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baguettehead · 3 years

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Quarry days

Stan Uris x they/them reader

warnings: some curse words, richie tozer, lil bit of angst, possibly based off of real situations, lil bit of Reddie ;)

Summary: You’ve always had a thing for the brown eyes and mop of curly hair, the voice that made you melt like a Popsicle, but what if you added in scheming friends, darkness, missing gas, and maybe a turtle.

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You had known the losers since 6th grade. That was the year your parents decided to make the move from Michigan to Derry, Main. You moved around a lot, and you weren’t even an army brat, your parents just seemed to enjoy hopping from place to place. Your parents owned their own business, all the work was mostly online so it was pretty easy to just up and leave. You were born in Washington state, lived their for a while, then you lived in California for a few years, Colorado for a singular year, Michigan, and now the shithole that is Derry, Maine.

You had no idea why your parents chose Derry, there really wasn’t much here. A few nice shops, a pretty decent arcade, old people with sticks up their butts, and what you thought to be a normal group of neighborhood bullies.

When you moved to Derry you had no one, and at this point you didn’t care enough to try and make friends, you didn’t know if you were staying long. After an tantalizingly long day of being forcefully introduced to classmates and eating lunch alone, in the library, you honestly just wanted a nap.

Leaving the school you were suddenly pushed into the wall next to you, your bag thrown off your shoulder, and coming face to face with the wonderful scent of vodka and utter shit. Must be Bowers. He held you by the shoulder of your shirt with his right hand and with his left he put his forearm on your neck, effectively trapping you to the wall

This was your first encounter with the infamous gang, but you’d heard about them from the few conversations you’d had with kids in classes and passing periods. Let’s just say, he was as disgusting as you’d heard. Has he ever tried a toothbrush before??

“Look at this” he spoke, looking back to his gang of douchbags “Fresh meat” his goons laughed a little while you just rolled your eyes, you’d dealt with your fare share of bullies and asshats that you simply couldn’t bring yourself to care anymore

“look” you said in an exasperated sigh “i don’t have cash, my mom packs my lunch”

“well then” Bowers said “you’ll just have to pay me in another way darling” a disgusting grin overtook his face and his goons began laugh and cheer like they just took a shit on the toilet for the first time

“i’m good” you spoke calmly as you attempted to leave his grasp. Bowers just stared down at you confused for a second before he snapped back into action and held you a little tighter

“it wasn’t a question” he seethed through closed teeth

“and i wasn’t giving a suggestion dipshit”

Henry’s jaw tightened and you could practically see the anger bubbling inside him while his group of misfit toys got real quite

“now listen here you little bit-”

“no you listen asshole” you cut him off “i don’t have time to deal with insecure little boys who didn’t get mommy’s attention as a child and now take it out on all those around him” you spoke quickly faking a pout and slowly worming your way out of his grip “your just some stuck up prick who relishes in the hurt of others because you are so hurt that your deranged little brain finds pleasure making other miserable so that you can fake happiness. News flash, hurting others won’t make you happy, you’ll always be an attention deprived, whiny ass child who probably won’t live past their 30′s, will definitely have a substance abuse issue, and even as a 15 year old attempts to drown his sorrows in vodka and punching kids smaller than him for fun” you finished your little rant, taking in a short breath “now” you continued, marveling at the befuddled looks on all their faces “i have a can of pepper spray in my back pocket and if one of you little rascal looking ass children comes any closer i’ll mace you in the face. Got it”

As soon as you finished you slipped from his grasp and starting running like hell towards your house. You could hear him screaming profanities, and you knew you were now on his hit list, but you really couldn’t find it in yourself to give a shit.

Once you knew you were far enough, you knew he wouldn’t follow you but didn’t want to risk it, you sat on the curb to catch your breath. Almost immediately you saw 4 bikes coming around the corner, the occupants stopping in front of you and throwing their bikes down.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT THAT WAS INCREDIBLE” the one with coke bottle glasses screamed at you practically screamed at you, you returned a weak smile

“H-h-he’s gonna f-f-fu-fucking kill you” another rushed out

You shrugged your shoulders “ive got a at least a few days” you told them “i wounded his masculinity, gotta build that back up” you muttered

“I can’t believe you did that” the one with the fanny pack stated as he started to pace in front of you “i mean, now bowers and his whole gang are gonna be on your ass” he stopped in front of you and made direct eye contact “your gonna have to watch for him at all times” he deadpanned and you grimaced a little bit

“don’t worry” coke bottle glasses spoke up again “bowers is always on our asses so we can show you the best place to avoid him”

“a-and the hallways to a-a-avoid h-him” the dirty blonde spoke up

you smiled up at them “i’d actually quite like that”

“Then welcome to the losers club y/n” the forth boy spoke up as he held his hand out for you, the one with curly hair and amazing eyes. You had him in two of classes and he always seems to catch your eye. You took his hand and he helped you off the curb before they gave you their unofficial, official, tour of the town.

After that you were practically glued to the four boys, you did everything with them now. And if it wasn’t all of them, you were with at east one practically at all times.

You told them about your moving adventures, even opening up about your constant fear that your parents are gonna pack up and leave forcing you to leave them, and earning Richie’s nickname for you Cali. For some reason Richie couldn’t seem to let go of the fact that you lived in California, asking questions about it whenever there was downtime, and telling you about his dream of living there one day and making it big. You always told him that he could do it, because you truly believed he could.

Soon Bev, Mike, and Ben joined the group, making it 8. You gained your ‘secret’ clubhouse, and Bill, Mike, Stan, and Richie all got their licences.

Now its junior year, you’ve made it almost 5 years in Derry, and you’ve gained the closed friends you’ve ever had

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“You guys wanna go to the quarry after school?” Richie asked, his mouth half full of turkey sandwich and pretty much yelling over all the noise in the cafeteria. You shuddered and watched as Eddie slapped his shoulder and scolded him for talking with his mouth open, Rich pouting like a child. You loved watching them, a knowing smile on your face.

“sounds like fun” Bev voiced “y/n and i just went swimsuit shopping and they looked killer in their suit” she smirked at you from down the table while you blushed and rolled your eyes

“i mean i’d prefer to see the suit on the floor but whatever your comfortable with” Richie commented

you threw a baby carrot at his face, which he caught in his mouth promoting cheers from the others and for you to dissolve into laughter

“i is s-s-s-supposed to be like n-n-ninety degrees today” Bill added in

“oh fuck that” you groaned as you lent your head on stand shoulder next you and continued munching on your carrots, missing how he smiled down at you

“quarry it is!” Richie exclaimed before everyone else fell back into their conversations

“sooooo” you heard Stan draw out from above you, moving your head to look up at him but leaving it resting on his shoulder “will i get to see this new suit you apparently look amazing in?” he questioned while wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive way. You simply laughed, shoving his shoulder and telling him to shut up.

You’ve had a crush on Stan since 7th grade. You always thought he was attractive, like REALLY attractive, but after getting to know him and spending time together you knew you were fucked.

Bev has tried convincing you that he likes you back but, something in your brain just can’t accept it. She’s gone on and on about how ‘different’ he acts around you, how hes “not such a stuck up prick, he like, actually kinda nice and soft”, her words exactly. But, that was just the Stan you knew, the one you always saw. Caring, kind, funny, and enjoyable.

Bill drove you and Bev to her house, where your suits where from the last time you slept over like 4 days ago, and then took you both to the quarry. Once you got there you saw all the other cars and heard splashing and screaming.

“Those assholes went without us” Bev cried as she ripped the car door open, bolting for the cliff and immediately jumping off. You and Bill just laughed and sat there for a moment.

“r-ready m’lady?” Bill asked as he left the car and extended a hand for you

laughing, you took his hand “Of course good sir”

Bill was already in his trunks so after the short walk up the hill he plunged into the water , full cannonball, soaking almost everyone except Mike who swam out of the way. You watched from the top, laughing as they splashed each other back and forth. Sometimes it was nice to just watch their antics and relish in the moment.

“you coming sweet cheeks” Richie yelled up to effectively drawing every ones attention you

You blushed at the sudden attention “Whatever Tozier” you yelled back before you began stripping down to your swim suit.

Unbeknownst to you at the top of the cliff, you had some effect on poor Stan down in the water. He sat with his eyes glued to you as you exposed more and more skin. He’s seen you in a swimsuit before, hell he’s even seen you in your panties, but every time it still manages to make his mouth go dry and eyes widen.

“They’ll catch you drooling if you stare too long” Richie quipped with a smirk

“Shut it Tozier” he murmured lowering into the water to hide his blush right as you jumped from the cliff.

The eight of you spent hours in the water. Chicken fights, splash wars, and Richie attempting to dunk you, Bill even found a turtle which he claimed meant good luck. You only got out of the water for a bit to dry off before leaving. You and Bev lie on the rocks to dry off and maybe tan, that was, before Mike carried a bucket of water over and splashed you both with started yet another splash war. You finally got out when the sun started to set. You sat around and talked, told stories, before you had to leave. You were all still pretty wet but you didn’t care.

Stan had offered you a ride earlier and you happily agreed, knowing you’d get some alone time with him and ice cream if you begged hard enough.

You layed back on the rocks, to watch the sunset and see the stars starting to pop out.

“alright were heading out” Richie suddenly said

Mike had already left, taking Ben with him due to their stricter curfews. But Rich was taking Eddie and Bill Bev.

“What, why?” Stan said, narrowing his eyes as if he knew they were plotting something

“j-just tired is all” Bill replied casually before he began walking to his car

“bye” Eddie chimed in

“Bye Edds!” you called back

“wait why can she call you that” Rich argued walking side by side with Eddie

“cause i actually like them” He replied casually with a shrug

Richie just huffed and pouted like a child before Eddie nudged his shoulder and he was all smiley again

“See you at school” Bev called, sending a wink in your direction which you replied to with an eye roll

As they walked towards their cars and began to drive away Stan turned towards you “That was suspicious right?”

“completely” you replied climbing down from the rock you previously lied on

“Okay good, it wasn’t just me” he said with a sigh

You laughed a bit “But when are they not suspicious?”

“You got me there” he said before he leaned back on the rock behind him

You crawled over to sit next to him, laying your head on his shoulder and just admiring the sunset. You both sat like that for a while, surrounded by comfortable silence.

One thing about Derry was that no matter how hot the days were the nights seemed to always be freezing, accompanied by wind. You crossed your arms over yourself in hopes of generating more body heat.

“Are you cold” Stan asked taking notice of your shivering form

“Just a bit” you answered not wanting to ruin the comfortable bubble you’d found yourselves in

“i have a blanket in my car” he started to stand up only for you to groan and cling on to his arm. Laughing, he sat back down and you cuddled into his side.

“you’ll catch a cold babe come on” you blushed at the pet name and melted even further into his side when he started combing through your hair with his fingers. Noticing that you weren’t going to budge he huffed a bit, though, he didn’t want to move either.

“I’ll get you ice cream” he sighed

You bounced up with a goofy grin on your face, pulling his hand towards the car

“Lets not waste time” you started “i’m in critical condition, need creamed ice immediately” you feigned sick with a hand to your forehead and pouty eyes. He only laughed, getting up and heading to the car, his hand never leaving yours as you walked to the car.

“what the fuck” he muttered as you reached the car

Tucked under the windshield wiper of his car was a note that said ‘use protection’, clearly in Richies handwriting, and a roll of condoms

You blushed lightly, giggling a bit. Stan looked to with a puzzled expression on his face “i don’t know” you shrugged trying to prove your innocence.

“I don’t understand half the things he does” you comment as you climb into the passengers seat

“does anyone?” he questions with a laugh

Stan throws the note and condoms into the center console before starting up the car. Your bouncing in your seat, the anticipation of ice cream making you giddy and Stan laughs at that. Well, the car doesn’t start. Stan tried multiple times, clearly getting frustrated

“uh Stan” you try and grab his attention, it works, anytime you talk Stan always has his full attention on you. You point towards the gas meter, which displays empty.

“I literally got fucking gas on the way here what the fuck” he exclaims as he gets out of the car, you follow. You see him stop and stare at the gas tank opening

“what?” you question before reaching the other side of the car and falling silent

Right below the gas tank, on the ground, lays a rubber pipe.

“Did they fucking siphon my gas?!” He yells

You stand there for a moment longer, staring at the gas lined pipe, before you break out into hysterical laughter. The pure kind that comes from the belly and leaves you gasping for air with side cramps

“its not funny” he yells

you try to talk but it just dissolves into more hysterics and soon enough Stan is laughing with you, your laugh is just contagious and your radiant smile that could light up the entire galaxy never fail to make him follow along.

After you both calm down, clutching your bellies, you break the silence

“so, what do we do now?” you look over to Stan who’s sitting next to you on the curb

“i guess i’ll call Rich and have him come pick us up” you nod

He stands up, pulling out his phone and calling Rich. You sort of zone out, guess you were more tired than you thought, but your brought back to earth by Stan yelling into the phone. All you could catch was

“what?! No! Hey no no no” and “Fucking asshole” as he ended the call. You new what was coming but you asked anyways

“so?”

“He said hes not coming” Stan sighed in defeat as he sat next to you and lied his head on your shoulder. Your hand immediately immersed itself in his hair, gently scratching his scalp and brushing through his curls. You sighed wondering how the fuck you were gonna get out of this one.

“what about Mike and Bill?” you questioned

“in on it” he sighed out and you hummed in response. You both sat there for a moment, in comfortable silence, trying to calm Stan down.

“did he say anything els-”

“do you like me?” Stan’s head rose from your shoulder, looking you in the eyes and cutting off your sentence. You felt your mouth go dry, eyes widening, cheeks getting hot and probably bright red.

“i- uh- well” you stuttered out, really having no clue how to answer that question

“I mean” he started, sighing and nervously running a hand through his head of wild curls “not in a …. friends way” he finished slowly, meeting your eyes

He had a blush of his own covering his cheeks and his marvelous brown eyes danced all over your face as if looking for the answer there. You sat there staring at him for what felt like forever, running over your choices. Just as the though of running away and joining the circus came into your mind you felt a surge of confidence and smashed your lips into his.

He tasted like mint, salt, and something you could only describe as Stan.

Your lips moved together perfectly, dancing around each other in the best dance you’d ever preformed. Teeth hitting teeth as the years of desperation and pining were finally put to a rest. His arms snaked around your waist, pulling you into his lap to straddle him, as yours wound around his neck and wove into his hair.

You both pulled away panting. His lips barely leaving yours, still ghosting over them like a precursor for whats to come. You stared into his eyes, you could get lost in those brown orbs so easily, drowning hopelessly in their beauty and dying happily. Stan was the first to break the silence

“yes?” he questioned

you threw your head back and laughed heartily. The sight alone made him melt in your hands and the sound dug his grave. The brilliant smile you flashed him afterwards felt like the afterlife and when you leaned down to capture his lips one again he knew he was in heaven.

“yes” you breathed as you pulled away from him, as difficult as it was

Stan smiled so brightly and let out a little cheer before falling right back into your lips and kissing you more passionately than anyone ever has and you doubt anyone ever will. There you sat, Straddling Stanley Uris in an empty parking and kissing him until you were gasping for breath.

You pulled away from Stan, leaning your forehead on his, pressed into his chest, barely inches away. He leaned up and peppered your face in small kissing causing you to break into giggles.

“I love you y/n y/l/n” he spoke softly into the night air

You stared into his chocolate eyes, in complete euphoria

“I love you too Stanley Uris” you told him with the most confidence you have ever had in a statement.

#it #it cast #stanley uris #it book #it movie #stanley uris x reader #x reader #reader x stanley uris #stan the man #it fic

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ambrossart · 3 years

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PAPER MEN

— CHAPTER 20

SUMMARY: All Evelyn Tozier wanted to do was make Derry High School a safer place for her kid brother. Well, somewhere between kissing Patrick Hockstetter and telling the principal to go f*** himself, things got a little off track. Now she’s stuck in the middle of a bizarre love triangle with two of Derry’s most troubled teens while her little brother and his friends hunt down a creepy, child-eating circus clown. This year, summer can’t come fast enough. PAIRINGS: Henry Bowers x Tozier!Sister; Patrick Hockstetter x Tozier!Sister WARNINGS: violence, profanity, sexual content (not smut), bullying, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, all kinds of abuse, trauma, mental illness, implied/referenced self-harm, child death, angst, lots of angst, recreational drug use, underage drinking, love triangles, unrequited love, toxic relationships, slow burn, slow build

WORD COUNT: 6,399

MASTERPOST

Evelyn coiled the phone cord around her finger until the tip turned a deep purple.

“Hannah, do you think it’s possible for someone to be completely numb?”

There was a long pause. A few blocks away, Hannah-Beth Stokes was sitting on her kitchen counter (even though she wasn’t supposed to) and munching on a bowl of Raisin Bran while her mother got dressed for church. She answered with her mouth full. “Like, emotionally or physically?”

“I dunno,” Evelyn said. “Both, I guess.”

She leaned over just enough to see into the living room, where Georgie Denbrough, dressed and fed, was happily watching Sunday morning cartoons while he worked on a crossword puzzle for school. She felt a sharp pang of guilt. He has no idea of the danger I put him in last night. No clue at all. I put extra chocolate chips in his pancakes this morning, and he assumed I was just being nice.

Evelyn dragged herself back into the kitchen. The mixing bowl was still on the counter, a dribble of dried batter clinging to one side. “You know I burned my arm on the griddle this morning. Wasn’t paying attention, I guess. It stung so bad, I almost started crying.”

“Yikes!” Hannah-Beth said. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” There was a big, throbbing pink mark on her arm, but it would probably fade in a day or two. “It just got me thinking about Patrick. I cut him, Hannah. I cut him, and he didn’t even wince.” While Evelyn was crying and apologizing and blubbering about all the blood, Patrick was studying the dishware in Mrs. Denbrough’s china hutch: Hey, you think that’s real crystal? “I mean, he acted like it was a paper cut or a bug bite or something.”

“So?” Hannah-Beth said, sounding bored. She slurped some milk off her spoon. “He’s probably just putting on the tough guy act. Come on, Evie, you know how boys are. They don’t like to look weak, especially around us girls. It’s like a complex or something.”

Evelyn was still skeptical. “I dunno, Hannah. I’ve seen the tough guy act before, and this wasn’t it. This was weird.”

“I still can’t believe you stabbed him.”

“Hey, it wasn’t a stab, okay? It was more like a slice.” As if that sounded any better. “And, you know what, I’m still not convinced it was my fault.”

“What does that mean?”

“Just this feeling I have.” A sort of nagging that gnawed and clawed at her stomach. It was difficult to put into words. “I dunno, maybe I’m just tired.”

“Couldn’t sleep, huh?”

“Nope.”

“Too busy thinking about Patrick?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve been doing that a lot lately, huh?”

“Yeah, well… Wait, hold on, Hannah.”

Georgie was calling out from the living room: “Evie, what’s a seven-letter word for gathering crops?”

Evelyn lowered the phone to her shoulder. “I’m not allowed to help you, remember? Skip it for now and move on to the next one.” Then to Hannah-Beth, she said, “I feel like I’m giving you the wrong idea. I mean, sure, I was thinking about Patrick, but I wasn’t thinking about Patrick. Do you see the difference?”

“Not really,” Hannah-Beth teased in a giddy voice. “Besides, you gotta admit it’s awfully romantic.”

Evelyn scrunched up her nose. “Romantic? Were you listening when I was talking earlier?”

“Oh, intently! It was quite the story. You had my heart racing and everything.”

“And you think Patrick stalking me and breaking into the house is romantic?”

Hannah-Beth’s voice shrank. “Well, maybe not when you put it like that. But think of it this way, Evie: Patrick was so desperate, so overcome with lust and desire, that he had to break into the house just to see you. Ugh, I get chills just thinking about it!”

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “So you started a new book, huh? What’s it called?”

“A Walk at Night,” Hannah-Beth gushed, “by Clara Ivy Stone. Romantic thriller. Great premise, somewhat sloppy execution. It started out with a bang but fizzled a little toward the end. Oh well. Still a decent read, though. Would totally recommend.”

“Well, I’m glad you liked it,” Evelyn said. “But please don’t project that into my situation, Hannah. This isn’t a book.”

“No, this is even better! You just don’t see it because it’s Patrick. I’m telling you, if it were anyone else, you’d be swooning right now.”

“No, I’d be changing the locks and installing an alarm system.” Evelyn switched the phone to her opposite ear. “Hannah, what am I supposed to do? I don’t think Patrick’s gonna be giving up anytime soon. You should see the way he looks at me.”

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. We’re not talking a casual glance here and there. It’s a full-on stare. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much raw sexual energy in my life!”

“Hannah, focus please.”

“Right, sorry.”

Silence fell between them. In it, Evelyn could hear Mrs. Stokes murmuring in the background.

“Hannah-Beth, for the last time, get off the counter. You know I hate that. How do you expect me to prepare food knowing your butt has been there? It’s terribly unhygienic.”

“Sorry, Mom.”

“And who are you talking to this early? We’re leaving in ten minutes.”

“It’s just Evelyn, Mom.”

“Oh, Evelyn? Hey, ask her if her father has any openings next week.”

“You already called the office called twice, Mom. They’re booked.”

“Yeah, but maybe she can convince him to squeeze you in between appointments. It’s just one tooth. It won’t take long.”

“I’m not asking her to do that, Mom. It’s inappropriate.”

“There’s no harm in asking.”

“I don’t want to!”

