He Touched Me ~ Reddie (IT)

LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!

AN- Go read my Reddie one-shot!! It's called "I Never Even Got to Tell Him" and it's a canon-compliant 6k word story about how Richie deals with Eddie's death. It's very angsty with a semi-sweet ending. Enjoy :)

~

As the credits roll, I breathe in deeply, taking in the pleasant scent of warm vanilla candles and crisp fall leaves. I pull our blanket up close to my chin and both Mike and I tuck in our outstretched feet so that we still fit under the comically small blanket we're sharing. I glance outside the screen back door that shows the well-maintained yard of the Denbrough's. Bill, Richie, and Bev are all leaning against the wooden fence and passing a cigarette between them. It's been a few weeks since things were last... exciting. (Though, I don't think 'exciting' is the right word to use in that context.)

"So, what did you think?"

"I think that's the best movie I've ever seen."

I look over at Mike, who's about three inches away, and say with confidence, "damn right it's the best movie you've ever seen. I can't believe you had never seen The Goonies!"

Mike shrugs. "I didn't know what I was missing out on."

"Well at least you liked it," I say, glancing over at Stan, who fell asleep an hour ago on the papasan chair. "Somebody passed out ten minutes in."

"Hey, cut him some slack. He said he had seen it a dozen times before," Mike chides.

"Still."

My words echo throughout the empty house so now the only sound filling the room is the score of the credits playing.

I slouch back and lean against Mike's shoulder. I've been making an effort to hang out with him more now that we're going to be seeing him less because of school starting back up on Monday. We tried as much as we could, but Mike is still going to be homeschooled this year. And on top of that, Beverly is moving away to live with her aunt. Today is probably the last day any of us are going to see her for a very long time.

"I'm gonna miss you," I mutter. "And Bev too."

Then Ben sighs in a way that I can only describe as love-struck.

"Ben?"

The boy in question snaps out of a trance and faces me. "Yeah? What's up?"

"My anxiety levels," I reply without hesitation.

Mike ignores me and cuts straight to the point. "What are you thinking about? Or rather, who?"

When Ben blushes bright pink, I know we've struck gold.

"I, uh... I think I might be in love."

Well, that throws me for a loop.

"Huh?"

"Bev," Mike tells me, like that answers everything, which it kind of does.

"It sounds crazy, I know, but hear me out," Ben says and sits up straight. I can tell he's about to start rambling.

"It's Bev. We all know Bev; we all love Bev. But this? This is different."

His eyes kinda sparkle a little bit. Not to sound too gay, but that shit's cute as hell.

"Her hair is like nothing I've ever seen before. It's a wildfire flickering to life from the butt of a dying cigarette. It's the wind burning and dancing around you. It's dangerous but you can't look away, so you keep looking. You keep looking and admiring and you realize that it's not dangerous at all. It's beautiful. People take one glance and assume the worst, but if only someone would take the time to study her would they realize that she's the best thing that's ever happened to this place.