DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC'S!

A/N: *game show host voice* Ladies and gentlemen, it's time... for the epic return... of... HERMIONE ROMANOFF!

So... uh... Hi, guys. I know it's been absolutely FOREVER since I've updated... ANYTHING, really. It's just, with the passing of my dad and schoolwork due to coronavirus that I wasn't motivated to write at all. But, here I am with a new update! Eleventh chapter, and the Neibolt scene is about to take place! WOO-HOO! I do believe it isn't the best chapter of them all, but I think it turned out pretty well!

AND JUST YOU WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER! NO SPOILERS, THOUGH!

robinmuffins: Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the Halloween references! Also, be looking out for a few subtle IT novel references here! ;) And I'm glad you love Stemily blossoming!

SuperSentai199: Thanks! And just read this to find out! :D

.2020: Thank you!

10868letsgo: Thank you for the kind words.

Angryfanfic: Thank you.

ZabuzasGirl: Thanks! And here is the update!

MusicLover14rd: THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! That's all I need to say!

Special thanks to robinmuffins, SuperSentai199, .2020, 10868letsgo, Angryfanfic, ZabuzasGirl, MusicLover14rd, MitsukoDoki, yorukakusaku, HadrianSlytherinPeverell, and ArkhamAsylumPatient for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!

Now, without further ado, here is the eleventh and LONG AWAITED chapter!

Why does the sun go on shining?

Why does the sea rush to shore?

Don't they know it's the end of the world?

'Cause you don't love me anymore

Chapter Eleven: Emily Boleyn Gets a Fright

As Emily watched Bill, Richie, and Eddie enter Neibolt house with petrified looks on their faces, a part of her wanted to follow close behind so she could protect them. But, after a desperate plea from Stan and after she saw tears in his eyes, Emily reluctantly stayed outside with him, Beverly, Ben, and Mike. And she was now sitting on the broken front steps of the house, wringing her hands together nervously, something that was becoming a very bad habit for her now.

Taking trembling breaths, Emily finally stood up after a while, running a hand over her face; she adjusted her glasses a little just in time to see Beverly put her hand over Ben's that was resting on her shoulder. The smallest of smiles appeared on her face, but it was gone in an instant when she saw that Stan was crying and Mike was attempting to comfort him.

This sight made her eyes well up with tears as she took slow and hesitant steps towards him. Each sob Stan let out made her heart break even more as she heard them bounce off the walls of her eardrums, and it took everything in her not to let out a cry of anguish and mercy. Instead, she shared a look with Mike, silently telling him that she could handle it; the colored boy nodded and went to check on Ben and Beverly. Emily gulped, gently taking Stan's face into her hands, and met his beautiful sienna eyes and giving him the most reassuring look she could offer to him.

Emily's hands on Stan's face made his heart race but he began to calm down as he stared back into her chocolate brown eyes. He barely resisted the burning desire to have his lips brush against hers, since he knew very well that now wasn't the time for that; this was especially considering that their friends could be watching them and the situation they were currently in wasn't particularly romantic in the slightest.

"I'm very scared," he said, his hands covering hers in a very delicate manner. The feeling of Emily brushing his tears away with her thumbs drove him crazy, but he kept his composure quite easily. "That's why I didn't want you to go inside… I don't want to see you get hurt. Do… Do you understand what I mean?"

Emily nodded soberly. "I do… and I don't want to see you get hurt as well."

"Stay here," Stan said. "Please… stay out here with us. With me. I don't want to see you in danger…. I care about you too much for that…"

"I will," Emily said. She took Stan into her arms and hugged him tightly; it was the first real hug she had ever shared with the boy she liked, and she wanted to treasure it more than anything. Emily had not realized how easily her arms would go around him, how thin he was. But she could care so much less right now. She could feel his heart racing under his shirt; she could feel it next to hers and it made her own skip multiple beats as she fell in love with the feeling.

She could feel Stan calming down in her arms as his breathing eased while she held him, and she ran his hands over his back, feeling him shiver under her touch. She kept whispering to him that it was okay, and he would just nod his head as she pulled him closer to her. Stan was gently rubbing Emily's arm; despite the nervousness of the situation she and the others were in, her heart fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against his. The world around her temporarily melted away as she felt his protective arms embracing her.

