Bittersweet Love || Reddie [COMPLETED]

Expectations

"Beverly!" a boy shouted when she saw her at the Barrens.

The girl turned around and saw him running towards her, his glasses nearly falling. Stanley and Bill were already there with her, and so was Ben. When Richie arrived, everybody looked at him.

"Hey, Rich." the girl answered.

"How was he? Did you see him?" Richie stopped right in front of her. "Please, tell me you did."

"Yeah, I did." Beverly saw how Richie's eyes shined and a smile took over his lips. She felt terribly bad.

"So?" he insisted. "What did you do?"

Beverly looked away, trying to control her nerves. Even if she wanted to, Beverly knew she couldn't say anything.

"Not much, we... hang out for a while."

Ben watched the whole scene, feeling really weird.

"That's all? I haven't seen him in three months. I need more info, girl."

"You two can talk about Eddie later," Ben said, trying to change the topic. "why don't we do something else?"

Richie glared at him with hate. He couldn't understand why Ben was being like that, it was like they didn't want to know about Eddie either.

"Yeah, we can talk about it later, Rich." she said.

When Mike finally arrived, Richie decided to let it go. They were probably right and he was feeling too excited to know about him that maybe he was annoying them.
They decided to go watch a movie and then play at the arcade. Richie usually would've been euphoric about it, but not now. Eddie was the only thing in his mind.

Beverly was more nervous that usual, Richie could tell. She was also close to Ben and when the movie started it only grew bigger.
Richie started to suspect that, maybe, she was hiding something. If she knew something about Eddie and she didn't tell him, it was because it would hurt him. Was Eddie dating someone in New York? That was the most possible one.

//

Days passed by and the school trip was even closer. The only thing that annoyed Richie was not being able to control it anymore. He trusted Ben and Stanley on it, who were now the ones to plan it.

The principal tried to change the destiny and insisted that New York wasn't a safe place to visit. Luckily, the rest of students disagreed and after voting it, New York was the final destination. Richie was about to kill the principal for suggesting that.

He was so close to finally see Eddie again. The only problem was that he didn't know where he was. Beverly told him that she didn't know where his uncle lived, but she could take him to their high school. That was the only place that she thought about. It was enough for Richie to feel better.

It was Wednesday now. The trip was on Friday. Sonia knew Richie would try to see Eddie and, she told him that if he succeeded, she wanted Richie to tell his son how much she loved her and missed him. Sonia also wanted Richie to tell her how Eddie was when he came back. Richie promised her she would do so.

They were eating lunch at school when Richie asked them how the planning was going.

"Everything's ready, Richie." Stanley repeated for the fifth time.

"What if I don't see Eddie there?"

"You will." Mike told him. "It's a four-day trip."

"But New York is so big." Richie insisted.

His negativity was starting to annoy them. He had been like that for a whole month.

"We'll find a w-way." Bill talked. "You will s-see him."

Little by little, they convinced him. The possibility of seeing Eddie after four months made him feel really hopeful. He didn't care about the consequences he could get if somebody saw them.

"Bev, are you sure he isn't dating anyone else?"

She shook her head. She wasn't completely sure, but after what had happened between them it didn't seem like it.
Richie breathed deeply and finished his food.

Under the table, Ben was holding Beverly's hand. Her eyes looked at the boy and smiled shyly. She couldn't believe how Ben was taking everything, he hadn't even called her 'slut' or judged her. He stayed by her side all the time, taking care of her. She couldn't believe how lucky she was for finding someone like him.

When the break was finally over, they went back to their classes. Richie just wanted the days to finish and reach to Friday. The hope of seeing Eddie was what helped him through everything. However, he couldn't help but to feel curious about what Beverly was hiding.

//

Two days. Richie would be in New York in two days. The excitement he felt was taking over his body for days, smiling all the time. Maybe he had fucked up, but he really wanted to see Richie. To hear his voice. He had missed him a lot. More than he ever thought.

He also knew Beverly would be back. It was the first time he felt weird when he thought about her. She was his best friend, after all. Nothing more. Nothing had to change between them, if he didn't want to. It had been one time.
What if she had told Richie? Maybe he wouldn't want to see him. But, even if he did, how could they meet? There was no way they could contact each other.
Well, there was one place. His high school. Beverly would definitely bring Richie there, if he wanted to see him.

A heat invaded him as soon as he thought about their encounter. That wasn't a safe place, especially because of the security cameras. Eddie guessed he could wait him outside. For hours? Was he that desperate to see him?

Of course he was. He would do it. On Friday, would stay in front of the high school for hours until he saw Richie. Maybe he would never appear.
But he had to try, anyway.