Eddie's perspective
Me and Richie stayed under the heavy blanket for quite a while, both of us making a conscious effort not to get too close. The awkward spacing sufficed throughout the whole movie, interrupted by small gestures, the bump of a knee, the occasional bickering session for blankets, that sort.
Although we had only recently returned into contact, things were coming along so easily. It was almost as if those 6 years never happened. No matter how much we've changed, we were still the same people at heart.
At heart. You could take that two ways.
Moving on.
The movie passed awfully slowly, seeing as it was only really Richie who was taking enjoyment from this. I tried my best to focus on it, but the feeling of Richie's eyes drilling into the side of my head was fueling the tension to an unpleasant extent.
After what felt like forever, the end credits began to play. We sat in silence for a few moments, before turning to eachother and speaking again.
"That was great, yeah?"
I shook my head, leaning back into the cushions and crossing my legs. "No, not great. Shit."
"You literally chose it, Eds."
"Well, it was still shit."
Richie rolled his eyes and copied my action, molding his body against the sofa and smiling. From what I could see, he seemed to be thinking about something very carefully. ( I assume I was wrong, because did he ever? ) His mouth opened and closed a few times, keeping his eyes on mine until he eventually cleared his throat and spoke.
"So, Eddie."
"Richie." I nodded, gritting my teeth at the ongoing awkwardness.
"You know that day, at Bill's?"
"...Yeah?"
I tried to give myself an advantage on what Richie was about to say, scanning my brain for any possible topics he'd choose to bring up again. Nothing blatantly obvious was coming to mind, so I decided to just let the conversation flow as it should.
"And, you were asking me questions..?"
I nodded again, restricting a sigh when I realised where this was going.
"Was it really hypothetical, what you said?"
Silence engulfed the room for a few moments, me thinking about how to respond and Richie waiting for my reply.
Why was I putting this off? What was there to be afraid of? Richie felt the same way as me, so surely there was nothing for me to worry about.
Obviously it wasn't even close to hypothetical, but I could tell he needed some sort of clarification.
So I would give it to him.
"In all honestly? No, It wasn't. It wasn't hypothetical."
I could've sworn I saw a his eyes light up a bit, but maybe my delusion was just fighting it's way into my life.
"Oh- That's..." He paused, eyes darting across my face. "That's... I'm okay with that."
"Do you really have a choice?"
Richie scoffed affectionately. "I guess not. I'm happy for you, it's great you've finally figured things out."
"Well, I haven't. Not really."
"Elaborate."
I took a minute to think about my response. My feelings weren't very clear in my own head, putting them into words would surely prove to be a challenge.
"I just-.. I don't think I'm gay. I know that I'm attracted to guys, yeah, but girls too. Does that make any sense?"
He nodded, keeping his eyes locked on mine. All of his attention was fixed upon the point I was trying to prove. ( For once. )
"I understand. It's okay to like both, that's normal."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Totally." He smiled, the room falling silent yet again after he spoke. The space between us began to feel drastic, my entirety wishing I could just move closer.
"So, who's the dude?"
The tense moment was quickly interrupted by Richie's question, my heart rate picking up almost automatically. How the fuck was I supposed to respond to that? 'Oh, yep, it's you!'
Swallowing my nerves, I cleared my throat a few times. If that didn't give anything away, nothing would. "Uh, nobody in particular."
Lies, lies, lies.
"Oh."
"How about you, Rich? Do you like anybody?"
He shrugged and turned his face away, fixing his already perfectly placed glasses. "Yeah."
"Pray tell."
"That's private."
"You literally asked me the exact same question, idiot."
He nodded, slouching back and redirecting his attention to me. "But for me, it's different, Eds. I can't go around flaunting who I like, it could ruin everything."
"How so? You know I'd never tell anyone, I'm not like that."
"It could still- you can't-" He sighed, frustration wavering it's way into his tone. "You're so fucking oblivious."
Things were starting to unfold in my mind. The only reason he wouldn't tell me who he liked was if that person happened to be someone I knew. Someone I knew well.
Of course, I should've known.
"Do you like Stan?"
Well, what other option was there? It was either Bill or Stan, and Bill didn't exactly come across as a high contender here.
Richie stared at me for a minute, a blank look spread across his face, until eventually he straightened his back and giggled.
"No! God, no!" He laughed
"Bill?"
"No!" His laughter commenced, as if amused by my guesses.
"Just tell me then! I don't know who you're talking about, so you're safe. Okay?"
"But you do know them! You do, and you're too idiotic to catch on! I can't possibly make this any more clear!"
Something finally clicked in my head. Could I possibly be getting this right?
"I-" I started, interrupted by Richie's sudden outburst.
"It's you, dickhead."
*
HEY GUYS
SUPER SHORT CHAPTER FOR THE PLOT
I know this all came about quite fast but I don't intend on having too many chapters to this book, seeing as it's my first.
I don't mind this one that much, hope you guys like the cliffhanger!! (Not really)
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