𝑹𝑨𝑫𝑰𝑶 -- reddie fic

two - book boy

   richie walked through the hallways the the derry school, making his way to the classes next to the gym. he looked at all three doors that were near the gym. two on the left side, one on the right. which one was it? richie looked around his surroundings, he decided to try to peek into each of the classrooms. he looked around the hallway again briefly, and then stood close enough to the window of one of the doors to see in. out of the corner of richie's eyes, he saw a beam of sunlight coming through the window in the classroom. richie looked around the room, careful not to be seen. he was almost regretting going on the goose chase to return the book.

   richie sighed, not seeing anyone who looked like what he remembered of the boy, eddie. he turned on his heels to face the other side of the hallway and peered into a room. this room was dark, he didn't see anyone inside, at first. richie squinted into the room, trying to make sure it wasn't someone else. his eyes were almost closed, the skin around his eyes scrunched. even though he was wearing contacts, his poor eyesight was no match. but contacts were better than those awful coke-bottle lenses he had before, they would do.

   he saw the person in the dark room move around a little. the only light was coming from the breaks in the blinds on the window. richie closed his eyes and put his back to the door, he rested his head on the cold wood of it and listened. he could hear the small pull of a zipper, and then distinctive backpack sounds. rich opened his eyes. it's probably the kid, he thought.

   richie turned around to face to door and then slowly wrapped his fingers around the knob. he turned it, and pushed open the door. the person in the room looked up, hearing the door open and the light from the hallway flooding in. "oh-" they said. richie couldn't quite make out their features, but they were standing to the side of a desk, an open backpack on top of it, and several things scattered on the rest of the desk. they both blinked, and then richie twitched his head slightly as if he was shaking it.

   he cleared his throat, "is this yours?" richie looked down at the book under his arm, and then quickly pulled it out and held it in front of him. his eyes were now focused, being able to see much more clearly. "yeah, it is." they said, and stepped forwards to reach out and grab it. richie saw a slim smile on the boy's face. the boy stuffed it into his backpack, and richie watched as he threw everything else in; more books, a pencil case, a folder, headphones, a walkman, and a candy cane. the kid looked up at richie once more. "thank you." he said, the smile audible in his tone.

   even though he could see much better than before, richie still couldn't see as clearly as he should have. the boy blinked, seeing more clearly, too, and his facial expression changed. there was a small sense of panic in his eyes as he realised who richie was. maybe rich did have more of a reputation than he had originally thought. richie looked down, running his fingers through his hair and then tucking a piece behind his ear.

   "yeah.." richie mumbled, feeling stupid now. the tension in the room was obvious as both of their demeanors changed. they looked around the unlit room for a few moments, avoiding eye contact. then finally the boy gulped a breath of air and looked down to zip up his backpack.

    "thank you," the boy repeated, this time in a smaller, less confident voice. he looked up at richie, raising an eyebrow suggesting richie to say his name. "richie." he said, not wasting any words. "richie." the boy repeated politely. he put on the backpack, and then gave a small glance back as he slowly walked out the door.

   what the fuck-? stupid book anyways, i should have just left it there for someone else to find. richie stood there, feeling awkward at the other boy's presence leaving the room. he huffed out a breath and then sharply turned to leave the classroom, only then wondering what the kid was even doing in there. richie walked out, back into the empty hallway. it was already a good fifteen minutes past the time he should've been in class, so fuck it anyway. he was going to leave.

   richie caught his eyelids drooping from lack of sleep. he was tired, he didn't care. richie decided to take a shortcut, and slip out through the gym. he walked a few paces across the hallway, and heaved the gym door open. he strolled through the room and looked at the floor, which desperately needed to be polished. once he got to the door, he pushed it open and squinted at the overwhelming sunlight.

   "fuck, that's bright as hell." he mumbled to himself. richie stopped for a second to rub his eyes. he leaned up against the painted brick of the building and sighed. a hand reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. he pulled out a single cigarette and then held out the lighter a few inches in front of him. he pushed his thumb down to make the flame light with a small click. richie watched it flicker for a few moments, wobbling like the balloon man at the car dealership. he stuck the end of the cigarette on the flame, and then put both the box and lighter back into his pocket.

   he took a few drags off of the cig and then started walking, he had forgotten his walkman at school, along with his backpack as well, but he barely took the latter around at all anymore. he began walking to his house to get his bike. once he got there a few minutes later, richie dropped the cigarette down and smashed his toe into it. richie threw one leg over the seat of the bicycle, and pushed off. he pedaled, his shoulders hunched slightly. he went around in a circle one or twice, just to mess around for a minute before going to his favourite place in the world– the music store.

   richie looked all around as he rode. some of the wind caught his hair and made it fly up into his face. he let his foot relax from pedaling, and glided along the asphalt. he wished he had went back to the school to get his walkman, but the sound of the cool spring breeze whispering in his ears was calming.

   he didn't get to the store until 20 minutes later, the building was over 10 miles away. he smiled briefly, excitement surging in his chest thinking about what he might get. he dropped his bike by the side exit of the store, and walked around to the front. he open the door giddily, the bell ringing as he stepped in. the man at the till looked up at the sound of the bell and then looked back uninterested to the cd's he was organizing. richie took a quick glance around the room, thinking about where he wanted to start. he usually liked to see the vinyls, even though he could never afford any of them. when his eyes got to the corner of the store where the vinyls were held, he blinked in surprise. he saw the boy– the boy from school. the book boy. what was his name? eddie. that's right, eddie.

1290 word count

a/n: SJDNDJSJS I HAVENT UPDATED THIS IN SO LONG. anyway thank u for reading and putting up w this cliffhanger 😳 i promiseeee to update this sooner, expect something maybe next week. theres gonna be some cuTeness. tysm k bye