The shrill ring of the bell was all Eddie needed to jump up and away from Richie. Having to endure a painfully long 15 minutes, it was safe to say that he was more than glad that first period had come to an end. He shoved his book and pencil case in his backpack, quickly zipping it up in a hurry to get out of the classroom and dodged the large cluster of students that had suddenly formed, almost blocking up the whole door.
As soon as he stepped out into the corridors, a small blast of heat hit him, the warmth radiating off of the hundreds of sweaty bodies crammed into a narrow hallway, all gossiping and catching up between classes, as if they wouldn't all be sitting with the same people at lunch.
Who the fuck designed this place, was something that ran through his mind everyday as he edged speedily down the corridor jam packed with people, keeping as close as he could to the rows upon rows of blue lockers lining the walls, knowing that if he kept close to them there was only a 5% chance he would end up face down on the floor, and although he could get his face squished into the lockers with a single wrong move or shove of a backpack, it was worth the risk.
A sacrifice that needed to be made if he wanted to get out- because it was extremely unsanitary, Eddie could have gagged at the smells that clogged up the hallway, but as he didn't want to throw up all over the 15 people surrounding him, so he sucked it up and shuffled down hastily.
One left, two rights and finally, he had finally made it out of the swamp of students, relishing the way that he could breathe freely without inhaling the fumes of sweat.
He adjusted his bag on his shoulders, walking into an empty art classroom, where their next period would be.
Do they ever clean this shit? he thought as he examined the tops of all the desks, that were either splattered with blotches of brown paint, had random bits of wood chipped off, or sported dried lumps of some sort of artsy thing that had hardened on the surface. He grimaced as he tried to scrape some of it away with his fingers, the lump not budging, then groaning in annoyance as some of the substance wedged itself in the whites of his nails. Too busy trying to clean his table, he didn't notice anyone walk in behind him, only just glancing up at the clicking of heeled boots and a soft but stern voice
"Excuse me? didn't you see the sign? I instructed my class to wait outside the classroom so as not to fiddle with anything in here."
The woman, who eddie recognized as the new art teacher, was a pretty, young lady, not more than 22, called Miss Harrington, who wore a flowy maroon dress, her hair in a loose bun at the back of her head, and small heeled boots, and was waiting for Eddie's response with her hands resting on her hips.
Eddie blinked a couple of times, not having seen a sign of any kind and feeling a bit confused, stuttered, "S-sorry, I uh...I didn't know."
The teacher let out a sigh, walking over to the door and said, "That's alright, just please pay attention next time," and then opening it, poked her head out, calling to the rest of the class, "Come on in please, and line up at the back of the classroom," Eddie stood awkwardly, fiddling around with the zip of his fanny pack, as all the students trooped in, casting him a weird glance or two and slowly filled up the back of the class, making sure to stand away from Eddie. All except one.
"Jesus Eds, blind as a fuckin bat aren't you today?" he heard someone whisper from behind him, in his ear, he could practically hear the smirk in the voice.
Fuck my life.
"Don't call me that. And are you planning on following me around everywhere?" Eddie whispered back harshly whipping around to face Richie, again.
"It's not my fault we have all our classes together," shrugged the other boy nonchalantly, but a small grin forming on his face, as he watched the shorter one's eyebrows furrow in annoyance, getting all worked up, at knowing that Richie would sit there bothering him yet again.
"So then how come I've never-" Eddie started, irritated, when he was cut off with a nudge from Richie, who had noticed how quiet everyone had gone all of a sudden, and then spotted the art teachers unamused look, so, not wanting to piss her off, tried to shut Eddie up in the subtlest way possible. Tried being the key word.
Richie had underestimated the power of his bony elbow, and Eddie had stumbled forward unexpectedly, quickly reaching out for the side of the table and rubbing the place where Richie had poked him. He scowled, and not catching onto Richie's warning eyes, sharply said, "What the fuck was that for you absolute mor-?"
