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Richie stared up at the ceiling, still replaying last Saturday’s events in his head. He was so lucky to have friends like Bill and Ben. After he’d come out to them, they made sure to make some bullshit excuse for him to clear the air. The rest of the night had gone by pretty smoothly. Bev had been dared to make a fort with cushions from the couches (to the chagrin of Ben and Bill, who were sleeping there) and, using some blankets and a sign, made an impenetrable fortress for herself that she told them was “girls only.” However, after pestering from her friends, she let each of them have a turn inside the fort before she dismantled it. Bill had sketched the whole ordeal, culminating in a hilarious drawing that encapsulated the chaos of Bev’s fort. In the end, everyone ended up piled on the cushions, so the fort was demolished anyway. Oh well.
The night also involved Mike singing the Star-Spangled Banner out on the lawn, Stan sneaking into Bill’s parents’ room to steal a piece of jewelry (he immediately gave it back once the dare was done) and taking Georgie’s paints to give Eddie a butterfly on his cheek.
Richie giggled to himself as he remembered Eddie attempting to get the paint all over Richie. When Richie retaliated, Eddie flinched back, screaming, “Careful, you asshole! You’re gonna ruin my butterfly!”
“Your butterfly is perfect, just like you!”
“Shut the absolute fuck up.” Eddie snapped, but his cheeks reddened. Cute, cute, cute!
“Hey, I did the b-b-butterfly!” Bill protested. “So I’m the p-perfect one!”
“...eh,” Richie joked. Bill responded with an over-the-top face of utter betrayal. Richie laughed. “Just kidding, Billiam. Best bitch, remember?”
“Of c-course.”
“Do I even want to know?” Richie heard Eddie mumble.
No. No, he didn’t.
After they finally went to sleep, the Losers had a pancake breakfast in the morning, provided by Bill’s parents and Georgie. The Losers were especially complimentary of Georgie, admiring his pancakes. But, of course, Georgie deserved it. If there’s one thing everyone in that house agreed on, it’s that Georgie deserved the world.
That sleepover had been, all in all, a wonderful experience. Even though he had that little freak out, Ben and Bill helped him out of it and did nothing but support him, even when he told them his secret.
They knew his secret. It was crazy to even think that, six days later.
Richie had had a crush on Eddie for a long time, but he hadn’t realized it until recently. However, since he realized it, the thought had weighed down on him, like he was carrying the Street Fighter machine on his back all the time. Simply telling Bill and Ben had definitely lessened the weight of the Street Fighter machine, but it wasn’t gone. He still dealt with shame and guilt over his crush. He didn’t expect that to change overnight.
And yet, loving Eddie felt right. For all it felt wrong, for all the bad Richie felt, he still couldn’t help smiling when he thought about Eddie Kaspbrak. Eddie’s adorable freckled face danced in Richie’s head, and he felt a smile coming onto his face. His mind filled with images- the sparkle in Eddie’s eyes when he talked a mile a minute, the hand gestures he made especially when he was passionate about something, the way he used to fumble with his many fanny packs, the pink flush in his cheeks whenever he blushed- Richie could go on and on.
He had heard from bullies like Bowers too many times that being gay, having a crush on a guy, was lustful and wrong. But what he felt for Eddie wasn’t purely appearance based- far from it. Richie loved Eddie’s passion that made him a fireball of fury or a tornado of activity. He loved his bravery that for so many years had been suppressed, but had always been there. He loved seeing Eddie laugh at his jokes, seeing his head thrown back in a moment of genuine elation.
He could see a future with Eddie as his soulmate, and that excited and scared him. He couldn’t help the way he was, but why was he the way he was? What if Eddie found out? What if Bill or Ben told him, and he thought Richie was creepy?
Richie gave his head a little shake and ran his hand through his hair. Stop it, Richie. Bill and Ben are your friends. They’ll keep your secret. They’ll protect you.
He took a deep breath. Tomorrow they’d all meet at the quarry to birdwatch with Stan. This would be the first Losers Club get-together where someone else Knew.
Throughout the week, Bill and Ben had noticed things about Richie that he had before carefully kept hidden. He noticed that they noticed his joke-flirting with Eddie wasn’t really joke-flirting, it was just flirting. On Wednesday, Richie had made a joke that was probably too close to the truth as they walked to their next class. Ben had taken him aside and whispered, “I know nothing about flirting, but what the heck are you doing?”
“Watch your profanity, Haystack,” Richie joked, leaning easily with his back against a locker.
Ben ignored him. “I wrote Bev a poem that she thinks Bill wrote. Your jokes about Eddie and slash or his mom are pretty thinly veiled flirtations that he’s oblivious to. We’re both hopeless cases.”
“Am I really that bad?” Richie’s tone changed from joking to worried.
