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Richie sat on his porch and alternated between watching the clouds and the passing cars. He felt alone and like a waste of space. He hated when that happened, but then again, who enjoyed feeling like they were collecting dust. Utterly useless.
It was one of those weeks where every day his friends were busy with this and that reason. Which unintentionally left Richie as the sole loser without plans.
He wiped away the sweat forming on his forehead. The hot summer day was unforgiving but sitting inside made Richie feel worse. At least this way there was proof of his existence to the outside world. Even if the world didn’t care.
“Well,” Richie spoke loud as if that would help, “I’m gonna get ice cream.”
He walked inside just in time to hear the house phone’s ringer. Richie made his way to answer it in a shiftless manner. He doubted the call was for him, so he grabbed a loose piece of paper and pen that were along his path.
“Richie Tozier speaking,” his bored tone was unwelcoming.
“Richie!” It was Eddie. “I finished my chores early, are you still free?”
A soft feeling in Richie’s stomach formed while a delighted smile crossed his lips.
“Yeah, come over. I’m sure we can find something to do.”
“Cool, see you soon,” Richie could hear Eddie’s smile through the phone.
After hanging up, Richie clapped his hands together, “Well, my pity party's over!”
Richie went back outside like a dog waiting for its owner. He was anxious and excited to see Eddie. The two hadn’t hung out just them since the beginning of summer. Sure, there were moments where they had private conversations. But they'd gotten out of the habit of making plans for just the two of them, which they once did frequently.
Richie couldn’t exactly pin down why that was; Eddie could.
Eddie started to feel weird after he realized small things about Richie. The way Richie pushed up his glasses while laughing at Eddie’s jokes. And those Hawaiian shirts he routinely wore and somehow seemed to have dozens of. That gleam in his eyes that would only come when he spoke of movies, games, shows he was passionate about.
But what got to Eddie’s head the most was how caring Richie was. The way he would get Henry Bowers and his friends’ attention on him if they were focused on Eddie. And the way Richie could contain any jokes that crossed his mind while studying with him because he knew Eddie needed to focus. There was this one time Eddie was over at Richie’s house late and accidentally fell asleep in his bed. He woke up tucked in nicely with the fan on like he preferred; Richie on the floor. He didn’t complain once.
Richie never complained when it came to taking care of his friends.
These things and more stuck with Eddie. They made him lie awake at night, and made his heart flutter.
Originally, Eddie thought he was desiring just anybody. Maybe all he wanted was to be held. But during one incident, he caught the face his heart was pushing for: Richie.
Ever since that realization, back in June, Eddie had felt almost uncomfortable around Richie. Because he doubted any chance of Richie feeling the same way. Even if he was interested in boys, Eddie knew he was not Richie’s type.
Though truthfully, he was unsure what Richie’s type was exactly. As long as Eddie had known him, Richie never showed or verbalized interest for anyone.
The ride to Richie’s house wasn’t a long one, they lived the closest out of all the losers. As Eddie approached, he spotted Richie already jumping to his feet.
“Do you want ice cream?” was the first thing he said to Eddie in days, not over the phone.
“Obviously,” Eddie had a harsh, know-it-all tone. But the upturned corners of his lips made his kindness known.
Eddie followed Richie, who was asking what flavor he wanted and in a bowl or cone.
Before Eddie even got the chance to answer, Richie looked back at him with a grin, “Vanilla in a cone, right?”
Eddie didn’t even notice his own smile, “Yeah.” He could feel his cheeks turning a nice shade of pink though.
“What now?” Richie was licking the melted ice cream off his hand.
The two both finished their separate cones, and without them, the heat was hard to ignore.
“We could play cards?”
“I’ve been playing solitaire whenever the arcade was too crowded.”
“What about a bike ride?”
“Last time we took a bike ride with no destination, we ran into fuck-mullet and his loyal goons. I still have scars on my knees.”
“What about your trampoline?”
Richie laughed dryly, “We haven’t gotten the fucking hole fixed from the last time you guys were over.”
The painful memory of falling to the ground after a loud tearing noise came back to mind. Who would have thought putting 7 people on a trampoline for 3 would have gone so poorly?
“Sorry about that,” Eddie winced. He knew how excited Richie was about that trampoline. And it didn’t even survive a whole month.
“Fucking shit,” Richie basically yelled while wiping at his face, “It’s hotter than your mom out here! I feel like I just went swimming, for Christ’s sake!”
The heat had a way of making people irrationally angry, and in some cases just irrational.
But then the same idea, at the same time, came to Richie and Eddie. They looked at each other with excited expressions.
“Wanna go swimming?” they simultaneously spat out.
“The Quarry?” Eddie raised a brow.
“The Quarry,” Richie agreed with a smirk.
Richie and Eddie stood at the edge of the water. They took in the scenery, something they never thought to do. Eddie could feel his heartbeat speeding up. It was just him and Richie alone with natural beauty that felt wrong to disturb.
“Maybe we should just get our feet wet?” Eddie suggested. The idea was to cover up the fact he felt a bit nervous to be naked in front of Richie alone. As if somehow Richie would be able to finally see through him.
“Fuck that,” Richie was already ripping off his shirt and kicking off his shoes, “I came here to swim, not write poetry!”
