prank || reddie

12

3rd person POV

Eddie walked down the sidewalk, hands stuffed in his pockets. He enjoyed the feeling of the warm sunlight seeping into his exposed skin; summer was his favourite time of year. He ambled toward the Aladdin theatre, scanning the crowd of waiting people outside for a girl with red hair. Eddie smiled as he reached the edge of the crowd and recognised Richie waiting near the popcorn stall. He walked over to the taller boy and tapped his shoulder. Richie spun round, a wide grin immediately forming when he recognised his best friend.
"Eddie Spaghetti," He greeted, laughing at the scowl that immediately replaced Eddie's happy expression.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that!" He exclaimed. Richie reached out and ruffled his hair.
"Don't do that either! You know I hate it!"
"Sure ya do Eds," Richie smirked.
"I give up," Eddie grumbled, "Are any of the others here yet?"
"Nope, the movie's gonna start in like three minutes so they better get here soon or we'll miss it," Richie replied.

"Do you wanna share a popcorn bucket? I'll buy," Eddie asked, walking up to the popcorn stand next to them.
"Sure," Richie replied, watching Eddie fumble around in his fanny pack for money. Eddie got to the front of the queue and ordered a large popcorn, taking it from the woman behind the counter and giving her the money.
"Thanks," He smiled as he walked back to Richie, who immediately grabbed a couple pieces of toffee popcorn from the bucket.
"Hey!" Eddie protested, swatting his hand away, "Wait until the movie starts or we'll have nothing left,"
"Whatever you say Eddie Spaghetti. Are they gonna get here or what?" Richie asked, looking around but seeing no sign of his friends.
"People are already going in, where are th- oh," Eddie stopped, realising what they'd done. Richie eventually figured it out as well, laughing and shaking his head.
"Oh my god will they ever give it up?" He asked. Eddie just stayed silent, staring at his shoes, cheeks flushed. Richie looked down at him and smiled, grabbing his free hand and leading them into the queue of people.
"We might as well make the most of it, you already bought the popcorn, it'd be a waste otherwise," He said as they waited in line.
"I guess," Eddie mumbled, to focused in Richie's hand in his. It was nice, comforting.

Soon they were inside the cinema, Richie having bought both the tickets despite Eddie's protests because 'now we're even, spaghetti'. They took their seats in the back row, the two boys ending up being the only people on the top floor. They had a great view of the wide screen, and soon the opening scene begun. Richie had let go of Eddie's hand when they sat down, and Eddie found himself missing the warmth. Despite this, he was still far to nervous to try and grab Richie's hand again. He didn't want this to seem like a date... Richie might get scared. So, he settled for simply holding the popcorn in between them both, Richie immediately grinning and grabbing a large handful now that he was allowed and earning an eye roll from Eddie.

The movie was alright so far, not particularly scary, although both boys found they could barely keep up with the plot once they were a quarter of the way though. It was fine though, they were quite happy just enjoying each other's company. Eddie fished the last piece of toffee coated popcorn from the bottom of the bucket (which he then placed underneath his chair) and chucked it in the air, opening his mouth to catch it, but it strayed a little to far to his left and Richie swerved to catch it in his mouth, succeeding with a shit-eating grin on his face. He suck his tongue out at Eddie - with the piece of popcorn still on it - who grimaced in disgust and turned away. Richie chuckled and rolled his eyes, also returning his gaze to the movie. Yet they were still unable to focus on it.

After a lot of nervous glances at the other boy, Eddie slowly moved his hand towards Richie's. Richie seemed engrossed in the movie so he didn't make any move to stop Eddie, who felt his cheeks grow warm as their pinkie fingers touched. Richie turned at the slight contact, meeting Eddie's gaze.
"You know if you wanted to hold my hand you could've just asked," He said, rolling his eyes, before grabbing Eddie's hand once more.
"Shut the fuck up," Eddie replied, but he didn't miss the tint of red that spread across Richie's freckled cheeks as their fingers met.