#stephenskings

[eddieeatsass]

Reddie + 11 & 17

Locked in a Room/Closet + Accidental Eavesdropping from this prompt list

“Richie! Let go, jesus- what is going on!?” Eddie had just exited the bathroom when Richie grabbed his arm and began hauling him up the stairs in a hurry. The rest of their friends were still in Bill’s living room, oblivious to the commotion.

Richie shushed Eddie and led him into Bill’s room, bypassing everything in favor of dragging Eddie into the closet. He had just closed the door when Eddie began complaining again, earning himself another shush and a hand over his mouth.

Almost immediately, Stan’s raised voice could be heard from downstairs.

“Richie, where are you!?” There was an angry lilt to his tone that caused Eddie to raise an eyebrow at Richie in question.

“I may have accidentally spit my chewing gum out while talking and it may have landed on Stan’s sweater and I may have made it worse while trying to inconspicuously get it off... and he may have just noticed.” Richie rambled in a whisper, removing his hand from Eddie’s mouth.

“And this has to do with me... how?” Eddie asked.

“I didn’t wanna hide alone, that woulda been boring.” Richie stated as if it was obvious.

“And what’s stopping me from walking out of here and sending Stan your way?”

Richie blinked at him before reaching into his pocket.

“A piece of gum?” Richie asked, offering the pack to Eddie.

Eddie snorted and pushed Richie’s hand back towards himself. If he was gonna be stuck in here with Richie, he didn’t want to be caught with evidence of the crime.

Eddie pushed some of Bill’s clothing along the rack, making more room for him to get comfortable in the cramped space. At least the door was slatted, so light filtered in through the spaces between the boards, creating a slightly less claustrophobic atmosphere.

Eddie leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at Richie expectantly.

“What?” Richie asked, copying Eddie’s pose.

“Well, you wanted me here, so entertain me.”

“Ooo, entertain you, huh?” Richie wiggled his eyebrows, taking the small step forward to close the gap between them.

Eddie rolled his eyes, pushing lightly on Richie’s chest.

“Fuck off, Rich.”

“Okay okay, serious entertainment only.” Richie promised, donning mock sincerity.

After a few seconds, and more scuttling heard from downstairs, Richie continued.

“I spy with my little eye something that is... short.”

Eddie looked unimpressed.

“Is it me?” He asked monotonously.

“No, it was Bill’s stuffed bear actually.” Richie responded, picking up the bear from where it had been sitting near his feet. “But since you mention it-”

Richie cut himself off when he heard foot steps coming down the hallway. In panic, Richie grabbed Eddie and pulled him to his chest, covering his mouth once again. Eddie only fought back for a second before letting his body go lax, surrendering to his fate for the time being.

Stan’s voice could be heard as two bodies entered the room. Through the slats in the door, Richie and Eddie could only make out shadows, but the addition of another familiar voice confirmed who Stan was with.

“I don’t know, I just wish they’d stop dancing around it and actually talk to each other.” Stan said as he sat down on the bed.

Richie and Eddie exchanged a confused look before turning their attention back to the two outside.

“Yeah, but that would involve Richie actually admitting he has feelings instead of deflecting everything with humor.” Bill responded.

“Ouch.” Richie whispered jokingly under his breath, despite his rising fear of where this conversation could be going.

“Richie definitely deflects, but never underestimate Eddie’s ability to avoid confrontation.”

“He once ran out of our apartment without his shoes on because I wanted to talk to him about our water bill.” Bill answered in agreement.

“I did not...” Eddie mumbled into Richie’s hand.

“See? So how are those two ever going to find out unless one of us intervenes?” Stan said.

“What are they talking about-” Richie began, before his entire world came to a stop.

“They’ve been in love with each other since 10th Grade and they still haven’t figured out their feelings are mutual.”

Richie felt Eddie stiffen against him, his own body following suit in horror.

The room was silent for a few moments, nothing but the ticking of Bill’s wall clock off in the distance. Richie’s heart was pounding so fast he thought he might keel over. Eddie himself was in a similar boat.

Shakily, Eddie raised his hands up to Richie’s arm and pulled it away from his mouth, holding it instead across his chest like a safeguard.

“Is that true?” Eddie whispered, his voice barely audible.

Richie searched his face before answering with a small nod.

“And you...?”

Eddie nodded as well.

Richie let out a deep, shaky breath, an unsure smile gracing his features as the news sank in. He was just stealing himself to say something else when the voices from the other room rang out again.

“Wow, I really thought that would get him out of his hiding spot.” Stan stated.

Within seconds Richie was bursting through the door, coming face to face with a smug Stan.

“YOU KNEW WE WERE IN THERE?” Richie yelled exasperatedly. He looked to Bill who just shrugged apologetically.