“No, no, it only became obvious once we knew your secret. But I wrote Bev a poem and literally recited one of the lines to her, and she still thinks Bill wrote it. Ugh!” Ben put his face in his hands in exasperation.
“I don’t think Bev’s that dumb. I think she thinks you read the letter, but I’m pretty sure she knows by now that Bill didn’t write it.” Richie, for once, used logic.
“Maybe you’re right. Hopefully you’re right. She’s just so gorgeous. I’m so in love. Every time she looks at me, it’s like I just melt.” Ben lifted his head from his hands. His face broke out into a smile, which seemed to light up the hallway. “We should start a club, just you and me.”
Richie scoffed. “The Hopeless Cases?”
“I was thinking more like the Pining Club.” Ben offered.
“Hmm.” Richie smiled. “Guess that’ll work, Bennifer. We’re in this together.”
Before Ben could reply, the bell rang. Richie’s next class was on the first floor, and he was on the third.
“Shit.”
———
Richie smiled as he thought back to that conversation. Ben knew what it was like to be in love with someone unattainable. The Pining Club was a joke, but it was still nice to have someone in the same boat. He was happy to have Ben and Bill.
He drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.
It seemed as if he merely blinked and the sun was shining through his window. He rolled over to the other side and put the pillow over his head, eager to get a few more winks of sleep. It took a few seconds for him to realize “oh shit, I’m supposed to meet the guys at 10!” Richie threw off his blanket and looked at the clock. 8:46.
“Oh, thank god!” He flopped back onto his bed. Not two minutes later, his mom called him down for breakfast.
She handed him a bowl of Lucky Charms as soon as he got downstairs. “Eat up, Richie, you’ve got an appointment soon!”
Richie stopped with the spoon halfway to his mouth. “A what?”
“You’re going to see your friends at the quarry, right?”
“Oh, yeah. I thought you meant something else. You scared me for a sec!” Richie didn’t want to miss it for the world.
His mother shrugged apologetically. “Sorry, sweetie! Speaking of appointments, make sure you take your meds today.”
Richie rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mom.” He took his ADHD meds after breakfast every day. His mom rolled her eyes and patted his hand, before getting up to get his medicine.
Before he knew it, his mind was at the quarry. He planned to wear his bathing suit under his clothes so that he could tear them off and jump in after birdwatching. The jump had become a tradition among the seven of them, with Beverly leading the way and the rest following. The water was usually cold at first, but eventually warmed up once they got used to it, as usual in Maine in September. Richie couldn’t wait for the inevitable splash into the water, followed by romping in the surf with the six people he loved most.
He should probably get to it. He looked at the clock- 9:15. Richie finished his cereal, then rushed upstairs to get changed. After putting on his bathing suit, he threw on a random t-shirt and one of his signature Hawaiian shirts with shorts. He glanced at himself in the mirror, shooting himself a quick smile. Lastly, he slid some socks and sneakers on and ran downstairs.
“Bye, Mom! See ya later!” He gave her a quick wave as he dashed out the door.
“Wait, Richie! Your medicine!” Shit. He hit reverse, and his mom gave him a knowing smile. “You thought you could get out of it, didn’t you?”
“No, Mom, I-“ he protested.
“I’m just kidding, Richie. Go get ‘em.” She kissed him on the cheek and handed him his pills. “Bye, sweetie.”
“Bye, Mom!”
Take two. He took a glance at the clock- 9:22. Perfect. Richie left the house and mounted his bike, meds in hand. He’d dry swallow them later.
Richie took off, watching as the houses beside him became part of the colorful surroundings of his ride. He knew how to get to the quarry, he’d done it a hundred times, but he was going to make a quick detour. When the time came, he made a slight turn, towards the Derry Library instead of the quarry. Richie gripped the handlebars harder as he traversed the asphalt, harder still as the road under him became dirt. Finally, he arrived at his destination: the Kissing Bridge.
The bridge was a little out of the way of the quarry from Richie’s house, so he needed a little extra time for himself. However, this was important to him, so it was worth it.
He hopped off his bike and leaned it on the side of the bridge, meds still gripped in his hand. Slowly and carefully, as if he were being watched, Richie made his way over to a certain part of the wood railing. He lowered himself to one knee as his eyes locked on his target.
There it was: R + E.
Richie had first carved the initials after he’d realized his own feelings. The day had been a particularly shitty one- Bowers and his gang threatened him with the usual physical harm, he caught Gretta Keene spray-painting a particularly hurtful slur-filled accusation about him on the wall, et cetera. However, once Richie saw Eddie, all the problems of the day went away. All it took was the mere sight of Eddie’s face, and Richie was happy. The revelation of Eddie was something Richie felt he had to proclaim in a way that was more than yo mama jokes and “flirting”. He wanted the whole world to know that he loved Eddie Kaspbrak, and yet he was terrified of anyone finding out.
