Title//Reddie

Part 6

(Warning, homophobia)
"You're a great puncher eds." Mike joked, although he wasn't wrong.
"Hey! That's my nickname. Back off homeschool or I'll bang your mom." Richie threatened.
Eddie nodded in agreement. Sure he hated(more or less) the nickname, but it was Richies stupid nickname. No one else was allowed to call him that.
Mike put his hands up in defeat.
"Well I gotta go, the farms a long ways away and it's getting dark" Mike said his goodbyes to the individual losers and rode away on his bike.
"I gotta h-head too. My c-c-curfew is in a hour" Bill told the remaining losers before leaving as well.
It wasn't long until it was just Richie and Stan.
"Well I have to leave now too, my parents will kill me if I'm home late." Joked Stan, not really joking.
He reached up to tuck a out of place hair behind Richies ear, but quickly pulled his hand back down when his sleeves started to fall.
Richie noticed the movement. When he thought about it, he hadn't seen Stan wear a t-shirt for as long as we could remember.
"Stan, is everything okay?" Richie asked, he hoped the answer was yes. As much as he teased him, Stan was still Richies best friend. And he would do anything for him.
"What? Yes of course! I'm fine Rich." Said Stan, trying to seem happy as can be. "Bye" He hurriedly went to his bike and burst off, his feet pounding furiously on the pedals. He didn't want anymore questions, nothing he couldn't answer honestly. And lately he had been anything but honest.
Richie's nerves started to settle.
Stan was always a good actor.
Richie walked the way to his house, as always using the shortcut across Ms. Pallinskis lawn.
He had been having such a great daydream about Eddie, he had forgotten all about Jake. But he was reminded when he stepped into his house.
"Mom! I'm home!" He told his mom as he took off his shoes.
"Hello honey! We- oh dear what happened to your face?" His mom asked, her happy face to see her son turning into one of immense worry.
He waved her off.
"It's nothing, I just fell" Richie lied. Based on the bruises, cuts, and the writing, it wasn't a very good lie. Anyone can tell that it was another persons doing.
"Honey, I can see your cheek. The ground doesn't do that. What really happened?" Maggie softly asked her son, meaning to be gentle as possible. She knew about the rumours, most of her "friends" believed them. It was why none of the adults in the town liked her son. But she would never believe them unless Richie specially said they were true. But he was her son and she would love him no matter what, even if he liked boys. It was a unusual thing, but it wasn't dirty. Strange but not bad. But she was worried about what Wentworth would do if they were true. She loved her husband but she hated how he treated Richie. It was weird, he was always loving and gentle with her. But when it came to Richie, he was rough. He swore, he slurred, he insulted him. But he never listened to her complaints about the subject. It was the one thing that always bothered her, I mean Richie is his own son! She wasn't even sure if he loved Richie. 
"Fine. Some kid beat me up." Richie could be honest with his mom. He was always scared of his dad, but never his mom. She never even yelled no matter what he did. He trusted her, he wished he could do the same to his dad.
His dad that was on the couch listening to the whole conversation.
Wentworth decided it was time he intervened. He stood up and stomped over to Richie.
"Richie. We've talked about this. If someone hurts you, hurt them back. You shouldn't be taking this shit. Don't be a sissy. If someone calls you a f*g, call them a flamer. If you just take it, you may as well be a f*g." Wentworth told him.
His dad had a interesting way of giving advice. First of all it was never good advice and it was always hurtful. Second of all he always gives advice that no one asked for.
"Dad. Like I've told you a million times, I'm not a f*g. And I do try and fight back." Richie more or less lied. He can't try and fight back because whenever someone's hurting him for the rumours, it's like his body shuts down. Suddenly he can't move. It's like he's frozen in time, and he isn't active again until it stops.
"And like I've said a million times, I couldn't give a rats ass about your sexuality. You're straight and that's the end of it. Even if you consider yourself a f*g, now you're not. I will not have a f*g in this household." Wentworth spat at him.
