#gonna just chill in my office. bill a little bit. go see students in a little while

[flamingostalker]

Big Important Lunch being catered and there’s a wild mix of staff in there and it’s all individual tables and things. Took one look in the gym and felt the same anxiety I imagine my ancestors felt at being confronted by a pack of multiple bears and lions working together somehow

[blvelight]

hey guys !! i’m kat and i’m super excited for this rp ! i live in the nt, i’m a double leo and a floundering english student who’s fallen behind on my skincare routine this past week and feels a bit like shit as a result.. dk what that says about me when it’s all put together but let’s hope it’s nothing too ugly dgsfklj i’m super late with getting my intros all ready for opening — bc i have less than an hour as i’m typing out this intro to get dree and tally’s prepared DSKGLF — so stats, plots, etc are gonna have to wait as well, unfortunately. but getting to the point:

☕ . ˚ ◝ ( deepika padukone. cis female. she/her. ) amla jothadi is a thirty-one year old libra. the deja brew cake decorator’s go-to order is raspberry peach italian soda and a chocolatine. they like to listen to he can only hold her by amy winehouse while they wait for their order. the employees of the deja brew think they are apprehensive but swear they’re totally adept as well. maybe that’s why neatly-stacked novels, lilacs, bitten pen caps, and singing in a long and hot shower remind me of them.

i’m literally just copying this from an old intro and fixing shit for location’s sake, so don’t @ me if i fucked up a bit in doing that DFKLS

had lived in london for her entire life and her home life was rather.. standard ??

middle child, only daughter syndrome didn’t hit her too hard bc she was the apple of her father’s eye and was a near-mirror image of her mother, so she had them both wrapped around her finger fsgdkldfgj

her and her brothers got along okay, hair-pulling and exclusion bc of “boys only”/”leave my friends alone” moments aside, so it really was a rather mundane childhood that she had

p much the crybaby of her graduating class, overly sentimental and sweet so she was at most an annoyance to some

but it did make her a solid target for some of the mean kids bc they could get a reaction out of her pretty easily

nonetheless, she wasn’t the type to hold grudges for it, just dodged them and moved on from it as much as she could bc she figured they’d get bored of seeking her out eventually

all in all a teacher’s pet, friendly to all and just. adorable. slkdfgjdfs

she had an interest in cooking and writing from a young age, but left the former as a hobby and began to build a desire to do the latter as a career

but of course ! nothing is that simple !

at some point she realized that writing probably wouldn’t pay the bills by itself — when she actually became an adult and would have to do that herself sfgdlk

so upon entering uni, she decided to go for a communications degree, thinking that she could at least start off as a secretary or clerk at a media group before doing something creative there

.. but years passed after graduating and she was still but a clerk. handling files and documents, answering calls that shouldn’t even be sent her way at times bc the people around her couldn’t be bothered, having a hard time with putting her foot down so she winds up swamped and stagnant before even hitting her thirties

and that’s not at all how she pictured her life at this age, so she’s disappointed and stressed and sad af

but she thought she had to take it bc it seemed like an unspoken rule that you do four years at uni, you do your masters or get out there and lock yourself down to a company/occupation for the next 40 years of your life before living it up at 70 in florida or at your tiny house in the countryside

her passion for writing and some of her hobbies floundered bc of how much the desk jockey life stressed her out, the only thing keeping her from wholly spiralling being her fridays at the pub with her college friends

.. though seeing things work out for them ( for the most part ) where they didn’t for her didn’t alleviate her worries 100%

so come her 29th birthday, she.. had her inevitable quarter life crisis of sorts, cringey rom com plotlines serving as inspo

bc she just. wasn’t happy with her life at that point, had no real sense of adventure or pure freedom bc she locked herself down to what she thought she’s supposed to do or focus on

and it was when she was binging.. rom coms klgjdsfgkl that she figured she should throw caution to the wind and go somewhere else. some deep diving via google for destinations later and she fell in love with italy !

