cliché || reddie ✔️

one

One day, he did see Eddie outside.

But he wasn't alone.

Two other of Richie's classmates were playing basketball in the front yard with Eddie - Bill Denbrough and Stanley Uris. Disappointment struck Richie hard in the guts and instead of approaching the three, he bowed his head and rode past instead.

"Field trip?" Beverly asks and lifts a hand, showing a few dollars tucked in between her fingers. Richie nods and stands before digging around in his jacket pocket for a few dollars.

Across the chattering cafeteria, Eddie slides into the bench with an annoyed huff. "You guys won't believe who I got for the World History project," he says as he unzips his lunchbox.

Bill sets down his Goldfish and looks at Eddie, worry dusting onto his face. "Isn't B..Bowers in yuh-your class?" He asks. Stanley's eyes dart up at the sound of Bower's name.

Eddie shakes his head and pulls out a napkin. "No.. well, yes." He pauses and thinks on his he's going to word his sentence. "He was in our class, but he got transferred to another." Bill nods, his shoulders relaxing and he goes back to his Goldfish.

"Then who did you get?" Stanley asks and Bill nods his head to Stan, silently seconding his question.

"Richie," Eddie says and his nose scrunches in disgust. "I got Richie Tozier as a partner."

The other two boys share a confused look. Bill breaks it first by lifting his gaze back to Eddie. "Why are you s..so upset that yuh-you got Richie?" He asks.

Eddie raises an eyebrow, looking at him as if it's obvious. "Why?" He repeats. "Because Richie clearly isn't going to do his part. He's probably going to make me do all the work then take all credit!"

Stanley shakes his head and adjusts his water bottle so it's alined with the front of his lunchbox. "It's all probability," he says and takes back his hand. "Richie's probably not going to do his work. Richie's probably going to take all the credit."

Bill nods and adds, "Can't you just ask t-to switch puh-partners?"

Eddie flings a hand in the air and says, "Already tried that! Mr. Martinez said if anyone comes to him asking to switch then he'll let me."

Bill and Stanley both fall silent, no new ideas coming to their minds. "You're on your own," Stanley says with a shrug, making Eddie push out an irritated breath. "Why are you so worked up about this? No one hates someone this much for no reason unless.."

"Unless they're hu-hiding someth..thing," Bill finishes.

Eddie narrows his eyes, disgust swirling up in his chest. "What's that supposed to mean?" (He knows exactly what it means).

Bill breathes out an amused smile as Stanley says, "It can mean whatever you want it to mean, Eddie." He holds eye contact with Stan for a second longer before looking down.

"Whatever," he says and takes the napkin to the table, wiping it down.

~~~

The final bell rings after announcements, dismissing the students for the day. Richie heads to his locker, hastily shoving everything he needs into his frayed backpack. He has the same one from freshmen year and the front zipper has fallen off, leaving the smaller front pocket forever hanging open.

He leans back and drums his fingers on the blue metal as his eyes search down the hall. Through the other students trying to get to their own lockers and friends, he spots a red shirt and fingers fumbling with a lockers lock.

Richie swings his backpack onto his shoulders and slams his locker shut, ignoring how the bottom sticks out. It's always refused to close all the way, no matter how many times Richie kicks it in.

He weaves through the other teenagers, occasionally accidentally bumping into backpacks and shoulders as he pushes through. On his way over, he gathers up the courage to speak to the boy he's been eyeing since freshmen year. He breaths in, wipes his hands on his jeans, and walks forward.

"Hey, Eddie," he says. He raises his voice to be heard over the chatter of everyone else, but it comes out a bit louder than intended. He internally cringes at his own actions, but rolls his shoulders back and pushes the embarrassment down.

Eddie lifts his gaze, his curious look disappearing when he spots Richie. "Oh, hello," he says and goes back to packing up.

"When do you want to work on the project?" Richie asks, getting straight to the point. "I'm free this entire weekend."

Eddie turns around so his back is facing his open locker. "Today's Friday," he says to himself as he looks up in thought. "I'm busy today and tomorrow.. Sunday I'm free if you want to meet up sometime." His gaze drops back down to Richie's eyes, the two instantly meeting.

"Okay!" Richie says quickly and nods. "Sunday's good. Sunday's cool." He closes his eyes and breaths out an embarrassed breath.

'keep it cool, richie. calm down', he tells himself.

When he opens his eyes again, he sees Eddie searching through the top shelf of his locker. "Ah ha," he says softly and pulls out a notecard. Richie couldn't help but smile at Eddie's small action, finding it adorable.

"Here's my number," Eddie says, snapping Richie out of his daydream. He pushes his locker door up against the others as he scribbles down a set of numbers onto the notecard. He hands it to Richie, who studies the numbers with a slight awestruck look. He can barely believe it, he got Eddie Kaspbrak's number!; a boy he's been daydreaming over for the past few years.

"Text me whenever," Eddie continues as he shifts the backpack hanging off his shoulders. Richie forces himself to nod and clutches the notecard to his chest.

"I'll see you Sunday," Richie says as Eddie maneuvers around him.

"Uh huh. I'll see you Sunday."

Richie watches as Eddie beelines it to the stairwell, disappearing around the wall. He looks back down at the number with a grin. "Beverly's gonna freak," he mutters to himself as he turns around, walking down the hallway to Beverly's locker.