Stanley Uris, a boy with three secrets hidden beneath a thick sweater - one of them being his love for his best friend.
Bill Denbrough, a boy who spends every morning trying to convince himself he's not gay.
This is their tale, told through both of...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Eddie was also broken.
•
Earlier that day...
It was the coldest day yet, the end of October, and at lunch Eddie Kaspbrak felt a tug on his arm and turned to see Stan staring at him with hollow, dark eyes.
"Hey, Stan."
"Eddie...I need your help."
"What?" Panic jabbed at the small boy's chest. He felt for his inhaler and just knowing it was there comforted him.
Stan led him outside, where they sat on the steps. Stan put his head in his hands and let out a single, heartbreaking weep.
Eddie put an arm around Stan's back. "What's wrong? Shh, it's okay. Just tell me."
"Last night...oh, Eddie, Bill and I..."
"Yeah, I know. Richie told me about you two being together, then Bill told me."
"Fucking assholes," Stan muttered, astounding Eddie. "Eddie, Richie likes Bill."
"Yeah, I know that, too. Richie and I figured that out; he's only attracted to Bill sexually. Richie and I are dating." Eddie felt a hint of pride at the words: Richie, the love of his life, dating him. The whole Bill thing was okay. Richie would get over it.
"Eddie...you don't want to date him. Bill and he...Eddie, they fucked. They're cheating on us."
At first, there was a tiny crack when Richie moaned "Biiiill" while they kissed a couple weeks ago, their first fight, when they confessed their love — now, Richie had done it.
Eddie's entire heart simply shattered.
•
Tears dripped in a steady flow down Eddie's trembling cheeks. It was midnight, and he was setting the world record for most amount of tears soaking his pyjamas. He couldn't stop sobbing, a wail rising in his throat, his heart aching in his rib cage. He could keep down the screams, but sadness could not be silenced.
Richie...why? Why the fuck would you cheat on me?
Maybe it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Maybe with dangerous boys like Richie Tozier, it was bound to happen. A tight tangle of their histories and memories held Richie and Eddie together, and yet with every one of Richie's lies, a thread unravelled, until everything fell apart.
•
Eddie was crying in class, silently, his head in his arms in the back desk, when he glanced up to see Stan passing by outside, peeking in the door. What did the noodle-haired boy see? A red-eyed, sniffling Eddie? An emotionless statue? Something in between?
Eddie had never felt so sad. He had never felt such a huge hole breaking into his chest. He couldn't stop crying.
He didn't simply break.
Richie had broken him.
•
"Eds?" Richie spoke through the phone. "Spaghetti, you there?"
Eddie had answered...where was he?
That's when a soft sobbing came through the line.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Richie whispered.
"Shut up!" Eddie weeped. "Shut the fuck—I mean, frig up!" And then in a voice that wasn't meant for Richie's ears: "Mama, I didn't swear...no, it's okay, we're just pretending to be mad, haha."
Richie frowned. "Spaghetti, what's going on? What did I do?"
"You sucked Bill's dick, that's what," Eddie whispered. Pause. "Or...was it that anal thing? Anal? Is that what's it called?"
"What? Baby, no, I didn't. Meet me at the quarry."
Richie hung up the phone. He wanted to cry. What the fuck had he done?
•
Eddie arrived at the twilit quarry, fuming, crying, wondering where the hell it had all gone wrong. He only went because he was hoping, desperately, that Richie would be his hero, his knight in shining armour, his Prince Charming. If Richie showed up, maybe it wouldn't be real...maybe it would be okay.
And yet, Richie didn't show for almost an hour, and when he arrived, he looked like a sad, worn-out mess. He immediately attempted to hug Eddie while murmuring, "Spaghetti baby, what's wrong?"
The little boy shoved him away forcefully. "Stop. Why the fuck did you...fuck Bill?!"
Richie's mouth opened slightly. "Who, uh, told you about this?"
"Stan. 'Cause apparently you've been telling the whole world. Oh, I'm Richie Tozier, a cheater." Eddie crossed his arms. "Fuck you, Richie."
Richie smiled a bit. "Please do."
"Oh, well you're fucking Bill! I thought you said you weren't gonna do anything! I thought you said you only loved me! Oh, mister arosexual! Is that just a stupid excuse for cheating?" Eddie squared himself to seem taller. "Who do you love, Richie?"
"You, Eds..."
But Eddie had already shoved him off the cliff into the water below.
There was sickening splash and then Richie's soaked head broke the ripping surface.
"Eddie!" he called out. "Baby, I didn't, I didn't—"
"Goodbye, Tozier."
Eddie also turned away. And Eddie also didn't want to look back and see Richie's beautiful face pleading forgiveness, because Eddie knew he would obey, as he always did.
Richie had taken advantage of him, had toyed with him. No self-deserving human would hurt Eddie and still continue to hurt him. Eddie was done.
•
The moment he arrived home, Eddie burst into tears.
In reality, maybe there were no heroes. Maybe there were only damaged people passing their pain onto others.