Carving the initials on the Kissing Bridge was the perfect medium- everyone carved their initials next to their crush on the bridge. His carving would be one of dozens, and yet it would still be there. The initials kept the anonymity, but Richie Tozier knew what they stood for.
Richie reminisced as he traced the carving with his finger. Maybe he’d show Bill and Ben. They’d understand now. He smiled warmly.
“Hey dipshit, the fuck are you doing in the middle of the bridge?” Fuck. Eddie. For a second, Richie thought he summoned him by thinking about him, but his rational brain kicked into high gear.
I gotta get to the quarry, and so does he. Most importantly, he can not see the carving!
In possibly his stupidest impulse since that time he downed an entire bottle of hot sauce, Richie opened the pill box his mother gave him. Two tiny pills bounced onto the middle of the bridge.
“Hey asshole, turn around!”
Richie did, but in an awkward manner that still resulted in his back against the railing, blocking his carving. “Hey Edward Spaghedward! You look beautiful this morning!” It was true.
Eddie balanced his bike and slid off the seat. “Shut up. And don’t call me that!”
“Sorry, Eddie Spaghetti!” Richie grinned at him.
“What are you doing? Did you lose your glasses again? They’re on your face.” Eddie crossed his arms and popped his leg.
“I, uh, spilled my medicine.” This was not untrue either. He never said it was an accident.
Eddie scoffed and knelt down in front of Richie. “You gotta pay attention, Rich. This is serious stuff.” His nose scrunched up adorably. “Do you know how many germs are on this bridge?”
“Probably as much as your mom’s-“
“If you finish that sentence I will end you.” Eddie didn’t even look up from the task at hand.
“Calm down Eds! I wasn’t going to say anything bad!”
“Likely story.”
At this point, Richie wasn’t even pretending to look for his medicine.
“Fuck you,” he smiled.
“Fuck you too, asshole.” In that moment, Eddie looked up, and Richie realized he’d been staring. Eddie’s mouth was curled up in a genuine smile, and his eyes held no ire despite the venom of his words. As Eddie held his gaze, Richie was so close that he could count every freckle on Eddie’s face. It seemed like the moment lasted an eternity.
Richie felt his heart thunder in his chest. Eddie was fucking perfect, and Richie loved him. Richie had never been so sure of anything.
Stars must’ve formed before the moment ended. Galaxies collided.
Finally, Eddie cleared his throat and looked away, his cheeks a rapidly darkening pink. Richie crashed back to Earth. The moment couldn’t have been more than thirty seconds, but Richie was still reeling from it.
As if to snap him out of it, Eddie’s watch beeped as soon as he stood up.
“Shit, Rich, it’s 9:45 already!”
“Billiam is going to decapitate me if I don’t get my ass over there soon. Let’s go, Eddie Spaghetti!” Richie took one more look at the bridge and immediately found his pills- they were quite easy to spot when he wasn’t lost in Eddie’s eyes.
“Look, I know everyone wants today to be great for Stan, including us of course, but it’s okay if we’re a few minutes late,” said Eddie, arching an eyebrow as he straddled his bike.
Richie laughed. “Okay, Eds. Whatever you say!”
“Don’t call me that!” Eddie balanced his stance, one foot on the ground and the other on the pedal. “Why do you call him Billiam, anyway?”
“Because,” Richie replied, “Will is short for William, so Bill should be short for Billiam.”
Eddie laughed and rolled his eyes. “Take your pilliams.”
That got a genuine laugh out of Richie. “Nice one, Eds! Do you have any water on you?”
Eddie’s hands instinctively went to his waist, where his fanny pack used to sit. It took him a second to recalibrate- he didn’t need the fanny packs anymore. He didn’t need Sonia’s overbearing ‘influence.’
Now, Eddie kept his mini water bottles in his front basket. Richie smiled as Eddie tossed him one.
“Thanks, my darling Eddie.” Eddie’s resulting face, an interesting combination of exasperation and amusement, warmed Richie’s cheeks.
“Let’s get going.”
“If you say so!” Richie got on his bike and the boys headed toward the quarry.
——
Richie did not expect for the other five losers to be there already. Once he and Eddie ran up the quarry, they both stopped dead as the rest of the club turned to look at them with almost perfect synchronization.
“Where have you boys been?” Bev asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re fashionably late, I see.”
“Bev, it’s like 9:50. Shut up.” Eddie crossed his arms.
“Sorry, I got caught up with Eddie’s mom- time flies when you’re having fun!” Richie shot a look at Eddie, who rolled his eyes.
