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they we thirteen when richie met y/n.
richie, eddie, bill, and stan were fucking about at the quarry as usual under the warm almost-summer sky. richie had abandoned his glasses and disgusting floral shirt to chase eddie into the water, and bill and stan were sat by some rocks talking over some homework they had to do. a typical afternoon for the boys.
and then she turned up.
richie could hear eddie murmuring about a girl walking down towards the quarry, and he doesn’t think he’s moved so fast out of the water to grab his glasses in his life. almost tripping on one of the rocks as he stumbled over to his shirt and glasses he threw them on his face, hurriedly pulling the shirt on over his shoulders too. he glanced up after a moment, watching a girl walk down the path towards the quarry. a girl he’d never seen before.
was she new here, or had he just never seen her before? richie wasn’t the most observant person out there, to be fair. he had much better things to worry about than whoever was attending their school, like tease eddie or read a comic or tease eddie some more. although he absolutely would pay way more attention if all of the girls at his school were as pretty as she was. he doubted he’d ever seen someone so pretty in derry of all places, especially not someone who was literally walking towards him either. had she not seen that the boys were there or was she coming over to say hello?
as she walked closer, richie realised he hadn’t seen somebody so presentable at their school before. the girl was wearing a blue summer dress that came down to her knees, not a stain or crease on the material in sight. her hair was pulled back into two neat braids, no stray hairs sticking out. friendship bracelets and charms hung off of her wrists and in one of her hands she was carrying a handful of flowers. had she literally just stepped out of the pages of some fairytale?
“bill!” she called with a smile as she got closer, and richie’s mouth hung open as he turned to bill.
“bill? you know this chick?” richie gawked.
“sh-she’s new here, i said she could- could join us.” bill answered, shooting richie his “don’t you dare do anything stupid” look.
by this point eddie had climbed out of the water himself to see the new addition to the group and stood next to richie, getting an elbow to the side as soon as he was stood there.
“this is y/n.” bill smiled, gesturing to the girl as she finally reached them, flowers in one hand as she used her other to give a small wave to the group.
“you’re fuckin’ catching flies, dude.” eddie elbowed richie, who quickly closed his mouth when he realised he’d left it hanging open that whole time.
y/n smiled shyly at the group, with a quiet mumbled “hi” as she shuffled nervously on her feet.
adorable was the first word that came to richie’s mind.
after all introductions had taken place (richie had spluttered out his name and shook her hand a little too hard) they all settled with sitting on some rocks by the edge of the water. y/n ended up sitting between richie and bill, and once they were sat down she carefully sat the flowers she had picked in her lap and begun to make a flower crown as the boys spoke.
yep, richie decided she was out of a fairytale.
as y/n spent more and more time with the boys, she slowly but surely came out of her shell. it took a while, though. at first she’d only really speak to bill, and then stan as they were in the same english class. no wonder she seemed so innocent, richie realised, she was younger than the rest of them. the new baby of the group.
after around a month she had proper conversations with richie (“i like the flowers on your shirt they’re really pretty” “no thank you, i’m afraid of heights, jump without me” “hey can you hold these flowers for me?”). after around a month of knowing her was the first time he made her laugh; a very proud moment in his books.
ben, mike, and beverly had found their own ways into the group at that point, which made it easier for y/n having other new people there. the group were all sat down in the clubhouse ben had made, with y/n perched on the edge of the hammock that richie had let her sit in instead of himself whilst he leaned against the post beside it (“richie you never let anybody have your turn-“ “shut up, can’t i just be a gentleman?”).
richie had been staring at the same part of the wall for a while now, thinking about the way y/n’s tiny hand had fit in his own as he helped her into the clubhouse, how she had smiled brightly and thanked him after with a gentle touch on his arm.
“hey, rich? you’re getting away from us, dude.”
looking back at eddie richie just shook his head. “i’m just thinking of sonia, dear eds. boy the things that woman does to me.”
as eddie started cussing at him and a few of the other losers chuckled, it was the soft giggle to his left that caught his attention. he glanced up to see y/n smiling as she giggled, and richie smiled to himself as he turned away, a proud and warm feeling in his chest.
by the time they were fourteen, y/n had opened up a lot to him, and he knew so much more about her. richie knew that y/n liked rainy days more than sunny ones because of the smell after rain. he knew that pink was her favourite colour and pink flowers happened to be the best thing that existed to her. he knew that she didn’t like the dark or spiders, though loved cats and rabbits. he also knew that she was quite possibly the prettiest girl to walk the earth, not that he’d tell her that.
when richie and the rest of the boys had gotten to the quarry on the first day of summer, y/n and beverly were already there. the latter had already stripped off into her underwear to jump into the water, though y/n was sat off to the side, preparing to watch them all jump again. for the whole year that y/n had been with them she didn’t jump once. she watched everyone else jump into the water before she made her way down from the cliff safely to get into the water from the ground.
richie decided that today was the day she’d jump.
as the rest of them walked up to beverly, pulling off shirts and kicking off shoes, richie crouched by where y/n was sat on a rock with a grin. his up to no good grin.
“hi rich.” y/n greeted with a smile as she smoothed out her dress. she was wearing her pink one that richie thought looked the best on her.
“hey doll,” he greeted, the nickname slipping without a care. he rarely called her by her name anymore. “what do you think about jumping with the rest of us today?”
richie watched as he smile changed into a grimace, and she shook her head. “no richie, i don’t like heights.” she frowned.
“come on, the jump only lasts for a second and then you’re in the water,” he told her, watching as she eyed beverly as she jumped before anybody else. she didn’t look back at richie until she had heard the splash of beverly hitting the water. “look, i’ll hold onto you the whole time, okay? i won’t let go of you.” he promised.
y/n sighed, her fingers messing with the hem of her skirt as she pondered the offer. two more splashes filled the air, mike and stan now in the water.
“i don’t know…”
splash splash splash. eddie, ben, and bill.
y/n met richie’s eyes with her own, and after a moment she sighed and nodded. fuck yeah.
“fine, okay. but you have to promise to not let me go, rich. please.” she held out her pinkie towards him. y/n took pinkie promises very seriously.
