Reddie Oneshots

Bury it down

Richie: 18 yo
Eddie: 16yo

POV: 3rd
♚

Eddie shut his locker and glanced over at his friend, flirting with Betty Ripsom openly. The curly-haired girl giggled at every little joke, blushed at every touch, and tried to subtly press her chest against the taller.

Eddie let out a frustrated sigh, clenching his jaw and trying to blink away the tears that had sprung to his eyes. His hands shook as much as he tried to stop them, so he just balled them up into fists and started to walk away. He didn't trust his voice to tell Richie he was going to find Beverly, what if it shook? What if he ended up crying?

No. He wasn't going to risk it. Instead, he shoved the thick library books into his satchel, which had long replaced his fanny pack, and pushed through a crowd of girls chatting in the hallway.

One threw a ball at his head, telling him off for walking through, but he didn't care, that's just what happens here at Derrys main public high school.

He shoved the emergency doors open. Which of course hadn't worked for at least fifteen years. He just hurried out to the rock fence at the back of the school, overgrown with vines. Glancing around, Eddie scaled it and hopped down the back, immediately finding who he was looking for.

Beverly was sitting on the ground, back to the wall, a cigarette between her lips as she quietly listened to music through her walkman. She seemed surprised when Eddie's feet his the dirt, uncaring of whether or not he twisted his ankle at that moment. He crawled over to her side and nestled his head on her shoulder, letting out a shaky sigh.

"Didn't expect to see you here today, is it getting worse?" She mumbled, her voice soft. She knew how much the boy hated being yelled at, after all those years of mental abuse from his mother, he could only take so much.

"He did it right in front of me, Bev. Right in-fucking-front of me," he ground his teeth and bit his tongue, straining to hold back the tears in his brown eyes.

"Really? Sarah again?"

"No, he's gone back to Betty Ripsom," he whimpered defeatedly. Beverly was silent, shock hanging in the air. Without a word, she took the cigarette out of her mouth and held it out for Eddie. He took it gratefully and took a long breath from it, coughing a little bit as he wasn't used to the feeling.

"I'm surprised your willing to smoke," Beverly mumbled, trying to swap the conversation to something else.

"Anything to get my mind off him."

Finally, one tear escaped, rolling down Eddie's face and landing on his arm. He wiped it away and pulled his knees to his chest, holding them tight while snuggling into Beverly's neck.

She didn't mind, never had minded. After the death of her dad, and since she had moved in with her aunt at the other end of town, she had become much more open to people. She still didn't trust strange older men, or really any men at all other than Bill's dad, and occasionally Richie's dad, when he wasn't drunk. She rested her curly red hair on top of Eddies in comfort as he handed her the cigarette back, blowing smoke from his mouth and watching as it curled into the air in front of them.

They sat in silence for a while, just listening to the quiet melody through Beverly's walkman. Birds chirped around them as they heard kids leaving school and heading home.

"He's playing with me," Eddie whispered, his voice strained from holding back tears. "Why does he flirt with everyone he sees? It's not fair." Eddie put his head in his hands, groaning. It wasn't right to assume Richie would just accept him, because that's not how it works. He hadn't even told his best friend of twelve years that he was gay, especially not that he was madly in love with him. Every time the older boy would flirt with another girl, Eddie felt like another needle was jabbing him in the chest. It hurt bad. So bad.