“If you say so,” said Stan, armed with a few birdwatching books and binoculars. “Anyway, now that we’re all here, I brought a book for everyone. I borrowed some from my Boy Scouts troop, so don’t get them dirty. I’m looking at you, Richie.” He began to pass out a book to each Loser.
“How could you ever think that, Staniel? I would never!” Richie put his hand to his chest, feigning offense.
“One word, volcano.” Oh yeah, there was that one time with the baking soda volcano and the swimming pool and...
“Okay, I get it. I promise I’ll be careful,” said Richie, batting his eyelashes.
Stan rolled his eyes and handed him a book. Richie immediately started flipping through it.
He giggled and leaned into Mike. “Mike, look at this. Ha- tit.” He pointed at the bird on the page.
“Wow, very mature, Richie,” replied Mike, smiling despite himself.
Richie flipped to another page and burst out into loud laughter. “No, no, wait, I found a funnier one, look at this, Mike!” He could barely get the name out without laughing. “This one’s called... it’s called the dickcissel!”
This got a snicker out of Mike. “I think I’m laughing more at your reaction then I am at the name.”
“There’s a ton of those in Maine,” said Stan, looking through his binoculars. “You’ll probably see one today.”
Richie was already on to a third bird. “Mike...”
“Yes, I know, booby is a funny word,” Mike anticipated Richie’s sentence before he even said it.
“Can you blame me?” Richie giggled, shutting his book.
“Can you be serious? I actually want to watch for some birds,” Stan whispered.
“Ugh, fine.” Richie groaned, making his way over to Ben.
“Sup, Bennifer? How goes it?”
“Hey, Richie. I’m good. Read a really good book this week-“
“Cool! See any cool birds yet?”
“Rich, we’ve been out here for three minutes.” Ben held his hands up to his face like makeshift binoculars. “So, no.”
“What’s the point of birdwatching if there’s nothing to watch?” asked Richie, sitting down on a rock.
“There’s plenty, you just have to look for it,” Ben replied, scanning the horizon.
Richie squinted out over the cliff at the trees and the lake below. It really was a beautiful landscape, with the rock formations highlighted by the sun still rising in the sky and the water glittering with reflected light.
“Wow,” he muttered.
He looked at the other Losers, who were all focused on their birdwatching, except for Eddie, who was looking straight at him.
“What’s up, Edster? Do I have something on my face?”
Eddie stuttered out a “Don’t call me that,” and turned away, covering his mouth with his hand.
That was weird, Richie thought to himself. It took a minute for his brain to process what just happened. He sat bolt upright.
What if he knows? Richie’s mind was on red alert. Maybe he saw the carving on the bridge after all. Maybe he’s planning something to expose me for everyone to ridicule!
His whole body tensed up as the surroundings he had just been admiring seemed to close in on him. He wanted to get away, escape-
“Richie?” He startled, feeling a hand on his shoulder. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“More like my own personal demon clown,” said Richie, spinning around to face Ben. “This is no bueno, Ben. I think Eddie knows I like him, and I don’t think he’s happy.”
Ben tilted his head. “What? How? No way!”
Bill shot a look over at the two, and Richie made a slight nod that signaled him over.
“Y-you okay, Richie?” Bill set down his book on the ground next to Richie.
“Uh, yeah,” he said, drumming his hands on his book. “It’s nothing. I haven’t seen any birds except for our own Stanley the Manley.”
Bill wasn’t phased. “Cut the b-bullshit, Richie. Remember, w-we’re h-here to h-help.” He crossed his arms as Ben nodded in agreement.
“Okay, no.” Richie dropped his book on top of Bill’s. “I think Eddie hates me.”
“D-did you call him Eds too many t-times?” Richie cracked a smile at that.
“No, I think he knows I like him.”
“Seriously, Rich, how in the world could he know? I mean, he’s super oblivious!” Ben motioned slightly towards Eddie.
Richie sighed, and stood up. “Okay, you know the kissing bridge?”
“All too well,” Ben winced. Shit. The incident with the Bowers gang and carving on the bridge.
“Sorry, Ben!”
“It’s okay, Rich. It led to us meeting, didn’t it?”
“That’s true. Anyway, the bridge is where people carve their initials right?”
“Again, Richie, I know.” Ben lifted up his shirt slightly to reveal the H-shaped scar on his stomach.
“Fuck. Dammit. I should choose my words better.”
“I th-think that’s just a general g-goal in life for you, Rich.”
“Alright, here’s two words for you. Fuck. You.” Richie smiled to let Bill know he wasn’t serious. “Anyway, Kissing Bridge. Have you ever seen the R plus E on the side of the railing?”
Both of them nodded, and Richie just stared at them.
“That was you, wasn’t it?” asked Ben. “Richie plus Eddie.”
