STAN URIS flipped the key he had just used to unlock Richie Tozier's door back under the mat, swinging open the door.
He was instantly greeted with the smell of beer, and he cringed, noticing shards of glass lying strewn on the floor by the front door and crushed beer cans everywhere.
"Richie?" He asked hesitantly, and wasn't surprised when there was no answer.
Richie was only ever silent when he didn't want to be found.
And considering he hadn't set foot into the school building for the entire past week- in fact, none of the Losers had heard or seen him since the day he had planned to meet Ash at lunch- he was pretty sure Richie was hiding from everyone and everything.
Stan resigned himself to going upstairs to Richie's bedroom, turning the knob, which was unlocked.
He stepped into the room, and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. The room was almost pitch black, faint sunlight streaming through Richie's blinds on his window, and as he could make out the rest of the room, he saw a lump lying under a huge pile of blankets on top of the bed.
Stan cautiously walked over to it, and said softly, "Richie!"
The lump stirred, and then was still, and Stan knew he was awake. "Richie, where the fuck have you been? What's going on?"
Richie didn't answer, and Stan, growing frustrated, walked over to Richie's blinds and opened them.
Sunlight poured into the room, and he could see strands of Richie's curly dark hair on top of his pillow, the rest of his head completely covered with blankets.
"Richie!" Stan said again, and he shook him.
This time, Richie flipped over onto his side, snapping, "What?"
Stan almost leapt backwards in sudden shock, not believing his eyes.
Richie's face was so grey it gave off the impression of being white and bloodless, his cheeks sunk in; dark shadows, purple and bruiselike hung beneath his eyes which were such a dark red they looked bloody and hollowed out.
His hair was limp, his lips chapped and cracked, and he looked like he had been sleeping in the exact same clothes every single night.
To Stan, he looked almost dead.
"Richie, what happened?" Stan asked, reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder.
Richie jerked away, and when he spoke his voice was hoarse. "Don't fucking touch me!"
Stan stared at him for a couple of seconds and remembered the shattered plate by the front door and the empty beer cans and came to an executive decision.
"I'm calling the guys." He said, and Richie's face twisted.
"You are not-"
Stan ignored him and turned to walk into the hallway, grabbing the phone and dialing his boyfriend's number.
When Bill answered, all he said was, "Get Ben and Eddie and get the hell over to Richie's. Emergency. Now."
10 minutes later, Richie had been forced out of bed and had stumbled down the stairs, his lips puckered into a sullen pout and his expression dark and brooding.
He said to Stan, "I want absolutely no one fucking touching me."
Stan nodded. "I'll relay the message."
The doorbell rang, and Richie hung back in the safety of the shadows of his house as Stan opened the door, revealing Bill, Ben, and Eddie who had worried looks on their faces.
Stan said to them, "Richie doesn't want you all touching him or anything, so don't. Trust me."
They all filed into the room, and for the first time caught sight of Richie, who's eyes flashed.
The boys stared, taking in his demeanor, but it was Eddie who looked the most horrified, taking a few steps towards Richie.
"Richie, what the hell happened?" He asked softly, and Richie locked eyes with him, as if seeing him for the first time.
Eddie, ignoring Stan's attempts at telling him not to do it, gently reached out and touched Richie's shoulder.
"Eds-" Richie began, his voice cracking, and then a loud cry burst from his mouth and he had thrown his arms around Eddie's shoulders, sobs racking his entire body as he buried his face into Eddie's sweatshirt.
Eddie wrapped his arms around his best friend, and gently led him over to the couch and sitting down with him, Richie not letting go of him the entire time.
Ben, Bill, and Stan followed the pair, sitting themselves down in various armchairs and in Ben's case, the floor, as Richie sobbed.
"I s-saw her with Sp-Spencer Eds," He choked out. "And I w-was so sc-scared it was over and so I came huh-home and I drank all the b-beer and then she came in and I y-y-yelled at her and I hit her- I fucking hit her!"