“okay, i promise.” richie nodded with a grin, locking his pinkie with hers for a moment before he pulled away and jumped to his feet, tugging off his shirt and throwing it into the pile of clothes that the rest of the losers had made. by the time he had completely undressed he turned back to y/n and watched as she hung her dress on the branch of a tree, knowing she didn’t want to get it dirty. she dropped her white frilled socks onto the rock she had been sat on as well as her polished shoes, before she turned back to face him in just her underwear and the golden heart-shaped locket she never seemed to be without. her underwear was pink and had bows on and he had to try so hard to not look down at her. instead he reached his hand out for hers, and watched as she timidly took it.
“please don’t let go of me.” y/n stopped when she was at the edge and leaned over to look down. she cringed and looked back at at richie.
“i won’t, swear on eddie’s mom’s life.” he crossed over his heart with his free hand and watched as she giggled quietly.
“okay.” she nodded, smiling.
richie let go of her hand and stepped closer to her, locking his arms around her waist. though before he could jump he felt her shift so she was facing him instead. her smaller arms locked around his body and she felt her face pressed into his neck with the height difference. oh god, she was so warm and her hair smelled nice and her arms were around him and-
“rich?” her timid voice asked, cutting off his train of thought. “can you count from three?”
“yeah,” richie cleared his throat and nodded, trying to ignore how her arms tightened around him. “yeah i can do that.”
“three,”
don’t think about how tightly she’s pressed against you.
“two,”
don’t think about how her lips are pressed against your collarbone.
“one,”
don’t think about how you’re holding her.
“NOW!”
richie lifted her up slightly before he jumped, and felt her grip on him immediately grow so much tighter. she screamed as they were falling, her arms never loosening their grip, just as he never loosened his. he normally enjoyed falling; the wind rushing through his hair, the thrill of being in the open, how fun it was to hit the water. but a part of him enjoyed this time that much more, because he had y/n in his arms.
they hit the water and richie finally let go of her so they could swim to the surface. once they were up they could hear cheering from the losers (“fuck yeah y/n!” came from beverly) and y/n found richie’s arm again in the water.
“oh my god- oh- holy shit!” y/n yelled with a laugh, and richie had to laugh at that.
y/n had never sworn before. she’d always been properly mannered, shouting “language” at someone most of the time they cussed. mostly richie, though; he didn’t get the nickname trashmouth for nothing. y/n was good. she didn’t cuss.
eddie yelled a comment about her hanging out with richie too much, and he smirked to himself.
after the jump, richie couldn’t get her out of his head. of course he thought about her all the time before that, she was his friend. his very pretty friend who made him flower crowns and said his hair was soft when she touched it. but now she was all he could think about that. when they were in the clubhouse and he got into the hammock with her because she insisted that there was enough room for the both of them, he could only think about how she was pressed against his side with her head to his shoulder, and how pretty she was when she laughed. when they were in class all he could think of was how pretty the dress was that she wore and how cute she was. even when she wasn’t there, more often than not she was on his mind.
by the time they were fifteen, richie had a crush on her - not that he’d admit it to himself. although eddie had shouted at him to just ask her out tons of times and stan groaned whenever he started talking about her. but he couldn’t have a crush on her, she was just his friend right?
over that summer, they had changed a lot. richie had completely shot up, now all skinny with lanky limbs and hair that was too big for his head. and y/n - whilst she was still tiny, which he liked to tease her about a lot (“hey shortstack, it’s not hurting your neck looking up at me is it?”) - she had changed too. she started wearing makeup and the summer dresses she wore, once so innocent, now showed richie just exactly how her body had started changing. he couldn’t look down at her at the quarry now or he’d die.
although she had changed, in so many ways she was still the same. she still wore two wrists full of friendship bracelets and her heart-shaped locket at all times. she still made flower crowns at the quarry. she still blushed at richie’s dirty jokes and had the same light giggle whenever she found something he said funny. she was still so innocent.
towards the end of summer, richie had learnt that she’d never been to a party before. a proper party, not some kid’s party where you dressed up and played musical chairs.
he stared at her open-mouthed once she had told him. “what?!” he demanded. “you’ve never been to a party? sweets, you’ve never lived!” he gasped, his hand over his heart like the news was affecting him fatally.
“okay, it’s not that big a deal, rich-“
“not that big a deal? you’ve missed out on like one of the best teenage experiences ever!” richie had his hands on her shoulders at that point, lightly shaking her with every word that left his mouth.
“jeez, rich, she doesn’t have to go.” stan piped in from where he was sat across from richie and y/n in the clubhouse.
there was going to be a huge house party at someone’s house from school that following friday, which is how the topic had even come up. richie being richie loved parties, and had gotten super excited about it. but now he really wanted y/n to go.
“it’s not that i don’t want to go, i do really,” y/n insisted, continuing talking as richie didn’t drop his hands from her shoulders. “it’s just my parents won’t let me. plus it’s late, past my curfew.”
“so sneak out.” richie told her simply, as if it was the most obvious solution.
“i can’t sneak out, rich.”
she snuck out.
granted, it took a lot of convincing to get her to do so. a lot of “oh but i won’t have fun without you” and “your parents won’t even know you’re gone and i’ll get you back on time“ and just tons and tons of pouting, but eventually she caved with a quiet “alright richie, stop pretending like you’re gonna die without me.”
that following friday evening, once her parents were asleep and y/n had pretended like she was sleeping, richie was stood underneath her window waiting for her to climb out. he was stood there for so long that he was worried that she had chickened out, though soon enough he watched as she opened her window and saw her smiling down at him. he’d call up some dumb joke towards her if it wasn’t for the fact that she couldn’t get caught.
richie watched as she carefully swung one foot out of the window (and rode her dress so high up doing so he could almost see all of her thigh and holy fucking-) before she swung the other one out, and carefully climbed down. once she’d neared the ground richie moved over, holding his hands out for her to take, which she gripped onto as she jumped the rest of the way down.
getting a proper look at her now that she was stood in front of him richie could have died by the sheer beauty that he was standing in front of. she wore a blue dress that he’d never seen before - shorter than the others she wore, with a neckline that dipped a bit lower than usual, but it still had the same innocent tone to it. her hair was down for once, small curly strands framing her face to make her look angelic. she still wore her friendship bracelets and heart-shaped locket, and she was still just as beautiful.
