prank || reddie

3

3rd person POV

"H-h-hey E-Eds," Bill says, his stutter sounding even worse with the added static from the phone call.
"Hi Bill," Eddie responds.
"I w-was wandering if y-you w-wa-wanted to come to the q-qu-quarry? The r-rest of the L-L-L-Losers already s-said yes, t-they're coming in t-ten m-minutes,"
"Sure, I'll ask my mom," Eddie replies easily.
"G-Great! See ya t-there E-Eds," Bill says happily, before hanging up.

Eddie smiles and puts the phone down, about to get out of bed when the realisation hits him like a ton of bricks. Richie will be there. It was only two days ago that Richie sent the text, and Eddie had the dream. Suddenly, the panic in Eddie's chest disappears as he realises just how stupid he's being. Richie is his best friend. They've been friends for years, and one idiotic prank isn't going to change that. Eddie rolls his eyes at himself and gets up, making his bed neatly before getting changed into a white polo and his red shorts, topping off the look with his knee-high socks and clipping his fanny pack around his waist.

He brushed his teeth carefully, took the medication lined up neatly in the pill cabinet above his bathroom sink, and quickly combed through his messy hair. Once satisfied, he grabbed the inhaler off his bedside table and stuffed it in his fanny pack (along with the spare pills and first aid supplies he never fails to bring) before heading downstairs to talk to his mother. Sonia Kaspbrak had fallen asleep in front of the TV once again, and she was still snoring heavily when Eddie found her in the front room. This was no surprise to Eddie - in fact her being asleep was most likely better for his situation - and he crept forwards quietly to switch off the TV before giving her an innocent kiss on the cheek and leaving the room.

He grabbed a piece of paper from the magnetic notebook on the fridge and quickly scrawled a note, leaving it tacked on the cupboard that stores the Coke cans his mother was addicted to.
'Goodmorning Ma, I've gone to the quarry with Bill. I'll stay safe, I've got my pills and my inhaler. Love you, Eddie.' He knew she would see it before she went to his room, and he also knew she would most likely be pissed at him when he got home. Still, it was better than asking her and not getting to go at all.

Eddie pulled on his spotless trainers and double checked his fanny pack, leaving the house once he was sure he had everything he needed. He shut the front door behind him as soundlessly as possible and started walking to the quarry.

Eddie arrived at the quarry about fifteen minutes later, the walk short and pleasant in the late-summer sun. He smiled happily as he saw the rest of the Losers on the cliff top, gathered around a radio which Richie was trying - and failing - to tune.
"Hey Eddie!" Ben called out to him, and the short boy waved in their direction. Richie abandoned the radio and got up quickly, turning to face him and smiling that goofy grin of his. A chorus of 'Hey!'s rung out around the group as Eddie reached them, and Richie slung an arm around Eddie's shoulders as soon as he came within range.

"Hey Eddie Spaghetti," He said, smiling right at him again.
"Get off me," Eddie groaned, trying to shake Richie's arm off, but Richie didn't let him.
"W-wanna g-go for a s-sw-swim?" Bill asked, looking around at the group. They all agreed, and soon they had all stripped to their underwear. Ben was looking rather obviously at Bev, and she was pretending not to notice like always. Stanley rolled his eyes at the obvious affection the two held for each other.
"Last one in has to buy the ice creams later!" Richie suddenly shrieked, bolting forwards and jumping off the cliff edge without a care. He screamed in delight as he plummeted down, landing in the water with a loud splash.

Bill quickly went after him, followed by Eddie, then Bev, Stan, Ben and finally Mike. Mike groaned as he resurfaced from the water.
"I'm gonna be broke if I keep buying shit for all of you, this is the sixth time I've lost one of these!" He complained, and Beverly chuckled.
"You just gotta be faster next time," Richie said, before ducking under the water and appearing about half a meter away from Mike, splashing a huge wave of water in his face.
"Hey!" Mike shouted, wiping the droplets from his eyes as he desperately treaded water to stay afloat, "Oh now you're in for it,"

The group began ruthlessly sending huge sprays of water in each others' faces, all of them shrieking and grinning in delight. This usually happened at some point or another when they were in the Barrens, they just couldn't help it. When they were all thoroughly soaked, the laughter began to fizzle out and the splashing eventually stopped. They swam around for a little, and Eddie kicked his legs up until he was floating on his back, a content smile permanently painted on his face.

Suddenly, a grinning head emerged right next to him and Eddie screamed as Richie began ruthlessly tickling his sides. None of the Losers payed them any attention, used to this by now, and they began to play another game they enjoyed, that involved sitting on someone else's shoulders and fighting each other until they fell off. Bev was on Ben's shoulders and Stan was on Bill's, Mike being the judge. Their gleeful laughter echoed around them, magnified by the tall cliff surrounding the lake.

Eddie couldn't take the tickling anymore, he was practically crying with laughter at this point, and he ducked underneath the water. Richie followed, grinning at him when Eddie opened his eyes. Eddie flicked him off underwater and Richie darted his hands forwards again, drumming them across Eddie's stomach. Eddie's eyes scrunched tight shut and his arms crossed over his stomach, and he became horrifically aware that he couldn't get himself back to the surface. His eyes snapped open in terror and Richie saw this, quickly grabbing his waist as he began thrashing around and pulling him up to the surface once more. They both broke through the water, gasping for air, and begun laughing once more.

Eddie begun to blush profusely as he realised Richie hadn't let go of him, and he almost forgot to kick. Richie pulled him up once more as he began to sink, and Eddie looked away in embarrassment. To Eddie's horror, Richie pulled him closer, moving one hand from Eddie's waist to his chin, tilting his head back up so they were making eye contact.
"Aww is my little Eddie Spaghetti flustered?" He teased, winking stupidly.
"What? No! Shut up," Eddie quickly responded, to quickly, and Richie smirked.
"Oh so you want me to let go? Ok," He said simply, releasing Eddie. The asthmatic boy immediately frowned at the loss of contact, before turning even more scarlet when he realised that he had. Why did I do that?

"That's what I thought," Richie chuckled, moving his hands back to their original position. Eddie fearfully glanced to his right at the rest of the Losers, but they were pretty far away now and were paying no attention to the two boys, thoroughly absorbed in their own games.
"They're not looking Eds," Richie said, still with that annoyingly cute grin on his face. Eddie turned back to face him, a confused look on his features. Why was Richie doing this? Just as those thoughts crossed his mind, Richie begun to gently stroke his thumbs up and down on Eddie's waist. Eddie gulped, looking back at Richie with wide eyes, and he subconsciously parted his lips.

Eddie could've sworn the gap between them was getting smaller, and he was so close he could see every freckle on Richie's stunning face. Abruptly, Eddie seemed to snap back to reality and he quickly leaned away, causing Richie's to let go of him.
"I- I'm sorry I have to go I- my- my mom will be worried," He quickly apologised, wasting no time in turning around and swimming back to shore.
"Eddie wait! I'm sorry did I do something wrong?" Richie called out, but Eddie ignored him.

He made it onto the shore and started walking over to where he'd dumped his clothes, utterly mortified and embarrassed. He quickly got dressed and turned back one final time. Richie was looking at him from the water, and Eddie could tell he was upset. Mike turned from Bev and Ben and saw Eddie begin to make his way back through the trees, quickly shouting after him.
"Eddie? Why are you going already? Don't you want ice cream?"
"I'm sorry," Eddie answered, voice cracking, unable to face them as he began running into the trees. God, he was such a screw up.