“But you- I- we-”

“We were planning an intervention for later this week anyway; the two of you have been oblivious for long enough. I just fast forwarded it a little.” Stan offered, as if that explained everything.

Richie stared at him dumbfounded as Eddie approached tentatively from behind.

“Richie-” Eddie tried.

“Next time. don’t get gum on my sweater and we’ll pop your bubble a little more gracefully.”

“Oh, you are evil, Staniel.” Richie narrowed his eyes comically, but immediately faltered when he felt a small hand in his pulling him backwards.

“Come on, who cares how it happened.” Eddie offered timidly, a little unsure of himself but still determined to say something.

“We’ll give you guys some time to talk it out.” Bill said, rising from his bed and pulling Stan along with him.

“You’re going to have to pay to get this dry cleaned!” Stan yelled over his shoulder as they left the room, closing the door behind them.

Richie slowly turned to Eddie, unsure of how to proceed. Luckily, Eddie seemed ready, a small smirk already on his lips.

“So since 10th grade, huh?”

"Probably earlier, if we’re being honest.” Richie admitted bashfully.

“Tell me about it.” Eddie pulled Richie towards Bill’s bed, sitting down and riling up for the most important discussion of their lives.

[tozierpunks]

Reddie + 17 😌

17. meeting at a party whilst drunk au

Send me a prompt!

(☞ ᐛ )☞ 

Richie’s favorite part of college was the partying. He didn’t limit his scope to frat house parties either; he loved when students came together at local bars to support a team, or student-run carnivals and concerts that doubled as fundraisers. Everyone came looking for a good time, and Richie Tozier was king of the good times.

There was never a shortage of people vying for his phone number and attention.

Meanwhile, on the exact opposite of the spectrum, Eddie Kaspbrak hated parties. He hated not knowing where the plastic cups had been (if they weren’t freshly bought), he hated being surrounded by people who reeked of smoke (he chose a college so far from his mother to escape the stench), and he hated sitting on couches with mysterious stains (he knew damn well what they were; it was jizz, next question). More than anything, he hated being too nervous to talk to anyone.

His roommate - who loved to drag him out to places, then inexplicably disappear and abandon him - decided they were going to make an appearance tonight, much to his annoyance. Whoever owned this dorm had a pet snake, which set Eddie on edge. He had the choice of dealing with the anxiety of being so close to this absurdly terrifying “pet,” or get drunk and forget what planet he was on.

He opted for the second choice.

When Richie met Eddie (approximately an hour later), he was… singing.

“One shot, two shot, somethin’ about banana,” Eddie shouted, more than he sang, at the top of his lungs. People were watching and laughing as he swaggered through the hall. Richie snorted, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from busting out laughing.

Eddie’s eyes landed on him, and a smile spread across his pink face.

“Hey you,” he said, in what Richie could only assume was his flirting voice. He waved, whistling the tune of the song Eddie was trying to sing. Eddie’s eyes lit up, and he nearly fell into Richie. “You know the banana song!” Nodding, Richie was prepared to ask for his name, when Eddie puckered his lips and attempted to kiss him.

“Whoa there, Twink! I require at least one date and some validation before I kiss,” he joked, holding Eddie at arm’s length. Eddie pouted, but his expression quickly changed from one of disappointment, to one of alarm. Before Richie could ask if he was okay, Eddie doubled over, getting sick all over Richie’s shoes. At once, Eddie’s roommate sprinted over, helping Eddie stand.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry-” Richie waved off the apology, spotting his own roommate, Stan, coming over with a towel. He stepped out of his shoes, and Eddie’s roommate continued, “He’s gonna hate himself in the morning- he never drinks, so he- I’m so sorry.” The two disappeared into the bathroom, and Richie watched after them, his filthy shoes in hand.

Stan stopped beside him, grimacing at the mess and asking, “Out of all the horny drunks that throw themselves at you, this is the first to puke on you, isn’t it?” Richie nodded, clicking his tongue. He didn’t tear his gaze away from where he last saw Eddie’s cute little head.

“Yeah, and I think I’m in love,” he said. Stan’s mouth twisted, and he opened a garbage bag for Richie to dump the shoes in.

“Of course you are, of fucking course you are,” he sighed, rolling his eyes as Richie wrote his phone number down for the nameless twink.

[thelazyeye]

Reddie + 16 ❤️👌🏻

I couldn’t figure out how to end this without making it too stupidly abrupt so I hope you like this!

Eddie just stood in the center of the stage, script tight in his hand as Richie danced and moved around him. It would be funny, really, if Eddie didn’t feel so fucking awkward. Richie moves in all of the wrong ways without his typical dance partner, but it was essential to run the lines and the song with opening night quickly approaching. Marcia is out with a stomach bug and Eddie, ever the unlucky, was plucked right out the wings to stand in for this scene. Eddie is nothing but a stagehand, he can’t manage the rhythm or the singing required to match Richie’s costar but he’s listened to the song enough times to know what to say and how fast to say it.

