CYNOSURE | RICHIE TOZIER

V

"Eliza?" Bev choked into the receiver.
"Bevvy? Are you okay?"
"No. I need you to come over. Please."
"What happened?!" Eliza asked, beginning to panic, "Did your dad..."
"No. Just... I'll explain when you get here."
"Okay. I'm on my way."

Eliza threw her bike to the floor and ran up the stairs to Beverly's apartment. Her friend quickly emerged and she engulfed her in a tight hug before pushing her away, keeping her hands on her shoulders as she searched for any damage on her body.
"What happened?"
Bev bit her lip, "I'll show you."
The girls went inside and Bev led El to the bathroom. Her gaze fell to the floor and she fiddled with her fingers. Eliza looked at her quizzically, pushing the door herself.
"Holy shit! What the fuck happened?!" She yelled, looking round at the blanket of crimson that smothered every surface.
Bev shook her head, "The sink."
Eliza reluctantly walked inside, getting closer to one of the walls. She dragged a hand across the surface but quickly yanked it away. Blood stained her fingers and palm as her breathing accelerated.
"We need to call the boys." She breathed.
"No!" Beverly argued, "What if they can't see it? My dad didn't. What if they think I'm crazy?"
"They won't think you're crazy."
"How do you know?" The short haired girl sighed.
"If you're crazy then so am I. I can see it and it's very real."
"But I don't have their numbers."
Eliza ran her clean hand through her hair. She had rushed off to Beverly's immediately after their phone call and hadn't had time to put her blonde locks in their usual braid.
"I'm gonna go to Richie's and get him to call everyone. I'll be back soon." El informed, running out the small flat and mounting her bike before Bev could even reply.

"Coming!"
Eliza tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Richie to open the door. After a few moments, the door swung open. The boy stood still in his pyjamas, mouth agape.
"Richie?" She giggled after almost a minute, waving a hand over his face.
"E-El?" He stuttered, confused.
"Jeez. I didn't realise Bill lived here." She smirked.
"Shut up." He mumbled, "What can I do for you?"
"I need to use your phone." She stated, looking at her still blood-covered hand, "And your bathroom whilst I'm at it."

"You made it." Beverly sighed as her friends dropped their bikes, Eliza rushing to see if she was okay.
"Bevvy has to show you something." She spoke for her shaken friend.
"What is it?" Ben asked, worry morphing his face.
"More than we saw at the quarry?" Scoffed Richie, causing El to glower at him.
"Shut the hell up, Richard!" She hissed.
"Jealous?" Richie taunted smugly.
"Shut up!" Eddie snapped, tired of Richie's jokes, "Just shut up, Richie."
"My dad will kill me if he finds out I had boys in the apartment." Bev muttered, turning the attention back to her.
"Then w-w-we'll leave a l-lookout. Richie, just st-stay here." Bill instructed.
"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Richie objected, "What if her dad comes back?"
"Do what you always do: start talking." Stan retorted and El laughed.
"It's a gift!" Richie exhaled, sitting on the grass.
The rest of the group headed into the building but Eliza froze.
"Are you not coming in?" Bev frowned.
"If your dad comes back I don't trust Richard not to say something to offend him." She explained, scratching her neck.
Bev just nodded and went back inside.
"You really can't stay away from me can you, Angel Eyes." Richie smirked.
"Shut it, Tozier."
The two sat together in silence for a few minutes before Richie decided to speak up.
"I know you were lying."
"What?"
He sighed, "The reason you didn't want to go into Bev's. I could tell."
"No I wasn't!" She defended.
Richie stared at her until she gave in.
"The bathroom." She whispered, not meeting his eyes, "The blood."
"Blood?" He questioned softy, shuffling closer to her.
"It was everywhere."
She brought her knees to her chest and went to wipe the stray tear from her cheek but was beaten to it. She shivered under Richie's gentle touch and he quickly drew back.
"Sorry." He uttered, embarrassed.
"No, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting it."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm okay. Just a little shaken. 'Cause the blood."
The truth is, she wasn't okay. Her head brimmed with flashbacks of her mum. When things first turned sour. Countless scenes of her beaten, bloodied body swam through her mind,  drowning out any other thoughts.
"You can tell me." Richie's voice was barely a whisper as he took her hand, rubbing circles on the back with his thumb, "I mean, only if you want to."
"It's nothing. Just, it reminded me of my mum. Before she left." She murmured.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's not your fault. It's my shithead of a dad's."
Richie's eyebrows shot up.
"He doesn't... hurt you, does he?"
"Only when he's drunk or angry. He usually takes it out on Henry." She choked.
She couldn't control it now. Hot tears began to fall and her sniffles transformed into loud sobs. Richie pulled her into his chest and squeezed her tightly, never wanting to let go.
Shit. What is she doing to me.
"Richard?" Her muffled whimper barely reached his ears as he reluctantly pulled away to meet her eyes.
"Yeah?"
His gaze darted back and forth between her azure eyes and her cherry lips. He could feel her warm breath on his blushing face, realising how close they really were.
"I-" She started but was cut off by a pair of lips on her own.
The contact could have only lasted for a few seconds but to them it felt like so much more. The world seemed to stop spinning and all they could hear was the beating of each others' hearts.
They broke apart, not knowing what to say.
"Well that happened." Eliza laughed gingerly and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"You betcha, Angel Eyes." He grinned, causing a rosy tint to form on her cheeks.