“wow, look at you,” richie grinned, slinging his arm around her shoulder as she moved over to him. “soon enough we’ll have you robbing banks and hiding bodies,” he snorted, guiding her down the street. “bill’s car isn’t too far away.” as bill was the only one that was sixteen yet, all of the losers borrowed his car.
beverly and mike were getting to the party on their own, so when richie and y/n had reached the car there was only free seat. y/n usually sat on beverly’s lap in the car if there was no space for her, or even stan’s once when bev had been so drunk after finding a bottle of liquor that she had to be sandwiched between ben and mike in the back so she didn’t attempt to get out of the car. though she’d never sat on richie’s before. the thought made him dizzy.
richie opened the back door, seeing eddie in the middle and ben on his other side, with bill and stan in the front. richie looked at the empty seat before he glanced at y/n, who had her bottom lip in between her teeth as she eyed the seat herself.
“well, toots, either you sit in my lap or i sit in yours. and i’ll probably squish you.” richie nudged her arm with his elbow as she smiled at his joke before he climbed into the car (nudging eddie purposely on the way in earning a “fuck off trashmouth” from him).
y/n stood to the side of the car for another moment before she climbed into the car too, swinging her legs over richie’s thighs until she was sat with her back to his chest. she pulled the door shut and as soon as she had his arms were around her, pulling her into his chest as bill started the car again, shooting richie his look through the mirror. what? richie thought defensively. it was simply a matter of her safety, he didn’t want her falling out of his lap.
y/n had her head against her shoulder from where she was leaning back and richie could smell her vanilla shampoo. he swore that he was high.
the car journey had ended all too quickly for richie’s liking, and soon enough the car was parked outside of the house; party already obviously in full swing. the losers emptied the car, with richie getting out last after y/n, and before he could walk inside with her he had bill tugging on his arm to pull him aside. y/n raised her eyebrows a little, before being distracted by beverly running out to meet her, drink in hand.
“bill if you’re about to lecture me like a kid to behave myself at the party-“
“richie, d-do you have a crush on y/n?” bill got straight to the point, and richie’s mouth hung open.
“no!” he defended quickly. “no i- i don’t have a crush on her! on her? really? jeez, bill, how could i ever-“ he cut himself at the look bill was giving him and groaned. “yes i have a crush on her, okay? a huge fat god-she’s-so-pretty-i-just-wanna-kiss-her crush on her.” richie spewed the word vomit so quickly he swore he sounded like eddie.
bill sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. “r-richie, she’s your friend.”
“thanks captain obvious, look at you go.”
“all i’m s-saying is, just be care- careful,” bill told him, another one of his almost parental looks being given to richie. “you know what sh- she’s like-“
“drop dead fucking gorgeous?”
bill glared at him. “naive. j-just don’t hurt her.”
with that bill turned to head into the party, leaving a mouth-agape richie staring at his back as he walked off. don’t hurt her? don’t hurt her? richie couldn’t hurt y/n even if he tried (which he wouldn’t, because he’s not a fucking dick). richie huffed as he walked inside with his arms crossed over his chest. did everyone really think that lowly of him? sure he was rude and brash and never knew when to shut the fuck up, and y/n was probably the most innocent and perfect person on the planet, but did bill really think he could hurt her?
with a huff richie stepped inside, the bass of the loud music vibrating through the house as everyone danced to the music. it didn’t take him too long to find everybody as he wandered through the house, spotting the losers in the kitchen all getting a drink - aside from bill as he had to drive, and y/n because, well, she was y/n.
igmoring bill’s look richie moved to stand beside y/n, leaning against the counter as he grinned at her. “so,” he started, picking up a red solo cup of whatever was inside of it. he didn’t care, ignoring eddie’s “you’re under twenty-one you fucking idiot don’t drink” who was sipping a cola. “party’s not too shabby, huh?”
y/n shrugged, a smile on her face as she reached across the table to grab a glass bottle of cherry cola. after strawberry, cherry was her favourite flavour, richie remembered. “no, it seems really fun. i should get you to convince me to break the rules more often,” she giggled, attempting (and failing) to open her bottle of cola to the point where richie took it from her and opened it himself. “thanks.” she mumbled.
richie looked over his shoulder and saw that bill wasn’t looking at him anymore (thankfully) and had wandered off with bev and ben instead. honestly, richie was used to stan attempting to babysit him (“richie you can’t jump into the quarry from the tree you’ll hurt yourself” “trashmouth don’t you even think about eating that it’s been on the floor” “it’s three in the fucking morning no we can’t go out.”) but not bill. bill was the leader of the group so he usually just took care of everybody as a general thing. of course, since y/n had joined the group he had looked out for her like an older brother, but he’d never babysat her like he was attempting to do with richie.
as y/n sipped on her cola a new song came on (chiquitita by abba, one of her favourites), richie watched as her expression lit up and she reached out instinctively for his arm. “i love this song!” she announced, her bright smile making him smile too. “can we go dance, rich?”
richie didn’t think twice before nodding and curled his fingers around her forearm, gently leading her through the crowd to the living room where everybody seemed to be dancing.
eventually all of the losers had joined them in the living room, in a small circle of their own as they all danced. as the night went on richie observed as y/n let loose more, and he could tell she was really enjoying herself. he danced with her a few times (well really it was dancing next to her, but richie wasn’t one for specifics) and had to endure bill’s glare a good few times when he got a little too close. what was he, her dad?
y/n was giggling when another song came to an end, and slung one arm around richie’s shoulder and the other around stan’s, practically leaning her whole weight onto the two boys. “that was fun,” she giggled, her face flushed red. anybody looking in probably would’ve assumed that she was wasted, but richie knew that she just got red in the face whenever she was really excited. plus, it was pretty warm in the house with tons of teenagers squished inside of it. “i’m gonna go and get another drink. eddie do you want another cola?”
once eddie had nodded y/n let go of richie and stan before she weaved through the sea of people to make her way back towards the kitchen to grab a drink. richie watched her walk off until he couldn’t see her anymore before he turned back to the losers, slinging his arm across eddie’s shoulder as he made some crude joke about how good his mom looked last night in his bed.
richie laughed with the losers for a few minutes about one thing or another until he heard a quiet “oh shit“ from eddie, causing him to look down at his best friend. “bowers is with y/n”.
immediately richie looked up and turned around, scanning the room for her. he caught sight of her by the doorway that was blocked by bowers leaning across it, towering over her with his tall frame. he could just catch sight of her face, and he knew that she was uncomfortable. just as he was about to walk over there to pull her away from him, he watched as bowers grabbed a fistful of the end of her dress and saw the nervous look on her face grow increasingly worse as he leaned closer to her and pushed his hand past her dress to rest on her thigh.
richie saw red.
ignoring the shouts of eddie and stan behind him he dropped his cup of drink and pushed through the crowd of people to get over towards bowers. he hadn’t seen bowers since his sudden growth spurt, and now richie was his height - if not taller. he wasn’t a short scrawny kid anymore. he could take bowers on. or at least in that moment he felt like he could. he could feel stan grabbing the back of his shirt to pull him back before he did anything stupid but it was too late as he pulled away, too angry to not go over there.
richie met y/n’s gaze with his own furious one over bowers’ shoulder, and as soon as the disgusting guy in front of him turned around, richie sent a fist towards his face, aiming right at his nose. richie was glad he had chosen to wear the few rings that he owned that night, because he knew that it would hurt bowers that much more.
