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“Richie Tozier! Wake up, sweetheart!” Richie heard his mother call sing-songily from the other side of his door.
“Coming Ma!” he called back, rolling out of bed in a most dramatic fashion and heading over to his closet. He picked out a bright blue Hawaiian shirt with pineapples on it, a white shirt to go underneath, and some tan cargo shorts. He pulled on plain white socks and his black Vans and headed to the bathroom, lazily taking a comb to his hair as he brushed his teeth. When he made it to the kitchen, he saw his mother cooking eggs at the stove and his father brewing a pot of coffee next to her. The baby blue 2s floated above their heads and he smiled when they flashed red as the two kissed.
“Rich, we’re down here,” his mother reminded when she caught him staring. He shook his head to clear the thoughts and looked them in the eyes.
“Right, sorry. It’s just, the numbers are so distracting,” he spoke, giving a sheepish smirk.
“I know, sweetheart, but just try, okay?”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Want some coffee, kiddo?” his dad asked, turning to him. Richie smiled.
“Sure!”
“Creamer?”
“Whatcha got?”
“Caramel and hazelnut.”
“I’ll take both, please.”
“Any preference how much coffee vs creamer?” his father inquired.
“50, 25, 25,” Richie answered.
“Coming right up.” His father prepared the coffee and set that and a plate of eggs and toast in front of Richie, ruffling the boy’s hair.
“Thanks, Dad.” When he was done with breakfast, his mother dropped him off at school, kissing him goodbye as he spotted his friends leaning against the wall, the bright yellow 3s distinguishing them from the rest of the crowd. They waved him over and he went, waving, too. As he got over there, Bev offered him a cigarette and he took it, lighting it with the lighter from his backpack pocket. He heard a distant call from the drop-off lane.
“Bye, Eddie-Bear. Have a good day at school,” a woman’s voice spoke. Richie cringed at the voice. It was loud and grating and would have spiraled him into an overload, had he not been smoking.
“Bye, Ma. I love you,” a boy replied. The car door closed and Richie flinched. When he looked, the car was about 70 feet away. He shouldn’t have been able to hear either of them from that distance. Not to mention, the boy was looking down at his black converse.
“Hey!” someone called and the boy looked up. Richie caught his eye for a moment and his heart stopped. The boy had innocent brown doe eyes with a glassiness to them that Richie couldn’t resist. His brown hair was neat and swept to the left side of his face and he was wearing an anxious expression. Overall, he was beautiful and Richie’s heart fluttered dangerously.
“Hey, who’s that?” Richie asked his friends, distractedly turning to them. He didn’t want to take his eyes off the boy.
“Eddie Kaspbrak,” Bev told him, putting out her cigarette against the brick wall and throwing it into the trash can nearby. “He just moved here last week.”
“Yeah. I did a tour with him on Monday,” Ben spoke from where he was perched on the half wall of the steps. “Why?” Richie glanced at him, then out of the corner of his eye, saw Henry Bowers and his gang stalking over to Eddie.
“Uh, no reason.” He put out his cigarette and rushed over, getting there just in time to stand in front of the boy now on the ground where Henry had shoved him. “Hey, leave him alone,” Richie demanded and very much regretted it as the large, black 10s with red Xs appeared before him.
“Hey, Tozier, we’re down here, ya freak,” Henry reminded, shoving Richie’s shoulder. Richie stumbled back, but didn’t fall.
“Can’t you idiots find something better to do?” Richie demanded, standing his ground.
“You wanna say that again, Tozier?” Henry hissed.
“You heard me, Bowers. Unless you’re so stupid your brain stopped processing multi-syllabic words.”
“How’s this for processing, asswipe?” Henry punched him and Richie fell, hitting his head on the grass. He heard someone gasp loudly in his ear, but no one was that close to him.
“Richie!” He heard Ben call and opened his eyes to see his friends rushing over. He heard the bell ring and noticed everyone around him head inside except his friends and the new kid. Eddie, God, was he okay? Richie sat up and looked at the boy, who was a few feet away and breathing heavily and sounding like a teapot at a boil.
“Eddie, are you alright?” Richie asked, noticing the slur in his voice. He shook the fog from his brain and sat up, crawling over to the other. Eddie nodded and pulled an inhaler from the fanny pack strapped to his waist and took a hit from it. His breathing slowed and got less whistle-y.
“Rich, are you okay?” Ben asked, kneeling next to him. Richie waved him away and crawled closer to Eddie.