Stan, meanwhile, was focused on the sensation of Emily's arms wrapped around his neck as he tentatively put his own around her waist. His face was buried in the crook of her neck as he relished how gentle she was being with the hug; it only made him hold her small form even tighter in his embrace. If this was the closest contact he would ever get with the girl he was unknowingly falling for, then so be it. He would die a happy man if that was the case. It made him desperate to not let her go, but he eventually had to.

So, after what seemed like millions of years, the two finally broke apart and shared a look that could say so much in a few seconds. Emily pressed her forehead against Stan's, her eyes still locked onto his in order to provide him more comfort. It slowly, but surely, worked and it made Emily pull back from the boy she had a crush on; despite this, she took both of his hands into hers and squeezed them gently. This made him give her a small smile in return but it didn't last for long.

Emily mustered up the courage to turn around after a while to look back at the house; it finally resonated in her just how silent it was all around them. She stared up at the dilapidated building that stood in front of her in an intimidating manner. The biggest chill ran up and down her spine when she saw the broken windows and the rotting wood, and Stan noticed, putting a hand on her back and rubbing his thumb over her shirt and she slowly relaxed. But it was the way that the house was crooked and tilted to the side that greatly unnerved her. She had the same bad feeling in her heart that she did when she first encountered It those few weeks before today.

She knew that something about this house was more terrible than anything she could have ever imagined. But she felt more curious than anything as she examined the lawn where only weeds seemed to grow, surrounding the property of 29 Neibolt Street.

The windows look like eyes, Emily thought, and her hand reached for Stan's behind her. She held it for luck and comfort. They look like dirty blind eyes. And it stinks. I can smell It - but not with my nose, not exactly. This is one of Its places, all right. One of the places like the storm drains, where It goes out and comes back in. And It knows we're out here. It's waiting for us to come in.

"You okay?" Stan asked quietly.

Emily nodded.

"We should… look around the house and make sure nothing happens," she suggested afterwards. She admitted to herself that she was a little too scared to do this, but hey; someone had to be brave and she would willingly take that role of temporary leader. When the others nodded, although they were hesitant, Emily took a trembling breath and tried to wipe the perspiration off of her hands and onto her jean shorts.

"Okay," she murmured. "Um… Bev and I will take this side." As she said this, Stan gave her a worried look that told her that it wasn't a good idea; in return, she silently told him that it was okay and he slowly nodded, although he was afraid to. Right before she turned to walk with Bev, Emily took Stan's hand in hers one more time and offered a reassuring squeeze and she leaned forward and planted a light kiss on his cheek. She smiled at his furious blush before following Beverly to the left side of the lawn, Ben tagging along with them as Mike and Stan went to the other side.

"God, this place gives me the creeps," Beverly said softly. Emily nodded in agreement, as did Ben.

Twenty-nine Neibolt Street had once been a trim red Cape Cod. Maybe, Emily thought, an engineer used to live there; a fellow who would come home once or twice a month for stretches of three to four days and who would, on windy nights, think about the Girl He Left Behind. This fact disturbed her even more than she thought it would.

Now the red paint had faded to a wishy-washy pink that was peeling away in ugly patches that looked like sores. The windows were blind eyes, boarded up. Most of the shingles were gone. Weeds grew down both sides of the house and strewn across the lawn were a crop of old dandelions. A high board fence to her left lurched drunkenly in and out of the dank shrubbery. About halfway down this fence, Emily could see a giant grove of sunflowers; they had a bloated, nasty look she didn't like. The young girl shivered.

Ben noticed this and patted her on the back as a form of comfort, making her turn her head and give him the smallest of smiles, and he was barely able to return it. Emily subconsciously held out both of her hands and both Beverly and Ben took them and held them tightly. But, just as they did this, the brown-haired girl heard the faintest of whispers and she knew well that the voice did not belong to either of her friends.

"I hope they'll be okay inside," Emily said quietly despite this, closing her eyes for a moment as she took several deep breaths. Beverly nodded her head, basically saying that she was praying the same thing.

"Emily… oh, Emily…"

Emily froze in her tracks, her hair standing on the nape of her neck as she felt goosebumps erupt on her arms. She refused to turn around, knowing it could have been a trick or just something she heard in her head. But Bev and Ben noticed her halt in movements, and they turned around to give her concerned looks. They didn't say anything but it was clear that they were wondering what was wrong. Emily just shook her head at them, shrugging, when she heard it again.