“the fuck are you doing tozier!” he heard bowers shout before he was shoved backwards into the crowd, bumping into people as he stepped backwards, trying to keep his balance. his own hands came up to grip onto henry’s wrists - nails digging into the skin in an attempt to keep balanced and to hurt him. bowers was bleeding, blood trickling down his nose to his lip, and richie noticed a small gash on the bridge of his nose where his ring had come in contact. fucking serves him right.
“if you ever fucking touch her again i’ll fucking kill you!” richie felt more angry than he had ever been before, the shout that came from his throat sounding foreign even to him. he could hear y/n’s shrill voice calling for him amongst the crowd, but as usual a fight had started in the middle of a group of teenagers so it was mostly blocked out by the sudden cheering. nothing to stir up a party like a good fight.
richie reached up to punch him again, his knuckles connecting with his jaw that time, though before he could swing again bowers had shoved him backwards and he couldn’t keep himself up that time. on the way down he bumped into the table where the record player sat and the music stopped - the cheering now carrying the sound in the room. before richie could get up bowers was crouched over him, and a blinding pain was suddenly spread across his nose and face. the force of his fist connecting with his face made his head smack against the floor and richie groaned, his eyes squeezing shut at the horrible feeling. when he opened his eyes again everything was blurry, which made it harder to see when the next punch was thrown towards him. his glasses must’ve fallen off when he got punched. richie could feel another blow, this time to his mouth, and groaned at the sudden ache across his jaw and lips.
he swung for bowers again, once again aiming for his nose, though his vision was blurry and he could barely see so he managed to clip him by his eye instead. as bowers toppled back a little from the swing richie sat up and tried to punch him again, though that time he missed.
as henry’s fist came in contact with his stomach he wheezed and felt all of the air leave him before the pain could even settle in. it was like he folded in half as he toppled to the floor, a wheezed out “fuck” making it’s way past his lips. he felt another hit to his stomach, knocking whatever air was even left from the first blow, before someone dragged bowers off of him. he swore he could hear hockstetter calling bowers and mumbling to him as he was dragged off.
as the cheering stopped and the people surrounding him started to disperse, the losers surrounded him. he could feel y/n’s hand on his arm - and he knew it was hers because suddenly all he could hear was “oh richie! are you okay? oh my god!“ and he knew she was crying by the way her voice wavered.
“you should,” richie stopped to take in a deep breath, trying to get some air back into his lungs. “you should see the other guy.” he wheezed.
“fuck richie.” that was stan he could hear as a larger hand was placed on his arm. the hand gripped him gently, another one holding him up on his other side - which he was assuming was mike or bill - and with a pained groan from richie they lifted him to sit up and back against the table behind him.
richie leaned his head back and groaned, his hands clasping over his stomach where he’d been hit.
“don’t lean your head back you fuckin’ moron!” that was eddie’s shrill voice, and he opened his eyes to see him, but all he could see was a blurry figure. he knew it was eddie because he could see his bright green shirt. “you’ve got a nosebleed! oh- oh fuck- that’s a lot of blood-“ he could hear eddie heave and the blurry figure disappeared, replaced by someone with red hair. bev.
“can someone get us some fucking tissues!” she yelled, and richie winced at how loud her voice was. his head hurt really bad.
before he knew it someone else was crouched in front of him and he couldn’t quite distinguish if it was bill or stan that was suddenly pressing tissues to his nose to stop the blood, though he hissed in pain at the sudden pressure that was applied and instinctively leaned away.
“stop moving and let me fucking help you.” ah, it was stan.
“can someone find my glasses?” richie wheezed, his face scrunching up in pain when shifting slightly had pain shooting through his stomach.
after a moment a hand was placing his glasses into his and- oh. only one lense was still intact. it was better than nothing, he decided as he put his glasses on and blinked a few times. he could see out of one eye, and that was enough for him in that moment.
once his eyes had adjusted he glanced around at the losers around him. stan was still crouched in front of him, one hand on his shoulder and the other gently pressing tissues underneath his nose to stop anymore blood getting onto his clothes. beverly was beside stan looking at him worriedly, holding more tissues if stan needed them. eddie was sat off behind beverly, looking especially queasy, though still looking back at richie worriedly. mike and ben were stood together behind stan, mumbling to each other whilst shooting worried glances at richie. and lastly bill was crouched beside y/n, with one hand on the crying girl’s shoulder and the other on richie’s leg.
“hey y/n,” she looked up at him through a teary gaze, looking more worried than all of the losers put together. “i’m okay. he barely touched me.” he chuckled, though it came out as more of a painful wheeze as his face contorted in almost agony.
eddie stood up after a moment and richie watched him disappear into the kitchen. he assumed that he left to throw up in peace.
richie reached his hand out, choosing to ignore the bloodied rings on his fingers as he gently placed his hand over y/n’s, and linked their pinkies the best he could in that position. “promise i’m okay.”
y/n nodded and sniffled quietly, though it did nothing to help how worried she truly looked.
“are you okay?” he asked her, the anger bubbling inside him again at just the thought of bowers even being near her.