“Hannah-Beth, do you want that tooth fixed or not?”

“We can go to a different dentist!”

“And pay full price? Ha!”

After that, Hannah-Beth timidly returned to the line. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Evelyn said. “And, hey, if you want me to talk to my dad, I can.”

“No, don’t. Otherwise, she’ll never leave your family alone. You do my mom one favor, and she asks for twenty. Trust me, it’s better to just stay out of it.”

“Oh. Well, I can… if you want.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. And I think I have a solution to your problem. Only thing is, you’re probably not gonna like it very much.”

Evelyn was picking batter out of her cuticles. “Well, I’m sure it’s better than any of my ideas. Come on, let’s hear it!”

Hannah-Beth sucked in a quick breath. “Okay, um… Look, I know I’m new and everything, but from what I can see, Patrick seems like the kinda guy that enjoys the chase more than anything. The more you resist, the more he wants you. And so far, you’ve definitely been resisting.”

Evelyn’s throat got really tight. “Right…”

“… so… stop resisting.”

“Stop resisting? That’s it? That’s your advice?”

“Well, you said it yourself—he’s not gonna leave you alone. Seems to me like this is your only option.”

“Yeah, but—”

Hannah-Beth’s voice dropped into a harsh whisper. “I’m not telling you to sleep with him or anything! Just… I dunno… give in a little. It’ll catch him off guard and he’ll lose interest. Come on, don’t you want things to go back to normal?”

“You know I do. More than anything.”

“Then this is your safest bet. I’m sorry, I know it sucks, but… hey, maybe it won’t be so bad. Miranda says he’s a really good kisser, so at least you don’t have to worry about your first kiss being terrible. All hard and dry. And your teeth clash. Or they cut you with their braces. Oh my God, Evelyn, you would not believe the horror stories I’ve heard. Apparently, none of the guys in our grade know how to kiss.” She giggled at that for a minute straight. “Well, at least we know we’re not missing out on anything, right?”

Evelyn didn’t answer. Hannah-Beth assumed she was depressed.

“Hey, are you okay? You know you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. We can come up with another plan. I just need some more time to think, that’s all.”

“No, you’re right, Hannah. There is no other way.”

“Wait, then you’re… Holy shit, you’re really gonna do it?”

Evelyn started wrapping the cord around her finger again. The tip went from pink to red to purple.

“I haven’t fully decided yet, but maybe.”

Later that morning, the Denbroughs came home to a tidy house and a spotless kitchen that smelled of citrus. Sharon, still humming the second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, expressed her sincerest gratitude by blessing Evelyn’s palm with a crisp fifty-dollar bill. (“And you make sure that goes right into your savings, okay, sweetie?”) Then, while Evelyn was walking her bike down the family’s driveway, Zack came outside and slipped her an extra twenty.

“We had a really great time,” he said a bit stiffly, “so thank you.”

Evelyn smiled up at him. “It was no trouble, really. Your boys are both super well-behaved, so they make my job easy. Seriously, anytime you two wanna head out of town for the weekend, or one night even, just give me a call.”

Zack Denbrough smiled at that, his blue eyes warming in the bright morning sun. “We might have to take you up on that, thanks.” Then he turned his head to observe the traffic between Summer and Main. It had been heavy earlier, largely due to the incoming church crowd, but now it wasn’t too bad. “You get home safe, okay? And say hi to your folks.”

“Will do,” Evelyn said. “See you around, Mr. D!” She waved goodbye and peddled home.

Sunday morning mass was playing on the living room television.

Evelyn slipped through the front door and pushed it closed. Wow, Mom’s monthly guilt trip must’ve come early. On screen was a gilded altar with candles and flowers and all these ornate sculptures, and now a priest in a white robe was lifting a circle of bread over his head and performing what Evelyn could only assume was the Eucharist.

Wentworth Tozier peeked over the top of his Sunday paper and smiled at her. “Peace be with you.”

“And also with you,” Evelyn replied, amused. “So, what, we’re Catholic again?”

“Why? What were we last month?”

“Lutheran, I think.”

“Oh… Well, it’s all the same, anyway.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s true.” Then Evelyn glanced once more at the television, saw the priest’s flapping lips, and said, “You know, you should at least turn the volume up. That way you can pretend like you’re actually watching it.”

Her father flipped to the next page. “If I wanted to hear the service, Evelyn, I’d go to the service.”

“Why don’t we just go to service? It’s only one day a week. I think we can manage that.”

“No!” Richie suddenly yelled from the kitchen. “No church! What the hell are you trying to do?”

“Hey!” said Went in a stern voice. “No swearing on Sundays. It’s the Lord’s day.”

Evelyn hung her head and muttered, “Oh jeez, you’re all going to Hell.”

And for that, her father pointed his finger at her. “No, we’re all going to Hell, as a family.”

Richie came out of the kitchen with a snarky grin and a backpack full of snacks. It was stuffed so full the damned thing wouldn’t even zip all the way.

“Yeah, Evelyn,” he said, “quit acting like such a saint. At least we watch church. You just sit up in your room and study all day.”

Evelyn (who, in truth, had no desire to give up even part of her Sundays) said, “But you’re not watching church.” And as she was saying that, Richie passed through the living room and out the front door. “See? Nobody’s watching church! It’s just playing in the background!”

A sock came flying down the stairs, followed by a pair of jeans. “You wanna go to church, Evelyn?” Maggie Tozier hollered from the top of the stairs. “Fine, we’ll go to church. Next Sunday, we’ll all get up at the crack of dawn, put on our stiffest clothes, and sit through an hour-long service that’s so boring you wanna bash your head in. Then we’ll go to the banquet hall for lunch and eat dry turkey sandwiches and listen to Sonia Kaspbrak berate me for not going to church enough: You know, Marge, church is a lifelong commitment, not something you can just stop and start whenever you please. I swear to God, if that woman calls me Marge one more time, I’m gonna shove a Twinkie down her throat.” She heaved a pile of clothes over her shoulder. It came down like heavy rain.

Baffled, Evelyn asked, “When is this feud with Mrs. Kaspbrak gonna end?”

“When she inevitably dies of an early heart attack!”

Wentworth Tozier clucked his tongue behind his paper. “Love thy neighbor, Maggie. Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

And that, folks, was when Evelyn realized her family wasn’t cut out for church. Even the priest on TV seemed to be judging them.

Yeah, we’re definitely going to Hell.

Evelyn was busy unpacking her overnight bag when her mother knocked on the door.

“Hey, I’m washing whites next, so if you have any other dirty clothes, make sure you bring ‘em downstairs with you, okay?”

“Okay,” Evelyn said, and bent back down.

Her mother lingered in the doorway.

“So, how was babysitting?”

“Good. Made seventy bucks.”

“Wow, how generous of them.”

“Yeah, I thought so, too.”

“Mhm… Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”

Evelyn knelt down to push her empty duffle back under the bed. “Sure, if it’ll be quick. I’m heading to the Crisses’ for lunch, and I don’t wanna keep them waiting too long.”

There was a quiet gasp. “Is that who it is? Oh, thank God!”

Puzzled, Evelyn rolled back on her knees and turned around. “Is that who what is? What are you talking about?”

Maggie stepped in and closed the door. That’s when Evelyn decided to move to the bed. Whenever her mother closed the door like that, it usually meant Evelyn was in for a serious mother-daughter talk. Oh, she could feel the dread welling up inside her already! Her mother was never very good at these sorts of talks. They usually started out okay, but her train of thought always derailed after a while and went chug-a-lugging into the Maggie Tozier Comedy Hour—a witty, one-woman show that toured regularly in Evelyn’s bedroom.

“Okay, look,” Maggie began with a disturbing lack of fanfare, “I would have preferred you to wait at least another year before you started dating. I know it’s practically the nineties, and I’m sure a lot of kids at school are already doing it, but your father and I still believe fifteen is way, way too young to be involved in such adult relationships. Now, having said that, I just want you to know it’s completely okay. You’re not in any trouble, sweetie.”

Evelyn squinted at her. “Okay, I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Then came the sympathetic head-tilt. “Honey, you don’t have to hide it anymore. I already know about the hickey.”

Evelyn clutched the side of her neck in horror. “OH MY GOD, YOU DO? HOW?”

Did her collar slip during dinner? Did she accidentally flash it while scratching an itch? She thought she was being super careful!

Maggie waved her hand like a student waiting to get called on. “Uhh, I do your laundry, remember? And by my count, you’re on your… wait, lemme think… fourth turtleneck now. Something tells me you’re not trying to set the record for most consecutive days spent in a turtleneck. Although at the rate you’re going, I’d say you definitely have a shot. Seriously, hun, how much longer did you think that was gonna work?”

The shame hit her like a train. Evelyn collapsed onto her back. “I dunno, maybe a couple more days. It’s almost gone, so I think I could’ve made it.”

“Wow, he must’ve been sucking pretty hard… Wait, it is a he, right?”

“Mom!”

“Okay, just checking, just checking. Don’t wanna assume anything.” Maggie sat down and began drumming her fingers on Evelyn’s writing desk, up and down, up and down. Then, with a low rumble in her voice, she asked, “Do I… know this person?”

Evelyn scoffed. “It’s not him, Mom. You can retract your claws now.”

“Okay, okay,” and Maggie laid her hand flat on the desk. “So, who is this Prince Charming?”

“Just some kid in my class.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna need a name.”

“You wouldn’t know him.”

“Aww, nice try, sweetie. If we lived in a bigger town, that might’ve actually worked. But since we don’t… name, please.”

“Patrick.”

“Uh-huh. Gonna need his last name, too. That way I can look him up in the phone book, call his house, and then scream at him for besmirching my daughter.”

“Besmirch, really?”

“Name.”

“Hockstetter.”

“Hock—” Maggie’s eyes got really wide. “… as in the kid that used to go around torturing small animals?”

“Allegedly.”

“I thought they sent that little psycho away.”

“They did. He came back last year.”

“Wow… You certainly have a type, don’t you?”

“Mom!”

“Sorry, sorry… Wait, shouldn’t that little freak be a senior by now?”

“Yeah, he got held back a couple times.”

“Ahhh, a seventeen-year-old sophomore. Mother’s dream.”

Evelyn grabbed her pillow and put it over her face. “How long does it take to smother yourself?”

“With your strength, probably a good ten minutes. But you’re more likely to pass out before that happens. Should I go grab the timer from the kitchen? I’ll need it back before dinner, though. I’m making baked ziti tonight.”

Evelyn threw the pillow aside and sat up. “Look, Mom, we’re not dating.”

“Okay,” Maggie said, nodding. “So it’s a casual thing.”

“No, it’s not an anything… thing. Can we please not talk about this?”

“Hey, I’m not enjoying this either, okay? Do you really think this is how I wanna spend my Sunday? Trust me, I’d rather be in church.” Maggie caught herself, and her voice softened again. “Look, I just wanna make sure you’re protecting yourself, that’s all. Because you know you can’t always rely on boys for that, Evelyn. Most of them are sneaky little shits. They’ve got a million excuses for refusing to wear a condom, and I’ve heard just about all of ‘em. He can’t find one that fits. He’s allergic to latex. It doesn’t feel as good, which, while true, does not outweigh the risk of STDs and unplanned pregnancy.”

Evelyn swung her legs and jumped to her feet. “Okay, I’m leaving now and running far, far away.”

“Wait, Evelyn, please—”

Evelyn reached for the doorknob, then stopped. The quiver in her mother’s voice made her feel uneasy. Clearly, this was a much bigger deal than she thought. Her mother had given up the comedy bit in record time.

Maggie sighed. “I trust you, okay? I really do. I think you’re a super-smart kid. But you know what, honey? Even the smartest kids do dumb things every once in a while, especially when it comes to sex. There’s a lot going on, a lot of really strong emotions involved, and sometimes you make decisions you wouldn’t normally make. It happens, okay? And it’s probably gonna happen to you. That’s why I want you to promise me, Evelyn, when you find yourself starting to get serious—either with this boy or with some other boy—you’re gonna tell me, all right? And I’m not gonna get mad at you or lecture you. We’re just gonna talk. And if you decide you wanna go on birth control, then okay, I’ll drive you down to the clinic myself. I really will. And then, eventually, I will find a way to break it to your father. I’ll just sprinkle it in between bits during The Tonight Show. It’ll help soften the blow. You know how much he loves Johnny Carson.”

“Mom,” Evelyn said quietly, “I’m not having sex, okay? I’m really not. It was just a hickey.”

“Well, you’d be surprised how quickly it progresses. First, it’s a hickey, and the next thing you know, you’re searching for your bra in the back seat of a really shitty Cadillac.”

Evelyn’s mouth fell open. “… I just got a very unwanted glimpse into your high school experience.”

Her mother smirked. “That’s payback for making me talk about birth control. I kid you not, I actually thought I was gonna throw up for a second.” She leaned back, closed her eyes, and started rubbing deep circles into her temples. “You think you’re prepared for this, but…”

Meanwhile, Evelyn was creeping toward the door. She looked at her mother, the image of suffering, and said, “Okay, I really appreciated this talk and all, but… can I go now? I told Mrs. Criss I’d be there by eleven.”

Maggie cracked open her left eye to check the time. “Oh shit, I’m sorry. Yeah, go ahead.”

Evelyn hurried out… then stopped in the hallway and turned around. “Hey, Mom?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

For Victor Criss, Sundays usually meant lying in bed until three and then loafing around the house until dinner. Today started no differently.

At noon, Vic woke up briefly to the sound of his mother fussing around in her bedroom closet. Like always, she was chatting away, probably with one of the Sunday brunch ladies: Deneen, Martie, or Stacy. Tabitha Criss loved to entertain, to serve her friends tea and sandwiches, and not-so-subtly brag about all her son’s accomplishments—or at least she would if he had any noteworthy accomplishments. Since he didn’t, she had to make them all up. At her last brunch, Tabitha was delighted to announce that Victor had been invited to join the National Honor Society. That one was actually true, though, at least in its essence. Vic had received the invitation (the school sent one every year), but he threw it away without reading it.

Vic rolled over and went back to sleep, then woke up forty minutes later with a sudden urge to pee. By then, the upstairs was pleasantly dark apart from a sliver of light coming from the master bedroom. Vic groped the wall for the doorknob, found it, then gave it a little twist. That’s when he heard

“Hi, Victor!”

Evelyn’s cheerful voice ringing in his ear. Vic turned toward her and immediately had to shield his eyes from the brightness.

“Oh my god, you’re like the sun!” he moaned. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“It’s spirit week,” Evelyn answered, and she gave her skirt another big whoosh in front of the mirror. After digging through several boxes of dresses, blouses, pants, and miniskirts, she’d finally found her perfect match. It was a sunshine-yellow dress with an A-line silhouette, three-quarter sleeves, and a flouncy little skirt that went whoosh-whoosh every time she moved her hips. Mrs. Criss called it mod. It was the coolest word Evelyn had ever heard. She whooshed her skirt again and grinned. “I feel like one of the B-52s!”

That made Victor crack a tiny smile. “I’m surprised you even know who they are.”

“Hey, I listen to music.”

“Oh yeah?” He tried to picture it, but couldn’t. “What kinda music do you listen to?”

“I dunno… whatever’s on the radio. It’s probably not the ‘cool’ stuff you listen to.” Smiling, Evelyn started playing with her hair: combing it with her fingers, pushing up the crown to create a small bouffant. When she raised her arms, her skirt hiked up to the middle of her thigh. Vic’s eyes wandered for a second, just a second, then dropped to the floor.

“You, uh, just had to choose the brightest one, huh?”

Evelyn stuck out her tongue at him. It was such a bizarrely childish gesture. Suddenly, she was six years old again, playing dress-up in his mother’s closet while Vic stayed in his room and did everything in his power to avoid her.

“It’s not that bright,” Evelyn said.

“It’s blinding. A real traffic hazard.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes, but she was smiling as she did. “You’re just used to sitting in the dark all day. It’s almost one, you know.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” He put his arm out and leaned against it. “You’ve probably been up since, what, six?”

“Seven, actually,” Evelyn said. “Anyway, we’re having lunch soon. Your mom made a quiche!”

“Sunday quiche, everyone’s favorite.”

“Mhm!” She giggled. “So are you gonna eat with us?”

Vic shook his head. “Nope. Wasn’t planning on it.”

And just like that, Evelyn’s smile vanished. “Oh,” she said in a small voice. “Well, okay.” Then she turned back to the mirror and continued playing with her hair, except now it didn’t seem like she was enjoying it at all. She would tousle it around for a minute, sigh, then let it go. Her skirt hung lifelessly around her hips. Somehow, it didn’t seem quite as bright anymore.

“I’m just not very hungry,” Vic tried to explain. “And, uh, I don’t really like quiche.”

“No, it’s fine,” Evelyn said in a high, near-to-tears voice. “I totally get it.”

She would never admit she was upset, of course, because that would make her sound too needy (and make no mistake, Evelyn Tozier was very needy). Instead, she would just sit there, sipping and sighing, turning and sighing, stirring that drink that went flat twenty minutes ago…

Evelyn went to the door. “Well, I gotta change, so… I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The door closed with a passive-aggressive slam, leaving Vic in darkness.

Why do I always end up feeling like an asshole?

Vic contemplated joining them. After taking a long shower, he sat on top of the stairs and seriously debated it for a good ten minutes. The back-and-forth gave him a nasty headache, one that made him want to crawl into bed, bury himself under the covers, and stay there until nightfall.

Besides, he wasn’t really that hungry, anyway.

He supposed his parents were partially to blame for his reluctance. When he was younger, they used to throw these elaborate dinner parties, and Vic would hide in his room the whole time because he didn’t want to suffer through all the noise: the scraping of forks on plates, the soup-slurping, the lip-smacking, and oh, the never-ending small talk. How you liking school, son? You studying hard? Then, after the adults moved to the parlor for games and drinks, Vic would sneak downstairs (like he was doing now) and make himself a plate of food from the leftovers.

Vic stopped on the bottom step. Evelyn and his mother were reminiscing now while they set the dining room table for lunch. In a saccharine voice, Mrs. Criss fondly recalled the day her family moved to Derry.

“But I’m sure you hardly remember that far back…”

You kidding? Vic thought. It was practically the highlight of her summer.

The whole family was exhausted after driving halfway across the country. The house was a mess, everything was in boxes, and his mother had just discovered a small chip in her great-grandmother’s wardrobe. His father was on hold with the moving company when the Toziers decided to roll in the welcome wagon. Vic saw them walking up the road. Evelyn, five then, was leading the charge.

“Come on, hurry! Why are you guys moving so slow?”

Mrs. Tozier, pushing her youngest in a stroller, said, “Simmer down, sweetie. There’s no need to rush. They’re not going anywhere.”

“But!”

“Evelyn, if you don’t stop, we’re going home and you’ll never get to meet them.”

“But you’re moving like snails! It’s gonna be dark before we get there!”

“Evelyn Louise, do not… Went, quick, grab her hand before she runs into the street and gets hit by a car!”

“She’s fine, Maggie. Relax. She’s just excited to meet a new friend, that’s all.”

“Yeah, well… Oh my god, Richie threw his binky again! Why does he keep doing that? And I don’t have an extra one, either… Well, great, now he’s gonna pitch a fit in front of them, and we’ll be forever known as the couple that can’t control their kids. It’s gonna be like that church incident all over again. Who shushes a baby? The nerve of that woman! I tell you what, Went, I’m never going back there again. That Sonia Kaspbrak can kiss my—”

“Aaaand we’re here!” Mr. Tozier cheered. “Yay! Come on, let’s go ring the doorbell, sweetie!”

Vic went running as soon as he heard the doorbell chime. He bear-climbed up the stairs and hid behind the banister. The adults went through all the necessary formalities: the handshakes, the introductions, the seemingly genuine but obviously forced invitation to dinner… only after they got settled, of course. His mother was instantly charmed. His father remained guarded and unsure.

Mrs. Criss knelt in front of Evelyn, who had been anxiously looking around since her family arrived. “What are you looking for, sweetie?”

Mrs. Tozier held her daughter firmly in place. “Yeah, sorry about that. Evelyn heard there was a little boy here and just had to come running. We’re still teaching her about boundaries.”

Mrs. Criss smiled. “Oh, that’s all right.” Then to Evelyn, she said, “Are you looking for Victor? You know what, I think I saw him go upstairs. You can go look for him if you want. He’s probably in his room.”

Evelyn’s eyes lit up. “Okay!” And she took off like a missile.

Vic didn’t stand a chance. She was on him before he could even make it to his bedroom.

“Hi! I’m Evelyn, but my family calls me Evie. You can call me that too if you want. Jimmy does it all the time even though he’s not family. Oh, have you met Jimmy?”

“Who?”

“Jimmy! He lives here, too. Well, sorta… See, he doesn’t live on this street. He lives, uhh, three streets over in the cold sack.”

“You mean cul-de-sac.”

“A what?”

“It means a dead end. I used to live in one too, at my old house.”

“Oh… Cool! You’ll probably have a ton in common with Jimmy. He’s really nice and he has the best ideas. Like, he can do everything! And he’s a really good tree-climber, too. I’m pretty good, but he’s way better… Do you climb trees? We climb the apple trees sometimes—those ones, way over there—and get apples. We’re allowed to. We asked. You can do it too if you’re with us. And then, umm, Jimmy’s mom, she, uh, bakes them into a pie, and she puts cheese on it. Cheese! On a pie! Can you believe it? It sounds gross, but it’s really good… Do you like pie? ‘Cause I love pie. It’s like my favorite dessert. It used to be ice cream, but then I changed it to pie because there’s all sorts of pies: cherry pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, chocolate cream pie, and… Hey, where’re you going?”

