002
' crying tears of gold, like lemonade '

(chapter two !)

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MICKEY HATTON thought of Richie Tozier in a way he didn't think he'd ever thought of anyone else. He was utterly annoyed by him at every single second of the day, but also found that Richie's company managed to serve him some source of entertainment. A source of entertainment that no one else could execute in the same manner that he did.

He hated to admit that Richies mere presence didn't bring him an unbearable amount of irritation. He tried his very hardest to nitpick every little word that spewed from Richies chapped lips for something that was worthy of being ridiculed. Most times, his jokes were easy to insult. They were vulgar and entirely gross to any normal person. Although, they were indeed hilarious at most points and everyone knew, no matter how much they hid their amusement.

It was absolutely infuriating.

Mickey, Eddie, Richie and Bill had all made their way to Eddie's house before heading to the Barrens. Mickey remembers walking inside to the undeniable overwhelming medicinal smell like that of a sterilized hospital. He remembers scrunching up his nose in disgust before smiling politely at a fat little woman sitting in a armchair in the living room of the Kaspbrak home. The woman had ignored him, speaking to her son Eddie as if the others weren't even there. She called him Edward and Eddie-Bear, two names in which Eddie expressed his dislike towards.

The group had walked into the kitchen of the home, the cleanest kitchen Mickey thinks he's ever seen. He remembers being thoroughly impressed, looking around in awe. It was a sad thing to be impressed by, but Mickey supposed that was his life nowadays. They had all grabbed the snacks and things they needed from the cabinets, along with the small pill bottle that Eddie dry swallowed two from each and every day at an exact time. Eddie had stuffed everything in his silly looking fanny pack hanging from the bottom of his stomach before gesturing for everyone to follow him out.

Mickey remembers Eddie shushing them, telling them to keep their steps quiet. Mickey had already perfected that the week his step-father had moved in to his own home. Richie, however, was not too wonderful at it. He had taken large loud steps that Eddie looked as if he wanted to bash his face in for. Bill had also taken quiet steps, but also wasnt too wonderful at such a task.

Eddie's mother, the chubby woman, wiggled her toes at them as she watched some TV show on their static filled box television, the antennas sticking up with electricity undoubtedly flowing through them. Mickey had never had a television before. Dhe had easily noticed the group and called Eddie over. Eddie had walked over and given his mother a hesitant kiss on the cheek at her orders. She had smiled in delight and muttered something about her son's allergies. Mickey couldn't help but think that his own mother had never cared so much about him as Eddie's mother did for Eddie.

He didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

They had all grabbed their bikes on the way out, bikes they had all brought with them. Mickey kept his own bike, a light blue rickety thing with mean permanent marker drawn words put there by Henry Bowers himself all over it, at school. He wouldn't dare to bring it home and have to go there each day to grab it. He had ignored the various questions from the others on why he had the word "faggot" written on the top and down tubes of his bike. He had shrugged them off and told them he didn't know. They hadn't believed him.

The group had driven off to synagogue where they found Stanley Uris, the Jewish boy who seemed as though he didn't talk much. He clearly enjoyed keeping to himself. Stanley seemed shaken up about something, but none of them bothered him about it. Richie had secretly told Mickey that Stan's father was a bit of a, in Richies words, "hard ass." That he overworked Stanley too much and that he was the most literal definition of the Anti-Christ. Richie had said that Stanley had said that last one himself once before.

Mickey didn't doubt it.

"Maybe we'll find a pair of Eddie's moms underwear under there. What if that's why kids are going missing? Got a whiff of Eddie's mother's nether regions and just collapsed." Richie joked loudly with a grin, speaking way too quickly to keep up.

Mickey rolled his eyes at Richies words as the whole pair of losers walked to the Barrens, their bikes at their sides. Mickey had been to the Barrens once or twice, primarily to get beat up by Henry Bowers and his goons. He supposed the Barrens held bad connotations but he tried to put those thoughts aside.

He had never been allowed to go to the Barrens other than those times anyway. His mother believed he'd get lost and his step-father just didn't want to have to pay for a pity funeral for a son that wasn't even his in the first place.

Mickey followed their rules. He tried his hardest not to break a single one. He knew the consequences of disrespecting his parents. A hard slap of the wrist wasn't even close to the cruelty that would go on if Mickey broke even the smallest of rules.

He shivered at the thought.

The group had decided to go a bit slower there, as an attempt to not bump into the Bowers gang. It was a known fact that they loved the Barrens, for whatever reason.

Bill sighed at Richies words, glaring at Richie out of his peripheral vision. "Sh-shut up, Richie." He grumbled underneath his breath. Mickey could tell that Bill was getting restless. If the ever so clear dark purple bags underneath his eyes weren't enough to prove it, the way he spoke was. It was tired and slow. Stifled and sad. Stuffed up and shallow.

Mickey didn't blame Bill for it at all. His change in the way he spoke wasn't his fault. Whatever son of a bitch that had taken his brother was at fault. Mickey didn't know what he'd do if he had a sibling that went missing. He couldn't even comprehend.

