HAUNT✦reddie

e i g h t

"fuck, shit ! damn it!"

beverly whooped in victory as she once again, creamed richie in street fighter for the seventh time. richie scoffed as the red head did a little victory dance, obviously showing off.

"man, this game is freakin' rigged," richie muttered bitterly, pushing up his glasses. beverly snorted, rolling her eyes. 

"you're just bitter that i whooped your ass like, eight times!"

"it was seven," stated richie, arms crossed against his chest as he pouted. he looked back at the machine and went to grab two more coins to play again only to find himself empty handed. "well, fuck. i'm out of coins."

beverly searched her pockets for any remaining coins without any luck, "i'm out of money too." 

richie just shrugged, trying to act nonchalant about the fact he had just gotten his ass beat and there was no way to try and salvage any pride by winning a fight. "whatever, let's just go. this place is just a money grab anyway."

beverly nodded, following as richie left the arcade. it was easily his favorite part of this small town, other than the movie theater. they walked side by side on the sidewalk, their footfalls almost in sync. he glanced over at the short haired girl. she was extremely pretty up close with her freckles and stunning blue eyes. her hands were shoved deep into her shorts and her bare legs flexed with every step. however, richie didn't feel woozy nor flustered. he was simply content.

"hey, thanks for the tour," he said as they walked past the endless stores, pushing up his slipping glasses. beverly looked up and met his gaze. 

"no problem, it's not common that we get new people around here," she shrugged, kicking a rock with her shoe. as much as he liked beverly, he really wanted to get to know mike but he was working at his farm today and couldn't hang out.

they walked for a little longer before beverly stopped abruptly, glancing towards the library. richie glanced back at the library then back at beverly. he then groaned, seeing that she was dead serious. a grin spread across her pale face as she walked towards the entrance.

"seriously, bev?" he questioned loudly, his arms flailing dramatically in the air as he reluctantly followed her. "this is a library. it's quiet and for really smart people, polar opposites. why the fuck are we going in?"

beverly rolled her eyes, a faint blush painting her cheeks as she shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant about the situation. "you said you wanted to see all of derry."

she pushed the door open, ushering richie to go in like a gentlemen would do to his date. richie mockingly lifted the hem of his imaginary dress and bowed before rolling his eyes and walking inside.

he was immediately hit with the scent of books and elderly ladies. he pushed his glasses up and scanned the room. it was big, but that was about it. nothing really struck him as jaw dropping expect the fact that he would maybe get a library card for eddie. 

beverly cleared her throat, bringing richie back from his daze. he looked behind him to see beverly standing with a chubby boy with bright blue eyes cast downwards and a pink hue painting his cheeks. 

"richie, this is ben, one of my friends," beverly nudged the boy - ben - with a fond grin. ben reached out to shake hands. richie obliged, eyes squinting at the two, glancing towards them both. huh, the must of been close.