eddie
i tapped my shoe against the worn stone step of richie's front porch anxiously, being able to hear light hearted shouts from inside his house.
"honey did you remember your lunch?"
"yeah! bye! love you!"
"love you sweetie have a good day!"
i readjusted my bag straps and held my breath as i watched the door handle turn almost painfully, as if it was my lungs being twisted and not the germ coated brass that was dangerously close to opening.
the door jerked open, and i watched richie's neutral expression rise to one of shock and elated surprise.
"eddie?"
he smiled widely and i returned the gesture awkwardly as i looked down at my shoes. i felt exposed, he knew things.
but before i could think any more of it, he'd already wrapped his slender arms around my shaking form and rested his chin atop my hair. the feeling was warm and familiar, and it immediately silenced any anxiety driven doubts within my head. i breathed a sigh of relief, he didn't hate me.
"sorry,"
he muttered, pulling away reluctantly.
"i just, didn't expect to see you today and-"
i smiled half heartedly and rested my tiny hand on his chest, as putting it on his shoulder would require stilts.
"it's okay."
he grinned and ruffled my hair as we began to walk to school. at first, there was a foreseen tension between us both, one that made my fingertips feel colder than usual and caused me to use my inhaler more than necessary. however, soon enough the awkward aura lifted and dispersed as we both regained the comfort we usually found with eachother. i quickly remembered why i was best friends with the foul spoken and idiotic trashmouth i had learned to love.
richie felt like home, and nothing would be able to change that.
-
"will you give it a fuckin' rest richie? jesus fucking christ you're a pain in the ass sometimes!"
stan spat furiously, ruffling his hair in anger as little screwed up balls of paper fell out of the wild mop of dark blonde curls. richie cackled manically and gripped his stomach as he fell against the tree laughing, his face red and his mouth open in a silent screech. i began to laugh at the mere sight of richie losing it over stan's reaction, and soon enough our entire group of friends were pissing themselves as stan continued to mutter curses at richie. there were several bits of paper sticking out from under his curls, and he hadn't quite managed to rid of them yet.
"i swear you have the mental age of a five year old!"
he exclaimed, flailing his arms exasperatedly. richie rolled his eyes and readjusted his glasses.
"five and a half! god, stanley! how many times?"
"really? fuck off richard."
richie scrunched up his nose and poked his glasses up with his middle finger.
"ew, don't call me by my full name. you sound like my mother."
"guys! can you cut it out already?"
bev huffed in frustration. she was sat behind jane as she plaited her long blonde curls with elegance i'd never seen before. i smiled at the sight. girls were so effortlessly beautiful in the way they just existed, it baffled me.
