Chapter Text
Max is prattling on about how grateful he was for their whole prank, and Steph shoots Pete a look that practically screams her boredom. Then he hops over to Pete and slings an arm around his shoulders, considering how he was the tallest, and drags him from his spot. “I mean, seriously, after that beating I gave you I woulda thought you wouldn’t do something so meaningful to me.” Pete laughs nervously, nodding and eyeing the staircase as they approach it.
The wood creaks ominously as the two teens cross the floor, and Richie lets out a fearful sound. “Max, be careful!”
The jock only scoffs. “Of what? Ghosts? Dude, there’s no such thing as gho-” He falters when a loud crack echoes through the room. The floorboards creak, and Steph watches as Pete shoves Max back towards them as they snap, sending him plummeting off the landing. His shriek of horror is mirrored by both Ruth and Richie, the two rushing to the bannister.
Steph instinctively drags them back, trying desperately to block out the sounds of breaking wood as Pete falls further. “Don’t go that way, you’re just going to end up following him! C’mon, there’s gotta be another way down that’s a lot safer! Hurry and look!”
The five of them desperately seek out another route down, and eventually Richie remembers the second staircase around back. He and Ruth lead the way down, feet clomping noisily against the stairs. At the bottom, looking around, Max spots Pete first.
He’s impaled on a wooden spike, a snapped support beam or something, blood bubbling up from his chest with every wet gasp he takes. All but Grace and Steph turn away, Ruth nearly vomiting. “Holy shit Pete, we gotta get you to a hospital,” Steph says, trying to find a way through the rubble and safely get him off of the spike, but he shakes his head.
“There’s not enough time,” he interrupts her. “I’ll either bleed out before the ambulance arrives or something will give out long before then.” He coughs weakly, blood splattering his lips. “Richie, Ruth, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologise!” Ruth snapped.
“Yeah, you’ve got nothing to apologise for!” Richie chimes in. “The only person who needs to apologise is Max.”
Both of their heads swivel towards the jock, who takes a step back. “I… just because I bullied you on the regular didn’t mean I wanted you to die!”
“Sure didn’t feel like that at Pasqualli’s.” Pete spits.
“That was different! I swear, I didn’t want this to happen!” Max cries. “I mean, it’s not like I woulda done it again.”
“Why would I believe you?” Pete groans. “In my seven years of knowing you, you never changed. How am I supposed to expect you to hold up that promise?”
“Then maybe I won’t!” Max instantly snaps back, then covers his mouth as horror floods his face.
Pete’s eyes darken, rage overtaking what little life is left. With the last of his strength, he lifts his chin. “You’re a fucking brute, you know that?” He snarls, flecks of blood flying from his mouth. “And fucking brutes must die.”
He chokes on his blood, eyes fluttering shut. Then his body goes slack and he slumps back into the pile of debris.
“Pete?” Richie’s the first one to break the silence, taking a step closer to his friend. “Pete, c’mon. Stop fooling around.” Steph’s heart cracks a little at the teen who looks on the verge of tears, voice wavering. “Petey, you gotta get up.”
“Richie… he’s dead.” Grace’s voice is soft, and that’s enough to make Ruth burst into deep, heavy sobs.
“Holy shit.” Max swearing seems to remind Richie that the jock is there, and he practically flings himself at him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down!”
“Calm down? You just fucking killed my best friend!” Richie shouts. “How the fuck am I supposed to be calm when I’m looking at my best friend’s murderer!”
“Because if you don’t calm down Richie, we’re not going to be able to get him out.” Grace interjects. “We need to get Pete off the spike and into the ground.”
“Grace, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we need to tell the police!” Steph points out, but she shakes her head.
“No, we can’t. If we tell the police, they’re going to ask why we were here in the first place. Then, we’re going to get put as accomplices for murder, considering how we didn’t stop Max from accidentally pushing him over the edge.”
Ruth is practically catatonic, curled into Richie’s side, and Steph can’t help but want to try and comfort her. “Where the hell are we going to put him that isn’t going to get him immediately discovered?”
“The front lobby.” Ruth speaks up then, and all eyes turn towards her. “The floorboards are pretty loose and it’s solid dirt underneath.”
“We should hack his limbs off so he’d fit better!” Grace suggests all too cheerily, and Richie and Ruth immediately emit matching sounds of outrage. “O- Or not, I guess.”
Steph watches the two nerds talk quietly between each other, both with tear streaked faces. She grabs Max’s arm, tugging him away from the other three. “Look, Max.” He doesn’t seem to hear her at first, staring at Pete’s limp body, so she shakes him. “Max.” He focuses on her, but still looks distant. “Right now, I think the best thing for you to do is go home, alright? Go home and try not to be such a bitch.” She gestures to Pete. “We’re going to clean up.”