“Yeah,” said Richie. And it makes me feel better to know that you guys didn’t know what it stood for. Anyway, I stopped there today, and while I was there, Eddie came along.”
“Did he see you near it?” Bill asked.
“I don’t know, and I don’t know if he connected the dots if he did.” Richie answered. “Anyway, long story short, I acted on impulse and ‘accidentally’ spilled my meds, which brought us face to face and I literally couldn’t speak because I was so close to him and he helped me find them and we had a moment and I think he knows!”
“W-woah, Rich! Breathe!” Bill steadied him with a hand on his shoulder. “N-none of that sounded like he hated you, Rich. In fact, he willingly got on his hands and knees on a d-dirty bridge to help you. Look, Rich, I know you’re p-p-paranoid. I know how that feels- I w-was like that when Georgie almost lost his arm to that crocodile. Eddie d-doesn’t hate you.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t see before, when everyone else was birdwatching and I caught him looking straight at me!” Richie put his hands out to emphasize his words. “He looked away right after I saw him, with his hand over his mouth! I think he was smiling because he knows and he’s gonna tell everyone.” Richie ran his hands through his hair.
“Rich! Richie! Calm down!” Bill took him by the shoulders. “Eddie is your best friend. He’s stood by you despite every insulting joke you’ve made about his mother. Every time you’ve went too far, he still wanted to be your friend. If he knows, which I don’t think he does, it doesn’t matter. I know Eddie Kaspbrak, Rich, and so do you. We both know that he’d do anything for you, so knock it off.”
Richie stared at Bill for a second in awe. “That was deep, Denbrough. And hey, you didn’t even stutter!” He let himself relax. Bill was right, and even if he wasn’t... well, Richie hoped he wasn’t.
“Hey, I felt the same way with my poem,” said Ben. “Except, I sent it to her so she knew it was for her, yet she has no idea it’s me. In my case, I want her to know. I don’t know if she’d like it if she knew, though.”
“Are you kidding?” asked Richie. “My dear Haystack, you are the human incarnation of sunshine. Sunflowers turn towards you when you walk by. Your hugs are the warmest and best. She’s missing out if she doesn’t like you.”
“That was strangely poetic, Rich.” Ben smiled. “Thank you.”
“See, I can be sweet! I buy your mom flowers every week!”
“Aaaaand moment ruined,” said Bill.
“Okay, thank you guys for cheering me up!” Richie slung his arms around their shoulders.
“No prob, Rich.”
“Y-yeah, seriously, it’s no big deal.” Bill put a hand on Richie’s arm.
Richie, still smiling, looked over to the rest of the losers. Stan was staring straight at them through his binoculars.
“What’s up Stanley, my Manley?” Richie waved to him, trying to keep his voice even.
Stan slowly lowered his binoculars, squinting his eyes. After giving a pointed look to Richie, he turned away.
“Maybe he was looking at birds behind us,” said Ben. It was likely- when Stan got into his birdwatching, he got into it.
But Stan had looked right at Richie. What if...
“S-snap out of it, Rich. It’s j-just S-stan.” Bill put a hand on his hip.
“What the fuck am I doing? Stan gives me that exact look all the time!” Richie laughed. “Alright boys, enough moping. It’s birdwatching time! Let’s see some tits!”
Ben laughed as Bill went to grab his book.
“Uh, R-Richie? Your book?”
“Oh, right.” Richie grabbed his book off of Bill’s. Time to actually watch some birds.
——
After a few more minutes of birdwatching in which Richie saw one (1) sparrow and what might have been a squirrel but moved too fast to tell, Stanley decided he was done with birdwatching for the day.
“Okay everyone, I think that does it,” he said, putting down his binoculars.
“Okay, cool!” Richie dropped his book on the ground before immediately realizing maybe he shouldn’t have done that.
Stan gave him a look that communicated exactly that. He motioned his head towards a rock to put the books on.
Richie and the others dropped off their books and binoculars before stripping down to their bathing suits.
“Shouldn’t binoculars be shortened to binos if dinasours is shortened to dinos?” Richie asked as he shrugged out of his Hawaiian shirt.
“...what?” Eddie was incredulous.
“Don’t think those two words are comparable, Rich,” said Stan.
“No, wait, maybe he’s on to something!” Bev threw her shirt onto a rock. “Rhinoceros is shortened to rhino, too.”
“See, you get it!” Richie shrugged out of his t-shirt. “A fellow intellectual.”
“Thank you, I try my best.” Bev flashed him a smile. “Okay, boys, lets get swimming!” She took a running start into the water, and flew into the air like one of Stanley’s birds.
Richie heard her splash into the water, followed by a whoop of excitement from the lake.
“Okay, my turn,” said Mike. He jogged to the edge of the cliff, turned around, and jumped backwards, shooting finger guns at the other Losers.
