mixtape (reddie)

Chapter 28

Be honest.

"Thirteen times," Richie exhales.

"Thirteen? Thirteen?!" Eddie shouts, his hands flying up to the window in preparation to slam it shut. "What the fuck, dude?"

"I wanted to make sure!" Richie defends himself.

"What, make sure he had both tonsils in the back of his throat? You don't accidentally kiss someone thirteen fucking times!" Eddie shouts, his body trembling in anger.

"I don't know, Eds, just let me in, please," Richie pleads, his fingers curled around the windowsill. His gloves have all the tips cut off, giving Eddie a clear view of the blue frostbitten fingers. The snow eats away at Richie, threatening to freeze the boy in a permanent post of begging outside Eddie's window at nine PM.

"You kissed Stanley thirteen times!" Eddie scoffs. "And you want me to let you in and do the same to me?"

"It's cold," Richie's voice is quiet, his heart aching. "Please."

Eddie frowns, glaring down at the boy angrily. He definitely holds the upper hand, and the remainder of their relationship lies solely on what the boy will choose next.

Eddie reaches his arm down to grasp onto Richie's, tugging the boy up through the window with a brute force that nobody would think Eddie is capable of.

Richie stumbles onto Eddie's floor, dusting the snow off of his clothes and quickly shedding his coats off of his body. Eddie shuts the window quickly, his little actions being far more passive aggressive than necessary.

"You were fine with it before," Richie says quietly, his voice jagged around the edges.

"Yeah, before I knew it happened thirteen times! I thought you kissed him, like, once or twice!" Eddie pouts, sitting on the edge of his bed. Richie doesn't dare sit next to him, but instead kneels down in front of the boy and cautiously reaches out to let his hands hover above Eddie's knees. When Eddie doesn't slap his hands away, Richie lets them rest against the soft skin exposed beneath cotton shorts.

"I just want to be honest with you, angel," Richie sighs out. "Please understand that. You... You asked for me to tell you the truth, so I am. All of it."

Eddie lifts his head to look at Richie, his gaze softening up when he meets Richie's vulnerable state. This isn't some joke, not a Richie Tozier gag, but something raw and genuine coming straight from his heart.

"All of it?" Eddie asks, a hopeful tone acting as a silver lining in the cloud of curiosity settling over those three words.

Richie nods, confirming. "Anything you want to know."

"Are you ever going to kiss Stan again?" Eddie asks.

Richie is hit with a realization that comes on stronger than anything he's ever felt before. Eddie isn't mad, he's not angry, and he's definitely not jealous. He's insecure.

"God, no, no, no, baby," Richie shakes his head. "No, of course not. It's you. I really, really like you. Honest."

"Romantically?" Eddie then asks.

Richie's hands slide up to cup Eddie's, their fingers entwining with one another. "Romantically, yes. Only you. Kissing someone doesn't automatically mean romance."

"Like Henry," Eddie says, but there is no accusation in his voice. Just curiosity coming from a boy who is trying to understand the situation as best as he can. "He kissed you, but you didn't feel anything, right?"

"No," Richie shakes his head. "Unfortunately, no. Maybe if I did, he wouldn't have turned out so... so... psychotic."

Eddie squeezes Richie's hand tightly, saying "That is not your fault."