cash in. (au story)

chapter 17; a new encounter?

(tw for sh)

richie woke up suddenly only an hour after he had passed out. he noticed that eddie was still asleep and all of the lights were out in the room.

as richie panted, he slowly got to his feet and walked over to the window, feeling around his pockets. he swallowed down his heavy breaths, and crept out of the window, clutching onto the few dollars he had in his pocket.

richie strolled down the streets, finding his way to the town shop. he snuck in through the window in the back (which was always left opened), hopped in, found a pack of cigarettes, placed three dollars on the counter, and left again.

he carried his lighter with him basically wherever he went, so it was no issue.

richie found a nice, calm spot outdoors and sat against a tree. the rough surface poked richie's back painfully, but he chose to ignore it.

as richie flicked the lighter on, he was about to grab a cigarette, when weirdly, his gaze fixed on the fire in his face. he stared at it as if it were a piece of art in a museum, not wanting to put it out.

the boy slightly smiled after a hot minute of staring at the fire. he placed his opposing elbow on his knee, bringing the lighter up to his wrist and slowly letting the flame sit upon his skin.

it burned, but at the same time, it felt amazing. it made his entire body tingle with the painful warmth against his arm, but he pulled it away before it lit him on fire. crazy imagination.

richie continued this process all around his arm, basically coating it in fire. his entire arm ached, and he shrieked at the pain, dropping the lighter and clutching his arm. the cold breeze outside made the stinging sensation much worse, bringing the boy to tears.

"FUCK!" richie screamed out, squeezing his teary eyes shut. his entire body trembled. he realized he went too far. "fuck, fuck, fuck, ow!" he whimpered.

after thirty minutes of simply shaking his arm as hard as he could, it grew numb. he decided on letting it rest beside him as he continued to smoke.

even though the pain richie felt was intense, richie couldn't help but to continue to eye the fire. he wanted to do that to his entire body.

- SATURDAY -

rich >>> kev

rich: are you up

kev: no

rich: ok then 😎

kev: whats up what do u want

rich: someone to talk to ig??? 🤷‍♂️

kev: youve come to the wrong person mate

rich: too bad 😁
rich: supppppp

kev: it's like midnight go to sleep

rich: u first bitch

kev: 😒😒
kev: i was GOING to then u made me have a conversation with your bitch ass
kev: we have woorrrrkkkk tomorrow

rich: i mean hey thats what coffee's for

kev: you're 14 u don't need to be drinking coffee

rich: you're 16, you dont need to own a mf gun

kev: it's my father's gun

rich: still tho why tf is it at work in your damn office bro 😭😭😭

kev: so i can kill u one day 😁🫶
kev: nah its for safe occasions like yesterday 👍

rich: yesterday my ass you have a GUN at WORK