.... yes, we’re going on a bit of a road trip before we get to l.a, bear with me for a sec

so she spent time in a little village, just living life and staying far from her former office life, going at her own pace

she wanted to delve into writing as she planned at one point, a now or never kind of thing, and it was just a relief to even get back to it so she’s been at it ever since

cooking classes and baking, reading in the garden near her house, lots of other cute things filled up her days now and she’s having a great time as a result sgkldjsd

it was there that she began doing a few odd jobs here and there so she could sustain herself financially, as opposed to returning to some 9-5 life so soon, and just focused on herself and her interests with this new lifestyle

it’s been a year or so since she left that village and travelled a bit — south of france, spain, basically went all over the mediterranean on her way to the states for what was supposed to be a few months of leisure and repeating the cycle she’s been on for a while

 but then.. she got to l.a. and just ?? decided to stay a little longer than expected, has been here for a few months now and doesn’t have any upcoming plans to uproot herself again

she’s currently working part-time at deja brew as a cake decorator. figured she might as well work at the café she frequents bc coffee ? treats ?? a chill reading environment ??? sign her up !

you can find her at some cozy little bookstore nestled somewhere in the city as another gig she’s taken up for now, or at her small studio apartment that’s littered with plants, novels and pillows fdksgjgldfk

personality and such

basically........ amla’s baby

she’s not naive, but she has a relatively gentle soul

wholesome isn’t quite a word i’d use to describe her but she’s just super cute and a simpleton in some respects

the type to spare baby ants and spiders from being crushed by a slipper for being in the house, but to get someone else to take care of the.. creepier insects jskdfh

she’s not a big risk-taker bc the unknown scares her, so for her to even do what she’s been doing for the last two years took a lot out of her to muster up the nerve

so she’s a bit of an anxious person who at times needs assurance, even from a complete stranger

v big on global issues bc she wants the world to be a more peaceful place, so there’s a side of her that tends to see in black and white rather than grey…. or rose ig sdgklsd

the simple things in life appeal to her a lot, though a luxury or two is welcome if she can put it to good use

the mom friend in some situations :( a cutie

she’s a romantic, like she has the vibe even when she tries to play it off like the extent of it is a bit closeted, secretive yknow ??

bc even then.. she has her trepidations bc of the relationships that had flamed out in the past for whatever reason

has a cat named rory, who she loves and might be projecting her slight baby fever onto for the time being

.. basically she’s your white picket fence fantasist — but make it rustic and less cliché — who’s managing to grip her bearings on the matter, if you couldn’t already tell slkgjgfsd

y’know how some people get really emotional and quiet in an argument but proceed to snap almost out of fucking nowhere ?? that’s amla

sdlfkgj she’s used to having been a doormat or target in the past, so she tends to let herself take it until she realizes “ hey, i don’t need to be shit on like this, how dare you — ”

just. love her please fklfgdjskld

[b-b-billyboydenbrough]

Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You, Baby

so, this is my first au and i’m a little scared tbh but here it goes. I wrote this while listening to the song “nothing’s gonna hurt you, baby” by cigarettes after sex, hence the name. there might be some grammatical/spelling mistakes in this, so please be lenient!! i hope you enjoy cause this may actually be shit whoops. there’s some slight stenbrough and benverly in here too, but it’s reddie centric. ok, i’ll shut up so you can (hopefully) enjoy.

