mixtape (reddie)

Chapter 38

"How do I look?" Richie asks.

Eddie glances upwards at Richie, then straightens the boy's tie. Richie looks like a hot mess, but Eddie isn't going to tell him that.

Richie showed up in a powder blue suit that barely reached his ankles. It's evident he's grown so much since this suit was purchased, but the only other clothes he owns are neon striped shirts and torn band tees. He even managed to comb some of his hair back in an attempt to look presentable.

"You look so handsome," Eddie smooths some of the fabric down, the material returning to puffing out around Richie's chest. "You're going to be alright. I promise."

"You'll be there in the crowd?" Richie asks.

"Bill and I are going to sit as close as we can," Eddie nods. In the back of the room, the Denbroughs sit next to Bill, the whole family watching the two uneasily. Richie wishes they would all look away, because all he wants to do is lean down and kiss Eddie until they can both see stars.

Instead, he looks down at those heaven sweet eyes, the pouting lips that have whispered countless reassurances to him, and that little polka dot nose that he gave a nosebleed in a drugstore many months ago. Richie holds up his hand, making a fist, and he smiles down at Eddie as fondly as he can.

Eddie glances at Richie's hand, then rolls his eyes and reaches up to fistbump the other boy. "Love you."

Richie falters a little, his hand pausing in midair even after Eddie's drops away. His stomach clenches, his world spins, and he feels as if Eddie just pulled the pin on his grenade heart. Fireworks burst within him, setting all the blooming flowers ablaze to fill Richie's ribs with a sickeningly sweet hazy smoke.

"Love me?" Richie repeats, his cheeks growing flush as his lips turn up at the ends.

Eddie's eyes widen, and he pulls away just the slightest. Then, he looks away quickly, embarrassment scattered across his face. "Yeah. I guess, yeah."

Richie smiles harder, the fluttering twitches of butterflies and moths making colonies within his lungs.

"Love you too," Richie responds, his voice very, very quiet and lacking any of that classic Richie sarcasm.

"Richie?" Wendy's voice calls from the doorway. Richie instinctively takes a step backwards, his eyes shooting up in fear. He's not afraid of Wendy, no, he's afraid of being seen with Eddie in such an intimate manner. Richie is terrified of love. Wendy doesn't notice, however. She just smiles very sadly at the boy's powder blue suit and says "It's time to come meet your lawyer."

The trial comes too quickly, much too quickly, and it all seems to pass by just as fast. Richie can't really understand any of the words they're using; not because he can't process them, but because he's choosing to ignore what's being said. Instead, his eyes are focused on the window placed behind the judge, one with reflective glass that shows the people sitting in the pews. He can see Eddie's faint reflection, sitting next to calm Bill, hunched over that damn journal of his and writing feverishly. He watches Eddie write pretty much throughout the whole trial, only answering questions when directly spoken to, but those are mostly "Yes," "No," and "I haven't seen them."

And then it's over.

It's over with one sentence and a pound of the gavel.

One sentence.

Richie's life is over in one fucking sentence.

"Then Richard Tozier will proceed down to Philidelphia's Orphanage where he will remain under the care of Madame Tusoe until his 18th birthday. Court adjourned."