"Mr. kaspbrak. that is enough for now, you can continue..." she paused, eyeing the two suspiciously, "...Whatever it is you two were doing there in your own time, thank you. Now if you don't mind, I've got some things to say to the whole class"
"Sorry miss," Eddie said quietly, as he shuffled back to where he was standing before, making sure to shoot Richie a glare, and then turning back to focus on the teacher.
"Right, so as I was saying, I will be assigning you seats, in an orderly fashion of-"
Even before she could come to the end of her sentence, loud groans rang out across the classroom, and protests of "This isn't fair miss" and "We aren't fucking second graders", filled the air, everyone turning to their friends to complain. However, Eddie's voice not among the rest of the class', because his hopes had been peaked at the thought of being able to get away from Richie and watching in glee as the boy annoyed someone else.
Eddie inwardly sighed at how pathetic his classmates were, seeing the people around him midway through their rant, they really are a bunch of overreacting drama queens, it's not like they were glued to their chairs for the rest of their lives, or had to marry whoever they sat next to.
"Class, PAY ATTENTION," the art teacher snapped with a glare, the voices halting suddenly, surprised at the sudden outburst.
"This term's coursework is all about trying something new," she explained with a calmer voice, " and I want you to get away from the people you are normally surrounded by and make some new friends, share new perspectives, and learn different things about the people in your class. I can guarantee that you've all known each other for years but have hardly spoken unless it was needed."
It took a second to take in that she was right, and as heads turned towards those next to them, they realized that they barely knew the kids they had basically grown up with, and never seeing the need to talk to them before, it didn't exactly appeal to them now either.
The class wasn't all that enthusiastic about this, and Ms wheeler could clearly see it in their eyes, but she was determined to make this work and get some brilliant pieces of artwork produced, even if no one actually wanted to try.
"So, when I call your name, you take the seat that I point to, and no complaining," she added sternly, and began to call people over.
"Mr bowers, over here. Mr Hanscom take a seat next to him. Ms Ripsom, over there next to Mr Hanlon, Mr Byers two seats from Ms Hopper if you would, aaaand Mr Denborough hmmm, seems as though Mr Uris isn't present today, but no worries, he'll sit beside you next week, Mr Tozier is it? yes, so you can sit on that other desk, yes the one near Ms Bowie. And, who's next? Mr Kaspbrak."
Ms Harrington stopped at Eddies name, biting her lip in thought and her eyes scanning the class wondering who to put him next to, who will he work well with, she thought, not spotting anyone at first until her eyes landed on Richie Tozier.
She watched the boy edge uneasily away from Greta bowie, who was trying to talk to him. She was surprised when Richie spun his head around to face Eddie, who was still standing at the back of the class waiting to be placed, with annoyed look on his small face, and mouthed something that could only have been along the lines of "fucking your mom".
Normally, this behaviour would have disgusted Ms Harrington, but a small smile still pricked at her mouth, when she saw eddies grossed out reaction, subtly flipping Richie off and miming back a 'fuck you', and the way the taller one laughed afterwards, looking at the others scrunched up expression.
She gazed for a moment or two. She didn't know how to explain it, but she knew that these two had some sort of chemistry, a balance of perspective, not too evident now, but she was sure they had a connection, call it intuition if you will. They would complement each other well, it was just a gut feeling and maybe, just maybe, they would go even beyond the artwork.
"Mr kaspbrak," she spoke up, "I would like you to sit next to Mr Tozier over here"
Anyone could tell that Eddie would much rather lick the dirty floor than have to sit with Richie again, as his eyes widened and he made the move to ask Ms Harrington to reconsider, "All seating arrangements are final," she said pointedly, then carried on placing the rest of the class in different desks. Any ounce of Eddie's previous joy drained away instantly, and his shoulders slouched, and he dragged his feet towards his new desk, for the rest of the year. all his art classes, and probably math too, would be spent sitting next to Richie.
