Wait For It || Reddie ✔️

- 21 -

Richie bounced on his feet and waited for someone to answer the front door. The summer heat beat down on him, the long walk making everything worse. He grabbed his glasses and wiped the sweat from his face.

A soft click from the door sounded and he slid his glasses back onto his nose. Stanley's father appeared at the door. "Mr. Uris!" Richie said, a smile appearing onto his face. "Hello, Richie."

He stood on his toes and looked behind the man inside. "Is Stanley there?" He asked, falling back onto his feet. "I really need to talk to him." Stan's father stepped to the side to let Richie inside. "He's in his room, I believe." Richie walked inside, breathing out in relief as the air conditioning cooled off his skin. "Thanks," Richie said quickly and threw a thumbs-up his way before thundering up the stairs.

"Stanley!" Richie called out as he rounded the banister. A door squeaked open from down the hall and Stanley appeared. "Oh," he said, his curious expression disappearing when he saw Richie. "It's just you." Richie shook his head and walked down the hall. "Your room, now," his whisper-yelled and slapped Stanley back inside his bedroom. Stanley cringed at the contact and quickly got away.

Richie closed the door before turning around, pressing himself up against it. "Stanley," he breathed out. "I did something bad. I- I did something even worse than last time." Stanley sat on his bed, folding his legs under himself.

"What did you do, Rich?" He asked. "Is this about Eddie?" Richie's eyes snapped up to Stan's. "How'd you know?" He asked and unstuck himself from the door. "Just a hunch," Stanley responded, a small smile playing at his lips.

Richie walked across the room and flopped onto the bed. Stan raised an eyebrow and watched as Richie flipped over to lay on his back. "What are you doing? I'm not your therapist," Stan said and motioned to Richie when he kicked off his shoes. "It's called being comfortable, Stanley."

He sighed and tossed a hand in the air. "Since this is about Eddie, do I finally get to know what's going on?" He asked. Richie breathed in deeply and looked away. He opened his mouth to speak but quickly snapped it shut. "Richie.." Stan said in a warning-type voice. "If you're going to run to me with your Eddie problems, I need to know what happened."

Richie went strangely quiet and stared hard at Stanley's bedding. "Okay," he finally said, glancing up at Stan. "I'll- I'll tell you." Stanley straightened his back and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Okay.." he said.

Richie plastered his hands to his knees and looked
up to the ceiling. "I can't believe I'm going to tell you this," he said and closed his eyes, anxiety buzzing around in his stomach. Stanley snorted and placed his chin in his palms. "Tell me," he urged.

Richie waved a hand at him and opened his eyes. "I will, dude. Calm your tits." Richie shuffled and turned around, fixing the pillows before leaning back. "Will you stop stalling?" Stanley asked, watching as Richie paused and looked to him. "Stalling? Me? I'm not stalling," he defended. Stan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Richie," he said sternly. Richie muttered something under his breath before crossing his legs.

"From the beginning or what?" Richie asked. "The beginning is the sensible place to start." Richie hummed and looked out the window to the blue sky. "Well," he began and spilled into the story. He told Stanley that after the arcade, he saw Eddie and attempted to cross the street. "Then- this bitch decided to come hurling down the street and almost fucking hit me!"

A disappointed frown crossed Stan's face. "Too bad they missed," he said and Richie narrowed his eyes. "Fuck off, Stanley." The distraction was cut short when Stan motioned for Richie to continue with the story.

"After I almost died, I walked Eddie home and he asked what we should do tomorrow. I told him we should go down to the quarry because it's summer and it's hot as balls outside," Richie explained, opening his mouth to continue but Stan cut him off. "Wait, did you mean just the two of you to the quarry or the whole group?" He asked and Richie slapped his knees. "That's the thing! He asked that too!" He said as he leaned forward. "I don't know why I was so excited about that.." He said and leaned back again. "Anyway- I meant the whole group but I told him that if he did want to go as the two of us we could."

Stan raised an eyebrow. "What'd he say to that?" He asked and Richie shrugged. "I dunno. I got interrupted by his mom." Stanley's shoulders dropped. "Of course." Richie nodded, agreeing with him.

"And that's when the first bad thing happened," Richie said slowly. "Yeah, the bad thing you have yet to tell me about." He sucked in a breath and asked, "And?"

Stanley muttered something under his breath as he rubbed his eyes. "And.. I said if you're going to keep coming to me with your Eddie problems, you have to tell me what actually happened. That was the deal, Rich." Richie's eyes searched his face before falling back to the bed. "Okay.." he said softly. The anxiety buzzed louder, his stomach flopping.

"How bad could it possibly be?" Stan asked, waving a hand in the air. Richie rounded up the courage to open his mouth. "Like, no matter what you did Eddie is sure to forgive-"

"I kissed him."

Stan paused and his eyes flickered up to Richie. He stared hard at Stan's bedding, refusing to move his gaze. Richie was sure if Stan listened any closer he'd hear Richie's heart pounding out of his chest. "I-I kissed him, Stan. He- he's never going to want to see me again-" Richie's voice broke off.

Stan swallowed hard and watched as Richie breathed in shakily. "Are you.. gay?" He asked, his voice strangely soft. Richie's shoulders jumped into a shrug. "I don't fucking know! Ladies are hot, right? But Eddie.." He trailed off. A small smile played at the corners of his lips when his mind flashed to Eddie. "I really like him, alright?" Richie said, playing with his jeans.