ETHEREAL ♤ REDDIE

6.

Richie woke up the next morning with his alarm blaring through his ears. Streaks of light from the sun showing through the window causing shadows in the shapes of leaves from the tree sitting just outside his window seal; his blanket slowly making its way off the bed as the room grows warmer and the thoughts of the day before coming back inti his mind. awake now, Richie hops out of bed, walking over to his window to find the driveway empty. With a goofy smile, he turns on his speaker and bluetooths it to his phone, shuffling his one and only favorite playlist.

Everlong by Foo Fighters.

Richies eyes lit up once the song began, his hips instantly dancing along with the music.

' come down, and waste away with me down with me '

Richie pulled out some black jeans and a Goo Goo Dolls band T that was maybe 2 sizes too big, along with a white button up that would either get stained during lunch or get shoved in his backpack once he arrived to school.

'and i wonder when i sing along with you'

'if everything could feel this real forever'

Eddie. I get to see Eddie today.

'if anything could ever feel this good again, the only thing ill ever ask of you'

'youve got to promise not to stop when i say when'

///

"So, Eddie, have you asked your mom about this weekend? Or should i say staying at Stans. Its friday." Bev asked, shoving a couple of their school's cafe's soggy ass fries in her mouth.

"Mhm! She didnt mind, but she did go on for an hour and 34 minutes, yes, i counted, about how i need to bring my extra fanny pack filled with pills and all this shit, which i understand but it gets so fucking annoying." Eddie says, huffing.

"Wowza Eds! Never knew you had a little bit of fire in ya!" Richie yells with a british accent, causing Bill to laugh, which caused chocolate to spill out of his nose and cause a whole scene at their table.

"Oh shut up, i have alot of fire in me, thank you very much." Eddie snaps back, slumping in his chair and crossing his arms.

fuck. fuck. i upset eddie. fuck. dont you ever shut the fuck up, tozier? f-

"Rich? Y-you o-oh-okay?" Bill asks, a worrying look on his face.

"Yeah! yeah of course. Im gonna go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." Richie nods, quickly standing up and leaving the room.

you ruin everything. you ruin absolutely everything. because now eddie hates you and now he thinks your annoying. they all probably do! you're just a piece of shit friend who talks too much and makes jokes to make people laugh so you're liked, and they arent even funny!

Richie sighs, putting in his earbuds to block out his thoughts.

breathe, richie. just breathe. its okay.

no. everyone hates you. you're a piece of shit, tozier!

Richie stands in front of the mirror, his hands shaking as he reaches up to push up his glasses and wipe the tears he didnt even notice were pouring like a fucking waterfall. "Im overreacting."

"No, you arent." Eddie says.

Richies eyes shoot over to the bathroom enterance, his small figure standing nervously. He takes out his earbuds. "Eddie i-"

"Richie, im sorry if i upset you. Bev told me that you struggle with those things because of..stuff." His words drift, his eyes locking with Richies. "Im sorry. You didnt upset me, okay? You didnt say anything wrong. I just never think before i speak, and i was upset. Im sorry."

"No- no. Eddie, dont be sorry. Im just an over-thinker, alright? Its alright ol'champ!" Richie finishes with an Irish accent, laughter echoing through the bathroom.

"Okay. Hey, what were you listening to?" Eddie asks, glancing between Richies phone and eyes.

"Oh, uh, wanna hear? Its Kilby Girl by The backseat lovers. Im not the biggest fan of newer music, but this one fits the vibe of classics." Richie says with a chuckle, pressing the song on play and handing Eddie the ear buds.

Eddie put the earbuds in, drifting off as he listened to the song. "It sounds like the kind of song i'd listen to while dancing along in my room." Eddie says with a giggle. "I really like it, Rich. You should write down a list of songs for me, i can borrow Bevs phone and listen to them during camping maybe?"

See, because this is when Richies heart starts to pound so hard in his chest he can hear it in his ears, his cheeks flushing so red it reaches the tip of his ears. Richie really has a crush on Eddie. Hes cute, no, scratch that. Eddie is the most ethereal boy Richie has ever laid eyes on. With the way Richie looks at Eddie, im sure they can all tell. But not Eddie, hes oblivious.

"Rich? Did you hear me?"

"-Hm? Oh! Yeah, sorry. I'll do that for you. You dont have a phone?"

"No." Eddie shakes his head, handing Richie his phone back. "My mom wont let me, she says social media brainfries people, so i have to use our home phone to talk to anyone."

"Ah, i see, controlling, huh?"

"Very. But its okay, shes only trying to protect me."

With that, Richie doesnt push it any further and nods, both teens making their way back to the lunch room, only a few inches away from touching. And at that, Richie is blushing like a 5th grader having their first kiss during spin the bottle. And fuck, he sure does feel like a fucking 5th grader.

///

Saturday morning rolls around far too quickly for anyone to handle, yet their all packed up in Bevs 6 seater truck. Stan, Bill, and Ben all in the back, Bev in the drivers seat, Eddie in the middle, and Richie in the passanger seat. "Hey, Rich. Care to put on some music? You're the only one with good taste here." Stan says, earing a nod in agreement from both Ben and Eddie. "Hey! My music taste is wonderful, thank you very much." Bev says with a sassy tone, only to get laughed at my Richie. "Bullshit! You listen to Lana Del Ray. Isnt she like- transphobic or something?" Richie both says and asks. "Wha- actually? Nevermind. Fuck Lana Del Ray." Bev says, huffing. "Well im not exactly one hundred percent sure, its a rumor going around." He says with a shrug, connecting to the bluetooth and shuffling his playlist.

Here i go again by Whitesnake blasts through the speakers, every single one of the losers screaming the lyrics while wind blew in and out the windows.

It felt good. It felt free.

And in that moment, he swore, they were infinite.

/// yall like the 'the perks of being a wallflower' sentence? movie made me fucking s o b. anyways, i hope yall enjoyed this chapter! and credits 2 my brother for helping me with a bit with it, anyways, i love u all. stay safe!
ps. i dont think ill ever not be too lazy to proof read
ps again. this is the longest chapter if written so far, v proud of myself
-B