"Wow Eds, guessed you're stoked to see me"
"I'm practically jumping for joy," Eddie muttered, not looking up, and taking out a sketchbook, pencil and rubber.
"Ok class, if you could all get settled down, I can tell you what you are going to be doing today and leave you to it."
There was a clatter of books, pens, pencils, rulers and rubbers, landing on the surfaces of the desks, as the kids lazily chucked them out of their bags, and the scraping of chairs being tucked in before the teacher started up again.
"Today I thought it would be fun to have a more relaxed exercise, so I would like you to get to know your partner better, since you will be sitting next to them for the rest of the year, ask them some questions about themselves, understand them better, what are their likes and dislikes? Then draw something that you like, something that makes each of you happy. Once you are finished, you can tell each other why you chose this thing and how its special to you. You can start.... Now," she said with a smile and wave of her hand.
And just like that, the room was filled with ums and ah's, awkward conversation starters, and nervous laughing.
Richie turned to Eddie with a smile "Well Eds, we don't have to go through all that because we..." He slung his arm over Eddie's shoulder, "Are practically best friends,"
"Right," Eddie said, with a hint of uneasiness in his voice, as he slid out of Richie's hold, scooting his chair to the side a bit.
Richie, who wasn't very surprised by this, instead shook his head slightly, grabbing his bag and proceeded to take out a single pencil and sheaf of paper, then swivelled back around to face the other boy.
"We should get to know each other more" he stated
"Considering you're pretty much a stalker, I'd say you know me plenty", Eddie replied in a matter of fact tone, at which Richie let out a chuckle
"Crikey Eds, I didn't know you actually had a sense of humour, seem like such a grumpy little kid to me"
"I told you not to call me that. And Kid? Grumpy? I am not grumpy." he said with a frown, crossing his arms at Richie
The taller boy raised an eyebrow, looking over Eddie's stance as if to say 'ya sure about that pal?'
Eddie loosened up, the frown slipping off his face being replaced by a mildly annoyed look, and fiddling with the zip of his fanny pack, murmured
"I mean.... uh.... shut up."
Richie laughed again,
"Ok since I already know you so well, you can ask me some questions"
"And what makes you think I want to know you?
"I'm guessing you don't want to fail the assignment or anything soooooo" Richie teased, dragging out the 'o'
The smaller boy sighed, he really couldn't ever win against Richie.
"Fine. What's your favourite subject?
"Art."
"Wait really?"
"Yeah, why d'you think I'm here"
Eddie blinked, clearly surprised that Richie was actually there to learn. To learn. Not just stare at some girl. Maybe he'd made a mistake in judging Richie so fast, maybe just maybe-
"I'm just messing with ya Eds," Richie grinned, "We all know my purpose in life is to follow you around, and stalk hot girls, it's kind of the main thing I do, aside from fucking your mom of course, that's usually my top priority."
"Of course. Should've known." replied Eddie flatly, not having enough energy to roll his eyes for the millionth time, he'd had enough of the daily mom jokes for now and wanted to. finish getting to know Richie so that he could stop talking to him and just focus on the work.
"Favourite song?"
"Africa by toto, but uh anything by Queen as well"
Eddie nodded, "I haven't heard of them,"
"What?! how can you have not heard of queen, Freddie mercury is incredible and-"
"Favourite movie?" Eddie interrupted before Richie could go on a 10 hour long speech about whoever Freddie Mercury was.
"After hours," the other replied instantly
"I thought you'd be more of a horror person,"
Richie's face twisted at that, and he shook his head vigorously
"I fuckin hate horror. It's the worst. What sort of bat shit psycho willingly watches another bat shit psycho gorge someone's eyes out? Fucking disgusting...... Anyways, what's your favourite movie?"
