mixtape (reddie)

Chapter 33

Richie Tozier sits on his bed, book in his lap, a tape playing from his boombox. His homework sits untouched on his desk, but this book that Eddie loaned him seems much more important than anything school may have to offer.

At first, Richie thinks the tapping noises are merely part of the song he's listening to. It's not uncommon for Echo & The Bunnymen to sample strange instruments in their songs, so he doesn't think anything of it. But then the tapping gets louder, and it becomes impossible for him to ignore.

Cautiously, the boy presses stop on his stereo, sitting at the corner of his bed and waiting for the noises to show their heads once again. Eventually, after a moment, the tapping continues on his window, so Richie quickly pushes the curtains aside to be surprised by bambi brown eyes.

"Eddie?" he asks, pushing the window open. "The fuck are you doing? Oh my god, how did you get up here?"

"I wanted to see you," Eddie says as if it's obvious. "You're always climbing through my windows, I thought I would take a chance and come to you instead."

Richie smiles, leaning against the windowsill that has the most committed relationship with the soles of his shoes. If you look carefully, you can see all the scuff marks on the windowpanes from the times that his converse have taken the leap of faith down into the dirt below. Now, here Eddie is, gazing up at Richie as if he is the reason the moon glows.

"Well, I'm truly honored," Richie smiles. "Wasn't it cold? Did you walk? Will your mom find out?"

"Who cares?" Eddie asks, a hint of that familiar rebellion in his voice.

"I think I'm starting to rub off on you, Eds," Richie says teasingly. "Getting a bit too cocky, aren't we?"

"Shut up, I just couldn't wait till the third date," Eddie grabs the front of Richie's shirt through the window, pulling the boy through the tiny space that the frame allows.

Richie feels the entire galaxy constantly expanding. He becomes aware of the tides that have receded on Mars, he can feel the rings of Saturn, and the pits of the sun open up right in his very chest. He becomes one with the entire never ending universe, and the cosmic supernovas are given to him in the allusion of two lips curved like constellations. Eddie kisses him, and Richie feels the second Big Bang explode within him.

"Oh my god," Richie exhales against Eddie's lips, feeling as if he will never be able to pull away. His glasses get in the way, so as he reaches up to push them on top of his head, Eddie leans down to tangle his hands with the roses that crawl this far up on the trellis. Richie watches nervously, saying "Be careful."

Eddie looks up at him, rolling his eyes at Richie, though the role reversal is not lost on either of the two boys. How drastically they have changed one another is unbelievable, but Richie knows that they're changes for the better. These two have improved their entire beings by just simply knowing one another, and Richie wonders just how lucky he got to have met somebody like Eddie Kaspbrak.

His thoughts are cut short by the creak of wood coming from beneath Eddie. Both boys stop, Eddie's hand frozen mid-postion where he holds the rose outwards, their eyes locked onto one another as they have a million silent conversations with just stares.

Richie finally says, "Don't you dare fall."

The rose trellis snaps as soon as the words leave his mouth, Eddie falling too fast for Richie to catch him by the arms. It's over within the blink of an eye, and Richie doesn't even have time to process the boy falling from a two story high window before Eddie is crying out in pain.

Richie moves into gear, hiking his leg up to fit through the window frame, not taking a second to plan his landing like he usually does. He jumps without a second thought, landing on a clumsy knee, the snow crunching beneath his body's impact.