“To my room,” Vic said. “My head hurts.”

And ten years later, Evelyn was still giving him a headache. His mother’s constant fawning over her certainly didn’t help.

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t get over how grown up you are, Evelyn! I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot today.”

“Only twice per outfit.”

“Wow, was I that bad?” Tabitha Criss laughed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to embarrass you, sweetie. It’s just… oh, I don’t know. To me, you’ll always be that adorable little girl with ribbons in her hair. You used to show up on our porch every morning and ask in the sweetest voice, ‘Can Vic come out and play?’ Oh, how I miss those days. I was so much thinner then.”

“I think you look fine.”

“You’re being generous. Anyway, you can’t blame me for getting emotional. I haven’t seen you in years, except for in the paper and those Christmas cards your mom sends us. That last one was just darling, by the way. That red satin dress, gorgeous—even Victor said so.”

Vic turned up his nose at that. He never said she looked gorgeous. Besides, his mother’s memory was clearly failing her. Evelyn was wearing a green dress in that photo, not red. Red was the year before.

His mother went to get the quiche that was cooling on top of the stove. When she brought it out, Evelyn lost her mind.

“Oh my gosh!” she cried. “It’s like a pie!”

His mother squealed with delight. “See, I just knew you’d love it! I just knew it! To think, after all these years, you still go crazy for pie.”

Vic could hardly believe it himself. When they were kids, Evelyn used to show up at his house every Thanksgiving for a slice of his grandmother’s homemade pumpkin pie. Apparently, her mother only ever served the store-bought kind, so this was a real treat. Then Vic’s family would make room for her at the adults’ table, moving chairs or even giving up their own seats if necessary, and they would just sit and chat like old friends. She made it look so easy. Meanwhile, Vic would be stuck sitting with his cousins at the kids’ table in the kitchen. It wasn’t fair.

Mrs. Criss proudly served Evelyn a slice of quiche. “Now, this one here is a classic spinach quiche, but there are lots of other varieties. I can give you the basic recipe if you want.”

“Oh, that would be great. Thank you.”

Vic felt his own stomach rumbling. He made his way into the kitchen and grabbed a box of cereal from the pantry.

By then, his mother had already changed the topic of conversation to Evelyn’s school life. She got the basic questions out of the way first: How are your classes going? Still on student council? Have you given any thought to college yet? Then, after she softened Evelyn up, the woman went right for the throat.

“So, do you have a boyfriend?”

His mother was not one for subtlety.

Evelyn choked a little on her lemonade, then answered in a shy, modest voice: “Umm, no, I don’t really have time for that. School keeps me pretty busy.”

Vic pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge and slammed it down on the counter. Wow, Evelyn, you’ve got some nerve lying to my mom like that. But of course she’ll believe you. Why wouldn’t she? To her, you’re just that adorable little girl with ribbons in her hair. She has no idea what you’re really like. Should I tell her?

Oh, he wanted to. He wanted to barge into that dining room and ruin their oh-so-perfect lunch and say, Guess what, Mom, your sweet little Evelyn is fucking Henry Bowers! Yeah, that’s right. The kid you hate. The kid who got wasted and threw up all over your carpet last weekend. That’s who she’s seeing. Then he would grab a fork and toss it onto Evelyn’s plate. There! Enjoy your fuckin’ quiche.

Evelyn could deny it a thousand times, but Vic would never believe her. Because he knew what he’d seen. The memory had been burned into his brain with a searing hot iron. It came and went in painful flashes. Henry coming out of Evelyn’s house. Evelyn running after him. She reached for his arm, and he ripped it away.

She was crying… over him.

Or maybe she was crying for him.

It didn’t matter.

Vic reached into the cupboard for a bowl. It slipped out of his hand, bounced off the edge of the counter—Ting!—and shattered on the floor. The sound exploded in his ears. He doubled over and clutched his head in agony. His brain felt like it was pushing against his skull, and any second it was going to break open and split into as many pieces as there were ceramic shards lying at his feet.

His mother appeared in the kitchen, clutching her chest in distress. “Oh, Victor, what happened?

“Nothing,” Vic told her. “I just dropped a bowl. Sorry.”

He went to the laundry room for the broom, came back, and started sweeping.

“You know,” his mother began, “if you were hungry, you should have said something. I have lunch waiting in the dining room. I made quiche!”

“I’m good, Mom.”

“Well, it’s better than that cereal you were about to eat. Come on, sit down and have lunch with us, won’t you? Evelyn’s here.”

“I know, Mom.”

(as if you’d ever let me forget)

“You should go say hi.”

“I already did.”

“Oh? When?”

“Upstairs, Mom.”

(Now go back to your damn lunch and leave me alone!)

“Oh,” his mother said. “Well, you should come eat with us, anyway. It’ll give you two a chance to catch up.”

“I really don’t want to.”

“Why not? It’ll be nice.” Then, very quietly, she said, “She’s still single, you know.”

“Mom, please,” Vic forced out, struggling to stay pleasant.

She was pushing him again, like she always did. Pushing and poking and prodding. Why don’t you go outside and play more, Victor? You know that girl keeps coming by. Why don’t you go play with her? Well, you should do something. You’re too pale, honey. You need sunshine. Why don’t you try a sport? I know! How ‘bout baseball? Your father was good at baseball. Victor, why aren’t you taking more difficult classes? How do you expect to get into a good college if you don’t challenge yourself? What’s wrong? Are you depressed? If you’re depressed, you should say something, Victor. The school called. Detention, again? I think you need to find some new friends. Hey, how come Evelyn doesn’t come by the house anymore? She used to stop by every day, but I haven’t seen her in months. What happened? Did you have a fight? Oh, Victor, what’d you do?

His mother heaved a disappointed sigh, the same sigh she’d been giving him for years. “Oh, don’t be rude now, Victor.”

(If you keep treating her like this, one day she’s gonna)

“Sit down and have a slice of—”

“I SAID I DON’T WANT YOUR FUCKING QUICHE!” Vic suddenly screamed into his mother’s face. Mrs. Criss staggered back as if slapped. Her right hand rose to cover her mouth. Her eyes widened into a startled expression of hurt. Then she burst into tears and ran out of the room.

Finally, Vic’s headache started to recede.

Well, great, he thought. Now I’m the asshole again.

______________________

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#it fanfiction #henry bowers #henry bowers fanfiction #patrick hockstetter #patrick hockstetter fanfiction #bowers gang #victor criss #belch huggins #the losers club #it chapter two #it chapter one #paper men

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toyboy-molloy · 5 years

Note

i vote mommy im gonna marry eddie!!

“Mommy,” Richie all but shouted as he skidded into the kitchen, nearly crashing into the table. Maggie looked up from making breakfast but before she could so much as open her mouth, her young son was speaking excitedly again, “I wanna marry Eddie!”

Maggie chuckled, shaking her head, “is that right?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna marry him and we’re gonna live in a big house…” he paused for a moment as he struggled to get into the chair at the kitchen table. Once he was settled, Richie grabbed the plate of pancakes and began stuffing his face, “’m gonna buy ‘im flowers every day!”

“That’s sweet honey, but maybe…” Maggie reached down to wipe the large amount of syrup gathering all over Richie’s face, “don’t do it with your breakfast all over you. It’s not a very good first impression.”

Richie continued to munch the pancakes without any regard of his mother’s words. He stared at her confused, “what do you mean?”

“You have to ask Eddie first, my darling,” Maggie smiled, taking a seat opposite Richie with her own breakfast. They ate in silence for several minutes, until the curious six-year-old spoke again.

“Then what?”

“Well, if he says yes, you give him a ring.”

Maggie showed him her own engagement and wedding from her beloved Went. Richie went silent again, just staring into space. He was clearly thinking about something but Maggie wasn’t complaining; she relished the moments Richie was quiet, a rare phenomenon.

“Mommy?”

Maggie sighed, “yes, Richie?”

His eyes lit up with a brilliant idea, “can we go to the candy store? I gotta get a ring…”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

“What have you got there, Eddie Bear?”

Eddie looked straight up at his mother where she was standing directly over him. He popped the candy ring out of his mouth and blinked innocently.

“It’s just candy, Mommy. It’s okay, it’s fwom my bestest friend, Richie…” he smiled, licking the candy fondly. He giggled, “me and Richie are gonna get married, Mommy!”

Sonia looked ready to explode; she even took a step back in horror, “what?”

“Richie said he’s gonna marry me and we’re gonna get a big house and a doggie!” Eddie rambled excitedly, nearly standing on the sofa in his enthusiasm. Sonia did not look impressed.

“Dogs have germs, sweetie,” she said, taking the ring out of Eddie’s hands. She watched the happiness drain from Eddie’s face and shook her head, “you know how you are with your sickness.”

Eddie nodded slowly; he could already feel his throat closing up at the mere thought of owning a pet, “…oh, yeah.”

“And as for Richie Tozier…” Sonia nearly spat the name of Eddie’s closest friend besides Bill Denbrough. She leaned closer, making sure Eddie could see her serious expression, “I don’t want you seeing him anymore.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s dirty, Eddie,” his mother replied sweetly, smiling softly. Eddie swallowed, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. Richie was boisterous and messy but he was always so gentle and nice with Eddie. It didn’t make sense. Still, his mother carried on, “he is no good. Rotten to the core, do you hear me?”

“But, Mommy-”

“You do love me, don’t you, Eddie Bear?”

Eddie crumbled and burst into tears, running up to his mother and embracing her; he wiped his eyes and held her tightly, “yes, Mommy. I do, I r-really do…”

“Stay away from Richie Tozier,” she said, finally hugging her little boy. If Sonia had her way, he’d always be her little boy.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Eddie managed to avoid Richie for most of the day, which meant he spent the most boring day at school ever. He spotted Richie looking for him at lunchtime and he was forced to hide behind a tree; he didn’t want to avoid Richie but his mother had insisted. Eddie wondered how getting married was going to work if they weren’t allowed to see each other. He wished his father was still around. Apparently, the tree hadn’t been as good a hiding place as he thought. Richie soon snuck up on him and made him jump.

“Eddie S'ghetti!”

“Don’t do that, Richie,” Eddie swatted at his arm, suddenly afraid they were being watched and somehow his mother would know about this. He lowered his voice to a whisper, “I’m not allowed to talk to you anymore.”

Richie’s face fell and he pouted, folding his arms in a sulk, “awww, why not?”

“My Mommy says you’re dirty…” Eddie mumbled, feeling absolutely devastated at the look of confusion on Richie’s face. The bell sounded summoning the children back to their classes. Eddie reluctantly left Richie by the tree, glancing behind him as he ran towards his class.

Walking back to his classroom alone with shoulders slouched and a deep frown, Richie wondered what it was he had done so wrong; he even sniffed his shirt, nothing but the smell of his mother’s washing powder filling his nostrils.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

“Richie?” Maggie knocked on the bathroom door for the fifth time, wondering what was taking her son so long, “Richie, sweetheart, you’ve been in the shower for nearly two hours. Are you alright?”

Maggie poked her head around the door and smiled at Richie’s silhouette behind the shower curtain; he was rubbing copious amounts of shampoo into his hair and using countless amounts of body wash.

“Yeah. Just trying to get clean…” he shouted over the water, scrubbing at his nails with a brush, “so I can see Eddie again.”

Maggie raised an eyebrow, folding her arms, “what are you talking about?”

“Eddie’s Mom said I can’t see him because I’m dirty…” Richie shoved the curtain back, a look of defeat on his face; he’d failed to remove his glasses in his haste to shower and he could barely see out of them; he definitely didn’t notice his mother’s eyes darken considerably, “so I’m getting clean so Eddie can be my friend again.”

“Yeah,” Maggie replied, only half listening; she was thinking. It didn’t take her very long to make up her mind, “Richie? Stay out of the kitchen, Mommy’s going out.”

“Okay,” he called cheerily behind the shower curtain, focusing on washing his hair yet again.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The next day at school, Richie didn’t go looking for Eddie. He spent most of the morning asking his mother how he looked, not believing her every time she told him he was handsome and smelled lovely. He wouldn’t believe it until the words came from a short asthmatic boy he was very fond of. He spotted Eddie on the playground during break time; he was getting ready to approach when the shorter boy saw him, too, and broke into a wide grin. Before Richie knew it, Eddie was at his side and his arms were around his neck.

“My Mommy said we can be friends again,” Eddie hurried out, refusing to let go of Richie’s neck; he’d missed him so much, “she told me that you’re not so bad, I don’t think she was happy about it. I think I heard her talking to your Mommy about it.”

Richie wasn’t really listening, he just wanted to hold Eddie all day. He’d missed him so much, having had to deal with the confusion of being rejected for seemingly no reason; he knew it wasn’t Eddie’s fault and he didn’t blame him. It didn’t matter now, they were friends again.

“Can we still get married?” He mumbled into Eddie’s hair and grinned when the other boy giggled and nodded hard.

“Yeah. My Mom ate my ring, though.”

Richie almost laughed, “I’ll get you another one.”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The second Richie was through the front door, he ran straight over to his mother and leapt at her, wrapping his arms around her middle.

“Thank you, Mommy.”

Maggie just smiled.

#can I get a wahoo for our girl mags?#reddie fanfic #my writing #answered asks

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thorniest-rose · 4 years

Note

💐 The jock captain gets a little too confident, and starts touching on Eddie a little bit. But Richie, who doesn't miss watching gazelle-legged Eddie practice, is real quick to put a stop to that. He brings Eddie a bottle of water, plays with his hair, and affectionately scents him, all while glaring daggers at this team captain. Bonus points if Eddie is oblivious to the alphas fighting over him.

Oh yes! Eddie finishes his run and Richie’s there with water and an energy bar for him. It’s a chocolate peanut butter one which Eddie loves, and he’s like, “Thanks Rich, that’s so sweet!” and he stands there between the two boys munching on it happily. And the two Alphas play nice with each other while Eddie’s there, but after he leaves to go hit the showers, the nice front totally drops. “Eat my dick, Tozier,” the captain says, glaring at him with his fangs peeking out, and Richie’s like, “I’d rather eat out Eddie’s ass. I guess we’ll see which one of us gets to it first.”

#asks #💐 anon #a/b/o reddie #alpha richie #omega track star eddie

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yurtletheturtlehenderson · 5 years

Text

Dating Beverly Marsh Would Include...

Requested: [I'm sorry I can't remember who requested this or if this was an anon, I'm sorry!] Hey, could I request some headcanons about dating Beverly? (Also if you could add in the reader having homophobic parents 💕)

Warnings: obviously there will be homophobia, [at the end so people can skip if they need to read safely 😊] specifically from the readers parents so please feel free to skip if need be. And remember my blog is a safe space 💕 oh yeah theres also plenty of grammar/spelling errors i'm sure

A//n: This was WAY longer than I anticipated. I just kept coming up with more stuff and holy crap I love writing Bev x readers???? Please request more Bev Edit: this was in my drafts forever and again as much as i have been trying to get requests out in order, it's been pretty tough but at least this way stuff gets out sooner so here ya go.

Okay

First of all..

Y'all make the CUTEST COUPLE, OKAY?!

Like no joke

You know that cliche about girls stealing their boyfriends hoodies/clothes??

Well that goes for both of you and you both are always swapping clothes cause you both love each other's sense of style

Plus, ya know, it's got that great boyfriend girlfriend smell

It's cheesy and played out, but it's honestly so wholesome, and again, you guys each have an interest in each others senses of styles

If you're bigger than her, and her clothes don't necessarily fit you, pfffttt no big deal, she had a million blankets that smelled like her and then you two got together and now she can only find like,, two. But that doesn't mean she doesn't love stealing your clothes!! They're baggier on her but oH MY GOODNESS DOES SHE LOVE THAT. She just loves being able to completely immerse herself in your stuff. Especially when she isn't feeling safe in her own home and you aren't around, the best thing for her is to wrap herself in her your stuff and be comforted by you. Uggh, its hella sweet

But let's start from the beginning...

Both of you knew about each other from school

You definitely heard the many rumors about "Beaver-ly Marsh"

Not that you participated, but you were always overhearing rumors from gossiping girls and bragging boys in your class

Your school wasn't huge but it wasn't small either

But it was kill or be be killed, and rumors spread like the damn plague

It was inevitable

And it was just a matter of time before you overheard the several rumors of the "slut" who did it with every guy in school.

You'd roll you're eyes at the word and the ridiculous insinuations, knowing the massively overplayed game of telephone that ruled your school was not necessary the most credible source of information

And you were positive there were rumors about you, I mean, it really wasn't possible to go to that school without a rumor going around

Everyone had one

Anyways, you never paid much attention to them, but then you met her...

And oh no.

Immediately, it was:

You already never paid much mind to the rumors, but when you got to know each other??

Nuh uh.

No way

Not Beverly

No no no no, no

She was way too sweet, and shy, and beautiful, and awesome, and funny, annnd oh no the damn butterflies were back and shit she made you feel things

And you??

Bevery had no clue she was into girls until you came along...

You were her gay awakening and her being so used to all those nasty things people said about her and all those boys??

Even though it wasn't true, any of it, she still always expected that eventually one day she'd get her first boyfriend, to love and cuddle with and everything normal

Again, then you came along and her heart was all like

BOOM BOOM BEECH

You both danced around each other a lot. Seeing as you were two precious little gay beans that lived in a conservative town in the 80s, it wasn't exactly the most accepting environment and you guys didn't know if the other was into girls at all

On both sides it was "does she like me or is she just really laid back and friendly???"

It took way too long to figure out you were both into each other

If I'm being completely honest here, y'all were like the female reddie

Two girls who became best friends and always bickered like crazy to hide your feelings

The way you two found out you had feelings for one another was bumpy and awkward but silly and cute nonetheless

It came off in a passing comment that just slipped out

The two of you were having a sleepover like you did every Friday night you were available

and you two were laying on her bedroom floor talking about anything and everything staring at the ceiling

Her radio was playing in the background and the two of you were surrounded by various snacks you had been munching on all throughout the night and the conversation drifted to gossip about your peers at school

It went a little something like this:

Y: "Did you see so and so today??"

B: "Yes!!"

Y: *laughing* "Yeah, what the hell was that?"

B: I have no idea what goes on in her head...

B: but I guess I gotta give her some credit, she's always super confident and I'm like, 90% sure that's what makes her the most desirable girl in the 8th grade"

Y: "I guess that makes sense"

B: "I do wish I had her confidence. Maybe I'd have better luck romantically"

Y: "Oh please, like you need that. You're infinitely more attractive than her"

B: "What?"

Y: *panicked* "What?"

B: *slowly sits up with smug ass smirk on her lips* are you saying you find me... attractive?"

Y: ..."what?" *sweating*

B: *still smirking* "Wait,"

Y: "WhAT?"

B: *stILL smirking* "do you-?"

Y: *full on gay panic* "No!"

B: *smirking and blushing*

B: *lays back down* "well, I think you're pretty attractive yourself, if it's any consolation"

She's still so nervous though so it comes out in a whisper

She's 99 percent certain you just accidentally revealed your crush to her but her heart was p o u n d i n g anyway

What if it just came out wrong and that's why you panicked???

Had she just revealed her crush to you by mistake???

But no

You both were a blushing mess and it did not go unnoticed by either one of you

You're hands kinda accidently brushed and you both just had a heart attack on the spot

But the connection you two had that night

You both just... knew

You guys kinda just... happened

After that you both were aware you liked each other

But it was kind of unspoken

At first

It's not like you guys never talked about it, but you two definitely became more touchy and flirty

Holding hands when no one was looking

Shortly before you guys happened and before that night, she had introduced you to losers and they just totally accepted you as one of their own

You got along especially well with Richie (wonder why)

But Bev wasn't too happy about this particular fact...

Especially after you two got together

She wasn't necessarily jealous, especially cause she already had a sneaking suspicion about his feelings for another loser, but because he took up a lot of her time with you

But then, to her chagrin, Richie found out about you two

the eight of you were hanging out in the clubhouse, and Ben had to make some adjustments so him and the others left momentarily to help him get the resources

Except you, and Bev

You two volunteered to hold down the fort [literally]

aaaaaaand you two wanted to have a few minutes alone together too,

Nothing scandalous or anything like that, but you two didn't get be close around the losers

Then Richie returned way earlier than expected [turns out he was doing more harm than good and they sent him back]

He was just outside the entrance and he overheard you two

"I wish we could tell them,"

"I know. And it's not that I don't think they'll accept us, it's-" *sigh* "I'm just not ready... I'm sorry"

"Don't be. It's okay, we can tell them when we're both good and ready."

"Thank you, Y/n."

Richie just kinda stood there thinking about what he just heard

I mean, it made sense, you guys were really close, but then again, that's just how he thought all girls were

But everything else kinda made more sense the more he thought about it

And, it honestly reminded him of him and Eddie

More specifically, how he felt about his best friend

Now naturally this was a very emotional moment, but Richie Tozier being Richie Tozier wasn't about to waltz in there and give some sappy speech about he accepts you guys and he's here for you no matter what

No, no, no

He laid down on the forest floor, sticking his head in the clubhouse scaring the shit out of you two and said

"You guys should really be more quiet, Ben may be a suspiciously good overnight kid architect sensation but he has yet to soundproof this baby"

He then stuck his arm inside the clubhouse, patting the ceiling, shaking a couple spiders loose from his his hand in disgust

"Richie...!"

