pretend; reddie

t w o

"you ready?"

richie raises his eyebrows at his boyfriend –fake boyfriend, that is– as they sit in eddie's pick up truck that had been passed down to him from his uncle. granted it wasn't in best condition, it was better than nothing.

the school is a ten minute drive, and the only thing separating the fake relationship from the rumours and whispers is traffic.

"i'm not a child on their first day of kindergarten," eddie states shortly, his eyes focused on the back of the car in front of him, which attempts to pull forward before braking again almost immediately. "no shit i'm ready."

"alright," richie averts his eyes, staring out the window; anywhere but at the driver. "kill me for trying to be nice."

eddie internally groans. why had he agreed to pick up richie for school? why had he even agreed to this stupid deal? "you're never trying to be genuinely nice."

"oh," the passengers eyes light up, but it's with a false excitement that boils eddie's blood in annoyance. "babe, how did you see right through me?"

eddie rolls his eyes, this time groaning out loud. "you're fucking annoying."

"you love it," richie counters as if it was cute banter. eddie wants to barf.

"not yet i don't," eddie huffs, dreading the moment when he has to start pretending to actually like the arrogant boy next to him. not to mention love.

"soon enough," is all that richie says at this point.

his words are cut off at an appropriate time, as traffic begins to move. eddie's hand moves to the stereo and he turns the volume up to drown out anything richie might say before they reach the parking lot, hoping to get a few minutes of peace and silence before chaos ensues.

"are you-" rich attempts to say. eddie turns the volume up a few notches. richie gets the point and rolls his eyes, falling silent.

it's only when they get into the parking lot and find a spot that eddie let's the radio go quiet, and richie gets a chance to actually speak.

"so, baby," he coos in an obviously fake, sickly sweet voice that he most definitely wouldn't be using in front of others. "are you excited to reveal our relationship to the world?"

"jesus christ, would you shut up?" eddie groans as he turns off the truck, unbuckling his seatbelt. "are we doing this or not?"

richie eyes him for a moment, most likely mentally preparing himself for what lies ahead. the looks, the rumours, the questions. and then he puts his hand on the door.

eddie takes this as a sign to follow, and the two of them exit their sides of the pick-up respectively, meeting at the front of it.

there, without any words of inquiry to give them away, the corners of richie's lips turn up slowly, and he holds his hand out, palm up, awaiting the action that is a complete confirmation of their deal.

eddie peers at it for a moment, as if re-contemplating his entire decision to agree. his brain is battling over rationality, logic, and not caring all at once, but finally, after only a few seconds, the side saying fuck it wins out.

so in that moment, he lifts his hand and places it into richie's, allowing their fingers to interlace and fall at their sides.

a fake smile pulls at his mouth as he looks away from richie, toward the entrance of the school and their peers milling around the stairs and door.

and then, they begin walking forward.