Just friends // Reddie

26

Richie hadn't spoken to Victor since their encounter a week ago. He hadn't really spoken to anyone in the past week. He barely spoke to Mike at work and only talked to Betty when she started the conversation.

He kept to himself. During lunch he sat outside behind the back of the school and worked on his assignments. He had nothing better to do and homework kept his mind busy. He had gotten sent to the principal's office during math for being 'too quiet'. Mr. Brix thought he was planning some sort of commotion. The man is a complete asshole.

The thought reminded him of his short conversation with Victor. He had no idea why the blonde sat with him and shared his blunt, especially after his buddy beat the shit out of him.

Richie was snapped out of his thoughts as someone plopped down next to him. "Henry's been looking for you."

"Jesus fucking christ Criss-" Richie grumbled before letting out a sigh. "He always is."

"Why haven't you been with your loser friends lately?"

"Why are you stalking me?"

Victor chuckled and shrugged. "I'm not necessarily stalking you Tozier."

Richie scoffed a little and nodded. "Mmhm yeah- you just happen to know where I am and who I haven't been around." He rolled his eyes and took the other boys blunt that was offered to him.

"Well, your group of friends has always been Henrys favorite group to torment, so I just noticed you haven't been with them for awhile." He said before taking his blunt back.

"Why are you even friends with that douche?" Richie asked as he ran a hand through his hair.

The blonde sighed as he shrugged. "Our moms are friends so we grew up together. I could've ditched him when his parents got divorced, but I stayed. Don't ask me why, I have no fucking clue." Victor said with a small chuckle. "Why aren't you with your friends anymore?"

Richie glared at the other boy, who just raised an eyebrow. "Hey I told you why I'm friends with Henry, only fair you answer my question."

Richie huffed and rolled his eyes slightly. "Whatever." He grumbled before sighing. "I got in a fight with Eddie and he told me to stay away from them. So I did. But then they just got pissed at me for that, so now I'm staying away indefinitely." He sighed softly and pulled his knees up to his chest.

"Shit. That's harsh man."

Richie only nodded with a sigh. "Tell me about it." He whispered quietly.

The two sat in a silence as they shared the blunt, much like that night a week ago. It was totally weird to Richie, but nice at the same time.

Who would have thought Victor Criss would be keeping him company while he was fighting with his friends?

———

Victor was a nice guy, like a truly nice guy Richie had figured out over the past few weeks. Which was totally weird to Richie since he was friends with the one and only Henry Bowers. How was someone who willingly associated themselves with that guy, a nice person? It wasn't making sense in Richie's head.

Yet he still found himself spending the majority of his time with the boy; lunch, after school, evenings when he didn't have to work, and they'd skip class together to get high. It was oddly...comforting.

He did not have to work today, which meant he was hanging out with Victor at his house. Richie had found himself becoming quite comfortable here. Victor's parents were very lovely people, and he always felt a pang in his chest whenever he watched the three interact. Victor's mom, June, was a social worker, which was very fitting in Richie's opinion. She had a heart of gold and always made sure Richie was comfortable while he was in her home. Victor's dad, Kenneth, was a manager of some mechanical store Richie didn't know existed in Derry. He was a quiet guy and didn't really speak to Richie all that much, but he could tell he was just as kind as his wife.

They were both at work and wouldn't be back till late, Victor had said. So, naturally the two were getting high in Victor's bedroom. Vic's room was the most chaotic room he had ever seen. His wall was covered in different music and band posters; Nirvana was right next to Beethoven because apparently Victor knows a ton of stuff about classical musicians. His desk had piles of school books and papers, but Vic swears it's organized but Richie can't see how. He had one bookshelf in the corner of his room that was completely filled with different genre of books, books he couldn't see Victor reading.

Victor was something else.

"I always thought you and that Eddie kid had something going on." Victor said out of nowhere.

The statement had completely caught Richie by surprised, they hadn't talked about Richie's friends since the day he explained he got in a fight with Eddie. He was thankful for that because it hurt not being with them.

"But then he got with Carter, which definitely surprised me."

"Surprised me too honestly."

Victor turned his head to look at Richie. They were both sitting on his bed, their backs to the wall and were just staring at nothing in particular. Just enjoying the silence as they smoked.

"You two always acted differently with each other than the rest of your friends, figured you two just didn't want to be public about your relationship, which I completely understand. Derry is a very old town, plus Henry has made it very aware of where he stands with the gays."

Richie found himself at a loss of words. He hadn't realized or even thought about what other people could and would perceive him and Eddie as. Maybe that's why he was always Henry's favorite target.

"I'm not gonna go blabbin', but you like him, Eddie I mean. You like him."

Victor wasn't asking, he was making a statement and Richie found himself nodding.

"Yup." He popped the 'p'.

Victor nodded solemnly before letting out a sigh. "It hurts, seeing him with someone else. And you hate the other person because that should be you with him. It's painful being around them because you look at him and you see how happy he is and part of you is happy for him, but the other part can't help but wish the two had never met. You try to act normal, but as time goes on, you find yourself losing yourself in the mix. You can't quite act yourself and you can't feel like yourself anymore because as soon as he got with someone else, you lost a part of yourself."

At first, Richie thought Victor was just going to ask him how he felt because maybe he was curious. But it become crystal clear Victor was now talking about himself. He wasn't asking how Richie felt because he knew how he felt. He knew how it felt more than anyone Richie would ever meet. He wondered who Victor was talking about.

"Yeah." He said weakly in agreement as he met Victors sad eyes. "Yeah."

Victor nodded slightly and Richie watched his eyes drop down to his mouth before looking back up. Something passed between the two and Richie found himself leaning in, his eyes closing as he did, and he didn't have to move far before his lips met Victor's.

_______________

I figured I should update since people seem to think this book is over???