The song skips and stops and Richie takes notes from the director before the song starts over from the top.

“He thought you were,” Richie starts and then trails off while the beginning of the songs kicks in. he waits the appropriate number of beats before coming back in, “awesome.”

“He thought I was awesome? My brother?” Eddie answers, voice completely flat.

“Definitely!”

“How?” Eddie asks and God, this sucks. Eddie could be doing a million and a half things backstage right now. He could be tinkering with the soundboard or helping with the lights or directing other stage hands how and when to move the props, but no, no, he has to listen to Richie Tozier sing a love ballad to who is supposed to be Marcia but is really Eddie standing still in the center of the fucking stage.

His least favorite place to be in this whole entire auditorium.

The song kicks into full gear and Richie explodes into a flurry of movement. He’s got this awkward look about him, someone who looks timid and shy and who is holding back the full truth. He’s nailing the role perfectly, Eddie’s opinion. 

“If I could tell her, tell her everything I see, if I could tell her how she's everything to me,” Richie sings and sings and sings his damn heart out, running to the front of the stage and putting his hands over his heart in a dramatic, stage kind of way.

The song finishes out, Eddie speaking at the few necessary parts he’s needed in. The second the scene ends, Eddie is gone. He’s backstage in the comfort of the dim lighting and wiping sweat off his forehead. He tells himself it was the bright, heavy lights and not the way Richie was looking at him during the entire song.

He skips out of practice early, thoroughly avoiding Richie.

Later that night, when he’s lying in bed with all the lights off that he thinks about his racing heart and Richie’s blinding smile. It’s only there that he wishes he was Zoe or Marcia or whoever he needs to be to get Richie to look at him like that, to kiss him one day. He wants Richie’s big dumb hands on his stupidly small waist. He wants Richie’s stupid fucking face nuzzled in his hair. He needs Richie’s attention, his affection. His love.

It isn’t until the next morning that Eddie finds a note scrawled in chicken scratch in the bottom of his backpack.

I meant what I said, every word of it.

[reddielibrary]

Light Up Your Wildest Dreams

Prompt: “You’re a store clerk and oh shit I just spotted my ex please let me hide behind your desk-thing” AU

Written by: Ashley | @stephenskings

Word Count: 1510

*click title to read on AO3

“You know, there’s a store way closer to your house, right?” Ben said, raising his brow at Richie as he assured them inside the dingy old corner store nearly three blocks away from the Tozier house. In the past month or so, Richie had started insisting that they make the walk to the further store rather than the quick trip to the one by his house. It didn’t matter if they were picking up simple snacks or a loaf of bread, Richie demanded they take a three block walk to get them.

Richie hummed, “You know I can’t understand you when you mumble like that.” Richie’s eyes had trailed over to the front counter and his entire face light up the moment his eyes landed on the cashier. It was a bambi-looking boy, with a soft swoop of brown hair and brown eyes. Just from behind the counter, he looked slender or short.

Ben sighed, a smile tugging at his lips. “Have we been taking these extra long walks so you can flirt with the cashier?”

Richie bounced on his feet, handing Ben his half of the shopping list and taking off at a run. “You really must stop mumbling! I can’t understand a word you’re saying!”

“I think it’s cute!” Ben cupped his hands and called his best friend. Richie had come out to them a few weeks earlier, in a tearful declaration of the feelings they’d realized had been building inside him for some time. He was still reluctant to talk about boys or crushes, aside from his usual unnecessary sexual comments. They occasionally included men now, but even that was rare. Richie coming down to this store, specifically because he found the cashier cute, and him being willing to bring Ben or Bev along was warming to Ben’s romantic heart.

Richie skipped over to the counter and leaned against it, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. The cute cashier- Edward- looked up at him and his cheeks grew slightly pink. “Can I… Can I help you?”

“I hope so,” Richie said lightly, waggling his eyebrows. “I am looking for something…. something important. Could you help me find it?”

“Yeah, of course,” Edward said helpfully, smiling politely. “What is it you’re looking for?”

Richie coughed slightly, rubbing the back of his hand across his mouth. He straightened up and reached out to scratch the back of his neck. “I uh… I’m looking for a more effective way to flirt with the cute cashier since clearly, I’m terrible at it. Which is a shock to me, because I’m usually great at everything. Well… maybe not everything, I really struggle with math… and most sciences… I’m probably dyslexic but I definitely have ADHD and apparently, I have a bad habit of blurting out my entire life story to random cute strangers when I get nervous.”

Edward, the Cute Cashier, watched Richie’s spiral and a small smile slowly stretched across his face. “Take a breath. I think your face is about three seconds away from turning blue.”

