you began to feel like home- reddie

chapter 5

It was nearing late October, meaning halloween was right around the coroner. As the time passed over the past few weeks, Eddie, Stanley and Bill have been deemed apart of the losers club. Of course Richie had deemed that, but the trio didn't mind, and neither did the other losers.

So, instead of them all being split up, they're seen together a lot. The group of seven are always seen together before school, during school, and out of school. They mostly journey to the quarry, jumping into the water and swimming on the rare occasions it's actually warm. Today, was one of those days.

"Hey guys," Ben said, pulling up to the group. He was late, with Beverly on his tail. Mike was no where to be seen at the moment, and Stanley couldn't make it due to having to spend the weekend out of town at his mothers. So for now, it was just Bill, Richie, Eddie, Bev and Ben. They sat down, with a radio on blasting some music from an unknown radio station, as the talked.

Beverly and Richie were sat near the edge, their feet hanging over as they smoked, talking about shit. Ben read a book while Bill and Eddie sunbathed. Bill claims they were "Soaking i-in the last of the sun b-b-before it disappears for t-the winter." While Eddie just copied him, having nothing better to do. The only thing he could have done was talk to Richie, but he hated the smoke, so he went with this instead.

Just then, he could feel the sun slipping away, and opened his eyes to see dark clouds coming across. He sighed, pulling his shirt back on, nudging Bill to get a move on. The other three just looked over at them confused at why there were staring to pack up. Eddie pointed up to the sky like it wasn't the lost obvious thing. "It's going to rain," he starts, once again looking into the sky. "So?" Beverly says, standing up and stepping on her cigarette. "So? so? so, we need to get inside, or we'll all catch colds. I for one don't want a cold for halloween." Eddie huffs, picking up his bike, along with Bill.

"Wait Ed's," Richie starts, running over to him quickly. "We can go to bens, cant we ben?" He says, looking over at this friend. Ben opened his mouth to disagree, before Richie glared at him. He sighed, nodding. "See, we can all pack up quickly and go hang out there." He smiled at the boy, adjusting his glasses. The others quickly gathered their stuff, and jumped on their bikes, heading in the direction of Bens house. The rain started to drizzle as Eddie groaned, peddling faster. Ben had a porch, so that's why he sped up. Richie also sped up at that, while the other three stayed at their normal pace.

Eddie dropped down his bike, running to the porch to stand under it. Once he was shielded from the rain, he shivered, putting his hands around himself. Just then Richie came running up to him, dropping his bike halfway through his run. The stood beside Eddie, smiling again. "Are you sure Ben is okay with us staying here for a while?" Eddie asks, putting his hand towards his mouth. Richie quickly pulled his hand away, and looked into his eyes. His eyes were hard, like he knew about what Eddie did to his nails when he was anxious. He cleared his throat, "Of course Ed's, Ben always has me and bev over." He smiles, letting go of the boys hand, realising he was still holding it. He let his hands fall to his side, and just then the others came up to the door.

Once inside, Ben gathered blankets and towels for them all to warm them up. They were all sat in his living room, his parents being away for the holiday. Bev, Ben and Bill shared the couch, while Richie and Eddie took the floor. The rain was starting to calm down, as the wind was starting to pick up. Eddie couldn't stop shivering, and Richie was starting to worry. Once the Movie they were watching was over, Richie claimed he was going to get a drink, pulling Eddie along with him. "You okay? You won't stop shivering." He says, a worried look over his face. Eddie just laughs lightly and smiles at him. "I'm okay rich." And then he walks back into the living room, causing Richie to worry more. "He's fine, stop being stupid." He says to himself, before going back to the room Eddie had just walked into.
—————————-
"I'm hungry." Ashley says, sprawled our across the end of Richie's bed. He sighed, closing his comic and putting it on the bedside table. "And what might you be hungry for, your highness." He says back to his sister, putting on a British accent. She snorts, rolling over to face him. "I'm hungry for candy." She says, grinning at him. He sighs, pushing his glasses up further on his face. "It's halloween in two days, we need to stock up on candy for the trick or treaters Rich." She says, rolling back over dramatically. "And you cant let me starve. What good big brother would let their little sister starve." She says, a sigh from her brother following after it.

Next thing Richie knows, he's checking out at the store with a handful of candy bags, his sister grinning besides him. He sighs, passing over the money he owes the lady before walking out the door, and setting them in his sisters arms. "You wanted them, you can carry them back home." He says, a smile tugging at his face when she groans, starting to walk off. "Hey hey wait up!" He shouts, running after her.

Back at home, he hands her a small packet of haribo's, sending her into the living room. The other sweets he puts into a cupboard, So he can get them out again on halloween for the trick or treaters. He then heads upstairs, to read his comic again. But as soon as he goes to open the door of his room, the phone goes off. He groans loudly, stomping back down the stairs. He picks the phone up, and puts it to his ear. "Hello?" He asks into it, sounding irritated. "Richie?" He hears Stanley's voice on the other side of the phone. Stanley barley calls, unless it's to ask when they're next hanging out. "Stan?" He asks, because they haven't scheduled anything recently. "Have you seen Eddie? Or heard from him?" He says, his voice sounding worried. And that worried Richie. "No, i haven't. Why? Is something wrong?" He asks, starting to fiddling with the string of the phone. He hears a mumbled "shit" before Stanley hangs up on him, and then he's even more worried.

He decides to call him back, and the other boy picks up. "What the fuck was that?" He asks, reviving a heavy breath. "Stan? Are you ok?" He asks, and then hears a sob. It takes him by surprise, as he wasn't expecting it. "Stanley, whats wrong." He asks, getting worried once again. "Can i come to yours? I can't explain this over the phone." He sniffles to the boy, and Richie immediately agrees, putting the phone back into its resting place.

He sits anxiously at the table, before he hears a knock on the door. He opens it so see a red eyed Stanley on the other side, who looks like he just ran all the way here. Richie lets him in, and leads him up to his room.

"It's Eddie." He says quietly, and Richie can feel his breath stop at those two words.