miller's; richie tozier x reader

14

y/n

as the days went by, it was harder to reach richie. every lunch, he would sit with the losers for ten minutes and walk off to where aviana is sitting. we all thought we weren't enough for him so we stopped trying.

he stopped going to miller's too. he stopped visiting althea, since he has other friends to tend to. he also stopped visiting the store itself for cassettes and vinyls.

i visited miller's everyday just to check on the trashmouth or if he had visited. of course, i asked mr. miller if richie had visited. he hadn't since the millers came back from indiana. meaning, the last time he visited was with aviana while bill was behind the counter.

even though richie didn't visit, i visited often for my own needs. this time, i was at the store for a new walkman. mine had broken when it flew off my bike while riding home.

i was looking for one in the store, not minding the bell ring that signified someone's entrance. at least, i didn't mind it until i heard a voice next to me.

"hey, buttercup," i looked up to the person whom the voice belonged to. it was richie. i rolled my eyes and grabbed two to compare them. "woah, why're you so mad all of a sudden?" he asked when i didn't reply to him.

i decided to switch one with another and compare those two as well. "jesus, skinny-dipper. stop being deaf," richie joked.

i still sat there and read the information, deciding that the left one was better. i stood up and walked to get a new album on cassette. richie followed me and continued making comments. he wasn't serious about what he was saying, of course making jokes 24/7.

"y-y/n...?" he worriedly stuttered. "did i... d-did i hurt you?" he asked. to this, i laughed. the idiot didn't know how much pain he had caused for the losers.

i hurriedly paid and sprinted out of the store. richie followed and got on his bike, following me home as his house was the same way.

"please, just tell me what i did!" richie yelled in desperation. i didn't reply, i pedaled faster than i ever have. even faster than bill on silver. richie couldn't catch up. thus, i was home safely without richie hot on my tail.

✺

recently, i noticed richie bringing around the cassette althea had given him. i noticed him across the lunch room as he stopped interacting with aviana's group and stared back at the losers.

i missed richie, i missed him with all my fucking heart. i couldn't stay mad at him for forever but i couldn't talk to him.

i felt sad all the time, mad that the losers let this happen. however, i'm a loser too. it's partly my fault for this happening.

it wasn't just me having a hard time. ingrid and bev seemed to be drifting apart, not looking at each other like they used to. stan stopped talking and dug his head into a book. eddie never talked, just listened during the small chance of the losers talking. ben did the same as stan. last, bill and althea fought often, fighting the chance that we all thought they had for love.

what did i do? i didn't do anything in front of them. i cried in the barrens during the weekends, sobbing loudly and riding my bike home when it was getting dark. no one felt complete, we all felt emptiness in our hearts.

today was another one of those empty days. during lunch, i watched everyone do their own thing. the once love filled group was now filled with sorrow and darkness.

"no, s-shut t-the fuck u-up, althea!" bill exclaimed as they fought once again. "everything is bullshit, bill! this is what you wanted!"

no one ever knew what they fought about. we tried asking, of course they said it was none of our business. while listening to their conversation, eddie felt anxious and pumped some of that shit air in a can down his throat.

"i-i n-never suh-suh-said that it-it's your fault t-that richie is g-g-guh..." bill lied as he trailed off. we all finished in sync, "gone."