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Richie Tozier pulled into Derry High School’s parking lot 20 minutes after the final bell had rang. With all the windows rolled down in his car, a random punk song blaring way too loud for these small town people, and a cigarette hanging out the window, he had shown everyone just the type of person he was, a big-city outcast. Having only moved into town a few days ago, Richie had already gained a reputation with the students, though if you knew Richie at all, you’d know that others’ opinions of him are the least of his concerns. Turning off the ignition, he gets out of his car, stomping out the cigarette before making his way to the entrance. From the outside, Derry High School looked small, bland, monotone in color, already giving Richie a bad feeling about where he was headed. As he reached the front, he spotted a girl smoking a cigarette, much like the one he’d stomped out. This girl had short, red hair that had a slight curl to it. Freckled adorned her face, which, even for Richie, was good looking. She had a look to her that made her seem approachable, but with a ‘I will fucking kill you if necessary’ vibe to it. Her eyes were a stunning blue, but not to Richie. He preferred brown. When she hears familiar sound of footsteps on gravel, she glances up, making sure it wasn’t a teacher making unexpected rounds.

“Hey,” she says, making Richie glance back at her again, “haven’t seen you around here before.”

“Wouldn’t expect you to, I’m kinda new here.”

“Ah.” She pulls out another cancer stick, offering it to him. Richie takes a look at the front door and questions whether he should take her offer or walk inside.

Fuck it.

He walks over to where the girl was sitting and takes the cigarette from her hand, pulling out this lighter, and igniting it. They sit there in silence for a bit, just the sounds of their lungs being damaged can be heard; that is until the girl speaks up:

“I’m Beverly Marsh,” she says, holding out her hand to him, “but most people call me slut around here.” He takes it, smirking at her snide comment. A matching one resides on her face as well.

“Richie Tozier.” A few more minutes pass before Beverly throws her cigarette to the ground.

“We should probably go, homeroom doesn’t last all day.” Richie repeats her actions with his own cigarette, then follows her inside. The inside of the school had been exactly like the outside, boring. Beverly shows him to the front office, where he first gets scolded for being late on his first day, then he receives his schedule. Beverly immediately take it from him, inspecting his list.

“Damn, Tozier, you’re pretty smart, huh?” She turns to him with a surprised look as she sees the AP classes he’s enrolled in.

“Nah,” he explains, “I just suck up to the female teachers and suck off the male ones,” a joking tone very evident in this voice. Beverly rolls her eyes, but still lets out a laugh. To someone, that laugh would be a symphony that could bring them to tears, but Richie preferred a little deeper ones. At that moment, the bell rang, and students of all shapes and sizes were exiting into the hallway where Beverly and Richie stood.

“C’mon, Richie, I’ll show you to your class.” Beverly tugged on his arm to get him moving in the right direction. “And while we’re at it,” she continues while Richie observes the student body, “I’ll give you a little explanation of Derry High School’s student body.” They continue down the halls, shouting and laughter filling their ears, quite the contrast to the near silence there used to be but a minute ago. They reached what seemed to be a commons of sorts, where students of all groups clustered together in their own worlds. They stopped at the front, giving them a view of everyone.

“Over there, you got your football players.” A group of tall, broad guys stand, jostling each other around. “Now, most of them are mindless shitheads, except for Mike,” she points to a good-looking, dark-skinned guy with a bright smile. “He’s one of my buds. Over there are your book nerds, where you’ll find the most adorable human east of the Mississippi, my boyfriend, Ben.” She points to a chubby kid, sitting by a locker reading a book, a small circle of others are sitting with him, reading books of their own. “You’ll sometimes find Bill and Stan with him, but most of the time they’re off in their own little world together. Or getting thrown into garbage cans.” She looks down at her feet, obviously upset with their situation. Richie raised an eyebrow, urging her to explain.

“Bill’s got a stutter, a bad one, too. Can barely get a word out without it showing. And Stan’s family’s the only Jews in this town. They get it rough around here, possibly the worst of us all.” Richie listens, quite interested to know more about the dynamic of this school.