"Time to float, Emily…"

And just as she heard it, she felt something tickle her ankles; she twitched at the feeling, but only assumed it was the weeds at first. She was about to move forward again when she felt it again, but it worried her this time.

"What is it, Em?" inquired Ben in a concerned voice. Emily didn't answer, instead slowly looking down at her feet, starting to shiver in a negative way when she finally saw the source of what she felt. Her eyes widened to the point that they were nearly bugging out of her skull as her heartbeat kicked into overdrive; afterwards, she looked back up at the others and she gulped.

"Guys," she whimpered, her breathing entering and leaving her lungs in haggard and forced breaths. Her two best friends looked down just in time to see two white-gloved hands wrapped around Emily's ankles.

Just then, Emily let out the loudest scream any human being could ever hear as the hands gave a fierce tug. She was on the ground in seconds, being pulled away from Beverly and Ben faster than she could have thought. Her hands clawed at the dirt, some of it gathering under her fingernails. She screamed even more just as she heard the panicked yells of Stan and Mike fill her ears, and this only made her shrieks louder.

She felt her left thigh scrape a rock on the ground and she let out a cry of pain. Just as she felt her legs enter a hole, however, Emily thought quickly and snatched her pocket knife out; she flicked it open and stabbed the blade into the ground, believing it could hold her in place long enough for the others to help her. To her shock, it worked, especially when the blade was stopped by a rock, keeping her out of the hole that she was certain was filled with death.

"EMILY!" Stan screamed in terror, immediately grabbing her hands with his own and making failed attempts to pull her out of the hands of It. He yelled in frustration, complete horror filling his heart at the fact that Emily could possibly die right here. That, combined with the girl's screams of desperation, made him even more determined to save her, his fear of the entity in the very back of his mind for the time being.

"GUYS, I NEED HELP!" he bellowed, his hands tightening around Emily's as he saw the other three come to his aid immediately. He grit his teeth in anger as he pulled Emily again. "LET HER GO!" he cried out in fury. "LET GO OF HER! GIVE HER BACK!"

Beverly saw Emily's pocket knife buried into the ground and tore it out of her grip; screaming, she lunged forward and stabbed the clown's arm with the blade, causing the demon to groan in pain. "LET OUR FRIEND GO!" she screeched angrily, bringing the knife down again and into Pennywise's shoulder, making It howl in agony before finally letting go of Emily's ankles.

As soon as Emily was free, she scrambled away from the large hole and began shrieking like a madwoman. She was almost entirely covered with dirt and her left thigh was slightly bleeding; Stan caught glimpses of the handprints on the girl's ankles and winced as he tried to comfort her. Tears were streaming down her red cheeks as she cried hysterically. "I don't wanna be here!" she yelled dozens and dozens of times. "I wanna go home!" What the others didn't know was that when she said 'home,' she meant that she wanted to be back in Indiana during those years where her father wasn't abusive towards her. She would take that torture a million times over what she had just gone through.

"Em, it's okay! We're here!" Stan assured her, begging for her to calm down as he had his hands on both sides of her face.

"Screw you!" she cried out angrily, making him flinch back, hurt by the insult. "Screw all of you! I WANT TO GO HOME!" Everyone reeled back in surprise; it was the most hysterical Emily had ever been since they first met her, and they could have easily mistook her for a patient in a mental hospital. She was screaming so frantically that they needed to hold her to the ground in order to calm her down, and that barely worked. So, Stan resorted to the only mechanism he had left.

He pulled Emily into his arms and cradled her face in his hands. "Emily, look at me!" he pleaded. "Please look at me!" His sienna eyes were desperately searching for her chocolate brown ones and he finally found them as she looked at him, still sobbing and breathing heavily. Her eyes bulged above bruised-looking crescents of skin - shockflesh. After this, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tighter than ever; her hands were trembling, the veins and tendons standing out along the inner surfaces of her wrists and forearms. She pulled away from him and looked around at the others with eyes that were nearly insane. "I'm sorry," she said rapidly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Beverly grabbed Emily by the shoulders and shook her a little to snap her out of her hysteria. Emily's teeth clicked together and she dropped her arms from Stan's neck.

"I'm sorry," Emily said softly, still crying.

"It's okay," Beverly said.

"I'm sorry," Emily said again, her eyes still filled with insanity.

"It's okay. We're -"

"I'm sorry!"

"- here with you, Emily," Beverly said. She looked at the others.

