mixtape (reddie)

Chapter 34

Richie sits patiently, watching the library door for the last of their group to arrive. Richie taps his pencil against the cover of his algebra book, nervously tapping his foot.

"He'll be here soon," Ben says in a comforting tone. He's sitting across from Richie at the table, pouring himself over the world studies textbook. "Relax."

Richie bites his lip and glances at Ben, trying his best to remain calm. Richie doesn't reply, only because Ben wasn't at the lunch table the day that Richie and Eddie came back after being held at knifepoint by two closeted queers. Now, any time Eddie is late, Richie can't help but fear the worst has happened. With a broken arm, Eddie is just about ten times more vulnerable than he already is, so it's only natural that Richie feels more on edge than usual.

"H-H-He's okay, R-Richie," Bill stutters. "C-Can you huh-help with my m-mm-math?"

"Yeah," Richie nods, averting his gaze from the door to focus on the textbook Bill is sliding across the library table.

For the past three days, the losers have been using their fifth periods as study halls for upcoming finals. Next week is finals, then the week after that is the start of their Christmas break. Richie feels uneasy with the upcoming holiday, but he guesses there's no real reason to be afraid when his parents aren't around in the first place. Richie hates Christmas, mainly because his mother drinks more than usual. He hates hearing about what gifts the kids at school were spoiled with, and he hates knowing that he will never receive a gift in his life. But without his parents around, maybe Christmas won't be spent hiding out in his room.

"Just carry the exponent over," Richie marks on Bill's paper, trying to explain the equation in simple terms. Bill is awful at math, so Richie tries to tutor him before the upcoming tests. But Stan is bad at chemistry, so Richie also tries to help there. On top of that, Bev is failing her lit&lang class, but he's hoping that Ben the Poet will help her with that one. "Here. Multiply these two - yeah, like that. See! You're getting the hang of it, Billy boy."

"Th-Th-Thanks, Rich," Bill smiles, then writes down an answer that is totally incorrect.

Before Richie can point out his error, Stan is tapping him on the shoulder. Stan is much more subtle in his approach, too prideful to admit that he needs help from Richie of all people. Stan rests his hand on Richie's arm, then says "Hey. Do you remember the formula for density?"

"Yeah, yeah, let me finish up with Bill," Richie nods, his hand coming to brush over Stan's. He remembers Eddie's dejected expression after learning of their thirteen shared kisses, so Richie pulls his hand away guiltily. It's not that he's against showing platonic affection, he just really doesn't want Eddie feels insecure with the idea of Stan being a back up plan.

Just then, the library door opens, and Eddie Kaspbrak bustles in, arms full of books and lungs out of air. He rushes over to the table, looking at the two boys on either side of Richie, then shamefully takes a seat next to Beverly.

Richie stands up, ready to swap seats, but realizes he doesn't want to bring so much attention to this secret love that the two boys are sharing. It's really not that secret, just about everyone at the table knows how the two feel about one another, but that doesn't mean Richie particularly wants to confirm what is meant to be only his and Eddie's.

"Where ya been? We were worried," Richie sits back down with flushed cheeks. Nobody says anything about his abrupt movements, probably just equating it to classic Richie Tozier ADHD tendencies.

"Sorry, sorry," Eddie exhales, digging around to find his inhaler. "I was talking to Mr. Irwin about my report, apparently I got a D."

"What? We were up all night writing that one," Ben huffs, shaking his head.