“i’m okay,” she confirmed with another sniffle as she nodded. “just worried about you, rich.”
when eddie returned a moment later richie realised with much surprise that he hadn’t left to throw up, and instead he was carrying a bag of frozen peas with him. he mumbled something about not being able to find any ice as it was all in the drinks as he handed the bag to stan, who helped richie hold it against his nose. he hissed in pain again, but the cold helped.
as he leaned back against the table behind him and had finally caught his breath back, he made eye contact with bill who was frowning. the boy glanced between y/n and richie before he mouthed i’m sorry to the latter. richie pondered over why he could possibly sorry for a fight that he started himself, but then he remembered their earlier conversation about y/n. bill must’ve realised that richie would do anything to keep her from getting hurt.
richie nodded with a slight smile before he glanced back at y/n, who had taken his hand properly and laced her fingers with his. in that moment richie truly realised how much she meant to him. richie would do anything for y/n. if he had to fight bowers all over again for her he’d do it, and he’d do anything to help her or anything she wanted. all this time he thought he’d had just an average crush on y/n. he’d never had a crush before her; sure he found people hot, but he’d never properly liked someone. he didn’t realise that getting butterflies whenever she touched him wasn’t an average crush. he didn’t realise that almost falling asleep in her lap as she insisted on playing with his hair as they watched a movie because he was so comfortable and relaxed wasn’t just an average crush. he didn’t realise that he’d start a fight with the biggest bully in the school and get the shit beaten out of him wasn’t just for an average crush. with a gulp as he slumped against the table, he realised that he was utterly and truly in love with her.
as soon as richie had turned sixteen, he got a car. sure it was a shitty little thing that took ages to start and was a really tight squeeze to fit the losers in there, but it was his car. not even a week after he had gotten it he was used to eddie’s constant complaining about how much trash was in the car (“a public bathroom has less germs than this shithole.“), stan’s backseat driving (“richie there’s a speed limit for a fucking reason.“), and bill’s complaining (“there’s s-so much more room in my car, why didn’t we take- take that instead?“). though having a car meant he could get around so much easier, which made it easier to see y/n more often. whenever it was just the boys in the car, eddie had dibs on the passenger seat, though it was y/n’s and everybody knew it was. by that point, all of the losers knew about richie’s crush-turned-pining on y/n, so they didn’t argue with it.
with more freedom to get around without relying on bill to drive him or god forbid using his legs to walk, he spent so much more time with y/n alone. after school if some of the losers had something to do then he’d drive y/n home or off to do something alone. they spent plenty of time alone at the clubhouse together, or alone at the quarry, or even just sat in his car listening to the radio in an empty parking lot. it probably wasn’t the best for his pining to spend so much alone time with her, because it made him want her that much more, but honestly he couldn’t care less. richie couldn’t get enough of her.
because of her fondness for the rain, richie often took her out for drives when it was raining and the sky was somewhat dark but light enough so that you could see. that was her favourite weather. so when it rained a few weeks after she had turned sixteen richie had taken her for a drive, and parked in an empty parking lot behind a few stores. he always had snacks in his car (duh, he was richie) so once the car was parked and the engine was off he passed her a bag of chocolate raisins (they were her favourite so he always had some in his car) and turned on the radio, lowly so it didn’t drown out the noise of the rain for y/n.
munching on his own bag of chocolate buttons he turned to face y/n and tilted his head slightly, marvelling in her beauty. even though they weren’t dating, richie couldn’t understand how he got so lucky to have a best friend as amazing as her. over the past year they had grown so much closer than richie even thought was possible. they were “practically dating already“ as stan would say; the only thing they didn’t do that a couple did was kiss. well, they didn’t have sex, but richie got a punch from eddie when he pointed out that sonia fulfilled those needs for him perfectly.
lightning flashed in the distance and y/n’s eyes lit up, leaning forwards to shut off the radio so she could listen out for the distant rumble of thunder that was soon to follow. he was wrong before; this was her favourite type of weather. richie was quite surprised to find out that she enjoyed storms. he always took her for a hating storms type of girl. when he pointed that out she laughed lightly and shook her head, mumbling “you’d be surprised.“
as another flash of lightning hit, her face lit up in the bright light, and he had to take a second to admire her. it seemed that practically everyday she got more and more beautiful, and richie almost couldn’t handle it. she was sat in his passenger seat in one of his sweaters (“is that mine?” “oh, you left it at my house last week and it looked so warm…” “keep it, doll. it looks better on you anyways.”), with her hair pulled up with a few pieces left free to elegantly frame her face. sometimes he wondered how he had the restraint to not just lean over and kiss her.
“it’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” y/n asked, popping another chocolate raisin into her mouth. “the storm.”
“yeah. so beautiful.” richie nodded, though he didn’t look out of the window and kept his eyes trained on her. they were always on her.
y/n looked back at richie after a moment and caught him staring at her, which caused a blush to quickly form across the apples of her cheeks as she smiled sheepishly. she always smiled the same smile whenever she caught somebody looking at her, but she only ever blushed when richie looked at her. he didn’t want to think too much about it, though, because it probably didn’t mean what he hoped it would.
“what?” y/n mumbled, the same flustered smile growing, though she attempted to pull her bottom lip between her teeth to lose the expression. it always made her embarrassed, he noticed.
“you’re just so beautiful,” richie mumbled without thinking about it (he spoke without thinking a lot, and everybody told him it’d come back and bite him in the ass some day), and then his eyes grew just as wide as hers once he realised what he had said. “uh- fuck, wait i-“
he cut himself off when her hand reached over to rest over his own, and he almost choked on the candy halfway down his throat. her thumb was gently grazing over his knuckles - the same knuckles he’d used to fight for her around a year ago - and the way she was gently stroking the skin was not the usual friendly way she’d touch him.
oh fuck.
“richie?” she asked softly, and he could barely mumble out a “uhumm?“ in response, his eyes still bulging out of his head. “i think you’re just so beautiful, too.”
richie noticed another flash of lighting went off in the distance, though this time y/n didn’t turn to look out of the windshield to listen for the thunder that was soon to follow. instead he felt her fingers run along his hand, and he glanced down to watch her gently skim the pads of her fingers along his knuckles and rings. he had kept to wearing them every day after his fight with bowers. he claimed it was because they looked good but really it was so he could hurt someone if he ever had to punch someone in the face for y/n again. although they did look fucking sick. richie thought his heart was about to beat right out of his chest. all his brain was doing was going oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck-
“you know,” her voice was soft as she spoke. the soft spoken tone she used when she was nervous about something. she spoke like that when she had met his mother for the first time, or when she had to present to her class. she had spoken like that when they first met. “when you fought bowers that night for me, remember the party a year ago?” of course i fucking remember, he wanted to say, that was the night i knew i loved you, dummy. “when we got back to bill’s and you let me clean your hands up, after eddie had stopped fretting about your nose, i thought i was probably the luckiest girl in the world.”
richie scrunched his eyebrows together, his head tilting slightly as he looked at her. thunder rumbled in the background, yet y/n never looked away from him. “why?” his voice came out quieter than he liked, and he had to clear his throat.