"No, really. We loved being you guys' personal doorman. Could you idiots have taken any longer?" Richie rambled, circling the friends on his bike.
"Shut up, Richie." Eddie barked.
"Yeah. Shut up, Richie." Stan echoed.
"Oh, okay. Trash the trashmouth. I get it." Richie complained.
"I don't see what your problem is. You probably enjoyed it. Alone time with El." Stanley teased.
Eliza blushed, glad she was at the front so no one could see her face.
"Yeah, but that's beside the point. I wasn't the one scrubbing the bathroom floor and imagining it went all Eddie's mum's vagina on Halloween." Richie retorted.
"She didn't imagine it." Bill interjected, "I saw something too."
All seven stopped in the street and everyone's eyes were on him.
"You saw blood too?" Stan asked.
"Not blood. G-G-Georgie."
He paused.
"It seemed so r-real. I mean, it seemed like him but there was this..."
"Clown." Eddie finished, "I saw him too."
Richie turned to El, "Have you...?"
She shook her head.
"So only virgins see this stuff. Is that why we're not seeing this shit?"
"Beep beep, Richie." She sighed, starting to move forwards again with Beverly at her side.
Eddie went to follow but stopped, spotting a familiar vehicle.
"Oh shit! That's Belch Huggins' car. We should probably get out of here."
"And isn't that the homeschool kid's bike?" Stan inquired, pointing at a metal frame.
"Mike? Yeah." Eddie confirmed.
"We have to help him!" El declared, nearing the trees.
"We do?" Richie whined, trudging behind her.
"Yes, Richard. We do."
"You want to mess with Bowers? He'll kill us!" Eddie blurted.
"He won't kill you!" Eliza gasped.
"How do you know that?" Eddie continued to argue.
"He's my brother, dip shit!"
"Oh. Yeah." He squeaked, starting to follow too.

They found Henry sat on Mike, holding a rock above his head. His goons stood around, not noticing the kids across the stream. Beverly picked up a rock and chucked it at Henry, knocking him away from the boy.
"Nice throw." Stan commented.
"Henry! What the fuck are you doing?!" El yelled at her brother when he noticed she was there.
"Liza?" He groaned, standing up.
The mullet-clad teen studied her friends, recognising Bev.
"You losers are trying too hard. She'll do you. You've just gotta ask nicely, like I did." He grinned tauntingly and grabbed his crotch.
Suddenly, Ben roared and threw another rock at him, directly in the forehead. Beverly threw another and soon the whole gang had joined in. Well, almost. El grimaced from the sidelines. She knew what her brother was doing was wrong and he deserved it but she didn't want to see him hurt. Or any of her friends for that matter. One by one, the bullies fell back, leaving only Henry. He lay on the ground, ashamed. The losers left too, carrying a limping Mike.
She fled to her sibling's side and touched the gash on his forehead.
"Fuck off, bitch." He winced but instantly regretted it, "Shit, Liza. I'm sorry. I-"
"Don't bother. I get it. I'll see you at home." She swallowed, chasing after Richie.
"Liza!" He cried but she'd already left.

Sorry for wait! I wanted to make this one longer to make up for the last short chapter. I know it's not very good but I was trying not to make it too long so I cut some bits out and sped everything up because it ended up being nearly 3000 words and it was kinda boring. Also, low-key bughead vibes for the kiss.
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