Fuck you, bro (Richie Tozier x Male!Reader)

•Eighteen•

Word Count: 1000

Warnings: Cussing, repression, atheism (idk if this counts, but just in case).

Song for chapter 18 - "Take Me To Church" by Hozier (the name is literally almost Tozier I-).

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Richie's POV

I flopped back onto the couch, a sandwich in one hand and a newspaper in the other. "But, Richie, why a newspaper?" You may ask. I suddenly remembered the creature that had terrorised me and the rest of the Losers club. It's not like I forgot, it's pretty hard to forget someone that looks uglier than Mrs. K. I mean, think of the time when- Alright, I went off the track for what I wanted to say. I got a newspaper, because I wanted to see if there had been any death cases that could, in any way, resemble IT. Yes, we saw it die and I'm not an overly paranoid person, but with something like that it's better to be safe than sorry.

I started reading the newspaper, but zoned out at the first page, so I had to reread it. I zoned out again. My thoughts seemed to be drifting elsewhere. I couldn't read the newspaper, so I threw it aside and went over to the kitchen window to just stare at the outside and ponder.

I am worried about Y/N. They eventually relocated him to a hospital, but he ended up being signed out early. If he wouldn't be careful he would end up hurting himself more. He's currently staying at home for a while and I did plan on visiting him and making sure he's fine, but lately it's been awkward. Yes, health goes before awkwardness, but I think it's best that I stay away. Both for him and me.

I still regretted the decision of writing Y/N that letter. Man, my parents would kick my ass out if they found out. Then again, they probably won't find out. They're gone like 90% of the time and mostly care only about my grades. They have tried scolding me on my behaviour at one point (that I can't keep my mouth shut), but gave up when they realized I wouldn't change.

I realized I should probably not linger in my own thoughts for too long. I needed a distraction and staring out the window didn't help, it just helped me be even more in tune with my thoughts. Boredom was eating at me, so I was considering meeting up with someone. It was the weekend, so nobody should be overly busy, but would anyone actually want to see me? I didn't have many options who to choose from. There were only Alyssa, Mike and Beverly. I have never been to Alyssa's house, Beverly's dad would have my head on a platter. Mike was the best option in this case.

I decided on calling him before coming over. He was still at the library, I guessed that was his happy place or something, because he rarely went home lately. He agreed on meeting up in town at 4 PM and it was still a few hours to go, but I had to get out anyway. It was a little suffocating in the house. There won't be much to do, since they closed down the arcade (which I'm still depressed about!), but I'll just walk around and find something. I'll just have to keep track of time, so I don't miss my "appointment" with Mike.

I took my pocket watch and went outside, locked the door and proceeded into the town. There were random kids running around the neighbourhood and I smiled to myself. At least they wouldn't get taken. Then my smile dropped. Maybe they wouldn't, but if the clown is still alive the next generation would still get taken. Why did it even stick around in this town? I mean, there were plenty of other places. Were the people here weak? Either way, it didn't do it in the spotlight, so it did believe that someone out there could stop it. It wasn't the most powerful being in the universe. That made me shiver, because then it's possible that there's something bigger out there. I'm not a full on atheist, but there was no way something existed only in our favor. If it did it wouldn't create all these other things that have malice and potential of killing all of us humans.

My thoughts seemed to help me waste a LOT of time without me noticing, that Mike had to shove me for me to snap out of it.

"Hey, Richie. Are you good, man?" Mike asked, concern visible all over his face.

"I'm fine, just got lost in my thoughts." I replied, feeling a little out of it, suddenly being aware of my surroundings.

"Sooo...why did you want to meet?" Mike questioned.

"Because...we're friends?" I stated the obvious.

"Nah, you barely contact me, so there should be something else." Mike pushed further.

"Well, I was just bored and I haven't seen anyone in a while."

"By anyone you mean Y/N?"

"Wh- No! My parents are out and I haven't seen Bev, you or any of my friends this weekend. Not even at school." My face felt hot.

"I heard what happened to Y/N. Have you visited him?" Mike got off topic again.

"Well, yeah, but like one time-"

"Look, Richie, you gotta stop repressing yourself so much."

"Repressing? What are you talking about, I'm not-"

"I've had my fair share of struggles to notice what's going on. If you keep denying it'll only get worse. You don't need to be public about it, but at least admit it to yourself." I understood what Mike was talking about, but I couldn't keep listening to him. I started to get sick.

"Mike, what the fuck are you going on about? I came here to hang out not get some random lecture." I avoided eye contact.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. If you wanna hangout now, sure, let's hangout, but don't push these thoughts away. When you get home, think about what I've said." He never brought it up again when we hung out, which distracted me even more.

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I am alive.