“We all get it bad, however. Mike is black, so he gets slurs painted on his locker by the assholes he plays with. He doesn’t know it’s them doing it, so he keeps hanging out with them when he’s not with us. And Ben,” she looks over at her boyfriend, love filling her eyes as she stares, “he’s got a little extra weight on him, but he’s working on it so he can join the track team. He’s a lot better than he used to be, but that doesn’t stop ‘em. I think the weight looks cute on him, makes him more fun to cuddle, you know. But he feels he needs to change to fit everybody else’s standards, which is such bullshit to me. And, lastly, there’s me.” She pauses with a sigh, looking back at Richie. “I’m the ‘whore’ of the school. Apparently, I’ve had every guy in Derry at one point. Like I’d sleep with any of these fuckers anyway,” gesturing at the crowds, clearly upset at these imbeciles’ accusations. “But that’s the thing about Derry and its people, you get a reputation, you’re stuck with it.” Richie starts to survey the crowd, observing all the interactions these kids have with one another.

“The losers club, we’re called.” Beverly speaks up again, breaking Richie from his trance.

“I like it. Got a nice ring to it, you know. The losers club,” Richie repeats the name again and again, each with a different accent. Beverly giggles at his stupidity, already knowing they were going to be best friends. He stops when, out of the corner of his eye, he sees something that catches his attention. He was a smaller kid, can’t even be 5’10”.

God, he is beautiful.  

Beverly notices his staring and tracks his line of vision to the source. She smiles brightly once she discovers what, or who, it is.

“He’s name’s Eddie,” she says, startling Richie.

“Huh?” Beverly laughs.

“That boy you’re starting at,” she points over at him, “his name’s Eddie. Eddie Kaspbrak.”

Eddie, huh. Cute.

“What’s his story?” Richie questions, going back to staring at the boy, or Eddie as he now knows. He sees that he seems to float between groups, seemingly fitting in everywhere.

“Eddie is the only openly gay kid at this school.” Richie snaps his head to Beverly, jaw almost dropping. “He’s a very pivotal member of the losers club, even after these people randomly decided that they accepted him. He gained quite the social status because of this, which I’m glad for, ‘cause he got it pretty rough before. Even with his newfound popularity, he still hangs out with us and everything, which surprises us all.” Richie sees Eddie sit next to Ben, appearing to ask him about his book.

“He’s also a germaphobe with an overprotective mother who’s got him convinced that could break at any moment, but him being gay suddenly over-shadows all the things people used to get at him about before. Eddie is one of the most loyal people you’ll ever meet, you know. He’s quite the guy.”

Yeah, no kidding.

Richie notices as Eddie looks over to where he and Beverly are standing, meeting his eyes for but a moment with his own. He feels a chill run down his spine, goosebumps appearing on Richie’s arms. He waves at Beverly, a smile ever-present on his face. She waves back to him, motioning for him to come to her. Panic runs through Richie’s bloodstream, knowing that Eddie is coming over here.

“What are you doing?” He asks Beverly, the panic clearly evident in his voice.

“What do you mean,” she gives him a worried look. “I just thought that you should meet Ben and Eddie.” The two make their way over to the Richie and Beverly, Richie trying really hard to slow down his breathing before Eddie seems him like this. They approach, and he’s even more amazing up close. Eddie has a few freckles scattered about his features, which Richie sees as a little extra charm to his appealing face. Even Richie is shocked at how cute he thinks Eddie’s nose is. I mean, how can a nose be cute? But to Richie, his nose was adorable. Small, round, and adorable.

“Hey, Bev,” Ben says to his girlfriend, leaning in for a quick kiss. She smiles into the kiss, happy with where she is right now in life. As he pulls away from her, Ben gives Richie a first glance, wonder appearing on his features. “Who’s your friend?” Richie extends a hand out to Ben, “Richie Tozier, at your service.” Ben took his hand, introducing himself formally. Richie then turns to Eddie, hand still extended. He takes his hand and Richie feels something. He’s not sure what it is yet, but he’s determined to find out.

“Eddie Kaspbrak.” His voice was a little higher than most, but it was still pleasant. The 4 of them then find themselves in a quick conversation before the warning bell rings, reminding them all that they are, in fact, at a school and they need to actually be somewhere.

