#richie wrapping it all up in a laugh in a joke real feelings in amusement dancing away bc he can’t bear to have eddie Know he’s the monster

[ihavemanyhusbands]

Can we get a richie fic where he takes reader to his place for the first time? (Can be fluff or smut…or both lol) does he get a lil nervous/self conscious about anything? And what do you think he would do/say when he realizes he wants you to move in with him after a good chunk of time has passed and his apartment feels so empty whenever you’re not around?

Yessss flustered Richie!! I think he’d be nervous about it not being like, spotless. Having to get up early and stuff, he didn’t always have the time (and at the beginning, the discipline) to be cleaning up so much. I don’t think it’d be incredibly messy or anything but definitely lived in. You know what I’m saying?

Anyway!! Let’s dive in :) i’m focusing more on the first time aspect bc i love that concept, hope that’s okay!!

(minors dni, light smut under the cut)

——

“Welcome to, uh, my humble abode,” Richie said as he opened the door.

Immediately, he noticed some dirty laundry and old beer cans in the living room. He cursed himself for not cleaning up earlier, but he’d barely had time.

In a mad dash, he started tidying up, embarrassed about the mess.

“It’s a real man cave,” you teased, both amused and charmed at his nervousness.

“I know, I know. I’m really sorry about all this…” he said as he scrambled to throw clothes in the hamper. “I don’t want you to think I’m a fucking slob or something.”

“It’s okay. You should see my apartment at the end of the work week,” you said, trying reassure him. “Now that is a real fuckin’ mess.”

He returned to the living room a little winded, helping you take off your coat and hanging it for you.

“Yeah, well, maybe we can help each other with spring cleaning sometime,” he muttered, still frustrated at himself.

You turned around to face him, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Hey, really, I don’t mind. I know how busy you are, and sometimes things just slip our minds,” you said, getting him to look at you. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. If anything, we’ll probably make an even bigger mess.”

He nodded, a sly grin tugging at his lips as his arms encircling your waist. “That so?”

You nodded, biting your lower lip as you mirrored his smile. “Well, if you give me a proper tour of the place….”

That was all you had to say before his lips were crashing against yours in a hungry, eager kiss. You pressed tighter against him, responding with equal fervor.

Soon enough, your clothes ended up scattered around on the floor. Things started off right there in the living room, with you straddling him on the couch, the cushions tossed to make more space.

Next was the kitchen, accidentally knocking things off the counters as he bent you over them. Otherwise, they were so clean you could almost see your reflection on them.

In the bathroom, he almost accidentally ripped off the shower curtain as you were kneeling in front of him, head bobbing up and down slowly in that teasing way that drove him crazy.

And last but definitely not least was his bedroom, where you had ample room — and ample surfaces — to put to use. Though of course, it was the bed you ended up on, panting heavily next to each other after such a marathon.

Around you, the room looked like a hurricane passed through it. You couldn’t help but laugh, rolling onto your side and draping your arm over his chest.

“See? I told you it could be worse…” you said.

“Yeah, you weren’t kidding. You’re a wild animal,” he joked, both of you laughing.

Despite the fact that he knew there was clean up ahead of him, he didn’t really mind as long as you were there with him. He would gladly clean up all your messes, no matter the magnitude. It was only your first time over, and his apartment already felt livelier than it ever had.

He wanted to make it an evening you would always remember, and since the sun was close to setting outside, an idea came to mind.

“Oh wait, there’s one more spot I gotta show you.”

“Where’s that?”

“The rooftop. Nice view of the stars from up there, if you want to check it out.”

You raised your eyebrows at him, smiling mischievously. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“You fuckin’ bet I am,” he said, giving you a quick kiss before getting up. “I’ll bring blankets.”

——

[billdenbrough]

Richie was down on his hands and knees, staring at him desperately Richie was down on his hands and knees, staring at him desperately Richie was down on his hands and knees, staring at him desperately Richie was down on his hands and knees, staring at him desperately Richie was down on his hands and knees, staring at him desperately Richie was down on his hands and knees, staring at him desperately Richie was down on his hands and knees, staring at him desperately RICHIE WAS DOWN ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES STARING AT HIM DESPERATELY i am simply losing my mind

[tammythompson-singslikea-muppet]

Reconciliation (Stan Uris x reader x Richie Tozier, Reddie)

I'm finally back! It's probably been a year since I posted Betrayal and shit has really hit the fan since then, but here I am a year later with part 2!

Here is a link to part 1

Warning: swearing

Aged up: 18/19

You tried to catch up with Stan as he power-walked out of the house. He stopped short when he realized his car wasn't there. "Stan" You catch his attention and he turns around. His chest rising and falling at a quick pace, "You heard everything in there?" Stan's voice was quiet, much quieter than just a minute ago. You nod and he sighs. "I'm sor-" You cut him off "Don't be" You take a step forward and bring your hand up to push some curls out of his face. He leans into your hand, not stopping himself for once. No yearning, no shouting in his head over his actions. Just the feel of your soft palm against his cheek. Stan takes a deep breath, feeling himself calm down in the wake of your touch. "Can we go somewhere?" Stan's voice barely above a whisper. "Of course."

Richie leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor. He brushed his hands through his hair 'God I fucked up' "Man you really fucked up." Richie looked up. "Thanks, Bill your a real help." Bill put his hands up in defense. "I gotta say I really didn't see that one coming," Eddie spoke up. Bill and Mike nodded in agreement. "I mean I knew *something* was going on but holy shit I didn't think they were in love with each other," Beverly added. "We know Stanley's in love with her but is she in love with Stan? I mean she was just in a serious relationship like a week ago" "Yeah I wonder what happened to that relationship?" Ben's eyes sharp at Eddie, voice stiff and slightly viscous, "Alright! Alright!! None of that!" Mike's authoritative voice made it known he was seriously done with all the fighting. "She loves him" The group turned their heads at Richie's small voice, Ha stared down at the floor and spoke softly. "She may not be in love with him right now, but I could see it. She's falling for Stan."

Eddie looked over at Richie. A mix of emotions reached throughout the boy. He hated seeing Richie like this, but he also hated that it was about you. Mostly he hated that it was about you. He couldn't control it, no matter how much he wished that he could. What is it exactly that Richie is so mad at? Is he upset that he potentially ruined his relationship with Stan? Is he upset that Stan is in love with (Y/N) or that Stan claimed he neither loved nor cared about (Y/N)? Is Richie still in love with (Y/N)? If so is he mad that (Y/N) could be in love with Stan or that she is moving on so quickly? Eddie couldn't help but feel like he was still second to you. It's not like Richie chose to tell you. He kept telling Eddie that he would for at least 2 weeks, but then she found out in her own way. Eddie feared that maybe he was never gonna tell you. Or now that you found out does Richie regret it? 'Alright, Alright Eddie calm the fuck down! Just go talk to Richie.' "Eds?" "Yeah Rich." "I'm gonna go." Richie's tone sounded soft, defeated. It broke Eddie's heart to see him like this. "Yeah sure I'll go grab my keys-" Richie cut him off politely. "I'm just gonna walk. I think I wanna be alone right now. I'll call you later." Richie placed a hand on the back of Eddie's head pulling him close and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "OK. Be safe please."

"Where are we going?" You ask Stan who is driving and keeping silent. "You'll see. Um, go into the glove compartment a find the clear tape." You scrunch your eyebrows together. "You been stashing things in my glove compartment, Uris?" You found a clear tape and put it into the radio. Temptation by New Order flooded in through the speakers. A smile grew on your face as you turned the volume nob up. Stan looked over at you for a second just to see your growing smile. "I made you a tape and left it in here for the next time you complain that there's nothing good on the radio." A fit of giggles came from your mouth. "Stanley Uris made me a fucking mix-tape." You continued to laugh. It brought a smile, growing wider by the second, to see you so happy and blissful listening to your favorite music, a song he loved as well.

And I've never seen anyone quite like you before. No, I've never met anyone quite like you before.

Richie's emotions were confusing him now more than ever. He loved (Y/N). He truly did, but he just wasn't in love with her. Guilt consumes him every night before sleep and every time he sees you. He never wanted to hurt you. But when it comes to Eddie he's impulsive even a little reckless. Richie knew that he fucked up massively. Not only with you but with Stan and he even feels so with Eddie. He felt that if he just would have been honest with you before jumping into things with Eds maybe Eddie wouldn't have lost his best friend. He still couldn't wrap his head around how much of an idiot and a dick he was about Stanley. What in the fucking hell would lead him to believe that Stanley Uris of all people would fuck around with someone's feelings like that? He had already caused (Y/N) enough pain maybe he was trying to be a hero or something. Do something right for once, but of course, it was just another gigantic fuck up! Executed wonderfully by your very own Richie Tozier. Richie had noticed that he walked straight to the quarry. He picked up a stone and skipped it across the water.

Stan pulled the car over along where the road stopped and the tree's started. "Come on." Stan walked over to your side of the car and opened the door for you and held out his hand. You took his hand and walked beside him into the woods. "You trying to get me to some secret secondary location?" "What, you don't recognize where we're going?" You looked around a bit and shook your head. "Well, then I guess it will be a surprise." "I guess this is the day I get murder in the woods. Goodbye world you were never all that good to me but at least my murder is hot as hell." You almost couldn't see Stan's blush from how much he was laughing. You're hands brush as you walked close together. Stan felt a little nervous to take it, it's not like he hasn't held your hand before but right now he feels it holds so much more. 'Good' he thought to himself. 'It does mean more. Let it mean more.' He took your hand in his and warmth spread throughout the both of you. Just the two of you holding hands walking through the trees with Stan pointing out some birds to you, felt so blissful. At this moment you realized you had never felt this way with Richie. The two of you had a lot in common and play off each other well jokes and conversation-wise. But maybe that wasn't all a relationship needed. You had felt that's why Richie and you were so perfect together. Maybe this was finally the start to forgiving Richie and regaining some normalcy, realizing that maybe we weren't perfect or meant to be after all. If this is how Richie felt with Eddie you felt that you could somewhat understand why he was so in a rush to have it. It was scary how new this thing with Stan was yet how important it felt to you. You would go to the ends of the earth to protect what you had with Stan, no one in the world made you feel as safe and comforted as Stanley Uris. What Richie did, going behind your back, was in no way how he should've handled the situation. You let him into some of the most vulnerable spaces in your mind and life, entrusting him with your heart and your deepest thoughts, that you were his only person. That wasn't something easy to forgive, not something to easily recover from, especially having that trust broken with someone else with who you were very close. You may be happy and blissful at this moment, but you definitely knew the consequences of Richie's actions would come back to rear its ugly head sooner or later. But you believed that understanding was one of the first steps toward forgiveness. The more you walked the louder the sound of running water became. Soon you could even see the running water. You realized Stan had brought you to the barrens.'But why the barrens?' you thought to yourself. You reached the edge of the water and looked over to Stan. "C'mon" he grabbed your hand and stepped out onto a rock in the water. You did your best to follow, it finally dawns on you that you were headed toward the clubhouse.

When you got to the small clearing Stan went ahead and lifted the hatch to the small underground area where the losers used to hang out. "I've only been here a couple of times." You said as you climbed down the ladder. "Yeah, I guess we started hanging out other places more." Stan walked over to the hammock getting in. He smiled and reached his arms out like a little kid asking for a hug. You raised an eyebrow at him. "I know. I always feel like I'm gonna fall out of this thing, but it's safe I promise." "Okay," You say drawing out the word in a skeptical tone. You yelped as it wobbled and Stan gripped his arms around your waist as the hammock swung a little. "See, safe." You let out an amused huff and relaxed into Stan. Your back was pressed against his chest, both of your heads finding slightly uncomfortable spots in the crooks of the other's neck. "I remember one of the first times Eddie ever brought you to hang around with us was down here." Stan played with your hands in your lap. "I remember looking over and seeing you smiling, talking to Beverly. It was really hot out, your cheeks were pink. Richie gave you his shower cap and you, him, and Bill talked about comic books." You closed your eyes just listening to Stan talk softly into your hair. "Beverly came over to me when she noticed. She was joking around told me to stop staring, that it was rude. I hadn't even noticed that I was staring. I got nervous cuz, -hoping you didn't notice. You were so beautiful I couldn't help but stare." You blushed and let out a chuckle, your stomach filling up with butterflies. "I don't expect you to say back any time soon, and I in no means want to rush you, but I-" Stan paused, thinking about the impact of his words. He started to think maybe he should give you a little time, but then you leaned your head up to look at him. And when he looked down into your eyes there was no way stopping the words from falling out of his mouth. "I love you." The look in Stan's eyes was intoxicating, you could have stared in his eyes for the rest of both your lives, but instead, you brought your hand up to his jaw and tilted your head bringing yours and Stan's lips together. Equally as intoxicating as the look in his eyes. The two of you felt as if you were floating on clouds. Like you two were the only two people in the world. You pulled away and smiled, Stan pressed his forehead against yours. "I know" You and Stan laughed.

"Ok Rich. You just need to apologize. I'm sure they'll forgive you. They're your friends, basically your family." Richie walked back into town talking to himself. "And you hurt them and accused them of shitty things and now all your friends will hate you forever cuz you were a total dick and even their grandchildren will hate the name, Richie Tozier." Richie stopped for a second and groaned, rubbing his hands up and down his face under his glasses. He took a deep breath and continued walking.

Mike opened the door to Richie. "Hey man, come in." "Is Eds still here." "Yeah, he's in the living room. Rich," Mike put a hand on his shoulder. "He's worried about you. We all kinda are. There's been a lot going on with you four I just want to remind you that if you need someone to talk to we're all here for you buddy." "Thanks, man." Richie continues into the living room and sees Ben and Eddie talking. He breathes a sigh of relief, knowing how much it hurt Eddie that Ben wouldn't talk to him. They hugged and Ben got up off the couch and saw Richie. "I'm really sorry Richie. It was really rude to treat you like that-" Richie cut him off. "It's ok man really, I get it. She's your friend, I was a dick." "Yeah but you and Eddie are my friends too." "Well then what do you say Haystack," Richie extended out a hand. "Back to buds." Ben agreed and shook Richie's hand. Richie took a seat next to Eddie on the couch. "Hey, I'm glad your back I wanted to-" Richie leaned in and kissed Eddie. "As much as I love you and your adorable rambling I wanted to apologize." Eddie was suddenly very nervous. He thought to himself 'Shit this is it. He still loves Kassidy.' "Sure, Sure yeah. Umm a-about what Rich?" Richie took Eddie's hands in his fiddling with them out of nerves. "About everything. About not telling Kassidy. About not even being decent enough to break it off first so neither of you would get hurt. All of this would have been so much easier and nobody would've had to lose any friends. I'm just so sorry Eddie, I love you and I never wanted to hurt you like that." Eddie was so relieved to hear those words come out of Richie's mouth. He put a hand up to Richie's cheek and leaned to kiss him. "I love you too Richie." Richie chuckled in relief "Thank fuck."

You and Stan walked back to the car hand in hand. "So what do you wanna do now? " You leaned your back up against the car door "Oh I don't know maybe some more of this." Stan leaned himself against the car by his forearm and with his other hand lifted your chin, leaning down connecting your lips. You hummed against his lips. "Well, I do love doing that." "Do you want to go back to your place-" Stan pressed a small kiss on your neck "Watch a movie." "Shit!" Stan's head shot up. "I left my house keys at Bens." "We can sneak through your bedroom window." You push yourself off of the car, past Stan, and walked to the other side pulling your door open. "I don't wanna go back there either but with any luck, Richie won't be there." Stan groaned and got into the car.

You wrapped your knuckles on the door and Mike opened it with a smile. "I just forgot my keys." Mike let you in past him to the table where the keys sat. You quickly walked over to the table and grabbed your keys. Turning around back towards the door you catch Richie staring from the couch next to Eddie. For once you didn't feel the wind knocked out of you. But you couldn't say that the feeling of wanting to punch him had dulled any. You carried on toward the door when Richie called out your name. You sighed and banged your head on Mike's front door and contemplated for a second whether or not you should pretend you didn't hear him and keep walking. Apparently, you had stayed there a bit too long. Richie tapped two fingers on your shoulder. "I was just wondering if you would let me talk at you for a second. You don't need to say anything, or react in any way really-" You turned around and put your hands on his shoulders. He froze silent as you drew a deep breath. "I forgive you." It wasn't easy to say, you weren't even sure it was true. A part of you wanted to keep him dangling in wonder and guilt but you knew that you would eventually fully forgive him and the more you saw him moping around the more you would most likely enjoy watching him suffer for what he did. But if he just thought that you had forgiven him then maybe he would go back to his old trashmouth self and you all could move on.

Richie was taken by surprise, to say the least. He felt relief for a fleeting moment until he remembers Stan. "He's out in the car" He heard him speak softly. She somehow always knew what was going on inside his head, that's what made him think that she was so great, that they would be so great together. Against your better judgment, you grimaced and said, "I can give you five minutes. But he has the car keys so I can't promise he won't dive off on you." Richie threw his arms around you and squeezed you, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" "Yeah, sure get off me" He smiled at you, "Sorry." As Richie walked out the door he turned back to you, "He wouldn't drive off without his best girl." Richie started making trumpets sound in the tune of 'A Long Long Time' by Kitty Kallen and closed the door. You rolled your eyes as you and Mike laughed

Richie fell silent as he walked up to your car with Stan in the front seat. He raised his hand and tapped on the window. Stan kept his stare forward and locked the car door. Richie sighed. "Stan please." Richie heard the click of the car doors unlock and walked around to the other side and got in. "I'm so sorry. I was being a complete shit of a person and totally overreacted. I do care about her, I do! That's why I got so angry and it totally fucked up my judgment." Stan wasn't saying anything and it started to make Richie even more nervous. "I was angry and confused and I honestly don't know where all of that came from. That's not what I think of you at all, you gotta know that, Stan. You're one of my best friends and the best dude I know and I'm so sorry I said all of those things. I know I really fucked up." The two of them sat and stared out the windshield, Richie's leg bounced up and down from nerves until Stanley broke the silence. "I'm sorry too. That I turned my back on you. I couldn't understand how you had the most perfect girl right in front of you and seeing you hurt her made me angry too. I mean we all saw you and Eddie happening eventually, but I didn't think you two would go and do that. I love her and I guess I let that get in the way of our friendship." "I mean dude I don't really think I could blame you. I've seen the way she looks at you. It can make someone do stupid and crazy things." "Well then I guess that explains why you are so stupid and crazy," Stan laughed, "Eddie looks at you like that 24\7." Richie turned away laughing and hoped it hid the bright red flush on his cheeks. "I can't believe she actually forgave me." "Yeah me neither, to be honest." Stanley dead-panned. "Buuut," Stan took a calming deep breath, "If she can forgive you, then I guess I should too."

Eddie walked up to (Y\N) hesitantly as she was laughing with Mike. Mike saw Eddie and took that as his cue to leave, or rather to eavesdrop from the kitchen with Beverly, Ben, and Bill.

"Thanks for uh.. for forgiving Richie, he's been a wreck," Eddie said. "N-not that I've been fine! I-I feel completely terrible for what I did. But I mean I-I-I'm not trying to make you feel bad for me or anything. O-or for Richie. I just mean that we're both really sorry. I'm so, so very sorry (Y/N)." Eddie stammered through quickly. Man, do your shoes look mighty interesting at that moment. 'You forgave Richie why is it so hard to forgive Eddie. Maybe because we only gave Richie a premature apology so we could all get back to normal? Should I have to do that with Eddie too? Fuck that neither of them deserves it!' You fought back and forth with yourself in your head before finally looking up at Eddie. You took a deep breath, "I know...I-" Eddie cut you off "You don't have to." "I feel like I should." "You already kinda forgave Richie I know that's a big thing so you can hate me for as long as you need I deserve it." You smiled at Eddie and walked out of the house. Richie saw you walking towards the car and stepped out leaving the door open for you. You got in and leaned over to Stanley cupping the side of his face to bring him closer and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Stan started the car as you buckled. You tucked your legs up onto the seat and curled up to get comfy. Stan rests his hand over on one of your legs as you closed your eye

taglist: @elisaa-shelby @trashxqueen @igotahammer @pillowjj @screechinglawyer @campcampie

[reddie-fangirl24]

The Wedding Date (A Reddie Crossover)

This was a commission from @memory-vacant. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMISSION! I hope you enjoy the story. 

Richie could not believe it. His little sister was married. After a moment of hesitation on whether or not she was ready to get married, Richie convinced her - with help from Eddie luckily. To think this morning Richie sought nothing about love. And yet in so little time he actually felt like he was falling for Eddie. 

All this was supposed to be a facade so he’d get his sister to stop nagging him. But as he was holding Eddie’s hand throughout the entire ceremony, Richie slowly crawled back into that annoying turtle shell of his and shoved his hands inside his pockets. 

To get away from all the festivities for a bit, Eddie and Richie explored the house. Eddie liked to talk. The moment he showed up he was blabbing his ear off. At first, Richie didn’t pay much attention to him, but upon listening to him talk more about his overbearing mother and this awful woman, Myra he was set to marry, Richie felt bad for him. For most of his life, Richie was alone. Despite being with someone, Eddie felt alone, too. 

Finally, they showed up in his parent’s bedroom. Richie would have taken Eddie to his old bedroom but his parents turned it into a regular guest bedroom since he moved out when he was eighteen. He wondered what Eddie would have thought of all the posters of comedians that he had on the walls along with the wacky wallpaper design he chose. 

If he was lucky, maybe he could get him to come back to his apartment. What? In L.A?? They were in Maine, and Eddie lived in New York. That was only in his dreams. 

Just like that, they flopped down on the bed in humorous positions. Weddings were exhausting.

For a few minutes, neither spoke, each dwelling in their own thoughts. Richie wondered if Eddie was aware of how close they were to cuddling. He wasn’t used to physical affection like a simple pat on the back. Just the thought of cuddling up with Eddie right now made Richie’s heart race. Did all this really have to end in a half-hour when he and Stanley would get in the car and drive away - back to L.A., the other side of the country? 

“I feel like I have been talking the whole time,” Eddie said, interrupting the silence.

“Huh? What?” Richie asked coming out of his thoughts. He’d been staring at a crack on the ceiling. How long had that been there for?

Eddie turned so he could face him more. There was that sad look in his eyes once again. It was oh so reminiscent of looking at himself in the mirror.

“I feel like I barely know you.”

“What? My boisterous attitude wasn’t enough?” Richie joked, propping himself up on the bed with one elbow.

Eddie stared into his eyes, searching for answers as time was running out. “Tell me fun facts about you.”

“Uh... well, I’m a comedian.”

“I can tell.”

“No, I mean that I am an actual comedian!”