“because i knew that i’d always have someone to have my back. who’d throw themselves literally into harms way to help me,” she said softly. “of course, not that i liked that bowers beat you up, but i knew that i’d always have you to look out for me.”
richie was opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. “but- i mean- the others-“
“everyone else cares for me, i know. they all have my back and i appreciate all of them,” y/n shrugged with a soft smile. “but, richie, you punched bowers in the face for me. i don’t think anybody’s done that since like ever,” richie still looked beyond confused (or he was malfunctioning, he couldn’t tell at that point), so when he didn’t answer he felt her hand laying on top of his, squeezing gently. “rich, i’ve never had anybody care for me the way that you do. i feel… different when i’m with you.”
if his heart was racing before, richie was convinced that he was having a heart attack. she couldn’t be leading onto what he thought she was, right? richie always just assumed that what they had was it - nothing else. of course, stan and beverly and practically all of the losers told him that they were sure y/n had a thing for him, but he just assumed that it was some shit they just said to make him feel better. like when his mom gave him a bowl cut when they were twelve and stan tried telling him it looked good. richie knew it was bullshit because when he saw eddie later on that day he ended up laughing so hard that he had to use his inhaler. twice.
“different like nauseous?” why the fuck did he say that?
y/n giggled and shook her head. “different like… different like i’ve never felt so much love for somebody before in my life.”
richie almost choked on the breath he was taking in. it took him what seemed like forever to process what she was telling him. she… she loved him? jesus christ he was going to have a heart attack. this was where he was going to die. his heart was beating way too fast and it was suddenly really hot in the car and he was probably having an aneurism or something. he couldn’t believe that someone as perfect as her could love someone as imperfect as him. how someone so polite and innocent and beautiful could love someone so brash and dirty and trashy.
she loved him.
richie blinked a few times in the low light that was coming in through the windshield, lighting up her face just enough for him to still see her beauty. to be fair, even in the dark he’d still be able to see her beauty. it radiated from her in waves that made him happy to be simply sitting next to her.
his hand (the one that wasn’t underneath her own, because there was no way he could lose that contact) gently lifted up until he could gently place it against her cheek. her skin was so soft he couldn’t help his thumb from swiping along her cheek, warm with the earlier flush of pink in her face. richie noticed how she leaned into his hand, her doe eyes never leaving his. slowly, giving her time to lean back if she wanted, richie leaned across towards where she was, and ever so gently pressed his lips to hers. and then she leaned in closer.
fireworks went off in his head and richie swore that he was flying. he’s never felt so high in his entire life. he felt her hand reach up to grip onto his jacket to pull her closer and he could’ve fainted there and then from the pure amount of happiness that was coursing through his veins.
she tasted like strawberry lip balm and chocolate, and her lips were so soft against his that he swore he was kissing an angel. an angel that was sent down from heaven just for him. he had dreamed of kissing y/n for so long that this just felt like another dream. nothing could’ve prepared him for how good it felt to be kissing her, finally. richie barely recognised the flash of lightning as he pulled away from her slightly. he didn’t think she had even noticed.
she giggled quietly once he’d pulled away and reached her hand up from his jacket to his cheek, her touch so warm against his skin. her cheeks were flushed again and she was smiling so brightly. all for him.
“fuck i love you,” he breathed, lips barely brushing against hers as he spoke. “i love you so much. i’ve needed to tell you for so long.”
“i love you too, rich.” she giggled, and leaned in to kiss him again.
after that day in the car, they were inseparable. after finding out their newfound love for each other, of course they started dating, though y/n opted for keeping it a secret for as long as possible and richie had to agree with her choice. the losers freaked out over so much that it would probably blow their minds if they found out that richie and y/n were finally dating.
of course, it couldn’t be kept from them forever.
they lasted almost two weeks together alone. their usual spot to be alone was the clubhouse, because when it was empty they could cuddle in the hammock and have peace to themselves. instead of laying side by side like they used to, richie had his arm around her back as she leaned her head against his chest, their legs tangled together in some strange knot. richie mumbled some jokes to her and she giggled into his shirt, and he hadn’t felt so happy in the longest time. at every chance he could be leaned down to kiss her lips, or her cheek, or her head. and when he was speaking he had his fingers dragging through her hair. he had to be touching her at all times.
just as y/n started laughing at another joke he made (“richie that’s crude!“) they heard the clubhouse hatch open, and didn’t have enough time to scramble out of the hammock before the losers started climbing down. they must’ve lost track of time - was it eleven already?
“oh my god!” beverly squealed since she was the first one down, spotting richie and y/n cuddling in the hammock. “guys! get down here!” she demanded as she jumped down the ladder.
richie looked down at y/n and watched her cheeks turn a shade of pink, and chuckled quietly as he leaned down to press a kiss to her temple.
the rest of the losers scrambled down the ladder as quickly as they could after bev’s yell, each of them having the same reaction as beverly. eyes wide, mouth open, “holy shit!“
“eww,” eddie cringed after the initial shock, and richie raised his eyebrows at him. “you two didn’t have sex on the hammock, did you?”
richie snorted as y/n groaned and buried her face into his chest. “of course not, eds. jeez, do you really think we’d stoop so low to have sex on the hammock?” he scoffed. “i only have sex on the hammock with sonia, dummy.” he rolled his eyes, though gripped onto y/n when eddie pushed his arm so hard he sent the hammock swinging.
