Disclaimer: This story will contain some mature language, abuse, and homophobia. Enjoy at your own discretion!
Richie Tozier was having the worst vacation of his life.
To be fair, he had only traveled once prior to this trip, and that was when he was a toddler. Although he couldn't remember anything from the experience, he knew it must have been better than the Tozier family's current getaway.
The family of four had been in California for approximately one day before things went awry. Richie had been elated when he woke up on the second day. He adored the humid air that held a tropical aroma, it was a stark contrast to Derry's cold atmosphere.
The lanky boy crept across the hall of the rundown motel they had booked to stay in, not wanting to wake his parents or sister. Richie had the bizarre tendency to either stay up inhumanly late, or rise at the crack of dawn. He typically switched his sleep schedule up every other day, often leaving himself exhausted, but he didn't mind. Something about the serene nature of being the only one awake had always appealed to the boy.
As he tiptoed past his parents room, he heard a shrill voice that made him freeze in his tracks. His mother seemed to be yelling at his father in hushed tones. Like watching horrific stories on the news, Richie couldn't bring himself to move on. He had the urge to listen in on their quarrel. They had fought sporadically throughout the teenage boy's childhood, and often it became physical. He had to make sure his mom wasn't in danger.
"I can't believe you Wentworth. Is she the reason why you brought the family to California? So you could cheat on me with a cheap skank you met on a business trip? The fact that you had the audacity to bring me and the kids along is appalling."
The woman spoke with a tone filled with venom, all while Richie waited anxiously to hear his father's reply.
"Listen here whore," the man said, with a slurred voice. Richie peeked at his watch. It was only eight in the morning, yet his dad was already wasted. The worst part was that not a single fibre of the boy was surprised by his father's drunken behaviour. At home Wentworth often spent entire weeks on benders with his buddies, leaving the rest of the family to fend for themselves.
"You don't get to make me the bad guy here. I have done nothing but work this entire marriage so you don't have to. It's not my fault you're an ungrateful bitch."
"Richie?" A small voice suddenly broke the silence in the hall, causing his parents to stop mid-fight. The fourteen year old felt a wave of panic wash over him as he realized his younger sister, Avery, had woken up and was standing at the end of the hall. Before he could usher her away from their livid parents, Wentworth's figure appeared in the doorway, an agitated Maggie standing farther back in the room.
"Were you eavesdropping boy?" The thin teenager realized he had to ensure his sister was out of harms way.
"Avery, go back to bed okay? I'll be with you in a minute," he hissed under his breath, hoping she would be able to hear him. The girl looked at her brother with big eyes filled with fear, before nodding and scampering back down the hall.
"I don't want to ask you again kid. Were. You. Eavesdropping."
Richie's heart stopped. Without waiting for an answer, the man stormed over to his son, pinning him against the wall.
"It's not polite to listen in on conversations not meant for your ears," Wentworth hissed, his breath reeking of liquor. The father let go of his son, and for a brief second he thought that the man would walk away.
Then, he turned and punched Richie square in the jaw.
The skinny boy collapsed to the floor holding his throbbing face, while his father went back to his room and slammed the door, Maggie not having cared enough to check on her son. His jaw ached, and he felt blood where the skin had been broken. He had to get out of the house. With little care as to where he was headed, Richie stumbled to the door, pulling on his beat up converse before slipping out the door.
The slap of sneakers on pavement echoed through the quiet motel parking lot, carrying the boy wearing them away from his problems. Richie ran, and didn't look back until he realized he didn't know where he could go in the unfamiliar city. He decided he would try and find the nearest gas station to clean up his wounds, and finally exhaled, the realization that he was away from his dad for the moment sinking in.
The teenager turned the corner and was greeted by the welcome sight of a 7/11. He entered the store and made a beeline for the coffee dispenser, before it hit him that he hadn't brought any money. He groaned and turned to the counter, hoping his sweet tongue would be able to persuade the cashier into giving him a free cup of coffee.
