cherry bomb ➵ Richie Tozier

2

because cherry bomb people were so supportive of my situation and decision to discontinue these books even though i literally left y'all on the biggest cliffhanger ever, here's a special chapter. just for you. i hope you're all happy :)

-sarah

♦︎

Jessie slunk into the dusty pub, her leather jacket hugged tightly around her torso and her father right by her side.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Jess?" Mr. Asher questioned his daughter, concern in his voice.

It had been five years since she'd last seen him, and she was scared to say the least. She knew she had to stay hidden, that he couldn't see her. Jessie knew the rules of the life she lived, and she knew she could never put Ric- him in danger. If they found out about him, he'd be as good as dead.

Sure, her and her father were under the gang's protection, but that didn't mean they could stay in one place or get attached to anyone. They knew what she looked like now, and that made it hard to stay off the radar. Those years of bliss where her mother, father, and herself were in ignorant hiding were gone. Mr. Asher and Jessie had been on the road since, leaving nothing behind but telephone calls to the Uris' from random pay phones, telling them they were still alive and telling Stan to tell Allie and Ashton hello for Jessie every so often.

Jessie remembered the last time she had spoken to him. It kept her up at night more than she'd like to admit. She hated that he had gotten into her heart, and that she was still so vulnerable for him. After all the time they'd spent apart, he was still her whole world. Him and his stupid — stupid — jokes.

It didn't come as a shock to anyone — including Richie himself — when he decided to pursue comedy as a career. Making jokes out of tough situations was the only thing he was truly good at, so why not try to make some money off of it?

He never expected to make it relatively big, but he did. People thought he was funny! Girls wanted to sleep with him! And, of course, he had to give the ladies what they wanted. Richie Tozier was a ladies man through and through. He couldn't deny that every time a woman would pleasure him, he'd close his eyes and picture it was her. Pretend it was the only person he ever wanted to touch him.

Jessie couldn't say she was doing any better. Men would throw themselves at her, and all her morals went down the drain when she would sleep with them. "Fucking to forget" she'd call it. But she couldn't deny closing her eyes and pretending it was him every time it'd happen.

They were both as bad as each other. Both as utterly flawed from the gaping holes in their hearts.

Richie didn't know where Jessie was.

Jessie always knew where Richie was, and wasn't allowed anywhere near him.

As Jessie sulked in the back of the crowd, she laid her head on her father's shoulder, letting out a sigh of content at the remembrance that her father was there and they could leave at any moment.

The lights dimmed slightly and a man walked out on stage, a small spotlight landing on him.

The crowd cheered as he flashed them a goofy grin. The same goofy grin he had shot to her all those years ago, but it looked sad. He didn't look happy at all. He had bags under his eyes and was haunted by the ghost of her memory in every way possible.

He never believed in soulmates until he met her.

"Hey! How's everyone doing tonight?" he began, his voice trying to sound as cheery as he could make it.

The medium sized crowd cheered once more.

"Now," he began with a sigh, "I'm not going to lie to you guys. I know you came here for comedy, and you'll probably all get refunds for this and the pub will kick me out later, but I'm not feeling very funny today."