“eddie!” y/n whined as it swung, her hands making little fists in richie’s shirt as she pouted.
cute, he thought, knowing she was trying to scowl but just ended up looking like she was pouting anyways. she was too adorable to look mean.
the next hour was spent with having to tell the rest of the losers club things in excruciating detail; beverly wanted to know about their first kiss, ben wanted to know how long they’d liked each other, eddie wanted to know if they had actually had sex in the hammock (“seriously dude i need you to tell me so i can spray it”). and then bill and stan seemed to team up for a double-whammy of the talk, which made y/n glow red and therefore caused richie to laugh at her and not listen to what they were being told.
after that, the hammock was theirs. nobody else touched it because either richie or both of them would be in it (y/n sometimes felt bad and let eddie have her turn, but that’d only happen if richie wasn’t there too. which was rare. richie made a point of never letting the hammock get unattended just to piss eddie off). it was nicer once the losers knew, because they didn’t have to hide around them anymore. they could cuddle and share a sleeping bag at sleepovers, and kiss whenever they wanted, and y/n could always sit in his lap in bill’s car.
each day he swore he fell more and more in love with her.
richie swore that the next year was the best year of his life; seventeen must be his lucky number. he got to spend practically every day with y/n, and despite the fact that bowers still bothered him (he’d been more attentive to picking on richie after their fight, but richie quite frankly couldn’t give a shit as long as he didn’t mess with y/n again) he swore that every day was practically perfect. after a few months of dating richie started sneaking into y/n’s room at night to sleep with her sometimes, and other times she’d stay over at his house with the excuse that she was at a sleepover. maggie tozier was a very kind woman, and didn’t mind y/n staying there at all, which richie was grateful for. he had such lovely parents.
despite having wanted to be with y/n for over a year before he actually started dating, richie was taking things slow with her. he knew what sort of person y/n was; she blushed at dirty jokes, had a row of stuffed animals at the end of her bed, wore friendship bracelets every day, and refrained from cussing most of the time. he didn’t want to rush her into things she wasn’t ready for. and she seemed to enjoy where they were. they’d cuddle at night, share soft kisses with each other, dance together to their favourite songs, huddle together or with her in his lap watching movies. their relationship was bliss, and richie didn’t want to push anything until she was completely ready.
eddie had laughed at him when he told him that (“you’re richie trashmouth fucking tozier, you’re really not going to have sex?“) but stan had shut him up with a shove and told richie it was a good call.
when y/n turned seventeen a few months after richie had, he took her out to dinner and acted like a gentleman. or the best he could, as he still whispered crude jokes to her in the restaurant and eventually had them both laughing so hard that their bellies hurt and the people sat around them were giving them funny looks. afterwards they stayed at her house for the rest of the night, and just enjoyed each orher’s presence.
y/n had been seventeen for a good few weeks when richie decided to surprise her at her house, unlike usual when he’d ask to go there first. she always seemed happy to have him there, and she seemed to be a little off that week, so while she was still out (“why aren’t you at the clubhouse?” “i’m at the library, they have my favourite book in.” “wow, a book more important than me? you wound me.” “shut up you know i love you more than anything.”) richie climbed up into her bedroom, thankfully she had left the window open, and sprawled out across her bed as he waited for her to get back. he made sure to take his shoes off before he climbed onto the bed because she almost died when she first saw his dirty shoes staining her sheets. she didn’t tell him to not do it, but he could see in her face that the stains bothered her, so he made sure never to do it again.
richie was sprawled across her bed reading a comic he’d left there for about half an hour before he heard the front door downstairs shut. another five minutes until he heard her soft footsteps climbing her creaky staircase, at which point richie had grinned and tossed the comic aside as the door opened.
“hey toots, welcome-“ oh. she was crying.
of course richie had seen her cry before. she’d cried when he was in the fight with bowers, and she cried at sad movies, and when she fell over and hurt herself. but she was really crying. she looked like she’d been crying for hours. her eyes were red and puffy, her breathing was so heavy he heard her small gasps of breath every time she took them in, and her face was contorted into something he could only describe as pain.
immediately richie had jumped up, almost tripping over his shoes on the floor as he quickly made his way over to her. his hands were on either side of her face, turning her head and looking up and down her to see if she was hurt in any way. when he didn’t see any he just cradled her head to his chest and felt her body shake against his. her head turned to press her face into his shirt before he heard her whimper “what are you doing here?“
richie frowned as he held her close, shutting her bedroom door behind her before he carefully guided her over toward her bed. “i wanted to surprise you when you got home ‘cause i haven’t seen you all day,” he told her as he sat down against her headboard and pulled her into his lap so he could hold her close. her head tucked against his shoulder as her arms wound around him as he left a kiss to her head. “what’s wrong, doll? talk to me,” he spoke into her hair as he rocked her in his arms. “was it bowers? i swear to fucking god if that asshole-“
“it wasn’t bowers,” her tiny voice interrupted him. she sounded so small and pained it physically hurt him. “it was greta.”
“greta keene?” richie asked, pulling a face at the thought of the girl who worked at the pharmacy and picked on eddie whenever he went there to get his medication, or her father who had a disgusting fondness for beverly. once he knew how much of a creep he was he never let y/n go into the pharmacy without somebody with her. “what did she do?”
y/n sniffled, wiping her eyes with her hands as she sighed. “she’s been picking on me all week but i left it alone because i know she’s mean to everybody,” she mumbled, her chest heaving with the next gasp of air she brought in through her tears. “i was on my way back from the library and i bumped into her. she threw the book i had over a fence and started yelling at me.” y/n had more tears falling down her face her bottom lip wobbling.
richie had never seen her so worked up. y/n was usually so well put together, he had never seen her so… so broken. she kept picture perfect for everybody, including him. it hurt to see her in such a state.
“what did she say?” he knew he was going to hate the answer if it upset her so much, but he needed to know.
y/n sniffled again. richie could feel her tears slipping down his neck and his heart ached. “she was saying stuff about how i mean nothing to you,” she whispered so quietly that richie almost missed it. but he didn’t, and he almost got up and left her house to go and find greta keene himself. “she- she was saying that it’s all an act. so you can just say to everyone else that you’re dating somebody. she said you’re obviously faking ‘cause i’m so different to all of your other friends and i’m too ugly for anybody to love.” she shook again as she sobbed and richie held her so tight he swore he must’ve been hurting her, but if he was she didn’t say.
richie felt his blood boil. he almost felt the same as he did the night he fought bowers. how the hell could somebody even say that to her? he never understood why people wanted to hurt the most fragile and perfect people they could find. it baffled him that people could look at y/n and want to be rude. she was so sweet and kind, he didn’t understand why.
richie pressed his lips to her temple as he sighed softly. she was still gripping onto his jumper so he simply lifted her head to look at him, his heart clenching when he met her pain filled eyes. his hands cupped her cheeks, swiping her tears away with his thumbs as her bottom lip wobbled again, chest still heaving with every breath of air she sucked in to attempt to calm down.
