RICHIE T./ FINN W. IMAGINES.

v. date [sequel to 'tutor']

I FEEL REALLY BAD THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS BOOK IN LITERALLY FOUR WEEKS SO I MIGHT DO A DOUBLE UPDATE SINCE I HAVE A FOUR-DAY WEEKEND. ALSO I KNOW NOBODY LIKES LONG AUTHOR NOTES, BUT THIS IS A SEQUEL CHAPTER TO THE FIRST ONE, TUTOR. YOU COULD READ IT SEPARATELY, BUT WTV, IT'S YOUR CHOICE, MAN. OKAY, ENJOY READING! -s🥀

"it has to be perfect."
"geez, shut up!"

richie tozier's best friends had been listening to him rant vehemently on and on about how his "tutor" had given him her number and how he had asked her out on a date. as one usually does when being richie's friend, they initially did not believe him.

"dude, what girl would wanna go out with your dumb ass?" wyatt laughed. bill and eddie chuckled.

"i'm not kidding," richie stated again. "i swear, i called her yesterday, she did not pick up, so i called again after an hour-"

"-desperate much?" bill chimed in.

"-and she finally answered. we made small talk for a few minutes and then i asked her if she wanted to walk along the pier with me. she said yes." richie finished.

"are you sure she knew she was talking to you?"
"maybe it was a sneeze that sounded like a yes."

"can you guys just have faith in me for once?" richie asked frustratedly. "i need your help, not your belief."

"okay, fine, we'll help the poor sap," wyatt murmured.

-

"...and make sure you do everything we told you," bill whispered quickly into richie's ear as the final bell rang and a crowd of students piled into the hallway, y/n amidst them. "oh-take these flowers. i snatched them out of the vase on mrs. johnson's desk. they're still a little wet on the end. good luck!"

richie turned around nervously and saw his friends give him a thumbs up as he walked towards y/n.

"hey!" she smiles cheerfully as she locked her locker. "is that for me?" she gestured towards the soaking wet daisies in richie's hand.

"uh-yeah." richie said, feeling stupider by the minute. "they're a little damp."

y/n giggled and took them from the mumbling boy, much to richie's relief. she stashed them safely in her locker, before finally shutting it.

"ready?" she asked. richie nodded and they set off towards the main entrance of the school. "so what do you like to do?"

"sorry?" richie asked, taken aback.

"well, we don't know each other very well, so i thought this-today could be a chance for us to do that." it seemed to richie that y/n had wanted to say 'date', but he brushed the thought away.

"okay," richie replied. "let's see...i love to play video games, ride my bike, and in the winter time, i snowboard."

"that's really cool," y/n said genuinely. "i like to write. a lot."

"what type of stuff do you write?" richie asked curiously.

"mostly fiction. you know, short stories and creative writing here and there. i hope to become a journalist one day." she explained. "and not a lot of people besides my parents know this about me, but i love to play hockey. been playing since i was four."

"wow," richie admired her. she was smart and athletic. he felt a little misogynistic that he felt a wave of surprise when she mentioned playing hockey, though. "i used to play for the derry town hockey team until i turned eleven. i got bored of it, but maybe we can play together some time."

"yeah," y/n answered. "that sounds really fun."

"we're here," richie said as the pair stood in the warm, summer air, their hair getting in their face as a result of the wind. he felt sand enter between his toes.

"race you to the water!" y/n said as she ran towards the shore, her feet kicking up sand. richie shook his head with a grin and ran after her.

the water on the coastline was chilling. it felt like it was twenty degrees, yet when richie's body came into contact with y/n's, the temperature rose like the color of his cheeks. y/n laughed loudly as richie tickled her and enveloped his body around her.

•

richie and y/n walked in silence for a few minutes after drying off, along the shoreline and under the boardwalk, when suddenly he said, "i'm insecure."

"what about?" y/n asked, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear.

richie didn't think he'd make it this far. he had half expected her to laugh in his face for what he had just admitted to her. "about-well, my grades. i never do well in school. i nearly fail every year. bill, wyatt, eddie...they aren't einstein, but even they manage to have acceptable averages. and-and, they make jokes about it too. and before it never bothered me, in fact, it would make me feel better, but now it's just a constant reminder that i'm fourteen years old and the dumbest kid in the world."

"hey," y/n said in a stern, yet comforting tone. "you aren't the dumbest kid in the world. i know for a fact that even if you can't realize it now, you are smart. and who cares what other people say? bill, wyatt, and eddie are your best friends. if they say something that even slightly offends you, you should let them know. they'll understand. i know they will.

"besides, i could care less about your iq. you have the ability to make people laugh harder than they ever have. you are the funniest, kindest person i know and i wouldn't trade your personality for the world."

she turned slightly, so that they were facing each other now. slowly, she lifted her hand and brushed a lock of his dark brown, curly hair behind his ear and stared into his eyes. as if this had enabled their ability to read each other's minds, he grabbed her hands and put his hands on her waist as she leaned on her tippy toes to kiss him.