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“No way.” Eddie mutters as he checks the small piece of paper in his hands and reads, black on white: “Richie Tozier.”
There’s like 25 people in this class, there’s just no way he just picked one of his best friendS for secret santa. This is so perfect, he cannot quite believe it. He realises after way too many seconds have passed how goofily he’s been smiling ever since he checked his paper.
“Got someone nice Eds?” He hears from the man in person, Richie, who just appeared next to him.
“Depends who you ask.” He giggles. Sucks he’s the only one who can understand the joke.
“What the fuck does that even mean.” Richie replies, still smiling. “I’m quite happy about mine, if I say so myself.” Eddie’s stomach drop. He must’ve gotten that person he always talks about… He never told him who she was, but he seems smitten. Not that Eddie cares really, but he’s just a bit possessive. They’ve been best friend for a while after all, he won’t let some stupid girl make them drift apart.
Weirdly, he didn’t care as much when Bill started pinning over Bev.
“Well. We’ll see who gives the best gift.” Eddie challenges.
“Don’t even try me Eds, my gift picking abilities are out of this world.” Richie replies smugly.
“I doubt that.”
“Well. We will have to wait and see.”
-
As it happens most of the time with him, the good feeling and excitement quickly turns into anxiety. He needs to choose the best gift for Richie, not only because of the stupid challenge but because he wants Richie to like it, he wants Richie to like him.
That’s something he started worrying about recently. He doesn’t get it. One time he asked Bill how it feels when you like someone. Because surely, Bill knows. And he said something like : “You get that feeling like. It’s weird to explain. And then you want them to feel the same about you, to like you.” And Eddie thought, well isn’t that just how you feel about your bestest friend? But he didn’t say anything, because he’s not sure how Bill would have reacted.
There are a few options, he could buy a brand-new dc comic, but that doesn’t seem personal enough. Eddie always liked personalized gifts the most, but his mom always gets him books, the big ones with too many words. He likes some of them, but sometimes he wishes he could get something that’s more personal, something he could look at later and be nostalgic about.
Apart from comics, one other thing they have in common is music. They spend hours in one or the other’s room listening to their records performing the most horrendous cover possible. His mom caught them singing “it’s raining men” standing on his bed and almost threw Richie out. He will always remember how ashamed he felt afterwards.
He decides to make him a mixtape. He puts all the best song on there, Heroes, Everybody wants to rule the world, and the best one, Africa by Toto, but also some Richie doesn’t know and he definitely should. (come on, everyone should listen to Forever Young at least once a day.)
He writes “For Richie” neatly on the front and wraps it carefully in a nice wrapping paper he found, it’s red with a lot of little stars and sparkles. Then, he sticks a little bow on the top and writes Richie’s name on the wrapping paper. Perfect.
-
It’s the day. His stomach is legitimately churning when he steps out oh his mom’s car, the present sitting heavy in his bag. He was so sure of himself and suddenly he’s nervous. What if Richie would’ve enjoyed a comic better? What if personalised gifts aren’t his thing? He probably got a pretty jewellery for that girl and Eddie will seem like a fool with his stupid tape.
He takes a deep breath and goes on. He has to trust his first instinct.
He gets into the classroom and everyone is simply vibrating from nervous energy, clearly impatient to give their presents. He spots Richie at his seat and he … He actually doesn’t seem nervous at all.
Eddie walks towards him and sit next to him, like always.
“You look confident.” He points out.
“Confident? I got the best gift Eddie, not in this classroom, not in this country even, but the best gift known to mankind. I’m changing the world.” He starts babbling, pointing at the rectangle object badly wrapped in his hands. Eddie tries to sneak a look at the name, but Richie is hiding it with his finger. “If someone got me that present, I would simply have to propose to them on the spot.” Eddie feels the bad feeling in his stomach make a return. He’s now convinced Richie will hate his present, and he will run away with the girl to get married in France or something. Yeah, that’s what’s going to happen.
“Yeah well. I think mine is great too.” Eddie says sheepishly. Richie must sense his discomfort because he hits him lightly in the ribs with his elbow and replies in a gentle tone.
“Aw Eddie, I’m sure you did great too.” Eddie is almost surprised by how nice he is before he adds smugly. “It’s not fair you were against the best gift giver in the whole universe, after all.”
“Shut up.” He says, whispering now because the teacher just entered the room. He can hear his asshole of a friend giggling still.
The teacher welcomes everyone and then asks that every secret santa go put their presents in the big bag next to her desk. It’s a bit of a mess and everyone tries to see who got who, but all the gifts end up in the bag just right.
The teacher then proceeds to hand out the presents to each person. He tries not to look suspicious as she lays Richie’s present on his table. “Dude, my secret santa has some mad wrapping skills.” Richie notes.
His breath gets stuck when the teacher puts the familiar rectangle object on his own table. It’s so badly wrapped up, it’s unmistakable. What are the odds that Richie and they got each other in the secret santa? It’s too much of a coincidence, what is the universe trying to say? He thinks about what Richie said when he picked his paper, how happy he was with who he got, and he feels warm. Liked, a little bit.
He considers saying something but decides against it.
When everyone gets their own gifts, they start unwrapping them, and Eddie doesn’t even have the time to tear apart the brown paper surrounding his present before he hears Richie gasp. “No way!” He ignores him and finish unwrapping it, finding a simple cassette, “For Eddie” scribbled on the front.
They look at each other and break into laughter.
“Fucking hell! We got each other the same thing, that’s some psychic thing.” Richie cracks up, a bit too loudly for comfort.
“How do you know it’s from me?” Eddie wonders.
“I know your writing dude. I should’ve known from how neat the wrapping was.” Richie explains. They know each other so well, it’s comforting. “I can’t believe you were nervous! This is the best present ever. I mean, I guess I said that already, but I was bragging, so it doesn’t count.” He chuckles.
“Your present isn’t bad either, if I say so myself.” Eddie giggles back, his face feeling slightly hot.
“No for real, I’m really happy, thank you.” Richie says, more serious than Eddie has ever seen him. Then he hugs him, and Eddie almost drops his tape in shock before remembering how to human and hug him back.
Best Christmas ever.
-
At the end of the day, he almost runs home to listen to his tape. He can’t wait to hear the songs on there.
He sticks his ear buds in his ears and puts the tape in the Walkman, and then he just closes his eyes and listen.
Without a surprise, most song he put on Richie’s cassette are on his too, plus a few of Richie’s favourite. He lets his mind wander and remember all the good times they had listening to these songs, and then he remembers the hug from earlier, and the more he does the more he understands the feeling Bill tried to explain to him. For once, he doesn’t try to push it away. For once, he lets the music wash over him and forgets what everyone else would think of him, thinking of another boy like that. He had too much of a good day to care.
When the tape ends, he’s about to rewind it when he realises it’s not actually over, it’s just silent. He waits for a minute, expecting it to just be a mistake, but then a last song starts, one he doesn’t know.
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am home again
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am whole again
Of course Richie put a secret song on the tape, the little shit.
He doesn’t quite know what his feelings for Richie are, but he decides that those lyrics are exactly what they feel like.