You two jumped apart and you about nearly shit your pants

"Relax, I'm not gonna tell anyone,"

You both were startled as hell and absolutely disgruntled but the two of you looked at each other, simultaneously breathing a sigh of relief

He got up and joined you two in the clubhouse, and began lounging in his usual spot in the hammock, arms behind his head

"So, this means you two are both into girls, huh?"

Once again, you looked at one another and back at him, nodding shyly

He plastered on the most mischievous smirk you had ever seen and nodded his head, his huge eyes squinting slightly from behind his glasses

"niceee"

This of course was followed by simultaneous eye rolls, Bev even threw her gum wrapper at him but you laughed

It was a relieved laugh

Here you were, exposed and unintentionally outed to Richie "Trashmouth" Tozier and sure enough his reaction was "nICE"

It was honestly a relief and kinda hilarious

You guys just kinda broke out into laughter

It was nice moment

***TRIGGER WARNING FOR [PARENTAL] HOMOPHOBIA BELOW***

And for a while, everything was great. That was, until your parents began to take note just how much time you were spending with Bev

They kept an eye on it at first

Then they started asking questions

You knew this day would come one way or another

Hell, you grew up with them after all, you knew what they thought about people like you and it broke your heart

It terrified you

And it's exactly what you heard every night when you tried to fall asleep, their voices speaking to you clear as day; how disgusted they were. They weren't really there of course and it wasn't until you became a loser that you found out what that voice was...

The point is, your deepest fear was being realized so you did what you could do

Lie

And it seemed to work. Briefly

Your mother had come in to check on you two for the fifth time - usually she checked on you two four times since their suspicions - and found you two snuggled up on top of your sleeping bags

Your mother screamed, scaring the crap out of you guys and you jumped apart

Your mother was thrown into hysterics and went to fetch your father, wailing like a damn baby

Needless to say that night was a long one for everyone

And as if things couldn't get any worse, just days later you found out that Beverly had been taken by It

Immediately, every doubt, every fear, every inkling of shame your parents and your community had drilled into you was forgotten and all that mattered was getting her back

You and your friends literally went through hell to get her back

Needless to say it was a terrifying ordeal but you all had each other's backs and everyone came out okay

When you left Neibolt, you and Beverly were hand in hand

You couldn't give a flying fck about it, you just fought a shape-shifting demon clown you could face your small minded parents

And more importantly you knew even if your parents didn't support you, you had other people who did that and that was enough

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Hope you enjoyed, sorry it's so long and again this is out of order of who requested it so I'm sorry to those of you who had stuff in before this, but I've just been stuck for too long and I needed to get things moving again. Anyways, I hoped you guys like this and again, omg I love writing Beverly!!! I would not be offended if you guys asked for more Bev fics/hc when I open up requests again

#beverly marsh headcanon request #beverly marsh imagine #beverly marsh x reader #beverly marsh #headcanon #head canon #beverly marsh headcanon #beverly marsh head canon #bev head canon #beverly hc #beverly marsh hc #bev marsh hc #hc #hc request #homphobia #homophobia warning #it #it requests #it request

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derryhawkins · 5 years

Text

what did you say?

summary: there are five times richie says those three little words to the love of his life, but it takes six for eddie to actually hear him and say it back. warnings: none?? i think word count: 7.4k a/n: this is set within canon so get ready for a tad bit of pain & angst. i’d put a spoiler warning for it ch2 but i haven’t seen it yet & idk how the final battle actually goes down so,, yeah. also this is the longest thing i’ve written under nine hours & sorry for any typos! x

It wasn’t necessarily out of the blue for anyone in the Losers Club to say three special words to one another. They were a group of best friends who fought a demonic entity together – they almost died. After the oath, and once things settled back normal other than a few nightmares they had once in a while, the group of seven told each other ‘I love you’ more often than not, probably everyday if one were to count how often.

And of course Richie said it to Eddie – if anything, he said it to the smaller boy the most. It had started out as the Tozier boy joking around long before they fought a clown in the sewers, but, eventually as time went on, that changed. Richie wanted to say he didn’t know when it changed, because he knew the exact moment it did: with Bill, Beverly, Eddie and himself in that godforsaken house, the clown coming towards them, Eddie’s arm broken, everyone yelling but Richie shouting the loudest to get Eddie to look at him. Because – fuck. Fuck, Richie couldn’t lose Eds. His Eds. A boy he’s had a crush on for what seems like forever now. It had been in that terrifying moment that Richie realized with an equally terrifying realization that he loved Eddie fucking Kaspbrak. And, with time, he started saying those words to him less after everything ended. Not drastically so – he didn’t want to make it obvious.

But those three little words, the meaning of them more like, had shifted into something more, and saying them not in that way felt wrong.

It was some day random Saturday afternoon. The seven of them were lounging at the quarry, soaking up the warm sun the best they could with autumn just around the corner. Mike was with Bill in the water, and Beverly was nearby on a rock smoking a cigarette, Ben not too far away as he tried to get a radio to work so they weren’t in complete silence. Stan attempted to help, but between getting frustrated that they couldn’t get it to work and Bev’s cig smoke, he soon ventured into the water with Bill and Mike. Richie and Eddie were sitting on a towel together, both in swim trunks and the heat of the sun was making their shoulders turn the slightest bit pink, but as they ate some snacks Stan and Bev brought along, neither particularly cared just yet.

“Hey!” Richie exclaimed suddenly and turned to Eddie. “Lets stuff our faces and say something and see if the other can guess what we’re saying!”

Eddie made a face of pure disgust. “Ew, why would- that- how did you come up with that?! That sounds so fucking disgusting, Rich, oh my god, I don’t wanna see half eaten food in your germy mouth!”

“How can it be germy if your mom kisses it?”

“Richie, I swear!”

Richie busted out laughing. “C’mon, Eds!” He pleaded and stuck out his bottom lip, leaning towards the boy. “Please?”

“Get your face away from me!” Eddie grunted and put his hand on the side of Richie’s face, pushing him away, and Richie grinned some more, hoping the pink on his cheeks would come off as a sunburn or something. “Your stupid puppy eyes don’t work on me, fucker, not anymore!”

“You’re so lame.”

“I’m lame?!”

They went back and forth as they ate a couple more snacks. Occasionally, Stan shouted at them to shut up, and Bev once in a while egged Richie on, earning a death glare from Eddie as Richie, Ben, and Beverly laughed. Finally, Ben got the radio to work and turned it up load enough for everyone to hear. It wasn’t long after that when Mike came over and forcibly dragged the two outs away from the snacks, claiming they were going to eat all of it they didn’t leave right then.

At some point, they all got in the water. For a while they played together – chicken, splash attacks, fake drowning, sharks – but eventually they all drifted to do their own thing. Mike and Bill were racing one another and Ben was timing it. Beverly was seeing how far she could swim below the surface and for how long she could do it, but Stan stayed close by her in case something went wrong, and Eddie was floating on his back, basking in the sun some more. Richie was just swimming around randomly, annoying his friends when he felt like it, and talking everyone’s ears off even if they weren’t listening, but in all honesty he was mostly just speaking to Eddie.

Richie stopped swimming and splashing around for a second, eyes landing on Eddie. It was a blurry sight – he left his glasses in the grass so he wouldn’t lose them in the water – but it was sharp enough for him to see who it was. He squinted to make the sight better, wiping water from his eyes, and a fond smile formed on his lips. He sunk down to hide it with the water in case any of the losers were watching. The sounds of Mike and Bill shouting as they raced faded out, same with Ben’s enthusiastic yells as he cheered both boys on. Stan’s laugh mixed with Beverly’s became background noise. The birds chirping simply became nonexistent. Eddie was just floating. He looked decently relaxed, a content smile on his features. Brunet hair floating in the water and stuck to his forehead, and from what Richie could see, the other boy’s eyes were closed.

A garble of words and bubbles came up as Richie spoke. It took Eddie out of his relaxed state and he looked at Richie with quizzical eyes. “What the fuck was that, Trashmouth?”

Squinty eyes turned wide. He pushed himself above water. “Um- I like blue! Like the sky, and water, and the bra your mom wears when we-.”

“Beep beep, Richie!” A chorus of six voices sounded, paired with Eddie splashing Richie.

The boy laughed. He backed away once Eddie splashed him, thinking instead of voicing the words he had said underwater that Eddie thankfully didn’t understand.

I love you.

ii.

“If I knew you were going to be even more annoying, I would’ve fucking threw that joint in the trash – or better, not have come along at all! But no you and Bev just had to get high for the first time and bring me along in case any serious and bad shit happened- will you stop laying on me?! You’re not a pet, Richie!” Eddie went on, mouth moving a mile per second it seemed like, complaint after complaint escaping him.

He had been studying for end of semester finals like his other two friends should be doing, but the redhead and the trashmouth wanted to try getting high for the first time at fifteen. Ben was sick with the flu, and was only just now on the road to recovery, so he had been out of the question when the two wanted a friend to supervise them in case it somehow all went to shit. Bill claimed he always studied better alone, and Mike, as much as he wanted to join the two on their high journey, declined because he needed to help his granddad with something. Stanley at first had agreed but backed out last minute when he realized he hadn’t done a single thing for an important essay due in three days. So, it had been down to Eddie, who wanted to say no it all, but figured it would get him away from his mom for some time.

The boy now wished he had walked away when he had the chance.

While Bev was munching away on some chips as she looked at a fashion magazine, occasionally speaking so deep and meaningful that even Eddie had to remind himself he was perfectly sober. Hopefully. Could you get high from second hand weed smoke? He wondered if it were possible, considering they were confined in Richie’s bedroom, the boy’s parents out of town for work. But hopefully that wasn’t the case.

Once the weed had started kicking in for Richie, it was if a switch had been flipped. He wasn’t talking as much as he usually was. He hadn’t completely shut up, but he had gotten quieter the more he got high. And clingier, too. At first he had cuddled Beverly and told her he loved her. She didn’t mind until she had to run off to pee, and that was when Richie moved onto Eddie, causing the boy’s endless complaints because he was unable to study, let alone move. He was on Richie’s bed, study notes, papers, and books all around him until Richie not so neatly pushed some away and crawled into Eddie’s lap. Usually, Eddie could care less. He loved cuddles. But he needed to pass this one class in particular and Richie’s high-clinginess was preventing that.

“I should’ve gone with Stan,” Eddie said. “Fucking Stan, at least he would be letting me study!”

“Calm your tits, Eddie, the science exam still isn’t until next Friday,” Bev told, waving a hand dismissively as she flipped a page of the magazine.

“You promised I’d be able to study!”

“I did, yeah.”

“Meanwhile, I didn’t,” Richie said, sounding proud of himself.

Eddie smacked him on the back of the head, muttering a few cuss words, and leaned back on his hands, Richie almost full on koala-ing him. Richie’s arms were wrapped around his torso and his head was nestled in the crook of Eddie’s neck, both legs on one side of Eddie in a bit of an awkward angle. Richie started talking again about one thing or another, but Eddie just tuned him out and let his head fall back, eyes staring at the ceiling. He gave up on complaining. It wasn’t getting anywhere and he didn’t want to annoy Bev too much with how unhappy he is about the situation.

“---ove spaghetti.”

Eddie blinked and looked at Richie. Well, Richie’s hair. “Spaghetti?” He repeated, confused.

Richie nodded. “Yeah, I love Spaghetti.”

The shorter boy snorted and half-heartedly rolled his eyes. “I know you like spaghetti, Richie, you brought it as your lunch for a solid week last month,” he said. “But I’m not making you any, if that’s what you’re getting at. It’s ten thirty at night.” Eddie added the last bit after glancing at the digital clock by Richie’s bed, and he heard Bev make a sound at the back of her throat, agreeing with Eddie.

“No. That’s not-,” he stopped himself and let out a sigh. Eddie tensed and hunched his shoulders, the breath of air causing chill bumps to form all over his body. “My Spaghetti, dumbass. My Eddie Spaghetti. Eds Spagheds. Spaghetti Man. I love you.”

Eddie blinked. He looked to the ceiling, then to Beverly who had sat up from her position in Richie’s bean bag. Her blue eyes were stuck on the two. Then finally, Eddie looked down at Richie again. He let out a little laugh. “Dude, you’re such a sap when high!” Eddie exclaimed in amusement. “First Bev, now me, who’s next? Stan? You gonna call him, or what?” He giggled some more at the thought of Richie calling Stan up so late just to say ‘I love you’.

Richie scoffed and shifted his weight. “I dunno. No,” he mumbled. “I really do love you, Eds.”

Eddie rolled his eyes but a smile tugged on his lips, ignoring the feeling of his face becoming just the slightest bit warm. He then laid back; his arms were getting tired from holding both his weight and Richie’s, and seeing as he wasn’t going to get any studying done, he let Richie full on cuddle him. “Whatever, Tozier,” he whispered.

They ended up falling asleep like that: cuddled into one another with Eddie’s study papers strewn around them, and Bev had fallen asleep in the bean bag. When Richie woke up the following morning, he was extremely yet pleasantly surprised to find Eddie fast asleep on his chest, their legs tangled together. Richie slipped his glasses on after grabbing them from their spot beside his head, and wrapped his arms tighter around Eddie, soaking in the blissful moment the best he could.

iii.

Richie Tozier believed he truly fucked up. And it wasn’t the type of fuck up that he could easily fix with a joke or a Voice, or anything of the sort. In a high daze he had confessed to Eddie Kaspbrak that he loved him, and it wasn’t masked as a joke. He didn’t mean to - well, he did but he didn’t - and he has learned he has even less of a filter when high, and that’s saying something considering he barely has one when sober. After that blissful morning, the dawning realization of it all hit him full force later that afternoon when he was home alone trying to get the smell of weed out of his room.

Fifteen year old Richie Tozier had called Beverly, insisted she come back over, and he spilled the beans the moment she stepped into his house with a puzzled look. It had taken over two hours for Bev to calm the boy down. She insisted Eddie most likely brushed it off as nothing more than Richie being Richie, and insisted that even she took it that way considering he had continuously told her, “I love you,” as they cuddled minutes before then. It calmed him down, somewhat. But that paranoia of Eddie knowing when Richie doesn’t want him to know just yet was still there. Even after exams were over and they were spending Christmas break together, it was still there.

So, he did what any logical fifteen year old would do at the time.

He just stopped saying those words. To Eddie. No one else. If anything, he probably amplified the mention of those three little words to his best friends, excluding the literal love of his life. Other than those times Richie would say, “I love you guys,” he never said them to Eddie specifically. And it stayed that way for a while. A year and a half, specifically.

During that time, Mike had actually questioned him, a bit taken back by the amount of times the Tozier boy had shouted those words at him within a week. Richie had easily explained that he just had a lot of love in his heart at the time. And he said the same thing when Stan confronted him. When Ben asked, Richie had simply asked in reply, “Can I not tell my best friends I love them?” Bill gave him odd looks once in a while but never said anything, chalking it up to be Richie just being his odd self. And Beverly never asked or confronted him because she knew why.

At some point, he made a game: whenever he felt the urge to just blurt, “I love you,” to his best friend, he would instead just tell one of the other Losers, or stated that he loved the tree they were passing or a candle he saw in a window of a store.

“That’s a nice ice cream parlor, I love it there.”

“We know, Richie, we’ve been there a thousand times.”

“I love that cake your mom made the other day, Stan!”

“I’ll tell her you said that.”

“Love your new hair cut, Bev!”

“I got it cut a month ago?”

“Still looks good! Ain’t I right, Ben? C’mon, agree with me!”

Those days turned into months, and those months turned into a year, and then a few more months went by and then it was a year and a half since that grand idea of his came to be, and Richie truly believed everything was going well. Those words hadn’t slipped from his mouth for a good bit of time, and he was honestly proud of himself.

Until a furious Eddie barged into his room one afternoon after school.

“You lanky piece of fucking shit!”

Richie shrieked when the door flung open, and fell off of his bed into a heap on the floor with a blanket, a text book, some papers and his walkman. He scrambled to stand up, only to trip a few times over the blanket tangled at his ankles, and the wire of his walkman got tangled around his neck and arms. He struggled to get out of both, tossing them to side the harshly once he freed himself. He straightened himself posture wise but his wild and messy hair stayed the same, as did his crooked glasses. A smile formed on his blushing face as he looked at Eddie.

“Eddie, my man! What a nice surprise-.”

“I fucking hate you,” Eddie seethed as he stepped farther into the room, marching over to Richie. The smile Richie wore fell instantly. “You are such a dickhead, did you know that?”

Richie held his hands up as Eddie poked his chest. “Whoa, hey, what’s- huh?” He was thoroughly confused, to say the least. And, a little bit scared. Eddie may be shorter than most guys their age, but he packed a good punch and was the feistiest out of all the Losers. Richie used to just laugh when Eddie got mad, claiming such a short boy could never be intimating. Now, years later, Eddie was taller and more well built though he still looked awkward being a teen and all, but he had more a bit more muscle than when he was six and a better choice of fowl words as well. Richie had no choice but to admit Eddie could be intimidating.

Eddie scoffed harshly. “Oh, come on, don’t act like you don’t know what the fuck I’m getting on about!” He yelled.

“No, I don’t!” Richie yelled back. Both of his parents were home, but he didn’t care and it seemed as if Eddie didn’t either. The teen only hoped neither came up to check on all the yelling, and he was honestly surprised they didn’t with Eddie furiously stomping in.

“Jesus, Rich, I know you do! I also know you don’t wanna be my friend anymore! You hate me.”

“The fuck I do. Who fucking said that?”

“No one, but they don’t have to say anything!”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“You don’t tell me you love me! You’re always saying it to the others in some way or another, and it wasn’t until I was studying with Ben and Stan when I realized. They took a break and talked about how you’re always saying ‘I love you’ to them, and then I’m sitting there feeling like completely fucking shit because you stopped saying that to me! You used to say it all the time when we were kids, and after...that summer, you said it less, but I didn’t think anything of it, but now you’ve completely stopped! You could’ve just said you don’t wanna be friends anymore with me rather than just drifting away. We don’t even fucking hang out one on one anymore!”

Oh, shit. Richie’s fucked up. His eyes widened behind his glasses and he lowered his hands. “Eds, that- that’s not...” He trailed off, unable to find any words that would make the situation better. He felt his gut churn with guilt as he noticed that Eddie was crying. The tears started to fall mid-way through his rant and he hadn’t made an effort to calm down and stop them.

Eddie sniffled and wiped the tears on his cheeks away. “Look-.”

Richie bent down and wrapped his arms tightly around Eddie’s waist, and picked him up. “I’m sorry.”

“What the fuck, Rich, get off!”

“No!” Richie squeezed his eyes shut and held onto Eddie tighter, the shorter boy doing his best to get out of Richie’s grasp. “No, Eddie, okay, I’m sorry, I’m so fucking sorry. I’m a dumbass, I wasn’t thinking straight at all, you have every right to hate me but I could never hate you. Okay?”

Eddie stopped fighting. “...What?”

Richie continued, “I just thought you got tired of it, y’know? Annoyed and all. You never really said it back when I did say it to you, so I thought you didn’t want to hear it, so I stopped. You’re my best friend and I’m sorry for hurting your feelings, I didn’t meaning to, I just wasn’t using my brain. I do love you, please believe me.”

Silence fell over them. No one spoke for the next few minutes, and at some point Richie set Eddie back down and let go, taking a step back to give him space. He picked at his nails as he waited for Eddie to say something, avoiding eye contact.

Eddie sucked in a breath of air and let it out. “You’re a dick.”

Richie nodded. “Yeah.”

“But I don’t hate you, either. I mean, I probably should, but...” He trailed off and shrugged.

Richie looked up with a wide smile. “Really?”

“Yes, really, I don’t think I could hate you even if I tried,” Eddie admitted, a smile of his own forming.

Richie went to say something, but a knock on the door frame kept him from doing so. The two teens looked over to see Maggie Tozier standing there. The woman looked the slightest bit concerned as she stared back at them. “Everything okay in here?”

Eddie nodded, cheeks a bit pink, as Richie answered, “Yeah, just some mixed signals, Mags.”

Maggie gave her son a look.

Richie sighed. “Sorry, sorry. Mom.” He smiled, and so did she.

“Your father’s making spaghetti, by the way,” she told him. “It’ll be ready in ten minutes. Eddie, you’re free to join -- always will be.”

Eddie shook his head. “No, it’s fine-.”

“What? No, you’re staying,” Richie protested. “My Eddie Spaghetti eating spaghetti! It’s oddly poetic.”

Eddie made a face. “It’s weird.”

“So, you’re staying?”

“...Yes.”

“Yay!”

iv.

"You’re learning...Russian?” Mike asked hesitantly.

Richie nodded, holding the Russian dictionary like it was his pride and joy. “Yep! Latin’s too hard, Spanish is too basic, French is too...uh, French, and I couldn’t think of anything else, so Russian it is, Mikey! Care to join me?”

“Uh... Not this time, no.”

Richie beamed. “Perfect.”

Mike snorted out a laugh as he started to walk away. “You’re a weird one, Rich.”

“You love me, though!”

“Debatable!”