He dissolved into coughs, and Eddie tightened his grip around him. "You hit her? You hit Ash?"
"I fucking hate myself!" Richie said hysterically, tears pouring from his eyes. "I was s-so drunk and I called her slut and th-that I hated her and-and ever since this summer that st-stupid fucking cl-cl-clown-"
He began to hiccup, now crying so hard it was hard to understand what he was saying. "I was so drunk- and I felt like I wasn't me and I kn-know I couldn't have d-done that because I love her- I love her Eds, I love her, I love her!"
He began to gasp, his whole body shaking uncontrollably, and he clung to Eddie like a lifeline, sinking his face into the crook of his neck.
Eddie slid his fingers around Richie's, who tightened his grip on them, and felt numb.
He was sure Richie was joking; the Asshole Duo couldn't have left each other. He was positive any second now, Richie would pop up laughing, saying, "Was it because my dick wasn't big enough?"
He looked over at Stan, Bill, and Ben, who were watching the scene looking as stunned as he felt, and he knew they were all thinking the same thing.
But Richie never did.
Eddie felt the salt of his tears on his neck, sliding down the baseline, and moved his lips down to Richie's ear, murmuring, "Shh. . .Rich, calm down. . .everything's going to be okay."
This only made Richie sob even harder, saying in between sobs, "I- fu-fucking hate my-myself!"
Eddie shook his head hard, feeling his own tears burning at the backs of his eyes. "Don't say-"
"I'm a piece of shit!" Richie wailed, tears streaming from his line of vision, not showing any sign of letting up. "I'm a piece of shit!"
Eddie's heart felt as though it had been crushed into pieces. Never in a million years did he every think Richie Tozier would be this broken; never in a million fucking years did he think he would ever see him like this.
He didn't know how long they sat there, just listening to Richie weep, but he did know that later, Richie's sobs petered out and he had fallen asleep with his head in Eddie's lap.
His fingers were still curled tightly around Eddie's, and every so often he would mumble in his sleep; but for the most part he was silent, tear tracks etched down his face.
Eddie softly ran his fingers through the other boy's hair, and leaned down and kissed the top of it.
He did this every so often to remind Richie he wasn't alone, even in his sleep.
Eddie finally looked up at the others, who seemed ready for discussion; or at least to talk. Stan and Bill's hands were intertwined, and they looked extremely wary of the situation.
But as always, Bill tool charge, saying, "S-so, what w-we know is that Ash and Ruh-Richie had a fight."
"A huge fight." Ben murmured, and Stan said, "And that he was drunk; so drunk that he got to the point where the entire situation was out of his control. And he hit her and. . .said some things."
Eddie spoke up, biting his lip. "I think that this summer left a mark on all of us. I think somehow, someway, Pennywise left his mark on us. Because I know Rich. And he would never hit her."
They nodded, and Stan said, "He was already angry and jealous, and I think he had been for awhile, so when he saw her with Spencer-"
"Again," Eddie cut in, remembering Richie's first conversation with him about it. "Things just spiraled out of control."
They were silent, all eyes on Richie, and Ben broke it, saying, "What the hell are we going to do? We know why Ash has been avoiding us now-"
"He can't go back to school." Eddie said, looking down at Richie and slowly shaking his head. "I-"
He paused as Richie stirred, and then said sleepily, "I love you, Eds. You'd make a. . .pretty good boyfriend."
Eddie felt heat rush to his cheeks, and he didn't answer as Richie shifted in his arms and Eddie softly ran his thumb over the creases on Richie's hand; not noticing Bill and Stan watching him do it and exchange a look.
"It's going to destroy him." Eddie said lowly, looking down at Richie, and Stan said solemnly, "Eddie."
Eddie looked up, meeting eyes. "Yeah?"
"I think it already has."
so here is chapter 14! it's a bit longer than the previous ones and i hope you guys enjoyed it. i would love to see your comments and reactions, so leave a vote for me! happy almost thanksgiving!