They nodded. And Emily saw this; the delirious glint in her brown eyes slowly faded away once she saw that she was okay and that her friends were right by her side, refusing for her to be hurt. She began taking deep breaths as the tears stopped flowing, but she buried her face in her hands and the oxygen left her quivering lungs as she trembled on the ground. Meanwhile, Stan looked at her, demanding with his eyes that she look back at him.

"It's all okay," Stan said. "We're here. We saved you… I'm here for you…"

"Nothing is okay!" Emily wailed. Sweat stood out on her face in an oily sheen.

"It will be," Stan said in a somewhat stern tone.

Emily looked at the others, one by one. She ran her hands through her long, brown hair and fetched up a great, shuddering sigh. Her eyes seemed to completely clear of that lowering madness that had so disturbed Stan.

"Okay," she said. "It's okay. Is that what you want to hear? Then it's okay… I'm-I'm fine…"

Stan just pulled Emily into a gentle hug, holding her until she was completely calm and sane. He ran a hand over her hair as they rocked back and forth, and he planted kisses in her hair, unbeknownst to her, saying that it would be okay over and over again. She relaxed in his embrace, her fists unclenching as she wiped her tears away, her breathing still a little shaky. She grimaced when she began to feel the pain in her ankles and she saw the bruises all around them.

Emily sighed to herself, more annoyed now as she slowly stood up; Stan had to help her due to the pain in her ankles and she draped an arm around his shoulders.

Just then, Emily began to hear screams coming from inside the house, which made her perk up instantly. As she hobbled towards the front porch, she strained to recognize whose voice she had just heard and she tilted her head to hear it better. She threw the door open, releasing her arm from around Stan's shoulders as she frantically limped through the house, ignoring his cries for her to come back.

"Bill?!" she called out. "Richie?! Eddie?! Guys, if you're there, answer me!"

No response. But the screams continued. This made her heart drop to the pit of her stomach as she recognized the voice behind the screams.

"EDDIE!" she bellowed. "EDDIE! WHERE ARE YOU, EDDIE?!"

Luckily for Emily, she didn't have to wait that long because, just seconds later…

"EMILY!" came Eddie's shriek from a few feet to the girl's left. "EMILY, I'M IN HERE! HELP! HELP!"

The brown-haired girl made a mad dash for the nearest doorway, and the first thing she saw made her want to scream but the presence of both Richie and Bill, who had entered the room on the other side, made her hold it back. Emily's heart hammered against her chest as she did her best to keep herself frozen in the doorway and not run to her best friend sitting on the ground and hold him. A single tear rolled down her right cheek when she heard Richie shout Eddie's name.

Eddie was cowering on the floor and crying, pressed against a broken table as he nursed his right arm. The reason why Emily, Bill, or Richie couldn't move towards him was the figure sitting in front of the small boy, with its head turned towards Bill in a furious manner. The figure wore a silk and silver, baggy suit that had orange pompom buttons lining down the front of it; it had a haunting white face with blood red lipstick that complemented very eerily with it's golden

(menacing and deadly)

eyes. It's hand was pinning Eddie onto the ground, refusing for him to move.

It seemed as if the clown hadn't seen her at all, since it was only focused on the two delicious meals provided in front of him. She tried to make a sound - anything - but nothing left her throat as she heard what the clown said next.

"This isn't real enough for you, Billy?" It asked with a disbelieving grin. "I'm not real enough for you?!"

Emily remained frozen in the doorway, since she truly didn't know what Bill had said to evoke this kind of reaction or response from the entity. Speaking of the boy, he locked eyes with her for the smallest of seconds, and his eyes widened in worry; it was clear that he had not expected her to walk into the room, and he didn't want her to get hurt. She was his best friend, the one that had helped him through this whole thing, and he wouldn't live with himself if she was injured or killed. He quickly looked back at the clown just as Richie cursed under his breath.

"It was real enough for Georgie…" It taunted sinisterly, cackling in a mocking manner in Bill's direction.

Emily's eyes widened as she gasped, pure fury boiling inside of her. And that was when she finally realized what true rage really was: it was a vexation of the soul, a swelling of the veins waiting to explode. Her blood rushed rapidly to her brain and all she saw in front of her was red; in that moment, Emily Boleyn wanted to lunge at the demon and choke the life out of it until it was no longer breathing. But she knew that would be a stupid move, so she stayed put. But she couldn't deny the anger she felt as her heart was torn out of its chest at the mention of Georgie.

