#read it in richie's voice and everything lmaooo

[bedknees]

[beepbeep-losers]

OKAY SO I just went through and read a bunch of your writing because I’m lame lmaooo but PROMPT IDEA: so Eddie gets a “secret admirer” that leaves him letters and gifts and stuff but whoever it is slowly turns into more of a stalker and they’re crazy and leaving threats in Eddie’s locker etc etc and Eddie refuses to tell the Losers club because he wants to handle it himself but they all find out anyways ( everyone being super protective *cough cough richie* over Eddie is my jam )

Okay first of all THANKS FOR READING MY STUFF you’re rad asfuck for that. Second, this is such a great prompt the losers being protective is???? amazing. Third, I am sorry I am a terrible human and this took so long for me to put out?????? I suck???? forgive me

Warnings: stalker is a stalker and makes threats and is creepy so please please please don’t read if you’ll be triggered by that behavior!!! 

This is just a little over 2.5k words! 

It started out innocently enough. In all honesty, Eddie wasflattered. He’d gone to his locker one day after third period, and there was anote there, all folded neatly, that read “you’re adorable, Eddie Kaspbrak.” Forabout two weeks, he wanted to believe that his secret admirer that signed hisnotes as “your future boyfriend” was Richie. He was just waiting to ask him. Hethought about it more and more as the notes kept coming: complimenting hisclothes and hair and even his freckles.

His suspicions were solidified when he scratched up hisknees at the quarry one day and he received a note the next morning telling himto be more careful when he swam with his friends. Only the losers had beenthere; it must be Richie! He planned to ask Richie about it after school whenthey biked home together (as always). However, a second note appeared in hislocker after lunch.

“Stop spending so much time with Tozier. You’re starting tomake me jealous, Eddie,” Eddie read in a whisper. He felt cold all of a sudden.None of his friends would write this. Richie certainly wouldn’t. He crumpled upthe note and tossed it into the nearest trashcan, wanting to be rid of it.Holding it felt like holding a threat.

When classes ended that day, he walked home with Richie asusual. The note couldn’t tell him what to do. If his “secret admirer” wastrying to intimidate him, he didn’t want anything to do with him.

There was a picture in his locker the next morning. Apicture of Eddie and Richie on their bikes, laughing. The picture was from theafternoon before, and Eddie felt his heart drop to his ass. What the fuck? Whatthe fuck! This person was following him now? Feeling his lungs tighten, heflipped over the picture to find the same handwriting from the notes. “If youdon’t want your losers club to get hurt, stop flirting with Richie. You’remine.”

Eddie kept the photo. He didn’t know why. Maybe forevidence, or maybe so he could remind himself that this was really happening.He tucked it into the back of his calculus textbook and then fumbled for hisinhaler, taking three puffs from it to desperately try to calm his breathing.

“Eds, what the hell’s got you so worked up?”

Eddie jumped at the sound of Richie’s voice, dropping hiscalculus book.

“Nothing!” he yelped, snatching his book off the floor andshoving it into his locker. “I’m fine, I think it’s just my allergies orsomething.”

Richie gave him a weird look, but shrugged it off. “Wanna goget ice cream before we go home today, Eddie? Dad’s getting off early today andI’m not trying to go straight home.”

Eddie felt his stomach twist. He wanted to say yes, to keepRichie away from his dad for as long as possible. But what if whatever hissecret admirer did was worse? He could mean to hurt Richie, too. Feelingguilty, Eddie answered, “Uh, no, Rich, I can’t. Maybe ask some of the otherlosers.”

The notes kept coming. Some were sweet love letters, likethe first several had been. Some were closer to threats, when he spent too muchtime with the losers. Telling him to be careful. To Eddie, the creepiest thingswere the presents. The gifts that were left in his locker always had somethingto do with something he’d said. A pair of gloves when he said his hands werecold. A bag of butterscotch candies after he’s told the losers that they werehis favorite. And, the most disturbing of all, a small collection of photographsof he and his friends, after he’d been complaining that they didn’t take enoughpictures together. Eddie had missed half of sixth period sick in the bathroomwhen he’d found them.

He couldn’t tell the other losers. This guy, his secretadmirer or stalker or whatever the fuck he was, seemed dangerous. What if hehurt them? Or hurt Eddie for telling them? He seemed to see and hear everythingthat Eddie did. So, not knowing what else to do, Eddie Kaspbrak basically shutdown. He stopped hanging out with the losers unless he was at school with them– and even at school he was quiet and distant. He would rush outside afterschool and leave before Richie could bike alongside him, and leave early in themornings. What hurt him the most was ignoring the pebbles Richie threw at hiswindow at night, and just hoping that he had the goddamn sense to go to Stan’sor Bill’s instead. The notes and presents never stopped, and any time Eddiewasn’t looking down, he was anxiously looking around for anyone watching him.