Richie was silent after Bill's short scorning, looking down at his beat up shoes and the flat wheels of his bike, his black unruly curls falling into his eyes. It looked almost sad. Richie kicked a rock, letting out a heavy sigh from the depths of his chest.

Mickey couldn't help but stare. He had never seen Richie act like this. He supposed it was because he had never actively hung out around the boy before. Had never really held a conversation or stared at him for much too long. But now he was noticing.

Richies shoulders were sagging, trudging his feet like it was a difficult task to even take a step. Mickey understood the feeling. He himself sighed heavily, knocking his shoulder against Richies. "Why so sad, Tozier? Shouldn't you be joking every other second like you always do?" He joked.

Mickey's voice was soft. It always had been. He couldn't help it. His words were soft-spoken, almost quiet if he didn't will himself to speak a little louder. His voice was much different than Bill's or Richies. Bill's had an authoritative nature, making it clear that he was the leader of this silly little group of misfits. Or just plain assholes, if you want to get literal. Richies voice was loud and crude, enough to give anyone a headache in a few minutes tops.

Richies head snapped up, turning to look at Mickey. He looked almost alarmed for a moment, eyes widened and lips parted before he realized it was only Mickey. Everyone had trailed in front of them, having their own conversation. Mickey hoped they didn't leave Richie out too much. As annoying as he was, he didn't deserve it. Richie put a smile on his lips, shrugging his shoulders, "M'not sad, ol' chap. Jus' disappointed your mother cancelled on our date." He joked in a horrible posh British accent.

Mickey rolled his eyes, looking down at the ground for a moment in thought. He supposed he could trip Richie, get him to shut the fuck up the easy way. But that was too cruel. If he wanted to make any friends, he couldn't just go tripping Richie Tozier. "Fuck off. You're an asshole, do you know that?" He questioned almost quietly, shaking his head as he looked up. Sure, the joke was funny. But Mickey admittedly did not like jokes about his mother. Hell, he didn't like talking about his mother at all.

However, he wasn't going to overreact. There was no reason for it. Richie had known nothing about Mickeys mother. It was not his fault. Mickey seemed to be saying that nothing was Richie's fault at the moment. Richie laughed. "Yes, yes been told many a'time before." He grinned. "Think that's Eddie Spaghetti's favorite phrase by now, actually."

Mickey couldn't help but chuckle, a smile curling at the corners of his lips. He looked forward where the others were walking ahead, clearing his throat lightly. "We should probably catch up.." He said simply, looking back over at Richie.

Richie had seemingly been looking at him beforehand, turning his head away quickly when Mickey caught his stare. Mickey watched red flow to Richies freckled cheeks quickly, making his pale skin a rosy pink.

Mickey pretended not to notice.

_-_-_-_-_

Mickey, Richie, Bill, Stanley and Eddie all ended up getting onto their bikes along the way. The entirety of the ride had been spent in near silence, give or take the occasional cough or attempted conversation starter that ended up going absolutely no where. A rare "hey-o silver away!" could be heard by Bill in the near front of the group, followed up by a quick counter up by Richie that got a laugh or two before silence took over the air once again.

It was almost too quiet.

Mickey had always hated silence. He supposed it had to do with his fear of loneliness and isolation that created such an impending need for someone to be talking at some time. He knew that Richie felt practically the same way, judging from the fidgeting of his hands at his sides and his odd hyperfixation on the ground. Mickey knew Richie needed something to focus on.

He knew he should have said something, have attempted to help. Although, they had already arrived to the barrens and Richie was back to his preppy vulgar self in a matter of seconds. It was odd how fast Richie could change his mood, almost like he was faking how he felt all the time. Mickey frowned to himself at the thought.

His thoughts were interrupted when he stepped in the shallow water, an embarassing yelp falling from his lips. His cheeks darkened, blood rushing to his cheeks. Everyone had noticed, Richie looking almost worried for a second before he laughed. Mickey simply rolled his eyes.

The group walked to the sewer portion of the Barrens, Mickeys' wet shoe squelching loudly with every step. He tried his best to avoid stepping in the water again, stepping over it constantly and cursing under his breath when he got close to it.

"That's poison ivy, and that's poison ivy, and that's poison ivy-" Stanley spoke as they walked, stepping past loads of plants and bushes. Mickey didn't actually know what poison ivy looked like, so he stayed away from the bushes Stanley had pointed to. Eddie did the same thing.

Eddie spoke up quickly, his tone worried and nervous. His anxiety had clearly spiked as he took a puff from his inhaler. "Where? Wheres the poison ivy?" He spoke quickly, eyes darting around.

Richie rolled his eyes. "No where! Not every fuckin plant is poison ivy, Stanley!" He chuckled, annoyed as he messed with some plant that very well could have been poison ivy. 

