take me home | richie tozier,

6

mid june, 1992

'you said WHAT?! why on earth would you say no?!?!?' el basically screamed as we sat on her porch swing drinking shirley temples

'jesus, el; it's not even 12 o'clock yet, would ya stop screaming?' i laughed

'not until you tell me why the fuck you said no to richie! you two are soulmates for crying out loud!' she pleaded

i sighed,'it just didn't feel right, it wasn't the right time nor place. if i wanted to fall in love with someone, without a doubt, it'd be him. but, sadly for you and rich, i'm currently not looking for love' i said, kind of honeslty

'i really want to be with richie, el, like more than anything in the entire world; but it's not the right time nor place for love' i breathed out

'but what if it is? what if it's meant to be with richie? because, trust me, it really is' el said to me as she sipped her drink

'well, it's too late now. i messed up my chances by saying no' i sad weakly, admitting defeat

'hmph' el said as she thought about my situation with richie

'give me one sec, i'll be right back i just have to.. fill up our drinks!'

she quickly took my drink out of my hands and rushed back inside to make some more

'i'll see you tomorrow to get ready for the dance, el?' i said as we hugged each other goodbye

'yes ma'am; let's do it at your house, alright?' she asked me as i went into my car

'that sounds like a plan; see you tomorrow my love!' i yelled out as i drove out of her driveway and back to my house, about ten blocks away

when i arrived home i noticed that there was another car in the driveway that wasn't mine or steve's

it was a black convertible

i parked and locked my car and went inside

it was about 7 o'clock in the night and i could smell that steve had ordered pizza

'hellOoOo' i yelled out, but got no reply

steve wasn't in the kitchen, so i went to the living to try and find him

steve was in the living room

with richie

i looked at them both with a confused look as they both stared back at me

'am i interrupting something?' i asked them

steve cleared his throat and got up off of the sofa, leaving the room

but not before winking at me

'so, rich; why'd you come? i would think you wouldn't want anything to do with me after the last time we saw each other-' i began to speak as i sat down next to him

he interrupted me,'el called. she said some things to me that i'm almost one hundred percent sure she wasn't supposed to say.' his voice became low,'she said you wanted to go to the dance with me but it wasn't the right time or place' he put air quotations after the last part

i didn't answer, but kind of just looked down and played with my bracelet that was a gift from steve from the christmas of 1990

'so, victoria mia harrington, as of now i'm hoping that this, at 7 pm in your living room, is the right time and place to ask you.. would you like to go to the dance with me?'

'i would love to'

he smiled and let out a relieved sigh

'but, richard, this doesn't mean we're dating,' i began to say

'what does this mean, then?' he asked as his face fell slightly

'it only means that i'm willing to give us another chance'