LIVE FAST | REDDIE

- 20 | LIVE FAST

◦ ◦ ◦

"Jesus fucking Christ, that hurts.." Richie groaned loudly, sitting up and running a hand down the side of his face. Light trickled into the room through a window, which just made his headache worse. He got up and stumbled over, squinting as he drew the curtains shut. It looked completely white outside, which was a problem, since Richie's father was supposed to be coming home that day and if he actually made it while Richie was stuck here then there would be trouble.

The curly-haired boy just sighed heavily, glancing at his surroundings. The bottle he had downed with little help last night was on the floor next to the armchair he had crashed on, and his back ached almost as badly as his head due to the awkward angle in which he had fallen asleep. He pinched the bridge of his nose, and froze, grasping at his face for a moment. His glasses were nowhere to be found. The blurriness of his vision was not from the hangover. He stepped cautiously towards the chair, squinting and looking closely at the ground to make sure he wasn't about to step on them.

"Looking for these?" A voice piped up. He turned his head to see Bev standing with the frames in her hands, and dragged himself over to her, sliding them onto his face.

"You are a life saver, Miss Marsh," Richie drawled, patting her cheek. She snorted, throwing an arm over his shoulders and leading him out into the kitchen. Nobody else was in there, but by the looks of it, Bev had been there for a while.

"So..." The redhead began, raising her eyebrows. "You and Eddie, huh?" Her words caused a wave of confusion to crash over Richie, and he missed the counter when he tried to hold on for support. He barely caught himself stumbling forward before his face would have hit the countertop, righting himself and trying again.

"What about us?" Richie asked, yawning hugely. "Did we get it on last night or something? A guy's gotta get off somehow, and after a while, your own hand just doesn't do it for ya the same way your best buddy can." Bev made a face at that but couldn't hold back her smile.

"Gross, Rich, I didn't need to know that." She picked up the pot of coffee she had made earlier in the morning and pulled a mug out of one of the cabinets, pouring a cup for Richie and then refilling her own. "But I guess you could say that, yeah. We were playing Spin the Bottle and you were already hammered, but when I kissed Eddie you looked like you were ready to murder someone, and he hardly even got to kiss Sally before you were dragging him upstairs, so I just kind of assumed you were fucking."

"Nah, I doubt it," Richie replied, shrugging. "Maybe we made out or something, but trust me, I would be feeling it right now if we fucked." Bev snorted, shaking her head and sliding the mug down the table. Richie picked it up and took a sip, wincing at the bitter taste. He had never liked his coffee the way Eddie did, but it was best this way when he wanted to wake up.

"I'll just ask him, then. He hadn't had too much when it happened, he'll definitely remember." Silence fell upon them, in which Richie sipped his coffee quietly and Bev watched him with thoughtful eyes. She always did that. He had told her about it countless times, insisting that it was creepy. It was, too. It felt like she was staring right through him. Then again, perhaps that's just how it was when you'd been friends with someone since you were ten.

"You're doing it again, Marsh," he told her. "The staring thing. I'd say something smart like 'Take a picture', but that hasn't been the case. Not in a while, at least."

"Yeah, well, it's similar to your story about how your own hands weren't doing it for you anymore. You got boring, the sex got predictable. Besides, I could have anyone now, I don't need to further ruin my closest friendship." She laughed, and this time Richie joined in. It was true. She really could have anyone. Richie could get a girl, or even a guy, for that matter, but the difference was that Bev didn't even have to try anymore. She used to be called a slut and a loser, neither of which were true. Now she could breathe and all the guys in the school would propose. Richie was proud of her, but he was also glad that he was able to make some of the climb with her.