A few seconds after he splashed into the water, Mike yelled up, “Water’s nice!”
Bill took a few steps back, then ran straight off the cliff only to flip in the air.
“Show-off,” Stan mumbled, smiling nonetheless.
“What you got, Staniel?” Richie asked.
Stanley shot a deadpan look at Richie. He walked up to the edge of the cliff and hopped off, keeping his body rigid.
A few seconds later, Richie heard Stan laughing at his own jump as the others joined in. Classic Stan.
Ben shot the other boys a smile. “Ready?” he asked. “You better give me a good score!”
Richie nodded in agreement.
Ben gave them one last smile, then performed a perfect cannonball.
“10 out of 10!” Richie called.
He heard Ben laughing from down below. “Thanks, Rich!”
“I have to agree with Richie for once,” yelled Eddie from beside Richie.
“Thanks, Eddie!”
“Alright, Eduardo, why don’t we jump in together? I’ll hold you like I hold your mom every night,” Richie offered.
“Or I could just push you in,” Eddie replied.
“You wish,” said Richie, taking off his glasses and putting them near his clothes. “Anyway, on three?”
Eddie nodded.
“One, two, three!”
Richie sensed Eddie beside him as he felt his feet leave the cliff. Somehow, his hand found Eddie’s, if only for a second, and he was frozen, for just a second, in time.
He hit the water and time resumed. He broke the surface a millisecond before Eddie did.
“God, it’s fucking freezing,” Eddie complained immediately. “Why did I agree to this again?”
“Because you love us,” mocked Richie.
Eddie splashed him instead of responding.
“Oh, it’s on!” Richie laughed. Soon enough, all seven Losers were in a full on splash fight. Richie laughed as he dodged Eddie’s attempt at soaking him, only to jump directly into Bev’s line of fire. She put her hands over her face just in time for Richie to douse her.
“Ah! You asshat!” She laughed. Ben avenged her by soaking Richie, but before Richie could retaliate, Ben dived underwater.
“That’s cheating!” Richie yelled before doing the exact same thing to avoid Mike’s splash.
When he came up for air again, Eddie gleefully got him in the face, only to have the same done to him by Stan in a moment of karmic bliss.
Richie smiled over at Stan, who gave him a thumbs up before being dunked by Bill.
If he could stay in one moment, it would be this one.
———
“I’m cold as balls,” Richie complained, crossing his arms. The seven Losers climbed out of the lake and began their trek back up to the quarry.
“Ever the poet, aren’t you?” Stan cracked a grin next to him.
“Fine. I will rephrase.” Richie held up his hand dramatically, imitating Hamlet. “I am frozen head to toe, as a frozen testicle can testify,”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Bev interrupted, making a “close your mouth” gesture with her hand.
“That’s, unfortunately, exactly the kind of thing Shakespeare would have written in his comedies, save for the fact that it should be in iambic pentameter,” said Stan.
“Someone appreciates my genius!” Richie exclaimed as they reached the top of the hill.
“If you can call it that,” mumbled Eddie. “Ugh, I can’t wait to wrap myself in a warm towel.”
Richie stopped in his tracks, causing Mike to nearly bump into him.
“Fuck,” he said.
“Did you forget your towel?” Bev raised an eyebrow.
“N-no, I did not!” Richie started walking again, faster this time as if that would cause a towel to appear next to his clothes.
“He f-forgot his towel,” confirmed Bill. “Look at the way h-he’s w-walking.”
“I am walking perfectly normally,” complained Richie. His hands were balled into fists by his side as he power-walked up the hill.
Finally, he reached the rocks, yet he still couldn’t see shit without his glasses.
“Do you guys see a towel near my clothes?” He asked hopefully.
“Rich, the rest of us aren’t up there yet!” called up Mike from a few feet below.
“Okay,” he called distractedly.
He raced towards his clothes, tripping on a rock as he did. He nearly sprawled onto the grass, but righted himself just in time.
“I’m glad no one saw that,” he whispered to himself as he put on his glasses.
“We all saw that,” Eddie said from behind him.
Dammit. “Just like your mom saw me in her bed last night!” Saved it.
“That was awful, but at least I know you’re okay,” said Eddie, smiling.
“Yeah, I’m the coolest bitch in town.” Richie adjusted his glasses. “What other bitch hit a crocodile in the face while in the fucking sewers? I didn’t think so.” The crocodile incident was what really brought them all together, and regardless of all his jokes, Richie actually did hit a home run on a terrifying crocodile.
“Would anyone be so kind as to share their towel with me?” Richie attempted what he thought were puppy eyes.
Eddie sighed. “Sure, c’mere.”