But this only lasted for about three seconds, since Pennywise suddenly let out a demonic screech, standing up and pouncing at Richie and Bill. The latter got in front of the former and shielded him protectively, feeling guilty for bringing all of them here and not wanting them to die because of him. Georgie had been enough.

Suddenly, a stick was hurled in the clown's direction, clunking it on the side of the head. It grunted as it shook its head in puzzlement, before a cry of indignation filled the small room.

"OVER HERE, YOU STUPID CLOWN!"

Everyone, including It, turned their heads toward Emily, who had a look of rage creating a glint in her soft brown eyes. They were open so comically wide and a mad smile of lunacy was stretched across her sweaty face; truth be told, it scared all three of the boys in one small microsecond. She was also waving towards herself, as if beckoning for the creature to follow. They all screamed at her, begging her to not make what they were sure to be the most idiotic choice she would ever make in her young life.

"Yeah, that's right!" shouted Emily, beginning to lure It away from the others. "Take me! Take me!"

"Nuh-No, Emily!" Bill screamed at her, his eyes filling with tears. Whatever he did, he couldn't bear to move any closer to the girl, scared that the clown would suddenly jump at her and rip her to shreds right in front of him. And she had a long life to live, so he didn't want that to be cut short so early on, and that's what scared him more than ever, which only made everything worse for himself in the process.

"YOU WANT ME, NOT THEM!" she bellowed, her arms open, but the clown just stood there and waited.

The fear inside of her came as crashing waves hitting her heart and stomach, those of a winter snowstorm rather than any warmth. It came as a chill that went to the core of who Emily was as a human being and it snarled to her that she should cower. But she learned how to swim in that mental ice and live in the salty waters of her imagination with her own bravery being the furnace that provided a hint of fearlessness in herself. It was a strangely amazing feeling, when she knew her life was less important than those around her, and courage was all she needed to rise above her own personal demons, as well as her version of the depths of Hell staring back at her. She was ready to die.

Whatever it took.

"COME AND GET ME, YOU -" she yelled, but she was cut off by It's loud and piercing cry of fury as it lunged at her. She took a big step back as she shrieked in shock, preparing herself for the inevitable strike and for everything to go black.

Before the clown could reach Emily, however, a figure jumped in front of her, letting out a cry of anger before stabbing It in the face with a metallic pole. The young girl's eyes widened in surprise as she saw Beverly Marsh release her hands from the circular object, just as she felt Stan's arms around her from behind; he pulled her to the side and away from the demon, hugging her close to him protectively. But he wasn't able to shield the girl from the sight of the pole impaling It through the right eye socket and through the left jaw, blood floating into the air instead of down its face.

"Get Eddie! Get Eddie!" Stan yelled at the others, still holding Emily in his arms, as the clown froze while letting out an inhuman cry of pain.

Emily turned her head and saw Ben and Mike also standing to her left where she was moments earlier, staring at the creature with wide eyes.

"Eddie!" she screamed, but Stan's arms refused to let her go as she saw Beverly, Richie, and Bill run past the clown and towards the injured boy. She struggled against the boy holding her in place, but she seemingly gave up after a while, although she was annoyed.

When the other three got there, Eddie began panicking more than Emily had ever seen him do so, since he saw the clown recovering quickly. The boy was shrieking and screaming and everyone began to go hysterical, just like in the garage. Stan was freaking out as well, but he was being brave for Emily. He couldn't bear letting her go, he loved her too much for that.

Wait… love?!

He didn't have time to think of this, since both of them began to hear the low and guttural growls of Pennywise, and they were enough to chill them to the bone.

"We gotta get out of here!" Richie screamed as he grabbed Eddie and brought him closer to himself.

It then turned around to face the three sitting on the floor, and Emily was able to notice that its eyes were now a bright crimson; Pennywise was livid. With the pole still impaled in the clown's head, Emily found its crooked and toothy smile even more unnerving when she caught a glimpse of it. As this happened, she could hear Beverly whimper and she turned to see her trying to pull Richie off of the floor by the collar of his shirt.

"Get Eddie! Let's go!" Richie barked at the group. But they were all terrified.

"Watch out!" Emily warned in an uncontrollable voice when she saw Pennywise begin to stalk towards the four in a predatory manner, very slowly.

