Fusion || Reddie Soulmate AU || IT (2017)

[Chapter 2]

The small group of three eventually made it out of the library. After a group decision, they all agreed to call up their respective group of friends so they can all meet up at the quarry. None of them have a cellphone- only Stan had wealthy enough parents, so that means he's the only one with a cell- so they raced over to the three pay phones on the outside wall of the library.

Eddie was in charge of calling Stan, Mike and Ben. Richie had to call Bill, Bev and Max. Mike called up Jane, Will, Dustin and Lucas.

After a bit of hesitant talking, they decided to invite the older friends as well. Mike called Jonathan and Steve and, after a hissy fit, Richie called up Nancy too. That was the longest phone call, filled with sibling bickering and Richie's horrible jokes.

After the call ended- well, more like Richie angrily hanging up then pouting- Eddie and Mike burst into laughter as Richie crossed his arms and pouted at them dramatically. Then they grabbed their bikes and petaled alongside the boarder of trees. They eventually made it down the trail between the trees, and jump off their bikes. Richie lays face-first on a mildly flat boulder, letting out an over dramatic groan.

Eddie sits on a rock carefully, still a bit uncomfortable with germs. The hand sanitizer in his pocket came to mind, but he refuses to grab it. He's perfectly fine. There's no illness. There was never an illness. He has to remind himself sometimes, but he's been surprisingly eager to get rid of all the pills and unnecessary shit his mother said he so desperately needed. The only thing that was ever really real was his asthma, but it's definitely not as bad as he thought. All those moments when he couldn't breathe, the moments that he was scared breathless, were fucking anxiety attacks.

When Eddie settles on the rock, he closes his eyes tightly and takes a deep breath. He doesn't want to have an anxiety attack in front of his friends. He doesn't want to ruin this day. He hasn't told his friends about the therapy, or the medication. He knew they would be worried. He knew they thought he was still delicate.

What Eddie didn't know, was Richie was staring with fondness as his Ed's braved it out. He was just so proud of him for getting this far- with his germaphobic nature and all. Richie knew how Eddie felt about soulmates. With the new knowledge of why Mrs. K was so admit on Eddie being sick- she has Münchausen syndrome by proxy- was partially caused by her husband's death, everyone was starting to suspect... suspect that Eddie's parents were soulmates. But they could never be sure. Sonia Kaspbrak refuses to speak of her late husband, or she just bursts into sobs at the slightest mention of him.

That's why Eddie refuses to have a soulmate. He knows his fear is irrational, and stupid, but he doesn't want to end up like his mother. Or his father, for that matter. He was so scared that night at Neibolt, but at the same time he loved it. He felt whole. And that scared him the most. What if he got addicted to it? Just being too close to Richie made that... fuzzy feeling churn in his stomach.

As Eddie stared out onto the lake, Richie stared at Eddie and Mike glancing between the two with a shit eating grin, they heard the familiar sound of bikes crunching leaves underneath their tires from behind them. Richie quickly looked to the side to look at the trail, not willing to be caught staring. Eddie didn't turn around, becoming more comfortable with his environment and relaxing.

"H-Hey g-guh-guh-guys!" Bill stuttered out, dropping his bike, Silver, onto the ground haphazardly. As soon as he said that Stan, Lucas and Ben arrived on their own bikes and let them fall in the same fashion. Well, all except Stan; he refuses to let his bike fall, instead kicking down the kickstand to avoid scratching his expensive bike. Bill looks over with a sweet smile, and Stan blushes, frowns and rolls his eyes.

"What's up, Fuckers!" Richie exclaimed in greeting, sitting up and grinning lazily. Eddie then looked over and smiled too, waving.

"Eh-Eh-Everyone sh-should arrive s-soon. We were j-juh-just at the l-librar-ry." Bill explains, as they were all earlier then usual.

Richie looks over to see an exchange that made him snort. "Will should be here soon too, Mike. Wouldn't want you to worry about your boyyyufrieeend~" Lucas whispers with a wink. Lucas wasn't a very quiet whisperer though, so Richie could hear loud and clear due to how close they were.

Mike turned red. But like, red red. "He's not my boyfriend, Lucas!" Mike squeaked, gaining attention from the rest of the group. Richie laughed loudly, falling back onto the rock and shoving his hand underneath his glasses to cover his eyes. "It's not that funny, Richard Tozier!" Mike screeched, the blush reaching his neck as he crosses his arms defensively.

"Oh dear brother, but it is! Micheal Tozier, admit your gayness! I did years ago!" Richie says dramatically, puffing out his chest and placing a hand over his heart. Everyone let out a laugh at that- even Stan snorted a bit.

Before Mike could react, more crunching noises sounded out from behind them. They all turned around as Beverly, Dustin, Jane and Max arrived on their own bikes. After they all hollered a greeting, the newly arrived Losers took a seat and started to converse among themselves.

"So about that gay thing..." Richie says, smirking at his brother almost evilly. He suddenly turned to the rest of the Losers, who were looking at them with a mix of confusion and amusement, and grinned. "Who here is atleast a little gay?Please raise your hand!" He asks in his announcer voice while raising his eyebrow. He finally learned how to after his 16 years of life. He, of course, immediately raised his hand.

The next to raise their hand is Beverly and Max, who looked at each other in surprise then laughed. They weren't as obvious as Richie, but they're open about it nonetheless.

Jane looks at her girlfriend in confusion, but when Max nodded her head and blushed Jane put her hand up proudly. Richie's grin slowly melted into a genuine smile, proud that his friends are who they are in this god-awful town of Derry.

Next, unsurprisingly, was Bill and- shortly after- Stan. Everyone just giggled and shared looks, much to their confusion.

But- much to everyone's surprise- the small, slightly shaky hand of Eddie Kaspbrak hesitantly rose to join the others'. Richie stared wide-eyed, then a huge grin spread across his face as he barreled over to Eddie.

"aW my dearest Eddie Spaghetti! Cute, cute, cute! Now we need you to get a job in the government so you could change the gay marriage law, so we can finally live happily ever after!" Richie squeals, throwing an arm over Eddie's shoulders and using the other to gesture towards the sky. Eddie blushed and crossed his arms while rolling his eyes.

"That's definitely not how the legal system works, dumbass. And get the fuck off."

They all missed Mike raising his hand, but he was kind of grateful for that.

~~~~~

The Reddie content we all wanted and deserve ;^)