Of course, the other losers didn’t take long to notice howstrange Eddie was acting. Richie was practically ripping his hair out (on topof feeling pretty god-damned rejected since Eddie had been avoiding him).

“M-meeting after schoo-ool, at my house ” Bill told thelosers (minus Eddie) one day. “We’ve got to d-do something about Eddie.”

It was fortunate that Beverly’s locker was near Eddie’s.Otherwise, she may have never discovered why their friend was acting sostrange. She was on edge, thinking about the meeting that afternoon, andwondering if any of them knew what was going on with the smallest loser. Shewas worried sick about him. She smiled as he got stuff from his locker, only alittle hurt that he barely spared her a glance, but as he left, somethingslipped out of his textbook and to the ground. He hadn’t noticed, and left tooquickly for Bev to tell him to wait. She bent to grab it – and then she sawwhat it was.

A picture of Eddie and Richie, on their bikes. Beverlyfrowned and turned the picture over, then gasped as she read the writing on theback. Her heart beating fast, she tried to make a plan quickly. She had to the tellthe losers about this, but she had to know if there was more. Eddie was headedto calculus; it must have fallen out of that book. Maybe she could find morelater, when the book was back in his locker. She knew his locker combination.

Her plan succeeded; when Eddie rushed off and left beforethe rest of the losers, Bev spun his lock until it opened and grabbed his calculusbook. She flipped through it and found, about three quarters of the way throughthe book, a small bundle of photographs and scraps of paper, all with the samehandwriting. A dark sense of dread in the pit of her stomach, she grabbed themquickly and put them in her backpack. She replaced the book and ran off to meetthe other losers and go to Bill’s.

When the losers settled around the couch and chairs inBill’s den, Bev unzipped her backpack before anyone else had the time to sayanything.

“I’ve got something to show you guys.”

“Bevvie, I know school is stressful or whatever, but now isnot the time for homework,” Richie said. He’d been nervously picking at thetears in his jeans all day, and he was currently twisting a thread of denimbetween his fingers.

“I know, Rich,” Bev snapped. “I found this in Eddie’slocker.”

“Y-you went through his locker?” Bill asked, leaning towardBev curiously.

Beverly snorted, pulling the pieces of paper and picturesout and laying them on the rug in front of her. “Well, one picture fell out andit freaked me out, so I kind of went into his locker later and found more.”

“What the fuck is this?” Richie said, his voicehigh-pitched. He was holding the picture of him and Eddie biking together.“This was from around the time he stopped going home with me.”

Beverly’s heart dropped. “Read the back, Richie.”

“’If you don’t want your losers club to get hurt, stopflirting with Richie. You’re mine.’” Richie was as pale as a ghost, and hedropped the picture back to the floor like it stung him, raising his hands totangle into his hair. “What the fuck.”

“Look at this one,” Stan said, sounding pissed off. He heldup a picture of the losers club at lunch, with Eddie sitting scooted away fromthe others and looking sick. It was from just a few days before. “The backsays, ‘there’s my Eddie, being good and keeping to himself.’” Stan threw thepicture down, his mouth twisted in disgust. “What kind of asshole is givingthese to Eddie?”

“Look at how they’re all signed,” Mike said softly, riflingthrough the things on the rug. “He calls himself Eddie’s future boyfriend.”

“Like hell,” Richie hissed.

“Obviously Eddie isn’t interested,” Ben said soothingly,laying a hand on Richie’s shoulder, “or he wouldn’t look like he’s going topass out in half of these pictures.”

“No wonder he’s b-been so jumpy,” Bill said under hisbreath. “Look at this one.”

It was a note that praised Eddie for keeping away from thelosers, telling him that he’d reveal himself soon if he kept being good.

“He must be so scared,” Beverly said in a hushed voice.“This has been going on for so long. Why hasn’t he told us?”

“He must be terrified,” Stan responded. “This person isbasically threatening him for even talking to his friends.”

“But what are we supposed to do?” Richie whined. “We don’teven know who he is! And Eddie won’t talk to me. I just miss my EddieSpaghetti.” Richie pouted his bottom lip and crossed his arms over his chestchildishly.

“We should go to his house,” Mike said definitively. “Thisguy is following him around. He must be. If we refuse to leave Eddie alone,what can he do? Attack us? It would be at least two to one.”

