ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ɪs ʀɪɢʜᴛ

- 8 -

richie was furious.

there was a new boy at derry high. and not only was he agonisingly obnoxious,

but he was flirting with eddie.

richie could practically feel himself boiling over, steam spraying from his ears and seeping from his nose. he clawed at back of his hand with short nails, leaving reddened trails of hatred in their path.

and what made him ever angrier?

eddie was unhappy.

it was so painfully obvious, yet this guy didn't show any signs of leaving. he would laugh pathetically at anything eddie said, covering his forced smile with a feminine hand.

and richie's heart ached as he watched eddie flinch away from all the suggestive touches and contact the other tried to ensue. richie could read eddie's expression like his favourite book, and it screamed i want out.

but then the boy was reaching out and fondling eddie's piercing, and richie couldn't just stand around and watch for much longer. he marched over to where they were stood, coughing loudly.

"can i help you?"

they both turned to face richie, and he saw relief pass over eddie's features momentarily as he registered who it was. the new kid smirked, and glanced back at eddie.

"i'm actually fine as i am, thanks."

richie held back a low growl, and his fists curled in resentment. he painted on a smile, and tilted his head.

"well, that's just great isn't it? now, if you'd excuse me, i'd like to speak to my boyfriend."

richie couldn't help but let the words tumble from his mouth, causing eddie's glittering brown eyes to widen in surprise. the slightly taller boy turned to eddie expectantly, raising a perfectly tamed eyebrow in question. eddie shrugged and stumbled over his words.

"uh, yeah. nice talking to you, uh, r-ryan? but i really need to talk to richie about something."

eddie smiled comfortingly, causing ryan to roll his eyes and shove his way past richie, muttering an 'oops, didn't see you there' as he left. both eddie and richie were silent for a moment. richie could feel his glasses slowly slip down the slope of his nose as he fixed his stare on his scruffy converse.

"what was that about, rich?"

eddie's voice was softer than he had expected it to be, and when he looked up, he found that his expression matched.

"what do you mean?"

richie tried not to slap himself for sounding so simple. eddie peaked onto his tippy toes and looked over richie's head as if ryan were still behind him.

"i mean, that whole thing that just happened there. why did you want to get rid of him?"

eddie was curious, and his tone held a hint of accusation. richie sighed, scratching his head.

"well, he was flirting with you wasn't he?"

eddie furrowed his eyebrows, and only now did richie notice there was a faint layer of glitter sprinkled on the boy's cheeks.

"and?"

richie's mouth had gone dry all of a sudden, and he put it down to the decreasing amount of oxygen in the halls. he racked his brains for some sort of excuse.

"you looked...uncomfortable. i didn't want him to bother you."

eddie studied richie for a minute too long, before shaking his head and smiling lightly. he leaned forward and hugged him, and richie felt his stomach flutter with warmth.

"yeah, he was kind of pushy. thanks rich, even if now he thinks you're my boyfriend."

richie closed his eyes. eddie's words sent small pangs of hurt and rejection through his heart, which beat only for the one who seemed to have caused this feeling. before he could even begin to comprehend what he was saying, richie blurted out his exact thoughts in that moment.

"is that such a bad thing?"

eddie blinked once.

twice.

just when richie thought he was about to respond, he blinked again.

his small lips parted in surprise, and he frowned thoughtfully.

"no,"

his manner had changed almost completely as he uttered his next sentence.

"it isn't."

the bell rang, and eddie headed off to his next lesson without so much as a goodbye to his best friend.

richie watched him worm his way through the crowds of students until the adorning head of curly brown hair had disappeared.

richie kept staring after eddie, even when there was nothing but an empty hallway before him.

and it took him that long to realise,

that he had been biting his tongue.

-

i'm ill y'all🤒🤒