now or never [reddie au]

5

Stan was still working, making drinks for the few people that had come in today. He only had fifteen minutes until one o'clock, which is when Stan would get off of work. Richie and Eddie were still there talking amongst themselves. Occasionally, Stan would hear them say his name, but he couldn't make out what they were saying about him.

Stan started straightening up while waiting for customers to come in. He looks outside through the glass door as he sees Bill Denbrough walk by. Bill also looks inside of the coffee shop, smiling at Stan. Their friend, Mike Hanlon, follows behind Bill.

Richie also notices Bill and Mike walking by and waves to them. They turn around and walk into the cafe. "Hey, Stanley!," Mike smiles at Stan. "Hey.," Stan smiles back. "I didn't know you w-wo-worked here.," Bill says to Stan as he sits down at a table near Richie and Eddie. Bill had been stuttering for as long as they could remember. It had improved over the years, but he still stuttered every now and then.

"Yep.," Stan scratches the back of his neck, "I've been working here for at least two months." Mike sits down next to Bill. Stan had been so distracted by Bill coming in that he forgot to ask if they wanted to order anything.

Bill looks at Eddie's finger nails as Eddie takes a sip of his hot chocolate. "B-Beverly did those?," Bill asks Eddie, "Your nails."

"Oh, yeah.," Eddie looks down at his nails. "It suits you.," Mike says, "I like them." Bill nods, agreeing with Mike. "Thanks.," Eddie says to them. Richie's gaze shifts towards Stan, who was glancing over at them every chance he got.

While there were many things that Stan and Richie knew about each other, there was one thing that Stan hadn't even told Richie. He kept this secret from Richie because he knew Richie would never let him live it down, and would go out of his way to embarrass Stan because of it.

The first and only relationship that Stan ever had with a boy was one of his best relationships. The only problem with the relationship was that Stan knew he wasn't the right boy. Stan never told Richie that he liked someone else, and Richie was never going to find out who it was. Stan never talked about having crushes on anyone, but he would tell Richie if he was dating anyone. He felt that not talking about it out loud helped him get over it easier.

The boys at the table begin to discuss Richie and Connor's relationship. It seemed that Eddie couldn't get away from the topic no matter how hard he tried. He loved Richie to death and was happy for him, but of course he felt a little bit jealous.

"Are you ready to go, Eddie Spaghetti?," Richie asks Eddie. Eddie takes the last sip of his hot chocolate before looking at Richie, "Yeah, I'm ready."

The two boys stand up and wave to their friends as they leave the coffee shop. They get back into Richie's car. "Is there anything else you want to do or do you just want to see your girlfriend?," Richie asks Eddie. "It doesn't matter to me.," Eddie answers, not having the energy to correct Richie for calling Beverly his girlfriend.

"I would say we could go see a movie, but Connor's working and I'm not sure if he'll be mad or not.," Richie says. Eddie glares at Richie, "But last night, you told me that he would be okay with you hanging out with me since we've been friends for a while."

The truth was that Richie had told Connor that he used to have a crush on Eddie in middle school. Richie told Connor that he didn't feel that way about Eddie anymore, but there was just something about Eddie that was making Richie have those feelings again. He was happy with Connor, and didn't want to ruin their relationship.

"I know I did.," Richie tells Eddie, "It's just that it's the day after our eight months and-"

"Oh, no, I get it.," Eddie says, "It's fine."

Richie turns the key and starts his car. They drive around aimlessly for about thirty minutes before Richie stops at Beverly's house. "This was really fun.," Richie tells Eddie. "Yeah, it was.," Eddie smiles at Richie. Richie's eyes move down to Eddie's legs, "Want to do it again next week?"

"If I don't have anything planned, I'll let you know.," Eddie looks over at Richie's hands, wondering how stupid of an idea it would be if he just grabbed his hand without saying a word. Slowly, Richie and Eddie turn to each other, staring into each other's eyes.

"Hey, trashmouth!," the awkwardly intimate moment is interrupted by Beverly hitting Richie's window. "Um, bye.," Eddie takes off his seatbelt and gets out of Richie's car, "See you at school?"

"Yeah.," Richie smiles at Eddie as Eddie shuts the car door behind him. Richie watches Eddie walk around his car to approach Beverly, grabbing her hand as they walk to her front door. They enter Beverly's house and Richie's phone rings. He picks it up, "Hello?"

"Hey, baby, guess what?," Connor says to Richie.

"What's up?," Richie asks.

"I got off early so we can go on that date!," Connor smiles, even though Richie can't see him.

"Oh, that's good.," Richie says, "See you later then. I love you."

"I love you too-," Richie hangs up in the middle of Connor's sentence. Now that they could finally go on this date, Richie was dreading it, but he didn't have the heart to tell Connor that. Richie sighs and starts his car, driving to his house.