Richie inhaled then exhaled hard, giving Edward a small nervous smile. “Sorry. You’d think I’d never flirted with somebody before, which is very much not true, I usually flirt with everybody at least a little so I don’t know what my problem is. Brain damage, I guess, my friend Bill always jokes that I have some.”

Edward started shaking his head, still smiling at Richie. “First time flirting with somebody since coming out? I’d say been there but I haven’t really, not much of a flirter. I really have no idea how.”

“Flirt with me!” Richie said excitedly. “You could get some practice in, and I bet you’re a natural so I could learn a thing or two from you.”  Edward let out an honest-to-god giggle and Richie’s heart jumped, only to quickly be crushed by a familiar nasally laugh coming from the opening door. Frantically, Richie looked at Edward with wide eyes. “Oh, shit.”

Edward clearly recognized the genuine distress in Richie’s voice, because his eyes went wide. He glanced around the store, “What’s wrong?”

“That’s my ex,” Richie stage whispered, watching Sandy and her usual group of giggly girls making their way through the store. Before even realizing how cute the little Bambi-eyed cashier here was, Richie had started going to this store simply out of the assurance that he’d never run into Sandy here. If the store was far away from Richie’s house, it was completely and utterly out of the way of hers.

“We dated for two years,” Richie continued, giving Edward more information despite the complete lack of him asking for it. “She broke up with me when I came out to her as bisexual. Seemed to think that meant I was using her as a beard, or some fucking shit, I don’t know. Fuck, fuck, she’s coming over here! Can I… I need to hide.”

There was a small, determined line between Edward’s brows and he nodded once. “Okay, come here. Get under the counter.”

Richie’s eyes flew wide. “Is that… Is that allowed?”  Edward shrugged once with a small eye roll, and Richie jumped over the counter. He ducked down and huddled under Edward’s knees, pulling himself into the most compact position he could get into, with his height.

“Hi!” Edward said cheerfully from above him. “How are you today?” Richie could hear Sandy giving a muttering answer and rolled his eyes. Sandy’s lack of respect towards people working in customer service had been something that had bothered Richie even when they’d been together, and he knew it should have been some sort of sign for him. Sandy disrespected anybody she saw as under her, but Richie had been a lovesick teenager and he liked to excuse his own stupidity whenever he could.

“You saw that fat kid, right?” Sandy was saying to one of her friends as Edward wordlessly checked them out. Richie clenched his jaw under the counter. “Ugh, I wonder if that means Tozier is here. It would be just my luck to run into that fag-“

“This is a public building,” Edward cut across her, voice cold as ice. “People of all race and sexuality are allowed to buy shitty energy drinks and chocolate bars here. We don’t accept that kind of language here. Either watch your mouth, or get your junk food somewhere else.”

Richie clapped a hand over his mouth, grinning wildly at the stunned silence above him. He heard one of Sandy’s friends muttering something about eavesdropping, but it was Sandy’s response that Richie was listening for. “You’re just going to turn us away? Paying customers. What? You think this hole in the world store can survive without customers?”

Edward must have swiped Sandy’s purchases off the belt, because they were suddenly dropping down in Richie’s lap and on his head. “I think we can survive without serving a couple of bigots. And if I get fired, well that’s fine, too. It’s my human right to refuse service to people who make me uncomfortable- and hate speech isn’t welcome here. Please leave.”

More ringing silence, while Richie palmed at a Snickers bar and wondered if he could open it without being heard. “Damn,” Sandy finally said with a disgusted voice. “Last time we come down here then. Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah…” Edward said slowly, and Richie could practically see him rolling his eyes. “That was the idea.”

Richie sat there, gaped mouth, until Edward sighed above him. “You can come out now.”

Richie popped up and grinned. “I already came out. That’s how this trouble all started.”

Edward made a disgusted noise but his cheeks were a soft pink. “She’s terrible. I feel like I should stay away from you simply because you went out with her.”

Richie dropped down to his knees once more, and wrapped his arms around Edward’s legs. “No! Eds, my love! You can’t betray me in such a fashion!” He cried. “Can’t a man make a mistake? Give him the chance to learn!”

“Don’t call me Eds, it’s Eddie- and date better people, then maybe I will,” Eddie said, but he was laughing and knocking Richie’s head away. Richie stood slowly and stepped in Eddie’s personal space, loving how his eyes went wide.

“Are you better people?”