As soon as he laid eyes on the small figure working the cash register, Richie inhaled sharply. It wasn't some middle aged high school dropout like usual.
It was a boy his age.
A beautiful one too. With rich brown eyes and a constellation of freckles that dusted his cheeks, it was safe to say that the trashmouth was finally speechless. The boy yawned softly, not noticing Richie. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, and Richie cleared his throat, remembering why he was here.
"Welcome to Seven Eleven, how can I help you?" The boy had a voice that made flowers bloom in Richie's heart, even though he was saying a generic phrase. How could someone be this perfect and pure?
"Uh, hi, see the thing is I need coffee but, I don't have any money with me." The taller boy stumbled on a few words.
"I was wondering if maybe you'd let me have it?" To his surprise, the boy at the counter let out a giggle. Richie felt his heart pound, knowing he was the one who caused such a sweet laugh to escape the boy's cherry lips.
"Why would you come to buy coffee and not bring any money?" The kid said with a smirk.
Richie's heart suddenly dropped, remembering why he was here in the first place.
"Nevermind," he scoffed, ready to turn and leave. He watched the boy's eyes flit to his jaw as his face fell.
"Are you okay?" The boy spoke softly, as if Richie was a wounded animal.
"I didn't realize you were hurt. You don't have to tell me what happened, but at least let me clean you up."
The delicate boy ducked behind the counter and popped back up clutching a fanny pack.
"Dude, what's with the fanny pack?" Richie laughed. The boy glared at him but the glare softened after seeing that the taller boy had only been kidding. He reached inside the pack of a box of bandaids, a cotton ball, and some rubbing alcohol. He beckoned for Richie to come behind the counter, and began cleaning his wound.
"Shit man, this hurts like a bitch." Richie whined.
"An infection will hurt a lot more," the boy grimaced and focused on his meticulous disinfecting process. Richie watched the boy as he took care of his cut, noticing how careful he was not to hurt him further. Up close he was even prettier to look at, with long eyelashes and flecks of amber in his large eyes.
"Okay, you should be good. Let me put a bandaid on though for good measure," the small boy unwrapped a pink, heart shaped bandaid, opening it with care. Richie's heart fluttered as he placed it gingerly on his split skin, smoothing it out with his fingers so that it had no wrinkles.
"Kiss it better?" Richie teased. What happened next took the taller boy by surprise.
"Okay," the boy said, leaning in as if it was the most natural thing in the world. His lips grazed across the wounded skin, concealed by the bandaid. Richie felt his pulse quicken and his entire face start burning.
The boy pulled away, acting like kissing people on the jaw was run of the mill 7/11 behaviour. However his face gave him away, it was flushed as red as Richie's surely was.
Knowing he had to get home sooner than later, a very flustered Richie waved to the boy behind the 7/11 counter.
"See you around, cute stuff," he said, before promptly leaving, his earlier desire for coffee long forgotten.
As he walked home, Richie traced his fingers over the spot where the beautiful boy had kissed him. The kiss had washed away all the previously negative connotations of the wound, leaving behind only pure sunshine.
Approaching the motel, Richie knew things would be bad at home, but the ghost of a smile still graced his lips as he thought of the boy. God, he didn't even know his name, and would probably never see him again. But it was enough to give him a spark of hope for the future, and enough courage to face his father after the fight from earlier.
Richie carried this spark of happiness with him even when the Toziers went back home to Derry that night. His home life was less than perfect and his vacation had been cut short, but the mysterious boy had touched his heart unexpectedly. Maybe, everything would be okay this year for Richie Tozier.
✩
a/n: so welcome to my first ever reddie fic! I'll try to keep a regular update schedule, but school and life gets in the way so I'm not making any promises. if you have any questions about the prologue feel free to ask! I'm also gonna be adding a song that represents each chapter at the end, which i'll compile into a playlist once i complete the fic!
-love, char <3
song of the chapter:
shake it out by florence + the machine
"and every demon wants his pound of flesh
but i like to keep some things to myself
i like to keep my issues strong
it's always darkest before the dawn."