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t w e n t y e i g h t

"you guys didn't have to exclude will because of me."

eddie stands nervously in the kitchen doorway, his fingers fiddling with the zipper of his sweater while the girls finish tidying up the living room. the rest of the group had been invited over, but max had reassured eddie that will would not be attending.

"it's not just because of you," el mentions, fluffing the couch pillows. "i mean, what he did to you is really revealing of his character. you don't deserve to be around him, and none of us want to be friends with someone like that. he's not going to be at the end of the year party on friday, either."

"hopefully he gets the message, because everyone is going to that," max adds. "we all need to blow off steam with the school year coming to an end."

eddie smiles. "well still, thank you anyways."

"don't thank us too much," bev chimes in, pulling an extra chair out into the living room. "richie is still coming to both, so you'll have to survive that."

eddie releases a lighthearted chuckle, grabbing the bowls of chips from the kitchen counter and bringing them to the coffee table. "i can handle him. i, uh, actually need to talk to him, anyway."

"oh?" max chirps, eyebrows wiggling, "what about?"

eddie waves this off, his cheeks blooming red even though there's no reason for him to be embarrassed. "oh, nevermind that."

"why are you blushing then?" el coos, clearly uninterested in fluffing the pillows anymore. she stands up straight and tilts her head, curious now at the change in topic. in a sing-song voice she reminds him, "you don't have to tell us, but you know you can."

the corners of eddie's lips upturn, and he shrugs, feeling dumb having to explain why he wants to talk to richie. but, also, he knows it'll probably feel good getting it off his chest, and these girls support him, with no judgement, no matter what.

"i don't know," he mumbles, chewing on his lip. "i guess after the way everything went down, i just feel like i owe him an explanation. i mean, so many things came in between us, especially will. and he was right about will, too, but i let him ruin what rich and i had. and what we had was good, really good. after coming out to my mom and basically losing her, and then losing someone i thought was a close friend but was actually just using me, i guess i realized that i didn't want to lose him, too. although, maybe i already have. i don't know. i just want to apologize."

bev offers a supportive smile, walking over and slinging an arm around eddie's shoulders. "i think that's a great idea. i wouldn't worry too much about it, you and rich had, and still have, a great connection. i'm sure you'll be able to reconcile once you talk through it."

eddie shrugs once again, feeling anxiety eat away at his stomach. "i don't know. it's not like i really expect anything to come of the conversation, not at all, but...i want to clear the air, dispel some tension. i just want things to go back to how they used to be. i already lost him once, i don't want to lose him as a friend, too."

"i completely understand," max says. "when are you going to talk to him?"

"i was thinking tonight, but we'll see if i have the guts to do that," eddie jokes, but he's not really joking.

before any of the girls can respond, the doorbell is ringing. eddie sucks in a deep breath and bev goes to answer the door, realizing that the first few friends to arrive are stanley, bill, and none other than richie himself.

god, eddie is just praying that he'll be able to do this without breaking down.

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two chapters left til this book comes to an end <3