“Like that’s not obvious, I’ve seen you on TV,” Eddie told him, scoffing.

Richie raised his eyebrow, surprised. “You have? Why didn’t you say so?”

“Because I didn’t know if you wanted to talk about that. I like your work.”

Feeling his insides explode from cuteness overload, Richie felt humbled by the compliment. He always worried that he wasn’t doing something right like other comedians. But they all had their own technique, right?

“Do you have any more fun facts about yourself, or you just boring?” Eddie asked with a smirk. He could just feel his warm breath in his face. Sarcasm was their main language. He never thought he would meet someone who shared that in common with him.

“I’m allergic to fabric softener.”

Eddie’s eyes bulged. “What?! Then why are we sitting here? You need to get off the bed before your throat closes up and then you pass out and then we have to take you -”

“Hey, Eds, calm down! I was just messing with you!” Richie told him, waving a handout. He knew he shouldn’t have said that. His breathing was rapid. Eddie took out his inhaler and took a puff. 

Richie creased his eyebrow at him. Although Eddie told him that he had asthma, there was something strange about that. The way he choked on his breath reminded him of when he’d get overwhelmed. Eddie never needed the inhaler when he ran. It was only when he was startled.

Not amused at all, Eddie’s whole face flushed red. “You should never joke about medical allergies, Richie!”

“Gee, I know that know,” Richie lightly rolled his eyes.

“You are so infuriating!” Eddie crossed his arms, sulking.

“Well, that’s another fact about me!” Richie laughed. Sensing that he ruined the moment because Eddie had his back to him, he mellowed down. “I’m sorry.”

“Really?”

“I don’t like it when people are mad at me,” Richie told him sincerely, lightly placing his hand on his shoulder.

Eddie turned around, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “Seriously? ‘Cause that’s kind of a part of your nature as a comedian.”

“Hey, who says I’m like everyone else? I like to have quiet time whenever I get the chance.”

“You? Quiet time?” Eddie snorted. Embarrassed, his cheeks went red. Richie laughed at the sound, making Eddie join in.

“What’s so funny about that?” he smirked at him as he continued to giggle.

“Because you, Richie Tozier, I cannot see you having a quiet moment in your life!” Eddie poked him in the shoulder. Here’s the side of Eddie that Richie liked. That side was kept repressed. He was fighting to escape so he could live the life that he always wanted. Then again, what was he thinking?

“What do you do on nights you have to yourself?” Eddie asked intrigued, crossing his legs on the bed. Faintly, Richie could hear voices from downstairs. His sister was very excited, laughing. It was his sisters day. Let her have all the attention. He didn’t want to miss her going off in that limo with her new husband.

“I like to cook pasta and sit on my deck,” Richie explained. “Sometimes I think up routines, I read...”

“You read?” Eddie beamed.

“No, Edward Spaghetti, I tare out the pages and throw them to the birds! ‘Course I read!”

“Don’t you fucking call me that!” Eddie warned, though the threat was ruined by a smile.

“I’ve been calling you that and Eds all day. Admit it, you like it!”

They laughed for a bit. This was the most Richie laughed for some time. He felt this feeling that he couldn’t come up with the words to describe it. Yes, he was happy. But his insides felt warm.

Feeling something buzz, Eddie checked his phone. His smile immediately faded. “My ride is going to be here in about fifteen minutes.”

And just like that, Richie’s heart fell into his stomach. He didn’t want this day to end. For some reason, he felt like all this was meant to happen. His sister always said that which annoyed him. All he wanted was to see him happy. She understood him better than their parents, well mainly his dad. But maybe this time he shouldn’t let this opportunity go. 

“Eddie,” Richie said, using Eddie’s real name instead of a nickname for the first time that day. Even Eddie was surprised. Feeling his mouth dry up, Richie’s stomach turned. Great, the nerves were going to mess this up for him. “... Do you have to go?”

“Well, yeah, I have to catch the train,” he said, his nose turning up at the thought.

Spotting his hand right there on the bed, Richie touched it. The touch caught Eddie’s attention. He was a bit alarmed. But he didn’t take his hand away.

“What if you didn’t go back?”

“Richie, I have a life in New York. And... I’m engaged.”

“To some woman who you don’t want to marry,” Richie pointed out.

Eddie looked like he was going to disagree, but he was quiet. “It’s not that simple.”

Okay, here it goes. “I think I’d miss you even if we never met.”

The other man was touched by the comment, holding his hand a little tighter. “Aw, Rich. I hate to say it, but me too.”

Feeling a magnet drawing them in, they stared into one anothers eyes, at how close they were to touching. Eddie’s breath was enough to make him go wild. None of them knew who started the fierce makeout session, but they dove into the bed in a matter of seconds with Richie lying on top of Eddie. His lips were soft, like a pillow as Richie planted kisses all around his face. Their tongues mixed around in delight as Eddie wrapped his hand around Richie’s neck, pulling him closer. 

As they moaned and kissed more Richie stopped when his hand was about to loosen Eddie’s belt buckle. Time stopped. No, he wasn’t... realizing that he was in the awful town he grew up in, Richie panicked jumping away from the bed.

Eddie was alarmed too, finally realizing what had happened. He was so lost in the moment. This never happened. But he was more concerned about Richie. “Are you okay?”

Nervously tangling his fingers through his hair, Richie didn’t look at him. “Y-You’re right.”

“What are you talking about?” Eddie asked trying to reach out and touch him. He was scared that it was him. Myra was not interested in a sexual relationship. But he wanted one. And this... it felt right.

Trying to fix himself up as best as he could, including his wild hair, Richie raced to the door leading out of the bedroom. Don’t look up at him, Richie told himself feeling his heart cracking in two.

“You’re right. You do have a life,” he uttered brokenly.

Going to argue with him, that was true. What would his mother think of him cheating. On a man. And he could never do that to her. But all of this felt so right. Like it was meant to be.

Richie opened the door and left. “Nice meeting you, Eddie.”

[fangirl-imagines]

Reunions//2019!Richie Tozier

A/N: Requested by @bisexuaivalkyrie, I hope this is what you were looking for :) 

Prompt: The reader was a member of the losers club and returns to help take down IT for a second time, reuniting with her childhood sweetheart Richie “Trashmouth” Tozier. 

Being back in Derry did feel real. It felt like some hazy dream that you had been stuck in since Mike had called you. You couldn’t decide if it was a dream or a nightmare though. There were too many happy memories of your friends competing with the nightmare of why you were all brought together. You squeezed your hands together in front of you as you stepped into the Jade of the Orient to keep them from shaking. The warm air hit your cold body and made the lightheadedness you were feeling intensify as you were led back to a private room where the losers club would have their first meeting in almost thirty years. 

“Holy shit.” You heard someone mutter before turning into the room. Three men stood facing each other, none of them noticing you yet. You knew immeditatly that it was Bill, Mike, and Eddie even though you hadn’t seen them in decades. 

“Well would you look at this bunch of handsome old men.”

They all turned to look at you in surprise. 

“Y/N.” Bill greets with a smile that you shyly return as you take two steps closer to them before black spots begin to dance in your vision and you suddenly find yourself slumping over, only being help up by Eddie’s arms wrapped around your waist. 

“Y/N!” 

Mike and Bill are both suddenly by your side as well, helping Eddie hold you up. You brush them off and try to stand up on your own though Eddie still hovered closely. 

“I’m sorry,” you spoke gently as Mike hands you a glass of water. “its like everything caught up to me all of a suddenly. Like a tidal wave.” You shook your head, taking a sip of the water Mike had offered you and Eddie took a step back from you. “Nice catch by the way Eds.”

He shook his head at the nickname but his lips quirked up in the corners. 

“It-It-Its been happening to al-all of u-u-s Y/N.” Bill stumbled over his words, placing a hand on your shoulder comfortingly. 

You smiled at him, Bill your faithful leader for so many years. You couldn’t help yourself but to pull him into a tight hug. He laughed and squeezed you back tighter. 

“I mi-mi-missed you t-t-too Y/N.” 

The sudden bang of a gong chimed through the room, breaking the two of you apart as you all turned around to come face to face with trashmouth Richie Tozier himself. You went rigid in Bill’s arms and found yourself swallowing harshly as you remembered more long forgotten memories about the boy you had lost your heart to so many years ago. All grown up now, Richie had his hands shoved down into his pockets and was grinning sheepishly at the four of you until his eyes caught you and stayed there. You saw his eyes widen slightly behind his thick, black frames and his adam’s apple bob. 

“I guess this meeting of the losers club has officially begun. Hey, Y/N, Eddie. I have to say you both still look just as smoking hot as I remember you.”

Eddie rolled his eyes, “Beep beep Rich-”

He stopped suddenly, eyes widening as he watched you move from Bill’s side, almost tripping over your own feet in your haste before you were in front of Richie, grabbing his face in your hands and pulling him down into a kiss. There was lighthearted laughter from your friends. Ben and Beverly exchanged amused glances at the reunion but neither you nor Richie could be bothered to notice or care. Richie’s hands came out of his pockets to grab onto your waist, pulling you closer. The kiss was a little messy and a little too quick to be proper but it was familiar and warmed the cold spot you’d felt in your heart ever since being back in Derry. 

Mike cleared his throat but neither of you pulled away until air became a necessity. You gasped slightly as you pulled back and you suddenly realized all eyes in the room were now on the two of you. You flushed red and tried to step back slightly only to have Richie’s arms tighten around you and keep you in place. You looked back up at him and saw he was staring at you with adoringly wide eyes that were magnified behind his glasses. For once in his life it seemed like Richie Tozier had been knocked speechless. 

“Well I guess Y/N standards haven’t improved any with age.” Ben spoke from behind you causing everyone to laugh. 

You flushed red and stepped back, forcing Richie’s hold on you to break but stayed standing next to him as Ben and Beverly joined you.

“Glad to know I’m still as irresistible as ever.” Richie teased but you shook your head, rubbing the back of your neck. 

“Beep beep Richie.”

“Well, now that we’re all together again, I think its time we all talk about why we’re here.” Mike spoke up with something hard in his voice. 

“Come on Mike. Shouldn’t we wait for Stan first?” Eddie asked, as eager as the rest of you to delay thinking about just why you were all together again. 

Richie tensed beside you and you reached up to grab his hand that had settled on your waist, pulling it away and entwining your fingers. Mike closed his eyes painfully and let his head hang for a moment before looking back up at Eddie. 

“Stan won’t be joining us Eddie.” Mike reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, casting his gaze to the floor. “He died two days ago. Just after I called.”

Your heart stopped in your chest and you were afraid for a moment you might faint again. Richie dropped your hand but you didn’t pull your eyes away from Mike, willing him to take it back, to laugh and tell you this was a joke. But you knew well enough. Everyone was thinking it but it was Beverly who said it, still the bravest of you all. 

“Pennywise.” She whispered breathlessly, Ben’s hand on her back for support. “It was him wasn’t it? Pennywise. I thought it was just a bad dream but...” 

She trailed off as her own memories overcame her. You felt Richie lean against you slightly for support you were glad to give but unsure if you could. Mike nodded his head solemnly. 

“We should all sit down.”

[elatedmarvel]

After All This Time, You and I (1/4)

Summary: Bucky has known you your entire life. Snapshots through the years.

Word Count:  1948

AN: Hello! Long time no see! This is for @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​‘s Follower Celebration! Congrats to you Star, you deserve every single one!! My prompt was Best Friend’s Sibling. This was originally going to be a long oneshot, but I felt like the flow was better to separate it into a two-shot. Title is from Mary’s Song by Taylor Swift for obvious reasons. Thank you for hosting this awesome writing challenge Star! I had so much fun writing this!

Warnings: tiny mention of violence, swear words

“The building burning up Buck! You gotta get out of here!” Steve shouts staring down his best friend from across the bridge.

“No! Not without you!” comes Bucky’s fierce reply. His eyes scan over the wreck, trying to find something to save Stevie. 

Steve takes a deep breath and prays that the crumbling bridge will hold a little longer, and he charges across the chasm. He almost makes it to the other side when his foot gets caught on a pillow. Tumbling over, he avoids landing on Bucky, but knocks over the unsuspecting person on his right. 

You land with a thud on your hands and knees, and quickly scramble to look at your right knee. There’s a moment of silence, and the boys hold their breath waiting for the inevitable wail. 

“I’m sorry!” Steve cries before wrapping his arms around you in a clumsy hug. He really didn’t see you playing next to him, it was an accident! Your bottom lip sticks out and your eyes become more and more glassy. 

“Please don’t cry” he begs, partly because it breaks his heart, and partially because he doesn't want get in trouble. He knew what kind of hellfire Sarah Rogers could rain down.   

“We’re sorry, what can we do to make it up to you?” Bucky asks, scooting himself to face your tear stained face. He felt bad for making Steve run across the bridge, he never meant to hurt you. 

“I-I need a groom for my wedding.” you state without hesitation, wiping at your eyes. “And I can’t marry Steve cause he’s my brother, duh.” Your wet eyes turn to look intently at Bucky. 

“You can’t get married, you’re 6.” Bucky tries to argue.

“So? You’re 8! That’s only 2 years older! ‘Sides, it’s not real anyway.” you fires back, your bottom lip juts out again, ready to cry if that’s what it takes.

He’s taken a back for a moment at your reply, and blue eyes meet Steve’s pleading ones. He’d do anything for you, and of course Steve was the cherry on top. 

“Ok. Fine.”

On a rainy day in April, Steve walks you down the aisle. 

Clad in his nicest, unstained, khaki pants, Bucky’s heart skips a beat when he sees you. You’re wearing your Cinderella costume from Halloween, and some stolen red lipstick from your mom, smiling like you got an extra juice pop. Somehow, he already knows your the prettiest girl in the world.  

In front of your moms, stuffed animals and barbies, Bucky promises to always make you laugh and smile, and to protect you. You promise to always share her toys and food with him, and to make him feel better when he’s sad.

The ceremony ends after Steve pronounces you both husband and wife, and while your moms cheer and tear up slightly, Bucky leans in and gives you a quick peck on the cheek. It won’t be so bad being married to her, he thinks.

~~~

School sucked for Bucky today. Steve got into a fight with Zemo, which lead to Bucky getting in a fight with Zemo. That punk couldn’t even breathe right, it frustrated Bucky to no end that he couldn’t stop being stupid. Turns out, being punched in face hurts more than it looks in the movies. And of course, his parents weren’t thrilled and took away his TV privileges for the week, which meant he couldn’t find out what happened on his favorite show the Howling Commandos. Last week was even a cliffhanger! Captain America and the Winter Soldier were stuck on a plane with bombs on them and fast approaching Manhattan! 

Wallowing, both Steve and him were relegated to “use their imaginations” and playing in the backyard. Bored out of their minds, they played hide and seek, a babies game really if you asked Bucky. But, Steve was nice enough to let Bucky hide first, and Bucky couldn’t say no to that bruised face.

So here he was, climbing the ladder to the old tree house, hoping Steve wouldn’t look here right away. Sniffles drew his attention you, crying softly in the corner with your knees to your chest. You were blasting music from your walkman, Endless Love from what Bucky could hear. It was really bad then. His chest hurt seeing your red rimmed eyes, and crawled next to you. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked lowly, taking her headphones off of your head and pausing the song. You didn’t look him in the eye, but leaned into him more when he put his arm around you. 

“Stupid boys.” you sniffle. Wiping your face, you finally meet Bucky’s worried eyes. “Jake dumped me for Sierra, cause she always has chocolate snack packs in her lunch.”

“That weasel! Want me to rough him up a little?”

“Thanks, but I think you and Stevie are in enough trouble as it is.” you chuckle, placing your head on his shoulder. He gently rubs his hand up and down your arm, wishing he could take away your pain. 

“I could pretend to be your boyfriend, make him jealous your going out with a 6th grader.” he offers.

“You can’t be my boyfriend, you’re already my husband!” you joke. His eyes go wide, remembering your lovely wedding ceremony and the massive amounts of cake you both ate at the “reception”. 

“Hey! That’s right! Technically you were cheating on me with him! I want a divorce.” he jokes, bumping your shoulder with his. 

You giggle and place a hand on his, “Please forgive me! It’s been so hard being separated from you now that you’re in middle school! He didn’t mean anything! Promise!”

You both erupt laughing so hard that Bucky falls over and brings you with him, which makes you both laugh even harder. Managing to calm down, he places a kiss on your forehead and hugs you closer to him. His heart does a funny dance in his chest, but he ignores it. You’re so warm against him, and your shampoo smelled so good, he could lay here with you forever. 

“I guess I’ll forgive you this once, but don’t let it happen again.” he says solemnly. 

You nod, hair tickling his face, “It won’t, you’re the only one for me Bucky Barnes.” 

~~~

 The room’s getting dark, but he couldn’t be bothered to get up and turn on the light. Not when Lional Richie was pouring his heart out. He couldn’t go down to dinner, his whole family had heard her breaking up with him. Did Dot really have to come over and break things off in the driveway? It would kill him to see the pity in his mom’s eyes, and sit through the uncomfortable talk with his dad about his feelings. He knew they were worried about him, and wanted to help, but he couldn’t stomach facing them.

They hadn’t been going out for long, but being dumped for the first time, he didn’t know how to handle his heartache. Honestly, he didn’t know if he was even heartbroken, or just wallowing in self-pity of being blindsided by the breakup. 

A knock on the door brought him out of his misery. Must be his mom, bringing food up to him like the saint that she was. He stands up slowly, acutely aware of how his muscles ache from being curled in a ball for most of the day, and stretches as he makes his way to the door. 

Your bright eyes stare back at him when he opens the door, and in his shock, he takes in the box of pizza you holdand the enormous bag of junk food. 

“What’re you doing here?” voice cracking from underuse. 

“Steve told me what happened with Dot. I brought pizza and your favorite snacks and movies. I can drop them off and leave though if you would rather be alone?” your voice hopeful that he won’t turn you away. Like he could, he’s never turned you away before and he won’t start now. 

A small smile makes its way onto his face, and he opens the door wider so you can come into the bedroom. Your grin soothes the ache in his chest. You put the pizza down on his nightstand and cue up Star Wars. Getting cozy on his bed and patting the spot next to you, it seems like you fit right in. He didn’t need to be asked twice. 

