reddie oneshots || fluff

55 (100k special!)

Reluctantly, Eddie pushed open the glass door of the diner and made his way to one of the many empty booths next to the window. He hadn't been to this diner before, it was nice.

The seats were made of red leather and comfortable, the tables were all clean (even to his standards) and the silver counter separating the bar from the rest of the seating area fit nicely with the stools next to it. And - best of all - it was practically deserted. Not a single person was sat inside and Eddie couldn't even see a waiter. That was, until, a teenager came running out of the kitchen.

"Hey! Sorry, the newbie set the hamburgers on fire again. Probably shouldn't have mentioned that. Anyway, what can I get you?" He asked, coming to a stop at Eddie's table.
"Oh, no worries. Just a Coke thanks," Eddie replied, but he couldn't seem to draw his eyes away from the boy's face. He seemed familiar almost, curly brown-black hair in an unbrushed tangle around his head, a tall, slim frame and a pair of black glasses shielding his hazel eyes. It wasn't until the waiter had begun to pour his drink behind the bar and Eddie had pulled out his math homework - the same one he'd been dreading to complete since he'd entered the diner - that he realised.

It was a kid from his school, he was in his math class. The teacher practically despised him, and Eddie had to say it was understandable. What was his name again? Something beginning with an r... or was it a b? Anyway, whatever-his-name-was never did anything but mess about, always having some smart comeback when the teacher eventually lost her patience and snapped. Anyway, enough about the boy. Eddie had homework to complete.

Having finished his Coke, Eddie squinted down at the jumble of letters and numbers that was supposed to be 'algebra'. None of it made any kind of sense to him, and although he'd managed to make it halfway through the paper basically by guessing and hoping for the best, this one question had really messed with him. The brunette groaned loudly, his head in his hands as he stared wearily at the diagram he'd been given.

"You alright there?" A voice asked, causing Eddie to startle.
"What? Oh, I guess so. Well, no. This math homework is fucking impossible," Eddie sighed, glancing up at the boy from earlier. He was wearing a red and white striped apron tied neatly around his waist, and a name tag was pinned to the breast pocket. Richie. He knew it started with an r.

"Oh, I did that one yesterday. I can
help you if you like, it's not like I have any customers to wait on," He offered, watching as Eddie raised an eyebrow.
"You do homework?" He asked, dumbfounded.
"I'm not a total idiot, you know," He grinned, and Eddie shook his head, smiling apologetically.
"Sorry, that's not what I meant. Sure, I could use some help," He said, gesturing to the seat opposite.
"Yeah no shit," the boy - Richie - laughed, sitting down and turning the paper around to face him.

"Well, for starters all of this half is wrong." He stated, causing Eddie to frown.
"All of it? Seriously?" He asked, incredulously. He knew he was bad, but he didn't know he was that bad.
"Seriously. Look, you see here you multiplied when you should've divided, and that way you get the value of x. And here-" He continued for about ten minutes, Eddie amazed at how much he knew about a subject he did so little in.
"Now you try," He smiled, handing the work back after going through a few of the unanswered questions. Unconfident, Eddie took the pencil back and answered the question as best he could with this new information. Once he'd finished, Richie took the sheet back to look at it once more.

He was much prettier up close, Eddie realised. His hair framed his face perfectly, and his eyes seemed to have a depth to them previously unnoticed by the asthmatic boy. A few freckles were scattered across his cheeks and over his nose, and Eddie almost wanted to count them.
"I can feel you staring, you know," Richie grinned again, still focused on the work in front of him. Eddie immediately looked away, a warm hue rising to his cheeks.
"Didn't say you had to stop," He added, finally looking up.
"Eddie, right? Obviously, you're in my math. I'm-"
"Richie." Eddie filled in, a little too quickly.
"It's on your badge," He added.
"Right," Richie replied, but Eddie had to look down again. He couldn't stand that grin, it was too damn pretty.
"Anyway, Eds, it seems you've actually got this one correct! Progress at last," He exclaimed triumphantly, but Eddie couldn't bring himself to focus on that.