"NO, NO, NO, NO!" screeched Eddie, which made Emily snap. She wrenched herself free from Stan's tight grip around her waist and she hobbled over to her friends, throwing her arms in front of Richie, Eddie, and Bill. She was in between Eddie's legs as a shield, not wanting anything else to happen to him since he already had a broken arm. She briefly glanced at Stan, who was crying for her to come back, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed.

"DON'T, EMILY!" Eddie bellowed. She refused to listen to him.

Richie made Eddie look at him and tried to comfort him by telling him everything would be okay.

"He's gonna get us!" cried Eddie. "GUYS! NO!" Just then, Emily lowered her gaze to see the clown's gloves being ripped and two massive, furry hands with long claws peeking out to take their place. It made her eyes widen in horror as she moved closer to Eddie. She shook her head repeatedly, her fierce stare locked onto the demon in front of her.

The only emotion Emily could feel was fear. She could feel sweat drench every inch of her skin, the throbbing of her wide brown eyes, the ringing screams of terror echoing in her ears, and the thumping of her heart against her ribcage. Her hands were curled into tight fists, fingernails digging into her palms; she could have sworn she drew a little blood. She couldn't hear her rapid breathing, but she could feel the oxygen flooding her lungs. Horror tortured her guts, churning her stomach in tense cramps.

Then, It stomped its foot at them loudly, making them screech with terror as the clown roared.

"DON'T TOUCH THEM!" snarled Emily after she had jumped at the sudden act.

This only made Pennywise laugh childishly at her expense, making her more angry than scared. "Leave them alone!" she breathed out furiously. And the clown stopped laughing.

It suddenly swung its arm at Ben and Emily screamed at the top of her lungs when the massive claw slashed three deep gashes across her best friend's stomach.

"BEN!" both she and Eddie screamed.

Mike instantly helped Ben off of the floor; the overweight boy was only a little stunned by what had just happened that he hadn't even cried out in pain.

Emily turned back to Pennywise as Richie attempted to comfort Eddie even more; It slowly walked out of the room backwards, doing a weak bow as if the show was over. For some reason, she felt as if something

(extreme danger)

was on the near horizon. But It was injured and that was why It was leaving. Beverly really did hurt the clown, and it was not as strong as she thought.

The young girl remained frozen on the ground, thinking about what she had just seen, ignoring Stan's questions if she was okay and Eddie's panic attack occurring behind her; Richie was trying to calm the boy down, but he was a mess and in pain due to his broken arm.

Bill suddenly rose from Eddie's side, snapping Emily out of her trance and shocking everyone else.

"Don't let It get away!" he said as he followed after the clown.

As everyone else freaked out, yelling and crying for him to return, Emily found herself getting off of the floor and limping after Bill to try and catch the demon as well. Stan reached for her hand, but she just barely avoided it as she followed Bill into what seemed to be the basement of the house.

She wasn't able to get there in time because, by the time she caught up with Bill, Pennywise was long gone and nowhere to be seen.

"Bill! Emily! We have to help Eddie!" Beverly screamed after them.

The girl grabbed Bill's hand and pulled him back up the stairs and into the kitchen. Emily ran over to Eddie as fast as she could, kneeling down next to him and putting a hand on his left shoulder.

"NO! NO!" Eddie shrieked in anguish, the pain in his arm becoming too unbearable for him to handle. Emily winced at his yell, but she bravely remained by his side.

"I'm gonna snap your arm into place!" Richie told him in a panic, and Emily went pale, her eyes widening.

"Rich, I don't think that's a good idea!" she squealed, and he glared at her.

Eddie's eyes pierced into Richie's soul with a warning sneer. "RICH, DO NOT FREAKING TOUCH ME! DO NOT TOUCH ME!" he roared at him, and Emily reeled back at his tone of voice, never wanting him to use it again.

Richie didn't listen, only wanting to help Eddie; but a part of him was scared he would make it so much worse. "Okay," he sputtered, "one, two, three!" He then snapped the broken arm back into place.

At that moment, Emily lost it. Just as she heard Eddie's intense screech of agony and distress, she hurled over and vomited everywhere, the puke and bile splattering against the rotted floorboards. Stan held her hair back for her as she did this, rubbing a hand over her back to comfort her.

All of them wasted no time in getting out of the house afterwards, sprinting for their bikes faster than ever. Emily noticed that the sun was slowly beginning to set, signaling that it would be curfew in an hour or so. She got onto the back of Stan's bike without saying a word to him, noticing Mike putting Eddie into the basket that he used to deliver meat around town.

