Chapter Text
Friday | 2:36 PM | 7 days, 4 hours, 24 minutes until prom |
Richie followed Bill as he guided the Losers Club to the quarry on their bicycles. It was somewhat a tradition of theirs to go swimming in the quarry every once in a while, and they hadn't had the chance recently, given it had still been quite cold out.
Richie turned to look behind him at Eddie, who was slightly falling behind the rest of the group. "Hurry up, Eds!" He called over his shoulder. "You're falling behind!" Eddie rolled his eyes. "Not my name," He replied. "And I'm fine. Worry about yourself. Turn around before you crash into a fucking tree!" Richie turned back around and flipped him the bird.
"Are we there yet?" He asked Bill.
"Y-you know th-th-the way to the quarry," Bill said. "F-f-figure it out yourself,"
Richie snorted. "Damn. Okay, Bill," He said. "I was just asking,"
"Yeah, Bill. He was just asking," Beverly repeated with a grin. "Oh, and would you look at that. We're here!" The Losers climbed off their bikes and left them lying on the ground. All except Stanley, of course, who always triple-checked that he had put his bike stand down before relaxing his grip on the handlebars.
Bill sighed and let his head sink into his hands in fake annoyance before looking up at them with a grin on his face. "You two are fucking i-i-idiots," He said.
"Bill! You said the fuck word!" Richie gasped dramatically. "How could you?!" All of them laughed, though it soon died down after they looked down at the water. The water far, far below them. The water that would most definitely hurt to jump into.
"So," Mike said. "Should I go first, or-" Beverly cut him off by pushing him aside and running past him. "God, even after four years, you're all still a bunch of quivering pussies," She laughed as she leaped off the cliff and fell into the greenish water.
Richie groaned. "Again?" He asked. "Guys, come on. We can't let her keep showing us up," Bill didn't respond, but he followed Beverly's lead and jumped into the quarry. "Guys?" He said again.
Mike and Ben quickly dove off the cliff after them, both briefly acknowledging what Richie had said. The only people left were Stanley, Eddie, and, of course, Richie. Stanley stared at the water nervously before glancing at Richie for encouragement. Richie merely gave him a thumbs up and a "You got this," But it was enough for him. "Thanks," He whispered. It was hardly audible, but the other two boys caught it and watched as Stanley jumped.
"So?" Eddie said. Richie cocked his head and furrowed his brows in confusion. "So what?"
"Are you gonna go?" Eddie asked him. "Or are you gonna let Bev show you up?" Richie glared at him. "I'm going right now. Fucking watch me," He replied, walking to the edge of the cliff and crossing his arms.
Richie took a deep breath but instantly deflated. "Shit," He said. He could feel his heart pounding as he took a peek at the dizzying drop. "Hey, bud, you gonna go or what?" Eddie asked. "I'm gonna push you off if you don't move your ass,"
"You wouldn't do that," Richie scoffed.
"Oh yeah?" Eddie said. "You want to test that theory?"
"Do it. You won't,"
Although, sure enough, Richie felt two hands on his back shove him forward. He stumbled, but the ground suddenly disappeared underneath him, sending him plummeting toward the bottom. He didn't know when, but at some point, Richie started screaming as he fell. The sound of the wind whistling past his ears and his own terrified screams filled his ears. After the longest 2 seconds of his life, Richie finally plunged into the brisk water.
He heard a loud splash behind him, most likely Eddie, and laughter from in front of him, the rest of the Losers Club. They were laughing at him. Damn.
"Dude!" Ben called. "Are you okay? You were screaming bloody murder,"
"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if you shit your pants," Eddie snorted.
"You mother fuckers!" Richie shouted. He was about to start the biggest splash war known to man.
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Friday | 7:49 PM | 6 days, 23 hours, 11 minutes until prom |
Richie sat down at a shallow part of the quarry, looking out at the other Losers goofing off in the water. As the sun began to set, the once-blue sky slowly melted into a pool of blazing oranges and purples, and the white clouds turned cotton candy pink. Richie gazed down at the shimmering water, now reflecting the rainbow of colors high above it. His eyes passed over the lengthening shadows on the quarry before focusing on the only figure that rivaled the beauty of the scenery. Eddie.
Richie felt a smile creep onto his face as he watched Eddie wrestle Stanley into the water, much to the other boy's annoyance. Richie would have loved to make some snide comment and bother them for the rest of the night, but for once in his life, he decided to keep his mouth shut. Not that he didn't want to talk, there was never a moment where he didn't have a thought worth sharing, but at the moment, Richie was afraid of what he would say. He was afraid of what he would say to Eddie.
Eddie had a strange effect on him. When he was around, he made Richie grin like an idiot the entire time. He made Richie's heart beat faster when their hands brushed against one another. He made butterflies explode in his stomach simply by existing. Eddie was the boy he had been in love with since his middle school years. The one person he was never able to get off his mind. Eddie was Richie's best friend that had been by his side from day one. The person he was going to ask to prom.
For that reason, he couldn't risk saying anything at all. Richie was too scared he would end up saying something stupid and gay. He wanted to wait until the opportune time to ask him to be his prom date and do something mushy that he would usually consider gross.
Unfortunately, Richie wasn't much of the sappy type. Sure, on the inside, he was all ooey-gooey and shit whenever he was with his loved ones, as much as he hated to admit it. But, on the outside, Richie was pretty much hopeless. It wasn't that he couldn't flirt or anything. The problem was trying to take it seriously. Richie "Trashmouth" Tozier trying to legitimately be romantic? That would prove to be much more of a challenge than one might expect.