By 4 AM, he’s forgotten all about what’s-her-name, and his earlier self-pity and heartbreak. Not when Star Wars was playing in the background and your blinking sleepily at the TV, head on his shoulder. 

~~~

“Bucky, we have a situation.” Steve announces, flopping onto Bucky’s bed. Bucky looks up from the laptop in his lap with a confused stare, waiting from Mr. Dramatic to explain. He didn’t have time for his antics, his last college final of the semester was due next week.

“Y/N’s prom date bailed on her, and it’s tomorrow.” was all Steve said, and looked at Bucky, waiting for what he knew would happen now.

“That dick.” Bucky replied, mentally searching for his tux. “If I leave now, I can make it with enough time to shower and get ready.” And he hops off the bed, grabbing his duffle bag, he stuffs whatever he may need for the impromptu trip home. Steve just stares at him with a smile on his face like the little shit he is. 

A 5 hour drive home, shower, frantic search for his tux, and a quick power nap later, he knocks on your door. He wishes he could photograph the look of surprise on your face, your jaw literally drops when he see him in his tux.

“Bucky?!” And he swears he forgot how beautiful you were. Literally glowing, and he doesn't think it’s from the makeup, he can’t help himself as he takes in your dress. You’ll be the most beautiful one there, no contest. “Hey doll.” he smirks at you, still amused by your shocked state. He can tell when your brain catches up when your eyes soften as you look up at him.

“What are you doing here?” you ask in a soft voice. 

“Taking you to prom, what else would I be doing?” and he can see you calculating in your head. 

“Bucky, you must have driven all night!” you exclaim. Bucky loves when your eyes grow wide, it’s so cute.

“It’s fine, who needs sleep?” he says as he steps inside, past your frozen, and shocked state. Steve must have told your parents he was coming, he can see your parents waiting with the camera in the living room. 

“You told me you were going to work on your final all weekend.” you fire back, closing the door. 

“This is more important to me.” and he can tell you don’t quite believe him. You have a scowl on your face that reminds him of when you would catch him stealing a piece of candy as kids. He’s pretty sure you think it’s intimidating, but he finds it adorable. 

“I promise that I worked on it already, and I’ll be ok.” and he presses a kiss to your forehead. “You look beautiful.” your glad your foundation hides the sudden flush of your face. 

“You’re not too shabby yourself.” you tease back. But really, seeing him like this does inexplicable things to your heart. He’s so handsome, and he had driven all night to take you to prom. You could just kiss him. 

Taking your hands in his, you look into his eyes. “Thank you.” you say earnestly. 

And Bucky knew in that moment, he would drive days to get to you if needed.

Part 2 

[cocastyle]

The In-Between Chapter 6

Stranger Things x It Crossover

with some Bill Denbrough x reader

Word Count - 7,455

Warning - cursing (if people don’t like that kind of stuff)

A/N- so I kind of got carried away with this chapter and wrote over 7000 words lol, but I couldn’t really split this chapter up considering what’s about to come in the next chapter so I just left it as is (the next chapter is going to have so many interactions with the two groups you won’t be ready!) I really hope you all like this chapter because I worked hard on it and am actually really proud of the way it turned out! leave a comment with your thoughts on the chapter and with any predictions that you have for the future🤩

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

T H E I N - B E T W E E N

Intro The Losers’ Club The Party Prolouge 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Epilogue

"Wh-Wh-What is she doing?" Bill whispered as he gently nudged Y/N's side.

The girl stared ahead at Eleven who was busy putting a radio on a station that only had static playing before she glanced at Bill. She sent him a small smile that had him blushing and smiling back. "You'll see," she whispered.

Y/N let out a small gasp as she remembered something and quickly disappeared up the stairs and into her house before returning a few seconds later with a cloth in her hand. She walked over and handed it to Eleven who gave her a small smile before beginning to fold it and wrap it around her eyes like a blindfold.

"A blindfold?" Richie asked. He then smirked before winking in Eleven's direction. "Kinky. Now all we need is some handcuffs and-"

"Beep beep Richie!" the Losers Club cried out while the Party all looked at Richie in disgust.

Y/N shook her head at the boy before looking to the Party with an apologetic smile, "Sorry about him. He hadn't quite matured yet if you can't tell."

"Hey!" Richie complained.

"Oh hush," Y/N told him making the boy pout. She chuckled and ruffled his hair much to his annoyance before she turned her attention back to Eleven who was finished setting up.

"Remember, you have to be quiet," Y/N reminded the Losers, making a point to stare at Richie longer than the others. They all nodded before looking to Eleven who was now sitting on the ground, the radio static playing behind her.

The room was so quiet that one could have heard a pin drop. The prospect of Eleven doing something that could help them with their mission to find Mine being enough to make even Richie keep his mouth shut.

It took a minute, but Eleven suddenly let out a small gasp before whispering, "Mike."

Y/N noticed Wheeler frown a little at that seeing as she was talking about a different Mike instead of him. It was unusual that was for sure and Y/N had thought it was weird knowing two Mikes as well when she first moved to Derry. But since she had called him Wheeler since they were kids, calling Mike Hanlon by his first name hadn't been too weird for her.

"I. . .I see him," Eleven whispered out making the Losers all furrow their eyebrows and look to Y/N confused. She just gave them a look and gestured towards Eleven in response and they all looked back to the girl who had some blood starting to peak out from her nose.

"He. . .He's hiding by some water," Eleven said.

"The quarry," Y/N muttered as she looked to the others. Their eyes widened slightly and they watched as Y/N walked over and bent down in front of her friend.

Y/N reached out and gently took ahold of Eleven's hand, the girl instantly latching onto hers in return. "Tell Mike that we're coming for him," Y/N whispered, tears springing in her eyes. "Tell him he's going to be okay."

"Your friends. . .they're coming for you. Hang in there, Mike. You're going to be okay," Eleven muttered, although Y/N knew she was talking to Mike Hanlon.

"Hurry," a voice suddenly came from the radio causing the Losers and Y/N to jump in surprise at the sound of their friend's voice. "Please hurry."

Eleven's face then scrunched up in pain and she let out a loud gasp before ripping the blindfold from her face. Her eyes frantically looked around before locking with Y/N's. "He's okay," she assured him. Y/N wiped away her tears and gave Eleven a small smile before hugging her friend in thanks.

"What the fuck was that?”

The two girls pulled away from each other to see the Losers looking more confused then ever. "What the fuck just happened?" Richie questioned, his eyes wide. "What did she do and how the hell does she know that Mike is okay?"

Y/N took in a deep breath before standing up and slowly approaching her friends. "Guys, so Eleven kind of has these powers. She was able to mentally connect with Mike and get a picture of where he was and give him a message," Y/N explained.

"I'm sorry. What?" Stan asked confused.

"Powers like superpowers?" Ben questioned.

"I guess," Y/N replied. "I know it's hard to understand but-"

"Hard to understand? It's crazy! You know what, I'm calling bullshit," Richie announced.

"But Mike's voice-" Y/N began.

"We don't even know if that was his voice because all I could hear was a bunch of fucking static! How am I supposed to believe you when the only thing that I saw happen was that girl get a fucking nosebleed and bleed all over your basement?" Richie asked.

Wheeler narrowed his eyes at the boy and went over to his girlfriend who he helped off the ground while Eleven wiped the blood from her nose. He was about to say something when he saw Y/N raise an eyebrow at the boy and cross her arms.

"You want proof? Evidence?" Y/N questioned, not a look of hesitation on her face. Richie was silent before nodding his head. "Okay, asshole. Here's your fucking proof."

She then walked over to one of the closet doors of the basement before opening it and walking back over to the group. Richie was about to question her when the door slammed shut making him and the other Losers all jump in surprise.

The door then began to open and slam shut repeatedly and Richie was hesitant before he turned to look at Eleven who had one hand up in the air. The door slammed shut for a final time and Eleven lowered her hand before wiping the small bit of blood below her nose away.

"Holy shit! She's an X-Men!" Eddie exclaimed in disbelief making Dustin chuckle since he had thought the same thing when he first met Eleven.

Y/N smirked and looked to Richie while the other Losers and the Party watched the girl in amusement. "That enough proof for you?" she asked.

Richie made a face in response and Y/N chuckled before looking between the groups and clapping her hands together. "Now. . .we may know that Mike is okay right now, but that doesn't mean he will be forever. We need to start making plans and preparing because first thing after school tomorrow, we are going to the Well House to save Mike and kill those other motherfuckers before it's too late. Everyone okay with that?" Y/N announced.

The Parry and the Losers' Club all nodded in agreement and Y/N smirked.

"Great. Let's get to work."

- - -

Bill bit his lip in concentration as he used a ruler to draw lines through the map of Derry. His job, and the job of all the Losers, was to split a map of Derry up into four different sectors. When they left to go find Mike tomorrow, half of the whole group would be staying behind while the other half broke off into pairs and searched the specific sections of the Upside Down's version of Derry.

Since the Upside Down was pretty much a replica of the real world, Y/N had thought it would be a good idea to use a map of Derry to break up the sections. Because the Losers knew Derry the best, they had offered to split the map up while the Party got weapons ready seeing as they knew what would work best against a demogorgon if it were to attack.

Y/N had started out with the Losers at first, but it hadn't taken long for her to migrate over to the Party whom she had been spending the last hour with. The Losers hadn't thought much of it at first, but they couldn't help but notice the way she seemed to totally forget about them as she laughed and joked around with the Party, a smile on her face that looked nothing like the usual smile they got to see.

Bill had to force himself not to look up, reminding himself that Y/N was just excited to see her friends again. That's why Bill had put all his effort into the maps he was making, Beverly being the only other person to help him while Stan, Ben, Eddie, and Richie all watched Y/N and the Party with frowns on their faces and jealously coursing through their blood.

Glares were on the four boys faces and they only narrowed their eyes more at the sight of Y/N with her arms linked with Will as she talked to Steve and Lucas. "She forgot about us," Stan whispered softly, sadness laced in his voice despite his angered appearance.

"I can't believe it," Ben muttered, feeling awful at the idea that the Party made Y/N happier than they did. Him and the others could tell by the look of pure joy on her face just how much happier she was around the Party and that only fueled their jealousy more.

"Well believe it, Benny. We're yesterday's news," Richie frowned, glaring slightly as a bitter taste filled his mouth.

"Look how happy they make her. I don't think I've ever made her laugh that hard," Eddie muttered sadly as he too came to the realization that Y/N was happier around the Party than she was around them.

"It's cause you're not funny, Eds," Richie shot back. "No wonder Y/N left us. We're a bunch of losers literally."

"Sh-Sh-Shut up," Bill called out, tired of their behavior and tones.

Richie whirled around so fast that he whacked Eddie who let out a cry of protest. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he said as he looked at Bill in disbelief. When Bill didn't look up, Richie stomped over to his friend. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Are you really so blind that you don't see your girl over there with her arms fucking linked with another boy? He's stealing her right in front of your eyes, dumbass. How are you not the slightest bit mad or jealous?" Richie asked. "Cause me being Y/N's friend and seeing her talking to them and not us is making me mad and I'm not the one that had a crush on her."

Bill frowned at that and looked up, but he froze at the sight of Y/N  laughing at something Dustin had told her as she leaned into Will and wiped at her tears. Her arm was linked with Will's like Richie had said and she was resting her head on his shoulder as she looked up at Dustin with a huge grin on her face.

Bill's heart broke at the sight.

Bill cleared his throat and quickly looked away, blinking fast to keep the tears from coming. "Sh-Sh-She's not my g-g-girl. She can d-d-do whatever the h-h-hell she w-w-wants," he muttered.

Richie felt a wave of guilt wash over him once he realized how upset he had just made his friend, but Y/N's laughter had him turning back to look at her, a new wave of anger washing over him at the fact that she was now hurting Bill without even knowing it.

"How can someone be that funny? I mean, there's no way!" Richie exclaimed.

"Aren't they supposed to be gathering weapons anyways? Not joking around?" Stan asked.

"They did gather weapons," Ben pointed out as he gestured towards the few crowbars, bats, and other weapons they had gathered. "They even got flashlights and rope."

"Still, how are they so funny? Especially that Wheeler kid. She must be laughing at how funny looking he is," Richie concluded making the others raise their eyebrows at him.

Beverly rolled her eyes at Richie before glancing at Bill who was busy glaring at Will and Dustin. Beverly scoffed and stood up causing the Losers to all snap their attention over to her.

"Are you all being serious right now?" Beverly asked while the boys all gave her confused looks, not understanding what she was getting at. "You know that Y/N cares about each of you more than life itself, but you also need to understand that she can care about other people just as much. They were her first friends, guys. That group went through so much shit together just like we have and they haven't seen each other in two whole years!"

The boys didn't respond and Beverly just gave them an angry look as she narrowed her eyes. "I swear to God if Y/N hears one word from your jealous asses I will kill you. Now stop being self conscious pussies and be happy for your friend," she spat before she stormed away from the group and over to the Party.

They watched as Y/N's eyes lit up at the sight of Beverly before she grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her over to Max and Eleven, the four girls instantly falling into conversation. The boys all felt a wave of guilt wash over them, but none of them felt like going over and trying to talk to Y/N or the rest of the members of the Party.

It took only a minute before Richie, Eddie, Stan and Ben returned to their complaining as they watched their friend, but Bill took the longest to return back to what he had been doing before. His eyes were still on Y/N and his heart ached as he watched her.

He knew there was some truth to Beverly's words, but it was hard to believe everything she said after he had seen how happy Y/N was. How come he couldn't make her laugh like that? Or smile like that?

He would do anything to be in the receiving end of that smile. Hell, he would probably swoon at the sight.

Did she not like him the way he thought she had? For a moment he had thought she maybe returned his feelings, but now he wasn't so sure. If she had then he would be able to make her that happy, right?

Bill let out a small sigh and took in a deep breath before going back to the maps, trying everything in his power not to let his feelings get to him so much. But even he couldn't stop the one traitor tear from falling down his face as he realized he would never be able to make Y/N as happy as he had hoped.

If only he knew how he looked in Y/N's eyes. Then maybe he wouldn't have doubted himself and maybe he wouldn't have ended up hurting her later that night.

- - -

"Y/N!" Eleven cried out as she jumped onto the girl from behind, a laugh escaping her lips as she wrapped her arms around her giggling friend who had been busy sorting through the weapons with Steve and Wheeler.

"El!" Y/N mockingly yelled back as she looked over her shoulder at her friend.

Eleven chuckled and got off of her before glancing over at Steve and Wheeler. "I'm going to steal her for a few minutes," she said. She didn't bother waiting for a response from the boys before she was dragging Y/N away and over to where Beverly and Max were sitting.

"No, yeah I love your hair! I always wanted to try and cut mine short, but I'm afraid it will turn out bad," Max said as she looked at Beverly's haircut. "Who cut your hair because it looks so good!"

"I did actually," Beverly told her.

"No way!" Max gasped. "It looks so good, Beverly!"

"Thanks," Beverly said before she happened to notice Eleven and Y/N walking up to them. "Oh, hey Y/N!"

"Hey," Y/N greeted as Max also turned to look at her friends. Max's eyes lit up at the sight of the girl and she was quick to stand up before her and Eleven practically shoved Y/N into the place Max had just been sitting.

"Woah, okay," Y/N muttered as she adjusted herself so that she was more comfortable. When she looked back up, Eleven and Max were looking at her expectantly while Beverly gave her an apologetic smile.

"What?" Y/N asked, her eyes narrowing in curiosity as she wondered what her friends were up to.

"So we've been talking to Beverly," Max began. "She was telling us some funny stories about you when we heard some interesting stuff and-"

"Tell us about you and Bill!" Eleven interrupted, her eyes shining with excitement as she clasped her hands together and tucked them under her chin.

Y/N's eyes widened. "Me and Bill? Wh-What about me and Bill?" she asked. "We're just friends."

Max and Eleven both gave each other a look before raising their eyebrows at their friend. "Come on. We can tell by the way you look at him that you like him. Just admit it," Max prompted.

"What?" Y/N asked, her voice high and her face a dark shade of red. "Me like Bill?"

"Friends don't lie. You like him, Y/N. Admit it," Eleven insisted.

Y/N blushed even more before burying her face into her hands. "Okay, I like him," she whispered, not looking up to watch as her friends let out squeals and began to whack each other.

"We knew it!" Max exclaimed. "Beverly already told us, but like, we knew it!"

Y/N lifted her head to glance over at Beverly who smiled sheepishly. "They did already know it," Beverly said.

"So it's that obvious?" Y/N asked with wide eyes filled with horror at the thought of Bill knowing that she liked him.

"To everyone but you two," Eleven said.

"Yeah, Bill's kind of oblivious," Beverly agreed. "I don't think he knows."

Y/N let out a small sigh of relief causing Max to raise an eyebrow. "Would it be so bad if he did?" the red head asked.

"I mean, I guess not," Y/N whispered as she looked down. She would love to be able to tell Bill how she felt, to let him know just how much he meant to her even if he didn't feel the same way.

"But," Beverly said, already knowing that wasn't all the girl had to say.

"What if it ruins our friendship? What if he doesn't feel the same way?" Y/N asked.

The three girls' mouths dropped open at the same time before they all laughed. "First of all, he does feel the same way. It's obvious just by the way he looks at you like you're an angel walking on this earth," Max said.

"Secondly, it won't ruin your friendship," Eleven told her.

"What they said. I'm pretty sure that even if you and Bill went south that you two would still be friends. You two have been close ever since you moved here, Y/N. He wouldn't be the type of person to push you away like that. Besides, I wouldn't let him and I'm sure El and Max wouldn't either," Beverly said.

"Yeah, we'd beat his ass," Max agreed while Eleven nodded her head in agreement.

Y/N chuckled and smiled softly at her friends. "Thanks. I love you all so much," she said causing Eleven, Max, and Beverly to smile before they pulled the girl in for a group hug.

When they pulled away, they thankfully let the topic of Bill drop. Max and Eleven began talking to Beverly about her hair again and about her relationship with Ben while Y/N slowly zoned out.

She let her eyes flicker over to Bill who was across the room still working on the maps and trying to fold them. As if sensing her gaze, his eyes flickered up and locked with hers. Y/N sent a small smile in his direction, but to her surprise he didn't even smile before he just looked down at the maps again.

Y/N blinked in surprise before quickly looking away with a sad look on her face, not noticing the way that Bill looked back up at her sadly after.

- - -

It was around eleven o'clock that night before Y/N heard Ben call out, "We'll see you in the morning, Y/N!"

The girl quieted down her laughter and looked away from Lucas and Wheeler and over to where Beverly and Ben were standing by the stairs. Y/N was quick to get up and she smiled as she made her way across the room to hug both Ben and Beverly.

At the sight of her smile and the fact that she had left her other friends just to hug him goodbye, Ben suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over him as he realized how wrong he had been earlier for judging the girl and for complaining about her hanging out with her other friends.

"Night, guys. I'll see you in the morning," Y/N said before pulling away to look for the others. Her smile slowly disappeared once she realized that Richie, Eddie, Stan, and Bill were all gone.

"Where. . .where did the others go?" Y/N questioned as she looked to Ben and Beverly confused.

Ben looked down at his shoes before saying, "They all left a little bit ago. Bill went first and then Richie, Eddie, and Stan followed not too long after."

"Why?" Y/N asked, trying not to sound upset. "They didn't even start goodbye."

Ben didn't respond and Y/N frowned before saying, "Uh. . .I guess I'll see you guys in the morning, yeah?"

Beverly and Ben nodded with small smiles before turning to go up the stairs. "Bye, Y/N," the two called out before disappearing into the night.

Y/N kind of stood there for a moment after the door closed behind them, her thoughts racing as she tried to think of a reason for her friends' sudden departure. Had she done something wrong? Were they okay?

Hands on her shoulders made her jump slightly, but she instantly relaxed when she looked over her shoulder to see Steve standing right behind her. He titled his head slightly and gave her one of his warm smiles before asking with a hint of worry on his voice, "You okay, squirt?"

Y/N turned completely to face him before smiling softly and hugging the boy. She dug her face into his side and he wrapped his arms around her with no questions asked. Y/N was silent as she breathed in his scent, a small feeling of familiarity and her childhood washing over her.

"I'm doing good," she whispered, her heart warm due to the fact that her two friend groups had finally met and she had them both by her side. "I'll be better when Mike's home though. He's so sweet and kind. We like to go out to his farm sometimes and I'll help him with the animals. You're going to love him."

"As long as he's not like Trashmouth, I'm sure I will," Steve laughed making Y/N chuckle softly as she pulled away to look at the boy.

"Oh, Richie's not that bad. He can take things far and curse most of the time, but he's got a kind heart and he is probably one of the best people you'll meet once you really get to know him," Y/N said, a smile on her face as she talked about her friend.

"They all are in fact. I mean, you've got Stan who is easy to relate with. When he knows I'm having a bad day, he always takes me bird watching and doesn't pester me with what's wrong, only stays by my side so I'm not alone. Then there's Ben who is the sweetest little human being you'll ever meet. He's the boy that will go to the library all the time with me just to research random things."

"We've got Eddie who is practically the mother of the group sometimes. He cares about my health more than I do and is always making sure that I'm okay. There's a little hammock in one of the group's hang out spots and he'll always sit with me and we'll read comics together. Then you've got Beverly who's a total badass. I tell her practically everything and I swear she knows more about me than I do. Every Saturday morning, we take a break from the boys and will go out to breakfast and catch up."

"Finally, you've got Bill. He's the one that I'm closest to out of all of them. He was my first real friend and helped me a lot on my first day of school," Y/N said. She looked down and smiled fondly as she whispered, "I'll never be able to pay him back for what he's done for me." She was quiet for a second before looking up at Steve and saying, "He means a lot to me. They all do really."

Steve smiled softly at the girl as she rambled in about her friends, a warm feeling of relief washing over him as he realized that Y/N has been fine and loved over the past two years.

"You really care about those friends of yours, huh?" Steve asked, a knowing look on his face.

Y/N smiled fondly and nodded her head as she softly said, "They're my best friends. I would do anything for them just like I would for you guys."

Steve's smile grew slightly at that, thankful that Y/N had some pretty great friends by her side. Y/N smiled back before turning to check and make sure that the weapons and maps were ready. Once she knew that they were, she clapped her hands together once before saying to the Party, "Okay, now that we have a plan to head out after school tomorrow and everything is all set up. . .who wants to watch a movie?"

The Party all perked up at that. "Yes! Star Wars please!" Will exclaimed.

"What? No, let's watch Back to the Future," Dustin complained.

"I vote Star Wars," Max agreed.

"Me too," Lucas said.

"No, guys. Back to the Future all the way," Wheeler argued while Eleven nodded her head in agreement.

"Back to the Future's the one where the mom is trying to hook up with her son, right?" Steve asked.

"I mean that's not the point of the movie, but yes," Y/N said with a small laugh.

"Okay, I vote that one," Steve said.