Eddie thought for a minute, what was his favourite movie- he suddenly really liked horror, "The Shining" he said with a small grin, "Anything by Stephen King actually,"
There was a pause in which Richie just stared at Eddie disbelievingly
"The Shining? Seriously? I've seen that and it had me fucked up. Guess I didn't know you as well as I thought I did," he mumbled the last part, looking down at the floor, probably recollecting the lovely memories of the psychotic main character "The Shining?" he repeated, looking back up, not believing a word that had come out of eddies mouth
"Yes Richard. The Shining, moving on."
"Right so....... favourite food?"
"I'd have to say... pizza"
"Pizza that's so basic," Richie scoffed
"Oh yeah? And what about you," Eddie shot back, slightly offended, "What's so exquisite that pleases your taste buds,"
"Oh uh..." Richie hadn't actually thought about his own, answer and his cheeks reddened a bit as he murmured, "Um.....uh...spaghetti"
"Spaghetti, that's so basic," Eddie mocked
Richie rolled his eyes.
"Pizza can make you fat,"
"Anything can make you fat if you eat enough of it"
"Yeah well at least isn't just a bit of bread with cheese on it,"
"Oh shut up, pizza is great, you can't have fruit and vegetables in spaghetti now can you?"
"That's the point genius- pineapple on pizza was a fuckin mistake,"
"You take that back."
"Make me"
"Are you always this annoying Tozier?"
"Only for you Kaspbrak"
After a few moments of silence where they had stared each other down, Eddie broke eye contact and stated
"That's it. I'm done, I will not associate myself with someone who thinks spaghetti is better than pizza"
"Your loss, there are many ways in which spaghetti will forever be superior. "
And with that, they lapsed back into silence, not an uncomfortable one, but the one where both parties telepathically agree not to say anything more, because they know it will spiral into some sort of pointless argument or another.
So, for at least 10 minutes, all that could be heard from the two boys was the scratching of pencils and pens on paper, while they got on with the task set. It had taken Eddie a while to figure out what to draw, something that made him happy. He'd gone through all the materialistic things pretty quickly, and not being able to decide between a radio or a tv, settled on a setting instead.
He wasn't particularly great at art, he'd gone to fetch some water pots and colours, having started the picture off by trying to paint the sky, but when that didn't work, he switched back to his coloured pencils. they were a little hard to work with, but certainly better than the paints, and after a few minutes he was getting the hang of it. he looked down proudly at the picture, not Leonardo Da Vinci style, but still he thought, pretty good.
He glanced over at Richie and was surprised and glad to see him so focused. The boy was hunched over his book, scribbling away on his page, and straightening his back every few minutes, fixating his eyes on the writing, brows furrowing as if considering what to do next, then leaning back down to continue. Maybe he isn't as much as a fucknut as I thought, Eddie gave a small smile at how hard Richie was working
- that was until he leaned over and spotted a pair of spectacularly drawn boobs resting in the middle of the page.
"What the fuck Richard!?" he exclaimed, startling Richie, who jerked away, instantly flipping his page upside down and revealing a different drawing of a tall boy with curly hair, a shorter person beside him, and a scruffy dog. Richie smiled sheepishly as he turned the page back over and watched as Eddies face morphed into one of a mixture of disgust and awe at how inappropriate the drawing was but also at its scary accuracy.
An amused smile formed on Richie's face as he watched Eddie splutter and try to form a complete sentence and eventually he chocked out
"You fucking dickhead."
"I prefer the term moron, you use dickhead too much"
Eddie stayed quiet, still grimacing at the drawing, and shifted his chair a few centimeters away from Richie, who was grinning.
"Awe c'mon Eds don't be like that, besides" he paused, his eyes flickering from the drawing and then to eddie, and his smirk growing wider still, "They look just like your moms"
It took everything in Eddie's will power to not get up and smack Richie upside the head, and he breathed in deeply, closing his yes and saying,
"You. Are. The single. Most. Annoying. Person I have ever had the misfortune to meet."
"Now I know that's not true, we only met what? 2 hours ago? I will have you know that you are pretty lucky to have met me, as I said before, I am hilarious!"
