Thursday. July 9, 1987
Eddie watched his friend Mike who could barely hold himself, let alone speak to tell Eddie what had happened. Mike had been nearly hyperventilating on the grass when Eddie had passed in search of Richie. Richie. He still had to find the obnoxious boy to tell him how he felt. If only Mike would calm down and talk to him. "Mike, please calm down. Tell me what happened," Eddie tried again.
"The clown," Mike finally spoke, his voice shaking. "I was walking down to the hiking trail, you know near the old cabin that the counselors used to store stuff in?" Eddie nodded, wishing for Mike to continue.
"He told me we're all gonna die," Mike's eyes welled up with tears at this point and Eddie frowned, thinking he wasn't hearing correctly. "He chased me and said, the kid is," Mike trailed off. Eddie was getting annoyed at this point. He shook Mike and demanded more information.
"WHAT IS IT?" Eddie shouted in his face as the terrified boy recalled the events.
"Dead! He said, Billy's brother is dead." Mike's head hung low. Eddie took a step back in disbelief, then two. "How could you say that?" Eddie questioned.
"Eddie, you think I'd make this up? That clown is going to kill us like he killed Georgie," Mike was speaking calmly now as tears rolled down his face.
"Eddie?" Richie's melodic voice rang in his ears from behind the pair. Eddie sprung around and there was Richie with a worried look on his face. Eddie's heart skipped a beat. Was Richie worried about him? Richie wiped a bead of sweat from his upper lip, the summer sun being unkind to his porcelain skin. Eddie licked his lips, clearly forgetting about the traumatized Mike who was by his side.
"What's going on? Mike, are you crying?" Richie's usual clown attitude was nowhere to be found and for once he seemed genuinely concerned about others. Richie approached the two, pushing his glasses up his face like one of those cliche dorky characters in a movie. He placed a hand on Mike's back and gave it a pat. Eddie was staring in awe at how caring his fake boyfriend could be. If circumstances weren't deadly, he'd want Richie to touch him that way too. Eddie explained how he'd found mike and told Richie what Pennywise had said to the poor boy when he was alone. What Eddie didn't understand was, why hadn't the clown just killed Mike then and there? Why hadn't the clown killed any of them but Georgie? Something didn't add up.
"So, we're all going to fucking die?" Richie shrugged, clearly getting his humor back. Eddie rolled his eyes at the boy's insincerity, but Mike wasn't crying anymore.
"We need to warn the others," Mike said, suddenly sounding braver than he did a moment before.
"No," Richie spoke bitterly, "no, fuck that. We're gonna kill him first. Y-Yeah, there's more of us than there is of him. We can take him if we all work together." Eddie knew these were serious matters, but hearing Richie talk this way on top of his newfound feelings made Eddie want to kiss him on the spot. He didn't kiss him, however. The three walked to Bill and Stanley's cabin to make the plan.
As they approached, Billy Butcher was leaving through the front door with a hard look on his face. Inside, were strained voices and a sort of wailing. Eddie ran in first. Bill was on the floor crying and shouting angrily as Stan tried to wrap his lanky arms around him. Eddie ran over to Bill to hold him.
"I'm sorry, Bill," Eddie spoke softly, "I'm so sorry."
Bill spent the next four hours in his cabin, crying, sitting, breathing. But never speaking. The gang filtered in and out of the cabin throughout the day. Finally, they all ended up back in Bill's cabin sitting in solemn silence. Richie was hung up on a plan to kill the monster that came into their lives that summer. He tried sharing his plan with the rest of his friends all day, though with news of camp shutting down with a murder and all, they were unwilling to listen.
"Guys, we can murder that son of a bitch clown," Richie insisted. "Give me two minutes alone with him and," Richie kissed both his fists, "the boys."
"Richie, for fuck's sake," Stan surprised them all, "Someone is dead. Do you understand that?Bill's brother is dead!"
Bill burst back into tears, causing Stan to curse and hug his boyfriend once again. "Stan's right," Elle sighed, "Camp is closing day after tomorrow. Even if we had the chance to stay and fight, there's no way we could even kill that thing." Elle sounded as if she believed her own words. Bev was right by her side, giving her small hand a squeeze of reassurance in the hard times they were in.
"What if we found it, somehow, all of us," Will shocked the group with his input. "If we're all together, maybe he'll show. Like when there's tons of blood in the water and a shark comes. We're the blood." Will's words started with hope and ended trailing off with as much confidence as a small schoolboy. Richie snickered at him just out of habit. He hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Eddie about him kissing Will yet but the thought of it made Richie's blood boil. He agreed, sure. But Eddie was his. His fake boyfriend, that is. Whatever.
"We're the blood," Bev repeated. She was nodding like she knew something they all didn't. The group stared at her in anticipation.
"Please don't start bleeding on him," Richie remarked, referring to her lady troubles.
"You're sick, Tozier." Stanley spoke.
"Shut it, Richie," Bev rolled her eyes, "I have an idea."
----
3 hours later
It was well after lights out and the camp was quiet when the losers met back up, this time in Eddie and Richie's cabin. Mike and Ben were taping up old oars they snagged from a supply closet, to use as weapons. Bill was sitting motionlessly on the wooden floor, Stanley tracing circles into his back for comfort. Will was whispering to Elle about another nosebleed she'd had, and Beverly was emptying the smokes in her pocket one by one. Richie stood near the door, watching the windows to ensure all camp counselors were in their beds for the night. Eddie approached the boy with bated breath. If they were truly all going to be murdered by a clown that night, there was something Eddie had to get off his hairless chest.