They laughed, and Richie reopened the book he had closed, going back to studying how to say ‘I love you’ in Russian. Of course, he was going to teach himself a few other things, but that was the main goal. The reason he chose Russian and none of the others was because it’s the least likely one where Eddie might too easily piece everything together. French would be the logical route to go considering that’s an elective he’s currently taking at school, but so is Eddie, so that completely rules it out. Then the others are taking Spanish. So, if he wanted everything to not come to light so suddenly, he had to go with something no one else knew, either.

“Hey, I can help you with that if you want. It’s hard.”

Richie’s stomach dropped. But he forced a smile as he looked up. Stan stood there, the sun shining behind him as if he were an angel. Right then, Richie thought he was the devil. “Stan the Man! Why aren’t you with Mike and Ben over there?” Richie asked. He pointed over to the large rocks the other two boys were on as they looked at a bird book Stan had brought along with him. For a split second, Richie glanced over to where Beverly, Bill, and Eddie were as they sat under a tree for shade, and then quickly looked back up to Stan, forcing another smile.

“Offering my help for once in your lame life,” Stan answered. “Really, it’s not that easy to learn. The Russians have a completely different alphabet than us.”

“No, thanks, I got it.”

“Richard.”

“Stanley.”

“Stop being difficult.”

“Do you even know me? I’m difficult every minute of every hour of every day of every month of every year!”

An unpleased look came over Stan’s face and before Richie knew it, Stan was forcibly hoisting the dark haired boy to his feet. “Rich and I are going for sno-cones! Give us your money if you want one!” He kept a firm grip on Richie’s elbow and turned to face him as their friends fished for money. “We’re talking. No funny business, got it?”

Richie nodded quickly. His heart was hammering in his chest from nerves, and he could feel his hands start to sweat -- and it wasn’t from the Spring heat. Stan must have noticed something, because his look softened and his grip loosened.

“It’s nothing bad, Rich,” he assured in a whisper as the other five started hurrying to them. “I promise.”

Richie could only nod again as he swallowed a lump in his throat. Then, they were grabbing money from their friends, and soon enough walking away from the barrens and to Richie’s new but beat down truck parked at the road. Stan took the money and stuffed it in one of his pockets, and then took the book from Richie as they got in the truck. His hands were shaking and he felt as if he was about to puke or pass out. Stan and him...they were close, almost as close as brothers, and if Richie had to make a list of his favorite people, the Jew would be directly under Eddie, maybe tied with Beverly.

Stan was someone Richie could have serious conversations with when he was tired of being the annoying and funny guy. For years, it’s been like this. Despite how often Stan says, “I hate you, Richie,” it wasn’t true in the slightest, and sure he got annoyed more often than not, but they were still as thick as thieves. Which was why Richie was a jittery mess. Stan didn’t have to say a word. Richie knew Stan knew; he didn’t know how, but he did, and that terrified the dark haired boy to no end. Because out of all the things that could make Stan hate Richie for real, it’s the fact he likes boys.

“Rich, pull over, you’re already going twenty over the speed limit, and I don’t want you to crash while we talk,” Stan said.

Richie nodded for a third time. “Y-Yeah. Um, g-good idea, Stan.”

Stan smirked. “Leave the stuttering to Bill.”

Richie cracked a smile but it went away as fast as it came, and then put the truck in park. He didn’t move, though. He stayed facing forward and his hands gripped the wheel tightly. “How long have you known?” Richie asked.

“That you love Eddie? I dunno... A while,” Stan admitted. “I don’t think the others know-.”

“Bev does.”

“Okay. I don’t think the boys know,” Stan corrected. “I’m just observant. Plus, we’ve grown up together, Richie. If I had to pick a specific moment, it would be sometime in sophomore year. We all went to the arcade one weekend. Eddie got absolutely pissed at one of the employees and screamed at him. We almost got kicked out! But the entire time you looked...fond. Proud, even. We almost got kicked out of your favorite place in the world but you didn’t care because it was Eddie. That’s love. You would’ve reacted differently it had been anyone else.”

Richie half-smiled. He remembered that day. “So... You don’t hate me? Find me disgusting?” Slowly, he looked to his friend.

Stan rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “I find you disgusting because you’ve worn that shirt for the third day in a row. Not because you like boys.”

Relief flooded through Richie.

Then, “How long have you loved him, anyway?”

“Since we were twelve.”

“We’re seventeen.”

“Yup.”

“That’s five years!”

“Yep.”

“Holy shit.”

Richie sucked in a deep breath and then let it out. “Yeah...” He paused. “I thought it was nothing, honestly, at first. Then we almost died, and then the feeling never went away and...here we are. I want to tell him, but not now, but I can’t hold it in much longer either, so that’s where the Russian comes in.”

Stan nodded, motioned for Richie to start driving again, and thought for a moment. “Lucky for you that’s the one phrase I do know in Russian.”

A grin formed on Richie’s lips as he drove. “Perfect.”

He didn’t learn the phrase within one day like he wanted. Stan decided to make Richie learn the entire alphabet for the Russian language first, a few basic words, and then he would teach Richie the phrase. It took a few days to do the first part, and then another couple for the next. By the time the next weekend rolled around, Richie had the entire alphabet memorized and could say hello, bye, fuck, and I love you in Russian all thanks to Stan. Richie didn’t have the guts to say it that weekend, but waited until Monday when he had to drive Eddie to school that morning.

“Hey, Eds?” Richie spoke halfway through the drive.

Half-asleep Eddie hummed. “Yeah, Rich?”

“Я люблю тебя.”

Silence. Then, “I have no idea what the fuck you just said,” Eddie paused as he yawned. “But that’s pretty cool, Rich. Ya lebyuh te-blah blah to you too.”

“You totally just butchered that.”

“Fuck off.”

The Losers Club were officially high school graduates. Mike actually graduated earlier than everyone since he was homeschooled, but now that didn’t matter. The summer of freedom started out fine, perfect even. They had more fun than any of them could imagine, and none of them wanted it to end. Unfortunately, college was a thing for most everyone involved, and soon the Losers would be leaving Derry to tackle their adult lives. Soon -- meaning one more night. The summer flew by faster than any of them believed. It was as if one moment they were taking a picture with their caps and gowns on, and the next they were about to leave their small town and best friends.

It was why they were getting together one last time the night before they left. Drinks were involved. The sucky radio Ben always had to fix was playing some song. The stars were out. The only thing lighting up the barrens were a few flashlights they laid out around them. Richie sat on a rock by the shallow lake, back facing it as his eyes were glued to Eddie. A beer was held in one hand and the other had a half burnt cigarette. It had gone out a while ago, Richie too stuck in place to relight it.

Eddie had a cup of something alcoholic in his hand, his fourth one of the night, and he was shout-singing along to the song that was playing with Ben and Mike, dancing too. He was happy and carefree and glowing under the lights of the flashlights and stars, and with each passing moment Richie could feel his heart just swell with love as he watched the other boy. Richie took another swig of the beer and smiled as Eddie and Ben clung to one another as they dramatically sang the next lyrics, putting Mike into a laughing fit.

“You gotta tell him,” Bev said as she walked up. She sat beside Richie and took the cigarette, relighting it. After, she offered it back but Richie declined. “Rich, sweetie... You have to.”

Richie motioned towards Eddie, still smiling albeit it was a sad one now, and turned to face Beverly. “Look at him,” he said, and she did. “He’s having the best time of his life over there! I can’t ruin that.”

Bev gave him a sad look. “You won’t.”

He shook his head. “No. It’s been fine the way it is-.”

“He kissed a girl as a dare four months ago, and you sobbed in your pillow for the rest of the weekend.”

“I was being overly dramatic. You know how I am! Besides, I still got his mom, don’t I?” It was a lame attempt at a joke. A failed one, too. Because Bev neither laughed or reprimanded him. He sighed and took the last gulp of beer.

“You have to tell him,” she repeated. “We’re going to be busy because of college, and we’re not exactly going to the same one.”

Richie pursed his lips. He could feel a lump forming in his throat. “We made plans to meet up every weekend if we can. Our universities aren’t too far away.”

“Rich-.”

“Bev,” he interrupted her, pleading, “Just stop. Okay? I’ll tell him when I want to.”

She looked at her best friend, studied him. Then, she nodded solemnly. “Alright,” she whispered.

The next few minutes were spent with the two sitting on the rock as Beverly finished the cigarette. Neither spoke after that and it wasn’t until Bill ran up to drag them tot he others when they left their spot. Richie grabbed another beer after throwing the empty bottle into the trash bag Stan brought for, well, trash. Richie made a few jokes of putting himself in it considering they call him Trashmouth, and Mike at picked him up and acted as if he was going to do just that.

“Put that fucker where he belongs!” Eddie shouted, grinning.

“At least put him in recycling,” Ben said.

“He doesn’t deserve to be recycled,” Stan teased.

All the while, Richie was laughing in Mike’s arms, a few drops of his beer getting on the both of them. Mike eventually set him down and put an arm around Richie’s shoulders. “Nah, I’d never throw out the Trashmouth,” Mike said. He smirked and backed away, feigning a look of disgust as he waved a hand around. “Only because you stink too much!”

Richie gave a sarcastic laugh. “I’m not the one who works on a farm!”

“Oh, he’s g-g-got you there,” Bill laughed.

“Which makes it worse,” Bev joined in.

“Trash the Trashmouth, okay, ha ha, very funny!”

“You started it, Rich,” Eddie reminded him with a slight slur as he walked up to him.

Richie rolled his eyes with a smile. “Yeah, I know.” Subconsciously he put an arm on Eddie’s shoulders, and then he looked down at him, a bit surprised to already find Eddie’s eyes on him. Richie’s eyes lowered to the shirt Eddie was wearing and lifted a brow, smiling knowingly, trying not to react to the arm resting against his back and the hand messing with his own shirt. “Love your shirt, Eds.”

“Of course you do. You gave it to me a few years ago, I’m actually surprised in genuinely fits me well.”

“A little oversized but you’re still cute, cute, cute!” Richie snaked his arm further around Eddie’s shoulders and neck, and pinched the other’s cheek. “But, may I remind you, I never gave it to you. You stole it.”

“...No, I don’t think I did.”

“You did.”

“Nope.”

“I literally watched you take it from my closet.”

“It was a dream.”

Richie scoffed. He gave in, “Alright, fine.”

Eddie grinned, proud of himself.

The next few moments they just stood there. Beverly’s words flooded Richie’s mind as he looked down at Eddie. For a solid minute, he had an inward battle with himself about what to do, but as Eddie laughed at something Stan said to Ben, the winner of that inner battle was clear.

Richie tightened his grip around Eddie’s shoulders for a split second to get his attention. “Hey. Eds, can I tell you something?” Now or never, Tozier, he told himself, you can do it. You gotta. This has been six years in the making so just fucking do it.

“You know you can, Rich. C’mon, tell me.”

Now or never, you piece of shit.

“We’re going to be busy because of college.”

Я люблю тебя.

Muffled confession under water.

“I don’t think I could hate you even if I tried.”

“Eddie, I-.”

“Guys!” Mike shouted in excitement and turned up the volume. “Listen!” A familiar tune met Richie’s ears. It was the song all of them loved to jam out to, one they vowed to never not dance along to no matter where they were. Eddie was quick to leave Richie’s side to join the others, not hearing the last part of what Richie had to say.

“-love you.” Shit.

+ i.

Richie could cry- no. No, he was crying. Tears steadily streamed down his face, mixing with the dirt and mud and blood from the final fight with It. They should be celebrating. They should be happy. They should be basking in the glory of finally having that piece of shit defeated after 27 years. But that wasn’t the case. Eddie got stabbed and it didn’t look good at all. Richie rid himself of his jacket and pressed it against the wound. Eddie’s eyes were shutting, head lulling.

“No, no nonono,” Richie muttered through some tears. He patted Eddie’s face to stir him awake enough to open his eyes; a sound left Eddie’s throat and Richie didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing as Eddie shut his eyes again. “Not you. C’mon, please not you, I can’t lose you. You’re too important to me. Eds. Eds! Eddie, hey, stay awake for me, alright? I can’t lose you- I can’t- fuck, I love you so much, please, I’m so in love with you. Don’t die on me, please.”

“Richie,” Beverly spoke from her spot, equally as dirty as the rest of them. “Sweetie, I don’t think...” She trailed off, unable to finish her own sentence.

Ben moved forward quickly. He bent down and watched Eddie closely for a second. “He’s still breathing,” he whispered. Frantically, he started pulling off his belt.

“Guys, the house is falling apart!” Mike shouted at them.

“He’s still breathing!” Ben shouted back.

He gently pushed Richie away to put the belt around Eddie, securing Richie’s jacket tightly over the wound. Mike was then walking over, and so was Bill. The sounds of the house falling down filled their ears as they picked Eddie up. Richie had his shoulders, Ben stayed by his abdomen to make sure the belt stayed, and Mike had his feet. Bill made sure they didn’t need any help before looking to their redheaded woman.

“Bev, go ahead and go! Make sure Stan knows we’re coming back and tell him about Eddie!” Bill yelled.

Beverly nodded and ran off, and Bill led the rest of them through everything. It was hard and more than a few times did they think they were about to be crushed by everything, but they made it out just in time. They didn’t stop there. They carried Eddie to Richie’s very new truck and set him in the bed of it, Stan in the driver’s seat, the engine already running. Beverly was in the passenger’s seat, and Bill and Ben got in the back while Richie and Mike stayed with Eddie. To everyone’s surprise, Stan sped down the Derry roads as fast as he could but also as safely as he could.

“Rich...” Eddie croaked out.

Richie bent down further and smiled through the tears, hand clutching Eddie’s. He did his best to ignore much he looked like death. “We’re getting you to a hospital,” he said. “Hang on, okay?”

“I gotta...’ell y’somethin’.”

He shook his head stubbornly. “You keep those fucking words in you mouth, Eddie. Tell me when you aren’t bleeding from a stab wound.”

“He’s losing a lot of blood, man,” Mike whispered, as if trying to say something.

Richie looked at Mike, glaring, and blinked back more tears that wanted to fall.

“Rich, I...” Eddie trailed off. Then, the grip on Richie’s hand weakened and Eddie’s eyes shut completely as his head lulled to the side for a second time.

“No. Shit. Fuck, Stan!”

“His pulse is weak-.”

“Mike, I love you, but shut the fuck!”

Mike, instead of arguing, nodded and hit the back window of the truck. Bill opened it. “Hurry up!”

“I’m already speeding!” Stan shouted from the inside.

“Speed faster!” Bev yelled. He did.

“Two more miles!” Ben told them.

“I just called, there’ll be someone waiting for us,” Bill said.

One minute later, Richie’s truck was zooming into the parking lot of the hospital and coming to a surprisingly steady halt by the entrance to the emergency room. Doctors and paramedics came rushing out instantly, taking Eddie away, the losers following them inside as far as they would let them. Richie stood at the double doors and stared through the window. He sucked in a deep breath. Then, he found the nearest trashcan and puked.

It seemed as if the next couple of hours went by slowly on purpose, taunting Richie and the others. During those hours, Richie scrubbed Eddie’s blood off of hands while sobbing in the men’s bathroom, and when he came back out to the waiting room he got tackled in a group hug which just caused him to cry some more. Stan shed a few tears and Ben wiped away a few that slipped out. Mike and Bill were refusing to cry just yet, while Beverly started to but stopped, telling herself and the boys that Eddie was still alive. The amount of tears increased when the doctor came in and told them that Eddie miraculously made it, but he wasn’t awake just yet.

They visited Eddie as much as they could. Someone was always in the room at all times, waiting for their favorite fireball to wake up. Richie stayed there the most. He only left to clean up and change clothes. He didn’t want Eddie out of his sight too much, not after what happened.

It was the morning of the second day when Eddie finally woke up.

“Wake up, fuckface,” Eddie said at noticing Richie, the man sleeping in a chair beside the bed, head using Eddie’s legs as a pillow.

Richie sat up almost instantly. His eyes were wide with joy at first until he realized he had no glasses on, and suddenly he was squinting to see Eddie better. He fumbled around for his glasses and slipped them on once he found them, and his smile grew ten times at seeing the other man clearly. “Eddie!” He exclaimed happily, and koala-ed him the best he could without causing any more harm or pain. He was laughing, then he was crying. “Shit, I thought I’d lost you.”

Eddie placed a comforting hand in Richie’s hair, and he closed his eyes as he rested his cheek on Richie’s head. “I know,” he whispered. “I’m okay now, though... Hey, Rich?”

“Hm?”

“Я люблю тебя.”

Richie froze. He slowly moved away and sat back in the chair, staring at Eddie with pure shock. “What did you say?”

Eddie smiled. “I think you know.”

Richie blinked. He was stunned. He ran a hand through his hair and slumped back. “I thought you didn’t know what that meant?”

“I didn’t. But, uh, that’s the first thing I remembered when I got back here. I asked Siri what it meant.”

With lowered brows, Richie’s jaw dropped. “Siri told you that I loved you before I fucking got to properly? What the fuck!?”

Eddie busted out laughing, holding his side with the stitches. “Oh- fuck, this priceless!”

“I’m killing Siri.”

“Aw, no, babe! Don’t, she helps me with driving,” Eddie said, nearly pouting.

Richie snorted, almost completely missing the term of endearment. “I’ve been in love you since we were fucking twelve, and a piece of shit technology tells you before I get the chance. Unbelievable!”

“I mean... You could tell me now.”

“Tell you what- oh. Oh.” He scooted closer to the bed and leaned forward. For a moment, he thought about making a joke about his mother, but decided against it, even though it would have been hilarious. He smiled, taking one of Eddie’s hands. Nerves coursed through him, but he fought against them. He wasn’t a terrified teenager anymore. “Eddie -- my Eds Spagheds -- I love you. I always have, and I always will.”

Eddie beamed at him. “I love you, too.”

If Richie’s grin could grow anymore, it would. And maybe it did.

Because in front of him was the love of his life alive, saying he loved him back.

Richie then leaned all the way forward and kissed Eddie, and Eddie kissed back. Bill barged in then, ready to announce that breakfast had arrived, but stopped himself at seeing Richie and Eddie. He froze, stared, and then backed up, smiling slowly as he shut the door. He turned to the other losers, who looked confused.

“Well,” Bill said. “It took a little over two fucking decades but they’re finally together.”

#reddie #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #it #the losers club #beverly marsh #ben hanscom #bill denbrough #mike hanlon #stan uris #my writing #*#5 plus 1 #they're in love!!

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soulwillower · 4 years

Note

munch tozier 🥺🥺 more richie and munch stuff!! please? hcs or fic series

im gonna make this a hc because im rly feeling like doin some rn!! id be down to write a fic too tho if ppl would want that :)

ok so a classic trope:

getting paired for a science project

you dont rly know richie too well

u knew he was class-clown

but v smart

loud and annoying and kinda intimidating bc of him n his wild friends

n e ways ok so u guys get paired for a project

end-of-the-semester project

u guys start doing the project after school at the library but then after like a week

richies like “can we go to mine i have to watch my sister today”

ur like hm ok thats fine

bc u dont rly know him more than just thinking hes a smart but selfish guy

bc he kind of came off as that to u

but then u drive home with him in his car the next day

and u just fucking D I E

richie picks up this adorable little girl from a pre-k place

and shes extremely shy and turns red when u make eye contact with her while richie’s strapping her into her carseat

“y/n, this is munch”

ur like of course richie would call his tiny sister munch

maybe, maybe you swoon internally when u see his sister poke his nose and see how he giggles and scrunches his nose

and how he boops her nose right back

ur so fucked bc everything he does is so fucking adorable with her

he helps her make snacks, asks about her day

and so shes eating an apple he sliced as u and him work at the table

shes still rly shy and will only talk to u when richie asks her a question and stuff

but shes rly bubbly with him its so cUTE

he goes “munch, show y/n your shoes”

(they're light-up velcro spiderman ones)

shes so blushy and she sits on richie’s lap for a bit while he’s doing ur lab write-up

she falls asleep with her arm over his neck and you are straight up blushing because of how much ur swooning

after that day, u start to find more excuses to go to richies

telling him u should work on the weekends just so u can see munch

and munch is still rly shy but she’s warmed up to u, and started talking to u when u and rich pick her up

one day u kiss her cheek and she giggles and says “kiss richie now!”

both u and richie go : 😳😳

hes like “munch, thats different”

and then he turns even redder when he realizes the implications of what he said and ur heart skips a beat

shes just like “please?” and claps her hands and

shes so cute that ur like “how can i say no to that face”

so u lean over and kiss richie’s cheek but its uhhhh little close to his lips

so when u pull back

hes bright fuckin red and grinning like a dumbass

and u are too ngl

shes giggling and clapping and its rly cute

ugh very soft !!!

//tag list: @gabiatthedisco @blisshemmings @toziershmozier @simplesammyx @dickology64 @clownsloveyou @baby-yoda-a @moon-shine-baby @daughter-of-the-stars11 @lets-vibe-bro @trashedfortozier @oceandog13 @finnskindofwoman @kait-tozier @upamongthestarss @fiantomartell @beverlyparkerr @beauregard-s @diorbubs //

#richie tozier x reader #richie tozier headcanons #munch tozier

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hollymartinswrites · 5 years

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Chapters: 5/? Fandom: IT - Stephen King, IT (Movies - Muschietti) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh Characters: Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough, Mike Hanlon, Original Child Character(s) Additional Tags: Fix-It, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-IT Chapter Two (2019), Domestic, Light Angst, Family Feels, Childhood Trauma, Adoption, Kid Fic, Adopted Children, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Marriage, Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier Are Parents, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Minor Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends Summary:

Eddie and Richie embark on the most terrifying experience of all—parenthood.

