Bittersweet Love || Reddie [COMPLETED]

Richie's memory

Summer - a year ago

Richie was aware that he was the oldest person in the Arcade, as an exception from the parents of the children playing. He liked the Arcade, it made him feel like an 80's kid, smashing buttons as hard as he could.
The only reason why the Arcade was still active was to endure the tradition of kids playing together, even if it meant violent videogames. Also, a lot of money was collected from the machines, especially from Richie.
He could spend hours there, battling ten-year-old kids to a Street Fighter fight, which he always won.

Derry was a small town and the Arcade was one of the main attractions. That was where Richie spent most of the evenings and soon, when it would be summer, the whole day, too.

Connor wasn't used to go there to play, but it was connected to the Aladdin Theater and when a movie finished, he would always see Richie playing at a different game every time. Most of the times, Bill, Ben and Stan were with him, however Connor liked it more when Richie was alone, meaning he could go closer and play with him. He never did it.
He knew who Richie was, after all, Connor went to the same high school as him, but since he was one year younger, they'd never officially met.
Connor was always watching him, though. In the distance.

Until, one day, he found the courage to talk to him. The words slithered out of his mouth when the score showed up in the screen.

"Is this your record?"

"Huh?" Richie said as he turned around to see the blonde boy. His face looked familiar, but he couldn't guess his name. "Oh no, I've done better. Do you wanna play?"

Richie stepped aside and let Connor play by himself, but the other boy talked again before he could leave the Arcade.

"I don't know how to..."

Looking back at him, Richie spotted a shy smile in his face, which made him feel good for some reason. With a chuckle, he walked closer to him again, standing by his side.

"I honestly don't know either, I just smash all the buttons. It seems to work, though."

Connor giggled and his awkwardness left with the sound of his laugh. Richie used one of his coins to run the game.
Their characters fought against each other and, even though Richie acted like he wanted to win, he gave the victory to Connor. It hadn't been his intention, but he found himself lost in his beautiful face during the virtual battle.

"You let me win, didn't you?"

Richie smiled and shrugged.

"I guess I'm not as good as I thought."

Connor knew that was a lie, but he figured out what he implied. None of them knew if the other liked boys, but they'd soon figure it out.

"Ah, well, I gotta go."

"Hey! Um... How about we go again?" Connor asked him, showing one of his coins. His face looked worried, but a little bit excited to hear him say 'yes'. "Play some more, you know."

"Another day." Richie waved him as he left. "See you soon, Connor."

When Richie was finally outside, Connor pressed his lips trying to hide his smile. He remembered his name. He knew who he was.

//

Three months later

"Is this where you take all your lovers, Rich?"

Connor's hand was on Richie's cheek, pulling his face closer slowly. Richie knew what he was doing and let him do it until their lips met.

"Yeah, I always take your mom here."

"Richie, I told you I hate those jokes. They're disgusting."

"Sorry." he quickly apologized
He always felt terribly bad when Connor told him that, which made him feel stupid. Maybe he was.

The Barrens wasn't the most romantic place on Earth, but it was a discreet space where they couldn't get caught as easily as the city center. Richie had planned the perfect date but, apparently, the only thing Connor was focused on was kissing him. It wasn't that Richie didn't like kissing Connor, he did, but he also missed the romantic atmosphere.
He, eventually, got used to it. Maybe, even, too much.

They kept their relationship as a secret, which was difficult since Connor was always touchy with him in public. There was nothing Richie hated more than Connor putting his status at risk.

When his father left, again, something changed in Richie. The betrayal made him feel rejected again, not even his own father wanted to be with him. Wentworth gave him the responsibility of taking care of the school, which was a little bit too much for a sixteen-year-old boy.
Richie began to feel stressed and that lead him to an unexpected rudeness. His only three friends tried to help him but, little by little, Richie started to act more like their boss than their friend. He was now in control of everything and everyone. He got the power.

When things seemed like they couldn't get worse, Richie found out his father had been lying to him for years: there were no business trips. Wentworth was visiting a woman, which whom he was planning to get married to.
Richie burned in rage.
His father was replacing his mother, the only parent Richie admired. But, after the divorce, Wentworth ended up being the wealthy one, leaving her in misery. Richie hadn't heard about her since then, which had been six years now. She could be dead and and he wouldn't even know.

When the day of the wedding arrived, Richie refused to go: he stayed at home watching slasher movies and eating popcorn by himself.
The honeymoon meant he would be alone for a few more days. He couldn't stand his father anymore, he despised him.

Connor could see the changes that were taking place in the boy, which forced him to break up with him. To be honest, Richie had totally forgot about him. He was aware that he was becoming a monster, but the fear and obedience that he transmitted was the only thing that made him feel good. He liked being a stone-cold bitch and he planned to keep it that way.

Everything changed when he met Eddie. He had never felt that way with anyone, not even with Connor, and he definitely shouldn't feel anything for his stepbrother. So, he decided to act with him like he acted around everyone, which didn't happen thanks to his feelings inside. Eventually, he got Eddie to hate him, but the method used wasn't the initially planned. Even though he thought that was what he wanted, he felt terribly bad when Eddie tried to stay away from him.
But, it just took one smile from Eddie to melt Richie's coldness.

Until that very moment, he hadn't thought about Connor much. And he thought he never would.