"Richie, can I talk to you before we go?" Eddie questioned, his voice was small and he almost wished Richie would decline so he wouldn't have to talk.
"What's up, chicken butt?" Richie responded as predictably as he could. Eddie felt sweat begin to build on his palms and he gulped slowly.
"In private," Eddie nodded his head towards the bathroom. It was the only place the two could be alone in the cabin without raising any suspicion. Richie smirked, kicking his foot off the wall and leading the way. Eddie followed, avoiding everyone's gaze as he shut the door behind him.
"Seriously, is now the time to fool around guys?" Stanley retorted. He was ignored.
"So, we're back." Richie's voice trailed off as his eyes scanned the bathroom that they'd shared kisses in once before. It was only a few days before, Richie was making Eddie's skin feel like it was melting off. The reminder of it brought a hard-to-swallow lump in Eddie's throat.
"That was a good night." Richie smiled to himself, oblivious to what it was doing to the smaller boy.
"Rich-Richie," Eddie barely whispered, he'd imagined this going differently but now flashbacks were flooding his mind of Richie's lips, his skin, his touch. "I kissed Will." Eddie blurted out, which to be fair wasn't exactly news to Richie as it was his idea.
"So? Should I reserve a seat at the wedding now?" Richie's tone turned sour but there was something in it that Eddie couldn't quite figure out.
"I didn't," Eddie hoped his words wouldn't change anything, He hoped it wouldn't run what they had. What they were pretending to have. "I didn't like it, you know, the way I liked kissing you."
Eddie gulped, shuffling his feet as Richie stared at him expressionlessly. The taller boy was leaning against the sink, staring silently. Eddie feared the worst. He should've kept his stupid gay mouth shut. The same stupid gay mouth that Richie was watching with his stupid brown eyes.
Richie took two steps forward, his legs making the distance short with how tall he was already. Eddie felt his stomach jump, was this really happening? Richie was watching him intensely as he got close, leaving only an inch of space between them. Richie reached a hand up to Eddie's face, hesitating. It was in that moment; Eddie could finally hear the shakiness in Richie's voice and notice the trembling of Richie's hand.
"Are you, like, scared?" Eddie was in disbelief.
"Shut up, Edward." Richie closed his eyes, exasperatedly. He brushed a hair away from Eddie's face and took a shallow breath in, clearly trying to gain composure. "It's about time you wanted me."
Richie grabbed Eddie's face in both hands, raising it slightly so that they were face to face. Eddie wanted to say something snarky and obnoxious back, but he was too enamored by Richie's gaze and the approaching heat of the boy's breath on his lips.
"Just kiss me, please," Eddie whined, not caring that Richie would definitely use that to tease him later. Richie smiled, letting their lips meet. Eddie moved slowly, hoping to savor every second of his kiss with the boy he now had feelings for. Richie, however, was moving fast. His hands were gripping onto Eddie's shirt in a ferocious manner. Eddie was trying not to seem alarmed, but Richie had yet to act like this. He deepened their kiss, licking into Eddie's mouth without warning. The smaller boy wanted to shriek but he feared what their friends would think. Eddie timidly licked back with his tongue and Richie let out a whimper. It was raspy like he pulled it from the depths of his throat, but the sound made Eddie excited. He felt himself being pulled in closer by Richie's whose hands were now roaming his waist and lowering down to his-
"Wait," Eddie gasped, pulling away. They were minutes from exploring the Derry woods in the middle of the night to kill a murderous clown and Richie was attempting to round third base.
"I'm sorry," Richie panicked. Eyes suddenly open, hands up, weakness and shame in his gaze. "I'm sorry I should've asked."
Eddie was dumbfounded. Asked for what? Eddie didn't understand what Richie was trying to do, and the idea scared him but there was a part of him that wished his hand to go back.
"I got carried away," Richie looked guilty, genuinely sick. Eddie feared he'd never get a chance again if Richie looked this disgusted with himself. He didn't understand it was Richie's actions not Eddie's shortcomings that caused this.
"It's okay, you just surprised me," Eddie thought for a moment. Richie rose his head to meet his gaze. Eddie's heart warmed at the sight. Richie was like a puppy who just got caught playing in the trash.
"I don't want you to think I'm some horny ass hole." Richie stammered. Eddie reached for his hand.
"Richie, don't worry," Eddie meant it. "I already know you are." Eddie laughed, Richie rolled his eyes behind his glasses.
"C'mon, you tried to touch my dick," Eddie reasoned causing Richie to blush.
"It won't be the last time," Richie joked halfheartedly and Eddie faked a gasp. Their new situation was exciting, but Eddie was still scared of what it all meant.
"Does this mean you'll date me for real?" Eddie stared longingly into Richie's eyes, hoping for a yes, definitely, anything for you Eddie.
"Ed," Richie muttered, shortly interrupted by a rapid knock on the door. Both boys groaned.
"Hurry it up, horndogs, we have a clown to kill," Beverly shouted from the other end.
"We should go," Richie said. Without another word, he was out of the door and had joined the rest of them. Eddie ignored the pang in his heart as he followed behind.
lol it's been literally 2 years so here's 2 thousand words that took me 2 hours to write
sorry but ik nobody reads this anymore anyway so consider it a blessing? rip thank u for being here. enjoy
published: sep 07, 2022