𝑹𝑨𝑫𝑰𝑶 -- reddie fic

eight - hitchhiking

   the car shook with every note played from the stereo, the bass booming like crazy. richie could feel his seat vibrate from the music. he was in bowers car. richie was only getting a ride because he rode over a piece of glass and his bicycle tire deflated like a balloon. henry and patrick were in the front, and richie was in the middle seat in the back. instead of driving his old mans pickup, bowers had got ahold of a '68 chevy nova. it wasn't in the best condition, a little rusty, loud, and guzzled gas like a pig; but henry was crazy about it. in fact, he barely let anyone touch it, let alone ride in it.

   richie wasn't too happy about having to call bowers to drive him home, but no one else had picked up. he had tried to stay further away from henry this summer after realizing how much time he spent with him before. he didn't really like henry, but he didn't hate him either. they just liked the same music and seemed angry at everyone, and once henry had noticed that he picked richie up and took him under his wing.

   after spending more time with people other than henry bowers and his cronies, richie gained some perspective. of course henry was mean, everyone knew that. but once you're with his pack, it doesn't really mean anything. getting away from the gang for a while did richie well, he felt like he wasn't pretending. truthfully, richie had always been a bit anxious around people he didn't know. he was shy and weird and unless he caught himself before, probably saying something stupid. in his head, he was so different. he was an overly sarcastic smartass who never shut up. richie couldn't figure out why the voice in his head was so far from the that spoke.

   richie closed his eyes for a few moments, feeling the lash of a headache begin. the volume was cranked to 11, and henry and patrick were yelling lyrics at the top of their lungs. even after listening to rock with headphones on for years, this had to do some damage on his hearing. he was sure his ear drum would explode like an ied any minute.

   "can you be quiet?" richie shouted over the noise. neither of them heard him. richie was grumpy, he rolled his eyes and tapped henry on the shoulder. henry's head flung back to look behind him. "can you drive in silence for once?" richie spoke loudly, annoyed. with the jab of a button, the music cut off. the car was pulled to the side of the road, before puttering to a stop. henry's face slowly turned into a glare, and richie felt like his eyes were going to burst into powder from the way he looked at him.

   "get out." henry said sharply. "uh oh." patrick teased, which earned him a punch in the stomach from the driver. richie was still.

 "you're kidding?"

 "get the fuck out!"

   richie looked at henry with challenge in his eyes. he knew better. richie let out a nearly silent sigh, and opened the door. he looked at henry once more, and then slammed the door shut with as much strength as he could muster. henry gave him the chance to pull his bike out of the trunk. bowers sped away, smoke emerging from the black tires.

   "i need to get my fucking license." richie said to himself. the car was now a baseball size, leaving him in the dust. he wasn't that far away from town, but it was summer, and dragging around a broken bicycle certainly didn't sound pleasant. you see, richie was ambitious with his travels that day. he biked all the way out to a city just outside bangor. he heard about a guitar raffle at a mall, and figured this was one of his best bets at ever owning one. well, turns out he missed the raffle by a day. on his way back, richie stopped at a gas station for a drink and bathroom break. with his luck, he rode over that godforsaken glass shard, and then used a payphone to call henry.

   he didn't know what to do. better start walking, huh? he thought. and so richard "the idiot" tozier's journey began. he walked and rolled the bike to best of his abilities, hoping a big enough car would come around so he could try to hitchhike. to his dismay, there was still a lingering headache. richie should have known not to test bowers patience. his temper had a short fuse, and richie had to tread lightly. though every so often, he got a little too sassy and ticked henry off. within a couple days, though, everything was fine once more.

   richie looked up when a big stationwagon was coming toward him. he stuck his hand out, waving, praying to the lord that he wasn't quite sure existed that the car would stop. apparently god gave him enough bad luck for the day, and the car slowed to a stop. the driver looked like a concerned mom. she quickly rolled the window down.

   "are you alright?" her voice was gentle. richie felt completely shy after noticing she had a kid in the car.

   "uhh," he stumbed in his words. richie point to his bike. "my tire blew and i don't know how far it is until a phone." he said nervously. the mother thought for a moment before gesturing to the passenger seat. richie manged to mumble a quiet "thank you" and rushed over to the back side of the car to lift the bike in. richie slid into the passenger side. "thank you." he said again, this time trying to sound like he truly meant it. richie wasn't sure why she let him in. he hadn't had the best luck in the past with hitchhiking. maybe because she thought he looked young, who knows?

   the gear shifted to drive, and they were back on the road. richie looked down at his hands on his lap. they were driving for maybe a minute before the kid in the backseat spoke up. "richie?" a familiar voice rang out. richie turned his head around to see who. "stan." he laughed.

 "you two know each other, hm?" his mom commented. richie and stan both nodded.

"what are the odds, right?" richie said.

time skip

   "this one is your house?" mrs. uris asked. richie nodded. she stopped and parked the car beside the sidewalk in front of his house. just before richie was about to open the door, stan spoke. "you should come to my house this friday, its my birthday." richie nodded vigorously. "yeah sure, of course." he smiled and got out of the car. as the ignition turned on and the car pulled away, richie stood and waved goodbye.

   as he walked to his door and opened it, richie hadn't noticed it was unlocked. he mindlessly walked up the stairs to his room and threw his shoes off before hopping onto his four poster bed. suddenly, a thought struck him as he was thinking up last minute gift ideas. i have no idea where stan's house is. his hand reached up to his forehead for a punctual facepalm. god am i an idiot.

   richie lied down on the duvet and thought. he couldn't call and ask anybody, because he didn't have anyone's phone number. (he kept forgetting to ask) and it wasn't like there was school where he could just go and ask the next day. richie berated himself, such an idiot! he could stop by eddie's house? or bill's. but he felt more comfortable around eddie since he had known him just slightly longer. although then there was the varient of eddie's mother being a little bit of a control freak. not to mention the sure fire awkwardness.

   richie flipped over and stuffed his face into his pillow. he let out a groan of frustration. he then flipped over again onto his side, now tiring of all this thinking. richie sighed and figured he would try and solve everything tomorrow. all in a days work, huh?

1365 word count

a/n: hello!!!!!! i hope u liked this chapter i have some fun ideas for the next one as i hope u can tell. i def want some more action between just eddie and rich but i love my slowburn. also kinda irrelevant but i have been really into the series bones and thinking abt doing a oneshot book? not sure exactly what type but ik i want to. so anyway if anyone was interested in that i do plan on writing some soon bc ik the bones fandom seems to be severely lacking in, well, everything. ok but yea ty!