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richie tozier hadn't really thought about eddie recently. five years would be a long time to grieve a lost crush. and eddie didn't really die. he was already dead.
his parents sent him to therapy for the broken door fiasco, docking it as another mental episode and richie never defended himself. he just dragged himself to therapy every Wednesday until his parents could no longer afford it.
he thankfully stayed close with his friends, their shared emotional trauma enough to keep them from drifting apart too much. he was closest to beverly and even kissed her a couple of times. but after clearing up the fact that they'd probably never be more than close friends, their friendship grew stronger. ben and mike developed their relationship with each other before richie. this was so everyone had a best friend if they ever had a falling out. richie had beverly and mike had ben. but richie was almost sure that it was would never happen.
the first year without eddie was the hardest. eddie was his first everything. his first real best friend, his first crush, his first loss. it was overwhelming for richie, unable to grasp the reality of eddie really being gone. some nights, he would wake up in cold sweat, his whole body trembling as he hugged himself. it felt as if eddie had died in his arms and it haunted him.
god, he missed his best friend.
the second year was a little easier to forget because he was starting high school and, miraculously, he got a girlfriend. her name was ann and they met in science. she was lab partners with him and had long, brown hair that was woven into a tight braid. two weeks later she broke up with him. they didn't even make it to the first date because the glasses wearing boy kept postponing it. richie didn't really mind, she was quite bland and never laughed at his jokes. he told beverly how eddie would have laughed at his dumb jokes and proceeded to sob softly on her shoulder.
but time passed and the pain of eddie's passing was more of a dull throb rather than a flesh wound. he managed to cope with the pain by distracting himself and distancing himself from things that reminded him of the ghost boy. he didn't want to forget eddie, only the pain that followed the memory.
and that method worked for the last three years. he didn't talk about eddie and no one talked to him about it.
"after you, m'lady," richie bowed his head as he held the door open for mike, who thanked him in an equally posh tone. ben and beverly had made promises to meet them in homeroom after they 'studied' in the library.
richie wasn't all too popular but his looks had improved over the years. he hit a growth spurt in tenth grade and constantly towered over his classmates. he gained a little weight which was later equally distributed throughout his lanky body. his fashion was a little more modern but he kept the unbuttoned button-ups that made his style distinct. his glasses were shared with contact lenses but his glasses were worn depending on his outfit.
