THURSDAY 4th OCTOBER, 1993
3:12 PM — Derry High School car park
"HEY EDDIO," Richie shouted across the main car park, forcing Eddie to stubbornly turn around, trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. "Wanna go to the arcade?"
Despite the fact that Richie matured in looks, and without his geeky glasses may not look like a caricature nerd, it was ingrained; heart and soul. He had spent at least half his summer in Hawkins at the local arcade; thumbs forever stuck in awkward positions, eyes glued to a pixelated screen, and the wafting smell of competitive sweat mixed with raspberry slushies lingered on him the whole time.
Richie strolled casually towards his best friend and relaxed against the bike rack which Eddie stood by.
"So — so! Whaddya' say, Ed–day!"
Eddie frowned and pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, a nervous habit he picked up when trying to decrease his inhaler use.
"It's like you don't even know her," He said worried about his still, overprotective mother. Eddie may have been sixteen, and not the little runt of a boy he was — well, physically yes he was, but mentally he had developed — but his mother still insisted on strict bed times, curfews and completely overbearing Eddie.
"Oh, come on! Mrs K and I are very — " Eddie thrust his hand in front of Richie's face, a signal for him to stop talking.
"I swear," Eddie gulped with overtly exaggerated rolled eyes, "if you make a one more joke about mommy, we will not be friends anymore."
Richie fake gasped, grasping onto the handles of Eddie's bicycle to lean closely into his face, trapping Eddie from being able to remove it from the rack. "You couldn't do that to me Eds," Eddie could feel Richie's peppermint bubblegum slapping his cheeks, "you love me too much!"
It was true, Eddie couldn't think of life without his best friend — his partner in crime, his bad influence, his Richard Tozier.
"I think you mean, I hate you — "
"Is that a yes then?" Richie's lips quirked up into a smirk, his eyebrow cocked in a teasing manner. When it came to Eddie, Richie always knew which buttons to push, and now he was as gleeful as a cat who got the cream.
Eddie groaned in defeat as he tugged his bike out of Richie's and slung one leg over the seat, which only suppressed a devilish grin out of Richie. "You better have change — mommy will know if I use mine."
As if he was a sports pro, Richie used a running head start to get his bike propelling forward, before he leaped onto the moving object. His legs clicked into place, adjusted correctly to fit the pedals, and he threw his head back to call out to Eddie, "Of course! Now bust a move, buster, times a wastin'!"
This left Eddie with no choice but to pedal, and pedal, and pedal his tiring legs in an effort to catch up with Richie.
THURSDAY 4th OCTOBER, 1993
4:23 PM — The Kingdom Arcade
Eddie furiously smashed his controller, left — then right — then up — the left again. His minuscule yellow packman darting around the digitalised screen. For all his persistence, Eddie sucked at pacman; and by sucked, he absolutely sucked.
Richie chuckled at the smaller boy's antics every time he lost a life and would have to start again. It started with a loud, miserable, "No!" Then he'd kick the bottom of the large game, wincing as he caught his biggest toe, and proceed to curse the ghost monsters. It was a repetitive cycle, and yet he still hadn't come very far with the simple game.
Eddie, on the other hand, would not give up. Over the summer, coinciding with Richie's absence, Eddie had spent more time at the arcade. After getting past his fear of the sticky, orange frosty covered controllers he actually quite enjoyed it.
There was a singular name which taunted him every time he lost a life, and it would return to the leader board:
[ 1 ] : RICHSTA
It only made Eddie's competitive spirit rise. That, and the fact that the man himself was giggling at Eddie's every single move.
"This is it!" Eddie mumbled to himself whilst out stretching his arms, cracking his head to the left, then right. "You got this!"
Eddie was actually doing averagely okay. He'd beaten his current high school, something pitiful, but a success nonetheless. Then just when things looked up, a pair of hands covered his on the controllers.
They nudged his in the right direction to collect more points, fingers locked so tight Eddie couldn't even break free. He tensed up in his shoulders before a familiar voice whispered in his ear, black locks falling beside his eye, "it's just me, Eds."
"I don't need your help!" Eddie tried to take back control of his hands, but his strength was inferior to Richie's who mindlessly navigated the way to getting a much higher score than Eddie could've ever got on his own.
"Fuck you, Tozier." Eddie said half heartedly, only able to watch as his hands were moved and he attempted one last try at getting Richie's hands —
off which worked — and then he died.
Richie rested his chin atop of Eddie's shoulder, nesting in quite comfortably. He enjoyed watching Eddie squirm to get out of his grasp, managing to spin around so they faced each other.
"I don't need your help, he says!" Richie wildly threw his hands up in the air, then pointed to the screen multiple times, "Huh! Huh!"
Pixels flood the screen and the leader board appears, in tow with it's catchy music. Eddie whacked his headtoward it, and suddenly, the name that had taunted him for the past half hour was bunked down to second place.
Replaced by:
[ 1 ] : EDDIE
"Yeah. You help me beat yourself, you twat."
Richie cocked his head, raising his eyebrow at Eddie's statement before he gazed at the screen. "Oh fuck."
It gave Eddie something to smirk at; he beat the trash talking, video gamer at his own game — with his own help!
Richie muttered to himself, "I'll beat it next time."
"Sure you will, Rich. But remember, it was obviously me who did all the hard work!"
"Of course, Eddie Spaghetti," Richie flicked the top of his best friends head before he pulled the shorter boy onto a nearby set of curvy, blue plastic seats.
Everything smelt of sugar, sweat, and salivating confidence. Eddie's legs shifted uncomfortably as he felt two out of the three on his seat. "How many times do I have to tell you, my name is Eddie, Richie."
"Enough times for me to lose count!"
"Why are we even friends?"
Richie leant across the table, raven hair partially clouding his view as he spoke quickly to Eddie, "because — we'd have no one else."
Half truths. Eddie would have no one else, Richie on the other hand with his shocking sprout of puberty could easily land a few friends, way cooler than Eddie Kaspbrak.
But he didn't, and you could say that's what made Richie Tozier, Richie; his best friend Eddie.
"Oh shut up and buy me a soda."
a/n:
Hello! Thank you guys for all the support so far, it's been crazy considering how little is in the book so far. I hope you guys all stick it out, 'cause reddie is lit.
UNEDITED
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