Smitten by the Flower {Eddie Kaspbrak} [1]

26

"Have a good time together!" I call, waving to Mrs. Maple as she and Ash leave for a walk. That lady was just the sweetest.

A sigh escapes my lips as I shut the door and sit at the table. Pulling out a cigarette, I immediately light it and bring it to my lips. The thought of the rest of the losers races my mind. I've only seen Eddie in the past 4 days.

A string of disappointment tugs at my heart as I recall the words Richie had spit at me.

At first, I took extreme offensive to them. Now though, the more that I think about it, I didn't really blame the trash mouth. There is something in him I recognize all too well. Neglect. It's clear to me that he's got family issues he isn't telling, not necessarily hiding, just not telling.

Upon doing a little research earlier today, I found that my theory is in fact true. Richie "trash mouth" Tozier, is being neglected.

A frown pulls at my lips as I take a drag from my cigarette. If he was here right now, I would give him a hug. He probably needs it. The cigarette burns lower and lower the longer I stay seated at the table, I feel no urge to leave though.

A knock at the door drags me out of my seat, I quickly mash the cigarette into the ash tray, and fan away as much smoke as possible.

Upon opening the door, I'm met with the pleasant grin of Eddie Kaspbrak.

"Hiya." He blushes, happiness clear in his eyes. "Hey." I grin back, eyes glancing behind him. There stands the trash mouth that had been swimming in my thoughts all day long. Coincidence? I don't believe in coincidence.

The air is thick with tension, and my eyes never leave the thick-rimmed glasses resting on Richie's nose. While my eyes never leave him, his eyes never meet mine. He glances anywhere but me. Eddie confusedly looks between the two of us, clearly clueless about the hurtful words said to me.

I have a choice here. I can easily tell Eddie what happened, and put Richie on the spot. Or, I can use my new found knowledge of his neglect to relate to him.

I choose the second option.

"Eddie, do you think you could go inside and leave me and Richie alone to talk." I ask.

Eddie, continues to look skeptically between the two of us before giving a hesitant nod. "Y-yeah...I guess so." A hint of jealousy resides in his tone, causing me to giggle a little. I send him in with a reassuring kiss on the cheek.

As the door shuts, I step closer to Richie and cross my arms over my chest.

When he doesn't say anything, I decide to speak up.

"You know technically, you were my first kiss. Which is pretty ironic considering I'm dating your best friend." I joke, trying to lighten the mode, to no avail. "It hurt...because it mattered." I add, reminding him of his importance to me. He glances up, a light grin on his face.

It doesn't last for long though, his mouth quickly tugs back into a frown as he speaks up,

"I suck at apologies, so.....un-fuck you.....or whatever."

I smile at his idiocy, immediately pulling him into a hug. He stumbles backward a bit, not expecting the sudden embrace. Quickly though, he returns my hug. He buries his face in my shoulder, despite his glasses almost falling off.

My voice comes out in a whisper, but I'm sure he can hear me when he gives a sniffle in response.

"Hey Rich, I love you a lot. And your parents are stupid assholes, just like mine. Come stay with me whenever you need it. Are we still friends?" I pull back from the hug, glancing at the boy. He pulls off his glasses and wipes at his eyes a bit. A quick nod is all he responds, smiling up at me.

"Whats this?" I smirk teasingly, raising an eyebrow as he rolls his eyes. "Is Mr. Trashmouth Tozier...crying?!"

"Yeah right, that's just my eye's jizzing from being close to you." He smirks, causing me to gag at his vulgarity. "Nice hickies, by the way. You really did a number on our little Eddie Spaghetti,  Flower. Ya know?"

I raise an eyebrow as he slings his arm around my shoulder.

"What do you mean by that? He was gonna learn how to give a hickey someday!" I defend with a blush, subconsciously reaching up and rubbing at the bruises on my neck.

He laughs, "I don't mean the hickies– well, not entirely at least. I meant when it comes to you, it's like he doesn't have all these issues that we all know him for. It's like all his problems– they all suddenly disappear. Where'd you learn to do that?"

I give a small shrug.

"We were together. I forget the rest."