eddie
i added whiskers to the small cartoon kitten i'd doodled at the bottom of my english paper, sighing sadly as i realised i'd given it a folorn expression. i quickly scribbled it out, writing "sorry" next to it in messy handwriting.
"psst."
i turned to my left to see richie leant towards me on his desk, concern written all over his face.
"you okay eddie spaghetti? you look down."
i nodded and smiled at him. it wasn't like him to ask people if they were okay or to show any type of emotional feeling towards anyone.
"yeah i'm okay, are you?"
he grinned, and the sight made my stomach flutter.
"bored, god can this bitch drone on, but yeah i'm good. missed you last night though, why'd you go?"
i glanced down at my left hand unintentionally, swallowing as i pulled my sleeve over it slightly, just incase.
richie seemed to follow my gaze, tilting his head and frowning confusedly at my action. i started talking again, hoping to advert his attention from my hand.
"i just didn't want to worry my mom, that's all. i'm sure you were all just fine without me."
i cringed at the way his eyebrows creased even further downwards at my tone, i hadn't meant to sound so upset about it.
"sorry, i just-"
"edward kaspbrak and richard tozier! stop your gossiping right this instance or i will send you both out!"
a few people giggled as my face burned and i sat back in my chair, suddenly finding my pencil very interesting. richie however handled it by laughing with everyone else, seemingly not fazed by the scolding at all.
"sorry miss, eddie here was just being a kind and wholesome student by helping me with the work as i was stuck."
the teacher raised an eyebrow and looked at me questioningly, to which i just nodded.
"hmm, good work edward. i'm pleased to hear you're helping your classmates."
she said coldly, turning around to write something on the blackboard as i looked at richie.
"thanks."
i whispered, smiling at the toothy grin that spread across his face.
"anytime, but in all seriousness i could actually do with some help. first off, what the fucks a hwhyper bowl?"
-
quickly scribbling down the last answer, i shut the book and handed it over to richie who smiled widely and finished the last of his apple before chucking it at stan.
"shit, thankyou so much ed's, you're a lifesaver!"
he shoved the book into his bag and hugged me without warning, making me blush horribly as i awkwardly wrapped my arms around his back. he pulled away and ruffled my hair endearingly.
"what w-was all that ab-bout?"
questioned bill, raising an eyebrow. richie turned to face them all and smirked.
"this darl here did my english assignment for me. teamwork on tests am i right eddie spaghetti? don't leave me hangin."
i rolled my eyes as he held up his hand to high five me.
"don't call me that, you know i hate it."
i said sternly as i high fived him anyway, cringing at the pain in my hand as i did it. he shrugged and looked at me as everyone turned back to their conversations.
"hey, what happened to your hand?"
he asked quietly, so no one else would hear. i gulped as i saw he was staring directly at the back of my hand, as if staring long enough would reveal what was underneath.
"what are you talking about?"
i laughed uncomfortably, reaching out to grab my pencil case to put back into my bag. however, before i could get it, richie had quickly grasped my left wrist and flipped it over so my palm was facing upwards on the table. i felt all the blood drain from my face.
why did the thought of him seeing what i'd done make me so anxious? he didn't know that they were on purpose, was it my brain subconsciously telling me that what i'd done was wrong?
my thoughts stopped once i realised he was staring at my palm, eyes wide as he pushed up his glasses with his index finger.
"holy shit, what happened?"
i shrugged away from his grip, making him tighten his hands around my wrist as he looked closer at the cuts. his face contorted into a mixture of worry and confusion.
"i- i fell yesterday and smashed my cabinet. the glass went everywhere and i cut my hand trying to pick it up."
he looked closer, making me feel more pressured by the second.
"why are they so... neat?"
he asked quizzically. i huffed and struggled against his hands again.
"i don't fuckin know it's not like i did it on purpose."
i licked my lips as i told a lie.
"look man, could you like, let go? you're hurting me."
he let go of my arm instantly, not saying a word as i pulled the sleeve over my hand and went back to packing away my stuff, feeling ashamed and angered at the same time at the fact that richie had seen my hand. why didn't i tell him the truth? i hated lying to people, especially richie, why couldn't i just tell him what had really happened? what was stopping me?
i sighed as i looked over at richie who was now engaged in a conversation about pokemon with ben. i found myself staring at his lips and the way they formed the words he spoke, eyes bright and lively as he rambled on about fireballs or some shit.
i heard a loud cough from the other end of the table and my head shot up to see beverly looking straight at me, eyebrows raised as she smirked. shit. she'd seen me staring at richie. oh god, she must think i'm some sort of freak for staring at my best friend in the way girls stare at boys when they want to kiss them.
but i didn't want to kiss richie. maybe i thought about what it would be like sometimes, but that didn't mean i wanted to do it. he was my best friend, and that was it. i adored him in the same way i did with all my friends, and nothing more.
that's what i kept telling myself as i continued to sneak glances at him over the course of the day, unaware that i was also being watched.
-
sorry this was so short it'll get more interesting soon i swear
