now or never [reddie au]

25

Eddie hadn't talked to Richie about their relationship status since the kiss. Neither of the boys had asked the other to officially be their boyfriend, but Richie seemed to be showing more affection towards Eddie as if they were a couple. The closest either of them had gotten was when Richie drunkenly asked Eddie to prom.

Eddie decides to facetime Beverly and ask her about it. However, she was hanging out with Ben and Eddie didn't want to disturb them, so the call didn't last long. He then decides to facetime Mike.

"What's up, Eddie?," Mike smiles at Eddie through his phone screen.

"Hey, Mike.," Eddie says, "I'm just thinking about something."

"What is it?"

"You know how we're going to college soon?"

"Yeah.," Mike says with a smile.

"Well, I'm a little nervous about not getting to see everyone else when we're gone."

"And by 'everyone else,' you mean Richie?"

"Maybe..."

"You don't have to worry about it right now."

"I know. It's just hard not to."

"Wanna hang out? Maybe you can get your mind off of it for a little while."

Eddie thinks about it. His mom wouldn't come into his room any time soon. He could sneak out and not get in trouble as long as he got back before 6 a.m. "Sure.," Eddie shrugs, "That would be fun."

"We could go to the clubhouse!," Mike suggests.

"Okay! I'll meet you there.," Eddie tells Mike.

"Okay, see you later!," Mike says before hanging up.

Eddie puts his shoes on and walks over to his closet. He grabs the first hoodie that he sees and throws it on. It's a black hoodie and Eddie doesn't even remember when or where he got it. He then turns off the light in his room and grabs his phone before climbing out of his bedroom window.

Eddie was going to walk all the way to the clubhouse, but he remembers that he still had his bike somewhere in his backyard. He finds it and gets on it, riding to the location of the clubhouse.

He and Mike get there around the same time. They hide their bikes behind a tree before entering the clubhouse. The losers still hadn't fixed the hammock since Richie broke it, so there wasn't anywhere else to sit besides some bean bag chairs on the floor. While Eddie sits down, Mike looks around for something to do. He finds a few board games and they decide to play Jenga.

A few rounds in, they hear the clubhouse door open. Eddie, who had carefully been trying to pull a Jenga block, jumps and knocks the blocks down. "I win!," Mike jokes.

"O-Oh, I didn't know y-y-you guys were h-here.," Bill sniffles, "S-Sorry." Bill begins to leave, but Eddie interrupts him, "Wait, Bill! You can hang out with us."

"O-Okay.," Bill closes the clubhouse door and sits down on the floor next to Eddie. It wasn't until Bill sits down that Mike sees the bruise on Bill's face. "Are you okay?," Mike asks Bill.

Bill shrugs, more tears ready to burst out at any moment. Bill had dropped Georgie off at their house after their outing with Richie and Stanley. After driving around for a while, he had decided to come to the clubhouse.

"What happened?," Eddie asks, wanting to help Bill. Bill hadn't wanted to talk to anyone about what had been happening at home. At this point, though, he just couldn't keep it in anymore.

"M-My parents won't stop fighting b-because my dad f-f-fucking hates me a-and I have to stay home with him for t-ten days.," Bill says, his voice shaking.

"Have you talked to anyone else about this?," Mike asks.

"N-Not really.," Bill answers.

Eddie pulls his phone out of his hoodie pocket, "Bill, do you mind if I call Richie? He might know what to do."

"Go ahead.," Bill tells him, "I d-don't care."

"Thanks.," Eddie says to Bill before going to facetime Richie.

"Wait, why do you have to stay home for ten days?," Mike asks, not knowing about the fight.

"I beat the shit out of B-B-Bowers.," Bill tells Mike. "Nice!," Mike high fives Bill, seeing the bruise on his arm, "Is that what those bruises are from?"

Mike had unknowingly reminded Bill of the bruise that his dad had given him, which made Bill begin sobbing again."Oh, God, I'm sorry, Bill.," Mike pulls Bill into a hug, gently rubbing his back.

"Hey, Eds.," Richie finally answers, looking at Eddie through the camera. He hears Bill crying and asks, "Is everything okay? Who is that? Where are you?"

"Me and Mike are at the clubhouse with Bill.," Eddie answers. Meanwhile, Mike is still attempting to comfort Bill.

Stan, who had been sitting on the couch next to Richie, hears this and looks at Eddie through Richie's phone screen, "Is Bill okay?," Stan asks, worried.

"Not really.," Eddie tells Stan.

"Bill, I'm sorry.," Mike tells him, "I didn't know that would make you upset."

"I-It's okay.," Bill tells him, "You weren't the one that did it."

"Did what, Bill?," Eddie asks. Bill doesn't answer. Stan knew what Bill was talking about and his heart broke for Bill. He knew how it felt to not have a supportive dad, but at least he didn't have to live with his dad anymore. He couldn't imagine what Bill was going through.

"I can call my grandfather and ask him if you can stay with us while you won't be in school.," Mike suggests to Bill, "I'll just have to say your parents are out of town or something. If I tell him you got in trouble, he'd probably say no."

"O-Okay.," Bill nods. Mike then gets up and calls his grandfather from outside of the clubhouse so it's quieter.

"If Mike's grandpa says no, maybe you can come stay with me and Stan the man.," Richie tells Bill.

"I would let you stay with me, but you know how my mom is.," Eddie says.

"Th-Thanks, guys.," Bill says to his friends.

Mike comes back into the clubhouse and tells Bill, "He said yes! I think we need to head over there soon, though. It's getting late."

"Eddie, d-do you want me to drive you home?," Bill asks.

"Nah, I'm good.," Eddie answers, "Thanks, though." Bill softly smiles at Eddie before he and Mike leave. Eddie stays on facetime with Richie.

"Man, I feel bad. I don't why he didn't say anything sooner.," Richie says. "Yeah.," Stan agrees, "I've asked him if he wanted to talk about it and he said he didn't. I don't blame him to be honest."

They talk on facetime until about 1 a.m., when Eddie finally decides to go home. However, Richie still stays on the phone with him to make sure he gets home safe. Eddie gets on his bike and begins to leave, still talking to Richie.

He gets about three quarters of the way home when he notices headlights from a car behind him. He hadn't thought anything of it at first, but every turn Eddie took, the car followed him. "Um, Richie, I think someone's following me.," Eddie tells him.

"Come to my house.," Richie tells him, "If they follow you to your house and try to hurt you, your mom would get mad and you'd be screwed. I' can wait outside to make sure nothing bad happens and I can drive you home."

"Okay.," Eddie tells him. He rides his bike faster as he starts to panic over the car following him, which makes him begin to lose his breath. However, he still manages to make it to Richie's house without passing out.

Richie had been sitting outside on his porch as he said he would. His dad, who had gotten up earlier to get a snack, overheard the situation and joined Richie outside to make sure everyone was okay. They see Eddie pull his bike into the driveway with a blue car following him. Richie immediately recognizes the car.