Emily turned back around as Stan took off down the road and she wrapped her arms around his torso. She buried her face into the crook of his neck from behind, crying silently to herself.

She would do anything to be back home right now.

Emily could just say that when they all got Eddie to his house, his mother wasn't very happy.

"You… You did this!" Sonia Kaspbrak yelled at the group, making Emily flinch a little, before grabbing the back of Eddie's neck and pushing him towards the car. This made the young girl furious as the older woman added onto her statement with, "You know how delicate he is!"

"We were attacked, Mrs. K," Bill tried to reason, but Emily gave him a warning glance.

"No, don't!" Sonia interrupted him angrily, opening the door of her car and roughly pushing Eddie inside, who began to cry quietly as he watched his mother scream at his friends. "Don't try and blame anyone else!" She closed the door and turned to grab her keys, but they fell onto the pavement. Beverly stepped forward to reach out for them, offering to help.

"No, get back!" barked Sonia, startling Beverly and causing her to take a step back as the woman snatched the keys off of the pavement.

"Oh, I've heard of you, Miss Marsh," Eddie's mom sneered at her with a nasty smile covering her face and malice filling her dark eyes. "And I don't want a dirty girl like you touching my son."

Emily reached her breaking point, scoffing.

"Oh, that's really funny, Mrs. K! Why don't we present you an award for the many times you've insulted my friends?! Because I think you freaking deserve it!" she yelled at her.

"What did you just say to me?!" snarled Sonia, glaring down at her. Emily didn't waver under her piercing glare.

"I think you heard me," replied Emily in a low voice.

"You're even worse than your trashy friend, Miss Boleyn," Sonia growled at her. "Your mother left her husband for no reason whatsoever, and I don't believe that Godless woman deserves to have a child like you -"

Sonia was abruptly cut off by Emily shoving her backwards, something that shocked everyone around her. The young girl's eyes were burning with a loathing that they had never seen before; she was beyond done with people's mess at this point, so she didn't care anymore.

"Say one more thing about my mom, lady! ONE MORE THING! I dare you, I freaking dare you!" she screamed at Sonia. "How about you quit standing there and drive your kid to a hospital! For God's sake, his arm is freaking broken! Don't you ever insult my mother ever again!"

Stan had to hold her in his arms to keep her from lunging at Sonia, and she managed to calm down as the older woman turned around to check on Eddie. If she hadn't been held back, she would have gotten her hands on her.

"Mrs. K, I…" Bill tried to say, but his stutter wouldn't allow him to in time because Sonia spun around and yelled at him again.

"No! You are all monsters! All of you! And Eddie is done with you. Do you hear? Done!" she screeched. She then circled around her car as fast as her fat legs would allow her to and got into the driver's seat, slamming the door shut. Emily glared at the woman the entire time, but her heart broke at the sight of Eddie crying. But she wasn't able to look at the boy for very long since Sonia drove away seconds later.

The car left tire marks on the road as it made a three-point turn and sped down the road. The remaining seven Losers walked to the middle of the road, staring after the car with solemn expressions as it rounded the street corner. Emily looked down as her eyes filled with tears; Stan noticed and put a hand on her back to comfort her, not knowing that she was mostly exhausted.

"I saw the well."

Emily and the others looked at Bill as he turned to them with a determined expression on his face.

"W-W-W-We know where It is and… next time, we'll be better prepared," said Bill in a matter-of-fact tone.

"NO!"

Emily nearly jumped a mile into the air at Stan's sudden outburst, wincing at the pained and angry look on his face. She put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged her off.

"No next time, Bill! You're insane!" he yelled at the stutterer in a distressed tone.

It was at that moment that Emily sensed a fight coming.

"Why?" Beverly spoke up. "We all know no one else is going to do anything."

"Eddie was nearly killed!" Richie shouted, joining in the argument as he gestured towards where Sonia's car had sped off. He then pointed towards Ben's exposed stomach from his ripped shirt. "And look at Ben! He's leaking Hamburger Helper!"

This made Emily glance at Ben's wound and she cringed; but, regardless, she tried to handle the situation.

"Guys, let's not fight about this!" she gently demanded. "Why don't we just go somewhere and talk about -"

"About what, Em?!" Stan screamed at her, his eyes wide in disbelief. "About the fact that you nearly got freaking butchered?! Yeah, let's talk about how you were almost dragged into a hole and that you nearly lost your dang mind!"