Or, the author desperately needed a domestic, family fix-it for Richie and Eddie.

Chapter V: Richie and Eddie’s youngest daughter suffers from separation anxiety. Or is it something else?

“No, please, don’t do this to me, baby,” Eddie begged.

He tried to straighten and gently remove the arms that were locked around his neck but toddlers in the midst of hysteria apparently have the strength of twenty men.

“Tess, it’s okay,” Richie insisted over the loud sobs of their youngest daughter as he, too, tried to pry her death grip off of Eddie. “Daddy’s just going to work. He’ll be back later to play with us, I promise.”

He managed to free one hand from Eddie’s neck and, in her brief confusion as to why she was suddenly no longer in control of her hand, gathered Tess up in his arms. Her screams only increased in pitch. She launched a bodily attack this time, kicking and flailing with all her might. She managed to land one solid kick to his stomach, and he nearly doubled over.

“Just go,” he grunted at Eddie. “I’ll distract her.”

“Rich, I—”

“You gotta go to work, just leave, you’re makin’ it worse standing here.”

Eddie frowned as Richie turned, Tess still hysterical in his arms even though he kept telling her all the fun games they could play now. Eddie hated leaving the house like this but he didn’t have any other choice. He turned towards the door and quickly slipped out, locking it behind him before heading towards his car.

He collapsed in the front seat, and winced. He could still hear Tess’s hysterical cries from inside the house. Everything in his heart told him to ignore work and return to his daughter but he knew the parenting books he had obsessively read before adopting their first child were against that. He also knew that if he walked back into that house, he would quite possibly never return to work again.

He started the car, took a deep breath, and drove away.

“This can’t just be a phase.”

Eddie rubbed his forehead, incredibly exhausted. He looked up and watched as Richie haphazardly threw their clean laundry into their dresser. He couldn’t bring himself to care.

“I mean, separation anxiety is a thing, I get it, but shouldn’t it be for both parents?” Richie continued.

Eddie shrugged.

“Maybe not,” he said quietly. “Maybe it’s just because I’m the one who leaves every morning.”

Richie shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

“It should be getting better though,” he sighed. “I mean, you going to work isn’t new for her anymore.”

Eddie rubbed his face.

“We need to find her a therapist,” he said.

“They have therapists for toddlers?”

Eddie nodded. Richie sighed again and sat beside him on the bed, his shoulders slumped. Eddie took his hand into his and ran his thumb along his knuckles.

“I hate this,” Richie mumbled. “I hate seeing her so upset.”

“Me too.”

“She made herself sick once.”

Eddie’s heart fell and he stared at his husband in shock.

“What?” he gasped.

“Like a month ago,” Richie admitted softly. “I thought it was because I gave her French toast for the first time but she kept crying so hard after you left and the next thing I knew, she lost her lunch all over the floor.”

Horror and pain and guilt whirled around inside Eddie.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked breathlessly.

“I told you, I thought it was just regular toddler throw up, but now I think she...I thought she was gonna get sick again today. Fuck!” Richie dropped his head into his hands and yanked at his hair. “I’m such a fucking shit dad.”

“Rich—”

“Our baby’s suffering and all I could think to do is put on Cinderella and rope Lydia into playing dress up to distract her.” Richie sniffed and shook his head. “I’m just like my parents.”

“What are you talking about?”

“My parents didn’t know what to do with me as a kid,” he murmured. “They loved me but they had no idea how to handle a kid with ADHD and anxiety. I mean, it was the 80s, they didn’t have the resources but we fucking do and I’m still fucking up.”

Eddie took Richie into his arms and held him silently for several long minutes until his breathing got under control. He rubbed his back and tried desperately to think of the proper thing to say but he had never had a way with words, not like Bill.

Richie exhaled shakily and straightened. He wiped at his eyes and sniffed again.

“Thank God it’s Friday, right?” he muttered, huffing a laugh. “At least we got a weekend to recoup.”

Eddie brushed Richie’s hair from his forehead and smoothed it gently.

“And we’ll look into a therapist for her,” he said. “We’ll figure it out. I promise, Rich.”

Richie nodded and sighed before resting his head on Eddie’s shoulder. Warmth spread throughout Eddie and for once, he felt like the stronger of the two.

“It’s been getting better,” Richie admitted. “She still cries more often than not but not like before. This week we got two days in a row without a freakout.”

Eddie’s eyelids fluttered. Tess was in his arms, fast asleep, on the living room couch, The Wizard of Oz playing softly on the TV. Though he was speaking quietly, Eddie could still hear Richie as he spoke on the phone in the kitchen. From the relieved happiness in his voice when he answered, Eddie assumed he was speaking to Bev.

“I don’t know,” Richie continued. “It’s clear she has some anxiety issues but hopefully we can nip it in the bud before it gets worse as she gets older. The therapy seems to be helping.”

Eddie glanced down as his daughter peacefully slept, curled up on his chest. He ran his thumb along her arm and smiled gently. She always looked younger and somehow smaller when she slept. Eddie wished, not for the first time, that she could look this calm and serene when she was awake.

“No, it’s still just when Eddie leaves,” Richie said, his voice dropping even lower. Eddie had the distinct feeling that Richie had assumed he had also fallen asleep in front of the TV. “And it’s not just that. Sometimes she gets these looks...like, far-off looks. I can’t explain it.”

Eddie swallowed. He, too, had noticed that particular quirk of their daughter’s, only he called them ‘long-gone looks’ because, for brief moments, it seemed as if Tess had disappeared somewhere deep inside herself. Her eyes would go out of focus, her entire little body would still, and for a moment, she was gone. It had frightened him the first time he had seen it but she would always blink and smile up at him and Eddie would nearly collapse under the overwhelming relief.

“I know, I know, you think I’m crazy,” Richie sighed, “but I worry. It’s more than just being sensitive or anxious, Bev. It’s something else.”

Eddie tightened his grip around his daughter. He had never said it aloud to his husband, but he had been plagued by the same worry.

“I don’t know what to do,” Richie said. “I remember when we first started looking into adoption, I was so fucking...I thought I would be able to handle anything because of the shit we went through as kids but it turns out, I feel really fucking helpless.”

Well, Eddie thought sadly, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve overlooked Richie’s feelings.

“No, they passed out on the couch watching a movie,” Richie continued, huffing a laugh. “Yeah, I’ll tell him. I will, I promise. Thanks. Give Ben a big kiss on the mouth for me, okay? With lots of tongue. Love you.”

Eddie froze. He briefly considered shutting his eyes and pretending to be asleep but to his immense relief, Richie merely pushed back his chair at the kitchen table and slowly walked down the hall to their bedroom. Eddie exhaled a breath and turned back to the TV. Dorothy was crying about not being allowed in to the Emerald City. He sighed and closed his eyes, gently rubbing his daughter’s back.

Rainy days had never been his favorite when he was a child. They meant loneliness, isolation, and long days with his mother fretting over him. He always had his worst asthma attacks on rainy days. Those had been dark and dreary days that never seemed to end.

Eddie glanced into the living room. Lydia was sprawled on the couch, munching on apple slices, while Tess played with Barbie dolls on the floor. The Lion King was playing on the TV. Through the windows, he could see the rain falling even harder. He turned back to the cutting board. Rainy days weren’t so bad now.

His phone buzzed. He picked it up.

Just got to the venue. Gonna grab dinner with my agent and the promoter before the show. I’ll call you before I go on.

Eddie swiped his phone open and began typing his reply.

Have a good time and break a leg. All’s quiet here. Lydia asked if she could stay up until you get home tonight but I squashed that.

Richie responded immediately.

Yeah, when I told her I had a show this morning, she told me you already did a show last month. She’s very persuasive.

Eddie smiled and shook his head.

Well, she’s fine now so go live it up down there in AC. But don’t go too crazy.

I’m gonna eat a burger and maybe since I’m feeling wild even drink a soda. Really let loose. I’ll call you later. Love you, babe.

Eddie smirked as he texted that he loved Richie back and put his phone away. He returned to the task of chopping eggplant and making sure it didn’t get too quiet in the living room. He and Richie had quickly learned that there was no sound more terrifying for a parent than silence.

Lydia was still loudly snacking on her apple slices and explaining the movie to her sister. Tess, meanwhile, simply hummed in response. From the music, Eddie could tell they were at the infamous stampede scene. He still didn’t understand how kids could enjoy that movie so much. It seemed so fucking dark. Richie said that because Simba gets adopted by two gay dads, they should let it slide (Eddie hadn’t bothered to ask if they were supposed to be Timon and Pumbaa).

He dropped the chopped eggplant into the pot and began working on the bell peppers when he heard Lydia insist with all the wisdom that comes with being an older sibling, “No, he’s not sleeping, he’s dead.”

“I know,” Tess replied. “But he’ll get up.”

“No, Tess, when someone dies, they stay dead. Mufasa’s not coming back.”

“Yes, he is.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Sometimes they come back.”

“Tess, that’s not—”

“Daddy came back.”

The knife slipped and Eddie felt his stomach clench as he watched the blade miss his finger by millimeters. He was suddenly aware that he wasn’t breathing.

“What are you talking about?” Lydia continued. “Daddy’s not dead.”

“I know that,” Tess replied impatiently. “But he did die and he came back.”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Yes, he did.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No, no!”

“Yes, yes!”

“DADDY.”

“Girls, settle down,” he heard himself saying as he walked into the living room.

“Tess says you died,” Lydia said quickly, pointing at her sister, who merely looked puzzled at the fact that this was even an argument.

Eddie turned towards his youngest daughter and swallowed.

“Tess, sweetheart, what makes you say that?” he asked hollowly. “I’m right here. Quite alive.”

“I know but—”

“You shouldn’t lie,” Lydia observed importantly.

“Lydia, please,” Eddie sighed. He crouched down in front of Tess and took one of her hands in his own. “I’m right here. See? Everything’s fine.”

“I know that, Daddy, you’re okay now,” Tess continued.

“You can’t die and come back,” Lydia insisted again.

“Jesus did,” Tess shot back. “Grandma told us.”

Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. Great, now he and Richie had to have another conversation about setting boundaries with Richie’s family. He was not looking forward to that.

“Tess, sweetheart, what exactly are you talking about? I’m obviously alive and okay.”

“But I saw it, Daddy,” she insisted, a trembling whine in her voice.

“Saw what?”

“You and the monster and Papa. I saw it and I cried lots and lots but then you got better so I wasn’t scared no more.”

The blood rang in Eddie’s ears and he almost missed hearing his eldest daughter haughtily reply, “There’s no such thing as monsters.”

“And it hurt you but Papa made sure you got better and the monster disappeared forever. That’s why you have that boo boo.” Tess tapped him gently on the chest.

Later, Eddie would be amazed at his ability to compartmentalize. All he could think in that breathless moment was, I’m burning the eggplant.

He stood up on shaky legs, smiled (or at least attempted to) at his daughters, and told them to apologize to one another for arguing and finish the movie. He walked, as if in a dream, back into the kitchen, turned off the stove, and suddenly realized that tears were streaming down his face.

You thought you knew fear once, laughed a voice that sounded like a macabre combination of his mother and the clown, but you’re in for quite a ride, Eddie Bear.

“It’s back,” Richie exclaimed as he feverishly paced around their bedroom. “It has to be back. We didn’t kill It.”

“You don’t know that,” Eddie sighed.

“Then why did she say that?” Richie asked, his eyes wild. “It’s back and It followed us here.”

“That’s impossible.”

“No, what’s impossible is that a fucking space alien takes the form of a clown and a leper and fucking Paul Bunyan to fuck with us and kill people we love,” Richie insisted, breathless. “That’s fucking impossible but it fucking happened so why would it not happen again?”

“Rich, our scars are gone,” Eddie said, holding out his hand. “It’s gone.”

Richie shook his head. Eddie could tell by the look on his face and his frantic movements that he was on the verge of a panic attack. He took both of Richie’s hands in his and begged him to breathe with him. Richie snatched his hands away.

“We gotta call Mike,” he gasped.

“It’s two in the morning,” Eddie reminded him.

“So what? This is an emergency.” Richie stopped moving and pointed at Eddie. “And you should’ve called me as soon as it happened.”

“And what would you have done?” Eddie snapped. “Tell your manager, sorry, I can’t do the show, you gotta refund all the tickets because my four-year-old said something weird. Come the fuck on.”

“How are you so calm about this?” Richie asked wildly.

“Because it was probably just a dream she had.”

“Bullshit.”

“Think about it logically,” Eddie continued, “dreams are just our brains trying to make sense of the shit we see and experience, right?” Richie stared at him doubtfully. “Tess has seen the scar on my chest. Her little kid brain came up with an explanation for it.”

“An explanation that includes me and a monster and you dying?”

“We’re her parents, of course she’d dream about us,” Eddie replied. “And all kids are afraid of monsters.”

“She said you died and came back.” A tormented look crossed Richie’s face and his eyes were suddenly wet. “You did.”

“Parents die in all Disney movies. So her brain used that to explain the scar.”

Richie hesitated and ran a hand through his wild hair. Eddie noticed more strands of gray.

“I don’t know,” Richie murmured.

“I do,” Eddie said. “It was a dream. Tess had a bad dream. It’s nothing to worry about. I just wanted to tell you so you didn’t have a freak out like this in front of her if she ever brought it up again.”

Richie’s shoulders slumped. Eddie bit his tongue. He hadn’t meant to make him feel guilty. Richie raised his eyes to meet Eddie’s.

“Are you sure?” he asked hoarsely. “Are you sure she was just talking about a dream?”

Eddie took Richie’s hand again and squeezed it reassuringly.

“I’m sure,” he lied.

Weeks went by, then months. Tess’s separation anxiety seemed to be improving and though she still got that long-gone looks occasionally, she never mentioned anything about death or monsters or people coming back when they shouldn’t have. She still threw tantrums, still favored being held and read to by Eddie, still was an exhausting four-year-old but both Richie and Eddie were more than happy with that.

Perhaps it all had been a phase. Kids could be weird, Eddie figured. He and Richie both knew that to be true. And she was the younger sister. She needed her moments to act out for attention, right? Nothing to fret over. Just typical, run-of-the-mill childhood. Eddie and Richie began to relax and enjoy the ride. Besides, with two clever and rambunctious children under ten, they were far too busy to constantly worry. Like today.

Eddie was packing the cooler with juice, water bottles, and snacks. Richie was searching for his sneakers and Lydia was in the midst of her now daily monologue about the merits of owning a puppy.

“Not now, kiddo, we gotta get going,” Richie said, emptying a duffel bag of old gym clothes onto the floor. No sneakers.

Eddie grimaced from the kitchen.

“You’re cleaning that up later and washing those clothes,” he called. “They stink.”

“We could get a tiny puppy,” Lydia continued. “One that doesn’t get big and slobbery.”

“Lydia, go get your sister and make sure she’s got a jacket on,” Eddie said as he was silently debating which brand of organic fruit snacks to pack.

“And I’d clean up after it, like how I always clean my room.”

“Your room is still a mess from Tuesday,” Richie replied, now on his knees in front of the hall closet. “Go get your sister. Your cousins are all waiting for us at the park.”

“But—”

“Ah-ha! Found them,” Richie exclaimed, waving a pair of old Converses in his hand. “Lyds, Tess, now.”

Lydia sighed dramatically before stomping off down the hall to her sister’s room. Eddie zipped up the cooler and watched Richie tie up his laces.

“You’re wearing those?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What? They’re cool.”

“You know you’re not in high school anymore, right?”

“Forgive me for not wanting to dress like a grandpa.”

Eddie glanced down at his outfit.

“Grandpas don’t dress like this,” he insisted.

“Babe, no one dresses like that.”

Eddie was prevented from flipping Richie off by the arrival of their eldest daughter.

“Tess is being weird,” she stated, an odd look on her face.

“Did you tell her we’re leaving?” Eddie asked before he realized he nearly forgot the allergy pills and went back to the cabinet.

“Yeah, but she’s being weird,” Lydia repeated.

“I’ll get her,” Richie sighed. “Put your jacket on, Lyds.” He went off down the hall to retrieve their daughter.

Eddie rifled through the medicine cabinet, searching for the children’s non-drowsy allergy medicine and wondering if it was overkill to bring ibuprofen, too. He opened the bottle and peered in to see how many pills were left. He never got a chance to really look, however, because he dropped the opened bottle on the floor when he heard his husband scream their youngest daughter’s name in horror.

#reddie #reddie fanfic #it chapter 2 #richie tozier #eddie kasprak

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reddie-fangirl24 · 4 years

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Richie, alone in the clubhouse, writing “Richie Kaspbrak” and “Eddie Tozier” in his notebook, just to see what it looks like on paper, when Eddie drops in and says “hey Ri— why the fuck are you eating paper?” Richie, with his mouth full of notebook paper, “drew your mom naked from memory, just protecting your eyes, Ed’s”

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“‘Mr. Eddie Tozier,’” Richie wrote on the piece of paper. That actually had a ring to it. Richie wrote it again, singing it in his mind. Eddie Tozier. Eddward Tozier. Eddie Tozier. Wait, what if it was written like this?

“‘Richie Kaspbrak.’” Hmm, he liked it the other way around. He loved Eddie’s name. His own name didn’t meet the right tone to it.

Richie wrote he and Eddie’s names over and over about one hundred times, singing it to himself as he swung in the hammock. He even imagined dancing with Eddie, a waltz, wearing tuxes. Eddie looked great. Handsome.

“What are you doing, Rich?”

Nearly falling out of the hammock, Richie shoved the paper inside his mouth, munching on it as if it were a snack.

Eddie gagged backing up into the ladder of their clubhouse. “Why the fuck are you eating paper?”

“Why the fuck are you not eating paper?” Richie asked with his mouth full. Even he wanted to gag, but he had to keep the ruse going.

Eddie shook his head. “I don’t understand you.”

If only you could, Eds. “Just drawing your mom naked, Eds. I want to protect your youthful eyes!”

#Reddie #It 2017 #It Movie #Richie Tozier #Eddie Kaspbrak #Reddie fanfiction

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billyboisfangirlarmy · 6 years

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The Bowers Girl

Patrick x Bowers!Sister!Reader

(Y/n) is the sweet sis of Henry Bowers. But what happens what she becomes infatuated with the Phycho of Derry?

This is a series!!

/////////

(Y/n) POV:

I swept my bag over my shoulder and hurried out of the car quickly. The car filled with the best trash Derry could form together. The four boys I hate to even call acquaintances, and even worse one of them is blood related. Henry is my big brother by one year. He’s different to say the least. Growing up with him is difficult. It has been ever since mom left and dad started drinking a whole lot more than he should. He hurt Henry on a regular basis. He’s never been physically abusive to me, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t abusive at all. He plays mind games with me. He’ll manipulate me into doing the things he finds fit and then brushes me away as if his daughter means nothing to him. Which it doesn’t.

Victor is nice, quite, and he can be a little annoying, but one of the better out of the four. Belch is the nicest one. He’s like the big teddy bear who would protect me if I ever got into trouble, but it still doesn’t change the fact of what he does is wrong.

Then lastly comes Patrick. He’s dangerous to say the very least. He’s always avoided me. Well physical contact at least. He’ll speak to me briefly, but once when my fingertips brushed over his knee as I was getting into the car, he freaked out. Viciously rubbing away anything I would’ve left behind. Ever since the slight brush of contact he does his very best to avoid touching me.

I look over my shoulder seeing my brother hop out trying to look like a hardass. I roll my eyes turning back to the front and going inside the building. I waste no time going to my class and seeing my friends all piled up in their seats. I walk over setting my bag on the floor and taking my seat next to Richie Tozier. “Hello, hello, hello beauty. Where’s your beast? I’ll fill the spot if it’s empty!” He speaks in an accent and leans on me. I push him off laughing. “Empty and it’s staying empty.” “Y-Yeah. Can you even think of what would happen if B-Bowers found out you w-w-were with anyone?” Bill says knowing my brother would beat any boy to a bloody pulp for treating me with any more than friendly eyes.

“You should come to the quarry with us today (Y/n)!” I roll my eyes at the comment. “I’ve been trying to go with you guys for the past year. I don’t think it’s going to happen.” Bill huffs and goes to sit in his seat. I feel really bad for blowing them off so many times, but it’s not like I can say I’m going out with the group my brother hates. He’d surely kill me!

Class goes on as usual, right up until Patrick strolls in late. “Ah Mr. Hockstetter. 30 minutes late. A new record, even on the last day of class. Please take your seat.” The teacher says to him, not asking for a hall pass because it would be pointless. He looks at me and sits down beside me where he was placed.

I feel his dark eyes drifting over my body. The slight sting of the pupils causing beads of sweat to magically appear. I turn to my right to see him staring at me. “What is it?” He smirks seeing my noticeable nervousness. “We’re all going camping tonight. So Henry said you’d want to stay somewhere else. Or you could go with us, but that’s not happening.” I look at him bewildered. “And why not? I can go if I want.” Patrick rolls his eyes and laughs mumbling something I cannot make out.

I turn to Bill to my left and wink at him. He smiles knowing I’ll be sneaking out after school to see my friends.

The day continues on normally up until I prance outside to see the thunderbird pulling away. “Wait! Henry! What the fuck!” I catch Belch’s attention and he looks confused as ever. Henry points forward, but Belch declines. “Henry what the hell? Are you trying to leave me stranded?” He looks at me with blank eyes. “Think twice before talking with those losers. You can walk home.” Belch looks at me apologetically and slowly pulls off at Henry’s orders.