“Wow, Eds! I always knew you’d come to my rescue!” Richie bounced up towards Eddie.
As he did, he passed Bill, who whispered, “Guess you... f-fell for him.”
“Shut up, bad jokes are my thing,” replied Richie, flashing him a smile nonetheless.
“Touché.”
Eddie had his towel wrapped around him, and opened his arms when Richie approached.
“Aww, Eds, is this just an excuse to cuddle with me?” Richie joked as he took one side of the towel.
“No, Richie. Can’t a boy be nice to his friend once in a while?” Eddie rolled his eyes, but his face was becoming a brilliant pink.
“Whatever you say, my dear.” Richie tugged on the towel.
“Hey! Half of the towel each!” Eddie tugged back, a scowl on his face.
“Hey, who said that?” Richie wrapped his side of the towel around himself, pulling more towards him.
“Me!” Eddie wasn’t having it. “We should each have half of the towel because that’s fair.”
“Well,” -Richie pulled back- “I think I should have more towel because I’m taller than you and have more surface area.”
“It’s my towel in the first place!”
“You were the one who chose to share it with me!”
“And now I’m regretting it!”
“Are you though?” Richie turned his head in mock disbelief.
“You wish,” said Eddie as he tugged back the towel one final time.
He tugged too hard, however, and ended up with both of them sprawled out on the grass.
The next millisecond, Eddie hovered over Richie. “You okay, Rich?”
Richie must have been a little dazed, because he stared up at Eddie like he was an angel that had come down to Earth.
“Richie?” Eddie waved his hand in front of his face.
Richie’s internal monologue answered back: never have I wanted to kiss this boy so much in my entire life.
Richie adjusted his glasses. “Uh, yeah, Eds, I’m just peachy. You threw me off a rock, but I’ve been through worse!” Whoops. That wasn’t what he meant to say.
Eddie scrunched up his face into an expression of worry, and Richie couldn’t help but smile at him. Eddie held out a hand as the other Losers’ heads popped up above him.
“Thanks, Eddie.” Richie took his hand.
He caught Bill and Ben give each other a look in his peripheral vision, but focused on Eddie.
“No prob, Rich.” Eddie took the towel off his back and gave it to Richie.
“I was kidding, Eds.” Richie pushed it away.
“We can share it,” Eddie agreed, putting the towel around both of their shoulders.
“Did you just reach a conclusion that was the exact same as how you started?” Stan raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, but it’s different now,” explained Richie.
Stan rolled his eyes.
Richie and Eddie gave each other a look and laughed. Eddie leaned into Richie in his laughter, and Richie had to stop for a minute to just savor the moment.
Stan sat beside them, smiling at a remark from Mike. Bev and Ben were sitting on a rock together as she seemed to be summarizing a Broadway show in great detail. Bill had his sketchbook out and was drawing the landscape in front of them.
Eddie’s hand brushed against Richie’s. Richie turned his head to look at him, and Eddie smiled.
“Isn’t this nice?”
Richie’s body felt warm with happiness as he pushed away his anxious thoughts and let himself take Eddie’s hand.
The sunlight danced upon the water down below as the sound of laughter filled the air. The trees chirped with the sounds of birds calling to each other, mirroring the Losers’ laughter. Richie watched the clouds and pointed out a bird shaped one that reminded him of Stan. Eddie laughed and put his head on Richie’s shoulder.
For once, Richie didn’t let himself think about fear. He let himself just... be. Even if Eddie didn’t feel the same way he did, Richie was happy to have Eddie in his life. Stan glanced over at the two of them, and Richie gave him a small smile before looking down at Eddie.
Richie realized that this was the moment he most savored out of the day that far. Richie looked up again at the other Losers. As Mike told another farm story, provoking laughter from the others, and Eddie squeezed Richie’s hand, Richie let himself simply be.
——
It was around 12:30 when the Losers decided to head back. After double checking that they didn’t leave anything, Mike offered to carry some of Stan’s books. Richie and Eddie were too busy bickering about Star Wars to even notice they were leaving.
“That’s nice of you, Mike.” Stan admitted. “Thank you. You can each take a book and bring it down to my bike.”
Mike, Ben, Bev, Bill and Eddie each took a book and started down the hill.
Richie hesitated for a second as Stan picked up his books and binoculars.
“Hey, Rich, I really did have a good time today-“
“Stan, I gotta tell you something.” Richie interrupted, wringing his hands.
“Sure, I’m all ears.” There wasn’t an ounce of sarcasm in his reply as they continued down after the others.
“I... uh, have a crush on Eddie.” The second time he said it out loud ever. And Stan could be quite sarcastic and biting at times, so Richie braced himself for a dry joke at his own expense.
“I know.” Stan’s expression didn’t change.
What? “You know?” Richie was more than a little taken aback.