“Richie, let me see your schedule really quick,” Bev says to him, extending an arm out. He gives her the paper and she studies it. “Shit, I’m on the other side of the school and I can’t be late for Bio again or I’ll get detention. Do either of you guys think you can show him to the English wing?”

“I can,” Eddie speaks up, “I have class down there anyway.”

Don’t fuck this up, Richard.

Richie gives the group a nonchalant shrug, acting like his stomach isn’t erupting with butterflies at that moment. The two depart from Ben and Beverly, leaving them alone as they walk.

“So, Richie,” Eddie says, trying to find some topic of conversation, “where are you from?” Eddie glanced over at Richie to see that he was already looking back. A blush creeps up his neck and onto his face, not used to attractive guys staring at him.

“Chicago.” Eddie nods, awkward silence surrounding them. They turn a corner when Richie stops, getting an idea.

“Hey, Eds, what would you say to having a little fun with our day?”

“First of all, city-slicker, don’t call me Eds, I hate that,” Eddie takes a step towards Richie, a mix or irritation and curiosity evident on his face. “And second of all, what kind of fun did you have in mind?”

“What’s your GPA?” Confusion is added to the mix.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Cause I don’t want you skipping class if your GPA sucks.” Eddie gasps, rushing closer to Richie.

“We cannot skip class,” he says with a hushed tone, just in case a teacher happened to be walking by and overhear their conversation.

“And why’s that, Eds?” Richie leans up against the nearby wall, a smug smile forming on his lips.

“There are some many reasons why we can’t, Tozier,” his mouth is running a mile a minute, but, still, all the sounds flow clearly. “If my mom were to find out I skipped class, she’d have a heart attack and never let me leave my room again. Plus, it’s your first day of school and you don’t want to make a bad impression already-”

“A little too late for that, sweetheart, I have a feeling a bad impression has already been made.”

“Well, you don’t need to make a worse one.” Richie stands up from the wall, walking over to Eddie with a pleading look on his face.

“C’mon, Eds. You’re only a teenager once! Live a little!” Eddie gives him one more look of distaste before finally giving up.

“Alright,” Richie celebrates to himself, “But on one condition.” Richie stops celebrating and turns to Eddie.

“Which is?” Eddie smirks up at Richie.

“I get to choose where we go.” Richie thought about it for a second, thinking over his offer.

“Fuck it, you got a deal,” he shakes Eddie’s hand, the feeling coming back to him. Eddie’s face flushes, giving Richie a hint that he possibly felt it too. They had to sneak out one of side doors by the gym to avoid being caught. Richie kept this exit in mind for the future, for whenever he’s in need of a smoke break. They reach Richie’s car, climbing into the passenger and driver seats, separately.

“Alright, Eddie Spaghetti-” the nickname earning a groan from the boy.

“That shit is worse than Eds, you fucktard,” Eddie interrupts.

“Jesus, I didn’t know that you could fit so much sass in a small, adorable body,” Richie leans over and pinches the other boy’s cheeks. Eddie slaps his hands away from his face, going into a rant:

“Do you know how many germs are passed through face touching? Your hands are probably so unsanitary from being in the city. How many times a day do you wash your hands? Do you carry hand sanitizer with you? Or at least disinfecting wip-”

“Eddie,” Richie stops him, laughing at his outburst, “I can assure you that my hands are perfectly clean, now relax.” Eddie calms down a bit, already settling at the tone of Richie’s voice. ‘Now, where do you want to go?” Eddie thought for a moment, then instructs him in the right direction out of the parking lot.

“Not gonna tell me where we’re going?” Eddie shakes his head.

“It’s a surprise.” Richie rolls his eyes at the answer.

“I hate surprises.”

“Well, get used to it, ‘cause today is gonna be filled with surprises. For you, at least.” The car ride consists mostly of directions from Eddie and comfortable silence. Not long after they pull out of Derry High School’s parking lot, they pull up on a dirt road beside the woods. Richie raises his eyebrow at Eddie, obviously unsure as to what Eddie’s intentions were.