"Sorry, Will. I've got to go with Back to the Future which means that Back to the Future wins," Y/N said making the boy pout. Y/N just gave him a small smile which he returned before she gestured towards the stairs that led up to her house. "I'll be back."

In just a matter of minutes, Y/N had sprinted upstairs and found the movie. She had received a call from her parents a few hours before about how they had a last minute business conference an hour away that they had to go to and would be gone for the next couple of days, so it was no surprise that no one was around when she was running around trying to find the movie.

Upon finding the movie, Y/N began to make her way towards the basement when she paused next to the phone. She stared at it in silence for a moment before setting the movie down, picking up the phone, and dialing the number that she knew by heart due to the many late night conversations she had with the person on the other end of the line.

"H-H-Hello?"

"Bill?" Y/N said. "It's Y/N."

"Oh. H-H-Hi, Y/N," Bill muttered.

Y/N frowned slightly, but shrugged it off. "I just wanted to call and see if you were okay. You left early, so I wasn't sure if something was wrong," she said.

"I'm f-f-fine," Bill replied, leaving his reply at that and his tone coming out colder and sharper than usual.

Y/N blinked in surprise before nervously chuckling, "Oh, okay. That's good. Why. . .why did you leave without saying goodbye?"

"I w-w-was just tired which I s-s-still am. I'll s-s-see you in the m-m-morning, okay?" Bill told her.

"Oh, okay. Um. . .goodni-" but before Y/N could finish what she asked saying, the boy had hung up. Y/N stood there in silence, her grip on the phone loosening slightly as tears began to fill her eyes. Swallowing thickly, the girl blinked rapidly to stop her tears before taking in a deep breath.

Bill is just tired, she reminded herself. He's not trying to be mean.

Once she had calmed herself down, Y/N put a smile on her face and bounded down the stairs of her basement to have a movie night with her friends. They had all passed out within an hour, Y/N with her head against Steve's side, her feet in Dustin's lap and Will's head on her stomach. Just below them on the floor were Wheeler and Eleven cuddled up together and Max and Lucas doing the same thing.

Y/N found herself looking around the group for a quick second as she drifted in and out of consciousness. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered the nights like these that they used to have before she left Hawkins. Nancy and Jonathan had been with them too and Joyce and Hopper had been the ones to cover them all with blankets while they slept.

So with her friends surrounding her, Y/N fell asleep with memories of Hawkins and her old life filling her head.

- - -

Y/N didn't know what to think when she woke up the next day to find that everyone in the Losers' Club except for Beverly weren't talking to her. Bill hadn't even been waiting for her that morning like he usually did before they rode to school together.

Everyone was either avoiding her like Bill was or being weird and looking uncomfortable around her like Eddie was. Y/N didn't know what she had done wrong, so she went through the day having no one but Beverly by her side.

Y/N almost felt bad for having chosen to wear Bill's jacket to school that day, a sinking feeling in her gut as she thought that maybe that was only making Bill more mad at her. Beverly wouldn't tell her why he or the others were and at her in the first place, so Y/N didn't even know how to fix anything.

This meant that when lunch rolled around, it was even quieter than usual. It was actually completely silent and not even Richie had some snarky thing to say. The group all just ate their food in silence with Y/N sparing sad glances in her friends' directions while Beverly glared at the boys, pissed at the way they were acting.

Y/N tried to strike up a conversation a few times, but it always received a one word answer in response before silence followed. After a while, Y/N gave up and most of the lunch period was spent with the boys staring at their meals while Y/N stared at them with a saddened and hurt expression.

It wasn't until everyone was getting ready to leave that Y/N let out a sigh and said, "Hey, I don't know what I did, but I just wanted to tell you guys thank you for being so nice to my friends last night."

This surprised the group and they all slowly looked up at her, finally allowing their eyes to lock on her face.

"Those guys mean about as much to me as you guys do and I've been wanting to introduce you all for so long. I really hoped you guys liked them. Anyway, I'm rambling, but I really appreciate it," she told them as she gave them all a small smile despite the tears that had begun to fill her eyes.

The group all stared at her in silence as the bell rang behind them, signaling that the lunch period was over. Y/N let out another sigh and stood up as she grabbed her things. "Uh. . .I'll see you guys later," she whispered before hurrying away from the table and out of the cafeteria, leaving the boys feeling guilty.

Beverly shook her head at the boys as she stood up. "You guys are ridiculous. Not only did you not give her friends a chance last night, but now you're punishing Y/N for talking to her other friends instead of you by ignoring her? I'm disappointed in all of you," she said.

Her eyes flickered over to Bill and they narrowed. "Especially you, Bill. We all know you care about her, so why the hell would you treat her the way that you have been? She told me about the phone call last night. She called to check and see if your dumbass was okay and you were rude and snippy with her before you had the audacity to hang up on her? What the fuck were you thinking?" she asked in disbelief.

"You all need to apologize to Y/N for the way you have been acting. She has talked so highly of you to the others and you all have done nothing but prove her wrong. There's no way we are going to be able to help Mike and defeat the Upside Down and It with you all sad and not thinking straight. So man up and go apologize before you lose her for real," Beverly spat before she angrily got up from the table and stormed out of the cafeteria, no doubt going to try and find Y/N.

"Did you see how upset Y/N looked when she left?" Eddie whispered, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he broke the moment of silence that had fallen over them after Beverly left.

"She looked like she was about to cry," Ben said just above a whisper.

"We did that," Stan muttered, his head bowed as he stared at his hands sadly.

"Fuck," Richie muttered as a feeling of intense guilt hit both him and the other Losers. "We messed up big time, boys."

Bill was silent as he stared at the doors Y/N had walked through only moments before. He hadn't been blind and had noticed her wearing his jacket today, the sight making his heart flutter. But as he looked from the door to the jacket that Y/N had secretly left behind on her seat for Bill was enough to make his heart break.

Richie was right. They had messed up.

They had messed up bad.

- - -

The final bell of the day made Y/N feel both relieved and scared. Relieved because she was finally going to be able to save Mike, but scared because she would have to go back into the Upside Down and she had a sinking feeling in her gut about what was going to happen.

She hadn't seen the guys for the rest of the day, but Beverly had made sure to always stick by her side. That's how the two ended up leaving the school together with their arms locked and small laughs escaping their lips as Y/N told Beverly about the time Dustin sang the song 'Never-Ending Story' with his girlfriend Susie over a walkie talkie system for everyone to see.

"I'm not even kidding," Y/N laughed. "Just picture it. Everyone is either being chased by the fucking Mindflayer or trying to save the world and I'm sitting there watching Dustin sing his heart out with Lucas' little sister by my side. It was hilarious!"

Beverly laughed so hard that she snorted. "I bet it was. I can't believe-" she began, but she trailed off once she saw Y/N smile disappear as she froze beside her. Beverly turned her head to see what Y/N was looking at and instantly frowned at the sight of the boys all standing by their bikes waiting for the two girls.

Beverly released Y/N's arm and Y/an glanced at her friends before looking away and walking over to her bike. "I'm surprised you all waited for me," Y/N said in a monotone voice as she approached her bike.

Eddie was the first to break and he sighed before saying, "We're sorry for the way we've been acting."

Y/N froze at that and rested her hands on her bike handles before looking up at the group. "What?" she asked, both her and Beverly staring at the boys in surprise. Although Beverly was smiling slightly due to the fact that the boys were finally apologizing after a long day of no one talking to each other.

"Yeah, the way we acted was unacceptable," Ben agreed. "And we're sorry for that."

"We. . .we were jealous," Stan admitted making Y/N blink in surprise.

"Jealous?" she asked confused.

"We were jealous of your other friends. We. . .we thought you were forgetting about us, that you didn't care about us like you did them. So we turned into a bunch of fucking jealous assholes and hurt you in the process," Richie sighed and the fact that he was speaking his feelings was enough to make Y/N realize how serious they were being.

"Guys. . ."she whispered sadly, hating that she made them feel like that. "I don't want you to ever feel like that, okay? I love you all so fucking much that it scares me sometimes to be completely honest. I've known you for what, two years now? I've known the others my whole life, so of course things are going to be a little different around them. But that does not mean I don't love and care about you guys any less. The Losers' Club is my family, you guys are my family. You're my life honestly and I wouldn't trade moving here for the world."

The Losers' all teared up a little at those words and Ben was the first to drop his bike to go over and hug Y/N. The girl chuckled and hugged the boy back while the others quickly came over to hug her as well. She hugged Eddie and Stan before hugging Beverly and Richie who held her the tightest.

The one thing about Richie was that he tried to act like he didn't care when he actually cared the most, so Y/N made a point to hug him back just as hard which made the boy dig his face into her shoulder as he held her.

Once she had hugged each of them, she pulled away to see Bill kind of standing there by himself. The two hadn't hugged or even spoken to each other yet and Y/N knew that their talk was going to be a little longer and more personal than the other. Bill must've known too because he glanced at his friends and gave them a pleading look as he said, "C-C-Can you all give us a m-m-minute?"

"Yeah," Beverly said. "We'll ride on ahead and you two can catch up, okay?"

Then, before the others could complain, Beverly pushed the boys to their bikes and they all began to bike away. That left Y/N and Bill standing there at the front of the school with their bikes by their side.

Y/N looked down at her feet before whispering, "You done ignoring me now?"

There was a beat of silence and she slowly looked up through her eyelashes only to have Bill rush forward and hug her, the action making both of their bikes fall over and hit the ground. Y/N's arms were out in surprise, but she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around the boy, closing her eyes as she breathed in his scent.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Bill whispered into her ear as he practically cradled her head against his body. "I'm so sorry. I let R-R-Richie get to me and the w-w-way I acted around you was un-un-unacceptable. I mean, even that ph-ph-phone call was rude. You w-w-were just checking up on m-m-me and I hung up on you w-w-without even giving a r-r-reason. I didn't mean to h-h-hurt you and I'm so s-s-sorry for that."

"Why'd you do it? What did Richie say?" Y/N asked softly as she pulled away to look at the boy.

"What Richie said wasn't important," Bill told her, his head bowed. "It was what I told myself that got in the way."

"And what did you tell yourself?" she questioned.

"I-I-I thought I c-c-couldn't make you as h-h-happy as they could," Bill admitted. "Th-Th-That I would n-n-never make you as h-h-happy as they could."

Y/N's face softened at that and she furrowed her eyebrows as she lifted a hand up and placed it against Bill's cheek. "Bill, why would you think such a thing?" she asked, the disbelief evident in her voice.

"The w-w-way you laughed. . .the way you s-s-smiled. . .I'd never seen you l-l-look that happy," Bill muttered.

"Bill, that's not true in any way, shape, or form," she assured him. Y/N lovingly rubbed her thumb against his cheek before smiling softly at him.

"I'm my happiest when I'm with you."

Bill blushed at that, his eyes flickering over her face before he leaned forward and rested his forehead against her own. The two both let their eyes close as they enjoyed this moment, their arms holding onto each other while their foreheads touched.

"I r-r-really am sorry," Bill whispered, not opening his eyes.

Y/N smiled softly and opened her eyes long enough so that she could push herself up on her tip toes and press a kiss to Bill's cheek. He instantly leaned into her touch, his arm that was around her pulling her even closer to his body if that was possible.

"I forgive you," Y/N assured him once she had pulled away, Bill turning his face so that their noses brushed against each other and their eyes locked. Both of their faces were red and they were silent for a moment before Y/N smiled and said, "You should know better than to listen to Richie."

Bill chuckled softly and pulled away to press a small kiss to her forehead before he pulled away from her and went over to his backpack. "Yeah, p-p-probably not my s-s-smartest move," he said as he opened his backpack and pulled out his jacket. The same jacket that Y/N had in her possession only a few hours before.

Y/N's smile dropped slightly at the sight. "Oh, I should've told you that I was leaving it for you. I hadn’t meant to keep it so long," she told him, but the boy only smiled and walked over to her with it in his hand.

"I-I-I want you to w-w-wear it," Bill admitted, both of the teens' faces growing redder by the second.

"Really?" Y/N asked, her face lighting up slightly and a hopeful tone in her voice.

Bill nodded and Y/N smiled before turning around. Bill held the jacket up and she slid her arms into the sleeves before Bill put the jacket on her the rest of the way. She turned around and gave the boy a teasing smile.

"So how do I look?" Y/N asked as she struck a few poses for him, a giggle escaping her lips as she did.

Bill chuckled and smiled fondly at the girl. "Beautiful," he told her. "Just like always."

Y/N blushed slightly before going to grab her bike. She picked it up before sending a small smile in Bill's direction. "Come on, Bill. It's time to go save our friend," she said.

And with that, the two got onto their bikes and began to bike after their friends, Bill's eyes locked on Y/N and his jacket that was blowing in the wind behind her.

* * *

Tag List

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[tr4shmouth-tozi3r]

‘I love you, did you know that?’ - richie tozier x reader

requested: yes & im gonna die bc y’all keep requesting the cutest shit and I actually wanna stab myself in the face as I write this shit cause its just so damn cute🥺

summary: Richie constantly found himself not wanting to go home and sometimes his friends had no time for him, but you? You always had time for him. He found himself making routine trips to your house after so long, throwing rocks at your window till you’d open up and let him in. Let the cuddles ensue.

pairing: richie tozier x reader

warning: fluff, swearing.

-

Summer 89’

“y/n!” Richie cupped his hands against his mouth as he whisper-shouted up at your window. You had your window slightly open and he prayed you would hear him, that you weren’t asleep. He needed someone and all his other friends were asleep. He had a feeling you’d be up for some reason. He was right.

He grinned when he saw your shadow bounce off of the wall in view of the window and your head popped out of the window, “Rich? What are you doing here? It’s like midnight.”

“What, I can’t stop by a friend’s house for a visit?”

“Well... you can, but usually it wouldn’t be at midnight.” You giggled at him and rolled your eyes.

“I mean, who cares, you’re up aren’t you?”

You let your eyes study him for a moment and you frowned. He had a scratch on his right cheek and his eyes looked red and puffy, like he’d been crying for hours on end and had just stopped not long before arriving to your house.

“Is it your mom again?” You spoke softly and he tore his eyes from you, letting them dart around and land anywhere but on you.

“Yeah... but who cares? I don’t wanna talk about her. Let me in?” He raised an eyebrow and pushed his thick rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. You smiled warmly and nodded at him. He climbed his way up, which surprised you. The side of your house where your window was always was a pain in the ass to climb, but Richie was stronger than anyone could have pegged him to be. Physically and emotionally.

That was the first of many nights to come over the course of your teenage years. You had grown closer and closer and before you knew it, Richie’s visits became a nightly ritual. And Richie went from the Trashmouth to your Trashmouth.

July 9th, 1992—

12:30am

You jumped at the sudden crack against your window. You barely made it to the window before you saw Richie’s head pop up from the other side and him furiously tapping the glass.

You laughed as you realized he was struggling and you hurriedly opened the window and the screen, letting him fall forward and through the window, “Ouch!” He stood up quickly and shook his disheveled hair back into place and placed his glasses back over his face.

“Next time wait until I come to the window before you start climbing. You know how much of a pain in the ass that shit is to climb.” You smirked at your boyfriend’s eagerness to see you, but it also left you unsettled. It must have been a real bad one tonight...

“I just missed my babydoll too much to wait.” He grinned at you, wrapping you up in his arms and squeezing you so tight you thought you might burst. You laughed and melted into his embrace. He smelled like a menthol camel and your favorite cologne that he wore. He pressed a kiss to your lips eagerly and you tasted the cherry slushee on his tongue. You hummed into his mouth, darting your tongue out and slithering passed his lips. He tangled his tongue with yours, smiling into the kiss.

“You taste good, should have brought me one.” You pouted as you pulled away from his lips and he laughed at you.

“Sorry, babes. Next time, I promise.” He kissed your forehead and found his way over to the bed, gesturing for you to follow. Your nightly visits with Richie became known to your parents. They had caught on after some time and you explained Richie’s situation to them and how he hated being home for a good reason. They understood and left it at that. Soon, once you became a couple the visits turned into sleepovers and your parents still hadn’t protested. Maybe, it was because they hadn’t necessarily caught onto the fact that you and Richie were together now. It was probably better that way for a while, or else you didn’t think there would be anymore sleepovers if they knew.

You followed him to the bed and he pulled you down onto the bed with him, his arms snaking around you and his head resting ontop of yours as you snuggled up to him, “You know, I totally wanna tell my parents we’re together, but then we can’t have sleepovers anymore.” You pouted up at him and he laughed at you, throwing his head back.

“y/n, we’re 16 and we spend almost all of our time together and they totally know I’m obsessed with you. I think they know.” He wiggled his eyebrows in amusement as he finished speaking and you giggled.

“Okay, maybe you’re right. I haven’t confirmed nor denied it, though. Let’s just go with that, assuming they know.” You pursed your lips and shrugged, letting yourself be content with that.

He squeezed you tightly again and let out a sigh, “God, I’m so glad I’m here with you and I don’t have to spend another damn minute in that fucking house.” He mumbled quietly and you frowned into his chest. His mom was a severe alcoholic and took it out on him and his dad? Well, why do you think his mom was an alcoholic? They were the perfect toxic to ruin a beautiful soul like Richie, but he would never let them and that’s what you loved most about your boyfriend. Sure, he masked the pain and bottled things up sometimes, but he never lost sight of who he was and who he wanted to be. He never gave up on being happy and you were certain that was because of you and all of your friends.

“Was it a real bad one tonight?” You asked softly as you eyes searched his for answers. He shrugged and before he gave a verbal answer, your eyes landed on his neck. He had bruises on his neck in the shape of a handprint and saw that you had noticed, so he didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. You already knew the answer.

You cuddled up closer to him and he squeezed you a little tighter. You leaned up and placed small and soft, lingering kisses to the bruises on his neck. He smiled into your hair, “God, you’re so fucking perfect, you know? I can’t believe you’re really mine.” He shifted his weight and faced you as you laid down next to each other, faces inches apart.

“Rich, I’m nothing special, no need to butter me up.”

He rolled his eyes at you and huffed, “No, I’m serious. Don’t say that. You’re amazing. If I didn’t have you, what would I have beside the rest of the gang? A shitty home life? Some corny sex jokes? Fuck, I’d have nothing else. And with just you, comes so much. Look, I’m not much of a sap, but you get me all worked up and I malfunction around you all the time and I act funny. I guess it does that to you, huh? Love and all.” He was rambling sweetly and you both froze up when the four letter word fell from his lips. You searched his eyes, waiting for something else to come, but he was nervous and anticipating your response.

He totally didn’t mean to say that. You guys had been dating for a bit, but hadn’t said the L word yet and he said it and you felt like squealing like a little girl and crying happy tears and just having a complete overload of emotions, but you didn’t. Instead, you blinked fast and hard and you swallowed the lump in your throat.

“Holy shit, you said that.” You smiled after a moment and he relaxed, his face flushed and he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

“Holy shit, yeah I did.” He laughed in embarrassment and then studied your face, “I mean, it’s true. I love you, did you know that?”

“I love you too, Rich.”

He smiled down at you, “Wait until I tell the guys I accidently did it. Eddie’s gonna hate me, he had a whole little plan set up for me to tell you. He said it had to be super romantic and shit.”

Your heart fluttered and you stared at him in awe, “How long have you felt this way?”

“Sweetheart, I’ve loved you since the first night you let me climb through your window back in 89’. Shit, I just... didn’t wanna scare you away. You were there when I needed someone most and I’m so glad it was you. You showed me what it felt like to really care for someone.”

“Richie Tozier, I am so in love with you.” You beamed and your heart soared as you replayed his words over and over again in your head, “You really are a sap for me, huh loverboy?” You teased him and his face turned beet red instantly.

“Hey, shut it toots, now gimme a kiss, damn it.” He put his hand up to your face, running his thumb over your cheek and you leaned forward, kissing him slowly and softly, taking your time. Smiles shown through during the moment as you pulled away from each other. His big brown eyes magnified by his glasses were filled with so much love and you felt truly and utterly happy.

The rest of the night was filled with endless words about anything and everything and the constant exchange of ‘i love yous’ because damn, you just couldn’t get enough of hearing him tell you that.

Richie Tozier found a home in the most unexpected arms. You were the only thing he needed. Nothing else mattered on these nights you spent with Richie. It was just you and him and the rest of your lives together. He loved you all along, and now you knew that.

-

Woah that was so fucking fluffy and oozing w cheese I cant bro

The end was legit so corny but I loveeee itttttt😭 Hope you all liked this one❤️

[thestarsaroundyourscars]

oH!! 28 + reddie???

Thank you! Guess who failed again at keeping this short? 

28. I won't let anything bad happen to you

They leave the Jade of the Orient around midnight. It surprises none of them to find out they’re all staying at the Derry Town House, after all where else would they be staying? Ben suggests they all walk together and everyone agrees, no one is feeling too keen on walking through town alone at night after the fortune cookie incident. 

They start walking together, the six of them as a group― a group that is missing one member but none of them brings that up. But soon they break into pairs. 

Mike and Bill are leading the group, talking about what they’re going to do about It. Eddie’s glad not to be a part of that conversation, his memories are still blurry but what he remembers is enough to wish it would remain that way. 

Ben and Beverly are walking behind them, Bev has her arms wrapped tightly around herself, head hanging low and Eddie can see Ben itching to wrap his arms around her, to comfort her. It’s clear she’s still shaken up from finding Stan’s name inside her fortune cookie. But Ben keeps his hands to himself, tucking them into his pockets and resigning himself to just stare at her. Taking in the sight of the girl he had once loved. Maybe still did. 

While they walked and without realizing, Eddie had been slowly drifting towards Richie. He doesn’t know why but he thinks it’s what he used to do when they were kids and that this might be some kind of conditioned action from his part. They fall behind from the group and end up walking next to each other, their arms brushing every couple of steps.

Richie is quiet. Uncharacteristically so. Hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, staring down at the street and kicking rocks out of the way. Eddie is quiet too. One of his hands is wrapped tightly around his inhaler while the other hangs limply at his side, itching to be holding something as well. 

He wants to say something. Break the silence. Crack a joke. But he stays quiet and it’s Richie who finds the words first. 

“The Aladdin!” He gasps, taking Eddie by surprise. 

Eddie frowns at him. Frowns up at him. Richie used to be slightly taller than him when they were kids but now the difference is so much more noticeable. “The- kid movie?“ 

Richie shakes his head with a laugh. “No, Eds! The movie theater, here in Derry. I’ve been trying to remember the name of that place for hours. Do you remember? We used to go there all the time.”