“Eds, are you okay?” he questioned, reaching out to the boy. Eddie flinched back but quickly relaxed and nodded.
“I’m fine,” he assured, standing up and brushing off his pants. “Thanks for standing up for me. You didn’t have to do that.” Richie stood up as well, assessing the damage to his elbows.
“No worries, Eds. You don’t wanna mess with Bowers and his gang. They’ll either pummel you to a pulp or make you do their bidding,” Richie instructed.
“Richie, what the hell were you thinking?” Stan chided, arms crossed.
“To be honest, I wasn’t,” Richie replied.
“Figured,” Stan muttered.
“We should probably go. Don’t want to be late for class,” Ben spoke. Everyone nodded and headed into the school building, separating and heading to different classes.
“What’s your first class, Eddie?” Stan asked.
“U.S. history with Mr. Scardons,” Eddie answered.
“Same as me and Rich,” Stan told him. “I’m Stan, by the way.” He stuck out his hand and Eddie hesitantly shook it.
“Nice to meet you,” Eddie spoke.
“Be right back,” Richie cut in, patting Stan on the shoulder before turning off down a separate hallway.
“Where’s he going? Class starts in two minutes,” Eddie pointed out.
“Richie’s never on time to class,” Stan clarified.
“Don’t five tardies add up to a missing? And three missings add up to truancy?”
“Yeah. Richie’s smart, though. He’s never late enough to count as tardy.”
“Oh.” They headed into the classroom and took their seats, leaving one between them for Richie. The teacher was there, sitting on the edge of his desk with a stack of papers in his hand.
“Good morning class. We’re gonna start a little early today,” he greeted, giving the papers to a student in the front row. “So, we’re gonna be starting our projects within the next week or two. The paper that’s being passed around is your assignment sheet. Make sure to read it carefully. The second bell rang out and Eddie startled slightly.
“It’s okay. You’ll get used to it,” Stan comforted, taking two papers and handing them to the other.
“I hope so,” Eddie replied, smiling at Stan. The door to the classroom opened and Richie walked in, head held high, taking his seat between Eddie and Stan. Stan handed him the assignment sheet.
“Thanks, Stanny.”
“Mr. Tozier. Glad to see you here. Any chance you can show before the bell?” Mr. Scardons asked.
“Starting class early, Mr. Scardons? Any chance you could cut me some slack?” Richie jested, smirking. The teacher just rolled his eyes and turned to the board, starting to write. Stan and Eddie grabbed out their notebooks and Richie pulled out his laptop and started the program, then opened his notes and started to type. Once class was over, the three left, talking the whole way. Stan and Richie parted ways until lunch. At lunch, they met up with the rest of their friends. Eddie and Richie showed up a little later than the rest, smiling and talking.
“Anyway, thanks for letting me borrow your book today, Richie,” Eddie expressed as they sat down.
“Of course. It’s not like I use it, anyway,” Richie replied. “I have the audiobook.” He pushed the food around on his tray, separating it, eyes trained above the heads of his peers. Stan clicked his tongue, drawing the other’s attention back down. Eddie frowned slightly, but dropped it, figuring it wasn’t his business. But Richie wasn’t eating and while Eddie didn’t know what he’d had for breakfast, he did know that people need three meals a day.
“Are you not hungry?” he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich. Richie snapped back to reality, looking at him.
“Hmm?”
“Are you not hungry?” Eddie repeated. Richie shrugged.
“Eh.” Eddie started to say something, but was cut off by a yell that originated from across the cafeteria.
“Hey, Tozier! What do you think you’re doing?” the guy from before, Bowers, Eddie assumed, called, stalking over with the rest of his gang.
“Eating lunch,” Richie responded, quirking an eyebrow.
“I meant , what do you think you’re doing with our fresh meat, retard?” Eddie flinched at the word; it hurt and it wasn’t even directed at him. Richie didn’t seem affected by it at all, though.
“He doesn’t belong to anyone, Bowers, back off,” he sneered, standing up and blocking Eddie from their view. He looked back at Eddie and felt his heart clench. The boy looked scared, breathing heavily, but he was looking up at Richie with adoration. Richie’s heart fluttered, but he drew himself back to the matter at hand. Henry stepped forward.
“What did you say, freak?” he demanded. Richie frowned.
“I said Eddie doesn’t belong to anyone. He’s new here and he doesn’t need your bullshit, Bowers,” he told the other. He felt Eddie grab his hand comfortingly.
