WHEEZY // an IT story

s e v e n

JUNE 6th, 1989

richie hopped down the stairs of his house, knowing he had an entire free day. but, the million dollar question was, what to do?

richie wandered around the house thinking of everything he could do in one day. then, eddie's expression of pure fear from yesterday popped into richie's head. it hurt the boy knowing his friend was going through this, whatever it was, alone. so, he decided he was gonna cheer eddie up.

half an hour later, richie parked his bike neatly in eddie's driveway. he no longer felt the house stretching over him, because richie felt invincible. nothing could ruin this day. not even eddie's scary house or sonja kaspbrak.
richie knocked on the door, making sure to stand up as tall as possible. richie was already quite tall, standing at almost 5 feet and 9 inches. sonja kaspbrak came to the door after a few seconds, and frowned at the sight of the trashmouth boy.
"eddie! ricardo is here to see you!" sonja called. richie would have thought by now, that ms. kaspbrak would have at least known his name.
"who?" eddie asked, sauntering down the stairs. richie peered around sonja's bulbous form, to see the small boy hopping down the stairs with a light airiness in his steps.
"mom! that's richie!" eddie scolded, and sonja just sighed.
"yes. okay. just be home before curfew," she said, and gestured toward the front door.
"eddie!" she called, as the boys were walking out the door. eddie turned around.
"be safe, and take your medications. oh! also, don't forget to breathe," sonja kaspbrak instructed, before waving and shutting the door.

"what are we doing?" eddie asked.
"whatever you want to do!" richie replied, being careful not to wobble too much on his bicycle. eddie gave richie a questioning look.
"why?"
"because. i saw how scared you looked yesterday and i felt bad," richie told him. eddie blushed. he often blushed around richie, and he never knew why. i guess richie had that effect on people. whenever richie said his name, or any of the stupid nicknames he had, eddie often found his heart flutter in his chest. he would never tell richie these things though, because he knew richie didn't feel the same. richie was always checking out girls and talking to eddie about how hot they were. eddie played along, but deep down, his heart would break a little more.
"thanks, rich." richie also felt his heart soar. he loved it when eddie called him that. richie always knew that eddie was special to him. eddie's voice was often in richie's head, playing over and over again. richie blushed at the slightest touch between the two of them, and often wished he could tell eddie how he felt. he never would though, because eddie agreed with all the girls richie had pointed out. eddie was clearly straight, so why ruin what they had?

eventually, the boys stopped in the middle of town.
"what do you want to do, eds?" richie asked. eddie glances around town, his eyes finally settling on a record shop. richie loved music, and eddie loved the album art.
"let's go in there!" eddie cheered, wheeling his bike over to the bike rack.

the boys entered the store, and a man behind the counter looked up from a magazine he was reading. he had several piercings and a few tattoos.
"what's up, boys?" the man asked.
"nothing much, just looking," richie replied, with eddie nodding awkwardly in the background.
the boys prowled through the isles with precision. together, they looked at every record in the store. richie liked the alternative section, and eddie liked the older music.

once they were outside, richie asked eddie, again, what he wanted to do. eddie shook his head in reply.
"it's your turn, richie, pick what you wanna do," he told richie. richie shrugged.
"i don't know about you, but i could use a smoke," richie said, and then walked around the side of the building.
"a-a what?" eddie asked, before following the taller boy. richie was leaned up against a wall, cigarette dangling from his lips, his lighter hanging from his fingers.
"i didn't know you smoked!" eddie exclaimed. if he was honest with himself, he kind of thought it was cute richie smoked.
"i haven't been doing it for long, but it feels good," richie explained.
"it's really bad for you though!" eddie scolded, crossing his arms.
"try it," richie told him, holding his cigarette out to eddie. eddie thought for a moment. putting his mouth on something richie had his mouth on? wasn't that like an indirect kiss? eddie shrugged. he'd take what he could get. he grabbed the cigarette and took a long puff, like richie had. then, he blew out the smoke. eddie felt his lungs loosen and his mind clear.
"huh," was all he could get out.
"are you sue tobacco is the only thing in this?" eddie joked, before taking another puff and handing the cigarette back to richie.
"yeah. but we should smoke more often, if you like it," richie said.
"i do," eddie laughed.
"then, from now on, every saturday, we have smoke dates," richie told the smaller boy, and eddie laughed.
"sounds good."

A/N

DON'T SMOKE OR DO DRUGS KIDS
ITS BAD

that's all :)