warning: violence and slurs. be careful babes xx
richie tapped his fingers against the brick wall, a proper bouquet of flowers held in his other hand. he checked his phone again. ten minutes late. eddie was never late.
he gnawed the inside of his cheek nervously, his tapping becoming relentless. it was cold and he wanted nothing more than to scoop eddie up and cuddle against his warm and perfectly small body.
his thoughts were interrupted by a harsh hand on his shoulder, tugging him to his side. he slammed into another body, body aching with pain. he dropped his flowers on the concret ground.
richie groaned, curling into himself as he fell to the ground. henry loomed over him, grabbing his hair. his smile was unnerving. "sorry to crash your little date, trashmouth."
belch stepped on his flowers, crushing the stems and petals under his shoes as henry pulled him up. richie laughed tiredly, "yeah, your mom's ten minutes late. tell her i enjoyed last night."
perhaps it wasn't the smartest thing richie could have said as henry reddened with anger, delivering an uppercut into his stomach. "shut up, you little shit."
patrick giggled, watching richie groan as victor hoisted him back onto his feet. henry punched him quickly in the face. he felt his nose crack slightly. spots started to form in his eyes as he felt blood drip down his nose. he tried to push away but the grip on his arm was too tight for his weak body to slip out of.
henry leaned in, whispering in richie's ear, "i'm going to kill you, and your faggot boyfriend."
richie felt his hands shake at his side as henry pulled away slowly, giving richie enough time to turn his head and bite henry's ear.
"fuck!" richie spat, a mixture of henry and his own blood mixing together.
"don't you fucking dare touch eddie," richie warned, trying to get out of victor's grip. he managed a swift elbow to the ribs but belch quickly came to his aid. patrick pushed henry back, leaning in close (not too close, as he learned already) and smiled.
"i knew my little puppy was a fag, and dating a little cocksucker like eddie," he tutted, looking like a mother scolding her child. richie growled again, "bite me, hockstetter."
henry groaned loudly in annoyance, pushing patrick out of the way and puching richie in the stomach. the pain was overwhelming and richie could barely keep his eyes open as he hunched over, a soft whimper escaping his throat.
victor kicked the back of his knee, causing richie to fall on his knees. his chest was rising quickly as he struggled to breathe. was this what eddie felt like all the time?
henry grabbed the smaller boy's jaw, forcing him to look up. richie wished he hadn't, seeing the knife he was holding. the blade glimmered off of the street lights. why could no one see them? where was everyone?
"listen here, you piece of shit," he dragged the blade over his cheek causing him to wince. "i'm not going to kill you, i wanna see the look on your face when we tell everyone you're a faggot."
patrick pulled out eddie's phone, wiggling it teasingly. richie's eyes widened and he was washed over with pure fire, shaking his body. he pushed everyone off of him, grabbing patrick and slamming him to the ground. "where the fuck is he!?" he screamed, holding his shoulders down and clenching them repeatedly. eddie's phone crashed to the ground. "if you fucking hurt my eds, i'll kill you!"
belch tried to pry him off put richie turned around and punched him in the jaw. his fist split and he could feel the blood trickle down his wrist but he ignored it. henry grabbed him and punched him in the face. the ringing in his ears got more intense as henry kept punching him, sending him to the ground. his lip split as drool and blood dribbled down his face.
richie tried desperately to cover his face and curl into a ball as they delivered kicks to the sides of his body and to his head. richie's vision went blurry as he struggled to keep the red hot pain and fear from getting to his head.
"i know you're awake, you son of a bitch," henry's voice echoed around his head. the kicking stopped yet the pain didn't. richie moaned in pain as henry gripped his curls once again. he cut up richie's nice, blood splattered shirt near his collar bones. "this is just so you never forget what you are to me."
suddenly, the numbing pain got replaced by stinging. "fuck," richie hissed as henry cut into his smooth skin. he kicked away tiredly, in hopes of pushing away the taller boy. "it h-hurts, stop."
richie's head spun and he barley registered the fact that they had left him. he managed to pull himself up against the brick wall, checking his pockets only to find them empty of his phone and his savings. he sighed softly, wiping away the blood from his lip and nose with a trembling arm.
the flowers had been all crushed underfoot but strangely, they were still beautiful. he whimpered painfully as he forced himself to grab a flower, clutching it to his chest.
sobs escaped his throat pitifully as he tucked his legs into his chest and hiding his face in his knees. oh how everything hurt. it hurt his chest to cry.
god, how foolish had he been, thinking that eddie would ask him out on a date. he was just richie tozier, the loud talking boy who had a tragic home life. and eddie kaspbrak was just so beautiful; breathtakingly so. an angel who didn't deserve to be down here, held back by gravity. he deserved so much more than his mother, bowers, even richie.
richie would never even stand a chance with a boy like him.
he wept until it had become fully dark outside. the stars were barely visible and he was alone, without the moon to show him any companionship. he wiped away the tears and blood off his face, mixing the two before grabbing the trash bin beside him for aid.
richie screamed out, biting his lip harshly as he pulled himself up. he limped towards the sidewalk, seeing a couple walk past. a bitterness filled deep within him like butterflies. why did no one hear his cries for help? he was just as invisible outside as he was inside his own house.
and with that, his tears froze on his cheeks as he limped home.
***
"a boy!?" richie slowly closed the front door behind him, his whole body aching as he heard his father yell at his mother. the soft thud of the door was enough to shake the two adults out of their argument and turn towards their beat and battered son. the house was dead silent.
"rich, what happened?" his mother started softly, hand covering her mouth but his father stopped her.
"richie, go to your room," he said sternly, turning back towards his wife. richie suddenly felt small, shrinking back. the only thing he yearned for was his mother's soft and gentle touch.
"but-"
"now!" he roared, voice laced with anger and frustration. tears burned in richie's eyes sharply as he sniffled, going upstairs to his room.
he only had enough energy to get undressed, hissing softly in pain whenever his fingers grazed over a sensitive spot with his parents' arguing as the soundtrack. he checked his injuries in the mirror, gasping when he saw what henry had written into his pale skin;
H
it was as clear as day and deep as an ocean. it would surely scar. he tried not to think about the fact that it would be there forever and tugged on an old t-shirt and sweatpants. he took off his contacts and carelessly dumped them on the ground. he winced when he climbed into bed, listening in on his parents' conversations.
suddenly, the harsh sound of hand hitting skin filled the air. he caught his breath in turn, listening to his mother sob and his father drive off in their only car.
he fell asleep to the sound of his and his mother's sobs echoing around the empty house.