✓ | TEENS AND THINGS → richie tozier ²

six

"OH MAN, are you sure this is a good idea?" Stan asked.

The Losers were biking home from school, Richie riding around them rest of them in a huge circle, like usual.

"Of course I'm sure!" Ash said. "I'm trying to be more independent-"

Richie snorted, and Ash shot him a glare. "I am. And this is one way I'm going to do it. Richie's just mad because he's going to have to dress up."

Richie skidded to a stop right in front of Stan, who let out a high-pitched shriek of, "RICHIE! You could have wrecked my bike, you dipshit!"

Richie ignored him, narrowing his eyes at Ash. "For your information, your highness, I can dress up. I am the king of dressing up."

Ash nodded. "Uh huh."

"Remember that time you said you were the king of dressing up for my grandma's funeral?" Eddie asked. "And you came wearing this awful neon pink suit-"

"Wait, what!?" Ash exclaimed, dissolving into a fit of giggles.

Richie's stare at Eddie was murderous. "Thank you for that, Eds."

"Anytime. And don't call me Eds." Eddie grinned, and Richie pressed over top of Ash.

"The point is, gorgeous, that's not going to happen this time. I want to make a good impression, whereas at Eddie's grandma's funeral the only person I was impressing was his weird family members and a dead corpse."

Ash laughed again, and Bill said, "Well, the r-rest of us are going o-over t-to Stan's h-house. Yu-yu-you'll tell us h-how it goes after, r-right?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, of course you guys."

Richie groaned. "Great!"

"See you guys later!" Ben called as they reached the intersection between Ash's and Richie's. The rest of the Losers went the opposite way to Stan's as Ash and Richie pedaled down to her house.

"Is it bad that I'm nervous?" Richie asked after a couple of seconds, his nervous laugh breaking the silence.

Ash glanced at him, smiling. "Awww, lil Rich!"

Richie's cheeks colored. "Shut up. I mean, I know they're both assholes but I want to-"

"- make a good impression." Ash finished, and he nodded, not meeting her eyes.

"Just be yourself." Ash said, and then cringed. "Well, not all of yourself. I don't think they need that much."

Richie rolled his eyes. "Fine. No sex or dick jokes."

Ash cautiously took a hand off her handlebars and tipped her bike towards his, messing up his hair. "There ya go, Tozier."

As they got to Richie's, he clambered off his bike, setting it against the side of his house; nervously cracking his knuckles. "So, I'll see you in 30 minutes?"

"Twenty." Ash corrected, and then got off her bike, kissing him gently on the cheek. "Hey, everything is going to be fine. I'm going to be there the whole time, stop worrying!"

He nodded, and she squeezed his hand before letting go and getting back onto her bike. "See you soon!"

He waved, and Ash pedaled out of sight, hoping to God this night went well; for Richie's sake as well as her's.

~

Ash was putting the final touches on her outfit- dark blue jeans and a red shirt, the farthest she would go to be completely girly- when she heard the doorbell ring.

She hurriedly flung open her door, taking the stairs as fast as humanely possible without breaking her neck, but was beat to the door by her dad and had to resort to standing just in the shadows behind him.

He opened the door, and there stood Richie, looking extremely nice in his own blue jeans and a collared shirt with it's sleeves pulled up to the elbows, his glasses just slightly crooked on his nose.

They both stared at each other for a second, Richie only a couple of inches shorter than her dad, before Richie stuck out his hand.

"Hi! If you hurt my babygirl, you'll have me to answer too. Are we clear? Good! Nice to meet you, I'm Richie Tozier."

Ash bit her lip hard to keep a smile from splitting her face as her dad slowly shook Richie's hand as Richie let himself into the house, catching sight of Ash standing behind him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the lovely lady herself." His eyes twinkled, a barely there question mark readable across his expression about how he had done, and Ash tilted her head into nod as he grinned.

"Hey, Rich." She said, and he slipped an arm around her waist. "Hey."

Her dad looked at the pair of them for a couple of seconds before saying, "Uh, dinner is-"

"Ready!" Her mom stepped into the room, wiping her hands on her apron. "Ready. Dinner is ready."

Richie gave her a curt nod, his grip tightening just ever so slightly on Ash's wrist as they followed her parents into the dining room and all took seats at the dining room table.

As the food was served, they kept small talk at the dining room table, asking both teens how their homework was going, how they liked school, mind dumbingly boring stuff like that.

They were all getting ready to dig into the dessert- an apple pie Ash's mom had made- when the phone rang.

Her dad looked curiously at her mother, a questioning look in his eyes, and her mom got up to get the phone.

"Hello?" They heard her say, and there was a short pause as she said, "Of course. Hold on for a minute, please."

She came back into the room, and Ash looked up. "Who was it?"

Her mother slowly shook her head, a crease in her forehead. "It was Eddie Kaspbrak."

Ash moved to get up from the table, and her mother held up a hand. "No, no, he doesn't want you. He says- he says he wants Richie."

Richie and Ash both looked at each other quickly before Richie let go of her hand which he had been holding underneath the table, and got up.

"I'll go see what he wants." He said, and went into the other room where the phone was, picking up the reciever.

"Eds?" He asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Dude, I love you, but you know I'm at Ash's parents right now-"

"Rich?" Eddie's voice was high pitched and trembling, and Richie stopped speaking abruptly before answering, "Eddie? What's going on?"

There was a sniff, and the sound of rustling over the line as Richie said more urgently, "Eddie! What's going on?"

"I-I was going back from Stan's and-" Eddie's voice broke, and it was a couple of seconds before he continued, his voice thick, "I was biking and he- he came up to me and he- p-punched me and my mom isn't home and my face is killing me and-and I'm bleeding everywhere, Rich, and I didn't know who the fuck I was supposed to tell-"

"Hold on, hold on Eds!" Richie said. "Who? Who the hell punched you?"

There was a silence, and dread crept slowly into Richie's chest before Eddie answered, his voice now shaking so hard Richie could barely make out the word he managed to say:

"Allen."

fasjdfkasdkfhfdasfas i have to go to bed but here's an update for you guys and om gom g i can't even rn.

7 more until 13. vote and comment. i love you.