The words cut like daggers in his skin. He had finally admitted to himself the truth, so he knew he couldn't just stop being gay. But around his dad, he had to act like he wasn't. Around everyone he had to act like he wasn't.
"And you won't. May I be excused?" Richie asked, wanting to get away from his dickhead of a dad.
He ran upstairs when his mom nodded at him.
He ran so fast he didn't notice his sister about to go downstairs and ran straight into her.
"What the hell Richie! Holy shit what happened to your face? I mean you're always ugly but now you're ugly and bleeding" Diane insulted.
"It's none of your business Dee" Said Richie.
"Fine, don't tell me. Dad will tell me later because I'm the favourite, sucker" Diane liked to use the fact she was the favourite against Richie, but to be fair she was right. Both Richies parents always liked Diane better. Wentworth because he never liked Richie, and Maggie because she could understand Diane better.
He rolled his eyes at her and ran to his room, carefully closing the door behind him so it wouldn't slam. His dad would blow a gasket if he slammed his door.
He scanned his desk, looking for a distraction. Anything to get his mind off his dads hurtful words. He saw a pile of unfinished homework from throughout the school year and decided to do that.
It surprised him, despite his good grades, he really didn't like school. So him doing homework meant he was pretty damm desperate. And even worse, homework in the summer.
He went through the pile quick as hell. Writing off math questions and finishing a essay. He worked on his homework until his mom yelled for dinner. He took a deep breath and walked downstairs, mentally preparing himself for seeing his dad.
He scanned the dinner table, lasagna. His favourite. His mom always made it when she wanted to cheer him up.
The chair on the end was empty, Diane was out. Probably at a friends. Diane had a lot of friends, something she never let Richie forget.
Richie took his normal seat at one left from the end, a fork and a plate of lasagna already at his spot.
"Thanks mom. Your lasagna is godly" he praised. And as he took the first bite, he was not exaggerating. The lasagna was amazing. The cheesy texture making his mouth water with delight. The sauce a creamy masterpiece. His mom was the best cook he knew.
But after a while, it got weird.
Not the lasagna, that stayed amazing, just the table. For about five minutes straight, no one talked. Not one word was said. Richie scanned his mind for a conversation topic but none surfaced besides "hey mom! Hey dad! I like boys" and he decided against that.
"I heard that Sonia's son got hurt." Said Maggie, desperate for a dinner time conversation "I wonder how that happened"
"Eddie, right?" Wentworth asked, getting a nod from Maggie. He nudged Richies arm "Isn't that one of your friends? How'd he get hurt?"
Richie weighed the options in his head.
If I say the truth, he'll think I'm gay. If I lie, he'll think I'm lying and call me gay. It's like a circle of gayness. There's nothing wrong with the truth I guess.
"He was defending me actually. He punched the guy who beat me up and then got pummelled by his cousin." Richie explained.
"So not only can you not stand up for yourself, you need your asthmatic, three feet tall, pastel boyfriend to defend you? That's pathetic." Wentworth said in disgust.
"He's not my boyfriend and it was his choice. I didn't ask him to do it" Richie actually would have preferred Eddie didn't. Sure it was awesome to see Jake bleeding but Eddie was bleeding too. He didn't want Eddie to get hurt because of him. He didn't want Eddie to get hurt, period.
"Well why did the guy beat you up in the first place?" Went asked.
Richie had no idea what to say, for once his mind was a blank.
He couldn't say the truth, that he beat him up for liking boys. But his parents could see the f*g on his cheek, they would know it was something related to that.
"Some kids were spreading rumours and the guy who beat me up overheard and got the wrong idea" Richie lied, trying to sound as confident as he could be.
"What rumours were they spreading?" Wentworth questioned. Went didn't like to talk to the other parents, Maggie was always good at that. So he never found out about the words that followed his son wherever he went.
Richie's eyes widened. He thought his dad already knew, and he didn't want to explain and be yelled at.
He looked at his mom and tried to communicate with just his facial expressions. Guess he was better at it that he thought because his mom took it upon herself to explain.
