𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌

↱ 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖞𝖔𝖓𝖊; 𝖂𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖆 𝖐𝖓𝖔𝖜 𝖜𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖊𝖑𝖘𝖊 𝕴 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖐?

"Hey, Eds," Richie called over the bustle of the hallway. "My mom got Sno Balls and packed two with my lunch. Want one?"

"Oh," Eddie shut his locker. "No thanks, I'm having lunch with Beverly today."

"But you love Sno Balls," Richie pouted, face falling sadly at the realization that Eddie was bailing on him and the guys to go eat lunch with Beverlyonce again.

"I'm sorry, Rich," Eddie sighed. "I already promised."

"Fine," Richie groaned. "Have fun with your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," Eddie bit back angrily, although he was secretly pleased with the insinuation. Appearing as though he were interested in girls was one of the main reasons he had started spending time with Beverly, even if their friendship was strictly platonic.

"Whatever," Richie laughed, curls flopping. "As long as I can be your mistress who you come back to when you need some loving-"

"Bye, Richie," Eddie groaned, rolling his eyes at Richie's attempt at a joke as he walked off towards the outdoor picnic tables where Beverly preferred to eat lunch.

"So, what's up with you and Richie?" Beverly asked, innocently picking at the triangle of ham and cheese Eddie had shared with her.

"What do you mean?" Eddie asked, cheeks flushing unnecessarily.

'He's just your best friend,' he reminded himself. 'Everyone knows he's your best friend. Don't make it weird!'

"Just heard you guys have been friends a really long time," Beverly shrugged, eating the piece of ham from her now deconstructed sandwich. Beverly had moved to Hawkins about a year ago and had heard all about how close Eddie and Richie were from her classmates.

"That's disgusting," Eddie commented as he watched her eat, making her laugh. "Yeah, we've been best friends since the first day of kindergarten."

"That's cute," Beverly smiled warmly. "Bet you're really close."

"Well, I'm mean, yeah," Eddie swallowed his bite of sandwich, words muffled by the hand he covered his mouth with as he chewed. "It's been like... seven years, I think."

"I think," Beverly mocked with a snorted. "As if you don't know."

Eddie shrugged in response, focusing on his sandwich nervously.

"He seems really sweet with you," Beverly spoke again, making Eddie choke on his sandwich slightly.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Eddie sputtered, taking a sip of his apple juice. "What are you talking about?"

"Calm down," Beverly laughed, eyes shining knowingly. "Just, the way he treats you. I've seen him walk you to class and stuff. And that one time when he came running out to make sure you had your inhaler because it was really humid and he knew your asthma was probably going to act up... So adorable."

"He's just a good friend," Eddie shrugged, eyes focused downward on the table. "We've been through a lot. We just know each other really well..."

"I'm sure you do," Beverly smiled. "Oh, you've got some mustard," Beverly commented, licking her thumb and reaching out to rub at the corner of Eddie's mouth without thinking.

"No!" Eddie pitched backwards, falling from the picnic bench and landing on his tailbone painfully.

"Shit, Eddie," Beverly jumped from her side of the table. "I wasn't thinking! I'm sorry! Shit!"

"Richie," Eddie croaked, already scrubbing at his cheek with his palms as fat tears began to pour down his face. "Need Richie!"

"S'ghetti," Richie huffed, skidding to a halt next to Eddie and dropping to his knees in front of the crying boy. Eddie had gotten a lot better at handling his mysophobia and most people at school knew to steer clear of upsetting Eddie, but the occasional accident still happened. "Hey, hey, it's okay Spaghetti-Man," Richie cooed, carefully opening Eddie's fanny pack to pull out some disinfectant. He hadn't used that nickname in weeks and the sound of it made Richie's cheeks warm pleasantly.

"Rich," Eddie gasped.

"I'm gonna clean your face, okay bub?" Richie asked, placing a gentle hand on Eddie's shoulder and sighing with relief when the boy didn't push him away. "There we go, good job," Richie murmured as Eddie hiccupped sadly.

"All clean, Spaghetti," Richie smiled, throwing the disinfectant soaked napkin he had used on Eddie's face on the ground next to him.

"Y'shouldn't litter," Eddie mumbled before moving forward to hide his face in Richie's neck, making the other boy bark with laughter as Beverly watched the two.

"I'll see ya later," Eddie waved as he veered in another direction to go and meet Beverly for lunch.

"Wait, Eds," Richie frowned. It had been a few days since Eddie had last eaten with Beverly. "You sure?"

"I'm fine, Richie," Eddie sighed. "It's not like it's gonna happen again. It was an accident, she wasn't thinking. She already apologized."

"Y'sure?" Richie asked. "What if she-"

"I'll be fine. I'll meet you at your locker after school, idiot," Eddie shook his head with a smile before turning to leave Richie in the middle of the hallway alone.

"Hey," Beverly mumbled as she carefully accepted a half of Eddie's sandwich. "I'm really sorry again. I don't know what I was thinking."

"I already said, it's fine," Eddie laughed, shaking his head.

"But-"

"No, buts!" Eddie silenced her. "It's okay. Everything was okay."

"Yeah, thank God for Richie," Beverly nodded, remembering the way he had calmed Eddie down.

"Yeah," Eddie laughed. "He has a lot of experience with my freak-a-zoid moments..."

"Hey, no," Beverly shook her head with a smile. "You're not a freak-a-zoid."

"Thanks," Eddie snorted, taking a bite of his sandwich. "But I definitely am!"

"Nah, I don't think so," Beverly shook her head. "But... I was thinking about the other day."

"What about it?"

"Just the way Richie was able to calm you down," Beverly explained.

"O-kay," Eddie pressed. "And?"

"I think he likes you," Beverly shrugged, popping a corner of her sandwich into her mouth casually.

"Wh-what," Eddie sputtered, staring at her in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Of course, he likes me, he's my best friend. If he hated me-"

"You know that's not what I mean, Eddie," Beverly smirked at the blushing boy. "I think he like-likes you."

"No, he doesn't," Eddie shook his head, unsuccessfully trying to appear calm despite the fact that he felt like his whole world was crumbling inside him.

"That's your opinion," Beverly laughed. "But I think he does."

"And I think you're insane!" Eddie shot back.

"Wanna know what else I think?" Beverly grinned.

"No," Eddie pouted, knowing she was going to tell him anyways.

"I think you like him too," Beverly answered, a devilish smirk lighting up her features.

"Absolutely not!" Eddie protested vehemently, knocking his milk over with his wildly flailing limbs. "I don't! I would never, ever, ever!"

'Fuck!' Eddie's screamed internally. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!'