THEY'RE GAZEBOS | it one-shots

one | jamie

"truth or dare"
third person point of view

"Alright, my good fellows, I think it's about time we spice things up," Richie Tozier said as he smacked his hands together, causing everyone to roll their eyes and wonder what ridiculous plan he had in mind this time.

It was a warm night of late June, and the members of the Losers' Club were reunited around a camp fire to celebrate the end of the school year. They had all finished their freshman year and were bound to enter tenth grade in two months.

"Let me guess, you're gonna propose we play Truth or Dare?" Stanley Uris grumbled.

Richie put a hand on his heart and faked a gasp.

"How did you know, my dear Stanley?"

"Muh-muh-maybe that's buh-because you al-always propose we pluh-pluh-play that guh-guh-game," Bill Denbrough said, slightly annoyed.

"So what, guys?! It's fun!" the boisterous boy protested.

Eddie Kaspbrak, on the other hand, really didn't find truth or dare fun at all. It was just a way to get your friends to spill their deepest secrets. When you had no skeletons in the closet, it was a light-hearted game. However, in Eddie's case, his secret was weighing on his heart, and considering it concerned a certain ebony-haired boy, he couldn't afford to ever have to reveal it.

"What do you think, Eds?" Richie asked, looking at the chestnut-haired boy who was lost in his thoughts.

Eddie lifted his head so fast he could have snapped his neck in half. A part of him wanted to play, because he loved gossip even though he would never admit it, but he then realized that the safety of his secret was at stake if he accepted.

"Ya, I'm not playing, sorry," he replied. "And don't call me Eds. You know I hate it."

The blush on his cheeks said otherwise.

Richie continued on his roll, knowing that if he was going to be able to convince anyone into doing something, it was indubitably Eddie.

"Oh come on, Eddie! It would be so boring to play truth or dare without my little cutie!"

Eddie inevitably turned into a tomato, something that always happened whenever Richie called him "cute" or "a cutie". One time, Richie had called him "love", and he almost pissed his pants in surprise. Sometimes, Eddie would dream that Richie liked him back and that when he called him "cute", he really meant it. But deep down inside, Eddie knew that it didn't mean anything, and that he was only getting his hopes up.

Eddie sighed as Richie pouted and gave him sad puppy eyes. The shorter boy was never capable of resisting those dark cinnamon eyes that seemed to capture his soul and enthral him into a trance.

"Ugh, fine. But I'm only doing this because I love you," he blurted, until he realizes his mistake and puts his hand in front of his mouth.

Richie raised an eyebrow, and everyone looked at him curiously.

"A-as a friend, I mean," Eddie stuttered, sounding like Bill.

"Mhm. Sure," Beverly said before taking a sip out of a can of Sprite.

Eddie, humiliated, sat back down in his camping chair, borrowed from Bill because of course, he has never gone camping before. His mother would have an aneurysm if Eddie spent even one night in nature.