“He’s fresh meat, Tozier. Means he belongs to us. You should remember that,” Henry reminded, smirking to his friends.
“That was a mistake, Bowers. You should know about mistakes, you were one,” Richie bit back without thinking. Henry and his friends stopped laughing and the older boy stalked forward, getting in Richie’s face.
“What’d you say to me, Tozier? You know I can still beat your ass and no one would know, right?” Henry hissed. Richie reeled back.
“Jesus, ever heard of a toothbrush? Your breath reeks.” God, he wished he’d stop talking.
“You tryin’ to get killed, Tozier?” Belch Huggins chimed, snarling.
“You wouldn’t kill me. Especially not with the information I have,” Richie replied coolly. The older boys reeled back and Richie smirked.
“Oh, yeah. You forgot about that, didn’t you? The kid stays with us or I ‘accidentally’ leak your little secret all over the web,” Richie threatened.
“Fine. Keep your little boyfriend, freak. Have fun with the loser group,” Henry growled, turning on his heel and stomping away, his groupies following him. Richie sat back down and continued to shove food around his tray.
“Hey, thanks,” Eddie expressed. Richie looked at him.
“For that? Ah, that was nothin’, Eds. Don’t mention it,” Richie dismissed, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
“I mean, it was something . And I’m thanking you,” Eddie asserted. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yeah, well, they’d either make you their lackey or their punching bag and you’re too cute to be either of those,” Richie divulged absentmindedly, taking a small bite of his food. Eddie silently cheered; Richie was actually eating a little and he counted that as a win. But then his mind brought him back to what Richie had said.
“Y-you think I’m cute?” he asked, blush rising in his cheeks. Richie didn’t seem to notice, staring at his plate as he shrugged.
“Yeah.” He took another small bite and Eddie smiled.
“I’m glad you’re eating,” he mumbled, looking down.
“Well, gee, Eds. Didn’t know you cared about a fella that much,” Richie exaggerated, putting on a deep Southern Voice, placing a hand over his heart. Eddie blushed even more, staring at his own lunch and taking another bite.
“Well, studies show that eating three meals a day pretty much every day is beneficial for cognitive function,” he recited.
“Well, thanks, Eds.” Stan scoffed, bringing the two back to reality.
“I tell you that all the time, Rich,” he grumbled.
“Yeah, but you’re more naggy, like an overbearing mom. Eddie’s like the sweet mom who really cares,” Richie replied, looking at his friend.
“Are you-” Stan gaped at him and Richie laughed.
“Don’t worry, Stanny. I’m just yankin’ your chain. I appreciate you for looking out for my well-being. Both of you.” They both gave nods of acknowledgement and continued their own lunches. After the bell rang, they parted ways again, heading for their last class of the day. Eddie, Bev, and Richie all had chemistry class together. Bev and Richie, per usual, walked in a little over a minute after the bell rang. The teacher just sighed and continued the lesson. Richie and Bev spent the whole lesson whispering to each other while Eddie took notes. Richie was also taking notes, but was clearly more focused on his conversation. Once class had ended, Eddie packed his things to head home but Richie caught his wrist. Eddie felt the area get warm along with his cheeks, but Richie didn’t seem to notice.
“Hey, Eds. We were all planning on going to study at The Clubhouse. Wanna come?” he offered.
“I’ll have to ask my mom, but hopefully I can,” Eddie replied, nodding.
“Cool. We’ll meet at the library at three.” Richie let go of his wrist and smiled widely, walking away with Beverly. Eddie hid his wrist under his books and kept his head down as he left the school. His mother was waiting in the pickup lane for him and she honked.
“Eddie-Bear!” she called. Eddie heard some people snicker and ignored them, shuffling to her can and tucking himself into the front seat. He buckled himself in and his mother drove off, not even noticing his silence. “How was your first day, Eddie-Bear?”
“It was good. Hey, Ma? Some friends invited me to study with them at the…library later. Can I go?” he asked.
“Are these ‘friends’ people that I’d approve of you hanging out with?” she questioned. Eddie thought about it. Richie was absolutely the kind of person his mother despised. He was loud and always late and Eddie was absolutely sure he smoked. But then he thought of Stan and how the others seemed like model students and nodded.
“Yeah. They’re part of this after-school study group and they’re really nice,” he told her, heart picking up when he remembered what Richie had done for him. His wrist was still warm and felt like it was glowing.
“Alright. What time does the group meet?”
“Three.”