Eddie’s cheeks went a deep pink and he spluttered for a moment. “ I…!! Anybody is better people, I didn’t mean-“

Richie started cackling before getting interrupted with Ben dropping his hands onto the counter. Richie and Eddie both turned toward him, Eddie looking embarrassed and Richie looking more than a little joyous. “Richie, I am trying to let you have your flirt time but you dragged me here down like three blocks to come here for snacks and then ditched me. I was promised snacks, and I told Bev-“

“Alright, alright,” Richie laughed. “Keep your pants on, Haystack, we’re getting snacks!” He turned and smiled at Eddie. “I’ll be seeing you around, cute stuff!”

Eddie Kaspbrak rolled his eyes, still blushing. “Oh, I don’t doubt that.”

[tinyarmedtrex]

richie has a super sensitive nervous system, so he’s always scratching at his skin and stretching his limbs at awkward angels (i.e pulling his knee up to his chest and standing on one foot for no reason) and the skin on his nose is always dry and red from rubbing at it. if he’s itchy, it’s practically unbearable until he scratches it. he also is in constant movement while sleeping, needing to move between bending his knees and having them straight out and that’s just a random thing i believe

Aww itchy fidgety boy.

Can we talk about how Eddie tries to help him find a lotion that helps and isn’t scented (because that makes things worse) and isn’t oily and how it takes forever but finally they find something and Richie is all heart eyes for this boy who stuck with him through all the itchy unhappiness?

[xandertheundead]

OOOOH! That was him? Okay. I had no idea who actually sang that song! But now I do!!!

[hoyoenjung]

stephenskings replied to your post: a year ago i lost 50 followers in one night bc i...

i firmly stand by unless she specified that she wants to called jane and only jane, that eleven and el are both valid lmao ��

same. when she says in season three, she wants to be called jane, that's okay, and i will stop tagging the character with eleven or el.  but until then, I will stick to eleven lol

[useragarfield]

hart of dixie 1.01 pilot

[hartofdaily]

[t4tozier]

BELLA!! Does Eddie go?????? does he GO

[tozierpunks]

reddie + 33 :)

33. Celebrity/Fan AU

A/N: Y’all asked for rock star Richie right? No? Oooof, tough cookies baby. (Also it features some drag Eddie, y’all babies have fun.) I hope you like it girl

“Why don’t you change your stage name to Eddie Spaghetti?”

“I’ll cut the strings on every last guitar you own if you suggest that again, Richard Tozier.”

Richie shushed Eddie dramatically, holding his finger to his lips and looking around as if they weren’t the only two in the studio.

“That name’s dead, Sugarbear. It’s just Richie now. I’ll take the last name back when you do,” he joked. Rolling his eyes, Eddie pulled the heavy wig from his head, running his fingers through his hair. He watched as his boyfriend tuned his guitar, playing a few chords before putting the pick between his lips and jotting something down in his journal.

Eddie couldn’t believe he stood here, in a recording studio in West Hollywood of all places. It seemed like just yesterday he was hosting a night at his favorite club in Queens. That’s who Eddie Kaspbrak was. A performer. A New York queen, hopeful to get on drag race one day. Auditioning for his favorite band’s music video wasn’t supposed to lead him to the singer’s bed - never mind the fact he somehow made it into his heart.

Hell, he was amazed he could tolerate Richie. His first words to Eddie had been: You have great legs. What time do they open?

Of course, he more than made up for it when he pulled Eddie aside to tell him how big of a fan he was. At first, Eddie didn’t believe him, but Richie pulled up his Instagram to show he was, in fact, following him. He made a name for himself as a club kid, but he wasn’t an A lister by any means. Richie’s admiration was nothing short of genuine.

Well the feeling is mutual, Richie, he had said.

The rest was history.

Richie was looping something they recorded earlier, playing his guitar along with the sound. He was staring right at Eddie, and Eddie could feel the blush creeping into his cheeks.

“What, what is it?” he asked, feeling self-conscious. As many times as he kissed Richie, as many cities as they visited, and as many times he saw his own name on the teen magazines and blogs… he could never grasp that he’d won the ultimate prize.

“Nothing, I just like looking at you. Lookin’ at your face still in that crazy makeup, but your natural hair sticking out… and then your dress half fallin’ off your body. Real sexy, baby,” he said. His voice sounded different, and Eddie recognized the tone. He was thinking; he was lost in his music. Before he could ask or excuse himself, Richie spoke again. “I wrote this for you. C’mere, listen.”

Come over here sit next to me…

Grabbing Eddie’s waist, Richie pulled him close and began swaying their bodies, his hips teasingly colliding with Eddie’s.

We can see where things go naturally…

“I love your voice, Richie,” Eddie sighed, closing his eyes as he listened to the song.

“And I love you, Eds,” he said back. Eddie stole a peek at him, unable to fight the smile.

“I love you too,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss Richie.