“He could be dangerous!” Ben protested. “Couldn’t we talkto-“

“To wh-who?” Bill said, taking on what some of the loserscalled his “leader voice.” He looked around at them. “W-we all know that thea-adults in Derry are fucking useless. We’ll protect Eddie ourse-elves. That’swhat we’ve a-always done for each other. At least one of us with him at allt-times, no exceptions.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Bev said. “Our Eddie has astalker and he’s obviously scared shitless. Let’s go steal him.”

“His mother’s gonna fucking kill us,” Richie chirped. “I candistract her.”

“How about you don’t say anything to her at all, Richie,”Stanley said quickly. “Eddie’s mom hates your guts.”

“She likes me in hergu-“

“Beep beep, Richie.”

Eddie was laying in his bed, staring blankly at the lines ofMacbeth, when he heard the knock downstairs. He looked up fearfully. They neverhad visitors. Was it the stalker? Had he finally decided to “reward” Eddie byshowing himself? Eddie felt like throwing up, and seriously considered runningto the bathroom and locking himself in there. He heard his mother answer thedoor and (as always) interrogate whoever was there. He slunk off his bed and tothe door, opening it a crack so that he could hear.

“- it’s r-really important, Mrs. Kaspbrak.” Bill! What washe doing here? What would the stalker do about it? “W-we just really need himat my p-place. I can have my p-p-parents call when we get there so you know he’so-okay.”

“Now, Bill, you know Eddie is very delicate. I just don’t –“

“We know, Mrs. Kaspbrak. We’ll take g-good care of him, wesw-swear.”

“Well, okay, but you’d better be careful, kids.”

“No problem, Mrs. K! I could kiss you!”

Oh fuck Richie was here too. Great. Eddie’s stalker wasgoing to raise hell for sure. He panicked and darted away from his door as heheard his friends (did the entire losers club come???) thunder through hisfront door and up the stairs. He was considering throwing himself in the closetand pretending not to exist when his door burst open as he stood in the centerof his room, a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face.

“Honey, we’re home! You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!”Richie said in a bad impression of Ricky Ricardo. He reached forward and pulledEddie to him, rubbing the top of his head roughly with his knuckles. “We foundyour stalker-stash, Eds, and we’re here to save the fuckin’ day.”

“You – you what?” he said, struggling out of Richie’s arms. Theyall looked at him expectantly. “I – uh – I don’t know what you’re talkingabout.”

“You aren’t very convincing, Eddie,” Ben said softly. “We’vebeen worried about you. Bev said you dropped a picture today, and when she sawwhat it was she broke into your locker and found more.”

Eddie looked at Bev, his cheeks turning red. “Bev!”

She didn’t look the least bit repentant.

“Y-you could have told us, Eddie,” Bill said, steppingtoward him and putting a steadying hand on his shoulder. Eddie hadn’t realizedthat he’d started quivering. “But w-we’re here to help nuh-now.”

“Say hello to your round-the-clock bodyguards, EddieSpaghetti!” Richie beamed. “You’re not leaving our sight until your stalkerfucks off.”

“Don’t call me Eddie Spaghetti!” Eddie protested weakly. He movedaway from Bill’s hand, feeling like he might cry or break into tiny pieces. “I –guys – I don’t want you to get hurt. What if he tries to hurt you?”

“He’s already hurt you, Eddie,” Mike said. “And we aren’tgoing to let him scare you anymore. Don’t worry. We’ll keep each other safe. That’swhat we do.”

Eddie felt extremely overwhelmed.

He felt loved by his losers, and he looked around at theirfaces, all showing their concern for him. He was still terrified, for them andfor himself. He didn’t know who the fuck was sending him these things, and hedidn’t know if he would ever know. He knew it would get worse before it gotbetter, especially with the losers making it a point to protect him.

He took a few steps back and sat clumsily on his bed,feeling overridden with emotion. He fumbled for his inhaler and took a pufffrom it.

Richie sat beside him and put an arm around him, and soonthe rest of the losers crowded around as well. Mike sat in the floor and leanedhis head on Eddie’s knee. Bev sat on Richie’s other side but reached over tohold Eddie’s hand. Ben sat on Eddie’s other side and leaned into him. Billpulled up Eddie’s desk chair and shared it with Stan, reaching to grab Eddie’sother hand.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys,” Eddie whispered, eyesclosed. “I should have.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up, Eds,” Richie said. “It’salright. We’re gonna make sure you aren’t alone anymore, and if that creepy assmotherfucker tries to mess with you – or any of us – we’ll fuck him up,alright?”

Eddie gave a half-smile.

“And, until this is settled, you will have the pleasure ofme sneaking into your room every night so you aren’t alone.”

Eddie groaned dramatically. “Maybe I’ll stick with theterrifying stalker.”

“Oh, Eds,” Richie cooed in his ear. “You know you love me.”

“Whatever, Rich.”