✓ | TEENS AND THINGS → richie tozier ²

eleven

"SO WHY did they want us to meet them again?" Ash asked her boyfriend, trying to pedal as fast as him.

"You're oblivious to everything I say sometimes, you know that beautiful?" He glanced at her, heaving a sigh. "I don't know! I already told you this."

"Are Ben and Eddie coming?"

Richie nodded. "Yes, Haystack and Eds are both coming."

"I thought Eddie said he didn't want you to call him that anymore."

Richie shrugged. "He always says that. But deep down he's a cutie. He loves me."

Ash snorted. "Yeah right, Romeo."

They continued down to the Denbroughs, a shiver creeping up Ash's spine as they arrived and she was reminded of the time when they were here to look at Bill's projector. . .and Pennywise had possessed her.

Richie recognized this and said, "Hey, just don't stare at anything for too long. You'll be fine."

She reached over and shoved him off his bike, making it topple to the ground.

He was laughing as he got up, dusting off his jeans, and she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house. "Let's go, Motormouth, we don't have all day."

"Hey, do you think we'll have sex in here in the future?" Richie asked and Ash's mouth dropped open as she slowly turned to look at him.

He opened his eyes innocently. "What? Don't the couples always have sex in an unsuspecting friend's house?"

"Beep, beep Richie!" Ash said, and he shut up, although his smirk stretched across his face as he realized Ash's face was crimson.

"Guys?" Stan's voice floated from the living room and Ash yanked Richie towards it, making him stumble over the laces of his Converse.

"Christ, woman, I'm not a bag of flour!" He grumbled as they entered the room to see Bill and Stan sitting on the couch, Ben in the armchair, and Eddie sprawled across the second couch directly facing the first.

"Scoot over, Spaghetti Head, or I'll sit on you." Richie demanded to Eddie, and when he took his sweet time moving (probably because Richie had called him 'Spaghetti Head'), Richie pushed him completely off the couch and flopped down in his place.

Ash sat down next to him as Eddie said, "What the fuck, Richie!?"

"You're fine, babe, shush." Richie waved his hand aimlessly at him, and Eddie blew out a breath of air but sat back against the couch, allowing Richie to mess up his hair while trying to bat his fingers away.

"Okay, g-guys." Bill started, and then shared a very long look with Stan.

"Okay, is Bill seriously going to make this announcement thing?" Richie said, looking up from Eddie's hair at the pair of them. "Because if he is, we're going to be here for two hours while he tries to sputter the thing out."

"Beep, beep Richie!" Bill glared at him, and Ash nodded in agreement.

"I mean, we should at least be able to understand half of what he's saying-"

"Beep, beep Ash." Stan contributed, and she flashed a grin in their direction before shutting up also, Richie giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"Okay, so I'll do it, then." Stan rolled his eyes, and nervously twisted his fingers together. "I guess what Bill and I are trying to tell you guys. . ."

He paused, and Ash wasn't sure, but she was almost positive she saw a gleeful look in Richie's eyes.

". . .that we're um, together. Like, as a couple."

There was a complete silence, and Ash saw Richie pressing his lips together so hard they completely disappeared, trying to control himself.

"Wait, so you guys are like, gay?" Ben asked, his forehead creased, and they both nodded.

"I mean, w-we didn't r-really want to t-tell you guys so we h-h-hid it for aw-awhile-" Bill began, but Richie could no longer do it.

A huge fit of laughter burst from his mouth as he laughed so hard he toppled off the couch onto Eddie, who rolled away from him.

They all stared at Richie, who through his laughter managed to choke out, "They thought they were being subtle!?"

He dissolved into more shouts of laughter, tears beginning to trickle down his cheeks as Ash felt a snort escape her mouth.

Stan and Bill now turned to look at her, and she shrugged as she also began to laugh. "It was pretty goddamn obvious, you guys."

Richie raised his head from the floor and looked up at them. "What, did you think we were all going to completely flip out and get a cross to-to protect ourselves from the gay?"

He buried his face back into his hands, now beginning to hiccup, and Ash couldn't help but chime in, "Did you guys think we would hear you say you were gay, and reply with, 'Oh, what are you really happy about now?'"

Then, she burst into laughter too as her and Richie howled at the expressions on their faces, and Stan exclaimed, "Beep, beep Asshole Duo! If you all knew this whole time why didn't you say anything!?"

Ash took her head off her arms and tried to breathe. "We weren't for sure-"

"Excuse me!" Richie butted in, jabbing her in the arm. "I was sure! I knew it from the very beginning and Ash was like, 'It's private stuff, Richie!'"

Stan stared at them, and then at Bill, who asked, "W-were we really th-that obvious?"

Richie nodded, grinning. "It was pretty pathetic how in love you all were."

Eddie spoke up, running his fingers through his hair, "I knew you guys were closer than normal, but I just brushed it off."

"Wait, so everyone knew they were gay except for me?" Ben asked, bewildered, and they all chorused back, "Yes."

"S-so you all aren't w-weirded out?" Bill asked hesitantly, and Richie looked at him incredulously.

"What? No! Why the fuck would we be weirded out?"

"I don't know, because it's gonna change a lot of things." Stan said, and Richie rolled his eyes, getting up off the floor and putting an arm around Stan.

"Ah, shut up Stan the Man. We accept you all, gay assholes or not."

Ash and Eddie both nodded in agreement, and Stan and Bill looked very relieved to hear this.

"Good. W-we didn't know h-h-how you would r-react." Bill said, and Ash said, "You all were completely okay with me and Rich getting together, so why wouldn't we be okay with this?"

They both looked close to tears, overwhelmed by how supportive their friends were being.

"Thanks, you guys." Stan said gratefully, and Eddie shook his head. "It's not a big deal. You guys are cute anyway."

Stan and Bill both went very red as Richie smiled wickedly. "I can't wait to make gay jokes about you guys all the time now."

"Shut up." Stan shot at him, and Richie laughed, shooting Ash a look which she returned with one of her own that said, 'The Asshole Duo is back at it again.'

so one more chapter. probably gonna be posting twelve today (and MAYBE 13? if not, tomorrow.) be reddie guys. vote and comment.