𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲

( sun tan )

vii - sun tan (wallows)

richie rides his bike home the next morning with a bag full of his wet clothes tied to his handle bars. he leaves at six in the morning to avoid anything eddie's parents might ask. hey, tozier, what's up with the bag of clothes? why is there pizza in the pool? we heard you guys talking in the middle of the night. you think we don't know french?

it's not any of these questions that his own father asks when he walks through the front door, and it's most certainly worse. "hey, heart-eyes, where you been?"

what the fuck is he supposed to say? how does he know about his little crush? is it really that obvious?

wentworth chuckles and sets his coffee and newspaper down next to his recliner chair. "thought you wouldn't be back until later. what's the rush?" he asks again. whether he's truly puzzled or just teasing, richie still has no idea what to say back.

"i dropped a pizza in the pool and then went blind."

"excuse me?"

"i-it's a long story, i fell into the pool with my contacts in and he had to help me get them out," the teenager explains, only creating more questions.

his dad stifles a laugh. "who's he?" he asks.

"eddie."

the man quirks an eyebrow and settles back in his chair, reaching for his coffee. "hm," he nods at nothing. "you've been spending a lot of time with him."

richie pushes his glasses up on his face and could honestly piss himself at the amount of speculation his father is putting on him. "what's that supposed to mean?"

"nothing, it was just an observation," he puts his hands up in surrender. he still looks at his son with a knowing look in his eyes, like he can see how richie really feels. "did you have fun?"

the boy can't help but smile thinking of the previous night, although his eyes almost burned out of his skull. he won't lie and say he wouldn't want to stand in between eddie's legs like he did in the pool. "yeah," he sighs, his plastic bag still wrapped around his arm. "we're going to the beach later," he doesn't know why he says that, but there it is.

wentworth laughs again, getting out of his chair. "ooh, loverboyyy," he sings, thinking he's freddie mercury. he can physically see richie recoil from where he stands and laughs harder. "what're you doin' tonight, hey, boy?"

"stop!" his son whines, attempting to run to his room.

"he's my good old fashioned loverbooyyyyy."

—

after richie's nearly ten minute attack from his father and his horrifying singing, he decides to take a nap. he dreams of eddie. eddie riding on the back of his bike, which only makes him want to break the boy's bicycle so his dream will come true.

when he wakes up, he almost doesn't want to. that is, until he remembers he's going to see eddie later today. he lies in bed and reaches underneath him to find his phone.

eddie sends him a screenshot of that pizza boy's instagram profile, writing underneath it: looks like mr. bowers has a girlfriend. richie zooms in on one of the posts to see connor with a girl attached at his hip, kissing his cheek. and to think i assumed he was flirting with me !!! why does this always happen to me :( the rest of his text says.