[thelazyeye]

THE B IN LGBT STANDS FOR BASEBALL BAT

YOU’RE SO FUCKING RIGHT, ASHELY. BASEBALL IS THE GAY SPORT

[reddielibrary]

Just Whispers

Prompt: Eddie and Richie sleeping in a tent with the Losers. They’re in a tent with Bev and Stan. Eddie can’t sleep and wants to get in with Richie.

Written by: Ashley | @stephenskings

Word Count: 2578

Eddie pulled on the sleeves of the sweater he’d stolen from Mike before the Losers had all sat down to set up the fire. He had some fruit mixed-vodka drink in a glass bottle that Ben had sworn he would like pressed between his knees, unsipped and rapidly warming. This camping trip had been months in the working, everybody agreeing that it was of the utmost importance that they knock off their last summer as residents of Derry with a bang. They'd started getting everything together back in June, knowing it would likely take Eddie at least two months to get his mother to consent to the trip.

There was no way in hell that Eddie would have let himself have missed it. No matter how many fights it had spiked with Sonia, he’d known without anybody saying a single word that this would be the last time the Losers Club would all be together for months. Richie would be leaving for LA just two days after the trip was over, and everybody else would leave in rapid success after that. There was a thick, bitter tension in the air around them that seemed to promise that this would be the last time they’d all be together like this. Ever.

Richie Tozier was sitting on the ground, leaning backwards against Bev’s legs while talking animatedly with his hands. “I swear to God, William, if you don’t tell me a good ass scary story right the fuck now,” he was saying as Eddie tuned back into the conversation. “I will end my shit right here. Don’t fucking test me, bitch.”

Bill rolled his eyes, though his cheeks were glowing under the attention even in the dim light from the fire. Eddie had always thought of himself as Bill’s best friend- and this was a belief that been confirmed verbally to him on many occasions over the years- but there had always been some sort of deep bond between Bill Denbrough and Richie Tozier that Eddie was a little bit envious of. A connection that Eddie had always wanted to be part of, but had never been able to truly touch. The last two years or so, however, had brought Eddie and Richie closer together than Eddie had ever imagined they could be. The two boys had always had an interesting relationship, one of teasing and flirtations, and Eddie pretending to find Richie much more annoying than he actually did. They’d been friends, good friends, with a friendship that was always easy. Low maintenance, without expectations or regulations. Easy breezy friends who enjoyed one another’s company, but always traced their friendships back to only being friends in the first place because they ran in the same circle. That was until sophomore year, when simply being the last two awake at sleepovers had brought out a certain confidence in Richie that lead to whispers of fears he didn’t believe he could tell anybody but a half-asleep Eddie Kaspbrak.

Whispers of I think I might like both, and do you think that’s allowed? and Eds, am I a freak?  Eddie always believed it was because if Eddie had turned away from him in disgust, that Richie would’ve been able to square his shoulders and carry on in a way he wouldn’t if it were Bill or Bev that turned away from him. Whether the beliefs rang true or not, they had built up Eddie’s courage to whisper back in junior year.

I know that I don’t like both. I just like boys. I’m gay. Those whispers were what changed, brought Eddie and Richie onto more common ground. Onto a level of understanding, bringing out their own connection that they didn’t know that they could have. Senior year had only strengthened their relationship, brought them closer, and suddenly Eddie felt he spend nearly all of his free time with Richie Tozier. Talking about everything, while somehow constantly avoiding talking about that one real truth that hung above their heads. While they hadn’t vocalized these thoughts and feelings as louder than whispers to each other, Eddie saw the way Bev looked at them or the way Mike smiled while Richie teased him, and he wondered if maybe they know anyway.

It wasn’t to say that Eddie and Richie were together, not in a world like this… in a town like theirs. Not with Richie packing up and moving across the country for school while Eddie had to stay behind in Maine. So, no, Eddie and Richie were not together. They had barely even grazed hands outside of a platonic environment in longer than Eddie could remember. Even the childhood cheek kisses and pinches and flirting had stopped. Outside of “Eds” and the very occasional “Eddie Spaghetti”, Richie had even cut off most nicknames within the last few months. While Eddie did silently mourn them, he knew what the actions meant; putting that strong platonic edge on their friendship was Richie’s way of letting Eddie know the truth. Letting Eddie know that he felt the something more between them, too. There was a chance he and Richie could never be together, but Eddie could have that little soft bubble in his chest knowing they both felt it.

Eddie interrupted the story that Bill was telling about some sort of murderous clown, with a deep sigh. All eyes around the fire turned to look at him, Richie in particular jerking to attention. A soft expression came across Richie’s face, one meant for nights when only the two of them were left awake or when Richie sneaked into his bedroom window with red-tinged eyes. Not for sitting in front of a fire where all their friends could see him.

Richie seemed to realize the same thing as Eddie, quickly turning his worried frown into a Cheshire grin. “You tired over there, Eds? Sorry if we kept you up last night. Your mom was even louder than usual, she was just beside herself with how much she was gonna miss me this weekend.”

