phobias.

2.

fear: thunder and lightning.
(astraphobia)

on an exciting friday night, the losers all gathered in stan's living room, talking and playing games. outside, rain began to pour, echoing off of stanley's roof.

richie took this into acknowledgement, looking out the window. he took a deep shaky breath and scooted a little closer to eddie as thunder began to roar.

eddie was sitting next to richie, them two and the rest of the group engrossed in a game. as the storm intensified, richie's grip on eddie tightened, and he clung to eddie's arm, holding him close.

eddie looked over at richie with furrowed brows, totally confused.

"hey, are you okay, richie?" eddie asked.

"yeah! just a little chilly," richie said, and eddie nodded slowly.

but eddie knew richie too well and sensed something was amiss. he wrapped his arm around richie, offering comfort.

"you sure, trashmouth? this isn't like you."

"i'm sure, eddie, chill out," richie said with a chuckle, and eddie sighed.

"oookay, let me know if there's something i should kno-"

eddie was cut off as richie suddenly clung to him, throwing himself onto eddie and burying his head into the boy's shoulder. eddie internally panicked, for he had never seen richie in such a state of vulnerability.

at the same time, a loud, hard crash of thunder cracked through the air, scaring richie half-to-death. the group quickly noticed the two's positions, becoming both curious and concerned.

"richie? eddie?" stanley asked. eddie looked up at him, then back down at richie, wrapping his arms around the taller.

"richie, what's going on? you're scaring me," eddie asked. richie took a deep, shaky breath, not wanting to pull out of the hug. he just didn't answer, instead, holding eddie closer. "richie."

"it's nothing, eddie," richie said into eddie's shoulder. beverly looked to eddie for answers, who did the same to her. he was just as confused as everyone else.

the group just let richie be, who kept himself latched on to eddie for a good thirty minutes while everyone else talked.

eventually, richie pulled away from the hug and took another silent deep breath, sitting up fully to look out the window.

"richie?" eddie asked quickly. richie sighed and looked at him. "are you okay? what just happened?"

"nothing, eds, it's nothing."

"no, it's something. tell me."

"eddie-"

"richie, talk to me."

richie sighed through his nose and clicked his tongue. "okay fine. just don't tell anyone."

"i won't. i promise."

"okay. i may or may not be really scared of thunder and lightning."

eddie tilted his head and held richie's hand. "rich! why didn't you say something?"

richie shrugged and looked down. "i dunno. it's just really fucking stupid to be scared of."

"no it's not, richie, it's not stupid."

richie looked up at him and offered the brunette a small smile.

"good."

later, the losers had all settled down for a movie, and ben, eddie, and richie sat together on a couch, beverly with stan and bill, and mike on the recliner.

the rain still hadn't stopped, and thunder began rolling back in. a strike of lightning lit the sky, and richie jumped as thunder followed it. eddie looked over at him.

"rich?" eddie whispered. richie took a deep breath.

"it's fine," he replied. eddie scooted closer to richie and put an arm around him, focusing back on the movie.

"just focus on the movie."

richie nodded and put his head on eddie's shoulder as they watched, taking deep breaths every now and then.

five minutes later, the rain became heavier, thunder hit more often, and much louder, and lightning was brighter and constant.

"jeez, it's bad out there," stanley commented, peeking out the window. he sat back and glanced at the couch across from them, and richie looked sick to his stomach.

stanley picked up his phone and reverted to texting him to check up on him.

stan the man 🙄: hey, rich, are you all good? you look like you're gonna hurl.

richie glanced at his phone. feeling paralyzed, all he could get out was, "eddie," in a faint whisper.

eddie looked at him. "richie.." richie wrapped his arms around eddie, tightly holding him. eddie put his arms around richie as well, hugging him close. "hey, it's okay. breathe, rich, breathe."

"i can't," richie whispered. he sucked in a trembling breath and buried his face into eddie's shoulder.

"rich.." eddie said sadly. "it's okay. it'll be over soon."

richie nodded slowly into eddie shoulder. stanley eyed them, wondering if richie was okay. he'd never seen richie like that.

eventually, the storm stopped, and the movie was close to over. everyone was asleep, everyone but richie and eddie, richie who was still slightly scared to death and eddie who wanted to be there for him.

"thank you.." richie whispered faintly. eddie nodded.

"what happened?" he asked. richie took a deep breath.

"some trauma shit i guess."

"trauma?"

richie stayed silent for a good minute. eddie did too, waiting for richie to say something.

"um.. just.. something happened when i was younger, a-and i've been terrified of thunder and lightning since."

eddie rubbed his shoulder from the side hug. "do you wanna talk about it?"

richie put a hand over his face and tried not to cry, his eyebrows furrowing, his bottom lip uncontrollably quivering. he sniffed sharply, implying he had started crying, and eddie brought him into a hug.

"no," richie answered, burying his head into the crook of eddie's neck.

"that's okay, rich. take a deep breath, it's alright. i'm here."

a few tears fell and he melted into eddie, taking deep breaths and eventually falling asleep with the shorter.