“Yeah. Rich, I see the way you look at him. You look at him like he just dotted the sky with stars, like he carved every crater on the moon.”
“Am I that obvious?”
“Richie, I know you better than almost anyone else. Just because I know doesn’t mean anyone else does.” Stan clarified. “Richie, I promise you I haven’t told anyone or done anything.”
“You’re not gonna treat me different or anything, right?”
“If you mean am I gonna walk on eggshells around you, that’s a definite no.” Stan laughed. “No one is safe from my retorts.”
Richie cracked a smile. “So I’m getting that you don’t hate me.” He and Stan had stopped walking down the hill.
“Not any more than I did before.” Stan grinned.
“You really are all knowing, aren’t you?” Richie elbowed him.
“I wouldn’t say that, but I also wouldn’t not say that,” said Stan.
After a small pause, Richie spoke.
“Ben and Bill found out last week, at the sleepover. The question Bill asked me about my crush kind of... got to me, I guess? They were the ones to comfort me, and I ended up telling them.”
Stan processed this for a second. “Okay.” The silence lasted a few more seconds, until Stan spoke again. “Rich, you don’t have to tell everyone now. Hell, it shouldn’t be a thing that people should judge you for. On your own time, you can tell Bev and Mike, and especially Eddie. I really think you should tell Eddie.”
Stan couldn’t have emphasized Eddie’s name more if he were holding a big sign that said “TELL EDDIE” on it.
“Yeah, I don’t want to hide it from my friends, especially Eddie. So what, I’m gay. He should know that about me, even if he hates me.” Saying the word still felt foreign, and Richie’s bravado was entirely fake: he still had those worries that Eddie would judge him for it.
Stan gave him a blank look. “Richie, you’re such a dumbass.”
“What? It’s true. I mean, he probably won’t judge me and I hope so but I don’t have to tell him I like him because he’s probably straight-“
Stan literally put his head in his hands. “Richie...”
Before he could go on, Eddie’s voice called up from below. “Hey, Stan and our resident motherfucker!”
Richie yelled back, “You’re right, Eds. I am a motherfucker because I fucked your mom!”
“You have a weird way of flirting,” said Stan, picking up his books.
“Oh, what do you do, a mating dance?” Richie snickered.
“Like I’d ever show you.”
And just like that, they were back to normal. Stan gave Richie a smile as they headed down to meet the others. Richie returned the gesture and made another mom joke. Richie needed attention, yet he was terrified of being abandoned by his friends for his identity. So far, every loser that knew was nothing but accepting. Stan was able to make it seem unimportant to their friendship without diminishing its meaning to Richie. Although he didn’t say it enough, Richie was glad for a friend like Stanley Uris.
——
The seven Losers rode their bikes home from the Quarry, and Richie was careful not to go anywhere near the Kissing Bridge.
First Bev peeled off, then Mike, Bill, Ben, Stan.
Finally, it was just Richie and Eddie. They rode in comfortable silence.
“Hey, Eds,” said Richie, showcasing his brilliant ability for breaking silences.
“Yeah,” said Eddie absentmindedly.
“Do you want me to bike you to your house?” They had done it hundreds of times since they were little.
“Sure! Race you there!” This was also part of the routine.
“Oh, it’s on!” Richie pedaled harder and passed Eddie, giving him a devilish smile as he did.
Eddie scrunched his face up in concentration and pedaled faster himself.
Richie felt the wind whip against his face, and he whooped as Eddie passed him.
He sped up just a bit so the two bikes matched speed, and the two biked together, trading playful insults and jokes.
Eventually, they came up to Eddie’s house, stopping in tandem. Eddie parked his bike in its spot, and Richie leaned his against the asphalt, one foot on the ground.
“Bye, Rich. Thanks!” Eddie slung his towel over his shoulder. “Oh, by the way, you can keep this water bottle.”
“Thanks, Eds!” Richie beamed at him. “Tell your mom I’ll see her tonight!” He attempted a wink.
Eddie jogged up the steps to his house, but before he went in, he turned around and gave Richie a little wave.
Richie smiled and reciprocated the gesture, then pedaled off.
——
“How was your morning today?” asked his mother when he got home.
“It was... amazing, Mom.” Richie went through the events of the morning- from eating cereal to birdwatching to swimming to sharing the towel to riding home.
He reflected on the moments from today with each Loser, and the fun they had.
And the moments with Eddie, although Eddie almost definitely thought them platonic, were wonderful, and Richie was glad to have him.
Richie smiled and went up to his bed to relax. He was grateful for his second family: his friends. The people who tolerated his calls for attention and loved him unconditionally. He was grateful for Eddie Kaspbrak, every little thing about him.
Most of all, Richie Tozier was grateful for love.