At first Eddie doesn’t remember but slowly the memories start to surface in his mind and soon he knows what Richie’s talking about. He nods. “They probably tore it down. The place was already falling apart when we were kids." 

"Yeah probably.” Richie shrugs, he bumps his shoulder against Eddie. “Do you remember when we saw the movie about the werewolf? All seven of us. And you accidentally poured your drink on―”

“Henry Bowers and his gang!” Eddie says, remembering the incident even if some details are slightly fuzzy. “But I thought we were watching a movie about a vampire.”

Richie shakes his head, there’s a playful smile tugging at his lips. “It was a werewolf, I’m sure of it. I remember because I was scared shitless.”

“You were?” Eddie frowns. He remembers that Richie had been overly fidgety but that was a natural occurrence with him. It never occurred to Eddie that it was because he was scared. 

“Yeah, I couldn’t keep still―”

“You could never keep still.” Eddie quips, rolling his eyes. Even now that remains true. Every few steps Richie will reach for his glasses and adjust them or run a hand through his hair, just to have something to do with his hands. 

“Har-har Eddie.” Richie chuckles. “I know that, but that day I remember I had to literally sit on my hands so I wouldn't―” He stops himself abruptly and frowns.

Eddie bumps his shoulder against Richie’s. “So you wouldn't― what?”

Richie gulps, shrugging. “So I didn’t do anything stupid like hold your hand or something.”

“Hold my hand?" 

"Come on Eds.” Richie runs a hand through his thinning curls. “You had to know that I- you know.”

Eddie’s eyebrows knit together and he looks up at Richie, confused. “I don’t know.”

Richie sighs, nervous. “That I had a huge crush on you when were kids." 

Eddie stops walking. "You- what?" 

Richie nods, his face twisted in discomfort. "You didn’t know?" 

"Of course not!” Eddie says, voice coming out more high-pitched. “How would I know?" 

"Because I was fucking obvious.” Richie says, his hand hanging from his neck. “Why do you think I dropped my popcorn on Bowers right after you kicked your drink on him?”

Eddie didn’t even remember that part until Richie mentioned it. He shrugs. “I don’t know. You always liked getting in trouble with them.”

Richie shakes his head. “No, Eds that was me trying to attract their attention so they wouldn’t go after my Eddie Spaghetti.”

“They beat you up that day! Behind that alley!" 

Richie shrugs, nonchalant. "Yeah and then you cleaned my cuts and iced my bruises, so it was worth it." 

Eddie shakes his head, disbelieving. "You were such a fucking idiot." 

"Now that’s something that didn’t change." 

Eddie laughs, rolling his eyes. He wants to ask Richie if other things did change. Like Richie having a crush on him. Because the more they talk and the more Eddie remembers about their childhood, the harder it is to convince himself that his own crush on Richie has faded away. But he can’t bring himself to ask, he doesn’t know what he would do with the answer, whatever it might be. 

"So, all the fucking names and the cheek-pinching and the jokes about my mom?”

Richie cringes visibly. “Yeah. That was me trying to get your attention.”

Oh. 

Eddie falls silent, his mind drifting back to the Jade of the Orient― before the terror cookies made an appearance― when they had been just a group of friends catching up after years of not seeing each other. Richie had been calling Eddie all those stupid nicknames and reaching over the table to pinch his cheek before Eddie slapped his hand away and making jokes about marrying his mother that made Eddie feel surpringsingly relieved that Richie hadn’t actually gotten married. All those things Richie did when they were kids that now have an entirely different meaning.

Oh.

Before Eddie can answer, their group comes to a stop at an intersection. There, they say goodbye to Mike who turns left, heading for the library while the remaining five continue straight ahead for the Town House. 

With Mike gone, Bill falls back to talk to Bev. Which leads to Ben joining Eddie and Richie, shutting down their previous conversation. Eddie is both relieved and slightly annoyed. But it’s nice to talk to Ben even if it’s difficult to match this tall broad-shouldered man with the kid he once built a dam with. 

They arrive at the Town House quickly, they might have grown but the town definitely didn’t. From the outside it looks just like it did twenty seven years ago. Eddie never went inside when he was a kid but he doesn’t think it looked that different from how it looks now.

They check in, collect their keys and climb into the elevator, all five of them. Ben’s room is on the second floor and he steps down first, waving at them as the elevator door closes. 

Richie and Eddie are both on the sixth floor and they say good night to Bev and Bill as they get off together. 

“What are the chances that those two will actually end up in their own rooms?” Richie says as they walk through the empty hallway. 

“Who? Bill and Bev?” Eddie asks, glancing back at the elevator with a frown. “You don’t think- they wouldn’t-” Richie stares at him, shrugging. “Would they?”

“I’m just saying whoever checks on the security footage of that elevator might be in for a surprise.” Richie chuckles. 

Eddie lets out an embarrassing squeal, slapping Richie’s shoulder. “Gross Richie!”

Richie laughs and Eddie has half a mind to worry about the people trying to sleep in their rooms being woken up by that noise. But it’s the first time Richie laughed like that in the entire night ―real, honest laughter and Eddie can’t bring himself to shush him. 

“We should give them another show! I’m sure they have cameras in the hallways too!” Richie leans towards Eddie with a playful smirk but Eddie pulls away from him, fighting a smile of his own. 

“Get away from me dickwad." 

Their laughter trails off and soon they find themselves in front of room 609, Eddie’s room. 

"This is me.” Eddie says, pointing at the door. “Goodnight I guess." 

"Goodnight Eds.” Richie says, his room is number 612 just a few doors down the hall. “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Eddie scrunches up his nose and watches as he starts to walk away. He’s hit by a memory then, similar to this moment. When a young Richie would walk a young Eddie home and leave him at the door, just to go around the house moments later and climb Eddie’s bedroom window, careful not to wake Mrs. Kaspbrak. 

“You used to climb through my bedroom window.”

Richie stops, frowns and then his mouth curls up in a smile. “I did yeah. Almost fell to my death a few times too." 

Eddie rolls his eyes, opening his door but not going inside just yet. "It was a one-story window Richie. Don’t be so dramatic." 

Richie sticks his tongue out at him. "You should leave it open tonight. I might pay you a visit. For old times sake.”

“We’re on the fourth floor!” Eddie says, shaking his head. “That is a fall that could kill you." 

"For you Eddie Spaghetti I’ll take the risk.”

“No. I don’t need that in my conscience.”

“Aw he cares!" 

Eddie rolls his eyes. ”I won’t let anything bad happen to you just because you’re trying to sneak into my room so instead of climbing through the window just knock on my door.“ He chuckles but the sound dies in his throat at the way Richie’s eyes widen, before they shine with amusement and― interest? 

"I’ll keep that in mind.” Richie winks and with one final look at Eddie he turns around and walks down the hall. 

Eddie hurries inside, knocking his head against the closed door in mortification. He just invited Richie into his room. The implication of it makes Eddie’s cheeks burn with embarrassment. 

Part of him is glad that Richie didn’t take him up on the offer but the other part is disappointed. Richie had seemed interested though and he hadn’t laughed at Eddie’s suggestion or shrugged it off. There was a chance that he might change his mind later.

And then what? Eddie’s brain supplies. What would you do if Richie showed up at your door?

Eddie doesn’t know. Maybe he would panic and slam the door in his face. Maybe he would let him in and nothing would happen. Or maybe Eddie would be brave enough to do and say what he couldn’t twenty seven years ago. 

But that doesn’t matter now. Richie is currently in his room and will probably stay there the entire night. And Eddie will do the same. 

He’s getting ready for bed when he hears the first knock. 

“Shit. Oh shit." 

He’s still frozen in the spot when there’s a second one. Louder. 

It must be Richie. It has to be Richie. No one else knows he’s here. He didn’t tell anyone else to come visit him. 

He didn’t want anyone else to come visit him. 

Eddie takes a deep breath, grabbing the door knob. He opens it while he’s still trying to figure out what he will do when he sees Richie on the other side of the door. What he will say. 

Turns out he doesn’t have to worry about that.

"How ya doing Kaspbrak? Got any rocks on you Rock Man?”

Eddie’s breath catches in his throat. The person in front of him is not Richie and despite haven’t seen him in twenty seven years, Eddie recognizes him and the knife he’s holding almost immediately. 

Henry Bowers. 

And he’s here to kill Eddie. 

Tag list: @daddyphantomtbh @yes-dillman-yes   @richietoaster@beepbeeprichiellc @its-stranger-than-you-think   @lemonaayyee @pennys-pet-kitty @tinyarmedtrex   @richiefuckfacetozier @sam-i-am2468 @richardtoz@aizeninlefox@reddie-for-anything @eddiefuckinkaspbrak@constantreaderfool@reddieclownclub @captainbartholomew @mirandonsky @proton-disaster-blaster @alargedepresso @purplepoisonedgem @pan-ini

[state-of-longing]

53 reddie pls?

This was a one-shot I had already half-written so thank you for this prompt! It got me to finish a year old WIP. I hope you like it. Keep an eye out for a few references from The OC.

53. “Are you jealous? That’s cute.”

‘I don’t like him.’

‘Who? Tony?’

‘Oh, is that his name?’

‘Beep beep, Richie...’ It was quite early in the school day for Beverly to be exasperated with him, it didn’t usually happen until after the lunch bell. She was resting her head on her locker, trying to find some relief as Richie spoke animatedly in her ear.

‘I thought his name was Gerald...’

‘Richie —’

‘Or Assface. It’s easy to get those confused.’

Richie hadn’t met Tony, he only knew that he transferred to Derry High a week ago and was sitting next to Stan in AP History. He didn’t even know he’d been introduced to the other Losers until two seconds ago when he saw them all congregated in front of Stan’s locker.

‘Don’t do this Richard...’

‘Do what, my dear?’

But now he’d seen Tony talking to all of his friends as though he’d known them for years. And something about the whole scene just bothered him. Something about the way Eddie was hanging on to his every word made him incredibly annoyed...

‘Don’t get jealous of the new kid.’

‘Jealous? Who’s jealous? Why would I be jealous of Joseph?’

‘Oh, so you don’t care that Eddie is hanging onto his every word right now?’

That was the annoying part about talking to Beverly Marsh, she always saw through the bullshit. Even though she’d hit the nail right on the head, Richie would never admit that to her. He’d never admit that the thought of Eddie enjoying anyone else’s company, especially that of someone who was ‘conventially’ attractive and kind of smart, bothered him. Not at all. So instead, Richie did what he’d perfected over the years - he deflected.

‘Smoke another bowl, Molly Ringwald—’

‘I fucking hate when you —’

‘— I don’t care that Eddie thinks he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. I care about my friends and I just don’t trust that guy.’

‘Give me one reason why?’

‘...his eyes are too close together.’

‘You’re an idiot.’

‘And the guy has 20/20 vision? What the fuck is up with that?’

Before Richie could continue on his tirade about assholes who don’t wear glasses, he was interrupted by obnoxiously loud laughter coming from the group by Stan’s locker.

This was a development that was disturbing to Richie for two reasons:

1. Stan was laughing. He couldn’t remember the last time he heard Stanley ‘Urine’ laugh. Ever. And he’d known that kid his whole life. It wasn’t even a little polite chuckle hidden behind a hand or that handkerchief he kept in his back pocket. This was a giant belly laugh that echoed down the hallway. It was a laugh that took over his whole body and made his curls bounce. Stan Uris was fucking snorting with laughter.

2. Eddie was bent over, leaning on Bill’s shoulder as he too was overcome with laughter. Even more horrifying was that when he stood back up he had tears streaming down his cheeks. The sight felt like being punched in the gut. The only time he’d ever seen Eddie laugh like that was because of a joke Richie had made. Eddie only laughed like that at his jokes.

As far as he could tell, this Tony asshole wasn’t even telling a real zinger. Instead, he was walking up and down the hall doing some stupid bird impression. His arms were wings and his legs were bent at the knees as he waddled around. That impression was really that funny?

Richie knew from experience that he couldn’t take the rest of his friend’s reactions as any indicator for how funny this guy was. Bill was chuckling but ole’ Big Bill had never told a joke in his entire life. Sweet Haystack was so nice he would laugh just out of politeness. Richie wished Mike went to school with them because that guy was at least an arbiter of comedic taste.

‘Wow, Tony is pretty funny,’ Beverly sounded far too amused as she picked at lint on Richie’s shirt.

That comment also ruled out Bev.

‘No he’s not. Why would you say that?’

She smiled knowingly and Richie shook away her fussing hands. He hated that smile and the power it held over him. How did she just know everything?

‘Just the laughs coming from Eddie. And Stan. Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Stan laugh.’

‘He’s not funny.’

The laughing continued as Tony continued his impression and relished in the group’s attention. The guy was driving the joke into the ground. What an amateur.

‘He’s big. That’s not necessarily funny’, Richie continued and tried to distract himself from the dull ache in his chest as he watched Eddie follow the group towards their next class. His eyes were shining, cheeks flushed from all the laughter and Richie wished he had caused it. ‘And the guy does impressions? That’s just so cheap.’

‘Richie. All you do is impressions,’ Beverly’s smile faded as she closed her locker and turned to face him. Richie had a sneaking suspicion his poker face wasn’t holding up.

He really couldn’t handle the pity today.

‘Got any smokes Red? I need to get outta here.’

——

Richie had been trying to study for his physics quiz for over two hours and nothing was sinking in. All he had been able to think about all night was Eddie and that laugh. Daydreaming about Eddie wasn’t a new pastime for Richie, he’d been doing it since he was 13 years old, but this time he felt something else.

Something that made all of his ugly insecurities rise up like bile in his throat. Kicking back from his desk, giving up on studying altogether, he stood in front of his full-length mirror and sighed. This was as good as it was gonna get.

Mr ‘I Have One Impression and Will Ram It Down Your Throat’ was conventionally handsome, Richie supposed. He seemed the type who liked participating in school sports unironically and he had the build to match. He was tan and had effortlessly styled hair that just screamed cool and casual.

Richie was almost seventeen and still hadn’t grown into his limbs. He was all gangly bones and arms and legs. He was so pale that if sun touched any part of his skin he burned to a crisp. That meant he copped an earful from Eddie who was always chastising him for not wearing sunscreen. His hair now ruefully curled in a way that was nowhere near cool or casual. Just messy.

On impulse, just to see if any definition had taken over his body or he’d suddenly been bitten by a radioactive spider, Richie pulled off his t-shirt. Nope, still shaped like a beanpole. He could see why Eddie would pay slightly more attention to Tony. Maybe tall, tan and unfunny was what Eddie was into. Maybe that’s who he wanted as a best friend now.

Or more. God, it hurt to think he could be wanting more...

‘Do you want some alone time with yourself?’

Richie was so wrapped up in his own pity party he hadn’t heard Eddie climb up the stairs to his bedroom. Richie’s parents were so used to Eddie hanging out at their house they just let him in now without question. That meant Richie was often caught in painful moments like this.

He was going to say something back, maybe a joke from his back catalogue about jacking off to thoughts of Eddie’s mom, but then he realised his shirt was off. Richie thought he saw a blush come across Eddie’s cheeks as he scanned his bare torso but a wave of embarrassment overtook those thoughts and he clumsily pulled his shirt back on.

‘Jeez Eds, take a picture next time. It’ll last longer.’

As he pulled the shirt over his head, glasses askew in his haste, he saw Eddie flip him off in the reflection of the mirror. Then he flung himself onto Richie’s bed, grabbing a comic book and making himself comfortable like he always did.

Richie took a moment to admire him under the guise of looking in the mirror. He forgot Eddie was wearing that blue collared shirt today...that was definitely a favourite.

‘Where were you this afternoon?’ Eddie’s voice cut through and Richie jumped, mortified that once again he’d gotten caught up in thoughts of his best friend.

‘Ditched with Bev. Hung out down at the quarry for a bit.’

‘Did you forget we were supposed to do something after school? I had no excuse to skip out on dinner with Sonia.’

Richie hadn’t forgotten. He normally took any excuse to spend more time with Eddie after school. But he’d felt like being petty today. Richie let out a huff and sat down on the bed, his knees knocking into Eddie’s just to annoy him.

‘Oh, you didn’t hang out with Larry today?’

Eddie frowned, the wheels in his head turning as he put down the comic. ‘Who the fuck is Larry?’

Richie just shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant as he too picked up a comic and pretended to flick through the pages. If Eddie didn’t know who Richie was talking about then maybe he didn’t think he was so memorable...

‘Wait, do you mean Tony? The guy from Stan’s history class?’

...or not.

Richie rolled his eyes and continued to look down, ‘Oh is that his name? I thought it was Jim Carrey...’

A feeling of white-hot annoyance ran down Richie’s spine and he continued spitefully when Eddie didn’t respond.

‘You know since he’s such a fan of physical comedy.’

‘Are you jealous?’ Eddie scoffed out, pushing Richie’s arm so he dropped the comic and had to look at him. His eyes were shining mischievously in the dim light of the bedroom and any thoughts of annoyance left Richie immediately. ‘That’s cute.’

Richie had to remember to catch his breath at the sight of him. Did he just say cute? Cute. That’s cute. He’s cute...

But then Eddie started to laugh, bringing Richie back to reality and any feeling of hope was squashed immediately. Richie tried to recover by pushing him back onto the bed as he continued to giggle.

‘Well, you thought he was fucking hilarious...’

‘Because he made Stan laugh! Stan! His snort was the highlight of my day!’

‘So you were laughing at Stan?’

‘Well yeah...like we always do. Tony’s bird impression wasn’t really funny. Like he’s big but big isn’t funny.’

Richie’s heart soared as Eddie decided the conversation was over and snatched up the comic he had dropped.

‘That’s exactly what I thought.’

Richie couldn’t wipe the grin from his face as he tried to control his heart rate. So much for a poker face, he was too happy. A small smile also graced Eddie’s features and he paused before opening the latest X-Men.

‘You have a smudge on your glasses again, doofus. How do you even see out of these things?’

Without hesitating, Eddie grabbed the frames off Richie’s face and started cleaning them with the bottom of his shirt. Richie couldn’t see a damn thing but knew his cheeks were burning in a way he couldn’t control.

‘So how about tomorrow? We could go to the arcade we haven’t been there in a while.’

Richie broke out his trance and quickly snatched his glasses back before Eddie could notice his hands start shaking. An overwhelming feeling of powerlessness and shame ran through his veins in a cold trickle. He hadn’t been back to that place in so long. He didn’t want to start now.

‘Nah Eds, the arcade is for babies,’ Richie cleared his throat and swallowed down the need to throw up. Before Eddie could protest he quickly continued, ‘How about we rent a movie? We can watch it in your room so I can pop in for some sweet lovin’ with Mrs K.’

Eddie looked concerned for a brief moment before frowning in disgust. Richie breathed out in relief, hoping he’d changed that subject for the time being. Deflection- it was his speciality nowadays.

‘Sure thing, asshole. Is The Mask available to rent?’ Eddie smiles knowingly and any feeling of hopelessness disappears from Richie’s mind for a moment. Only Eddie can do that to him.

‘Nice callback. You, me and Jim Carrey - it’s a date.’

And that slipped out so fast that Richie didn’t even have time to panic. He just had to play it cool and ignore the way his heart beat wildly in his chest.

But when he looked over at Eddie, he was smiling to himself, a slight flush taking over his cheeks.

‘See, now that’s funny.’

send me a prompt or request. i write reddie, mileven and jopper.

[shortcrust]

(1) "I really live here?" Richie asks, a little guarded, but with some faint light starting to show through as he looks out the window onto the ocean, as he pokes around. The living room seems awfully clean to be his, and the art on the walls is framed, but... it seems pretty cool, at least. There's a Ghostbusters poster, so he guesses Ghostbusters is still cool in the future. There's a home video game system that totally looks like it's from the future, which... it is.

“Yeah, dude, this is the empire that dick jokes built.” The other Richie, the grown up Richie, spreads his arms, indicating this vast empire, with video games in the safety and comfort of his living room that look even better than the ones in the arcade, and a fridge that makes ice, and a fireplace Richie thinks he could fit inside if he ducked. Does it even get cold enough in California to use it? When he climbs up on the hearth to check it out, he gets a real look at the awards.

“Shit, we have an Emmy?!” He doesn’t dare touch it, except to run a finger over his name on the little plaque. He feels like shaking out of his skin, he feels like jumping up and down and hollering, he feels like running out into the ocean until the waves push him back. He’s not even thinking about the clown anymore, because in the future, holy fucking shit, he’s going to win an Emmy. “Holy shit! An Emmy? For dick jokes?!”

“Um… kind of for dick jokes.” Grown up Richie chuckles. “We got both those for the Netflix special– um, well, you’ll know what Netflix is when it replaces Blo– you’ll know what it is when they invent it. That other one, um… that’s the GLAAD award, which I guess doesn’t mean anything to you yet, but someday you’re actually going to care more about that than the Emmy.” He takes a deep breath. “You’re going to be a much happier person, okay?”

“What’s this?” He picks up the framed picture. His future self and some guy, dressed up fancy. He’s definitely smiling like he’s a happier person, he looks happier than Richie thinks he’s ever been, and it’s not like he’s not happy some of the time. Some of the time… “Is this from an awards show? Do we own our own tuxedo? Who’s this guy?” And yet he knows as soon as that last question is past his lips– he knows whose eyes those are, and the way he turns his head when he laughs. Eddie.

“Wedding reception, and don’t smudge that glass with your grubby little fingers– and I know they’re grubby because they’re mine.” He says, but he doesn’t take the picture away. “See– cake’s in the background there. I regret to inform you it’s not shaped like Castle Greyskull, but it was chocolate under all that frilly white stuff, so… kind of a win, right? And the set list for the music was… like, really good stuff.”

“Whose wedding?” Richie puts it back in place, after scouring it for the other Losers– he sees Bev’s hair in the background, near the cake, but it doesn’t look like she’s in a wedding dress. “Ben’s? Stan’s? Bill’s? Ben would have a boring non-Castle Greyskull cake with flowers and shit. Mike’s? Does everyone get married? It–” And his stomach flips over. “It’s not Eddie’s, is it? Does Eddie get married? Like, to a woman? Will we still hang out? Will his wife not want me to come over?”

“You see Eddie every day, actually, except sometimes when you go on tour. Um… look, if you want to see more pictures, you should maybe sit down first. Like, way away from the fireplace, which is made of stone and has sharp corners and fuck, this place is not child-safe, is it? Shit, this place isn’t child-safe, what if we decide to have kids? Eddie will want to bubble wrap every surface in the place. Does Eddie even want kids?”

“Eddie…” Richie feels lightheaded. He marries Eddie? First of all, jackpot. Second of all, fuck Eddie for not wanting a wedding cake shaped like Castle Greyskull. Third… he marries Eddie? He sees Eddie every day? He gets to kiss Eddie? He’s going to think about having kids with Eddie?! Is that even possible? It must be, it’s the future, but he doesn’t feel the floor beneath his feet as he steps down from the hearth to move to the sofa, only hears his adult self confirm that it’s true.

When Richie comes to, he’s in the present again, with the other Losers, and he’s guessing he’s the only one who passed out, with the way they’re all looking at him– mostly amused, but Eddie is concerned, and that makes him feel lightheaded and woozy all over again, Eddie is concerned, Eddie is his future husband, Eddie is, Eddie is, Eddie is… Maybe, he thinks, he really will just be happy in the future.

Anon I’m almost shaking, I’m in awe, thank you for blessing me in this way. I want to carve this fic onto the surface of my heart. Your turns of phrase are incredible, Richie’s internal dialogue had be laughing aloud and repeating the words back to myself, and the scene you paint is just so, so soft and lovely! I’ll be thinking about this for days. 

Thank you so, so much!

[captainkippen]

A History of Two • A Reddie Fic

Eddie Kaspbrak's first crush came in middle school. It was on his best (and only) friend, Big Bill Denbrough. Bill was the kind of boy who made everyone he spoke to feel special - a leader right down to his bones. He could have any friends he wanted in the whole world even with his stutter, that much Eddie was certain of, yet he still chose to hang around with the short asthmatic kid he'd met in the park when they were five. This was a mystery to Eddie who was not blind to the fact he wasn't exactly the coolest kid around.

