losers were getting anxious as worry filled all of their heads of what would happen if they didn't answer. Beverly didn't want to stick around to find out, she reached over to the phone and answered without thinking twice.
"How do you know what we are afraid of?" She spoke in a calming yet stern tone.
"I'm the answerman, I know all" he chuckled as he said it.
what the fuck is so funny She wondered to herself in annoyance.
"Have you ever tried to kill yourself" He asked. Unfortunately for Eddie, the answerman knew this was Beverly and he was determined to use this to his advantage.
"No! Of course not!" She replied in shock
"This isn't your question Beverly. Give the phone to Edward." The way he said their names made Beverly want to run away and take a shower. However she obliged.
This time the answerman didn't ask the same question, "Do you love richie"
The short boy looked over at the trashmouth. They held eye contact as Eddie spoke the word "Yes"
The line went dead once again.
"Are you okay?!? Do you need help?!? I can take you to therapy if you want!" Beverly blurred out in panic. Due to the answerman, Beverly thought her short asthmatic friend was suicidal.
She didn't know how to react.
She wanted to help.
She didn't know she was being tricked.
"Really Bev? I know I'm not perfect but therapy? FUCKING THERAPY?!?" Eddie storms over to the ladders and angrily climbs them.
Thoughts were spinning in Beverlys head. She uncrossed her legs and stood up in a fast movement before she could run after him, Mike grabs her wrist.
"I think you're the last person he wants to see right now"
The words felt like daggers being pushed slowly into her heart but she gave an understanding nod and sat back down, crossed-legged on the floor.
"Richie, you should go" Mike continued adverting his attention to the latter.
"Me?" Richie asked taken back a bit, Stan rolled his eyes before Mike continued, "Trust me Richie"
Richie nodded and followed the boys earlier footsteps out the clubhouse.
After a few minutes, the two boys were back in the clubhouse.
"Thank god, you're back. We need your help, Somethings wrong with mike." Ben speaks hurriedly to the two boys. They drift their gaze to mike.
His chocolate brown eyes now replaced with unsettling full-covered white eyes. And blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He points a shaky finger at Stan, "he doesn't know how to communicate" his finger moves to Bill, "it's his fault". Then at Ben, "he wrote the poem". Then at Bev, "she killed her dad". Then at Eddie, "Does your precious mommy know your secret". Richie looks at Eddie, "What does that mean?" Eddie starts to hyperventilate and before he knows it. He punches mike in the face. Hard.
Bill holds him back, "E-eddie! Th-that's not m-mike! His mind is all messed up!"
Despite being punched, he continues. His shaky finger finally pointing at Richie, "I saved the best for last" he chuckled before continuing, "such a train wreck. Doesn't even know who he is. Pathetic. He hides behind bad humour and fake smiles because in reality he knows the truth will kill him" Once he's finished speaking, he passes out on the floor.
Stan runs over to Mikes passed out body and checks his pulse. Still beating. He gives the group a reassuring nod and they all let out a breath of relief.
Suddenly they all begin questioning Richie asking what Mike was talking about, everyone apart from Eddie.
"Will everybody give me some fucking space" He barges past them and clambers into the hammock picking up his latest comic book.
"R-richie" Eddie stutters
Richie doesn't look up from his comic, "You're not Bill"
Eddie sighed and sat down on the edge of the hammock.
"Why will the truth kill you?"
"It doesn't matter"
"Well it obviously does, if it will kill you"
"It doesn't, okay? So can you just fucking drop it" Richie said looking up from his comic.
There was a moment of silence as Richie went back to his comic.
"No I won't fucking drop it"
"Eddie..." richie tensed up as he closed the comic slowly. Eddie tried to hold back the tears, his name is Eds not Eddie.
"Why are you so afraid to tell me" Eddie spoke softly not letting the tears flow.
"Why do you care it's my secret not yours. You won't tell me what yours is so why the fuck should I tell you mine"
Richie rarely shouted, he normally avoided serious topics. He made jokes instead, Eddie badly wanted to hear a joke right now.
"You're acting like an idiot" Eddie began hoping to get a joke out of him.
"You're acting like a-"
please say a joke
"Like a-a"
say a joke.
"Like a quirky little faggot?" Richie finished eddies sentence snarling a little on the word faggot.
Not that joke.
"Fuck you" Eddie walked off.
Richie saw red.
He charged at eddie and stopped in front of him. Blocking Eddie from walking off again. He clenched his right fist and pulled it back over his shoulder, ready to punch Eddie. He stared Eddie dead in the eyes then thrusted his fist forward. Before they made contact, a hand griped around his wrist pulling him back.
The hand belonged to a pale boy with spaghetti hair, a perfect round face which was normally hidden behind a book about birds. Stanley Uris.
Richie didn't turn to see who the hand belonged to he kept his gaze on a slightly shocked but mainly angry Eddie.
If Richie did turn around he would see the losers watching the events unfold with worry and discomfort in their eyes.
"Was you going to fucking hit me?!?" Eddie spoke with a sharp tone in his words.
Richie ragged his hand out of Stanley's grip and took a step closer to the small boy, glaring down at him.
"Get the fuck away from me" Eddie shouted in fear as he pushed Richie back, causing the latter to stumble a little.
"Oh, I'm sorry I forgot you might catch my disease" Richie snarled as he put his hands up in an 'I surrender' stance.
"The jokes not funny dipshit"
"Really, cause I thought it was pretty fucking funny"
"I get it okay? So you can stop now"
"You GET it? You don't GET it at all"
"I'm sorry that I'm not a straight A student like you but I see how my mother makes me dress and I hear the rumours around school but that-"
"-But that doesn't make it true? Yeah, I got that message when you went all homophobic on me"
"-But that doesn't mean you can make a joke about it! And me? Homophobic! That's wrong on so many levels"
Richie let out a scoff.
"What is so funny!" Eddie shouted
"You."
"What about me?" Eddie crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow slightly offended.
"You're not homophobic, really. You told me to fuck off after I told you I was gay! That sounds homophobic to me"
"Wait... what?"
Richie searched Eddies puzzled face for a quick moment before Eddie continued, "I thought you was making fun of me because you said quirky little faggot. And I'm little and quirky and..."
Eddie gulped and lowered his head, unable to say the word.
Richies soft clammy hands pressed against Eddies chin and raised his head to meet his eyes. It was different this time, it wasn't a death glare like earlier instead it was... nice.
They leaned in slowly and soon enough, their lips brushed against each other. It was soft and sweet.
They returned back to gazing into each other's eyes, "my secret was that I love you" Richie spoke in a quiet hush as he leaned back in to kiss Eddie.
Unlike the last time, this was longer it was more passionate but still soft.
"Mine too"