Reddie Oneshots

Good Enough

|| the one where Richie is feeling very low and not good enough. But lucky for him, his best friend convinces him otherwise. ||

I listened to Good Enough by Evanescence (as requested) while writing this. It may not really go with the song perfectly?? But this is what happened as I listened to the song on repeat anyway. Listen to the song as (or before) you read if ya want the full affect I guess? :P

Richie's eyes stared into the mirror as he ran a brush through his messy hair. He usually didn't care about his looks. He usually avoided the mirrors in his home because the reflection that stared back at him was not him, but his enemy. The sight of a mirror only triggered the self-hate that he buried so deeply into his own mind. But he had to push through this. He had to look decent. He was going to hang out with Eddie today.

Outside of his best friend Eddie's house, he stood there awkwardly. His teeth pressed against his bottom lip as he swayed his weight from side to side. His feet were frozen to the warm concrete while his heart raced. His hands trembled as he twirled the bottom of his shirt around his fingers then releasing it and doing it again.

His soft stare didn't break until the door swung open. There he was, little Eds, bouncing down the steps of his home. The smile that spread across his face made Richie's racing heart melt. His face was a sweet torture to Richie's eyes as he gazed across his pale cheeks.

Eddie walked over to the frozen boy and nudged him with a soft push to the chest.

"Hey, we going?" Eddie's voice was like a sweet melody in Richie's ears. Richie forced a smile, trying to snap out of the trance that this boy had over him.

"Yeah, of course" the funny tones didn't ride Richie's voice. Instead, his tone was gentle. Eddie realized he wasn't going to take the first step, so he did it himself. He walked down the sidewalk, ahead of Richie. It took him only a second to turn on his heel and follow his best friend as if he had a magnet and he was metal.

Once Richie was by Eddie's side, they walked together toward the Library. The losers had been trying to convince Richie to bring his grades up. Richie always fought with them and refused to study. "I have better things to do with my time" he'd say with rolling of eyes to follow. One phone call with Eddie and Richie changed his mind.

Richie's eyes struggled to stay ahead as he wanted to stare at the gorgeous masterpiece beside him. He felt stupid though. His feelings, though he tried to fight them, only continued to get stronger throughout the years of knowing this kid. It was like the boy had put him under a love spell. It really didn't matter how hard he tried, he couldn't defeat the feelings.

He failed to keep his sight away from his best friend. As soon as his eyes gazed across the side of the younger boy's face, the world disappeared. The ground under their feet was no longer there. They were floating and Eddie was all he could see.

He tried his hardest to focus at the Library. But he was pulled back and forth in this battle that existed in his head. Little progress was made but Eddie still congratulated the boy as they packed their things up and headed home.

Half way to Eddie's place, Richie stopped walking which made Eddie stop a few seconds later. Eddie looked back at the boy who was pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"You okay?" Eddie asked while taking a few steps closer.

"Y-Yeah" Richie stuttered. "I'm okay. I just-.." He sighed. He looked down at his hands that were once again messing with the bottom of his shirt.

"You just what?" Eddie asked as he walked closer and stopped just inches away from the other. "What's wrong?" Eddie slowly moved his hand up to Richie's cheek. Richie broke his gaze from his hands and looked into Eddie's eyes.

"I want to be good enough" Richie's voice came out weak.

"Richie" Eddie ran his thumb back and forth under Richie's eye while his other hand moved to the boy's side. "You are good enough"

"No.. I want to be good enough for you" Richie's bottom lip quivered with defeat as his eyes dropped again. Eddie opened his mouth to speak. But words didn't come out. Instead, he pressed his lips together softly and shifted up onto his toes. When his height gradually moved up, he pressed his lips to Richie's.

Shock was his first emotion as Richie's eyes widened. But they then closed and he melted into the kiss. His arms snaked around Eddie's waist and they traveled into oblivion. They only came back to earth when they parted from the kiss. Smiles crossed both of their faces.

"I love you" Eddie reassured the boy as he slowly pulled away from their embrace. "And Richie, you're good enough" Richie smiled wider than Eddie had ever seen.

That night, when Richie walked into his bathroom to brush his teeth, instead of staring into the sink, he forced himself to look into that mirror that haunted him.

For the first time in his life, Richie stared back at him.

"I am good enough" he spoke to the air with a slight grin on his face.