A vision of Richie peacefully sitting under a tree, maybe with a flower in his hair crossed Eddie’s mind. He’d be sitting there with a notepad and pen in hand. Sunbeams would gracefully break through the shade. Then Richie would look up at Eddie with a smile that welcomed him to join.
The short daydream ended quickly when Eddie felt water splashed into his face.
“Hey!” Eddie glared.
“Get in already!” Richie laughed while throwing himself backwards into the water.
Eddie’s annoyance washed away, and he didn’t even remember taking off his clothes. He was now in the lake slashing around beside Richie. Water got up their noses, vulgar language that would make a mother faint was used casually, and lots of shoving.
The two eventually calmed down enough for Eddie to feel comfortable while floating. He watched clouds pass by while Richie’s voice made enjoyable background noise. Richie was prone to lose track of one topic and start on a whole new one. So there wasn’t much use in trying to focus because the conversation would change in only a matter of a minute.
Eddie rested his eyes for only a second when he felt two hands press firmly down on his stomach. On reflects, Eddie swatted to hit at whatever was “attacking” him.
“Oh fuck!” Richie yelled before Eddie’s head submerged underwater.
“Damnit,” Eddie was feeling around slowly for Richie’s glasses. Richie was doing the same, but he was nearly blind at that moment. “I’m really sorry, Richie,” Eddie apologized again.
Richie waved a hand, “If you say ‘sorry’ one more time, Eds, you’re gonna regret it.”
“Got it,” Eddie’s voice trailed off. He felt something solid touch his foot. When he looked down, Eddie knew exactly what it was.
He picked up the pair of glasses. Eddie wasn’t quick to tell Richie, he only stared down at the bent, old looking frames. No matter how many times Richie got his glasses destroyed and had to get a new pair, he never changed the frames. He enjoyed having constants in his life, anyone who paid attention could pick up on that.
Eddie glanced back up at Richie, who was still hunched over feeling around the lake.
Eddie’s mind was split. He could give Richie’s his glasses or continue the moment of feeling in control. Whenever Eddie even thought about talking to Richie seriously, the same fear and anxieties reached back. When Richie’s magnified eyes were on him, focused on only him, Eddie could swear his thoughts were being seen. Richie had some way of making Eddie feel like he had no control over censoring himself. Like Richie knew what he would say before Eddie did.
“Hey, Richie,” Eddie whispered.
“What is it?” Richie didn’t stop blindly searching for what Eddie had already found.
“Have you ever,” his throat felt so dry, “felt bad about something you can’t help?”
“Sure, I felt-,” Richie was smirking but Eddie cut him off quickly.
“If you say a ‘your mom’ joke, I’m going to drown you.”
Richie’s smile slowly faded and his expression was serious, “Fine but for real, Eds. I’ve been there.”
“What about?”
Richie straightened up and spoke in a tired tone, “You first.”
“That’s fair,” he took a deep sigh, “Well, there's this… person… and I like them.”
Richie paused before continuing his search; Eddie stared back down at the glasses.
“But, I know I have no chance.”
“Why would you say that?” Richie was unnaturally serious, “Anyone would be lucky to have you even consider them like that.”
“Why?” the question escaped Eddie’s lips just as soon as he thought it.
Richie straightened up again, as if he was offended, “‘Why?’ Fuck, Eddie, ‘why not’ is the real question? You’re caring, funny, and just so great to be around. Damn, don’t ask me stupid shit.”
Eddie could feel blush spread across his cheeks.
“Who's this even about?” there was the smallest hint of jealousy in Richie’s voice. He folded his arms, brows furrowed.
“You don’t want to know,” Eddie stared at him. His heartbeat quickened; He rarely got to see Richie without glasses, and somehow he looked even cuter.
“When you said that, Henry Bowers came to mind. Please don’t tell me it’s Bowers,” a hand darted to his mouth, “or Patrick Hockstetter. Bowers is better than that creep. Oh, fuck, Eddie, who is it?”
“Ew! Fuck no,” then a thought crossed his mind, “Why are you only suggesting guys?”
Richie paused, “Sorry.”
“Well,” Eddie took a deep breath, “the person is a guy. So.”
“Seriously?” Richie sounded like he was masking excitement.
Eddie rolled his eyes, “Yeah, seriously.”
“Is he one of our friends? Like Bill or Mike or what?”
Eddie shook his head, even though Richie couldn’t see the motion, “None of them, but he does hang out with us. And he’s a dumbass.” Eddie couldn’t stop once he started. “He gets us in trouble all the fucking time because he doesn’t know when to shut the hell up. But he’s a good friend. Possibly, maybe, my best friend and favorite person to be around.”
Eddie was so far in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Richie walking toward him.
“And like I said, he’s a dumbass. But he always helps me out with homework and studying. He’s smart but too humble to admit it. But I don't even think he is into guys, or anyone honestly,” Eddie shut his eyes while moving his head back up, “Oh fuck, I think I love him.”
His eyes shot back open when he felt two lips press against his own. It didn’t take a second for him to understand, closes his eyes, and kiss back.
The sun was shining bright on the teens standing in the lake. Eddie still had Richie’s glasses in both his hands; the two feared touching more than just their lips. Like that would be asking for too much.
Richie grabbed his glasses when he pulled away. He slid them back on and said in an only slightly interested tone, “So who are you talking about? Stan?”
Richie broke into a teasing smirk just in time for Eddie to hit his shoulder.
“Don’t ruin this.”