“If you wanted to find a private place to make out, you could’ve just told me,” Richie grins at Eddie, clearly trying to annoy him. Eddie, not having it, smacks the back of Richie’s head as he exits the car, resulting in him slightly recoiling in pain. He gives Eddie a ‘what the fuck?’ look through the windshield, while Eddie gives him a ‘maybe if you weren’t an annoying piece of shit, I wouldn’t have to resort to violence’ look right back at him. Richie gets out of the car, following Eddie into the unknown.

“What are we doing here, Eds?”

“I’ll tell you when we get there,” Eddie says while continuing to navigate them through the woods. As they walk, there isn’t much conversation exchanged, just the sounds of their feet walking on the fallen leaves and rushing water from the nearby river. They soon reach a small clearing in the woods with a small dam built to stop the runoff from the river. Rocks are placed strategically around that dam, appearing to be a sitting place.

“Richie Tozier, welcome to the Barrens.” Eddie spins around, motioning to the whole clearing. Richie takes good look at his surroundings, noticing that there aren’t many leaves on the trees. Winter seems to come sooner in Maine than it does in Illinois.

“Why’d you bring me here?” Eddie turns to Richie, smile wide on the smaller boy’s face.

“Cause if you’re going to be a part of the loser’s club, you need to know where we spend most of our time.”

“So, I’m in your little club now, am I?” Richie takes a step closer to Eddie, a strong force seeming to pull him to the other boy.

“I mean, Bev seems to really like you for some odd reason.” Richie fakes offense, scoffing at Eddie’s comment.

“I resent that, Eddie Spaghetti. I happen to be a very likeable person.”

“Oh really?” It was Eddie’s turn to take a small step closer to Richie, feeling that same pull.

“Really.” Another step.

“Why do I not believe you, Tozier?” And another.

“Maybe because you don’t have a sense of humor?” They were face-to-face now, only about half a foot distance from each other.

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, it is.” He doesn’t know why, but all Richie wants to do is kiss the other boy.

We literally just met today, slow your roll, Tozier.

With that, Richie clears his throat, taking a step back from Eddie. He didn’t show it, but Eddie is pretty disappointed. He’s not exactly sure why, but he is.

“So, where to now, Eds?”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Eds? It’s annoying.” It wasn’t.

“You know, the more you tell me not to call you that, the more I want to.” Eddie rolled his eyes, trying to feign annoyance, but secretly, he loved the nickname.

“To answer your question,” Eddie says, trying to steer the conversation back to where it originally was, “I was gonna show you one more place that’ll become more familiar to you the more you hang out with us.”

“Which is,” Richie says, trying to coax an answer out of the other boy.

“You’ll see. Just follow me,” he says, heading in a new direction. Richie follows him, obediently. Just like before, there wasn’t much conversation during their walk, just the sounds of nature surrounding them. After not even a few minutes, they arrive at a clearing where there’s a big cliff, the Kenduskeag waters looking a deep blue from this far up.

“And this is quarry. Perfect place to hang out during the summer.” Richie takes a step closer to the cliff, an idea immediately coming to his head. He starts to take off his shirt; Eddie notices this and quickly responds with a “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Who says that the quarry is perfect JUST for summer days? Why not early fall.”

“Richie, what are yo-” But before Eddie could even finish his sentence, Richie Tozier took a running start and leaped into the waters down below. Eddie rushed over to the edge of the rock and looked down, witnessing black curls breaking the surface of the water. He breathed a sigh of relief, not ready to have to explain to Bev that he already killed her new best friend. And, possibly, his own.

