Demon 🔥 Reddie

3

Richie had been on his way to the janitors closet to finish his project when he heard a terrified scream from inside, causing him to stumble backwards and fall.

"At least this scream is human," Richie thought to himself, brushing himself off and standing up.

He was tempted to walk away, since this kind of thing happened all the time, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. If someone was in trouble, he wouldn't be able to handle the fact that he could've left someone in danger.

Richie reluctantly pulled the door open and as soon as he did, he immediately regretted his decision.

Of course it had to be Henry fucking Bowers trying to pull some girl's pants off. She was already without a shirt, sobbing as she tried to fight off her attacker, who easily was a foot taller than her.

"Got somewhere else to be, Tozier?" Henry asked, glaring at Richie who had clearly interrupted his assault.

Richie would've walked away. It would've been so much easier. However, he took one look at the girl who was sobbing and trying to get away, and Richie knew he wouldn't be able to walk.

"Leave her alone, Bowers," Richie said, though his voice showed that he'd rather be anywhere else.

Henry laughed. "I'm going to give you three seconds to walk away, Tozier."

Richie crossed his arms and stood his ground. He wasn't going to walk. No fucking way. In school he was already seen as a weak beggar, as someone who looked for charity all the time. That couldn't be further from the truth.

"Do you seriously want to get your ass kicked right now, you four eyed fag?" Henry asked, stepping out of the closet. He was still blocking the girl's exit, but now towering over Richie.

"Do you really think those insults bother me? You've been using the same ones since middle school," Richie retorted, slowly backing away as Henry got closer to him.

The girl behind him was covering her chest, looking terrified. Even she could tell that Richie standing up to Bowers was a terrible idea.

"You don't seem to know when to keep your mouth shut," Henry snarled.

He tried to grab Richie's arm, but Richie immediately slammed his foot into Henry's groin. Henry's pained yell echoed through the hallway as Richie dove around him and grabbed the girl's hand.

He pulled her along, running out the school doors. Skipping wasn't ever a good idea, but if they stayed, neither of them would last long. Once they were off school grounds, Richie pulled off his sweatshirt and handed it to the girl, who was only in a bra and shorts.

"Here," Richie said, turning away so she could put it on without someone staring at her.

"Thanks," the girl whispered, accepting it without hesitation.

"Come on, that asshole isn't going to let us get away," Richie said, leading the girl through the small wooded area and toward the main road. "Best if we get as far away as possible."

The girl didn't know if she could trust Richie, but she followed anyway.

"Who are you?" she asked as they walked through the trees.

"Richie Tozier," Richie mumbled, preparing for the judgment he'd receive. Surprisingly, it never came.

"I'm Beverly Marsh," Beverly said with a smile, holding out her hand to Richie.

Richie took her hand and shook it, but didn't return the smile. He didn't have a lot of room for trust, except for Stan and Bill. He didn't even completely trust his mom, not after she left him for weeks to deal with her depression.

"Where are we going?" Beverly asked after they left the woods and were in downtown Derry.

"I have some money from helping mow lawns, and I'm fucking starving. Wanna get breakfast?" Richie asked.

He always offered to pay for his friends when they went out, since they always covered for him when he didn't have money. They always refused to take it, despite the fact that Richie had money now. So, Richie decided to take the opportunity to pay for someone that could potentially be a friend.

"I don't want you to pay for me. I mean, you already saved me from Bowers," Beverly said, looking guilty and blushing with embarrassment.

"Ah, Miss Marsh, you're too humble!" Richie said in a shitty British accent. "However, you're also much too skinny and require nourishment! Don't fret, love, we'll soon have you fed and well taken care of!"

Bev snickered at Richie's accent, rolling her eyes. She had heard rumors of Richie Tozier, the one everyone said was a beggar and always asked to do any sort of work for money. They said he was a lost cause with a broken family and temper issues, but Bev couldn't see any of that. He seemed like a nice kid who wanted to help her.

"Fine, fine, but I owe you one," Bev said, following Richie into the diner that he had picked.

"Whatever, Marsh," Richie said with a smirk, sitting at a table.

They talked about school for a while, before venturing off to more intense topics, such as Richie's home life and his mothers depression. Bev in return talked about her father, who was abusive and mentally ill. They both felt oddly comfortable with each other, but not in the way most would expect. They felt a sibling like connection, a connection to someone who understood and didn't want to date or be with them, but someone who wanted to be there like a sibling or best friend would.

"Why does everyone say you beg for shit?" Bev asked as she took a sip of hot chocolate from a mug.

"When my mom got really sick my dad was always at work to help pay for treatment. I tried to be there for her but at one point she was stuck in the hospital so I was home alone a lot. So, to keep myself from starving I'd go door to door and ask for work so I could make some money," Richie said, not making eye contact.

"What about your friends?" Bev asked.

Richie had told her about Bill and Stan, and how they helped him through the rough time.

"I didn't want to bother them. I stayed home alone for a week before Bill found out and made me stay with him. By that time a lot of people had seen me going house to house so they started calling me a beggar."

Bev felt bad for him, but she also admired how smart and resourceful he was.

"So, how'd you end up in a closet with Bowers?" Richie asked.

Most people would've been offended by the question, but Richie and Bev seemed comfortable enough with each other that Richie felt like he could ask the question without Bev getting upset.

"I was walking down the hallway because I was late and he pushed me into the closet. Not that exciting," Bev said with a shrug. "I'm known as the school slut even though I'm a virgin, so Bowers probably thought I'd be easy."

"Yeah, he's a dick. Known that fuck head since middle school."

"Haven't we all?"

Richie looked out the window, laughing at Bev's statement. That's when he saw Sonia Kaspbrack walking down the street. Richie checked the clock on the wall, before looking back at the fat woman.

"What is it?" Bev asked.

"It's too early. It's only ten," Richie said, watching as Sonia walked into the pharmacy.

"Too early?"

Richie quickly explained everything he knew about Sonia's routine as well as the screeching and the whining he had heard from the house.

"In four months she's never broken routine," Richie whispered, entranced by the situation.

Bev stood up, pulling Richie along with her. "Come on, Tozier. Let's figure out what's going on in that house."