mixtape (reddie)

Chapter 7

"Great, so now I have a fucking baby sitter? For fucks sake, Marsh, you tryna kill me?" Richie curses out of his window like the word will somehow travel to Beverly's home. "Just how pathetic does she think I am?"

"N-Not pathetic," Bill whispers. "Just luh-lonely."

Richie hates that word, he really does. But he's not one to deny any friendship given to him, so, biting back his usual insults, he says "What do you plan on doing to sweep me off my feet, Stuttering Bill?"

"The q-quarry," Bill looks at Richie, then back down to his lap. "With the other Losers."

"What, you wanna swim in it? That's fucking disgusting," Richie scoffs, earning a bit of a nervous jump from Bill.

"Eddie... Eddie likes it..." Bill mumbles.

Richie falls silent, his central nervous system coming to a complete halt at the mention of Eddie Kaspbrak. With the sudden information that he'll be seeing Eddie, Richie jumps over a pile of dirty clothes to ravage what is left in his closet. He doesn't want to look like trash, not in front of the asthmatic boy with a vocabulary wider than Richie can comprehend.

"S-So you'll come?" Bill asks.

"What does it look like I'm doing, dumbass?" Richie snaps, but then quickly softens up and says "Yeah, I'll come. It's just you guys, right?"

"Yeah," Bill promises. "Me, Ben, Mike, Stan... Eddie, too."

"I heard you the first time," Richie says, changing his shirt to a clean Hawaiian print button up. Instead of having his usual graphic tee underneath, Richie does every button, and then tucks them into a clean pair of shorts. He doesn't seem to mind changing in front of Bill, but then again, Richie doesn't really care what anybody thinks as long as it's about him. Attention is attention, and Richie will take what he can get. "Eddie is going. I get it."

"Bev said-"

"Yeah, Bev probably said I'm in love with the fuckin' kid," Richie shakes his head, gathering up his bag and shoving his Walkman inside. "Tell me, Big Bill, do you always do whatever she says?"

"Um... y-yes," Bill replies matter-of-factly.

"Why?"

"B-Because she's... she's always t-t-there for me," Bill mutters, tripping over his words quite nervously. "S-S-She's a good fuh-friend. My b-best friend."

"Yeah," Richie grumbles, his stomach in knots as he glares at the photo of him and Bev taped to his wall that was taken in the yearbook. Richie didn't buy a yearbook, of course, but he stole one and cut the page out before returning it to its owner. Bev looked so happy there, smiling at Richie like he put the sun in her sky. Her hair was down to her waist, then. Richie wasn't as tall. As much as he wants to be angry with Beverly, he can't be. Bill is right. "Yeah, you're right. Come on, dude."

Richie has been to the quarry plenty of times before, but never to swim. Not because he disagrees with swimming, but because he prefers the arcade to the outdoors. Nature is gross and sticky, arcades are fun and wonderful.

Richie and Bill ride in silence. Not that Richie minds, he has his headphones on, but Bill will occasionally look over to see what exactly it is that makes Richie so much better than the rest of the Losers' Club. Why does Beverly love him more than anybody else in her life? More than Bill? More than Ben? What makes Richie Tozier so much more special?

"Oh, great, we're going to get an STD from swimming with the walking AID's epidemic," Stanley comments as soon as he sees Richie Tozier riding alongside Bill.

"The only STD's he has are from your mom," Eddie punches Stanley's shoulder.

Rolling his eyes, Stan says "That's your best comeback? 'Your mom'? Geez, Eddie, you sound as dim-witted as trashmouth."

"S-Shhh-Shut it, S-S-Stan," Bill whispers, glancing over at Richie setting his bike against a tree. He still has his headphones on, so he's oblivious to their conversation, but Bill remains quiet anyways. "D-Don't say anything to him t-t-today. Bev said he's having a b-bad day."

"Yeah, probably from-" Stan starts to say, but is quickly shut down by a swift punch to the jaw by Eddie Kaspbrak. Stan covers the bruised area with a delicate hand, exclaiming "Ouch! How the hell did you even reach me, you gremlin?"

"Beverly isn't coming?" Ben asks, looking over Bill's shoulder as if the redhead will strut out from behind the trees with her warm gaze and daring smirk.

"N-No. We-We're supposed to be sss-spending time with Ruh-Ruh-Richie," Bill explains, motioning towards the tallest boy standing by a tree and gazing upwards with a lost look on his face.

"God, just kill me now," Eddie complains.

"He's such a-" Stan starts to insult Richie once more, but is punched in the jaw by Eddie for a second time. While Stan complains, Mike grows tired of their bickering and charges towards Stan, throwing the boy over his shoulder before backflipping off of the steep ledge. Stan's screams can be heard all the way down to the bottom, where a cocoon of splashes echoes throughout Derry.

Ben laughs, taking this as his chance to follow. He cannonballs in beside the two, followed by Eddie dramatically pirouetting of the cliff ledge like a ballerina. Richie takes notice of this, the graceful bow of Eddie's arms catching his attention, so he removes his headphones and looks to Bill for guidance.

"J-J-Just jump off," Bill explains, fumbling with the button of his pants as he gets undressed. Richie watches for a moment, and then decides to follow along, reaching for the top button of his shirt and cautiously undoing them.

Once he's stripped down to the very boxers that Bill saw earlier this morning, Richie turns and safely puts his Walkman inside his bag, hiding it under a fallen branch next to his bike. Once he's finished, he steps up to the edge with Bill, the two staring down at the deep abyss waiting for them.

Richie takes a deep breath, glancing over at Bill, who seems to have done this a million times before.

"Are you s-s-scared?" Bill asks Richie. The tone doesn't sound mocking, not in a way to tease Richie for being a baby, but more... concerned. Richie is unfamiliar with the feeling.

"No," Richie lies.

"The fuh-fuuurr-first time is always s-s-scary," Bill comforts him anyway. Bill reaches over and let's his fingers slide against Richie's palms, filling the spaces between Richie's knuckles.

Alarmed by the affection, Richie immediately goes to retract his hand, but Bill holds on. Richie seems confused about what's happening and why it's happening, but he can't deny how... nice it feels. He doesn't... he doesn't know how warm and safe affection can be, and so therefore, this new experience washing over him is one that is terrifying and enticing. His fingers grip hard and tight onto Bill's hand, and the fear of having to let go suddenly seems more scary than the jump below.

"You r-r-ready, trashmouth?" Bill asks.

Richie tightens his fingers once more, letting his thumb graze against Bill's knuckles in an attempt to explore foreign territory. "Okay, lets do it. Let's jump."

Bill looks forward, his bare feet stepping closer and closer to the edge. Richie follows him, unsure of what to do, but desperate to feel more human contact than just what is sparking from his hand.

And they jump.