real; reddie

s e v e n

"will?"

as soon as the name leaves eddie's lips, richie is whipping his head around to watch the scene unfold.

"long time, no see, eds," will hums, and he takes the empty seat across from him.

"yeah," eddie mumbles, eyebrows creased. "for good reason."

after richie and eddie had actually gotten together, will was still not convinced that it was real. he'd continuously made moves on eddie despite eddie's protests, and when richie called him out and asked him to stop, will had given him a black eye and bruised jaw.

of course, richie has gotten more hits in. will walked away with a broken nose. rightfully.

obviously, will and richie had stopped being friends. eddie hadn't seen the boy since he started college.

"aw, come on, eds," will teases, his tongue poking out his bottom lip. "don't be like that. let bygones be bygones."

eddie can't help but tilt his head in richie's direction; the taller boy is glaring at will with such a deadly look that eddie shifts in his seat.

"so, i heard you and richie broke up."

eddie chokes on his water that he'd been sipping on. "um, yeah."

"so, what do you say we try us again?"

eddie furrows his eyebrows, placing down his glass. "there was never an us, will. we went out, like, twice, and when i tried to break it off you refused to accept my decision. and then proceeded to attempt to break rich and i up."

"i wouldn't say that," will murmurs, but there is not spot of guilt on his face. he looks amused. proud, even. "i'd say richie and i were in a rightful feud over you. he just happened to come out on top."

"there was never any question about it, will."

"well, now there is," he looks giddy, like a little child, like he knows that he's unwanted there. "you two broke up, so obviously something wasn't working out. so why don't we go out?"

eddie sucks in a breath. "no, thank you, will."

"why?" he asks, and eds understands that the boy hadn't grown up at all. "you sure you two broke up? you're pretty good at pretending."

eddie feels himself begin to fume, and he lowers his voice. "of course i'm sure. why the fuck would we joke about something like that?"

"well, i wouldn't put it past you two."

eddie feels his face turn red. he's angry. he wants to punch will in the face. he won't. when he looks at richie, he sees a similar expression on his face.

"well, will, it's none of your business either way. but yes, we did break up. and no, i'm not interested in going out with you."

will surprises eddie by flying out of his seat, his hands pressed on the table, leaning in towards eddie, face too close for comfort. "eddie, if i were you, i wouldn't lie to me."

before will can say anything else, eddie springs out of his seat. it's just in time, too, because richie looks just about ready to explode. his face is completely red, and eddie has never seen him so angry in his life. if he'd not stood up at that moment, he knows richie would've grabbed will and slammed him up against a wall like he did so long ago when he caught his best friend trying to kiss eddie.

eddie makes eye contact with richie, and motions towards the bathroom. the three are making enough of a scene, and don't need their friends any more suspicious than they already are.