Wait For It || Reddie ✔️

- 33 -

The anger Beverly held left her body as she stared at her friend. Bill grabbed at his elbow and turned to look at the rest of his friends. "I-I didn't know how t-to tell you all.." He dropped his hand to his side, not knowing what to do with himself. "Where are you moving to?" Stanley asked, standing up from the couch. Bill met his eyes and shrugged. "I don't know.. my m-mom wants t-to move to where m..my aunt lives," he explained.

Beverly swallowed thickly and walked over to him, pulling him into a hug. "Sorry for yelling at you," she whispered. He hugged her back, pushing his face into her shoulder. "Sorry f-for pushing y-you away," he muttered. They pulled apart and she gave him a small, sad smile. "So you're actually leaving?" Richie asked and Bill nodded. His shoulders fell as he let out a small "oh."

"Do you know when?" Ben asked. "My parents are letting m-me stay for a-another year while th-they look for a-a house," he explained. A depressed haze settled over the group, everyone falling silent. Eddie glanced around, not being able to take the silence. "Well, we're going to miss you," he said and Bill nodded sadly. "I'm going t-to miss you g-guys too."

Beverly picked at the skin around her nails as she thought of a way to change the subject. "How about we watch a movie?" She suggested, looking around at her friends.

The group settled for the idea of a movie. Richie shut off the lights before joining Eddie on the couch. "Bill, didn't your dad buy Ghostbusters II?" Mike asked as he grabbed a pillow, dropping it to the floor and sitting on it. "Yeah, w-want to watch it?" Mike nodded and he stood up and crossed the room to turn cabinet under the TV.

"Didn't Disney come out with a new movie?" Beverly asked as Bill looked for the VHS tape. "Yeah! It's called.. uh.. The Little Mermaid," Ben said, "It's really good." Beverly smiled at him, raising an eyebrow. "You've seen it?" She asked and he hesitantly nodded. "Well, yeah.." Bill closes the doors and held up the movie. "I-I found it," he said before pushing the movie into the VHS player.

Bill and Stanley left for the kitchen to make popcorn and grab soda for everyone. Previews played while Richie got comfortable, purposely trying to annoy Eddie to get a rise out of him. "Could you fucking not?" Eddie asked, pushing Richie away. He laughed and grabbed Eddie's hands and leaned back in. "I'm just trying to get comfortable," he said innocently. Eddie huffed and rolled his eyes, letting Richie wrap his arms around him.

The two boys came back just as the movie started. They had one big bowl of popcorn that the group passed around and a drink for everyone.

~~~

Everyone woke up groggily the next morning, the sunlight hitting them in the face. Richie's head moved to Eddie's lap, Eddie's fingers buried in his hair. Beverly grinned at them, happy they were finally together. Stanley yawned and followed her gaze. He rolled his eyes and grabbed the pillow he was sleeping on, arching it back before throwing it across the room to them. It smacked Eddie's chest before falling onto Richie's face, startling them awake.

"Really?" Beverly asked, her tone annoyed but the smile on her face said otherwise. "They were adorable." Stan narrowed his eyes as Richie lifted his head off Eddie's lap. "'Richie' and 'adorable' don't being in the same sentence," Stan shot back. Richie, still groggy from just waking up, didn't catch it. He adjusted the glasses he accidentally fell asleep with on before looking over at Eddie. "Morning," he said, a sleepy grin overcoming his face. "Your breath stinks," Eddie said back, leaning into the couch. Beverly and Stan looked at each other. "Adorable," she said again and Stan shook his head, unamused.

An hour passed and Beverly and Mike both had to head back home. With those two gone, the rest started to leave too, knowing it's not as fun without the whole group. "I'll- I'll see you g-guys later," Bill said as they all piled out onto the porch. "Bye, Billiam," Richie said as he climbed down the steps.

"Eds, want me to walk you home?" Richie asked as he yanked his bike up. Panic crawled up Eddie's chest and he shook his head. "No, that's fine," he said quickly. Richie pushed out an airy laugh. "Come on, Eds. I haven't seen your mom in a while, I know she misses me and the nights we spent together," he said teasingly. Eddie made a face at him. "Would you stop it? That's so gross." Stanley overheard everything and rolled his eyes. "Eddie, just let Richie walk you home so he'd shut up," he said.

Eddie felt his heart drop, knowing there was no way out of this. "I.. Fine," he forced out. Dread filled his stomach, he knew there was no way he'd be able to keep his secret. Richie would find out that he doesn't live with his mom anymore. "Onwards," Richie said, biking down the driveway. Eddie sighed deeply and reluctantly followed him dow the sidewalk towards his house.

The dread and anxiety slowly built up the closer the two got to his house. "Richie," Eddie forced out, his steps faltering. "Yeah?" Richie asked, not stopping. "Richie," Eddie said again. Richie looked over his shoulder before turning his bike around, braking in front of him. "What's wrong? Why'd you stop?"

Eddie swallowed thickly and stared down the street. "I have something I need to tell you," he said, his voice small. Richie studied his face, waiting for him to speak. "I.. uh," Eddie looked down at his shoes. The anxiety was so great he felt like he could puke.

"What happened, Eds?" Richie asked. Eddie looked up at him, meeting the warm brown eyes behind those stupidly thick glasses. In that moment, his anxiety calmed down a little and he felt like he could tell Richie anything.

But he couldn't.

His mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out. "Eds," Richie said. He didn't bother glancing around as he reached for his hand, running a thumb over Eddie's knuckles. "You can tell me anything, you know that." Eddie nodded and breathed in deeply. "You won't like this.."

"Oh no," Richie said quietly. Eddie took a second to build up the courage. "Richie," he started, "What if I told you that I don't live at home.. anymore.."