Random OneShots

Rain falls just as I do for you

By: reddietapes on Ao3

Reddie

~~~~

Rain wasn't uncommon in Derry, Maine. That didn't mean young Eddie Kaspbrak had gotten used to it. He'd gotten used to telling when it would rain, though. Gotten used to the annoyance and the dread and sadness that came with it. Eddie Kaspbrak did not like the rain. Rain brought sickness and it brought colds and it meant he couldn't play outside with his friends for a day or two. 'Cuz when it rained in Derry, it poured 'till the streets were filled enough that an even younger Georgie Denbrough could float along his little boat that his older brother Bill had made for him. Oh, and Eddie specially hated that he had to be cooped up in his home with his overbearing, obnoxious mother. Don't get him wrong! He loved her... maybe, he was supposed to so he assumed it counted. But he would always choose his friends over her. The thought made him feel guilty.

Oh, right. The rain. As the brunette glared at the sky, a single thought formed in his mind: Fuck the goddamn rain.

"We have to hurry. I don't have my raincoat and I don't want to be in the rain when it comes. I don't want to catch a cold ." He said the word as if were a curse—he whispered it, almost as if saying it too loud would make it true. He wasn't speaking to himself but he might as well have been when no answer was returned. "Hey, did you hear me? I said to hurry up! Why do you walk so slow, Richie? If it rains we will get sick. You know I can't get sick." But Richie didn't answer and continued to stare at the ground. He might've heard Eddie—might've, if he had actually been listening.

See, Richie Tozier had this sort of "Dirty Secret." It wasn't that Dirty, no, it was innocent. Really, it was! He might let his mind run wild but he was a teenage boy and it was only his curiosity that made him say the things he did. That and that he wanted to hide who he really was. But he'd never once thought of Eddie the way he thought about the girls on the magazines he'd 'borrowed'. He didn't think about the girls at all, that was the issue.

The first time Richie had found a porn magazine he'd felt like he owned the world, like he'd taken that step into maturity that the grown ups talked about and he'd been so excited to brag about it to the Losers... until he opened the magazine. It's not that the girls were ugly, they weren't. Richie had found many girls attractive before and he had no problem admitting he found them pretty. But looking at one nude, had been a different story. He'd winced and shut the book, embarrassed. And then he'd opened it right back and tried to enjoy it but he didn't. He actually kind of hated it.

He'd been 13 then and maybe, just maybe, he just wasn't ready for that level of maturity yet. So he'd stashed the magazine in an old shoe box and hid it under his bed. His parents never checked his room and if Maggie ever cleaned his room she wouldn't look through his things. Richie may have been a lot of things but he'd never keep secrets from his mother. Pft, right.

And then one day, a few months after his little magazine fiasco, he found himself wandering yet again inside that cursed little store to try and snag another one. He'd wandered in to the gas station looking a little too nervous. He'd gone to the back and hid behind the isles of candy and looked up at the top shelf trying to figure out which one he'd take. He'd figured he'd just grab one and go not caring about the cover until a particular one caught his eye. This one wasn't on the top shelf though. It'd been hidden behind a box of Bubble Tape and Gummy bears. Out of curiosity, just curiosity, he quietly pushed the bags aside and reached for the magazine. On the cover, read the words 'QX Magazine' followed by a man in nothing but his underwear. And Richie hadn't meant to, he didn't think he'd meant to. But his eyes trailed down and he caught sight— well it wasn't like he could've missed it— of a very prominent outline of the man's penis. Richie's eyes widened and he looked around like if he'd been caught doing something wrong. He swallowed, harshly. So harsh he choked on his saliva. He meant to put it back where he found it but... well, he didn't. Instead he stuffed the naughty ol' thing underneath his shirt and grabbed a bag of whatever candies were closest and headed towards the register.
And the guy working the register didn't say anything. Just gave Richie the total of his purchase and dismissed him with a bored "Have a nice day."