"There is a rather large rumour that Richie um... likes boys. Romantically." Maggie explained.
Wentworth knew Richie had been called a f*g before, a lot actually. He could see the bruises and scars all over his sons body. But he never thought that a son of his would have such a disgusting rumour about him happening, and do the bare minimum to stop it. His sons restraint made him question if it was even a rumour after all.
He turned to Richie and said with sharp authority;
"Son, you have to stand up for yourself. This is unacceptable, you have to stop this rumour. We can't have people thinking you like boys! People should not be believing that you are a f**got, are you acting like a pansy at school? Be more masculine, feminine stuff is for girls. And you need to be able to fight your owns battles, you can't count on your little flamer friend to be there every time someone calls you gay. "
Sure the words stung, more than stung. They hurt like a whole different wave of pain than Jake. Now it was personal. But there was one part that stuck out from the rest, one part that made him especially mad.
"His name is Eddie" Richie corrected.
"I'm here, telling you all about being more strong, and the only thing you're concerned about is the kaspbrak boy? Why aren't you doing more to stop the rumours? If this was happening to me, anyone who thought it would be beat up before they could say "gay". " Wentworth questioned him, the gross rumours should be Richies number one worry in Wents opinion.
"Well it's hard dad. Plus there's not much to do to stop them anyways" Richie said, he had convinced himself it was the truth.
But it wasn't.
The rumours were like a wildfire, they spread and spread until everything was burning. He couldn't put out the whole forest, but there were little flames he could extinguish. He didn't know why, but he never did. He would put out the big fires that got him hurt if he had the chance, but the little ones, like the average person just thinking it was true, didn't bother him. But the little fires are essential to make the big ones grow. He just didn't want to stop the embers.
"There is a ton you could do! Why don't you fucking do anything?" Wentworth yelled, earning no response from his son "Why? Tell me goddammit!"
   Richie couldn't explain it, it was like all common sense went out the window. He suddenly had no restraint. It was almost like he was sick, and just word vomited everywhere.
"I don't stop them because they're true! They're right! I am gay" He admitted, quickly clutching his hand to his mouth in a panic. Richie's mind raced; Oh god, oh god, oh holy fuck. I just told my parents, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Wentworth is going to kill me oh shit.
Wentworth's mind was racing too; oh my god, my son is a f**got. I thought of the possibly but I never feared it to be actually true. How can he be gay? He said he liked Greta when he was young, he can't just like girls and then suddenly not. He's wrong. But deep down, Wentworth knew his son had spoken true.
"You're a fucking f*g! I will not accept a flamer as a son! You are a disgrace to this family and I will not allow it. As soon as Dr. Pellis is available, we are setting you up a appointment. Some conversion therapy can make this house normal again." Wentworth told his son.
"Went-" Maggie started, desperate to help her son.
"No Maggie! He is going and that is the end of it" Wentworth interrupted.
Richie felt tears well up in his eyes but quickly wiped them, crying would only make his dad worse.
Conversion therapy. He had had heard of the horrors of it, mostly in a positive way. But it was never positive to him, it sounded horrible. Why would people try and stop people from being gay? What's so wrong with letting people live their lives? Sure he didn't think it was good, but if he never kissed a guy, he wasn't hurting anyone. What was it about the simple idea of someone existing that makes other people so mad?
Whatever the reasons were, Richie wasn't going to be subject to it. There was no way in hell he was going to conversion therapy.
"Dad, don't send me. Please! I'll never touch another boy" Richie begged.
"Richie. This behaviour is not okay and I will not excuse it. You are going, that is final" Wentworth told him, practically shouting final.
"I'm not going to go" Richie said, starting to walk towards the door "You're fucking psychotic if you think I would"
"Hey! You can't talk to me like that or I'll schedule more appointments" Wentworth warned.
"You're not going to schedule any appointments" Richie told him, he had reached the door.
"Rich......." Maggie trailed off as he put on his shoes.