Emily flinched at his tone, and it seemed as if he regretted yelling at her immediately afterwards. But there was no going back now.

"We can't pretend it's gonna go away!" Beverly said over them. "Ben, you said it yourself. It comes back every twenty-seven years." She was looking at Ben with a hopeful expression.

But Ben Hanscom wasn't really keen on agreeing with the redhead this time. "Fine!" he retorted. "I'll be forty and far away from here! I thought you said you wanted to get out of this town, too!"

"Because I wanna run towards something!" said Beverly. "Not away!"

"I'm sorry, who invited Molly Ringwald into the group?!" Richie quipped angrily as he looked at Stan and Emily. The brown-haired girl sent him a warning glare as the redhead flipped him off.

"Richie…" Stan pleaded, seeing his best friend spiraling.

"I'm just saying," Richie resumed, turning towards the group. "Let's face facts, real world. Georgie is dead! Stop trying to get us killed, too!"

His statement only made Emily angrier, but she just turned away before she could lose control.

Bill, however, stepped in front of Richie with a furious expression on his face.

"Georgie's not dead!" Bill yelled.

Richie scowled at him. "You couldn't save him, but you can still save yourself," he offered to Bill, ignoring Emily's scream for him to shut his big mouth. Bill lost his patience and moved to be in front of him again.

"No, t-t-t-take it back!" shouted Bill. "You're scared and… we all are but take it back!" He then pushed Richie back in a rough manner. This made Emily gasp a little in shock.

Richie lost his temper and instantly rushed towards Bill, shoving him back; Emily immediately went to go break them up. She didn't quite make it since Bill punched Richie in the face, and her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Bill!" both she and Beverly screamed at him, and Emily gently pushed him back. "Calm down!" she demanded, her hands on Bill's shoulders. He looked at her angrily.

"Are you r-r-really defending him?!" he yelled, shoving her back. She shook her head with a bewildered expression on her face.

"No, I'm not!" she screamed back. "But you need to calm down and be mature about this!"

Bill pushed her away roughly, making her nearly fall onto the ground, but Beverly caught her as Stan and Mike helped Richie up. The girl just stared at her best friend in shock that he would do such a thing to her.

"You're just a bunch of losers!" Richie accused them all. This made Bill advance towards Richie, lifting his fist to hit him again. Both Ben and Emily seized him from behind and dragged him back, trying to avoid more conflict. Bill was struggling in their grasps, but they were able to keep him at bay long enough.

"BUZZ OFF!" Richie screamed as Stan and Mike kept him back. "You're just a bunch of losers and you'll get yourselves killed trying to catch a freaking clown!"

"STOP!" Beverly exclaimed, causing everyone to stare at her. Richie shrugged off Mike and Stan's arms and fixed his glasses to look at the redhead with an annoyed expression.

"This is what It wants," Beverly stated. "It wants to divide us!" She was peering at everyone to make sure she was being listened to. "We were all together when we hurt It! That's why we're still alive!"

"Yeah?" Richie snapped at her angrily. "Well, I plan to keep it that way!" He then marched past Bill, slamming his right shoulder into his left and towards his bike.

Emily just shook her head after meeting Bill's green eyes as she turned to walk away.

"I'm suh-sorry for pushing you, Em!" Bill shouted after her, his voice cracking. She didn't answer him.

"Emily!" Stan called.

"Leave me alone, Stan!" she snarled at him. She couldn't see him, but she could hear that he had fallen silent. She felt guilty for yelling at him, but she couldn't help it. So, she took a deep breath. "I just want to be alone, please," she said in a much quieter tone.

And when she rounded the corner of the street, she ran all the way home. And she began to cry.

A/N: Poor Losers Club! :'( I feel bad for them!

It is almost 2:00 in the morning and I'm doing this... *sigh* But it's okay, since I'll be updating more often now! :D

So, thoughts on this chapter? Were the movie parts faithful?

Was Emily's scare shocking?! I hope so! It was planned for a while! ;)

Hopefully, you're preparing yourselves for a surprise in the next chapter! *smirks*

Well... that's pretty much it. All I need to say is stay safe during the coronavirus and keep washing your hands.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward to the next one! Have a great day, and until next time!

- Hermione Romanoff