prank || reddie

5

Richie's eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, throwing the blanket at his feet. Panting, he quickly scanned his surroundings. At first he was confused, why am I downstairs? Until he looked at the floor and saw the rest of the Losers sleeping peacefully. His memories came flooding back, along with the memories of the dream he just woke from. His eyes widened as he found himself reliving the worst parts of the nightmare, running... screaming... bleeding...

Richie quickly shook his head, trying his best to dismiss the distressing thoughts, but it was no use. It felt almost as though he was back there, in the sewers, running. Running from It. He'd watched Eddie die in that dream, and it was one of the worst he'd ever had. Richie's breathing began to grow ragged and uneven as he started panicking, and he drew his knees up to his chest.

It was not uncommon for Richie to get nightmares, but Eddie was the only one who knew about them. They were often about Eddie dying, or loosing Eddie in some way, and Eddie knew this. He'd always accepted it as just a best friend thing, never even considered the possibility that Richie may like him as more than that. Despite this, Richie still hated having to ask Eddie for help or comfort every single time he had one of these nightmares, and he usually did everything he could to fall back asleep so it didn't come to that. Nothing has ever worked, only Eddie can have that affect on him.

Richie began to rock back and forth slowly, willing the thoughts away in his mind but failing miserably. Silent tears slowly begin to drip down his hot cheeks, tasting salty on his cracked lips as he tries his best not to wake anyone. He has to calm himself. He has to. The rest of the Losers are here now, on a sleepover he had arranged, so he can't ruin it. They'd hate him. And even if it was just Eddie, he's pretty sure even Eddie hates him now as well. He's just one big fuck up at this point.

Richie can't go to his parents, he barely ever talks to them as it is and especially not about anything emotional, they have no idea just how troubled there confident son can become in the darkness of night. Besides, what if he woke someone up? What if they saw him running to his parents like a scared puppy? All these thoughts reeled in Richie's brain as he desperately tried to make sense of them, mixed with terrifying visions of his nightmare. He just couldn't. He couldn't.

Accepting defeat, Richie rose on wobbly legs and carefully made his way around the air beds, his entire body shaking like a leaf. He passed Stan, then Bill, then Mike... then Ben... Richie sniffed loudly and immediately froze on the spot. Ben's soft snoring stopped and Richie's heart somehow managed to beat harder if that was even possible. But, Ben's snores soon started again and the crisis was avoided. Richie let out a silent sigh of relief and continued making his way past him, until he came to Eddie's bed. He stopped before him and for a moment just studied Eddie's sleeping form, took in every beautiful feature on the young boys' face.

He had a perfectly calm expression and his splattering of freckles seemed to almost glitter in the moonlight, standing out from the rest of his face like stardust. His skin seemed soft and smooth as he slept, and Richie found himself wanting desperately to reach out and touch it. He almost did, in fact, until suddenly a monstrous image of that very same face smeared with a sticky scarlet substance clouded his vision.

Richie scrunched his eyes tight shut and waited, breathing heavily, until it was gone. When it finally disappeared he opened his eyes and wiped the glossy layer of tears that had formed there with the palms of his hands. He walked around to the other side of the air bed and carefully lay down on it, making sure he was moving the bed as little as possible. Eddie's back was now facing him if he turned to his right but he didn't. He stayed rigid, looking up at the ceiling.

It was just as bad as being on the sofa, and he found he had to keep flicking his gaze sideways to check Eddie was still there, still safe. Richie didn't intend to sleep there - god knows what the rest of the Losers (especially Eddie) would say if they saw them sleeping together - only lie there until he was calm enough to return to his sofa. With this in mind, Richie turned on his side so he was facing the back of Eddie's head. He remembered another part of the dream, this scene was nearer the end.

He was cradling Eddie's lifeless body, drenched in blood and growing colder by the minute, and screaming. Screaming at Pennywise, screaming at god, screaming at Eddie, screaming at himself, screaming at everyone and everything. Screaming 'Why?' Why did it have to be Eddie? Why not him? Why not literally anyone else. Then he felt bad for thinking that, not wanting to wish harm on any of his friends. They were all he had.

Slowly, Richie extended a trembling arm and draped it over the smaller boy's chest, reveling in the warmth it gave him. Suddenly, Eddie began to stir, and Richie went dead still once more.
"Rich?" He whispered. "That you?"
"Yeah, it's me," Richie answered, scared to death. Wasn't Eddie mad at him?
"Good," Was Eddie's reply. Good? The fuck does that mean?
"Goodnight, Chee," He mumbled finally, snuggling backwards in his sleeping bag until he was pressed firmly against Richie's chest.
"Night Eds," Richie smiled, and his whole body stopped shaking. The visions became less and less frequent, and eventually they ceased altogether. The overwhelming anxiety had been replaced by a rather pleasant bubbly feeling, and Richie rested his chin on the top of Eddie's head.

Richie knew Eddie was only half awake - probably why he hasn't been pushed away yet - so he still planned on going back to his original place on the sofa. He planned to go back, but it was just to comfortable. It was so... safe. He allowed his eyes to flutter shut (a big mistake) and, sure enough, drifted into a calm and uninterrupted slumber.

Until the morning came, of course.