“Alright. I can drop you off now so you’ll be early since it’s on our way. Is that alright?”
“Yeah, Ma. That’s fine.”
“You have your afternoon snack?” his mother inquired as she stopped in front of the library.
“Yeah, Ma. I have it.”
“And your phone?”
“Yep, Ma. Got it all.”
“Alright, Eddie-Bear. Have a good time. Call me when you want me to pick you up and don’t leave the library with anyone who seems unsafe, okay?”
“Okay, Ma. I won’t,” Eddie vowed, noticing Richie smoking as he sat on the steps.
“Bye, Eddie-Bear. I love you.”
“Love you, too, Ma.” She planted a sloppy kiss to his cheek and Eddie cringed away slightly.
“And stay away from that hooligan. I don’t want him infecting your delicate lungs.” Eddie got out of the car.
“I will Ma. I’ll see you soon.” With that, his mother left and Eddie made sure she was gone before walking over to Richie.
“Hey, Eds. The others are already at The Clubhouse. Ready?” Richie greeted as he put out his cigarette. Eddie was surprised he didn’t bring up his mother.
“Yeah. I just need to use the restroom first.”
“Want me to hold your stuff?”
“I’m okay, thanks.” Eddie headed inside and went to where the signs said the bathroom was. When he finally set his books down and examined his wrist, he saw that the name on his wrist was glowing blue, purple, and pink. Richie . Could Richie Tozier be his Soulmate? The one he’d been trying to find since he noticed the mark when he was five. There had been a couple other Richies in the other towns he’d been to, but none of them made the mark glow. So he and his mom had moved shortly after. He could tell she wasn’t happy about him having a male Soulmate, but she was happy that he had a Soulmark in general. Denoting someone who would be perfect for him by nature. No one had Soulmarks to tell them anymore. Everything was left up to chance for everyone but the lucky few who got them. But Richie didn’t have a Soulmark that Eddie could see. They were usually on the wrist, but sometimes appeared on someone’s shoulder.
“Hey, Eds! You comin’?” he heard Richie call from the other side of the door. Eddie splashed water on his face and tugged on a sweatshirt from his bag to cover his Soulmark, then left the bathroom, running right into Richie, who caught him before he could fall back. Eddie felt his Soulmark burn his wrist and pulled back, clearing his throat.
“Uh, thanks, Richie,” he expressed, a heavy blush on his cheeks as he looked up into Richie’s brown eyes. There was a pause as Richie’s gaze trained above his head, shocked look on his face. They stood like that for a minute before Eddie caught Richie’s attention, noticing that people were staring at them. “Richie, are you okay?” Richie snapped out of his daze and stared in Eddie’s eyes and Eddie felt his heart jump.
“Uh, yeah. I’m alright. Thanks, Eds.” This time, Richie cleared his throat, pulling further away and dropping his hands. “Shall we go?” he offered, starting to walk away. Eddie followed him, staring down at his Converse.
“Hey, Rich?” he started as they hit the edge of the woods. Richie looked back, eyes still a bit dazed behind his glasses. Eddie wondered what he’d seen.
“What’s up?”
“Do you have a Soulmark?” Eddie asked.
“I don’t have one on me, but a lot of people don’t anymore. Why?” Richie replied, running a hand through his hair.
“Uh, no reason. Just wondering.” That was a disappointment. What if Richie was his Soulmate but he wasn’t Richie’s? He’d heard of a case like that where the person had then had hanahaki disease and died from choking on a clump of flowers. He didn’t want a death like that. He had to be Richie’s Soulmate. He just had to. He and Richie headed to a secluded part of the woods and Richie opened a trapdoor in the ground, leading Eddie down into The Clubhouse. It was a large space for such a small opening.
“Woah. This is really cool,” Eddie mused, looking around in awe.
“Thanks. I designed and constructed it,” one of the boys, Ben, Eddie recognized, chimed.
“Is it safe?” Eddie asked, feeling his lungs compress with the dust in the air. He took a hit from his inhaler.
“Perfectly. It’s not done, though, so we can clear all the dust out soon if you want,” Ben offered.
“That’d be great, thanks.” Eddie stuck out a hand to the other. “I’m Eddie, by the way. I don’t think we formally met.”
“Ben Hanscome.” As Eddie made his introductions, Richie motioned to Stan to follow him outside and headed back up the ladder. He sat down against a tree, then pulled a cigarette from the pack he’d gotten after school and lit it, taking a long drag to clear his head.