“y/n,” richie only ever used her first name if he was being serious. “what greta said is absolute bullshit, okay? she has absolutely no idea what she’s talking about, she just wanted to upset you.”
“but i mean she’s right, i’m so different-“ y/n started sniffling before richie shushed her with a finger over her lips.
“gosh, y/n, interrupting me when i’m talking? manners,” he teased lightheartedly, feeeling a little relieved when she smiled briefly. though at the sight of her burying her face back against his chest as she shook some more richie sighed, pulling her so she was sat on his lap facing him, her legs bracketing his thighs.
“look,” richie had one hand on her cheek to guide her to look at him, his other hand on her back where he rubbed small circles to try and comfort her. “ask any one of our friends how much i love you and they’ll tell you i was pining for you for over a year,” he told her softly. “y/n, i love you so much because you’re so different to everybody else. i’ve never met somebody so perfect before. we might be opposites but that’s why we’re so strong together, we balance each other out.”
“but what she said about being ugly-“
“was fucking bullshit,” richie frowned. “you are the most beautiful person ever to exist. i’ve never met somebody before who’s even come close to being just as beautiful. you fucking radiate it,” y/n had calmed down somewhat as she listened to him, slumping slightly from where she was sat on his lap. he kept his hand moving across her back and his other on her cheek. “you are all i want, okay? you’re it for me.”
y/n was looking up at him with her big doe eyes again, and for a moment he thought she’d burst into more tears.
what he didn’t expect was for her hands to come up to the sides of his neck and to pull him into kiss her almost urgently. richie could feel the tears on her face as he leaned in closer to her to kiss her but he ignored it. he couldn’t think of anything other than holy fucking shit- when she grabbed his jumper in a fist and pulled him that much closer.
they had never really made out before. they tried once, but y/n kept giggling to the point where she had to pull away and she went bright red, so richie simply held her close as he laughed with her, dropping the attempt. but this; this was so different. it was urgent and passionate and definitely not y/n style innocent. her hands were grabbing at his clothes and soon enough he was gripping her hips to pull her even closer. her lipbalm was all he could taste and her perfume was all he could smell and all he could feel was her and his heart beating against his rib cage to get out. she whimpered his name against his lips, quiet and needy, and before he could see if she was crying again she felt her hands slip under his sweater to his bare waist and he tensed up. oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck-
“y/n-“ it was more of a groan than anything as she held onto him. “what’re you-“
“please,” she whispered, her breathing heavy again though not from crying. he leaned back just enough to look at her, seeing flushed cheeks and almost swollen lips. “rich please.”
he woke up the next morning under her covers with a groan and a stretch. she was in his shirt and he didn’t have one on. she was giggling as she rolled into him and richie was laughing with her.
it was like they’d started something new. something good.
“fucking hell-“ richie groaned as he practically threw her suitcase into the back of his car, before dramatically bending over with his hands on his knees. “what the fuck is in your suitcase? i think it’s killed me.”
they were eighteen and senior year was over, it had been for a few weeks. everything was so different and changing that richie had barely any chance to catch up with it.
the last day of school was the last day that all of the losers had been together. bev was leaving later that day to move to stay with her aunt for college, and as the days and weeks went on less and less losers remained in derry. richie and y/n were the last ones. it had been an emotional last day. everybody cried, promises of writing to each other and meeting up at christmas sniffled until they had to leave. richie knew it wasn’t the last meeting of the losers club, they were too tightly knit, but it felt like it. y/n cried just as hard as that day when the other losers left.
but this time she wasn’t crying. she was smiling. because y/n and richie were going to the same college.
richie couldn’t have bared to part from y/n for college. it would’ve broken her and it would’ve broken him to part from her. he was so deeply in love with her that he couldn’t bare to part from her for more than a day, let alone months.
richie had helped her pack her things and after getting his own into his car, he had driven to her house to pack hers up. his mother had let him leave with teary eyes and tons and tons of kisses on his cheek. richie had barely gotten out before she ate him or something.
“says the one who brought an entire bag of snacks that probably weighs more than i do.” y/n teased as she came up behind him, her arms wrapping around his middle as she giggled.
richie chuckled and rolled his eyes, turning around to face her as he leaned back against the car and pulled her into his arms. “snacks are an important part of any journey, y/n. probably more important than the car. jeez, you think you know a girl.” he sighed dramatically, earning a light smack to the chest from her as she giggled and leaned into him.
they stood in silence for a moment as he held her, and he guessed she too was thinking of how weird it would be to leave derry. to leave the place they grew up in and fell in love in, just to have to start a new somewhere else. richie rubbed his hand along his back as he pondered their future. would college be good? would they still see each other often between their different classes? would they still talk to the losers? richie was sure of one thing; he’d continue loving y/n more and more every single day. how couldn’t he?
“i love you.” she whispered, and when he tipped his head down to look at her she was smiling up at him like he put the stars in the sky for her. little did she know that was all her.
“i love you too,” his hand came up to her cheek as he leaned down to kiss her for a long moment (not long enough, it was never long enough), before he pulled away with a smirk. “still not as much as eddie’s mom though, sorry toots.”
she groaned and he chuckled, pulling her back into him. “he’s not even here and you’re still going.” she giggled and shook her head.
richie leaned down to kiss the top of her head before he stood back up from leaning against the car, taking her hand instead of holding her as he turned to shut the trunk.
“guess we should get this show on the road.” he turned back to face her, meeting her smile with one of his own.
y/n nodded in agreement and squeezed his hand before she turned to get into the passenger side of the car, richie in the driver’s seat. he had asked her once if she was ever going to learn to drive whilst they were still in high school and she shook her head. (“why would i need to? i’ve got you to drive me around.“)
once they were buckled in richie turned on the radio and let the music sit at a low hum for background noise as he started the car. they were just about ready, he thought. the snack bag was in the back seat, their bags were backed, they had nobody else to say goodbye to.
“ready?” richie lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles and watched as she smiled softly at the action.
“ready.” she agreed softly.
richie leaned over to press a warm loving kiss to her lips before he pulled back and moved one hand to the steering wheel, his other settling on her thigh where he tapped along to the music that played. he did that so much it was habit at that point. muscle memory.
as the car started driving, and y/n started talking about something that had him smiling and laughing, he couldn’t help but be filled with an overwhelming sense of joy that he got to start the next chapter of his life with the person he loved the most.
he was probably the luckiest guy alive.