Hold Me (Reddie)

Let's Put On A Show (Richie)

His eyes were darting all around the group, at each face, and he kept breathing in little hiccups of air. It honestly worried Richie, who couldn't feel more awful about what he had said. Eddie seemed upset by it. Was he? Is that what he wanted? Did he want Richie to be his boyfriend, or was Richie just reading too far into things again? That's probably not what Eddie needed right now. He just needed to feel safe, which he would never do with the mother he had. At least Richie knew that. There would be no way to change her mind, would there? And then they'd never be able to see each other again? Stop thinking Richie, you're going to make yourself cry. You'll always be friends. Always. Richie just needed a way to stop himself from thinking awful thoughts.

"But what can we do?" Mike asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. It was a question everyone had been thinking.

"We can either find a way to change her mind," Richie said, "which sounds impossible, or we could find a way to convince her it wasn't true."

"How?" Beverly inquired. "She's awful, but she's not stupid. She won't believe it."

"She c-could, we just n-need to find a w-way," Bill said. Everyone looked at him sharply, except for Richie, who was still looking at Eddie. Eddie looked to be okay. How can he be okay at a time like this? "Any ideas, Mikey?"

"No good ones."

"We could write a play," Beverly suggested. "And say that it was all a part of the play. We could say that the Richie had to play a girl, and so they were told to kiss each other. It's a bit of a stretch, but it could honestly work. Who's in?"

Eddie raised his hand first. Richie was sure that out of anyone, those two would be the most willing to try an idea. Richie raised his hand second. Next was Mike, who was smiling vibrantly. And then Stan. Last was Bill, who seemed hesitant, but they all had too. They were a team after all, a club.

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Bill seemed to be the best...most creative loser when it came to writing the play. Richie was still skeptical that it would even work, but he didn't want to argue. He just wanted to see Eddie happy again. He also wanted to kiss Eddie again, but for that to happen he'd have to figure a lot more out with himself. He had never even imagined being queer until Eddie had came into his room the day before. They kissed and he knew there was something there. He had kissed others, like Patty Lang and a girl named Susie, but those kisses were just kisses. He didn't know them. He knew Eddie more than anyone, they were best friends, always had been. Maybe that was part of the reason he was so afraid. He couldn't lose Eddie. He was always there for Eddie. Looking out for him, protecting him. And if he really was to be in a relationship, he wouldn't be able to protect Eds forever. And if something bad were to happen, he could lose Eddie. He was ridiculous. Kissing Eds a couple times didn't suddenly increase the chance of bad things happening, of course not. He knew that. He did.

"Richie!"

It was Stan, waving in front of Richie's eyes, and smiling. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Hey," Richie said, standing up and circling around the rock Bill was sitting on, scribbling on a piece of paper. "What's our play going to be about, Big Bill? What kind of show do I have to put on?"

"You and Bev are the girls, tw-twins. Eds and S-Stan fight over y-you while Muh-Muh-Mike and I fight over Bev. It's q-quite funny, ah-ah-actually." Maybe it's funny enough that Sonia Kaspbrak will believe it. Maybe.

"Who wins?"

"Eds g-gets you a-and Mike gets Buh-Beverly. Then Stan and I end up alone." Richie was surprised, to say the least, that it wasn't Bill who ended up with Beverly. After all, he really liked her. And it seemed as though she liked him even more. Of course, Richie couldn't read feelings.

"Do you think Mama will believe this?" Eddie was saying, behind Richie. "What if she doesn't?"

Richie grabbed Eddie's hand. "We'll get through it. No. Matter. What."

"No. Matter. What," Eddie repeated, smiling. "You're beautiful, Richie. I just don't know what I'd do without you."

And then Richie started in his grandmother voice again. "Ya won't ever be without me, silly, I am your granny for Pete's sake! We are forever, Kaspbrak, you'll see!"

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"I have four lines," Stan yelled. "Bill, you gave me four lines! This is an outrage! I think you don't realize just how talented I am." Eddie burst out into adorable laughter. They were in Stan's house...Stan's basement as a matter of fact, digging through a box of old, used Halloween costumes.

"I'm surprised your dad even let you celebrate Halloween," Richie joked.

"Shut up. Here's a blonde wig." Stan threw the wig into Richie's arms, and continued digging through the old box. There wasn't much, just an old vampire cape that spilt out dust, which made Eddie uncomfortable. Richie was honestly surprised the kid didn't start screaming or wheezing or freaking out all over the place.

"Stan, why do you even have a blonde wig in the first place?" Richie almost began to cough himself with all the dust on the wig. 

"Just put it on. You can borrow one of my mother's dresses. You guys all have your lines memorized, right?" They all nodded. Richie took the wig and followed Stan into his parents' bedroom, where Stan opened a closet and found a nice blue dress and some heels. Richie was going to give the greatest performance the world would ever see.

"How's my girly voice?" Richie asked, and then began in a high pitched squeal: "oh Edsy, how much I love you!" He grabbed the dress and threw it on over his jeans, and then slapped the wig on top. "Edsy! Edsy!" Stan bent over, laughing hysterically. He laughed and laughed and fell to his knees, just cackling like an evil witch. Richie joined in too. It wasn't that funny, calm yourself Stan. Richie took the wig off.

"Do you actually like him?" Stan asked, as they walked down the stairs. The rest of the losers were waiting outside.

"I don't know, he's Eds. The first time I kissed him I thought I was crazy. But it felt so good. I can't describe it. And he likes me, it's obvious. He's adorable, I'll do anything to see him smile. So yeah, I like him."

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Just wanted to say that this is my least favorite chapter in the entire story. I don't have a reason why it just feels bad, so I'm sorry. It's just filling.