✓ | TEENS AND THINGS → richie tozier ²

fifteen

"ARE YOU sure he's ready to go to school?" Eddie asked nervously, and Stan rolled his eyes.

"God, Eddie, you sound like your mom. Of course he's ready. He's Richie Tozier. And besides, what if he never goes and drops out? You wouldn't want that would you?"

Eddie bit his lip, and then shook his head. "No."

"Well, there you go. He's going to-"

They were interrupted as Richie came out of the house, looking sullen; his old baseball hat on his head and his jean jacket hanging loosely by his sides.

"Told you." Eddie muttered, and Stan ignored him.

"You ready, Richie?" He asked, and as Richie stomped down the rest of the stairs he muttered, "Fuck off."

He walked past them to his bike and yanked it from the driveway as Stan said lowly, "Okay then. Eddie, please help me contain myself from slapping him in the face."

Eddie put a hand on his shoulder. "Will do, Stan the Man."

Richie, Eddie, and Stanley biked to school together in silence as Richie worried about what the hell he would do if he saw Ash.

When they got there, Richie almost turned around and headed back home. But he made himself walk up to the school with Eddie and Stan to meet the rest of the Losers.

"H-hey, Richie." Bill said cautiously, and Richie mumbled, "Hey."

Together, they walked into the school, and Richie felt a pang when he caught himself looking for Ash, like he usually did most school mornings.

Eddie nudged his shoulder. "Come on, let's go to your first class."

Richie suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to throw himself out the window. What was he supposed to do if she saw him? What if she confronted him? Or worse- what if Spencer said something to him? What if Ash was with Spencer right this very second?

He turned to Eddie, and said lowly, "Eds, I-I don't know if I can do this."

Eddie stopped and turned to look at him. Richie's hands were trembling slightly, and Eddie reached out and took Richie's fingers in his.

"It's going to be okay, Rich. I promise." He said softly, and Richie gave a shaky nod before swallowing and continuing after Eddie to his first class of the hellish school day.

As they got to the hallway where Ash's locker was, saying goodbye to Bill, Stan, and Ben as they did so, Richie swallowed hard.

This is where he would usually go in the mornings. He would meet her at her locker, usually talk to her and kiss her before going off to his next class. The first day of school flashed through his mind, and he bit his lip hard as he remembered how carefree they had both been.

"I'm the only one for you, hot stuff!"

"And I'm all yours, Richie Tozier."

As he turned the corner, now facing the direction her locker was, his eyes scanned the room; looking, looking, looking-

-and then he saw her.

Her hair was hanging loosely by her sides, her eyes having a glazed over look about them, and, he could see with a jolt, a faint bruise on her right cheek.

He had done that. Except it hadn't been him. It couldn't have been.

Eddie glanced at him, noticing that Richie had stopped completely and was staring at Ash.