I walk over to Stan who is walking alongside the other boys. “Hey there guys.” they all turn to me in shock. “Whoa! (y/n) Bowers actually going to have some fun for a change?” “Shut up Richie!” “We’re all really glad you’re here (y/n). You can meet Ben!” Eddie says as he motions to a little fat boy.

I smile and stick my hand out for him. “Hi, my name’s (y/n) Bowers.” At the mention of my last name he backs away slowly. “S-she wont hu-urt us Ben. She’s the n-nice one.” Ben physically lets down his brick wall and shakes my hand. “I’m sorry. Henry just really scares me. I had a run in with him last week.” Ben pulls up his shirt allowing me to view the H carved into his skin. The wound scabby and red. My eyes stare longer than they should.

I look up to meet Ben’s eyes with mine full of sorrow. “I’m so sorry Ben. I do know he did get punished for losing his knife. I guess this was around the same time. I wish I could’ve stopped him.” Ben shrugs pulling his shirt down. “It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize. I’m just glad there’s a Bowers out here who doesn’t hate us.” We all laugh at Ben’s sad by truthful statement.

As we make our way to the Quarry an omnibus feeling consumes me. I look down at the storm drain as we pass and for a second I think I see something or maybe even someone, but when I look closer nothing is there. Damn mind tricks.

I look over the edge at the quarry and feel myself sink with fear. “Who wants to go first?” Richie asks looking over as well. I back up letting the boys handle it. “Are you not going to jump in (Y/N)?” Stan asks looking over at me. “Um, I think I’ll just sit up here and tan. I need it anyway and-” “I’ll go!” another voice rips through the statement I was making. I turn to see a girl with short red hair and a pretty smile. She strips of her dress and runs off the edge without thought.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Richie screams as he watches her plummet into the water. “We just got shown up by a girl!” I smirk and whip my dress over my head as well. “Make that two girls!” I laugh as I jump off the edge and into the water.

Once I resurface I face the girl. “Hi.” She laughs. “Hey.” “Nice way to meet, I’m (Y/n) by the way.” “Beverly Marsh.” She smiles sweetly. Beverly Marsh. I’ve heard that name before. She’s the young girl every other girl calls the school slut. Especially Getta. But by the looks of it she’s no more than an average girl. A girl like me.

The boys jump in with the help of Richie. Each of them screaming as they make their way down. We spend the day just laughing and spending time with each other. Enjoying the company of the lovely bond we all hold.

We all sit upon the top of the rocks just enjoying the sun. “Schools out for summer!” Richie screams in an accent munching on some snack from Ben’s bag. He pulls out a folder opening it. “What’s with the history project?” I sit up and move to view the folder. “Oh well, when I first moved here, I really didn't have anyone to hang out with so I just started spending time in the library.” “You went to the library? On purpose?” Richie asks in shock. I look over the words spalling the paper. “What's the Black Spot?” “The Black Spot was a nightclub that was burned down years ago by that racist cult.” I explain knowing my brothers horrible agreement with the action. “The what?” “Don't you watch Geraldo?”

“Why's it all murders and missing kids?” I ask looking at the many article of the new prints. “Derry's not like any town I've ever been in before. They did a study once… it turns out people die or disappear six times the national average.” I look over feeling the chills reach the back of my neck.

“Not just grown-ups. Kids are like worse way, way worse. I've got more stuff, if you want to see it.”

---

We all walk up the stairs to Ben’s room. Have to say I’m a little excited! This is the first time in a long time I’ve been able to see and hang out with my friends. Ben opens his door revealing the wall full of posted new prints of Derry. “Woah, woah, woah, wow!” Richie says looking around. “Cool, huh?” Ben asks smiling. “No, nothing cool. There's nothing cool. Well this is cool, wait, no it's not.” Richie says viewing more things around the room. I elbow him sharply. “Beep Beep Richie.”

“What's that?” I ask looking at a long page on the wall. “That? That's the charter for Derry Township.”

“Nerd alert.” I turn to Richie with threatening eyes. “Do I have to hit you again?” Richie slide away from me with his hands up in surrender.

“Actually, it's really interesting. Derry started as a beaver trapping camp. Ninety-one people signed

the charter that made Derry, But later that winter, they all disappeared without a trace.” Ben explains bringing the chills up my spine.

“The entire camp?” “There were rumors of Indians...but no sign of an attack. Everyone thought it was

a plague or something. But it's like… one day everybody just woke up and left. The only clue was a trail of clothes leading to the well-house.” my eyes scan over the drawn page upon the wall when everyone signed the charter. It looks just the same as any other, everything is similar besides one person. One person in the corner with a menacing smile and a large head, and a evil set of eyes. The more I stare at it the creepier it gets. I could’ve sworn I saw it move.

---

#pennywise #beverly marsh #bill denbrough #bill skarsgård #henry bowers #it 2017 #itmovie2017 #nicholas hamilton #stephen king #belch huggins #patrick hockstetter #patrick hockstetter x reader #owen teague

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andaleduardo · 6 years

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Rooftop N.5

Ao3 N.4 N.6

Chapter preview: “Oh my, do I see jealousy?” Richie spoke with a mocking voice.

At first, Eddie was unaware he was the target of the question, but when everyone turned to look at him instead, the frown was masked with a layer of forced amusement.

“Sure thing, Tozier. I’m sooo jealous that my friends’ shoulders are touching your sweaty armpits.”

Friday 14.05.1993

Even though Richie knew this was the most likely outcome, he was still inconsolably disappointed when Friday came around and his hand was still looking like a dirty watercolour pallet. He was aware of how irrationally he was thinking, unless a miracle came around would the party be on tonight, and even if that happened, no one would come around. The flayers weren’t distributed around students, and the Losers had been warned that the date was postponed.

The week was pretty fucking boring despite the events that took place early on. The classes were agonizingly slow and there was a palpable tension hanging in the air of every classroom, for all the students were oh-so-done with school and wanted more than ever for summer break to come around. Less than a month for it to be over, Richie thinks as the days pass, just a little longer.

The last school-projects of the year are suffocating the Losers with every kind of group work. Richie paired up with Stan and Bill, and all his afternoons were taken up for that purpose only, which in a way was good, because it kept his mind out of other things that clung to his thoughts more than they should. Realistically, they could have wrapped it up last week, but Richie is a master of distraction. He works just as hard as the members of his group, or even harder, if you counted the effort of focusing in the work itself other than every little detail around him that craved attention. He ends up tapping a pencil on a surface until either Bill or Stan tell him to quit it. Then he twists and twists his rings around the fingers of his good hand until that gets boring too and resumes the tapping, but with the metallic material instead which is even louder. In a matter of minutes Stan would say something along the lines of “Let’s end it here for today.” And that’s how you drag a group project up 'til the very deadline, eventually.

But not everything is boring, that’s for sure. Eddie's interactions with him are somewhat changing. Richie has a hard time pondering the option that it might mean something more than kindness between friends, and when he finally settles on believing it, another part of him has to bring rationality back on board to make him rethink things and realise that, after all, that’s all there is to it, kindness towards a hurtful event. A mere friendly gesture. And speaking of friends, Richie got quite overwhelmed with all the attention and questions thrown at him on Wednesday. He was grateful that they cared, but all he really wanted was to move on from once and for all, which was a hard task if all you had to do was take a look at yourself to be reminded of what happened. He gave quick short responses to all the questions first thing in the morning and smothered them with cheek kisses and sided hugs while announcing to the group “I know you all missed me, cuties. But someone has to do the hard work around here, ain’t that right?” And it was worth it when he noticed Eddie’s frown thrown at him while Richie hugged Ben and Stan under his arms.

“Oh my, do I see jealousy?” He spoke with a mocking voice. At first, Eddie was unaware he was the target of the question, but when everyone turned to look at him instead, the frown was masked with a layer of forced amusement.

“Sure thing, Tozier. I’m sooo jealous that my friends’ shoulders are touching your sweaty armpits.” He offered an eye roll, lost in the middle of chuckles from the group. “Count me in next time.” Sarcasm pooling in his voice.

Trying to hide a bubbly smile behind a tentative smirk, Richie let go of Ben and Stan’s shoulders, throwing his hands in the air. “No need to ask twice, Spaghetti man!” he cut the circle down the middle, crowding Eddie’s space with long, bony arms that encircled him tight enough to lift the boy an inch off the ground. With a hand out of the equation, he applied all the strength on mostly one arm and immediately dropped Eddie down again, never letting go of the hug and hiding a smile in the crown of the boy’s head.

“Let me go, you dickhead!” But Eddie offered no resistance to the grip, and that spoke a lot to Richie.

Smiling to himself from the fond memories, Richie is brought back to the present by tripping over a stupid loose stone on the park pavement. He has been wandering around for an hour now, stalling the inevitable moment when he’ll have to go lock himself on the bedroom for the night. He insults the stone out of boredom and resumes his way home, deciding to stop on the closest convenience store for a crappy dinner.

Munching on a piece of bread while watching his house at the end of the road, Richie notices something different. His chewing slows down as he gets closer, stopping in his tracks completely when he reaches the overgrown front lawn.

“What the fuck?” He asks loudly, mouth still full. The question hung in the air as six heads turned to look at him, all of his friends were in front of his door, no longer talking among each other. He saw Beverly smile under the quick-darkening sky. “Am I hallucinating or do I have six losers in my front porch at -” he pretended to look into an invisible watch. “-unplanned hours?”

“That depends.” Beverly answered him while Richie marched his way over to them. “Did you hit your head on your way home?”

“I don’t believe so, no.” His mouth still full and a half-eaten bread on his hand. Eddie was quick to intervene.

“You shouldn’t talk until you swallow, idiot.”

“That’s funny, Kaspbrak. Your mother didn’t complain about my swallowing habits.” He finally finished eating the bite while a group groan was heard in response. “Seriously, though. What’s going on?”

“I wish I could answer that. I’m still trying to figure out why I was dragged from my house mid-dinner.” Richie turned to look at Stan, who was sitting on the steps in front of his house. Stan’s voice was harsh, like usual, but Richie saw the fondness underneath the fake scowl.

He stood quiet, eyes hovering over the six familiar stares on him. Richie almost counted the seconds spent watching a specific one, making sure it wasn’t any longer or shorter than whatever time spent on the others.

Strategies, he says to himself, good logic ninja skills.

“We’re here to have some quality time on a Friday night!” Beverly exclaimed with excitement. Richie almost rolls his eyes at Bev’s attempt on making him feel better, which is totally working, by the way.

“This is really dandy and all,” He then takes his time to look pointedly at his parent’s old cars in the driveway, taking a big bite out of his bread at the same time. “ but my folks wouldn’t really appreciate the invasion all of a sudden.” The last part of his sentence comes out muffled once again by the chewing.

Mike clasped a hand on Richie’s shoulders, making him almost drop the last piece of his dinner on the floor. “That, my friend, is why we’re going to the quarry instead.”

Richie offered him a quick smirk, his attention being dragged to Bev when she flashed him a scrunched up transparent zip lock bag inside the pocket of her jacket. “To have fun.” She winks at him. And what else does Richie need other than his friends and weed for company?

“Well, well chaps. What are we waiting for?” He asks while throwing the last bite in his mouth. Clapping his hands together to get the flour off of them, he motions for Eddie and Stan to get up from where they are sitting on the stairs. Everyone aims for their neglected bikes laying on the front lawn but before Richie could grab his, he notices the way Eddie trembles and sways when he gets up to walk to his bike. He trails closer to him, pushing all of his worries to a minimal amount.

“A lil’ dizzy, are we?” But as expected, all he gets in response is a scoff. He can see right through Eddie’s attempts at pretending that nothing happened and watches him straighten his body.

“M’just fine.” He bent down to pick up his bike and Richie stared longer than what he should. “And don’t spit crumbs all over me, it’s disgusting.” Richie doesn’t believe him for a second, but he shrugs it off playfully and gets on his bike, everyone already taking off ahead of them.

“If you say so.” He turns his head around to shoot Eddie a smirk while running his tongue over his bottom lip.

And if Eddie wasn’t able to play it off like his knees didn’t buckle when he got up, this time was just another failed attempt.

The air was slightly chilly against their exposed knees, but nothing too harsh to make them shiver. It was just enough to keep their skin cool to the touch, enough to make a cuddle seem like a good idea. Enough to make him think that leaving his jacket behind wasn’t a good one. Or maybe –

“Aww, c’mon, Marsh. You’ve done better.” He mocks while inhaling the smoke dancing around inside his mouth. Sitting on the far-left, the rocky ground digging on their asses, Beverly flipped him off.

“Well sorry if I had to get this shit in a rush and didn’t get your gourmet stuff, asshole.” He laughed right back at her, Ben, Mike and Stan between them. Bill sat on Bev’s left side while Eddie was to Richie’s right at the end of their sitting line on the edge of the quarry, legs hovering feet above the calm water below. The sky wasn’t dark yet, they had around two hours before it would get impossible to see a palm in front of their faces in the middle of the forest.

After taking two more puffs, he passes the joint over to his right, but Eddie withdraws into himself to get away from it. In a silent conversation, Richie lifts up one eyebrow as if to ask ‘Are you sure?’ to which Eddie responds by lifting up one palm and nodding. Richie sees the way Eddie’s eyes flicker momentarily to their friends, on the other side of him.

Realisation hits him, Eddie doesn’t need an audience.

“Are you passing the damn thing back tonight?” Stan pushed him out of his thoughts by asking. Richie couldn’t tell if he was actually annoyed this time.

“Being a bitch today, uh Stanley?” He took his precious time to take another drag, eyes locked with him. Shoving an elbow to Richie’s ribs, Stan roughly stole the blunt from his grip to pass it over to Mike, a disgusted frown forming from the smoke that hit him in the face. “No wonder you have a stick up your ass.” Richie quietly murmurs.

There had been a couple of times where Stan joined the group for a smoke, but only in the ‘horrible parties’ he claims to be dragged into. But Richie knows better, Stan does enjoy these things, it only takes him a little bit longer to feel comfortable doing it while being watched.

When Mike turns to Ben, the latter quietly blushes and shakes his head no, Bev accepting the offer instead. This is just the way they roll.

Eddie doesn’t know what’s going on. All he’s sure of is that everyone is laughing, maybe crying. Maybe both. How much time passed is uncertain. The night feels way warmer now that he’s leaning on Richie out of fear of falling in the water. He notices that Ben is red in the cheeks and Stan has finally given into smoking some himself. Eddie vaguely remembers getting hit in the face with the white smoke, making him cough out of habit of doing just so.

Can you get high from being (extremely) close to people getting it on? Eddie doesn’t know, and he doesn’t feel like he’s high. He feels warm and giggly and comfortable.

His eyes drifted down to Richie's lap, observing the bandaged hand laying on top of his thigh, palm up to the sky. There was an urge, so strong, to grab it and wrap his fingers through Richie's. Slowly, Eddie inched his left hand closer, but suddenly his human pillow started turning and he almost hit an eye on a bony shoulder.

Lifting his head, Eddie stared at Richie, who was looking at him with shiny, wet eyes.

“What?” Eddie whispered with a lifted eyebrow.

“Just watch this.” With a wink, Richie turned around to face Stan. Eddie inched forward to observe what turned out to be the most shocking event between Losers.

Stan himself was talking with Mike, an active conversation filled with mocking voices and laughs. Eddie doesn’t remember seeing him this careless before, but there’s a chance he has just forgotten. He smiles at his friend’s happiness, only for it to be interrupted when Richie elbows Stan in the ribs, much like before, but with reversed roles. Stan turns around, way to happy for his smile to vanish, but slightly smaller. He opens his mouth to ask something, anything, but Richie cuts him to it, speaking loudly and putting a hand on Stan’s shoulder.

“Stan the Man! You’re so red, right there darling!” Richie brings his covered hand up, poking Stan in the cheek playfully. And now that Eddie’s noticing, he really is blushing. “You look like you need to cool off." Stan’s smile has died completely by now, annoyed for being interrupted on a nice moment.

“Is there a point to this conversation?” From his peripheral vision, Eddie knows that all the Losers became an audience for this ‘messing up with Stan’-Tozier moment, which is a mere repetition of every day.

However, what really shocks everyone is what follows next.

“Oh, s’just, you seem really hooooot and bothered…” Richie drags the words in a weird way. “But fear not, my great bird-boy, I have the perfect solution for ya.” And just like that, he’s pushing Stan off the cliff, applying at the strength he can on Stan’s shoulder blades.

Stan screams, everyone’s jaws fall, and you know what else falls? Stan does. Eddie watches, horrified and leaning over the edge, as Stan’s body leaves the ground and grasps around for anything, literally anything, to grab on to.

“Asshole! What the fuck?!?!” Those were the last coherent words Stan was able to say before he gave in to screams and shrieks while falling in the water down below.

Richie loses it.

He cries his eyes out from laughing so hard, grasping his sides and pointedly ignoring the Loser’s own screaming at him. Mike is dead-on freaking out, torn between killing Richie with his hands or jumping after Stan, who’s now in the water, feet below his friends, moving around freakily and trying his best to stay afloat and breathe harshly at the same time, the cold water making the task harder for him.

It honestly looks like the world is about to end. All of them are speechless but all of them are trying to beat Richie up with words. Bill is waving his arms around in protests, his stutter getting the best of him and making him breathless from being stuck on: “Wh- Wha- Wha-” ‘s, trying so hard to blurt out a simple “What the fuck just happened!?!”

Ben is shaking in horror, squinting down at the water to never loose Stan out of sight, at the same time as he is grabbing Mike’s torso, trying to keep him from getting up and kicking Richie down to the water too.

Eddie is straight up beating Richie with his own two hands, altering from punches at his side and grabbing Richie’s arm and shaking him out of his existence. “Why the hell would you do that? What is wrong with you!” But the other boy is still grasping his mid-section, laughing on and on with no means to stop.

And Bev? Well… Bev starts laughing too. Because apparently, shoving a person down a cliff in the darkening sky while the other is totally defenceless, it’s fucking funny for her. So she laughs, and much like Richie, she starts to cry.

Ben stares at her with plain surprise, this is probably the most wicked thing that happened to him all month. Eddie stops physically assaulting Richie when her giggles reach him. Everyone just turns to stare at her, even Richie’s laughing died down to focus on her with fond amusement.

A faint, distant eco of Stan’s voice reaches the six at the top of the cliff.

“You’re insane! I’m going to murder you, Richie!” The sound of his friend’s voice brings Bill back to reality and he quickly scrambles to his feet and backs away from the edge.

“Where are you going?” Eddie asks, his voice apprehensive.

“We sh-should go meet S-Stan down th-th-there.” Bill’s stutter is winning the battle.

Mike gets up while shaking his head in disbelief, murmuring under his voice “I have no idea what’s going on.” to no one in particular. Richie is watching all of them, not a glint of regret in his blood. He waits for Beverly to stand on her feet, no longer laughing, to grab Ben’s hand and help him up. Eddie seems to snap out of his trance and quickly rushes to get up to follow the others, who are already making their way down the rocky trails in quick long steps. But before he’s able to do it, there’s a hand grasping his wrist weakly.

He looks down at Richie, big soft eyes staring right back at him. “Let them go.” Richie tells him. And surprisingly, even to himself, Eddie sits back down on his spot, thigh brushing against the other boy. He doesn’t feel calm anymore, he feels confused and shocked and overwhelmed.

“Why would you push Stan?” His eyebrows scrunch, and Richie almost can’t handle how cute he looks. “What if he got hurt? Now he’s all wet and it’s cold. He’s going to get sick, Richie, I can’t believe you did thi-”

“Cause I wanted to be alone with you.” Richie cuts Eddie’s rambling with a low voice. He looks kind of concerned, but Eddie doesn’t know why.

Eddie’s heart beats wildly against his ribs, nothing makes sense anymore. “You… wanted to be alone with me?” Richie nods, eyes always locked with him. “There were easier ways to do that, we could have just left for a bit or-”

“Do you trust me?” And if Eddie wasn’t altered right now, he would throw Richie to the water himself, for cutting him off again. Hesitantly, Eddie’s eyes drifted down to the spot where he could faintly see his friends’ shapes, near the water. “Stan is okay, I promise.” His attention is brought back to Richie, who was also eyeing the group but is now staring in his eyes again. At Eddie’s silence, Richie sighs and continues. “I want to try something, but only if you let me, Eds.”

“Will you throw me off this cliff, too?” He couldn’t help himself to say this, a small grin threatening to appear.

“We can manage that later, if you want.” Richie winks at him and watches playfully as shock crosses Eddie’s features for a moment, before he realises this is plainly Richie joking around and allows himself to relax again.

Somewhere away from them, Eddie can barely make out Stan’s voice: ‘Is he mental? He has to be fucking mental!’ but something else gets his attention. Richie inches slightly closer to where Bev placed the tiny bag on the ground and takes out the second and last rolled up joint she brought along. Eddie gulps down his anxiety and embarrassment.

“Oh.” It’s all he manages to say, his voice small, lost in the middle of the nature around them.

Looking away from the bag he’s holding, Richie lays his eyes on Eddie’s, watching him carefully from underneath his lashes.

“We don’t have to, you know?” Eddie nods back in response, gulping a second time and watching as Richie flips on his lighter.

