𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗲'𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲, ( 𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘇𝗶𝗲𝗿 )

[05] TO THE LOSERS!

SAT IN BETWEEN BEVERLY AND RICHIE, Veronica holds the tiny shot glass between her fingers, all of them except Richie going in for a toast. He has his glass in between his lips, bending his head back and downing the liquid as all of them do the same. He spits the glass onto the table and looks around hazily.

"Wait, so, Eddie, you got married?" He asks, an impresses smile on his face, attempting to hold in a laugh as Veronica reaches for the bottle of whatever alcohol they were drinking and downing another shot.

Eddie stares back at Richie, replying in a fast voice. "Yeah, why's it so fucking funny, dickwad?" He responds.

Raising a brow, Richie smirks, nudging Veronica who placed her shot glass down and was babbling off to Beverly about something. "What, to like a woman?" He goes on, Veronica nudging him back.

"Richie!" She attempts to defend Eddie, ending up bursting into a fit of giggles — Perhaps it was from the amount she had already drunk, but she thought that this was the most she had laughed in a very long time.

Eddie looks between them, pointing up a chopstick and pointing it at each of them. "Fuck you, bro," He shakes his head.

Laughing out, Richie beams. "Fuck you!" He yells back before Bill interjects, leaning into the table and looking to the glasses-clad man.

"Alright, what about you, Trashmouth. You married?" He asks, Veronica's interest piquing, looking up from her plate as she tilts her head curiously.

She attempts to play it off, acting casually despite the fact that at the question her heart began to race and her palms began to sweat and her knees began to shake. "There's no way Richie's married!" Beverly cuts in, shaking her head before feeling someone's leg bump into hers and realizing that Veronica was shaking.

Looking to her, Beverly realizes what was going on. Smiling softly as she attempts to coax her friend's nerves. "No, I got married," Richie speaks up seriously, looking to Beverly and Bill, not noticing the way Veronica's face dropped.

"What?" Veronica looks to him, her eyes wide before she quickly recovers, replacing it with a teasing smile. "W-Who'd wanna marry you?" She stumbles over her words. Her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach.

Beverly shakes her head, placing a comforting hand on Veronica's knee. "Richie, I don't believe it," She says as a small smile forms on her face, thinking about the way Veronica panicked. 'It's nice to know that some things never change,'.

"My wife would wanna marry me, Ronnie!" Richie responds, a flash of fake-hurt on his face as he softly kicks her foot from under the table.

Eddie rolls his eyes. "Yeah, right. When?" He butts in, taking a sip of his drink as he looks to Richie curiously.

Veronica kicks his foot back. "I'm with Ed's, Rich. When did you get married to this said wife, huh?" She questions, squinting her eyes and pretending to interrogate in order to hold back her worry. Everyone could feel it. Even Richie. They've always been too proud to admit their feelings for one another, even when they got together when they were younger. You'd think that maybe twenty-five years of separation would help them lower it.

Mike couldn't help but get Bill and Ben's attention, pointing to Veronica and Richie exchanging looks, circling a heart around them with his hands. They all laugh, looking at the way the two best friends stared at each other. It was like they were kids again, having another one of those stupid stare-offs they'd have.

"You didn't know I got married?" Richie tilts his head curiously, looking from Veronica's drooping ghost of a smile to the rest of the Losers, faking disappointment.