He was on the smaller side size-wise. His mother, liked to call him 'delicate' while everybody else called him 'scrawny'. When he went outside he would be laden down with an aspirator and a fanny pack of medical supplies, and God help him if he came back with so much as a scratch on him or his mother would haul him down to the emergency room in a second. This had had the rather depressing effect of making Eddie a target for bullies.

At school, older boys would laugh and call Eddie names, they'd shove him around and sneer at him, often asking Bill if it got annoying having his little boyfriend following him around like a lovesick puppy all the time. Bill never laughed along with them. He never defended himself either - never yelled "I'm not gay!" or put deliberate space between himself and Eddie even though they both knew he'd have an easier time of it if he did - something which Eddie was eternally grateful for. Instead he'd flip those boys the bird then turn to Eddie and joke "Don't worry, I know you could do much better than me."

Eddie would smile back and roll his eyes, pushing down on the urge to blurt out how wrong he thought Bill was about that.  

So for several years, it was just the two of them. Eddie would show Bill how to fix his bike the way he wanted all the while trying not to get oil on his pants so his mother wouldn't yell at him, and in return Bill would tell him stories as they worked. Bill's stories were wonderful - filled with adventure and friendship, dashing knights and beautiful maidens. Listening to them made Eddie's heart swell. Once on his birthday, Bill had gifted him a book of those same stories written down and Eddie could've sworn his heart would burst from joy. He wondered if he would ever stop loving Bill Denbrough.

The answer was yes and no because love changes, fluidly switching between romantic and platonic as it pleases with no concern for the heart to which it is attached. Eddie would grow to love Big Bill Denbrough as a brother while the romance in his heart fell to another.

Richie Tozier was nothing like Bill and he was even less like Eddie. He was a loud brash boy with coke-bottle glasses that made his eyes look almost comically wide. He met Bill in sixth grade who in turn introduced him to Eddie, much to Eddie's own dismay. In class he would often mouth off to teachers in a fashion that suggested he couldn't really help himself. This irked Eddie, but what irked him even more was the way that Richie would call him cute and laugh at his own jokes all the while telling him to lighten up when Eddie scowled. Sometimes he would pinch his cheeks or shorten his name to Eds,  and even though Eddie did not believe in violence it would often end in him threatening to punch Richie.

So yes, Richie had the most annoying habit of grinding Eddie's gears like it was his full-time job. Consequently, Eddie spent several mornings complaining to Bill asking why they had to hang out with such a jerk, to which Bill would reply by saying Richie was cool when you got to know him. Eddie had his doubts.

Until...

"Hey, runt! You can't run from us!"

It's a good thing Eddie is so fast because it's the only reason he's managing to escape the wrath of Henry Bowers and his gang of miscreants right now. His legs carry him forward without him even thinking about it. All his focus is pointed towards getting away and surviving the afternoon.

It's a hot summer day, so hot that hazy little heat waves emanate from the surface of the sidewalks. When Eddie had left the house this morning he'd intended to head down to the Barrens, he and Bill's preferred place to play, thinking maybe the two of them (and probably Bill's kid brother George too) could play swords with some of the sticks they'd found last time. This was not to be the case though, as he learned when he knocked at the Denbrough's door. Bill and George had gone with their father to buy tools from the hardware store. Eddie didn't feel like waiting around for them to get back - Mrs Denbrough had offered a glass of milk but she always looked at him with such pity for reasons he didn't really understand and it made him uncomfortable. So he had politely declined and wandered off into town in search of something to do.

Unfortunately for him, Bowers and his gang had been looking for something to do too. As soon as they spotted him it became apparent that knocking him around would be amusement enough. Eddie had had enough sense to start sprinting.

He would have escaped entirely if it were not somebody stepping out of the corner shop door as he flies by it. The resulting collision is an epic mess of limbs and surprised shouts. When Eddie looks up he finds Richie staring back at him.

"Where's the fire, Eds?" He asks, then he spots Bowers coming towards them and his eyes widen. Quickly he's tugging Eddie up and they're running once again.

It seems hopeless. Pain shoots up Eddie's ankle and he thinks 'Oh God, another trip to the emergency room.' They're never going to get away. The gang is gaining on them now, all cruel laughter and insults, but then-

Richie kicks a dustbin backwards as they pass, he kicks it hard, and it goes flying into Bower's. There's a noise of pained rage but it's enough of a distraction for them to finally get away. The clanging and the yelling is joined by adult voices asking what the hell is going on out here, and when Eddie and Richie turn the corner they're free.

They head for Richie's house, he explains his parents aren't home, and when they get there Richie's fingers are tender as they wrap Eddie's ankle in ice.

"Gotta be more careful, Guv'na! Or 'em damn rascals 'll getcha!" He says with a cheerful smile as he pays Eddie's knee. It's what he calls his 'British Constable voice', which Eddie usually hates but this time it draws a laugh out of him.

It was in that moment that Eddie realised Richie's teasing words were not deliberate attempts to get a rise out of him but rather his own special, and slightly irritating, brand of affection. That was the first time he knew for sure that they had become real friends.

By eighth grade Eddie and Richie were no longer allowed to sit next to one another in class. In fact, they were often put on opposite sides of the room. In all honesty, this was through no fault of Eddie's. It was Richie who was unable to keep his mouth shut, and it was not Eddie's fault that the boy had a certain talent for making laughter bubble up inside him exploding in an unwanted burst of giggles. Richie remained unable to keep his mouth shut whether he was next to Eddie or not, but at least when they were apart he had less incentive to crack jokes every five seconds.

They may have been able to separate them in a classroom, but the teachers at Derry Middle School had no place preventing laughter on the playground and so it became normal for Eddie to watch the clock in class counting down the minutes until one became three for lunchtime. He, Richie and Bill would throw themselves down under the large oak tree on the playing field and share torn off pieces of sandwiches while pouring over the latest issues of their favourite comic books.

Eddie's mother did not like Richie. He was too loud for her aging ears and he had a tendency to knock things over by accident while gesturing. The Kaspbrak house was filled with many a delicate antique, or at least what Mrs. Kaspbrak liked to think of as antiques, and several had met their doom as a result of Richie's flailing limbs. Despite this, she was helpless to stop him from visiting because by that point Eddie and Richie had become EddieAndRichie, attached at the hip and seen everywhere together or not at all, and so she was forced to accept that desperately hiding her precious china when she heard footsteps coming up the porch was a tedious forever part of their lives.

Their group expanded from three to five and then on to seven when they hit high school. First to join them was Stan Uris, a neat bookish boy whom Bill had met through bird watching. He had a sneaky wit about him and enjoyed going on runs with Eddie in the morning. On group outings he began bringing along his friend Mike Hanlon, who up until recently had been home schooled. Mike gave the best advice and saw more reason than his friends, often getting them out of trouble. Eddie was grateful for his friendship.

Then along came Beverly Marsh and Ben Hanscom, two other regular victims of Bowers gang boredom. Beverly was fiesty and unafraid - she and Richie got along like a house on fire. Eddie was never sure which he felt for her more: envy or admiration. Probably the second one. He hoped it was the second one. Ben was sweet and spent many afternoons in Bill's garage with them building all sorts of strange structures. He looked at Bev like she was the sun and he would paint the skies for her. Eddie wondered if he realised she looked at him the same way or he was too blinded by his own low self-esteem to realise.

The group became his lifeline; the Loser's Club they called themselves. For the seven of them, weekends were filled with visits to the Aladdin, the local movie theatre, and picnics down at the Barrens. They would start campfires and have Bill tell stories. Richie would butt in with his terrible impressions and Ben would laugh so hard he got a stitch. Everything felt right when they were all together.

At some point during that time, though Eddie couldn't pinpoint exactly when, they had knit together and become a family of sorts. He loved them wholly and completely, and he knew they loved him back in a similar fashion. It was a blinding sort of unquestionable love, which is probably why it took so long for Eddie to realise what he felt for Richie was different for what he felt for the others.

It was in twelfth grade that Eddie Kaspbrak finally realised he was in love with Richie Tozier, and it hit him like a ton of bricks.

[katecarteir]

ask me to stay. | chapter one | 6k.  

“Your lip is all busted,” Eddie said, as though pointing out that Richie’s lips were injured would somehow make it okay that Eddie was paying attention to them. Richie’s hand came up, long fingers wrapping around Eddie’s tiny wrist, and he gently guided Eddie’s touch away.

Eddie finally wrenched his eyes away from Richie’s lips and met his best friend’s gaze. There was a softness there that he rarely got to see, not even the smallest hint of teasing or joking there. It was just Richie, just Richie looking at him and Eddie looking back. For a single moment, it was just Richie and Eddie alone in the world. Nothing to bother them, nothing to live up to.

[or: the year is 1994, and Eddie Kaspbrak is in love.]

chapter warnings: minor depictions of violence, gay slurs. it’s the 90s man.

click title to read on AO3! 

The final bell rang through the class, and it took every inch of self control that Eddie Kaspbrak had not to toss the papers on his desk up in the air and cry out with joy. Richie Tozier, it seemed, had much less self control than Eddie did- and Eddie had Richie’s papers landing on his desk and Richie’s shouts in his ears.

“ Mr Tozier,” Ms Campbell, their junior AP English teacher, gave him a long withering look but Eddie could see her fighting off a smile. Richie seemed to be the only person in the world who’d mastered annoying and amusing somebody at the same time. “I can still give you detention for this afternoon.”

Richie gave her a small half smile. “But I’m pretty sure that you’re just as excited as I am to get out of here, so you probably won’t.”

Richie Tozier was all things that a good girls’ daddy would warn them about. His hair never laid flat on his head, and his clothes were always rumbled with wild patterns and mix-matched styles. He still forced his feet into the same pair of Dock Martens from freshman year, even after growing up them back at the beginning of the year, and it gave him a permanent skip in his step. He wore braces on his teeth even at sixteen years old, and the grudging white women down at the salon always seemed to have something bad to say about the Tozier family.

Eddie wasn’t like Richie. It sometimes felt like Eddie’s mother still dressed him, even if he technically chose out his own outfits every morning. Eddie Kaspbrak was similar to Richie in one way; he was also the kind of boy that men didn’t want around their daughters. No man wanted their daughter running around with a boy who dressed like a faggot. Eddie may not choose his clothes, but that didn’t make all of their claims untrue.

Ms Campbell shook her head, fully smiling now. “Get out of here, Richard.”

Richie let out another excited noise, slightly quieter this time, and grabbed hold of Eddie’s hand. Eddie barely had enough time to grab up his own things before Richie was dragging him from the building. He seemed to not have any regard for his own belongings that were scattered all over the classroom. Eddie had known Richie Tozier for pretty much as long as he could remember. A real sandbox love, and Richie had been this obnoxious ever since Eddie could remember. Richie had been a messy child, loud, and Eddie’s mother had forbid him at four years old to ever see the boy again. Being friends with Richie Tozier had been the first time Eddie had ever disobeyed his mother, and every time since had been Richie inspired.

Richie openly pranced into the hallway, slipping and high fiving some random person that Eddie barely recognized. He looked ridiculous in his too small boots, and jean overall matched with a Hawaiian print shirt that lost what little fashion cred it had back in the early 80s. Richie quickly returned to Eddie’s side, tossing an arm around his friend shoulder and pulling Eddie into his side. “Eds, my love, I have a feeling that this is going to be the best  summer of our lives. I can feel it in my bones.”

“Don’t call me that, dick,” Eddie shoved at Richie, but not enough that they actually broke contact or that Richie would pull away. Richie just grinned down at him. “You say that about last summer and then I spent the whole six weeks with a  cast on my wrist. Thanks to you, I might add. So, sorry if I maybe don’t take your word for it.”

“Eds…” Richie sighed, shaking his head. “I’m telling you. This is the summer of Losers.”

Richie dropped his arm from around Eddie’s shoulder and skipped towards the doors to freedom. Eddie slowed his steps and watch Richie move, a small smile growing on his cheeks.

→  → →

Beverly Marsh tucked her hands into the pockets of the much oversized jean jacket that she’d stolen from Richie, and watched Bill Denbrough upend his pack into the green garbage can outside the school. She was pretty sure at least three calculators and an actual full-sized novel fell out and into the garbage, but she didn’t make a peep.

“Don’t you think you’re going to need those things?” Ben Hanscom asked as he approached. Ben had always been a cute kid, Beverly remembered when they first met in the seventh grade. He had been, for a lack of better word, fat. He’d hit a good growth spurt the year before, and gone out for the football team with Mike Hanlon in sophomore year and it had slimmed him out a little bit. His sandy brown hair still flopped all over his face, and his cheeks still pushed out with chub, and Beverly wouldn’t have had any other way. She would never tell anybody, but she thought that out of all her friends Ben Hanscom was her favourite.

Bill Denbrough looked up and smiled. This past year, Bill had started letting his hair grow out and it now tickled at the back of his neck, and fell well into his eyes. Richie hadn’t yet managed to convince Bill to tuck it back into a ponytail, and Beverly often wondered how Bill even saw. He glanced down at the bag, seeming to think about it for a moment, then tossed the whole bag into the garbage behind his belongings.

Mike walked up to them, still wearing his red-and-white letterman jacket that Ben would never be seen wearing outside of game days, and grinned. Mike Hanlon was definitely the nicest jock that Beverly had ever met in her life. The Hanlons were on the of only black families in the very town of Derry, Maine and they lived out of the outskirts on a beautiful farm. Beverly practically lived out there when she could. Mike had been homeschooled through their elementary school days, and she’d only known him through reputation until then. He’d fit right in their little group of Losers immediately, and they’d all been inseparable since.

“That was overkill, Billy, don’t you think?” Beverly asked, pulling out the package of cigarettes from the pocket of the jacket and lighting one up. She supposed technically they were Richie’s, but she told herself that Richie would never have started smoking if it hadn’t been for her, so that made them partly hers. “You really didn’t need to throw out the whole bag, dude.”

“I don’t want to th-th-think about school for the next s-s-six weeks!” Bill announced, cheeks turning pink the way they always did when his stutter came through. It was remarkably better than it was when they were children- the speech therapy his parents had been taking him to Portland was working wonders- but it seemed to slip through just often enough that he couldn’t quite live down the nickname of “Mush Mouth.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re not going to need that stuff next year, man,” Ben said with a laugh. In the past few months, it had seemed that Ben Hanscom had been trying pretty hard to give himself a newer image. His sentences got shorter, he’s words got rougher, and his little black notebooks stopped appearing in his hands. Beverly figured that he was still writing poetry- or at least, she hoped he was- but Ben had effectively been shutting himself out the last few weeks.

“What are we talking about?” Richie’s voice carried over to them, wrapping an arm around Beverly and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Junior year had done wonders to Richie’s height factor, springing him up almost a foot and prompting him to finally catch up to the other boys in their grade.

“Bill here thinks that because the school year is over that he can just throw out all of this stuff from this year- backpack included.” Ben informed Richie, reaching into his own bag and tossing the curly-haired boy a PEZ dispenser that had Daffy Duck from the Loonie Toons on it.

Richie caught it without concern, grinning a little sheepishly as Eddie Kaspbrak came up to them. He was a little wheezy from trying to keep up to Richie’s larger steps, but had that same mischievous grin on his face that he always did. “That’s nothing,” Eddie said with a cocky wiggle of his eyebrows. “ Richard here tossed all his shit up into he air once the bell rang like they were graduation caps, and then left them laying around the classroom.”

Beverly and Mike burst out laughing in the same moment, turning Richie’s slightly embarrassed grin to the genuine smile that always came out his friends laughing. Eddie looked at Richie’s smile, and the sound of Bev and Mike’s laughing sort of dimmed in his ears.

“Where the hell is Stanley?” Bill finally asked, looking around as the court yard quickly emptied around them. Most days the courtyard would be filled for hours after school let out, with clubs and teams all loitering around for meetings, but nobody wanted to stand around on school property once summer had officially started. “It’s not like him to be late.”

“He had a meeting with the counsellor after school, said it wouldn’t take long.” Richie said, popping out three of candies and popping them into his mouth.

“Probably discussing a way to get Stan valedictorian over you,” Mike said with a smirk. Richie clicked his tongue and winked at him.

Eddie’s gaze moved towards the loud rumbling of a certain Chevy truck that was moving down the road towards the school and his chest hitched. “Oh, shit. Incoming.”

Beverly groaned, quickly reaching down to tighten the laces on her combat boots. “Don’t they ever get tired of harassing innocents?”

“Nah,” Richie said, looking towards the truck with the few expression of true disgust that he owned. “People never get tired of the things that get them off. Why did you think I spend so much of my time picking fights with Eddie’s mom?”

“Oh my GOD!” Eddie squeaked, whacking Richie on the air. “You’re so fucking gross, Tozier, I swear-“

“Okay, we gotta move,” Mike said suddenly, reaching out and taking hold of Bill’s arm. Bill had already squared his shoulders, readying up for the fight as he always did at the sight of Henry Bowers and his gang. It was sometimes like there was a tiny part of Bill’s soul that burned for getting his ass handed to him by bullies twice his weight.

“What about Stan?” Eddie asked hesitantly, glancing back at the building. The last thing Eddie wanted was to be caught in any sort of altercation with the Bowers gang that he’d so carefully avoided since they’d graduated from Derry High the year before but he also wasn’t the type to leave a man behind.

“Don’t worry about it,” Richie said, patting Beverly between her shoulder blade and ushering her towards Ben. “Patty boy and I have an understanding. You guys just get out of here.”

Eddie’s chest clenched slightly, and he noticed the same panic settled over Beverly’s face. “Babe, we can all go. We don’t even know how long Stan is going to be in there, we don’t know that they’ll even still be around when he’s done.”

“I don’t know,” Richie said in a voice sung with false confidence. “I’ve sort of missed them. It would nice to have a reunion with our old pals.”

“You’re on your own feeling that way,” Mike said with a nervous laugh. The truck was approaching rather quickly, and he pressed an arm around Beverly’s shoulder. She ushered her away, Ben right on their heels. The truck started to honk, and Eddie squeezed Richie’s wrist before taking off after the others. Richie turned slightly, making eye contact with Bill, who grinned back at him. Richie lowered his hand slightly, and Bill met it with a low five.

Patrick Hockstetter was jumping out the passenger door before the truck had even skidded to a stop. His black hair was longer and greasier than Richie remembered it being, and his clothes looked like they hadn’t been washed since the last time they’d seen him. His boots were caked in mud, and it was definitely the same flannel that had once been oversized. He grinned at them wolfishly, actually going as far as to lick his lips. “Well, well,” Patrick said with a chirp. “If it isn’t my two favourite Losers. Where are the rest of your gang?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard?” Richie asked, raising his brow and matching Patrick smirk for smirk. “Seems the end of days has finally come. Everybody else was raptured up to Gods playground and we’re the only poor bastards left on Earth.”

Bill snorted and tucked his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. As Patrick limbered closer, Richie realized that he was actually the same height now and he couldn’t control the pride that settled in his chest.

Henry and the other two minions that mattered a whole lot less all came strutting out of the truck and towards them. “Huh-huh-huh-huh-hey buh-buh-buh-Billy,” Henry Bowers exaggerated stuttered as he approached. It was weak and overused means of teasing, but it still made Bill clenched his fist and grind his jaw. “You guys all alone here?”

Richie exhaled hard, with an overdramatic roll of his eyes. “We’ve been over this. If you’re going to show up late, at least have the courtesy to be quiet.”

“Oh, Trashmouth Tozier is telling me to be quiet? That’s rich.” Henry stepped towards Richie, a good several inches shorter now. For the first time in his life, Richie Tozier felt he might have the upper hand in a situation. Until Patrick opened his mouth again.

“Hey, Tozier, where’s you’re little fairy friend?” Patrick slurred over to him. Richie’s posture stiffened and he heard Bill let in a small inhale behind him. “I wanted to give him a special hello if you catch my drift.”

Richie saw Patrick grabbing at his crotch from the corner of his eye, and forced a smile onto his face. “You know what I love about bigots.” Richie said, forcing laughter into his voice. He could practically feel Bill vibrating behind him. Richie turned quickly from Henry to Patrick, socking the bully directly in the nose. “Nothing.”

“OH SHIT!” Bill shouted behind Richie, grabbing at his friend’s arm and pulling. Richie stumbled slightly as they took off in the opposite direction of the school.

I picked the wrong day to wear shoes that don’t fit, Richie thought to himself. He could hear the angry shouts of Patrick and his buddies as they chased the two of them through the crowded Derry Park. Richie took a running jump over the park bench, and laughed breathlessly when he heard the distinct thud of Belch Huggins running into it.

Bill took a sharp left and slid underneath the singing out legs of a child on the swing, and nearly fell when he heard Vic Criss shout when the girls feet landed directly in his face. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched Hockstetter mad dive forward and tackle Richie into the sandbox. Wincing, Bill turned away as Patrick began to rub Richie’s face into the sand.

“You ever going to learn to watch that fucking trashmouth of yours?” Patrick growled at him, pressing his face angrily against the dirt. Richie flailed, but he knew it was no use. He and Patrick may be nearing each other in height these days, but Patrick had always had superiority upper body strength. Or really, all types of strength except possibility intelligential but given his recent actions- maybe even there. “Always been a problem for you, hasn’t it, Tozier? Never, never learn.”

Richie could dimly hear how Henry and the rest of the goons were cheering Patrick on, but he was pretty sure he was getting sand in his eyes at the moment so he couldn’t make out any words. Patrick’s words, he could still hear nearly clear as day. “Are you really this stupid? Is that what this is? Or is it because I made fun of your fairy friend there? You protective of little Kaspbrak?” Richie thrashed all the harder, even though he knew that it was only going to make things worse for him in the end. “Oh, ho ho! Did I hit a nerve, Tozier? Should I go find him, maybe? Do you think that you could save him from me?”

Richie managed to push himself onto his back, fighting at Patrick’s chest and trying to blink through the sand that had settled all of his over face. Patrick was grinning down at him and there was something hard that was not a knee pressing into Richie’s side, but he couldn’t think about that right now. It seemed like Henry was gone- bad news for Billy – but Richie had to focus on Patrick right now. He’d take the most brutal beating Patrick Hockstetter had in him if it meant that he’d leave Eddie alone.

Patrick was practically drooling, so if that was any sign to what Richie was in for then this was going to be a long couple minutes. Richie spit out a mouthful of playground- possibly peed in, oh god, was there pee in this? – at Patrick and scowled up at him. “Why don’t fucking pick on somebody your own size, Hockstetter? Afraid to loose?”

“Last I saw, Tozier.” Patrick’s breath smelled like the worst kind of mixture of marijuana and the Orangesicile smoothie down at the Prince’s on main. Richie’s stomach churned, and he had to fight not to turn his face away. “We are the same size.”