"Because I'm not going to be around to go to them" Said Richie. He wasn't going to let his dad tell him what to do anymore. If it's gross, then he'll be gross without Wentworth around. "Bye, dad" He gave one final flick of his wrist, he couldn't leave without giving his dad the finger. And then he ran out the door, ignoring his mothers pained
"Richie!"
from the front porch. He did feel bad about leaving his mother, but he couldn't stay with his dad for one second more. After what he revealed, his dad would probably do worse then Henry.
He didn't know where he was going, he just ran. Fast and hard, barely stopping to breathe. He didn't want to breathe. The only sound was his shoes pattering against the pavement and his small sobs as tears streamed down his face.
He must have ran for a good half hour before he stopped for a break. He looked around, he recognized the street name. This is where Bev had said she lived. It wasn't the best option, he would have preferred Stanley or, even better, Eddie. But he didn't have a clue how to get to their houses from this street, so he walked down the street until he found the address Bev had given him.
He took a deep breath, he wasn't sure what she would say. He was worried she would turn him away, but he didn't have the luxury of not taking a chance. So he ran the doorbell, and his heart beat like crazy. It took her a second to answer, and he got worried she wasn't home. But she did answer, oh thank god she answered.
"Hey Rich. " She answered happily.
He felt kinda bad, she was in such a happy mood. And he was about to ruin it.
"Rich, what's wrong? You have tear marks on your face." She noticed.
He waved her off, not wanting to explain right now.
"Not important. But Bev, can I stay with you? My home situation is..... complicated" Richie said, a understatement really.
She paused for a second, and Richie held his breath. This was the moment, she was going to turn him away or possibly laugh at him.
"Sure. My dads away for a few days so you can stay until Wednesday" Bev told him.
Richie started breathing normally again. It had gone so much better then he thought it would.
"Thank you" He praised as he walked into her house and made himself comfortable on the couch.
"So you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but if you want you can. Why do you need to stay with me?" Bev asked.
He didn't want to tell her, he didn't want to tell anyone. If it was completely up to him, no one else would ever find out. But he was living with her for a little bit, so she had a right to know. So he swallowed his pride, and told her the truth.
"I ran away. My dad was going to send me to conversion therapy because I came out to him. I'm gay" he admitted. He waited for her cruel words or laughter like Jake.
He was met with a comforting pat on the back. It surprised him, why wasn't she insulting him? He just came out to her and she was....smiling?
"I'm sorry Rich" she said sympathetically "thank you for sharing that with me, it was probably really hard"
It was hard, but right now it got a hell of a lot easier. She was smiling at him and comforting him. Her eyes weren't full of hatred and she wasn't disgusted. It felt nice to finally have someone who supported him. It was soothing, like he wasn't fully alone.
"Please don't tell anybody" he pleaded "I'm not ready for anybody to know"
"It's not my secret to tell. When are you going to tell everyone else though?" She asked.
"Probably never. I don't want anyone to know." He vented, this was the most he had ever shared with anyone.
"Rich, it's your choice when, but you have to tell them sometime. They're your best friends, plus you'll get a boyfriend one day and he's going to want to meet your friends. They would accept you" Bev said, she had just met these people but she could tell they would be supportive.
Richie wasn't so sure. Stan never really spoke out about his opinion on homosexuals, whenever the topic of gays came up Stanley always stayed quiet, so Richie was very concerned about what he could think. He wasn't as worried about Ben and Mike, both of them had always said they accepted lgbtq+. Eddie never talked about it, if Eddie hated him for it he would probably break. That would be it, it would be over. It didn't matter if everyone else accepted him, if Eddie didn't, he would never even think about another boy again. But Bill was the one he was really worried about, not because he would care more if Bill didn't like him, but worried in the way that Richie was almost 100% sure Bill was homophobic. He had never done anything drastically bad, but he had never spoken a word of support towards gay people ever. And one day when they played spin the bottle, Bill got Stan. He wouldn't do it and had said "I don't w-w-want my first kiss to be with a b-b-boy". Richie knew Bill would be the one to vote him out of the losers club if he ever came out.
