three weeks later
eddie
"beep beep, richie."
i mumbled, defeated. richie giggled shamelessly as i visibly grimaced at the disgusting joke he'd made a few seconds prior. bill had been eating a banana, so i should have preempted it really.
"watch it, trashmouth."
threatened stanley, scowling at him. he shrugged nonchalantly, leaning over jane's shoulder before quickly swiping a chocolate button from the bag she held in her hand.
"hey!"
she shrieked, swatting him away with her spare hand. i couldn't help but laugh at the pathetic flailing of her arms.
"is it just me, or, is richie being especially annoying today?"
enquired beverly, looking up from her chemistry book. richie frowned and flipped her off, pushing his glasses up with his other hand.
"he's just hyper."
i informed distractedly, leaning back against the tree with my eyes closed. i folded my arms behind my head and cracked an eye open to smile at richie, who grinned in return.
"why, did you give him too much sugar again?"
bill snorted slightly as he ate the last of his banana. i narrowed my eyes at him.
"a-d-h-d-e-f-g.."
stanely began singing quietly, a smug look on his face. before i could do anything to interfere, richie had hopped over and kicked him in the shin with so much force i could swear i heard a crack.
"hey! what was that for?"
stan rubbed his sore leg and pouted. bill was by his side in a matter of seconds, shooting richie daggers.
"don't look at me! he started it."
he held his hands up in defence, nodding towards stan, who faked a sniffle before turning to smirk at him.
"boys, behave!"
jane exclaimed exasperatedly, rolling her eyes at their immature behaviour.
"fuckin' jew.."
richie muttered stubbornly, kicking a rock a little too hard. he began hopping on one foot, holding his injured one in his hands as he hissed and cursed.
"richie,"
stanley sighed, exasperated.
"you're jewish."
richie opened his mouth to respond with some witty, offensive comment, but was interrupted when i tugged on the end of his shorts. he furrowed his brows and looked down at me, adjusting his glasses. i batted my eyelashes in a way i knew would soften his stiffened features, and i made grabby hands at him. he looked unimpressed for a second, before ebbing away and avoiding my eyes as he held back a smile.
"sit with me."
i asked him softly, a pleading tone behind my voice. he rolled his eyes as if it was a chore, but didn't hesitate to fill the space beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist. i leaned my head on his shoulder affectionately, letting myself sink into his side.
"how do you do that?"
he asked me suddenly, half amused, half legitimately curious. i cocked an eyebrow.
"how do i do what?"
i chuckled, confused. he shook his head, a twinkle playing on his lips.
"you always manage to, calm me down or, get me to do stuff...or whatever. how do you do that? no one else would be able to do that."