Still getting no response from Eddie, Richie said with his horrible British voice, "Don't you like them Eduardo? I think they do share a striking resemblance" and with that, he waved the paper in Eddies face, who gave a screech, moving his chair back so fast that he rammed into the wall, resulting in a bump on his head.
This was the last straw for Richie, who let out a pig like snort, and laughed at Eddie who sat there glaring at him, and rubbing the back of his head, "It's not that funny you moron,"
"Yes," Richie wheezed slightly, his hand flopping to the sides as he laughed "Yes it is, can your holy virgin eyes not bear to see this? Is that what it is? Would you like me to get you a bible?"
"You are so fucking annoying," the small boy said under his breath, scowling still.
Richie calmed down a bit, propping his elbows up on the table and smiling as he watched Eddie drag his chair back to its original position, and send a dirty glare at the offensive drawing, making Richie snicker. Eddies glare snapped over to the boy, who put his chin in his palms, and smiled right back.
"If I have a crack in my skull, I'm blaming you." Eddie stated, extremely irritated.
Richie gave no reaction to that, the shit faced grin still planted firmly on his lips, as his eyes drifted over the angry but adorable boy sitting in front of him. It was then that he spotted Eddie's picture and intrigued to find out what made the grumpy little man happy, reached over to pull it towards him.
Eddie made a weak attempt to stop him, but Richie ignored this, turning his body away from the small boy and holding the paper closer to himself, his eyes scanning over every inch and detail of the picture, the awe seeping in as his fingertips brushed the page.
A silver crescent moon hung high up in a deep purple sky, that was stretched out across the page, with the occasional tinge of blue and black filling in the gaps, littered with tiny white stars, made by the flicking of a paintbrush. It was a mix between pencil and paint, but so perfectly done that the sky looked almost like a velvety blanket. Beneath it, there was what looked like... a beach? No, it was some sort of cliff.....the quarry, of course, the dull, yellow ochre ground lined with the small shrubs and dwarfish trees Richie had so often seen there when he had cycled down to smoke a cigarette or two. On top of the sandy floor there sat a small figure, cuddling his knees tucked into his chest, the silhouette of a short boy looking up into the stars, gazing into the millions of twinkling orbs above him. He looked so calm, peaceful. The atmosphere was serene.
...
The boy simply stared at the paper in his hands. It was clear that Eddie didn't have much experience with the materials he was using, but to Richie, it didn't seem to matter, in fact, he didn't even notice, because to him, the picture was beautiful.
"Wow Eds....just.... wow"
Eddie, who hadn't expected a compliment, looked at Richie, surprised, "Do you like it?"
"Like it? God, it's amazing!"
Eddie smiled. A real smile, that lit up his tiny face, the small chubby cheeks bunching up around his eyes, which were almost like little crescent moons themselves, bright with happiness under his arched eyebrows. It made Richie grin too, teeth and all, then he asked, "What does it mean?"
"I uh... Well I guess it's just somewhere I've always wanted to go, one day in the future. It just looks really...uh.... really..." his eyes darted from between his picture and Richie as he struggled to find the words.
"It's okay Eds, I get it, I'm sure someone will take you there," he sighed a bit, eyes fixated on the small boy on top of the cliff, "Someone special"
"Thanks Richie,"
"No problem Eds"
...
A/N
I haven't read through this either but oh well, I hope it makes sense or smth, I'm a bit busy with some artwork I'm working on at the moment so yeah.
Also please tell me what you think about this chapter in the comments, it makes me happy hearing from... the 4 of you
...
jkjk I love that y'all have actually taken the time to read this story so thanksss lyyyyy <333
One more thing, I think I'm only gonna do the next update once I've finished the next chapter, but if it's taking too long I'll definitely upload, give me some updating schedule ideas please
Word count: 3964
*I dont think anyone actually reads these author's notes so uh just remember to vote and comment what you think abt the chapter thankssss*