garage guitar | reddie

two

july 1981

about an hour after richie came over, bill and richie sat silently in his room. small sniffs from richie could be heard from his hours and hours of crying. richie is embarrassed that somebody knows about his home life that he intended to keep secret. bill got up from his bed and bent down, picking up richies guitar. richie stared at bill intently.

"wh-where did you f-f-find this, rich?" bill questioned, gazing up at his friend.

"the g-garage," richie hiccuped. "i ran in there after she-she," richie choked. bill lifted himself off the floor to sit beside richie on his bed. he rubbed richies back in an extremely awkward manner. he's never had to comfort a crying richie before, even though they've been friends for years. richie trembled under bill's touch, clearly trying not to cry.

"i-i-i. f-fuck!" bill stuttered. richie softly giggled, which made bill smile.

"i'm sorry," richie spoke in a brittle voice.

"d-don't be sorry rich, it-it's not your-your fault," bill told richie, "it's never your fault." after a few more seconds, bill got up off of the bed.

"i'll b-be right back" bill said. richie gave a nod as he watched his green-eyed friend walk out of the bedroom. richie looked down at his hands as he waited for bill, folding them and rubbing his fingers on his calloused palms. bill came back with stacks of books and papers in his hands.

"c'mere" bill said as he placed the stack on the carpet of his room. richie slid off the bed and scooted towards the books and papers. bill gleamed as he pushed the pile closer to richie. "th-thought you might like-like these" bill said. richie rummaged through, and he found band posters, guitar lessons, guitar books, and piano books. richies eyes began to sting again, but not a painful sting. to richie, it was one of the best feelings in the world. richie sat there for a moment, stunned.

"bill... you, you didn't have t-"

"shut up r-richie" interrupted bill, but not in a crude way.

"i, i don't know what to say, bill" richie looked up at bill and whispered, "thank you"

bill just smiled and richie gave one back. he liked being with bill, it gave him a certain comfort he didn't have with anyone else.

"just don't tell stan, alright? richie states. one friend already knew and he didn't know if he wanted anyone else to. bill gave a soft nod.

"okay rich" bill stood up and asked, "want a slurpee?" bill tried converting back to normal conversation, he didn't know how to react to richie being so, so normal. he wasn't hyper, or making his jokes and bill did not like seeing his best friend so sad. richie was going to decline, but the pain in his stomach made him realize he should get something in his stomach.

"sure, king billiam" richie and bill headed out of bills house into the hot derry sunshine and biked away, bill with a crumpled one-dollar bill in his pocket. there was a gas station that was a good five-minute ride from bills house, but they had, as richie quotes, "like three fucking flavours! they don't even have coke!" 

so richie and bill headed to the only other gas station, which was more downtown derry and a twenty-minute ride from bills. but it was a hell of a lot nicer. as richie and bill rode to the gas station, they passed stanley's street.

"hey bill?" richie called

"yeah?"

"wanna invite stan?" richie swore he saw a small pink line form on bills cheek from the mention of their best friends name.