prank || reddie

8

3rd person POV

Eddie tried his best to stifle his distressed sobs in the sweaty palm of his hand and hoped to god his mother couldn't hear him. Sonia Kaspbrak had to go and meet Eddie's Aunt - a plump, rather angry woman named Kelly Kaspbrak - and attend her wedding in Massachusetts. It was no longer a surprise when Kelly invited them to one of her weddings (this was what, her fourth marriage now?) and Sonia was set to leave in under fifteen minutes. Eddie just had to hold on until then.

But why was Eddie crying exactly? Well, he couldn't even answer that question himself. He just felt so overwhelmingly... confused. He had woken up that morning and immediately his thoughts had drifted to his best friend, as they had every morning since the sleepover a week ago. Richie's hair, Richie's eyes, Richie's smile, Richie's lips... But why? Why was that? What was this feeling? What was any of this? What did it mean?

Eddie scrunched his eyes tight shut and tried to  focus on the muffled shuffling of his mother downstairs as she prepared Eddie's pills for the next two days. It was Saturday morning, and once she left for Massachusetts she wasn't due to return until late Friday. Eddie was sat on his bed, legs hanging over the side and one hand plastered across his trembling mouth, when he heard the distinctive click of his front door opening. It closed a minute later, signalling Sonia had left. Eddie realised she must have suspected him asleep, as she would never leave without saying goodbye if she'd thought he was up. Oh well, that was better for him anyway.

Eddie sighed, slowly prising his hand away from his mouth and rising, his oversized T-shirt - a shirt he had, in fact, gotten from Richie after a run in with Henry Bowers had torn his own white polo to pieces - falling down around him like a curtain. Eyes puffy with tears, he made his way over to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. His entire face was a blotchy red and tear tracks streaked his cheeks, his lower lip was trembling constantly and his nose was running with a disgusting trail of clear snot. Eddie let out another strangled sob just at the sight of himself, and immediately decided to shower.

He undressed quickly and stepped into the shower, reaching out and pressing the on button. He sighed as the streams of hot water began to trickle down his back, bringing with them almost instant comfort. He leant backwards, wetting his hair before grabbing his shampoo bottle and squeezing a dollop into his palm, gently rubbing it through the damp strands. After placing the bottle back on the shelf, Eddie shut his eyes tight and washed out the shampoo, soap suds trickling down his face rather soothingly.

Once he'd made sure he was properly clean, Eddie simply stood under the constant flow of water and let his thoughts swarm his mind. It was all just so- so- so confusing. What was this? Above all, Eddie found himself thinking of Richie. Everything about the boy suddenly seemed so attractive, so utterly compelling. But Eddie hadn't ever thought about his best friend in this way before, so what's changed? Why has he gone from wanting to read comics with Richie to wanting to kiss him?

Wait - that was new. Did Eddie really want that? Did he really want to kiss his best friend? No, that would be wrong. That would be- that would be gay. According Eddie's mother, perhaps the worst disease of all. He wasn't gay. He wasn't. He was just growing up, yes, that's it. He was just growing up... it was just a stray thought, one that would never resurface. But what would it feel like to be that close to him? To finally press our lips together? God dammit Eddie!

What the fuck was happening. Eddie groaned in frustration and spun around, practically punching the shower off again. He stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist, shaking droplets of water from his hair. He brushed his teeth carefully and walked back to his bedroom, getting changed into a pair of blue jeans and a white polo, tucking it neatly into the waistline of the jeans. They were about a size to big for Eddie, and he cuffed them as always to keep from tripping over his own feet before pulling on his white knee high socks underneath. He combed through his hair with one hand before looking into the full length mirror nailed to the back of his wardrobe door.

Eddie laughed at his reflection, realising he looked scarily like Stanley Uris. Oh well, it's comfortable. He thought, and made his way downstairs. The thoughts were still floating around in the back of his mind as Eddie made himself a few slices of buttered toast, but he managed to dismiss them almost completely until he went to sit down on the sofa.

Eddie looked out of the window to his left and down at the empty street below, then across to the neat line of detached houses opposite. They seemed to stare back at him, challenging him somehow, forcing him to address whatever it was he was feeling. Eddie found himself imagining Richie here with him now, he'd probably be telling some stupid your mom joke or failing miserably at one of his Voices. Eddie would of course laugh all the same (because come on, anything Richie did was amusing) and then they'd make eye contact, and it'd be one of those tense, heat filled moments you saw in the movies, and their breathing would quicken, and Eddie would lean in and- and-

"NO!" Eddie screamed, slamming his now empty plate down on the side table to his left and standing up. No. This was not normal. He shouldn't be feeling like this. He shouldn't want Richie like this. This was- this was all wrong. The tears fell freely now, cascading down his cheeks like a hot waterfall as Eddie carried his plate back to the kitchen. Shaking like a leaf, Eddie dropped his plate into the sink and lent back against the polished marble countertop, supporting his weight on his arms.

But what if he was gay? What would Sonia say, really? If he was, there would be nothing she could do about it. Who says it's a disease, anyway? Hell, Eddie's mom thinks he could catch cancer from the rain, for fucks sake. It's simply human, just a fact. These thoughts began to comfort Eddie, and he now felt a whole lot better. And wouldn't it be nice? Wouldn't it be nice if he could be with Richie, but in that way? So yes. Eddie supposed he might well be gay, and he might well have a crush on Richie Tozier. And by the end of the day, when he was tucked safely underneath his duvet and shrouded by the dark, he was more or less sure of it.

And that was okay.