“Rich? What’s wrong?” Stan asked, closing the trap door behind him. Richie took another long, slow drag from his cigarette. He ran a hand through his hair, but didn’t say anything. Stan sat down next to him. “Richie, talk to me. What’s going on?” It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Richie spoke, putting out the cigarette against the tree and burying the butt in the grass.
“Stan, I think Eddie’s the 1,” he mumbled, so quietly that if Stan hadn’t been shoulder to shoulder with him, he wouldn’t have heard it.
“What makes you so sure?” he inquired.
“I couldn’t see his number even when we met. But at the library, I swear, I saw a glimpse of a 1, Stan. And I think he’s got a Soulmark. He asked me if I had one and I swear, when I grabbed his wrist after class, I saw his arm light up,” Richie relayed.
“Light up?”
“I dunno. I only saw it for a second. But I could have sworn it was blue, purple, and pink.”
“Like the bi flag?” Stan guessed. Richie nodded.
“Yeah. But I can’t be sure if any of this is right.”
“How will you be sure?”
“I have to kiss him. And that is not going to be easy.”
“We could play ‘Spin the Bottle’,” Stan suggested. “As a break from homework.”
“Stan, I could kiss you!” Richie exclaimed, eyes bright. Stan held up a hand.
“Save it for Eddie. Let’s go.” The headed back down into the Clubhouse and started their study session. When it looked like everyone was getting restless, Stan perked up.
“Anyone up for ‘Spin the Bottle’?” he posed, quirking an eyebrow. The others gave forms of agreement, but Eddie looked skeptical.
“Is that safe?” he asked, worrying his lip as Stan pulled a bottle from his backpack.
“You can do cheek kisses if you want, Eds, but it’s more fun on the lips,” Richie told him. “Plus, we don’t have any diseases, if you’re worried. My first kiss was Stan and he’s the cleanest person I know.” Eddie saw the blush on Stan’s cheeks as he averted his eyes. Maybe those two were dating and Eddie was going to ruin their relationship with all his stupid “Soulmates” business. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the bottle spinning in the dirt, landing on Bev. She and Richie met in the middle of the circle, hands on cheeks in a passionate kiss. When they pulled back, Richie smirked.
“New lipgloss?” he inquired, licking his lips. Bev nodded, sitting back. “Vanilla. I like it.” Bev beamed, then spun the bottle. It landed on Bill and they kissed, just a quick peck, but it left a pink blush on Bill’s cheeks. He spun and hit Stan, who spun and hit Richie, rolling his eyes. Richie kissed Mike, who then kissed Ben, who gave Bev a sweet kiss who then spun Richie again, who landed on Eddie. Eddie blushed and glanced over at Richie, who looked to be just as nervous.
“We don’t have to kiss, Eds,” he assured. “It’s really fine if-” Eddie cut him off by slamming their lips together. He felt Richie tense for a moment and almost pulled back, but then the other relaxed into the kiss, bringing his hands up to cup Eddie’s cheeks. Eddie could feel a boiling warmth everywhere Richie was touching him, down to where their knees pressed together just slightly. He felt the warmth surround him and fill him up and all he wanted to do was just keep kissing Richie, anywhere, anytime, including in front of his mother. But the urge to breathe was just slightly stronger than the urge to keep kissing and so Eddie pulled away, panting slightly and looked at Richie, who was staring at him, eyes flicking between his lips and just above his head.
“What? Is there something on my face?” he asked jokingly, but Richie nodded, pulling up his phone’s camera. Eddie looked at himself. His lips were glowing blue, purple, and pink, as were his cheeks. When he looked down at his knees, he saw the same, albeit muted, colors coming from under his jeans. Richie Tozier was his Soulmate. But was he Richie’s?
“Eddie, you’re my Soulmate. I know that this is all really weird, but my Soulmark works a bit differently. See, I can see my relationship to people with numbers and colors above their heads. I can also hear everything my Soulmate hears,” Richie explained. staring at his hand twisting together in his lap. Eddie reached forward and grabbed them, making his own light up.
“I guess we both have color Soulmarks,” Eddie pointed out. “I light up wherever my Soulmate touches me. I can also feel whatever they’re feeling when we touch.”
“Yeah? What am I feeling?” Richie tested. Eddie closed his eyes.
“Elated. Nervous. A little scared. Hungry,” Eddie relayed. When he opened his eyes he saw Richie staring at him, smiling widely. He could also feel the love Richie had for him. This , he could get used to.