Eddie's perspective
Yesterday, if you were to tell me that I'd find myself sitting on a memorial bench with Richie Tozier, I probably would've laughed in your face.
But here I was, and I most certainly wasn't complaining.
We sat in silence for a while, both of us clearly waiting for the other to speak up. I decided to tone down the awkward situation by thinking of something to say.
"So how come you're working in the Pharmacy?"
I watched his reaction to my question carefully, looking away again as he met my gaze.
"It's only part time. My mom kept throwing fits because she thought I wasn't 'doing anything else'."
"Oh."
"Yeah. It's a load of shit, all of it. Beyond boring."
"It seems okay."
I most definitely didn't think the same way as him, because I'd be beaming to receive a job opportunity as such.
"It's funny, though. I always thought you'd be the one doing something like this. You used to be so intelligent when it came to all this crap."
He had a point. Richie most definitely didn't come across as the type of person you'd find working in a pharmacy.
"Yeah, I guess."
"So do you work anywhere?"
"Not yet. I'm looking into it though."
"And, Stan and Bill? Do they work?"
I shook my head, wincing at the reminder of the events that occurred earlier.
"They don't either. You're doing great, compared to us."
"Wow. Thanks, I think."
With a smile, I leaned back on the bench and stared up at the Sky. It was still quite early, and I knew that there was little to no chance of Richie returning to the pharmacy today. Looking back down again, My fixation somehow managed to find it's way back to his face. He looked like an even bigger idiot without his glasses. Which, if I might add, is quite literally impossible. Now that he was sticking to contacts, I couldn't stop myself from missing his old look. It was just- to put it simply, very Richie. And holy shit! His cheekbones were INSANE.
He definitely caught me staring, because as soon as we locked eyes a smirk plastered his face.
I silently cursed myself, knowing that my interaction would only boost Richie's unexplainable ego even more.
To my surprise, he didn't actaully say anything. Instead, I could feel his eyes on the side of my face. I glanced up again, meeting Richie's and repeating the action. At that point, my eyes must've flickered between my lap and his stupid face about ten times.
Cutting the tension, I cleared my throat and fixed my posture.
"So, uh.." I paused. What was I supposed to say? This was torturous.
Amidst my panic, a hand grabbed me on the shoulder, nearly causing me to jump the height of myself. I flinched away and turned my head to face the new figure.
"EDDIE!" Her voice called.
And then I realized. It was Beverly Marsh.
I was too stunned to speak, but thankfully Richie stood up and decided to contribute.
"Uh, HELLO?"
"Oh my god, Richie!" She squealed, running over and tugging him into a hug.
I immediately followed, shuffling my way into the hug and grinning at her.
"Hey, Bev."
We all broke the hug in sync, and I could feel her eyes on me and Richie.
"This is such a coincidence, guys! I haven't seen both of you in years, and chances are I find you together? I'm so happy!"
As her eyes scanned the both of us, I scuffed my shoes against the grass awkwardly.
"We actually haven't seen eachother either, until today."
"Really? That's surprising."
"How come?"
"I dunno. You two always seemed..."
We both looked at eachother as we waited for her to finish.
"You just seemed like the type of people that would've stuck together, y'know?"
"That makes zero sense." I shook my head, clearly unimpressed.
Richie slung an arm around my shoulder and beamed.
"It does make sense, Eds. We're totally inseparable."
Bev giggled and took a deep breath, speaking again.
"Honestly? I thought you two were dating or something."
My heart skipped a beat. Why did my heart skip a beat? Why did it matter? It was just an assumption. A mere guess.
"You must be able to predict the future! written in the stars, am I right, Eds?"
I sighed and ignored Richie's sarcasm. I was well used to this by now.
"Well, you thought wrong."
Richie put on a horrific pout and pretended to sob.
"I thought we had something!"
Bev snorted and stood back, seeming to enjoy the situation.
"Just joking, Eddie. Don't get too excited."
I rolled my eyes. Now that those two had reconnected, Banter was an unavoidable add on.
"So if you aren't dating, who are you guys seeing?"
"Nobody." We both replied, almost in sync.
"Hmm... So you still could be dating."
"No, ew. That is Richie Tozier you're talking about. Ew!" I repeated, more so convincing myself than disproving anything.
"Such flattery, Eds."
"You would be totally adorable together though!" Bev smirked. She knew what she was doing, and so did I. Just because a few years had passed didn't mean my ability to read her like a book had faltered.
"Stop it, Beverly." I demanded, glaring between her and Richie nervously.
Richie ( to my surprise ) seemed just as flustered. Surely it didn't mean anything to him. It didn't mean anything to me, so why should he comply? Did it mean something to me? Why the fuck was I thinking like this? Absolutely not.
"You okay there, Eddie? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Right. Sorry. Can we talk about something else?"
Bev continued to giggle at me and Richie, eyeing us mischievously.
"Personal subject, eh?"
"Yeah." I replied, without thinking.
"Apologies, Bev. He's just so in love with me he can barely think about anything other than this."
He pointed to himself and took a dramatic bow.
"Shut up, Richie."
"Oh yes, Richie. His brain is completely absorbed by you." Bev teased.
"I know. miserable, really."
"Okay, how about both of you shut up?"
Now they were just being plain annoying. They were getting at me, and they were fully aware of it. But I just couldn't understand why it meant so much to me.
Did I actually like him?
*
I'm tottering between whether or not to add Mike and Ben. however much I love them, they don't really contribute to the plotline and that just makes it a bit bland to write imo
Not too happy with this one either so any feedback is great!