Eddie mocked vomiting. “Beep fucking beep, Trashmouth.”

Richie’s grin dimmed into something a little more genuine. One particular conversation at the beginning of senior year- one that may have involved a little too much alcohol- had revealed just how much Richie craved the childhood nickname. The use of the name Trashmouth, very similar to that of Bills stutter and Beverly’s love for black lipstick, had been grown out of around their first year of high school and nobody had never really given any thought to Richie possibly missing what was actually a somewhat mean name. A drunk Richie resting in Eddie’s lap after their friends had finally drifted off to sleep had told Eddie that exactly that, however.

It was a nickname, you know? I give everybody nicknames, y’know, cuz I love you guys. And Trashmouth was mine, cuz like.. Richie isn’t a real nickname. Trashmouth was my real nickname. But nobody uses it anymore. After that, Eddie had tried to find a way to wiggle the nickname in as much as possible, without getting weird and suspicious about it. It was worth it to see how Richie brightened every time he heard it.

“Sorry, Billy, I’m sure your demon clown story is great,” Eddie said, faking a yawn behind his hand. “But I’m fading fast over here. I think I’m going to head in. God knows I’ll be waking up with the sun.”

“Goodnight, Eddie,” Bill called cheerfully after him. Wrapping his arms tightly around himself, Eddie unzipped and ducked into the tent he was going to be sharing with Bev and Stan this weekend. He smiled slightly to himself, remembering the stink Stan had put up when they told him he’d be sharing with Richie, while everybody had known that neither boy would have wanted it any other way.

Hoping he was being subtle, Eddie rearranged the sleeping bags so that his was next to Richie’s and crawled in. Wrapping the terribly textured, loosely named “blanket” around him, Eddie forced his eyes shut and prayed that the sad, sickly feeling in his stomach was going to go away.   

They were walking down a dark hallway, the dim sounds of Bill and Bev talking from a distance that could be a different world. Richie was by Eddie’s side, surprisingly quiet, with their arms brushing as they walked. Something about the hallway seemed dimly familiar as though he’d been here before, but Eddie felt so hauntingly lost that it must have been another life.

“How’s this, Eds?” Richie said, voice basically a whisper in the echoing halls. Richie was close, yet his voice was so far away. Eddie could feel Richie touching him, but his voice still rang out through the hallway as though Richie couldn’t be anywhere near him. “Last time we let Big Bill choose our living arrangements.”

“We’re living here?” Eddie asked, looking around at the rotting walls and all the empty rooms they were walking past. Richie raised one brow at Eddie and chuckled, laugh bouncing off the walls and coming back- sounding almost terrifying and clown like.

“Yeah, Eds, pay attention much?”

Eddie frowned, looking around. He and Richie walked into the room sitting at the end of the hallway.  On the floor was a singular, dirty mattress. It looked as though it were coated in black goo, goo that had dripped down onto the floor. Eddie wrinkled his nose in disgust, shuddering as he followed Richie into the room. Richie tossed down a backpack that Eddie could have sworn he wasn’t carried moments before, onto the ground and turned to Eddie with a grin.

“This is our room,” Richie announced excitedly. Eddie looked around and started shaking his head.

“This house is so big,” Eddie said slowly. “Why are we sharing a room, exactly?”

Richie’s face dropped in disappointment, glancing down at the bed and his bag of belongings. “I… Eds…” He looked worried for a moment, but something at corner of the room caught Eddie’s attention. Heart jumping, he watched as some sort of creature that Eddie could describe as a clown, though the dripping black goo from his mouth and the wolf-like claws on its hands promised that it wasn’t any kind of human creature.

“What’s amatter, Eds?” The creature cooed in a high, attractive voice that made Eddie’s skin crawl. “Why don’t you tell Richie why you won’t share a bed with him? Tell him the truth, Eds. Eddie Spaghetti. Tell him.”

Eddie swallowed roughly, body trembling. Richie’s mouth was moving in front of his face, but the words were coming towards him as though he was deep under water while the creature’s words made it to Eddie’s ears while he wanted nothing to do with them.

“If you don’t want to tell him, maybe I should.” One of the wolf clawed hands came forward, wrapping around Richie’s throat. Eddie’s best friend didn’t seem to take notice of the hand around him, still calling out for Eddie’s attention. Eddie couldn’t respond to Richie, couldn’t bring himself to speak at all. Fear was deep inside Eddie’s blood stream, cooling it until it may very well have been frozen.

“If you won’t’ tell him, I’ll take care of ya,” the creature whispered to him, face pressing against Richie’s own. “I’ll blow you a dime… I’ll blow ya for free. We just need to get your little Trashmouth out of the way, if you don’t want him.”