"Okay well, I'm starting to get itchy now and I'm pretty sure that is not good for me." Eddie spoke again, speaking much too quickly for Mickey to possibly understand. He glanced at Eddie, chuckling in amusement. Richie and Bill both jumped into the water of the barrens, walking around it slowly. Mickey, Eddie and Stanley all stood on the driest rocks they could find.

Richie hummed. "Do you use the same bathroom as your mother?" He questioned casually, picking up a random stick off the ground.

Eddie shrugged. "Yeah, sometimes. Why?" He asked curiously, confused on where this was going. Oh, the poor boy.

"

Then you probably have crabs." Richie spoke, a wide toothy grin overtaking his face. Mickey couldn't help but chuckle under his breath.

"Beep fucking beep, asshole." Mickey muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. Richie furrowed his eyebrows.

"Hey now! Only Beverly Marsh, my number one gal beeps me! Now everyone's gonna do it! Howd you even find out about that, Mick?" Richie cried out with a laugh, raising his eyebrow.

"Bev is my friend. Kinda." Mickey smiled lightly, not going into the details. In reality, they both had began talking about a month in advance when they bumped into each other at the schools nurses office. They both had nasty yellow and purple rimmed bruises on their cheeks, glancing at one another and breaking into amused grins at their mirroring injuries. She had asked where he had gotten his, and for some odd reason he felt safe to speak to the girl. He had told her all about his step-father and she hadn't looked upon him as if he was lesser.

She told him about her father, what he had done to her. The things he always did to her when she came home from school. It was no lie that Bev most likely had it worse than Mickey, and he knew that from the very moment her eyes had begun to sting with tears. Mickey hadn't cried when saying his story, he was too numb to telling it. It seemed Bev hadn't told too many people. Mickey had told a good four. Although, none of them except Bev had stayed close enough to be a friend.

"That's so not funny! Listen to Mickey for once, him and Stan seem to be the only intelligent ones here!" Eddie exclaimed, a small ball of fury and anger. "No offense, Bill." He added on quickly.

Richie rolled his eyes. "Are you guys coming in?" He questioned, gesturing to the gross looking water around them that was submerging Richie and Bill down to their ankles. Eddie fake gagged.

"Uhhh no. That's grey water." Eddie pointed out. Mickey furrowed his eyebrows. What the hell-

"-is grey water?" Richie seemed to be speaking up the same thing Mickey was thinking. He mentally thanked Richie for being curious and talkative enough.

Eddie rolled his eyes. "It's basically piss and shit!" He spoke. "So I'm just telling you... you guys are splashing around in millions of gallons of Derry pee." He spoke, making a gesture with his hands. Mickey watched the shorter boy before turning back to Richie. "Are... are you serious?" He questioned in annoyance when Richie smelled the end of the stick he was holding.

"Doesn't smell like caca to me señor." Richie grinned wide, shrugging his shoulders. Mickey rolled his eyes as well, finding the whole thing gross.

"O-okay I can smell it from here!" Eddoe exclaimed, shaking his head. Mickey glanced over, seeing Stan also rolling his eyes. He chuckled. Bill was still actively looking for what he came here for, while everyone else was  watching Richie and Eddie.

"It's probably just your breath wafting back into your face." Richie spoke casually, making a gesture with his hand that moved closer to his face. Mickey couldn't help but snicker. It was indeed amusing.

"Have you ever heard of a staph infection?" Eddie spoke quickly, almost angrily.

"Oh, I'll show you a staph infection." Richie grinned, bringing the stick in between his legs and swinging it around. Mickey shook his head as he let out a short laugh. "See?! Mickey loves it. Mickey, my love, let me serenade you here in the sewers of Derry, Maine. The most shitty town on planet Earth!"

Mickey rolled his eyes, but still smiled at Richie, flipping him off after a few seconds of just staring at one another. There was no doubt that his cheeks were a somewhat brighter rosy red when he looked back up at the others, who were all staring at him curiously. Bill, however, was still looking around the grey water.

"You guys are like swimming in a toilet bowl right now." Eddie continued after a few seconds. "Have you eve heard of listeri-" He began before Richie threw something off the stick at him. Eddie yelped, jumping back quickly. Mickey gasped as some of the water splashed onto his ankles, jumping back as well as he glared at Richie. "Are you st-are you retarded!?" He exclaimed loudly.

Mickey's eyes had since moved back to Bill, who was holding up a shoe. "Guys!" Bill had exclaimed, looking up at them with wide eyes. Everyone's gaze moved to Bill's hand.

Mickey didn't know what to say or what to really do. Maybe something really was taking the kids of Derry. Maybe something or someone was out to get them. Maybe it wasnt just a matter of children running away from the people who hurt them the very most. Maybe they weren't leaving willingly as Mickey had once come to think.

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A/N: I thought the chapter before this one was long but this one is literally 2970 words lmfao. Tried to get it to 3000 but thought I'd end it off at the part where they find Betty's shoe. Ben and Bev will be introduced properly next chapter and maybe Mike as well if I get carried away again!

THIS CHAPTER ISN'T EDITED AT ALL BUT I STILL HOPE YOU ENJOYED!