[ oof, he feels even guiltier seeing that reaction, and wonders if his attempts at being casual and keeping his emotions in check actually came off sounding sort of accusatory. ]

The hell're you sorry for? It's not like you wanted us to go there.

[ but... ugh. he hasn't been including many details of what happened in that first part in what he's said to most people, in part because it feels personal and in part because he doesn't know what kind of raw emotion is going to get forced on them if he lets himself actually think about it rather than just recite a few lines.

but richie's the one person who probably should hear most of it, at least the big points, so... ]

...Well. First off, while we were still ourselves, we ended up in this sort of nothin' space with this kid named Stan. Asked us to give this manuscript to his friend Mike and then get his other friends out of the building they were in.

[ this part he's able to get through while sounding perfectly matter-of-fact, with steady emotions. ]

Then next thing, it was 1958 and we were all kids livin' in your town with you and your friends, like we'd always been them. Anders and Shadowheart, and... Bas and me.

[ this time there's a mild undercurrent of chilly grief that spikes at the end, for reasons richie can probably guess. ]