mixtape (reddie)

Chapter 4

Richie stares down at the address on his hand, then up at the house his bike is stopped in front of. It must be the right place, there's a pile of bikes in the front lawn, as well as a collection of balloons tied to the porch railing.

Taking a deep sigh in, Richie prepares for everything that he's gotten himself into. Fuck You, Beverly Marsh he thinks. Fuck you for making me love you so much.

Richie discards his bike against the tree, leaving it out of the tangled mess of other bikes in fear of it accidentally getting stolen. He pulls his backpack tighter against his spine, then ascends the stairs to knock on the front door.

Ben's mother answers, happily guiding Richie into the basement, telling him that if he needs anything she would be more than happy to help. Richie smiles, shrugs her hand off his shoulder, and then cautiously descends the staircase to the basement he hears chatter bubbling from.

As soon as Richie turns the corner and interrupts the group's excited conversation, he feels the pressure of eyes piercing into him. Richie stands in the doorway, his hands tight on his bag straps, and considers turning back around to escape this mess he's gotten himself into.

"You invited trashmouth?" He hears a harsh whisper.

"Shut up, Stan. He's Beverly's best friend," Ben replies, slapping a tall kid upside the head.

"Richie T-T-Tozier has fuh-friends?" Stuttering Bill struggles to get out.

Richie dips his head down, flinching for a few brief seconds, before looking to Ben and asking "Do you have the decorations?"

Ben seems to snap out of it, nodding quickly and waving Richie over to a massive department store bag filled with streamers and packages of balloons.

"Here, why don't you and Stan set the streamers up since you're the tallest," Ben hands the rolls of decorations to Richie, then waves a reluctant Stanley over. The two share a look before Richie begins unraveling the streamers.

"Eddie, how about you blow the balloons up?" Ben holds up a bag of red balloons, his face hopeful and excited about making this party perfect for the girl he loves.

"You want to make an asthmatic kid blow up balloons? Wow, you should get an award for smartest ideas, Ben. You're practically fucking Einstein," Richie hears over his shoulder, which makes him smirk. He doesn't look, but the voice sounds flowery and sharp all at once. The definition of float like a butterfly, sting like a bee truly takes form in those quick-witted replies. Richie smiles, and continues decorating.

After finishing up the streamers, Stan immediately retreats to Stuttering Bill's side. Richie watches the two, then moves to inhabit a vacant chair in the far corner. He holds his bag close, very close, and watches as the four kids move about the basement comfortably. It's obvious he's the outsider, and he really just wants this night to be over, yet Bev hasn't even arrived yet.

Richie pulls out his Walkman, placing the headphones over his ears and pressing play on his most anxiety-reducing mixtape. He finds comfort in the song, letting Hotel California by The Eagles serenade his busy mind.

Richie lets his tape play through three times before Beverly and Mike finally arrive. She yelps in surprise when everyone jumps out, and Richie can't help but let his eyes soften upon seeing her excited expression.

Richie doesn't join their circle, instead just moves his chair closer and watches the way that Beverly fits right in. He keeps his headphones on, but slides one side off of his ear so that he can listen in on the conversation. Nothing important, just complaints about Bowers and school courses.

Then, suddenly, with no warning at all, a small figure presses into Richie's side and causes the taller boy to jump up.

"I was trying to figure out where I've seen you before," the boy says, and when Richie looks over, he sees a button nose and rose tinted cheeks facing the other kids in the room.