ETHEREAL ♤ REDDIE

1.

"-Hm? What? Fuck, im sorry Bev. What did you say?"

"I said, do you want to go out to eat with the rest of the losers? Mike's mom is back in town, so he doesnt have to watch the farm. You cant say no this time."

public. public. public. she wants me to go out in public.

"Uh- yeah! No yeah i can do that." Richie says with a shaky breath.

see, heres the thing. richie suffers with social anxiety, terribly. public? people? voices everywhere? hes already diagnosed adhd, all the noise on top of that is a no fucking go.

"Rich. You cant just surround yourself with me and the rest of the losers for the rest of your life. You have to go out of your comfort zone at one point."

And with a simple nod, they both get up and slip on their shoes, walking out the front door.

Derrys weather is always so perfect around this time. Colorful leafs, dim but sunny sky, and the perfect temperature.
Richie adores the way Bevs red curls blend in with the colorful leafs. The way her hair gets crazy and teased in the slight wind,  the sun as it hits her pale, freckled skin.

Of course, Richie thinks of all of these things platonically. Bev has been his bestfriend since 1st grade, you cant blame him for noticing every single, beautiful detail.

Time flies by as he admires these things, Bev opening the diner door for Richie before he knows it.

Bev and Richie greet the other losers. Stan, Bill, and Mike all waving with a smile.

"Rich! You came!" Mike says with an admiring smile. "I dont think I've seen you in public anywhere rather than school. Its nice to see you're out."

Richie chuckles, sliding into the seat next to Bev. "Im trying my best, Bev's getting me through it in her wildest ways-"

"Hey! If it werent for me, you'd be in bed with music blasting in one ear and out the other." Bev says with a sarcastic tone on her voice.

Richie nods in agreement at that.

///

6:30am.

Richies desk alarm tone bounces off his square room walls, his hand slapping over the top to turn it off. He grumbles, rubbing his eyes and slipping on his glasses.

Waking up at 6:30am wasnt Richies favorite thing to do. But fuck, going to school beats it.

He pushes himself up, hopping off the noisy springed bed. "What a fucking dream." He mumbles to himself as he looks in the mirror, before walking to his closet to pull out a dark green turtle neck, black skinny jeans, and a red hawaiian shirt.

He tucks in the turtle neck into his jeans, pulling a black belt through the hoops, and pulling his arms through the red button up shirt, that he of course leaves unbuttoned. Richie then walks to the bathroom, fixing his wild curly hair.

Once he was finished, he grabs his back and walks downstairs.

"You look like a faggot." Richies dad mumbles as Richie walks out the front door.

"Holy shit, Rich! You actually dressed mature for once. You got a date or something?" Bev asks with a laugh, standing at the end of the sidewalk.

"Mm, maybe i just wanna impress your mom, bev." He says with a smirk, winking as the red head rolls her eyes. "Richie. You're fucking gay?"

///

Richie walks through the school halls, his headphones playing music in his ears as he keeps his head low, keeping his eyes at the tile floor of derry high.

Richies the type to get to class as fast as possible. He fears being stared at or talked to in the halls.

Eddie Kaspbrak runs through the halls to get away from the one and fucking only, Henry Bowers. He looks back, to see if hes being chased by Henrys little pets, only to run straight into a new face.

"Fuck! Im so sorry, im trying to get away from-"

oh. oh fuck. hes pretty.

// this is a short chapter im sorry yall :(  im already having doubts abt this book i feel like im gonna get n o w h e r e with it, but im gonna try my best :) if ur reading this, ilysm and if u wanna, stick around! things are abt to get really good, really bad, and everything inbetween.