Eddie opened his mouth, but could only bring out a small, choked noise. The creature’s face broke into a deep smirk, his claws beginning to dig into Richie’s throat. Blood started to drip from the edges of Richie’s throat, down, down towards his shirt. Eddie swallowed roughly, eyes watching the blood and unable to focus on anything else.

“Do you want him, Eds?” The creature hissed. “Can you tell him? Tell him, Eds, or you’ll lose him.”

Eddie let out a deep whine, and creatures hand jerked away. It brought out a deep flow of crimson that sent Richie dropping to the ground without a sound. Eddie cried out, the creature fading away with a chilling laugh. Eddie crawled across the floor, clasping his hands over Richie’s neck. There was a thick flow of blood coming from somewhere, but Eddie couldn’t find any source of bleeding.

“Eds….” Richie choked out, voice sounding more like gurgle than any words. “Eddie… I love you, Eddie. I love you.”

Eddie sobbed, pressing down on Richie’s throat as though he could put pressure on a non-existent wound as save Richie’s life. “It’s okay,” he whispered wetly. “You’re gonna be okay.”

“Eddie… Eddie…. Eddie!”

Eddie jerked awake with a loud gasp, breath laboured as he was about to launch into a asthma attack. Richie’s face was before his, worried and vulnerable but free of any blood.  Eddie exhaled hard, pressing a hand over his mouth as tears came into his eyes. “Richie…”

“Are you okay?” Richie whispered, reaching out and rubbing Eddie’s arm. “You were making all kind of noises, and not the sexy kind. Bad dream?”

“I…” Eddie breathed out. “Demon clown… I think.”

“Bill and his fucking stories,” Richie snickered. “I woke you because you seemed about five seconds away from screaming and waking up everybody in this stupid site. You know how Stanley gets if somebody wakes him up, I was saving your life.”

I was saving your life… Eddie’s heart clenched and he reached out for Richie. “Can I…” He hesitated, looking at Richie and his stupidly open expression. It was so like the Richie in his dream, the Richie who didn’t have a problem with them sharing a room. A Richie who loved him. “Can I get in with you? I don’t…”

Richie smiled and unzipped the side of his sleeping bag, Eddie nearly jumping out of his and into Richie’s. It was almost amazing how easily their bodies came together, Eddie’s leg slid between Richie’s and Richie’s arms came around Eddie’s mid-section. Eddie pressed his face against Richie’s neck, trying to force away the images of blood, and breathed in Richie’s scent.

“It killed you,” Eddie said softly, letting his arms reach up and squeeze at Richie’s shoulder blades. “You were bleeding, dying, and I couldn’t even tell you that I love you.”

Richie went stiff around Eddie for a second, and Eddie’s gut tensed with the realization of what his fearful and half-awake state had caused him to confess. Richie melted into Eddie’s touch after just a moment though, holding him tighter and pressing a lingering kiss to the top of his head.

“Get some sleep, Eds,” Richie said. “Tomorrow… tomorrow will come and maybe, maybe you’ll be able to say things you want to say. Things that we probably shouldn’t be saying tonight, with no sleep.”

“Are there things you want to say, Richie?” Eddie asked him lightly, his thumb rubbing at Richie’s shoulder blades. He could feel Richie’s breathing and it was slowly, but surely, drawing Eddie back into sleep.

“I would ask you to come to California with me,” Richie said in a hushed whisper. “Say that you shouldn’t stay with your mother, and you should come with me even if you’re not going to school. That I don’t want to leave you here with her. But I… I shouldn’t say that stuff.”

“Well,” Eddie said sleepily. “If you ever did say that stuff… I’d say yes.” Eddie feel asleep before he could hear if Richie responded.

[tinyarmedtrex]

richie tozier ✌

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang (idk I went with fandom Richie and not canon Richie)hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (fight me on this, he’s in ravenclaw)best quality: His ability to make anyone laugh, no matter how shitty things look worst quality: His inability to know when to stop jokingship them with: Like most of this fandom pretty much anyonebrotp them with: Stan and Mike needs to stay away from: Henry and his gang misc. thoughts: Richie tried to straighten his hair once, it took several hours and looked like shit but no one would let him wash it until they took a million pictures (the same thing happen when he tried to bleach it- eyebrows include)

[beccs]

ily thank you so much 💖 sooooooo appreciate the help, it means everything 💖

it's no problem at all!!! i'm happy to help 💖💖💖 you and your dog deserve happiness and full health 💕💕

[rahullkohli]

happy birthday buddy 💖 i’ll dm you soon but ilysm and wish i could give u the biggest hug ✨

thank you so much, love. it's not until next month, but i do appreciate it. i really hope things are going better for you atm. i know i say this a lot, but damn things would be easier if we lived closer to each other 💕 ✨