slight mention of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. if you are being abused, please reach out to someone. there are tons of resources for you if you're ever in a situation that is abusive. remember that you do not have to stand for it, you are in control of yourself. i'm always here to talk. i love you, please stay safe.
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"three-fifty nine. three-fifty nine. three-fifty nine. three-fifty nine. three-fifty ni- four!"
knock.
eddie kaspbraks face appeared in the door way. he smiled and said a small hey before moving aside and welcoming richie inside.
henry's here. this was all some type of sick plan. henry is going to come out and kill me. i'm so stupid i'm so-
"eddie? who is it?" richies thoughts were interrupted by a loud yell.
"it's richie, ma. remember? i told you that he'd be coming over to work on a project with me."
"oh! okay! let me know if you need anything!" eddie's mother yelled back.
eddie motioned for richie to follow him up the stairs. richie complied, and soon they were inside of the small space.
richie looked around the room.
it was painted a peachy orange color, a desk in the corner of the room was neatly organized, the only posters on his wall were academic themed.
eddies bed was pushed in a corner. richie imagined henry laying next to him, watching movies and playing with the smaller boys hair. what richie wouldn't give to be in that position for a single night.
"so, tell me about yourself, richie tozier." eddie said, sitting on the bed and patting the spot next to him, signaling for richie to sit next to him.
"i- uh, what?"
"tell me about yourself."
"not much to tell."
"oh, bullshit. everyone has a story."
"you don't want to hear mine." richie realized that it sounded really fake deep as soon as the words left his mouth.
"i wouldn't have asked if i didn't want to know."
hesitantly, richie started to talk.
he told eddie about his parents and how his dad is never around. he told him about beverly and ben, and even stanley. he wanted eddie to tell him something in return.
"do you love him?"
"what?"
"henry. do you love him?"
"i- that's rather rude to say, you don't think?"
"i mean, im- sorry."
"he's not always an asshole, you know. he can be a real softie sometimes. he'd kill me if he found out that i said that, but he's not always a dick."
"what do your friends think about him?"
"all of my friends are just his friends. vic, patrick, regi."
"regi?"
"yeah, reginald."
"who the fuck is reginald?"
"oh, belch. sorry. belch." eddie laughed.
"wait, belchs real name is reginald."
"he hates it when people call him that."
"you get along with those guys?"
"i mean yeah. they're not all like, awful."
"no?"
"i mean, victor is really nice all of the time."
"victor?"
"yeah, he's a total sweetheart. i don't know how the hell he got caught up with them. he's the sweetest guy that i've ever met. sometimes i wonder why i'm with henry instead of vic, honestly."
"why are you with henry?"
"because he's a good guy. he's nice, and funny. yeah, he has issues, but it isn't entirely his fault. his old man isn't the best to him. the guy gets away with treating his kid like shit because he's a police chief."
"just because he's being mistreated doesn't mean that he has the right to mistreat other people."
"what do you mean?"
"my friend bev's dad used to really abuse her bad, and she's the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. and whenever my dad is around, he hits me. i don't want to seem cocky, but i think that i'm pretty nice, y'know? just because you're in a bad place it doesn't give you the right to hurt others."
"you got a way with words, richie tozier"