Richie’s last thought before Patrick’s fist came falling towards his face was- predictably- fuck. He didn’t know how long it went on, could have only been a few minutes but it easily could have been hours. But the next thing he knew, Patrick was pulling back and kicking at Richie’s side. Richie groaned and curled into himself.

“Be seeing you, Tozier.”

Richie laid there for a short moment before Bill seemed to appear from thin air and help him up to his feet. “You’re a piece of shit friend, you know that, right?” Richie groaned, pulling on the sleeve of his shirt to wipe at the blood underneath his nose. “Just let ‘em beat me.”

He wasn’t serious, and Bill’s laugh sounded that he knew it. “Hey. N-not all of us are guh-g-gonna go Huh-huh-Hulk to defend suh-suh-somebody who isn’t even h-h-here.” Bill said, letting Richie move to stand on his own. “P-p-pick your b-b-battles, Rich.”

“I pick plenty of battles,” Richie shot back, winking at Bill even thought it definitely hurt his rapidly bruising eye. Bill rolled his eyes.

“Pick fewer battles, Richie.”

→  → →

Eddie rubbed his hands together, and looked up out the window of the Denbrough’s kitchen. Eddie had always thought it was weird how Bill’s kitchen faced out onto the street, growing up neither his, Richie nor Stan’s had been placed that way, but he was thankful for it right now. Every year on the last day of school, starting way back in the second grade, they had always had a sleepover at Denbrough’s house to celebrate the start of summer. Throughout the years, the sleepover had gotten larger, then smaller again last year when Bev’s aunt had deemed it inappropriate for her to be sleeping over with so many boys.

Eddie was fretting, and he knew it. Bill and Richie weren’t back yet, and it had caused a deep anxiety to settle itself in his gut. It had been nearly a year since Eddie Kaspbrak had needed to use his inhaler, and it had been three years since he- with the help of Richie’s overly enthusiastic support – had started weening himself off it. At thirteen, Mr Keene down at the pharmacy had told him that all of his medication were actually falsehoods brought up by his mother. Misted water and sugar pills, all of them. It had broken Eddie, for a long time. He was sure that he’d never be the same person again, that he would never trust the same way again. He was better now, stronger he believed, but if Richie and Bill didn’t show up soon- Eddie might regret not bringing his inhaler.

"Why don’t you wake outside, Eddie?” Georgie Denbrough asked from he kitchen table where he seemed to be doing some sort of homework despite school being over for the term. “It’s the perfect kind of summer night you love. The kind where you have to wear a sweater.”

Eddie smiled softly. Bill had been complaining for the last few months that Georgie had become a pain in the ass, going through some sort of angst-y teenager phase that was annoying to Bill and his parents alike, but Eddie had never seen that sort of behaviour from him. Anytime Eddie was around, Georgie seemed like the same sweet child to Eddie.

Eddie picked up his hoodie from the couch on his way outside, nodding at Stan and Ben who were sitting on the couch. He walked out the front door and hummed to himself as the soft summer wind hit his face. There was a chill to it, but Eddie sort of like the sting it brought to his skin.

He walked across the Denbrough’s lawn, that was sort of getting a little overgrown and no doubt Bill would be roped into mowing in within the next few days. He looked up to the big maple tree on the front of the lawn, and grinned to himself. A good hundred times a year, Eddie could have to yell at Richie to get out of it before he’d hurt himself. Last summer, he’d finally let Richie convinced him to go tree climbing with him- and it hadn’t been a normal sized maple in their friend’s front yard.

“I made soup.” Bev and Mike both startled and looked down at Eddie.

“What did you make soup for?” Beverly asked, still giggling slightly and Eddie shook his head. Richie and Beverly had been together so long that Eddie could barely remember that days before their relationship. Dim memories of believing that Bev and Ben were going to be together, even dimer ones of the days when Bev and Bill were childhood sweethearts. Yet, sometimes Eddie believed that he knew Richie better than Beverly ever even tried. But maybe that was just wishfully thinking.

So Eddie just shrugged, and contemplated it for only a second before scaling up the tree himself. He wiggled himself in between Mike and the trunk, looking down at the ground a little nervously.

“It’s not that high,” Mike said with a small smile. “Don’t worry.”

Eddie cast him a dark look, frowning deeply. “Last time somebody said that to me, I broke my fucking arm.”

“I…” Mike cleared his throat then nodded. “Okay, yeah. That definitely happened.”

“Why are you guys in the tree?” Stan called up to them, Ben standing beside him. Stan had shown up at the Denbrough’s house not long after the rest of the Losers had gotten there. He’d been quiet since he’d gotten there, more so than usually, and kept worrying his bottom lip. He hadn’t given up any sort of information about his meeting with the guidance counsellor, and Stanley Uris wasn’t the kind of person you pushed. (Unless you were Richie Tozier, who pushed everybody.)

“We’re waiting for Bill and Richie,” Eddie and Beverly answered in unison. They quickly pointed at each other and shouted “JINX!” and then burst out laughing. Mike smiled and looked back out to the street, tuning out Eddie and Bev’s continue attempt at jinx through their giggles. He saw Bill and Richie making their ways down the street before anybody else, and Richie wasted no time coming forward and slapping Stan on the shoulder.

The boy looked a little worse for wear, dirt and blood streaked on his cheeks, eye already seeming to be bruising. But he was smiling none the less, a regular old Tozier grin, and he looked up at his friends in the tree. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!”

Beverly giggled but Eddie jumped out the tree as though he had some sort of Spider Man powers and hadn’t just been fretting about the height. Mike crinkled his brow, as Beverly jumped down from his other side.

Eddie touched the cuts on Richie’s cheeks and his lips tugged down in a worried frown. “What the hell happened to you?” He asked in harsh words that didn’t match the concerned tone of voice.

“Patrick beat him up in the sandbox.” Bill came practically skipping up onto the lawn. “It was like being seven again, which i-i-isn’t something I thought I n-n-n-needed but I really enjoyed.”

Richie scoffed and rolled his eyes. “The only thing you enjoyed, Denbrough, was chatting up that weird newspaper girl in the park.”

“That’s n-n-not true,” Bill challenged, but the flushing of his cheeks implied that it was at least a little bit true. “I also enjoyed you p-p-p-punching P-P-Patrick.”

Richie grinned and nodded but Eddie let out a horrified squeak. “You punched Patrick? Have you lost your absolute goddamn mind, Richard? What could be possibly say that would make you do something so stupid?”

Richie and Bill exchanged a quick look between the two of them, almost a silent conversation, before Richie was reaching out and ruffling up Eddie’s meticulously styled hair. “Awe, don’t you worry about it, Eds. Just trust that he deserved it.”

“Of course he deserves it,” Eddie snapped but he was starting to smile. “Doesn’t mean you should be stupid enough to actually do it. Now, come on. Let’s get those scratches cleaned before you get an infection and they have to cut your dumbass head off.”

Richie wrapped an arm around Beverly and grinned as Eddie pulled him towards the house by his hand. “Did you at least make soup? You know I love soup after getting my ass handed to me.”

→  → →

Richie was rested on the Denbroughs kitchen counter, as Eddie rummaged through the cupboards and complained about how ill stalked it was. Mike chuckled into his bowl of soup, knowing that all Richie really needed was a some soap and hot water. Toss the lanky boy into the shower, and he’d be good as new.

He turned to where Ben and Beverly were both sitting, talking quietly to each other and seemingly blind to Eddie’s frantics not three feet away from them. They all snapped to attention as Bill and Stan came into the room. They both seemed a little knocked off kilter and Mike felt concern settle into his gut at the sight of them.

He didn’t seem to be the only one, Richie shifting to sit up straighter on counter. “What happened, dudes?”

“Somebody is m-m-m-moving into the old Gr-gr-Gray house.” Bill stumbled through his words. “A f-f-family, I guess. There was a g-g-girl…”

Richie waggled his eyebrows and grinned deeply. “A girl, yeah? Is she hot?”

Beverly grabbed one of the bread rolls off the dining room table and wiped at Richie, nailing right in the head, at the same time that Eddie whipped him with the dish cloth in his heads. Richie yelped, rubbing at his arm and pouting. “DAMN! Forgive a man for asking a damn question.”

“You’re not a man,” Stan told him dryly. “You’re an extremely tall, skinny infant that was somehow cursed with the ability to speak.”

Richie blew him a kiss, and Stan rolled his eyes with the tiniest hint of a smile playing on his lips. Stan moved over to reached past Eddie to the rubbing alcohol that was on a shelf just out of Eddie’s tiptoe’d reach. Eddie tried to force himself to sound grateful as he accepted it.

He moved back to Richie and took his chin between his hands. Looking the marks over. It wasn’t as bad as it had looked outside, a singular black eye and some scraping on the side of his cheek. Richie had winced when he’d jumped onto the counter, which likely meant his ribs were bruised but Eddie saw no point in fussing with them just now. Richie had been walking fine, so they weren’t broken.

He still couldn’t help but frown as he dabbed Richie’s cuts with the rubbing alcohol. Richie let out a louder cry than was necessary, and Eddie gave him an unimpressed look. “Aren’t you getting a little old to be running around getting into fights?”

“Aren’t they a little old to still be beating up kids?” Richie challenged with a smirk that quickly turned into a wince as Eddie dabbed at his slit lip.

“Your lip is all busted,” Eddie said, as though pointing out that Richie’s lips were injured would somehow make it okay that Eddie was paying attention to them. Richie’s hand came up, long fingers wrapping around Eddie’s tiny wrist, and he gently guided Eddie’s touch away.

Eddie finally wrenched his eyes away from Richie’s lips and met his best friend’s gaze. There was a softness there that he rarely got to see, not even the smallest hint of teasing or joking there. It was just Richie, just Richie looking at him and Eddie looking back. For a single moment, it was just Richie and Eddie alone in the world. Nothing to bother them, nothing to live up to.

Then Bill’s voice broke through and shattered the moment, and Eddie tried not to be annoyed. As soon as the moment was over, Eddie had to question if there had even been a moment at all. “Did you m-m-manage to convinced your aunt to let you stay, Bev?” Bill asked, no doubt knowing what the answer would be. Almost immediately after Beverly’s fifteenth birthday, sleepover with the boys permission had been yanked. Eddie wasn’t sure what her aunt been trying to stop from occurring, as Beverly already been dating Richie for years. It certainly wasn’t stopping her from having sex, if Richie’s jokes were anything to go by, and Eddie knew from personal experience that if Richie wanted into somebody’s house… he got in.

“Nah,” Beverly responded with an eye roll. “Got her to let up and extend my curfew. 12:30. Which means if I’m not home by 1, I’m dead meat.”

“I’ll walk you home, babe.” Richie said, popping his lips. He dropped his hand, letting Eddie’s wrist fall from his grip and down to Eddie’s side. His skin was cold where Richie’s touch had just been and it felt him feeling unsettled.

Stan scoffed from where he was leaning against the counter at Richie’s side. “Please, Tozier. We’d have to be way more concerned about you out in the night than Bev.”

Richie pouted for a moment before breaking into a large grin. “Okay, then Eddie and I will both walk Bev, and my Eds will make sure we both make it back here to Billy’s safe and sound.”

“Don’t call me Eds!” Eddie snapped, ignoring just all too many things lately. “And who the fuck said I agreed to that? Why would I leave a perfectly comfortable house to go baby-sit your ass in the middle of the night?”

“Because you love me?” Richie suggested with a toothy grin. Eddie pursed his lips together to keep back his smile. There had never really been any doubt that Eddie was going to walk with Richie and Bev, and he tried to ignore the little thrill it gave them that Richie was inviting him along when he easily could have been using it as an excuse to be alone with his girlfriend. He cursed himself for being so weak.

“Oh, Eddie, don’t bother pretending.” Stan said, waggling his eyes at Eddie from Richie’s other side. “We know you’re going to do it.”

Eddie stuck his tongue out at his friend and tried to ignore how he was flushing right down the back of his neck. Richie squeezed his eyes shut and leaned closer so that Eddie could resume wiping at his face.

It didn’t help Eddie’s whole blushing issue.

→  → →

The dark streets were a comfort to Richie. He’d always preferred night over day, it made him free in a way that he could never been when the sun brought light down on all of his actions. He could more himself at night. He could put down his walls, remove his false face and be just a little bit more true.

Not very many got to see how Richie got under the darkness of Derry’s street. Derry felt endlessly safer at night, when the peering and judgment eyes of his snobby neighbours had gone to bed. Sure, he had to worry about Henry and his goons but he had to worry about them just as much in the light of the day so it couldn’t be a bother to him.

He looped an arm around Eddie’s shoulder as he guided him down and away from Beverly’s house. It wasn’t the best part of town to be hanging around in, he knew that, and it was far from where you wanted to get yourself stranded or cornered. And even so…

“I don’t want to go back yet,” Richie said, quieter than he would usually speak. It just felt a little wrong to be breaking the soft stillness of the night. He felt Eddie stiffen for a moment, before he learned into Richie’s touch. “Let’s go to the Quarry.”

“I am not swimming in the middle of night!” Eddie squawked, a little predictably. Richie chuckled, squeezing Eddie’s shoulder to keep him from pulling away when he felt his friend start to squirm. ”Don’t laugh at me, jackass! Even if it’s kind of warm out, you can still get pneumonia! And die! Do you want to die?”

Richie pursed his lips, shaking his head a little bit. “Can’t say I want to die right at this moment. Ask me again tomorrow, maybe.” He could feel Eddie’s startled and concerned expression pouring into them and Richie wanted to shut this possible emotional moment down before it started. “I didn’t mean swimming, Eds. Let’s just go and... sit at the end of the world for a while.”

Richie glanced down at Eddie, finally, and found his best friend looking back up at him with an expression that Richie couldn’t read. Eddie seemed to realize that Richie was trying to get inside his head, because he wiped the look from his face and replaced it with a soft smile. “That’s pretty profound, Richard. What are you thinking?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? What was Richie thinking? God, wouldn’t it be so much easier if he knew. As it was, Richie was more confused now than when they first introduced Algebra into his life. Sighing, he kept his arm around Eddie’s shoulder and guided him to walk towards the Quarry in the opposite direction of Bill’s house. Eddie slipped away from Richie’s hold, and they walked side-by-side, not touching, the rest of the way. Richie supposed that it should have been awkward, but it wasn’t. It was never awkward with Eddie, always comfortable.

They hiked up the cliff and moved to sit with their legs dangling over the edge. Richie tilted his head back to stare up at the stars- always more visible out here than anywhere within town. He wanted to put his arm back around Eddie, missing the warm weight under him. He’d learned better, though, in the past few years. He’d stopped chasing Eddie after the boy pulled away, knowing it often only lead to a fight. There was only a few times that Eddie would pull back but want back under Richie’s touch- and he always made it clear.

Like now, when he pressed up against Richie’s side when they were settled and seated. Richie pressed his lips together sharply to hold back his smile, and let his arm drop around Eddie’s shoulders once more. “I’m thinking of breaking up with Beverly,” Richie blurted out in a typical-Tozier fashion. Eddie blinked at him, tilting his head back.

“What? Why?” Eddie didn’t sound as though he felt one way or another about it. Or maybe he did, and he wasn’t letting it show. Didn’t make Richie feel any better, and it sure as hell didn’t give him an answer to Eddie’s question.

“Why?” Richie asked with a bit of a nervous chuckle. Then he hummed, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. “Why… I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, I guess? I’ve been with Beverly so long, and I never really… planned on it at all. We just kissed at that party, and suddenly- you know? Bev and Rich. Rich and Bev. And it’s been… years, yeah? And I just… I don’t know if I see myself being with Beverly for the rest of my life.”

Eddie was looking at Richie very seriously, a little softly, and Richie could get lost his Eddie’s eyes in this moment. And he felt a little guilty about it, and he had to look away. “Like, I love her. Obviously. But I don’t know if I’m… actually in love with her. You know? Sometimes it just feels wrong.”

Eddie swallowed loudly enough that Richie could hear him. For a long moment, it was just the two of them breathing. So close together that they shared air, and Richie’s heart was thrumming with anxiety. “You need to do whatever makes you happy, Rich.”

Rich just hummed, and dropped his head down on top of Eddie’s and stared back out to the endless water.

[hanscom]

Heat of the Moment

Read on ao3 here.

Rating: explicit

Word Count: 3,163

This is a very late submission to fyeahreddie’s weekly prompt “heat”.

These are the facts: Richie Tozier talks a lot.

Richie Tozier wears coke-bottle glasses, and his two front teeth are kind of fucked up.

Richie Tozier can start fires with his mind.

It starts during puberty, before his voice dips deep but after the first few dark whiskers sprout from his upper lip. One day, he’s a normal kid, just shy of seventh grade, knees knobby and permanently scraped, and the next, his Star Wars sheets smolder to ash against his bare skin.

That happens, sometimes: kids with powers. It’s not common, exactly, but things are weird in Derry and everyone knows it. Six times the national average kind of weird. There was that shapeshifter back in the 50s who killed a couple dozen kids, and the prom queen in the 70s who destroyed half the town with her mind. Richie’s mom grew up with a girl who had long, red hair that shifted around her shoulders with a life of its own. Now, just down the street, Stan Uris can tell you what you’re thinking before you even open your mouth.

So Richie’s not a freak, exactly, but he lights up the living room curtains twice a month and the sprinkler system his parents have installed ruins three different television sets. He goes to school on a probationary basis. Nobody thinks twice about cool, collected Stan (mostly because he could hear it if they did), but Richie is watched like he’s seconds away from a meltdown at all times.

He learns to laugh it off. He learns to crack jokes, and put people at ease with his smart mouth and long fuse. He learns to control his temper. He learns how to be normal.

He gets so good at it that sometimes, he goes weeks without burning anything. Sometimes, he lasts for months before that fiery energy underneath his skin boils over. Sometimes, he forgets it’s there at all.

Times like now.

He’s in Eddie’s room, snuck right in through the tiny window that is kept constantly unlocked just for him. He’s been doing this for years, has gotten so good at it that sometimes he does it in broad daylight, when anyone who cared enough to look could see him scale the side of the Kaspbrak residence. It’s night now, though, and Mrs. Kaspbrak is asleep in her chair downstairs, unaware that there are two boys tucked into her darling son’s childhood bed.

They’re kissing, which is something of a new development. There has been something building between them for years, something hot and dynamic, something even more uncontrollable and frightening than the constant fire burning underneath Richie’s fingertips. That something finally exploded into being the month before, when Eddie had made an exasperated noise in the back of his throat and hauled Richie in, mid-sentence.

“Sorry,” he had said after their lips had brushed together, a whisper of a kiss. “I can’t stop thinking about that.”

Richie had actually never, ever thought about kissing Eddie before, because his self-control is impeccable and he’s gotten good at denying his desires, but he had looked at Eddie’s red mouth then and decided he suddenly wanted nothing more.

So now, instead of reading comics or listening to music in the late-night privacy of Eddie’s bedroom, the two of them spend their time wrapped up together, sharing slow, youth-clumsy kisses. Richie runs a lot hotter than most people, and sometimes they have to stop when Eddie starts to sweat, but tonight Eddie’s shirt is clinging to his slick skin and he still hasn’t pulled away. He’s sucking on Richie’s tongue and he has one hand teased underneath Richie’s shirt, fingertips splayed on the small of Richie’s back. His touch is electric. Richie has the fuzzy thought that maybe Eddie has a power, too, because that’s the only explanation for the static shock way Eddie’s touch makes the hair on his arms stand on end.

Eddie is beneath him, his legs spread apart so Richie can fit between them, their hips slotted together. Eddie is hard, and so is Richie, but they’re not really doing anything about it because they haven’t done that yet. Richie is a seventeen year old boy and he knows what his dick is for, knows he could rub it just perfectly up against the cradle of Eddie’s hips, get himself off just like that, but he’s not entirely sure how Eddie would react, and he’s also not entirely sure he would last long at all. He doesn’t want to chance ending this, not when Eddie’s clutching at him like that, arching up to kiss him more firmly.

“You’re hot,” Eddie says against his mouth, a muffled breath of noise that almost doesn’t penetrate the heavy, horny buzz of Richie’s thoughts.

“Yeah, baby,” Richie says, half-distracted by the way Eddie’s hands grasp at him. “You are, too, you’re –”

“No, Richie, you’re hot,” Eddie insists, and Richie realizes that tight grip isn’t clutching him closer but pushing him off.

He yanks away. The air between them is suddenly hazy, like when heat rises off blacktop on a smoldering summer day. He should be sweating, but any bit of moisture on his skin has long since hissed into steam. Eddie’s face is very red, and he’s prodding delicately at his lips. Richie hasn’t accidently burned someone in years.

“Shit, Eds, I’m sorry,” he says in a rush.

Eddie doesn’t say anything for a minute, and Richie has no idea what he’s thinking because he’s choosing not to look. He’s staring steadfastly at the crisp corner of Eddie’s hospital-white bedsheets. Richie’s sheets at home are flame-resistant, but Eddie’s are not. They look so fragile, bleach-white cotton that Richie could destroy too easily.

“Does that always happen?” Eddie finally asks.

Richie rubs a hand awkwardly over the back of his neck. “No,” he admits. “It’s never happened before.”

Eddie stares at him. When Richie works up enough courage to meet his eyes, he’s smiling. The tight ball of anxious heat building in Richie’s chest loosens all at once into a quiet smolder.

“So it’s just me?” Eddie asks. He looks intensely pleased by the idea.

Richie huffs. “No, it’s… I’ve never, uh. I’ve never done it before.”

He hears Eddie suck in a quiet breath. “You mean…?”

“Yeah.” He shrugs, like it’s not a big deal, like he’s not acutely ashamed of that admission. “Who would want to fuck the Firestarter, you know?”

Eddie touches the side of Richie’s face then, gently turning him so that Richie is finally looking at him again, full-on. He looks soft and sweet, not at all pitying or amused, the way Richie sort of expects. “Richie,” he says, voice steady and very, very serious, “the least interesting thing about you is that you start fires. If people can’t see past that, it’s their loss.”

Richie doesn’t have enough time to fully process how wonderfully those words bloom in his chest, because Eddie reaches for him, dragging Richie back into his space.

“And to answer your question, I do,” he says, his voice now a whisper. His eyes are hotter than any fire Richie has ever set. “I want to fuck the Firestarter.”

Richie goes hot all over, a stinging prickle across his skin and under it. The temperature spikes, and there are little beads of sweat dotted across Eddie’s forehead, his upper lip. Richie wants nothing more than to kiss him, but he’s so scared Eddie might melt.

“We can’t,” he says, almost a whine. “Eddie, I’d hurt you.”

“You wouldn’t,” Eddie says back immediately, like he really thinks Richie can control himself. And he’s right, for the most part – Richie has pretty impeccable self-control, usually. Just not when it comes to this moment, right now, when Eddie is looking at him like that.

“I would,” Richie insists. “I can’t help it, Eds. You just get me hot.” And he waggles his eyebrows, trying to break the tension before he can do something really stupid.

Eddie groans and shoves at Richie’s shoulders without any real force. “I changed my mind,” he says. “Get off me, let me go.”

He doesn’t actually think Eddie wants him to, but he rolls off anyway for the sake of his own sanity. Eddie looks sort of surprised, then sort of disappointed, then sort of devious, all in the span of a couple of seconds. He climbs off the bed, standing to the side. Richie sits up, sort of helpless to do anything but follow, his legs folded over the edge of the mattress, feet against the floor.

Richie doesn’t know what he’s expecting, but he certainly doesn’t expect it when Eddie sinks to his knees, right between the spread of Richie’s legs.

His breathing stutters, and his brain sort of blanks. It’s a small miracle that he doesn’t light the place up by accident. It’s funny: Richie could burn the house down around them, could set the fucking world on fire, but somehow, kneeling there at Richie’s feet, little Eddie Kaspbrak has all the power.

“Eddie,” he says, and he doesn’t recognize his own voice, a quiet gasp of sound. “This is a really bad idea.”

