Just friends // Reddie

11

"What did you do this time?"

Richie smiled sheepishly and sat down in one of the desks in the front row. "I didn't do anything." He said and looked at her seriously.

The teacher looked up from her computer and slowly looked at Richie. "Mmhm. Henry Bowers is just chasing you for the fun of it then?"

The boy nodded with a grin. "Yeah! You're finally getting it." He said happily as he relaxed in the desk, crossing his feet on the desk and putting his arms behind his bed.

Mrs B just sighed and shook her head as she began typing again. "You're lucky I was in here today. I almost wasn't."

Richie raised an eyebrow. "But you're always in here during lunch. That's why I always come here."

"I thought I had forgotten my lunch, almost went out to get something before I found it." She stated and glanced at him. "You know I won't always be there to stop Henry, Rich."

Richie nodded a little and sighed. "I know. But you're here now so it's fine." He said with a small smile.

His friends walked into the art room and smiled at the teacher. "Thank you for saving him again Mrs B." Stan said as the group walked over to Richie.

Richie smiled sheepishly at them. "Heyyy." He sort of sang out.

"You're and idiot." Eddie mumbled and rolled his eyes before looking at him. "But I'm glad you're okay."

"We're all glad you're okay, dumbass. I thought we told you to stay away from him? Your dumb mouth always gets you in trouble with him, so what did you do this time?" Bev asked as she sat on the desk top Richie was sitting at.

Richie shrugged a little and fiddled with his fingers. "The same old. Just called him an ass." He said and smiled at them all.

Eddie raised an eyebrow since he could easily tell Richie was lying but for some reason he didn't wanna tell them the truth.

"Well, stop doing that dude." Bill said and laughed a little.

"We want you alive." Ben said and sighed a little. "Want my left over lunch?" He offered and handed him his tray of fries.

Richie smiled softly and nodded as he took the small paper tray. "Thanks Benny Boy. Much appreciated." He said before quickly eating them.

They all jumped a little as the bell rang loudly. They made sure Richie was okay before going to their classes, but not before Mrs B told them to keep a close eye on the kid.

~~~~
"Rich! Wait up!" Eddie called out as he saw the raven hairs boy make his way out of the school.

Richie looked around before spotting Eddie. He smiled softly and moved to the side so other people could get by. "What's up eds?" He asked and looked at him.

"Don't call me that." Eddie said with a huff and started walking with the taller boy. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay. You were very tired today and I could tell you were lying about what angered Bowers." 

Richie bit his lip and sighed a little. "I can never lie to you, can I?" He asked and laughed a little. He scratched the back of his neck and bit his lip. 

"Nope. But you can always tell me anything Richie. We're best friends." Eddie said and looked up at him with a smile. 

Oh how it hurt Richie to hear Eddie say that. "Yeah, I know." He said softly and glanced around. "Well, I bumped into him downtown at this one place and I did call him an ass so-" He wasn't technically lying, just with holding the entire truth. 

Eddie studied his friends face and pursed his lips. "You're an idiot." He mumbled and shook his head. Richie was clearly hiding something and didn't want to talk about it, which was weird to him, they always shared everything with each other.

Richie flashed the shorter boy a grin and shrugged a little. "Yeah yeah yeah, I've been told." 

The two walked the rest of the way to Eddie's house in a comfortable silence. Richie said his goodbyes before slowly making his way home, luckily his father's truck wasn't home. He grinned and happily walked inside to his room. He had to get to work soon and he was excited since it meant his father would be passed out drunk when he got home. 

He quickly changed and biked his way to the cafe. He walked into the back and washed his hands before looking at the list of what they had to do today. The schedule said him and Mike were both supposed to work, but the later hadn't shown up yet, which is unusual since Mike was always on time. 

Jace, his boss, walked in and looked at Richie. "Mike can't make it in today, his pops isn't doing too well." 

Richie stared at his boss before nodding slowly. "Okay, uhm thanks for letting me know." he said quietly. He knew Mike's pops was old and unwell but Mike always made it to work since he needed the money to pay the bills. Mike not showing up meant his pops was on the line of life or death. 

As soon as Richie got off work, he texted Mike and quickly biked to his farm that was just outside of town. He threw his bike down on the grass and knocked hastily on the door. It took a couple minutes before Mike answered the door. He immediately knew the news as he saw his friends face. He threw his arms around the taller and broader male and hugged him tightly. 

"I'm so sorry Mikey." He said quietly. 

"He's all I had left Rich.." 

"I think it's time you meet my friends."

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