He feels childish, and now there’s a chance to change that. There’s nothing to be nervous about, Richie would never make fun of him for struggling, and his mom would never know. But just the thought of Sonia makes his skin prickle with anxiety, it’s almost like she’s here, somehow, watching him, hidden away, studying the way he is acting and what he intends to do, him, Eddie, her baby, with another boy so close and drugs shared betwee-

Richie takes Eddie’s chin between his fingers, snapping him out of his thoughts by lifting his head up a little, just enough for their faces to inch closer. Eddie inhales sharply and lets himself study Richie’s features, which somehow calms him down a little.

Richie’s eyes are blotchy red and wet, like tears would be shed at any given moment. A nose slightly pink in colour, probably from the cool air of the night, though Eddie doubts that that could explain why Richie’s cheeks are just, if not more, darker in colour.

When things start to get way too intense to be normal, Eddie flick’s his eyes down to the blunt trapped between Richie’s fingers. He calmly adds “I want to… but I don’t know how.”

And that’s enough for Richie. Eddie tenses up slightly when Richie’s hand, still holding his chin, moves to accommodate his thumb to rest on top of Eddie’s lower lip. He doesn’t know what to do, so he looks impatiently and nervously, waiting for whatever he intends on doing. If he’s honest with himself, Eddie would take anything from him at this point, even being thrown in the water.

Before he knows it, Eddie lets his mouth slip open, the thumb pressing slightly harder on his lip. He gave up on rationality moments ago, what else was he supposed to do? He certainly wouldn’t scold Richie for whatever they’re doing, because he’s just as eager for it, but way more lost.

“I’m going to try something.” Eddie slightly jolts up with Richie’s voice breaking the silence. “Is that okay?” He simply nods back and stares, probably blushes too, as Richie brings the joint up to his own lips, face never inching away. Richie sucks up the air inside his mouth, lips wrapped around the rolled paper and hollowing cheeks.

Eddie is glad that he’s sitting down because his legs feel numb just from this and his fingers twitch where’re they’re gripping the end fabric of his khaki shorts.

When Richie pulls the blunt away, hand lying beside both their bodies, his lips are pressed closed and he comes nearer (Eddie didn’t think that was possible). The pressure on his bottom lip returns, Richie is making sure his mouth keeps open, and suddenly Eddie feels so vulnerable. Naturally, he tilts his head to the side when Richie does it in the opposite way, their mouths so close that Eddie can no longer think, he can only feel a heat taking over his entire body.

Should he close his eyes? He doesn’t know. Would that be weird? It’s wicked and painful to stare at Richie when he’s so close, making him cross-eyed momentarily. But Richie keeps them open, so Eddie does too.

His gaze flicker down for a moment when Richie’s lips twitch, and before Eddie grasps the reality of whatever this is, smoke is being blown right between Eddie’s lips.

‘Holy shit.’ He thinks. ‘Holy shit this is happening, what do I do? What do I do?’

Eddie’s knuckles turn white when he grabs at Richie’s forearm, somehow pulling it closer. The urge to cough is heavy on his throat, but he pushes it back. The next words Richie speaks are so soft that he barely acknowledges them over his internal rambling.

“You have to inhale.” He says between smoke. Eddie clumsily attempts to breathe through his mouth, allowing his throat to relax and completely forgetting the need to cough out a lung.

When Richie pulls back, but only slightly, Eddie is absolutely sure that even without the sunlight to shine on them, anyone would be able to see the blood rushing underneath his cheeks and neck. But at least he’s not alone, for Richie managed to darken his own blush out.

Both boys lost track of time after that, drifting in their own little bubble until the burning died down. Their lips had brushed against each other in unintentional ways, their asses were sore from the uncomfortable soil and Eddie ended up struggling with the smoke for a while, but Richie was patient, and Eddie was persistent. When five other voices started being audible, they drew apart in unnatural ways.

While Richie got his ears scolded by a drenched, shivering, and constantly-complaining-about-his-ruined-shoes Stan, Eddie took his time getting up on both feet and wondered briefly why his friends took so long to come back. Later, both Richie and him would find out it was the work of none other than Beverly Marsh. The rest of the night was spent in her house, vacant for the weekend. All their way to get there resulted in Stan getting sick from the resistance of the air while they biked and Richie trailing behind the poor boy while telling the group that they should have joined Stan to skinny-dip.

Later, Stan made sure to drop his still wet clothes on top of a napping Richie and hit him with the destroyed shoes wherever he managed to reach. This is just the way they roll.

rooftop taglist: @richietoaster @rainydayriots @reddieloves @thetrashmouthclub @lemonboi03 @noodleboyshane @pillsandglasses @studpuffin @dandelion-stan @reddiesetrichie @squishynonbinarytwink @itschunky @burymestanding @duderrific @its-rye @salty-kaspbrak @youtubequeens @reddieseggrolls @addimagination @pastelstozier @sleepysirenprincess @constantreaderfool @mrs-vh @eds-trashmouth

perma taglist: @constantreaderfool @mrs-vh @eds-trashmouth @girasol-eddie

#reddie #fanfiction #it #losersclub #rooftop #eddie kaspbrak #richie tozier #writing #ao3 #beverly marsh #mike hanlon #ben hanscom #stanley uris #bill denbrough #pennywise happened but certainly dead #drugs?

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olivias-cardigan · 7 years

Note

Steve Harrington x Reader where you’re Dustin’s older sister and Dustin has Steve over to babysit him bc Reader is supposed to be out on a date but she comes home like halfway through with like super ready eyes and tells them she found out he’s cheating on her because he stood her up to go with the other girl or something

anon this is such a good idea!!

steve x reader

word count: 1255

You were started to run out of hope. This was outfit number four and nothing seemed right. You sighed and stared at your closet. None of your clothes seemed good enough. They were either too fancy, not fancy enough, or you wore it on the daily. It was your five month anniversary with your boyfriend, Mason, and you wanted it to be absolutely perfect. You already had your makeup done, (you didn’t wear makeup that often but you were pretty good at it), and your hair you were wearing natural. You didn’t have as tight of curls as your brother, more like loose waves.

Speaking of your brother, Dustin’s babysitter should be here any minute. You giggled as you remembered earlier that day when your mom told him that Steve was coming over tonight because she had a business dinner and you had plans. Dustin was whining endlessly saying how he was “grown up” and “wasn’t a baby anymore” but you understood where your mom was coming from. If Dustin was alone for more than an hour you knew the house would be burned down, or worse. Also Hawkins has had a lot of strange things happening in it lately. You glanced over at the clock on your nightstand and, almost as if on cue, the doorbell rang.

“Dustin can you get that please?” You yelled down to your brother as you continued to dig through your now mess of a closet.

“I”M A LITTLE BUSY Y/N!!!” He shouted as you rolled your eyes know full well he was just playing video games.

“It’s not like I have a date or anything,” you muttered as you bounded down the stairs and opened the door. Sure enough, it was Steve.

“Hey Steve,” you said politely, “come on in!”

He stepped inside and ran a hand through his messy hair. You still didn’t understand how Dustin met Steve or why the most popular kid in your grade, school even, wanted to hangout with your little brother; but at this point you had more important things to worry about.

“So my mom told me to tell you that she left money for pizza right here,” you began gesturing to the bills on island in the kitchen, “and that she should be back around 10:30ish if I’m not home already. Oh and I think Dustin is in the den, playing video games.” You said chuckling at the last part.

“Okay, thanks y/n.” He said as you headed back towards the staircase.

“No problem,” you said smiling. As you made it back into your room, your eyes fell onto the clock.

“SHOOT!” You thought. “I have to meet Mason in ten minutes!! Guess I am going with what I am wearing.”

You quickly grabbed your wristlet and headed back downstairs. You ran into Steve and Dustin who were already searching the pantry for snacks. You stifled a laugh as you told them you were leaving.

“Okay have a good time y/n. Oh and by the way you look really pretty.” Steve said almost bashfully. You felt your face flush as you managed a small thanks and when out to your car.

“That was weird,” you thought as you pulled out of the driveway. “I wonder why he said that.” You shook your head and turned on the radio as you drove to the restaurant to meet your boyfriend.

It had now been an hour since you had arrived to the restaurant and still no sign of your boyfriend. You sighed and look down at your watch once again. Finally, you got up from the table and went out to your car.

“Maybe he is sick?” You said to yourself as you started your engine. “I’m sure he’ll call tomorrow.”

On your way home you saw something suspicious. An emerald Audi Quattro sitting in front a house you didn’t recognize. The car looked fairly similar to your boyfriend’s, and you didn’t know anyone else in Hawkins with the same car as him. You pulled over and got out of your car to investigate. As you peered through the window your heart hit the floor and you instinctively slapped a hand over your mouth. There was your boyfriend making out with another girl!! On your anniversary no less!!

You angrily pounded on the window. Their lips separated and a smug look grew across the girl’s face causing you to flare up even more. You couldn’t read Mason’s face it looked like a mixture of embarrassment and guilt.

“MASON!! WE ARE DONE.” You shouted at the top of your lungs not caring if the whole town heard.

You stormed back to your car and sped home. You couldn’t believe this was how the night was turning out and you felt the tears start to brim in your eyes, making your vision go blurry. You didn’t want to give him that power over you, but you couldn’t believe you wasted five months of your life with that jerk. As you pull into your driveway, you lost it. You began sobbing uncontrollably. You couldn’t believe you were doing this, especially with the most popular boy in your house.

After a moment, you got yourself somewhat under control. You glanced up at yourself in the mirror and you looked a mess. You’re makeup was running and smeared, you face was red and blotchy, and your eyes were swollen. There was no way you could hide the fact you were just crying. You wiped your eyes and grabbed your wristlet.

As you reached the front door you took a deep shaky breath. Maybe you could sneak up into your room unnoticed and get yourself fixed up a little. No such luck. You opened the door and there was Dustin and Steve in the family room surrounded by even more snacks, the remaining pizza, and an ample supply of blankets.

“Hey y/n” Dustin started, spinning around to face you and his face immediately fell. They both walked over to you their faces growing with concern.

“What happened?” Dustin asked softly.

You told them what happened and couldn’t help but to start weep in the process. Steve gently placed his hand on the small of your back and guided you over to the couch. You sat down and finished telling them the story. Dustin got up and went to go get tissues for you, leaving you and Harrington alone.

“I’m so sorry this happened.” Steve said. “No one deserves this, especially you.”

The last part made you blush. You wiped the remaining tears from your eyes.

“Thanks Steve,” you said getting up from the couch.

“Where are you going y/n?” Steve asked completely confused.

“I was going to go change because I was wondering if it would be okay if I watched the movie with you guys?” You said.

“Of course y/n. Whatever you need.” Steve said with a soft smile.

You returned downstairs now dressed in your most comfortable sweatpants and a big t-shirt, your hair was in a bun, and your face bare of makeup and slightly less blotchy. You also had exchanged your contacts for your glasses. As you entered the family room your heart melted when you saw the boys had put on your favorite movie. You sat down in between them and grabbed the bag of Cheetos and began munching quietly. You eventually fell asleep (your head resting on Steve’s shoulder), surrounded by two of the sweetest guys who made the night suck a little less.

hope you enjoyed!! GUYS LMK IN MY INBOX IF I SHOULD MAKE THIS A SERIES??

tags: @strangertoizer, @mikethedugeonmaster, @willandspace, @babylovereddie, @multi-parker, @temptedtozier , @ubertrashmouth, @lavenderuris , @pink-lampshade, @stranger-tozier, @nctbeam, @kylokiwi, @finnhard, @yawninguris, @mikoalabearwrites, @mileven-353, @africareddie, @wyattoleff-istheloml, @heckin-harrington, @wheezie-trashmouth, @strang-ersclub, @eddiesbifocals, @finnie-the-pooh

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willgayers · 7 years

Note

Some hc of Bev testing her makeup with all the Loser's (Richie marking everyone with the lipstick lol) and each one with a different makeup and my God, they would look BEAUTIFUL!!!1!1!

oh my god holy shit im sorry it literally took me like forever to write this but here you finally go!!!

ps: mike is my personal favorite here

so beverly is a makeup artist student

and for her final project she has to do different kinds of makeup

like an 80s makeup,, 90s… etc

and she needs six models

what a fun coincidence

so one day she calls all the losers to her own condo downtown

she doesn’t tell them what’s up but she promises there will be pizza and root beer so the boys r like well damn aight

and they show up all together at the same time around 6pm ,,, to find beverly’s makeup all over the living room table and they glance at each other like “….”

ben sighs because the poor boy’s been thru lord knows how many makeup projects already

“brace yourselves.”

stan is about to sneak out but richie smirks and grabs him by the arm and goes

“you’re not going anywhere stanley you’re gonna be a pretty boy”

stan wants to slap him

beverly walks out of another room and sees her friends and she’s like “hey!!! who wants to go first”

everyone turns to look at ben who looks back at them and he’s like “ugh fine” and walks to the living room

anyway beverly had imagined them to sit in the kitchen eating pizza and waiting for their turn and then one by one come to the living room but she thought wrong bc all the losers are sitting around her and watching curiously as she does ben’s makeup

it’s an 80s makeup look,, some purple/pink eyeshadow , fake lashes ,, strong blush and hot pink lips

“looking hot hanscom” richie winks and ben just rolls his eyes because he’s used to this

“ok who’s next” beverly asks

“eddie!!!!” richie basically shoves his boyfriend to the couch and eddie shots a glare at richie bc he hasn’t even finished his pizza slice yet

“do u wanna eat that first” beverly asks

“yeah just gimme a sec” eddie says and stuffs the rest in his mouth and then swallows

“done,,, now make me gorgeous”

eddie gets a 90s makeup look,, simple nude smokey eye with a little kohl and also nude lips + lipliner. mascara big time because this boy has such pretty lashes

“am i done???” eddie asks

“you’re done” beverly nods “nEXT”

eddie gets up and richie’s staring at him

“what” eddie asks

“you … actually look.. good” richie utters out and eddie blushes a lil but shoves him playfully

“ha-ha richie”

“im sERiOus you’re bEaUtiful what the shit eddie”

eddie just ignores him but glances at his reflection from his iphone screen and kinda likes the look

stan is next

��do i have to do this beverly”

“yes you d-do stan.” bill says from the floor, biting on his pizza. stan shots him a scowl and bill smirks wide bc he’s EXCITED to see what’s gonna come out of this

beverly starts putting makeup on stan and he’s very sUsPicIous because beverly’s been putting eyeliner on his eyes a LOT now

“are you doing me the kiss- band makeup or what”

“you’ll see”

then she starts to put golden lipstick

stan is like wTF

“ok you’re done”

bill is smirking wide at stan so uris grabs the mirror from the table and his eyes widen

he’s cleopatra

“WOW did you seriously just do this” stanley says

“yeah”

stan tilts his head in different directions to see the makeup from every angle

“that’s actually really cool”

stan gets up and then sits down to the floor next to beverly

“ok mike you’ve been sitting quietly for the whole time. your turn” beverly says and mike tries to hide behind his pizza box

“miiiiichaaeeeeelll” richie is winking from the corner

“MICHAEL” stanley fakes a super low voice and mike sighs and puts the box down before he sits on the sofa too

mike is getting the old man look google results for this one suck btw

and the losers have a hard time trying to hold in their laughter as beverly’s doing his face

they try to think that ok,,, it’s not that fun but every time they look at mike again they all start cackling

“WHAT IS IT!!!” mike tries

“you’ll see” beverly smirks

“wHAT iS IT cOmE ON gUyS I CAN SEE YOUR FACES ITS SOMETHING BAD ISNT IT” mike is starting to laugh too

“see for yourself” beverly hands him the mirror and mike bursts out laughing

“oh my… oh my oh my,” he fakes an old man voice and they all laugh again

my favorite ship is losers club + freakin HAPPINESS

once they’ve finally cooled down it’s bill’s turn

“OH oh oH can you do something super pretty with bill’s face” stan asks bc he’s starting to get really into this whole thing

“sure” beverly nods “im gonna do him the 2010’s look”

“which is???”

“contour and stuff like that”

bill swallows and blushes a little as he sees the excitement on stanley’s face

in the back of the room mike is still doing grandpa impressions and eddie and richie and ben are losing it

“so you’re gonna use that one now. okay and now that one. uh-huh… interesting” stan is watching very closely

bill is done!

“wow.” stan just says

“what” bill asks

“eyebrow game STRONGgGGg right” beverly smirks at stan

“yAaasSS GIRLLLL” stanley jokes

“well well well,” ben speaks from the corner “there’s only one left”

everyone turns to look at richie at the same time and tbh he feels a little scared because these people don’t look like his friends

“alright you bunch of drag queens and the godfather im going”

“whatcha gonna make me bevs” richie asks as he jumps down on the couch

“well first im gonna shove your hair out of your face”

she shoves richie’s hair back from his forehead with a pink hair band on and eddie smirks in the corner bc richie looks funny. but also cute

actually all of them think he looks cute like that

beverly starts to pat something weird and thick on richie’s nose and richie’s a little disgusted

“what are you doing…”

“im giving you a bigger nose”

“wHY”

“just let me do it ok”

sounds fake but ok,, richie thinks and just stares at beverly

then she grabs something that looks like a piece of flesh and richie yelps out

“WHAT THE fUcK IS THAT”

“it’s a fake scar”

“ARE YOU MAKING ME THE FREAKIN LEATHERFACE”

stan and bill laugh in the front row

“no,,,” beverly rolls her eyes in amusement

once the scar is on richie’s face beverly starts putting on some guyliner

“ah!!! i get who you’re doing!!! because of the hair right???” eddie then asks

“yeah the hair inspired me” beverly says

then she pulls out a fake mustache and richie’s eyes widen

they all burst out laughing as beverly’s trying to put it on richie’s face but he keeps on scrunching his nose and twisting his lips

“rICHIE STAY STILL” beverly tries

“BUT IT TICKLES”

the mustache is finally on and beverly lets richie’s hair fall loose

“now who the hell am i” richie asks and grabs the mirror

he’s captain hook (just imagine the scar somewhere)

“WOW” he says

“like it???”

“i look fucking badass”

“what do you think eds should i keep the mustache ;-)”

“pls dont”

“how come,,, i think you could totally rock that look”

“thanks michael i think so too”

bev looks at the clock and it’s 10pm already

”finally done,,,, im starving gosh" beverly is about to get up but richie shoves her back down

“uhm no. i think it’s only fair we do your makeup too”

“what???”

“that’s actually a f-funny idea.” bill says

stan is already picking out some makeup he thinks looks interesting

“SIT DOWN BEVVY” richie smirks and pulls her to the couch

“oh my god please at least give me some pizza” beverly begs and ben hands her the box

“thanks babe” beverly goes and ben turns bright pink

mike nudges him on the side and gives him a creepy old guy wink

“what are you even gonna make me” beverly asks as she munches on her pizza and eddie is applying foundation on her face

“we’re gonna make you,,,, beautiful.” richie just simply says, starting to draw her eyebrows

“move over tozier” stanley goes and shoves himself between richie and eddie,,, starting to tap blue and orange eyeshadow to beverly’s eyelids

“oh my g-god stan…” bill mumbles

“shut UP william, this looks amazing” stanley says concentrated

eddie’s done with foundation so he moves away and bill starts doing the bronzer

mike and ben are debating whether they should put nude or bright blue lipstick

boys think the blue one is COOL

so they decide to use that one

the makeup is done and they all stare at beverly,,, looking impressed and incredibly proud of their work

almost a happy tear rolls from the corner of stanley’s eye because now, he is an makeup artist

“WAIT!” richie then says

“what???” they all ask

“one more final add.”

he grabs a black eyeliner and a red lipstick and kneels in front of beverly,,, starting to write to her forehead with the eyeliner

the losers snicker a little and eddie rolls his eyes

then richie puts the eyeliner away and grabs the red lipstick and creates something with one swift move

“done” he says and drops the lipstick to the table

he grabs the tiny mirror and hands it to beverly, who starts to laugh

she has blue/orange eyeshadow, overly thick eyeliner, way too narrow eyebrows, too much bronzer, shock blue lipstick and the word LOSER on her forehead, a V over the S just like eddie’s cast had it

“WELL???” richie asks

“a beautiful look boys. im proud of you”

and they are all so smitten

especially stan

@superbyersbros @xbell22 @donthateonk8 @stenbroughbros @reddiebrekmyheart@itsgreywaterrichie @donvex @blueeyespurpleskies@ageorgymi@oh-youre-the-worst@eddiekaaspbraak @whipashwhipash @rissyq @richietoaster @edskasqbrak@urtury@bukiminajimu @kcutieeesblog @stansmansuris @adorefack @reddieaddict @icyeyes102@denbroughbill @graveyardshipper @taletellingsir@anxiety-freak-yuuri @rheddie@queertrashmouth @richiefreakingtozier@castletozier @tohzier @80soleff @lonewolfhard @low-key-dying @sad-synth @richietoaster @badboyharrington @beepbeep-losers @temptedtozier@kaspbraccs@kylieee827-blog @sad-synth @low-key-dying@officiallyreddie@reddietofall @stanleyboii @eternitynurarms @remushlupin@turtleneckrichie@rosegoldrichie @80srichie @asteroidbill @lonewolfhard

#i like to call this the;;; how many ships can i sneakily fit into one hc list- hc list #losers club #hcs #it 2017 #it 2017 fanfiction #beverly marsh #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #mike hanlon #ben hanscom #stanley uris #reddie #stenbrough

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