mixtape (reddie)

Chapter 18

The farmhouse needed a lot of tending to, and a lot of that tending was passed down onto Henry and disguised as chores. Richie knew the truth; Mr. Bowers was just too much of a lazy prick to do it himself. He was a drunk, and he was angry, and when those two traits crossed paths, he would take it out on Henry. So, the boy spent a lot of time outside, mainly hiding from his old man's line of sight. If he was busy working, or just hidden from view, he could avoid a beating pretty easily. Richie understood this, it was an unspoken knowledge that Henry never once had to bring up, Richie just knew. And he understood. And he would come over early in the morning so that they could split the chores up and have them done by high noon.

"Richie?" Bev's voice calls out, snapping the boy from his trance.

Richie looks up, seeing her slowing her bike down to match his and Stan's speed. She looks genuinely concerned, which only plagues Richie with guilt. He doesn't mean to make her worry so much, he just... he can't help it. He can't.

"I'm fine," he shakes his head, eyes focusing hard on the ground so that more memories aren't unearthed by their surroundings. "Just thinking."

"About?" Stan prods at him curiously.

"Huh-huh-haven't you heard? T-T-To-Tozier's got a secret guh-girlfriend," Bill snickers.

"Is that who you were writing letters to on the bus today?" Ben chimes in, craning his neck to look over his shoulder at his friends behind him.

Richie's face flushes up, his eyes darting up to meet with Eddie. The tan boy doesn't turn around, doesn't look back, but Richie doesn't miss the way that his shoulders bunch up as he shrinks down onto his impossibly big bike. This must be a sign, Richie is sure of it. But... a sign for what?

"Crap, watch out, guys. Asshole alert," Bev curses, speeding up to ride alongside the right of Ben protectively. Richie notices the way that they all speed up, and he subconsciously follows suit without even glancing at what Beverly is referring to.

He wishes he didn't, however. The deja vu from riding along the familiar path was bad enough, but seeing the dirt driveway leading up to the Bowers residence is ten times worse. He feels as if he's a kid again, coming over early in the morning to help Henry with his chores. The nostalgia tricks his senses into tasting those green apple gummy bears, but he knows better. Things aren't the same anymore.

During Richie's lost gaze, Henry stands up from where he is in the yard and sees who is riding their bikes down this far away from town. He's met with a group of people he's learned to hate, along with the very bane of his existence. Henry's eyes fixate on Eddie Kaspbrak, the small boy leading the whole wolf pack, and his stomach hardens at the sight of him. Eddie is... Eddie is conventionally attractive, Henry knows he can't compete. He's not mad about that, though, he is no jealous type. What's actually bothering him is the fact that he can recognize Eddie's beauty in the first place.

Henry and Richie seem to make eye contact at the exact same time. The two remain staring at one another, Richie's bike gliding right on by the driveway he used to play cops and robbers in. The green apple taste gets stronger, but there's... there's something else there. Something fainter.

The juicy fruit that hits the tip of his tongue is a reminder of the way Henry felt pressed up against him. His first kiss, his only kiss, New Year's, midnight. Henry grabbed the front of his shirt, and Richie flinched. He assumed he was going to get punched. Then... juicy fruit, juicy fruit, juicy fruit.

Richie looks away, his hand wiping at the corners of his mouth as if he can still feel the wetness of Henry's nervous lips. Richie doesn't look back at Henry, just pedals faster with his head down, but that doesn't stop Henry from staring enviously.