“Come on, Eddie Spaghetti, the water’s great,” Richie yells back to a dazed Eddie, many thoughts swimming through his mind in that moment. He wondered if he should jump in after. He wondered what his mom would think of him in this moment; also, what he thought of himself and Richie. Who exactly was Richie to him? They may have just met that day, but Eddie felt something there, and he could tell Richie felt it too. Well, he thought to himself, might as well find out. Eddie decided to take the chance, stripping off most of his clothing and jumping off the height he’s jumped off so many times before. Only this time it’s different. This time, there’s something besides water waiting for him at the bottom. He popped his head up to be met with a pull to his leg, bringing him underneath the water yet again. Richie comes up first, laughing at his stupidity. When Eddie resurfaced, he had some choice words to say.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? I could’ve drowned and died!! I could’ve swallowed river water and do you know how many parasites are in river water? I could’ve been infected with some weird disease and then I’ll have to spend the next week in the hospital getting checked and - hey, where are you going??” By this time, Richie is already a good distance away from the smaller boy, too distracted from his ranting to notice the other’s absence.

“I love it when you talk dirty to me, Eds, but I’m afraid you’ve given quite the bore,” he says with a goofy British accent, though it still manages to sound like Richie himself. He rolls his eyes, though a small smile fights to keep off his face.

For about an hour or 2 (who’s really keeping track anymore), they mess around in the chilly waters of the Kenduskeag. Feeling like a kid for the first time in awhile, at least for Eddie. They sit atop the cliff, Richie starring up at the sky, hand over eyes, cigarette in opposite. Eddie resides in the comfort of the shade of an old oak tree, making sure to stay away from the sun’s dangerous rays to avoid burning. Richie turns back to him, noticing that Eddie’s twisting a fallen leaf around his fingers.

Pretty.

Richie can’t stop himself from staring at the other boy. His hair was curly, like his own, but it wasn’t out of control. He had a few freckles spread about his features, adding a hint of charm to his already appealing face. Round, deep-brown eyes that Richie could just stare at all day. Get lost in all day. Eddie looks up from his leaf, catching his eyes with a confused look. Richie quickly looks down, a bit of a blush creeping up onto his cheeks. Eddie smirks, but a blush of his own spreads about his cheeks. Richie stands, deciding he was done being in the sun. He takes a seat next to Eddie under the tree, resting his head against the trunk and blowing tobacco smoke above and away from their faces.

“So, Eddie,” he turns at the mention of his name, “tell me a bit about yourself.”

“I thought Bev already filled you in on the basics.”

“Well, she did, but I want to hear from your perspective. What makes my little Eddie Spaghetti tick?” He reaches over and pinches the smaller boy’s cheeks, eliciting a slap to his hand. And so he tells him. He tells him everything, from his interests to his mom’s overbearing nature. He’s not sure why, but he feels a sense of trust with Richie. Like, possibly, they were meant to find each other. To be each other’s lifelines.

“What about you, Rich?”

“Hmm?”

“What. About. You.”

“What about me?” Eddie rolls his eyes at his incompetence.

“Tell me about yourself.”

“I’m not that interesting of a guy, Eds.”

“Now, I know for a fact that isn’t true.” Eddie turns to face Richie, giving him his full attention. For some odd reason, Richie can feel it too, the feeling of trust he’s been searching for. He tells Eddie about his love for doing voices, finding ways to make people laugh. He tells Eddie about his ADHD and his fears of being forgotten and left alone. And Eddie listens, nodding at some parts and encouraging at others. He can tell that Richie really wants to make a good impression, and he wants him to know that he’s doing just that. Richie may be super annoying at times, insufferable at other, but he’s a genuine person, Eddie thinks to himself. He has fears, worries, and insecurities, just like everybody else in the world. He’ll really fit in with us losers, huh.

They two boys continue to talk for awhile after, just trying to get to know each other before finally heading back to Richie’s car to get Eddie back home before his mother starts to worry. When they arrive outside Eddie’s house, there’s a pause. Eddie looks as if he’s debating something when he finally leans over and kisses Richie on the cheek, whispering a goodbye before exiting the car in a rush. He sits for a second before a smile lights up Richie’s face.

Maybe Derry isn’t going to be as bad as I thought it would be.