𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 | ͏reddie

12

why do I love reddie more than anything else??22?2??2?2?😩👊🏻

Richie can't go a day without seeing Eddie Kaspbrak around school, and each time he imagines the look Eddie gave him at the fair, with the pink feathers of his scarf blowing around him in the breeze.

Richie trudges through the corridor with black boots and chains, clearing a path whilst he walks between all of the slightly younger teens who back away from him, nervous and with just one glance. Richie shoots his dark eyes towards them, confused as to why they are so intimidated, before entering his classes.

He takes his usual seat in math, lazily shoving his backpack onto the floor and leaning back in his chair, legs kicked out and body slumped. He waits for the class to start by pulling out his compass and adding to the deep carvings on the desk. The teacher usually shouts at him for it, but today Richie simply can't find a reason to care.

"I-I'm really sorry I'm late, i-it won't happen again."

Richie pauses vandalising the desk when he hears the small voice. He doesn't want to whip his head around, because that'll be too obvious that he wants to admire Eddie, so he resorts to slowly scratching the compass into the battered wood and listening closely for Eddie's movements instead.

"That's fine, Eddie. Now take a seat and lets get started everyone." The male teacher announces to the class. Then Richie can hear Eddie's numerous pill pots rattle in his pockets, which become closer... and closer... until Richie finally looks to his right, expecting to see Eddie neatly setting down his baby-blue notepad beside him. But no. Eddie isn't there at all, and Richie finds himself squinting through dark bottle lenses to see that Eddie has in fact moved seats, far away, and is now sitting at the back of the class beside a brunette girl.

Richie twists around in his seat and watches Eddie do exactly what he does usually: getting out his pastel coloured pencil case, finding his favourite pen, opening up his notepad. Except this time he isn't beside Richie. He's next to that girl.

"Tozier, face the front." The teacher calls, and then all eyes are on him, staring intently. Richie pulls his obvious gaze from Eddie and rolls his eyes, shooting daggers at the staring teenagers before turning back in his seat.

That's it.

Richie needs to talk to Eddie, to converse, even if Eddie punches him in the face Richie will still bow down to him. Anything. Richie is utterly desperate. He can't handle being this far away from Eddie, it's like a lifeline that's being more cut off every day.

Something has to be done, tonight.

****

9pm.

Richie glances back at his truck, that he had purposely parked a little further down the road than usual, then back up at the window of the Kaspbrak household. He knows this window is the entrance to Eddie's bedroom. The one he has never entered before but had been told many stories about, such as what sort of pictures Eddie had stuck above his desk, what colour he changed his bedsheets to, the wallpaper, size of the wardrobe... the list is endless. Those pointless conversations him and Eddie had shared in the time they spend together we're now priceless to Richie.

He gazes up at the oak tree placed rather conveniently beside the side of the house, which (once he climbed) could be the most perfect way inside.

The tree is rather big, with thousands of branches cascading out into the night. It didn't look as big when Richie used to pick Eddie up each morning before school, but right now under the shining moonlight it seems like an almost impossible challenge.