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"and it's a full moon ya'll"
richie tozier stood with his back leaning against the brick walls of the drugstore. the only source of light he had was the moon, the yellow street lamps and the red lighter he carried. he took a drag of his cigarette as he observed the still parking lot.
it was late by most people's standards, but to richie, this was prime exploring time. he always snuck out to wander derry, every single night. sometimes he went to parties, sometimes he would hang with beverly marsh, other times he would convince eddie to sneak out with him. most nights he just sat alone smoking.
some people might say that was pretty sad, a seventeen year old spending his nights smoking in a parking lot, but it was really very peaceful. no one nagging at him or judging him for his crude comments. richie savored every minute of his alone time during the night.
he heard the sound of slurred laughter from around the corner. richie let his cigarette fall to the ground before walking towards the noise. he spotted a pair, a girl and a boy, the girl stumbling and clinging onto the boy for balance. the boy seemed completely sober, while the girl was clearly drunk or high off her ass.
"chris, i, i wanna go," the girl hiccuped, interrupting her own speech. "home." she finished.
richie narrowed his eyes, starting to dislike the situation.
"sh, you're just going home with me y/n." the boy shushed her before gripping tighter on her upper arms and continuing to guide her.
richie subtly walked after them, as they were leaving his sight. he definitely wasn't going to let anything happen but he also didn't want to get in anyone's business.
"but, chris. i wanna, g-go home." the girl stuttered as she stumbled down the sidewalk.
richie sped up his pace, causing the pair to both look over at him.
"hey buddy, do you need something?" the guy snapped at richie, clearly annoyed he was interrupted.
"i need you to not fuck around with her. sounds like she doesn't want to go home with you, buddy." richie replied with an eye roll.
the boy glared at richie, "mind your own business dude."
"sweetheart, where do you wanna go?" richie asked the girl, completely ignoring the guys reply.
"home. like m-my house." she slurred.
richie pursed his chapped lips and tilted his head to her. "the lady spoke. i'll just take her off your dirty hands."
the guy jerked the girl away from richie. "i've got her." he said harshly.
"ow, chris th-that hurt." the girl whined. she tried to shrug his arms off of her and failed.
"listen dude. just let me take her home so i don't have to get aggressive." richie snapped.
the guy just chuckled, "yeah okay. a druggie like you? whatever." he mocked.
richie sighed, "i'm serious." he warned.
"please just let me go home chr-chris. i already missed curfew." the girl pleaded.
the guy huffed angrily and shoved the girl to the side, causing her to trip over her own feet and land on her hands and knees on the concrete sidewalk.
"just take her you dick." the guy snapped before storming away.
"fuck off." richie muttered under his breath before flipping off the guy's retreating figure.
richie helped the girl up and saw she'd scraped her hands and knees.
"want me to help clean those scrapes up? if not i'll just take you home." richie offered as he held her up.
"i already missed curfew. might as well." she answered.
"i'm y/n by the way." she added as richie began walking her towards the front door of the pharmacy.
"richie." he replied as he shoved the door open and walked in with y/n's arms over his shoulders.
the pharmacy was thankfully a twenty four hour pharmacy where richie was friendly with the night cashier. richie snagged free cigarettes all the time because of it.
"hey steven." richie greeted as he headed to the medical aisle.
"ey richie, who's the chick?" steven greeted as he walked out from behind the counter and over to richie.
"some dirt bag guy was tryna take her to his place, long story short she's a bit scraped up and i just wanted to clean 'er up a bit." richie explained briefly, his eyes never leaving the shelves as he searched for the right sized bandages.
"ouch. that sounds like it sucked. try neosporin or some shit." steven suggested as he handed richie a mini tube of it.
richie nodded, "thanks steve." he said as he grabbed a box of medium square band-aids.
he then grabbed a bottle of water and some cotton pads so he could clean the scrapes. eddie was always quick to remind his friends that dirty wounds could lead to infection whenever anyone got hurt.
he walked up to the counter to pay and steven shook his head. "on the house. in honor of your noble deeds." steven said with a grin.
richie laughed, "thanks again bro. i'll see you around." he said with a smile before walking with y/n out of the pharmacy.
"th-thank you." y/n called over her shoulder as richie led her out.
he walked her back to the side of the store where he usually smoked and sat her down on an old cardboard box. y/n leaned her head against the wall of the store and closed her eyes.
"fuck i'm tired." she mumbled.
richie laughed, "i'll be quick honeybun." he promised.
he wet a cotton pad and lightly wiped it on her knee. y/n winced a bit but didn't say anything. richie started dabbing another damp cotton pad against her other knee and then did the same to her hands.
after that he applied the neosporin and put a band-aid on each scrape. richie, being the smooth teen he is, pulled out a sharpie and scribbled his number onto one of the band-aids before placing it carefully on y/n's left knee.
"okay, i'm all done." richie told y/n before helping her up.
"i fucking hate him. i swear i'm gonna beat his ass." y/n muttered as she draped her arm over richie's shoulders.
"i'll help you with that." richie told her with a chuckle.
"think you can lead me to your place?" richie asked her.
she nodded slowly and richie followed her instructions to get to her house. they didn't walk that far, her house was pretty close to the pharmacy.
richie walked her all the way to her porch before helping her unlock and open her door.
"night." richie whispered as quietly as he could to y/n.
she nodded and waved to him. "thank you richie." y/n thanked before walking back to where he was standing.
she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed richie's cheek. "goodnight." y/n said before silently closing the door.
richie smiled to himself before heading back to the pharmacy, y/n being the only thing on his mind.