"I'm never going to get a boyfriend" he said, honestly believing it was the truth. He didn't bring up the topic of the losers support, why talk about their opinions on something he'd never tell them.
"Of course you will!" Beverly exclaimed.
"No! Like no one else in this town is gay and even if they were, we'd never be able to go on dates in public" Richie said.
"Of course you would" Said Beverly.
"We wouldn't"
"You would"
"We wouldn't"
"You would"
"Bev, you're straight. So it's probably hard to imagine. But you have to realize, things are different for me than for you." Richie told her.
Bev stayed silent.
She didn't want it to be true, but it was. People would hate Richie simple because he was gay. That wasn't right, not at all. He didn't deserve any different treatment, he deserved to be able to hold hands with his boyfriend in public. Speaking of boyfriend....
She cleared her throat and tried to discreetly change the subject.
"So.... got your eye on anyone?" Bev asked.
Rich rolled his eyes.
"Kinda yeah. But he's straight" He said.
"Oooo do tell about this mystery boy of yours" Bev said in delight, she actually wanted to hear about his crush.
He didn't want to tell anyone about Eddie, he would never act on it so there was no point. But he did want to rant. Names aren't the only way to have a crush.
"His name is..... not important. So he's really short and incredibly cute. He has these beautiful freckles all across his face. He's like a gremlin but cute. All we do if bicker but I like him so much! Plus he always wears really short shorts and that's so distracting. I just like Ed- him so much!" He ranted. It felt good to talk about Eddie to someone other than himself.
"Oh my god! You are totally crushing on Eddie!" Bev realized.
"What? No I'm not! I'm crushing on........ not Eddie." He cursed himself for not thinking of something better to say.
"That's literally a exact description of him, and you almost said Eddie" Bev giggled.
"You think he's cute? Sounds like you have a crush on him- Ow!" Richie exclaimed, he had gotten a punch in the arm from Bev.
"Richie Tozier and Eddie Kaspbrak sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G" Bev sang.
"Sing it louder Bev, I don't think China heard you" He said.
"But not denying?" She said accusatorially.
"Ugh fine, I'm a shit liar anyway" He admitted, earning a fit of giggles from Bev "oh shut up"
"Okay, okay." She said, starting to quiet down the giggles "Why did you say he's straight earlier? He's obviously gay"
"You're crazy red. He's almost as straight as haystack" Richie said, although almost no one was as straight as Ben.
"First of all, Ben is the most straight person on the planet. Second of all, Eddie is totally gay! Do you not pick up on any obvious clues?" She exclaimed.
"You are like literally going insane." Richie teased.
"I bet if you asked him out, he'd say yes" Bev said.
"I'm not asking him out, never in a million years." Richie told her.
"Why not? He obviously likes you. Just fucking ask him out coward" Beverly said, she was far more observant than Richie.
"We're friends, I don't want to ruin that" Richie explained.
"Well if you won't date the guy of your dreams, we have to find you someone else. Someone who will make you realize you are meant to be with Eddie" Bev said with wide eyes, she had an idea.
"You really don't have to-" Richie started before getting cut off by Bev as she walked to the phone.
"Can't stop me, already dialing" Bev said, ignoring his "Bev, stop" 's as the number picked up "hi! One large cheese pizza please. Number 7, second floor. Also send your cutest delivery boy, I'll pay a extra five dollars. Okay thank you, bye"
"I don't need a cute pizza delivery boy" He said.
"Everyone needs a cute delivery boy" she countered "C'mon. Just flirt a little. It'll be fun"
   "Fine. But only if you pay for the pizza" He said.
   "I was going to anyways" She told him.
  "Where did you order the pizza from? Sal's is good but that place on sixth is horrible" Richie said, he had strong opinions on pizza.
  "I got it from that place on witz avenue, reels or something like that" She told him.
  "Oh that place is amazing! Good choice red" he complimented. "Now c'mon, let me beat your ass in Yahtzee while we wait"

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This chapter was freaking long lol. Any predictions for future parts?