tag, you're it. r.tozier. act l.

twelve | no tears left to cry!

"Richie-"

"I'm not worth shit!"

"But how do you know that?" Arianna told him, trying to make him realize that he was anything but a nobody. "What makes you think you're a nobody, Rich?"

"Because all my life I've been treated like one!" He spoke, his face softening a bit at the girl's expression.

Arianna stayed quiet, her bottom lip quivering a bit.

"Every single day of my life, my parents treated me like shit!" He said, a sob started to grow in his throat. "They never loved me, Ari, they never did." He broke down in sobs, and Arianna stood up and sat next to him on his bed, quickly taking him in her arms as she let him cry in her chest.

She sighed through her nostrils as she tried not to cry, but she couldn't help but cry as the boy of her dreams was so... broken.

"Richie," she whispered into his curls, staring at the table next to them as her vision blurred due to tears. "It's," she sniffed, "it's okay, honey." She started running her small fingers over his dark curls as he held onto her, his head a few inches below her chin.

"They never did." he muttered through sobs and let himself stain her shirt with his tears.

●●●

Richie smiled up at the brunette as she laughed, and Arianna went back to messing with his fingers.

Richie had made room on the bed for her to lay on, so Arianna lay at his left side. She was hoisted a few inches higher than him, so she looked down at him with her blue eyes as he looked up at her. His right arm was resting on her stomach, and his left stayed at his side.

She messed with his fingers that were rested on top of her belly, and while she was only focused on that, his brown eyes were focused up on the brunette who lay next to him.

He took in all her beautiful features and kept thinking to himself, "I'm so blessed to have you."

"Hey, Richie, promise me you won't cry again today." Arianna suddenly said, not taking her eyes off of his hand.

"Why?"

"I hate it when you're sad." She quietly spoke.

"It's fine. I have no more tears left to cry." Richie said, only making Arianna secretly more sad.

And at that moment, Richie finally decided to tell the girl of his dreams what had been on his mind. "Uhm, Arianna?"

"Rich?"

"Can I tell you something?" He asked, not breaking eye contact with her.

Arianna nodded.

"Okay, well, there's this girl I like, and she means the aboslute world to me. I'd like to ask her out, but I think I'd be too scared to. What should I do?"

Ari tried to hide the disappointed look on her face, for she thought he was trying to tell her that he liked somebody else. "You know what, Rich? I think you should just tell her. Whoever that girl is must be really, really special, and she should get to know that she's everything you've hoped for." She gave him a smile.

"Okay. Well, Arianna Jayden Taylor, I like you. So, so much. I know we just met about a month ago, but once I laid eyes on you, I couldn't look away. Every single time we make eye contact, I can't help but smile. Every time you smile with your perfect lips, my heart goes crazy. And when you laugh, it's literally like this awesome fucking song in my ears that I want to hear over and over and over again. And, gosh, where can I start about your eyes? They're just... They're just so damn beautiful. I love the way you think, and I love how you'd stand up for the ones you love no matter what. And never had I ever thought that you were going to be the one to rescue me from those bitches I call parents. And I never thought you would care enough to do that. I love how you could take a joke when other girls just can't, and I love how you don't take shit from nobody. There's 7 billion people on this planet, and somehow I found you. Basically, what I'm trying to tell you, is that I think I'm in love with you, Arianna."

Arianna couldn't move. She didn't take her eyes off his. The silence in the room seemed to ring in the two teenager's ears. She sat up and rested on her left elbow, looking down at him.

She was shocked.

"Richie...." She trailed off. "No boy has ever cared for me like that before..." A smile slowly grew on her lips. "I think I'm in love with you, too."

Richie smirked, but that smirk turned into a quick smile. A smile that he couldn't quite wipe off of his face.

"You're such a dork." She chuckled at how he couldn't stop smiling, and they both giggled. "But, that's what I love about you."

Richie stared at the girl in awe at her words. There was no way that a girl as beautiful as her was speaking those words to him.

Arianna smiled to herself as she thought about what she loved about the boy. "Gosh. I love how you can always make me laugh - I love your jokes, Richie. Even though you might think they're annoying - I love them. You can make me laugh even in the worst situations possible, like fighting a literal-"

"Killer clown." Richie joined in, his starstruck gaze not leaving the girl.

Arianna chuckled, her smile growing. "Yeah. You're like no other boy I've ever met. You're sweet, caring," she paused, letting out a chuckle. "And cute."

Arianna's eyes caught onto the boy's lips, and placed her finger on them. "I love your lips," and her eyes glided to his nose. She giggled. "And your nose,"

Richie unknowingly teared up as she ran her finger along his face. Her words were the only thing he wanted to hear forever.

"And your freckles, and your eyes... even your hair." She chuckled through tears, running her hand through his hair. "It's like you're everything I've ever wanted."

Richie felt as if it were only a dream. But it wasn't.

Her cheeks grew pink when she saw his eyes flicker down to her lips, and she did the same.

Both of their hearts quickly beat in sync as they both slowly leaned in.

"Can I?" Richie asked for permission as he pulled his head back down, and Arianna smiled and nodded.

He leaned up, and she leaned down and placed her left hand on his cheek and her right hand behind his neck, under his head. He put his left hand on her waist and his other hand on her arm.

They paused as their lips were inches away, then Arianna placed her lips onto his.

It was as if that tiny spark that they had once felt before was turning into a big firework show.

After a few seconds, their lips moved once in sync, then they both pulled away.

"Oh fuck." Richie breathed out and let out a laugh, his face bright red, and so did Arianna.

●●●

"I hope he's okay." Sydney told the gang as they stood outside of his hospital room. All of the teenagers were worried sick, for the news of Arianna Taylor saving Richie Tozier from his parents spreaded quickly.

"He should be." Ben said, then Beverly opened the door.

They all walked in, wondering why it was so quiet, and when they all stopped in front of his bed, they figured out why.

Arianna lay in Richie's arms and cuddled up against his chest, his arms wrapped around her.

The teenagers all looked at each other with smiles.

"I think we should let them sleep." Mike told them, and they all nodded.

Sydney smiled up at Bill and grabbed his hand, interlocking them, and they walked out first.

Then, Beverly gestured to Ben and Mike to follow, so they walked out next.

Stanley looked at the kids on the bed one last time before walking out, too.

Leaving Eddie.

Eddie smiled as he looked at them. This was what love looked like. "Wow." He whispered, wondering when his first love would come, then walked out to catch up with everybody else.

-

Howdy so i KNOW i havent updated in forever but here it is! I finally got a phone so I'll be updating a lot more!