Eddie doesn’t say anything, but he reaches forward and starts to unbutton Richie’s jeans. His hands are shaking, which is the only real indication that he’s at all unsure about this. That small gesture makes Richie feel a little better, but not by much.

“Tell me if I should stop,” Eddie says, lowering the zipper.

“You should stop,” Richie murmurs. Eddie looks up at him, pausing with Richie’s jeans opened up under his hands. “Please don’t stop,” he adds, and Eddie’s smile is almost worth the inevitable carnage.

They work together to get Richie’s pants and underwear down his legs. They pool at his ankles, and he doesn’t bother to kick them fully off because Eddie is just staring, his eyes a little wide and his mouth sort of open.

“You’re hard,” he says after a moment, like that’s the most surprising part of this entire scenario.

Richie kind of wants to laugh. “Got a cute boy on his knees with his mouth about four inches from my dick. Can you blame me?”

Eddie stares at his erection for another long moment. “Don’t burn me,” he finally says, and then leans forward to rub a closed-mouth kiss across the very tip.

Richie’s entire body jerks. “No promises,” he says through gritted teeth, and his hands automatically fall to Eddie’s head, lacing into his hair.

Eddie pulls back to level him with a very unimpressed look. “If you light my hair on fire, I’ll bite your dick off.”

The thought of Eddie’s sharp teeth sinking down into him should be enough to take the edge off the overwhelming desire burning in his gut, but it isn’t. If anything, Richie is sort of thrilled by the challenge. He tightens his fingers in Eddie’s hair. Eddie looks pleased, lowering his mouth again. Richie wants to tell him just how good he looks, illuminated by soft lamplight, mouth and cheeks both very pink, sweating and gorgeous, but then Eddie is licking a curious line up his length and words fail him for maybe the first time ever. He makes a helpless little noise and Eddie looks up at him, his dark eyes huge and glimmering. Richie thinks he could come, just looking at Eddie then.

Eddie doesn’t move quickly, but he’s determined, sinking down slowly, as far as he can go. He stays there for a few long seconds, tightening his lips and then his throat. Richie can feel him swallow, and then he pushes down another inch and his whole body shakes when he gags. He pulls off, wipes his mouth, and then starts all over again, looking very focused.

“Shit,” Richie gasps, and he has to take his hands out of Eddie’s hair because he’s sure it’s going to end badly if he doesn’t. “Fuck, Eds, wait a second, slow down.”

Eddie glowers at him and slides his mouth almost all the way down again. He’s gripping Richie’s thighs to steady himself, and his nails slice into the skin when he takes too much at once. Eddie’s mouth is so hot and tight and good that Richie almost pushes his hips up into the contact, but he somehow manages to sit still, grabbing for one of Eddie’s pillows just for something to do with his hands.

In the end, it’s over very quickly. Richie would be embarrassed about that, except no one could possibly last, faced with Eddie’s red hot mouth and all-consuming enthusiasm. Eddie stops trying to deepthroat him after the first few tries and instead bobs his head over what he can manage, his hand fisting what he can’t. Richie starts making noise at some point, low-voiced uh uh uh sounds that keep time with the up-down stroke of Eddie’s mouth, and at one point Eddie pulls off to shush him, but he’s grinning and he resumes his rhythm even more fervently, like it’s a challenge.

When Richie comes, the room gets very, very hot all at once. It’s sort of hard to breathe, but maybe that’s just because Eddie doesn’t stop immediately. He slows down, but his tongue still draws a lazy pattern on the underside of Richie’s dick. Richie closes his eyes, because he doesn’t have enough self-control to look at Eddie’s spit-shiny lips and also keep the fire inside.

Richie twitches when Eddie finally pulls off, but doesn’t look.

“Richie,” Eddie says.

Richie gives a noncommittal hum, his heart still thrumming hard.

“Richie.“

Richie finally opens his eyes.

Eddie looks debauched, his hair sticking up at odd angles, his mouth very puffy. His pupils are dilated, and they’re dancing in the low light.

“Could you put that out?” he asks, and his voice is sort of ruined in a way that makes Richie stupid. He doesn’t even know what Eddie’s talking about until he looks pointedly at Richie’s hands, still gripped tightly into the pillow. It’s on fire.

“Oh, shit!” He throws the pillow onto the ground and jumps to his feet, almost tripping over the pants still pooled around his ankles. He manages to free himself and then uses the leg of his jeans to beat out the fire.

When he’s finished, he finds Eddie watching him, looking soft and amused and stupidly beautiful. Richie doesn’t have any other choice but to kiss him. Eddie tries to pull away, spouting some nonsense about how it’s gross. “Don’t you remember where my mouth has been?” he asks, as if Richie is ever gonna forget.

Richie kisses him anyway, and then kisses him again. They spend the rest of the night like that, trading slow kisses, falling back into bed together. It’s almost dawn when Eddie finally falls asleep, and Richie stares at his sweet sleeping face for a long time before he finally sneaks back out Eddie’s window. He’s done it probably a million times, but it’s definitely the first time he drops to the ground on steady feet, feeling lighter than air.

Eddie and Richie share the same homeroom, and most of the same classes, so the next day is… interesting. Most of the time, Richie expends almost all of his attention on not lighting the place up out of pure boredom, but now he has something much more interesting to focus on, like the way Eddie flushes red every time they make eye contact. It happens once, then twice, and then Eddie steadfastly refuses to look at him. Richie spends most of the morning trying to get his attention. He gets yelled at twice by two different teachers, but it’s worth it when Eddie tries to give him a disapproving look and instead goes a little hazy-eyed, like he’s thinking as hard about the night before as Richie is.

At lunch, they sit side-by-side, as always. Mike is on Richie’s other side, and Ben and Bill and Stan all sit across from them. Bev is perched at the head of the table. They’re all talking about… well, something. Richie’s not entirely sure what’s going on, because he’s watching Eddie peel open an orange and then suck the juice off his fingers. Eddie isn’t talking much, either, but that’s not that unusual – certainly not as weird as Richie’s silence. Honestly, it’s a miracle none of their friends have mentioned it yet. Or maybe they have. Richie doesn’t have the first clue what anyone is saying, because Eddie is making these thoughtful little noises when he bites into a particularly good bit of fruit. It’s the same kind of full-mouth noise he made the night before, when he…

Stan suddenly slams his hand down on the table, hard enough to shake it. Richie startles out of his lewd thoughts long enough to realize that Stan looks supremely annoyed.

“Stop thinking,” he says, his voice nearly a growl.

Richie grins slowly, not at all embarrassed. “Sorry,” he says. “Can’t help myself.”

Stan looks at him, his eyes narrowed. “Not you,” he says, sour and dismissive. “Do you really think I still listen to your thoughts? I blocked you out in eighth grade.” And then his gaze slides over to Eddie, who is suddenly refusing to look at him, pretending to be fascinated by the linoleum tabletop. Richie looks back and forth between the two of them for a long moment before he understands.

“Oh,” he breathes. “Oh.”

Eddie squirms in his seat. “Please don’t,” he whispers to the table.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Eds?” Richie asks, voice sickly sweet.

Eddie opens his mouth, then closes it, then shakes his head fervently.

“I’m honestly disappointed in you, Eddie,” Stan says. “I thought you had some taste.”

Richie wants to make a joke about exactly what Eddie was tasting last night, but before he can, Stan makes an exasperated noise and stands up. He picks up his trash and, without another word, leaves the table. Bill and Bev and Mike and Ben all stare after him, confused. Richie puts his arm around Eddie’s shoulders, and though Eddie is very tense, he doesn’t shrug him off.

“If Stan knows, you all probably should,” he announces. Eddie goes even more rigid, his eyes sort of wild, like Richie is actually going to spill all his dirty secrets. “Eddie and I are dating now,” he says before Eddie can interrupt. Whatever Eddie had to say dies on his lips, leaving his mouth hanging open.

“We are?” he asks, sounding sort of small.

“We are,” Richie says, and leans in to smack a wet kiss to his temple. Eddie rubs it off, grumbling about germs, but he’s smiling.

None of their friends look all that surprised.

And so, these are the facts: Richie Tozier talks a lot.

Richie Tozier wears coke-bottle glasses, and his front two teeth are kind of fucked up.

Richie Tozier can light fires with his mind.

And Richie Tozier is sort of, kind of, really into Eddie Kaspbrak.

[alixxxxcat21]

Amor Culebras

I Am A Hostage? WTF?

*I do not own the characters and thus this is a work of fiction*

I walked into the gas station to buy a drink. Only to hear the tell-tale click of a gun cocking next to my head.

"Wrong gas station, princess," a husky voice said.

My eyes flowed the gun, revolver, back to a man I had just heard about on the news. About a handsome thief named Seth Gecko. I knew my bad day just got significantly worse.

"Richie, take her and put her out of sight, " he called behind him.

Richard or "Richie" as he was known as was the younger brother to Seth. He was also the brain who cracked the safes in banks of which they robbed a lot of.

"Come on," he said. "Nice and easy."

Seth pulled my arm and put the revolver behind my head. My eyes fell on Richie. He was more handsome than his older brother, but I couldn't really focus on that at the moment. He points another gun in my direction and signaled to walk towards him. I let out a breath and took the four steps that closed the gap between him and I. Once in his reach his big, warm hand wrapped roughly around my arm and pulled me towards the back of the gas station.

To be honest I wasn't entirely sure I would live to see the end of the day if I did anything against them. They weren't known to murder unless they were forced into a corner. I stood a better chance of getting out of this alive as long as I did everything they told me to do.

"Hands," Richie ordered.

I looked at the floor and raise my hands. He put several layers of duct tape on them. I really didn't want to give him any reason to hurt me.

"Look at me," he snapped harshly.

I raised my head quickly and met two very distinctive beautiful blue eyes.

Crap, I thought.

I have a soft spot for blue eyes. This was not the time to be thinking about how gorgeous he was.

"Quiet or Lights out, got it?" He said waving his gun near my head.

I nodded taking a deep breath. He turned me around and pushed me gently towards the drinks in the refrigerated area at the back of the gas station. He gently pushed on my shoulder to make me sit. Then walked back to end of the aisle. I could feel my heart slow down. All I had to do was sit quietly and I could go home. Not a hard task.

It was then that I noticed the Ranger on the floor bleeding from a shot in his chest. How I missed that in the first place was beyond my current comprehension. I knew I was in real deep shit. I had no room for error. I looked up at Richie astonished.

"See, he didn't listen and that's what happened," Richie said with a menacing smile on his face. "You're not going to make me do that, are you?"

I shook my head no.

"Good girl," he said.

Of course I would be the one to find out that the younger Gecko brother is batshit psycho. Beautiful and crazy. Just my luck.

"Richie, all good?" asked Seth.

I almost forgot he was there.

"All peachy," he said giving me the crazy-eyed smile again.

I heard the door open again and this time things would spiral quickly out of control. I saw Richie go on high alert. I put my head down and prayed to whatever higher power would hear me. The cashier interrupted me by shooting Richie in his hand. The blood hit me in the face. I froze when he fell back and his head hit my knees. He seems in a trance or something. Those beautiful blue eyes were glassy and distant.

I looked from his eyes to his hand that had a gaping hole in it. Seth was in the background yelling. I heard 'grab' and 'hostage' before I was yanked to my feet by Richie with his good hand. His arm came around my waist and his cologne filled the air around me. I knew I was being used as a shield. There was another Ranger pointing a gun in my direction.

"Let her go!" the Ranger shouted.

He really wasn't in a position to negotiate my freedom. Richie had the gun pointed at my head again. My heart thundered in my chest. I could see Seth not far from us. He had the entryway blocked. I knew that either I made it out of the gas station or no one was. The Ranger was still arguing with Seth.

"She gets a bullet if you don't lower your weapon, Ranger," said Richie.

I was really worried that the Ranger would try to play hero and get me killed. He seemed to be thinking hard. His partner was telling him not to sacrifice me. I was still trying to figure out how he wasn't dead already. That's when I saw Ranger lowering himself and his weapon to the floor.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Richie dragged me with him to the entryway. Seth was already pulled up with the car door open and waiting. I was pushed in and Richie followed behind me. The car fishtailed and I was thrown into Richie's lap. I heard him grunt from taking my full weight against his chest.

"Ow!" I heard Richie gasp.

"Sorry!" Seth yelled.

The car righted itself and I realized that I was sitting on the injured hand. I quickly shifted into the area between them. Then I looked at Richie then Seth.

"Seth," I heard Richie snap.

"What?!" He retorted.

"What now?" He said gesturing to me.

"Fuck if I know," he started. "Cut the tape. She can nurse your hand Mr. Genius."

I looked at Richie and put my hands up so he could cut the tape. He sighed angrily and pulled out a weird looking white handled knife. I stared at his face so I wouldn't freak out with a knife in the general vicinity. He cut the tape and left me to pull it off. I did.

"You ever treated a gunshot wound before?" he asked when I looked at him again.

"No," I said softly.

He raised his eyebrows in a quick motion.

"Cut off a part of this shirt and tie it around my hand," he said handing me the knife and a shirt.

I quickly did as he said and gave him back the knife. He and his brother exchanged a look I didn't understand.

"The princess has a brain," I heard Seth say.

"Princess has a name, Seth," Richie said sounding offended.

"No shit Sherlock," Seth quipped."Is she your girlfriend or something?"

"No, but we kidnapped her. We could at least ask her, her name," Richie said absently rubbing his injured hand.

"Emerald," I said quietly.

"What?" they said.

"My name is Emerald. Or Eme, for short," I said after taking a breath.

"Seth, we stole a precious gem," Richie chuckled.

I saw Seth smile out of the corner of my eye. Great! They found my name amusing.

"Well, Eme. If you're a good girl you will make it through this without getting hurt," Richie said putting his arm around me.

His cologne and blood smell surrounded me. I shivered without being able to stop myself.

"Don't be scared." Richie laughed, leaning closer. "I don't bite. Hard"

He looked like the poster child for crazy with that grin on his face.

"Richie, knock it off," Seth snapped.

I got the sense that there was some kind of double meaning that I didn't catch. I mentally wasn't entirely realizing how much danger I was possibly in.

"What?" Richie asked in a half-joking manner.

His arm was still around my shoulder. I tuned out their conversation because I was busy enjoying his warmth. I didn't realize they were talking to me until Richie said my name and turned my head to face him.

"Emerald, you in there?" He asked.

I blinked slowly coming back to planet Earth.

"Yeah," I said quietly.

"Good," he said and opened the car door.

It was then that I realized we had stopped at a hotel.

"Let's go," he said holding out of his hand.

[beepbeeprichiellc]

Okay but reddie Hogwarts au where they're in different houses and have to sneak out and find places to make out/other stuff please?

Yeah, but be warned that I see Richie as a Ravenclaw. You can fight me about it bro, that boy is smart.

The beagle in his mouth was rather dry this morning, the

cream cheese doing little to assist the problem. His face scrunched in disgust,

trying to get past the bitter taste on his tongue and fighting the urge to spit

it out on to his plate. He could feel his friend’s eyes on him, daring him to

do something that disgusting so that he could snap back with another witty comment.

Now wanting to give him the satisfaction he swallowed, the scratchy feeling

drawing lines down his windpipe. With a smirk he stuck opened his mouth, biting

back a winning giggle.

“Congratulations.” Stan sarcastically sneered from the other

side of the table. “I’ve never been so impressed.”

“I know I haven’t.” Mike laughed, looking up from his copy of the

Daily Prophet. “I would have spit it out regardless of Stan’s dirty look.”

“That’s why I’m a winner.” Eddie joked, taking a swig of his

apple juice. “Never give gonna give you up, never gonna let you down.”

The Slytherin fought a smirk, but it grew along his face regardless.

The joke was lost on Mike, being a pure blood and never hearing a single song

from the muggle world. With a huff the other Hufflepuff, didn’t bother with his

reply, instead engrossing himself with his paper. Eddie pushed his plate aside,

reading over for a piece of buttered toast, leaving his bland bagel forgotten

by his side.

The three of them were quite a pair, raising a rift in the

social status that had been in place for years at Hogwarts. It was uncommon for

a half blood Slytherin to be sorted into the house dominated by pure blood,

which is why Stan was met with hostile classmates. That was the year

Hufflepuffs and Slytherins shared potions, which is where Mike and Eddie had

met their closest friend. Ever since they were inseparable, leaning on one another

for support when any of them needed it the most. Typically they got along

great, regardless of the nasty looks they received from others and now in their

sixth year, the shock had drowned down by everyone except for the newbies.

However, lately there was one aspect in Eddie’s life that

his two friends looked down on and that was the loudmouth who was currently screaming

about the Bulgarian National Quidditch teams latest loss. Eddie caught a glimpse

of him making a crude motion to the Gryffindor girl across from him and he

couldn’t help but smile.

“Stop it.” Stan nipped, his voice slightly obscured by his

glass. “Don’t you dare enjoy his crudeness.”

“I wasn’t.” Eddie defended. “I saw that Greta Keene was hit

with a curse that turned her hair pink and I was laughing at that.” Lie.

“I heard it was that Marsh girl.” Mike added to the

conversation. “They’ve apparently had it out for one another since first year.”

“How in the world would you know this?” Stan asked, pulling

down the paper so he could see Mike’s amused grin. “Are you psychic now too?

Gone off the deep end with those wackos in the astrology tower?”

“No, I caught up with Ben in the library. He’s got a thing

for her.” He answered, shrugging. “I think you would like him, he is pretty

cool.”

“He hangs with that Tozier boy, there is no way he is cool.”

“Hey now.” Eddie quickly said, eyeing his friend with heated

eyes. “Richie isn’t as bad as you make him out to be.”

Stan snorted. “The kid put itching powder in down my pants

our third year and charmed to toilets to greet us all fourth year. He is a menace

to society, how you go around sleeping with him is beyond me.”

“They aren’t sleeping together, they’re only snogging.” Mike

corrected making Eddie’s face turn beat red from embarrassment. Looking over to

his friend, Mike offered a shrug. “Sorry, you talk in your sleep.”

“Who I snog and don’t snog isn’t any of your business.”

Eddie hissed, “I’ll have you know that he very good at what he does.”

Stan made a gagging motion with his mouth and Mike cringed. “Well

he better, he doesn’t have the brains for anything else.” The Slytherin’s voice

said full of stoic humor. “His head is so full of bee’s that I bet he could open

a honey stand in Hogsmeed.”

“He’s in Ravenclaw.” Eddie nipped.

“Yet another mystery that is beyond me.” Stan shrugged,

shifting his weight in his seat. “Must be pretty low standards in that house.”

Eddie opened his mouth to retort but became unfocused as a

blue paper crane floated in front of him, bowing lightly before losing its life

like charm. His gaze shifted upward just in time to catch Richie’s, a familiar

smirk dancing on his lips. It was like a fire was ignited in Eddie’s belly, a lustful

need gnawing just under his skin. Richie winked before standing, adjusting his

robes before walking out of the hall.

“Oh dear god.” Stan muttered, a comment that Eddie ignored

as he opened the origami animal to reveal the secret message.

Usual spot, 5 minutes.

“Well, looks like I’ve got to go.” Eddie sputtered, grabbing

his wand and books. He could feel his friends judging glances, making his face

become even hotter. “I’ve got uh-herbology first period and-“

“No you have a free period in the mornings.” Mike corrected,

smirking over to Stan. “But I bet you are going to go study human anatomy instead.”

“Shut up.”

“Just use protection.” Stan said, rolling his eyes. “Don’t

want to catch the clap from that dirty boy.”

“You know, just for that I’m going to tell Bill about your

little crush on him.” Eddie hissed, making Stan choke on his water. “I’m sure

he would be flattered that you would find a Gryffindor so fucking-“

“Just go.” Stan growled, making a waving motion with his

hand. “I’m done with you today and it’s not even lunch.”

“See you later Mike.” Eddie offered to his less annoying

friend who only nodded. Without another word he hurried from the table and out

of the grand hall, ignoring some of the stares that came from the group that

Richie had been sitting with. Their usual place wasn’t far, but it was a hassle

to get to. They had found it one night during one of their late meetups,

needing to hide from the Ravenclaw Head boy who had been monitoring Richie’s movements.

Now it was where they almost always met, using the space room of requirement

for something so filthy it would make the headmaster blush.

Once the door appeared Eddie sighed, adjusting his books on

his hip and mentally preparing himself. As he opened the door he found Richie waiting

against the small wall, which to this day still baffled Eddie as to why the

room only appeared as a small space. A smile broke out on his face as his eyes

landed on Eddie.

“Real smooth with the crane.” The shorter boy jeered, “Couldn’t

be less conspicuous?”

“I thought it was romantic.” He replied, “You know, come suck

my face in a closet because watching you argue with your friends is making me

all hot and-“

“Beep beep Richie.”

That was all it took to break the ice as Richie forced Eddie

to drop his things by pushing him against the wall, pinning him in place. Eddie

could feel Richie’s smirk, taste his amusement and when he leaned down to

connect their lips, the small boy dug his fingers into his lush curls. This earned

him a moan, a nonverbal command for more.

“Oh god Eds.” The trashmouth breathed, his kisses trailing

down Eddie’s cheek to his neck where he nipped at the tender flesh lovingly. “I

love the way you taste.”

Eddie’s breathing hitched, his eyes rolling into the back of

his head from pleasure. Richie bent down, hooking his hands under Eddie’s

thighs and lifted him up against the wall. Eddie’s legs wrapped around the

trashmouths slim waist, hooking together on the small of his back.

“Don’t call me that.” Eddie managed, making Richie chuckle

before grinding into him making whatever else Eddie had to say die on his tongue,

replaced by a needy whimper. When he was with Richie, he was on fire. He was

alive. It didn’t matter that he was muggle born or that Richie was of pure

blood, it didn’t matter that they were in opposing houses or that what they

were doing was frowned upon. All that mattered was Richie’s heated palms

sliding under his shirt, the lustful groans that stretched between them and the

way Riche marked him as his.

“Hey, I have something I wanted to ask you.” Richie muttered

as he watched Eddie readjust his wardrobe, the smell of sexual tension

lingering in the air.

“No I will not sneak into your room to make out.” He

replied, rolling his eyes and retying his tie. “That’s the stupidest-“

“No not that, although that would be so fucking hot.” Riche

chuckled, licking his lips. “Beverly snatched a pint of vodka from the grounds

keeper and we are planning on having ourselves a little get together with Bill

and Ben. I wanted to see if you would come.”

The tone in Richie’s voice faltered, making Eddie look up

from what he was doing. It was unlike the trashmouth to come off as shy or

timid, being one to run his mouth in any situation. The fact that he remained

quiet under Eddie’s gaze caused a slight alarm in his head. “You want me to

meet your friends?”

“Well you already know Bill.” Richie muttered, rubbing the

back of his neck. “But yeah I guess. I thought that maybe-you know if you

wanted-we could like hang out. Without snogging.”

Eddie blinked, his mouth slightly gaping open in surprise. Their

entire relationship had been physical, noting more, nothing less. This was

uncharted territory, something that made Eddie’s nerves buzz with anxiety. “I

uh-promised Mike and Stan that I would hang with them tonight.”

“Bring them.” Richie shot back, shrugging. “Bill won’t shut

up about Stan and I’ve met Mike a few times while he was with Ben in the library,

he seems cool.”

“I don’t know Richie-“

“Come on.” He pleaded, “Just one night and if you hate it

then we can go back to just sucking face in a magical broom closet. No harm no

foul. It’ll be like a test run.”

“A test run?”

“Yeah.”

Everything inside of Eddie told him to decline the offer, to

tell Richie that it just wouldn’t work out, that they were from two different

worlds but as he looked into his deep chocolate eyes something else slipped

past his lips. “Okay, sure.”  

Richie beamed. “Sweet, so prefects bathroom after lights

out.” He bounced on the balls of his feet, planting a quick peck to Eddie’s

cheek before opening the door leading out into the hall. “You won’t regret this

Eds I promise.”

The trasmouth scurried out, running to his next class that

he was already late for. Eddie yelled after him, rubbing the spot where he had

kissed. “THAT”S NOT MY NAME!”

A laugh was his only response.