The Tension Between Us

Chapter One - Moments

First Reddie fic be nice :')

Playlist for this fic:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7qUsGAhtETxZ9fAr2RXkDS?si=gzolZkfKTVinla0JXK3pNg
(I also have a hell of a lot of other Loser playlists on there so go check em out

First day of the summer before junior year, and Richie could barely contain his excitement. His alarm bleeped loudly at 10:00 am and he sprung up out of bed, clumsily making his way to the bathroom and hopping in the shower as he grinned. Today the losers club were heading out to their bunker near the Barrens to listen to music, read the new issue of She-Ra and work on the new overnight features, packing in pillows and blankets and snacks so that later that summer they could all spend the night, with a few lies to their parents of course. Though through his eagerness he still felt a tight knot in his chest at the thought of it all, because obviously Eddie would be there, and his big ass crush still hadn't faded since middle School, in fact it was getting worse as the days went by. As he rinsed the apple shampoo out of his hair, he smiled to himself, butterflies swimming in his stomach at the thought of the boys cheeky smile and big brown eyes. Stupid Eddie and his perfect face. He shut off the water before hopping out, drying himself and quickly getting changed, slipping on his favorite band T, some black ripped Jeans and his converse, the look complete with black nail polish, a few rings and his cross necklace. He'd gotten into more of a grunge phase recently, and even though the group made fun of him for it, he thought he looked awesome. He grinned into the mirror before spraying on some deodorant and colonge as usual, swinging the door open and rushing downstairs.
"Oh hey Rich, sweetie, I made you guys some of my brownies to take today, didn't you say you were headin' down to that hide out you rascals made?" She pokes her head out from the kitchen and Richie smiles, meeting his mother with a hug and a kiss on the head,
"thanks Ma, you're the best." He says, giving her one last squeeze before grabbing the container and zipping out the door
"Love you!" He yells, his mother waving him off,
"be safe!" She calls after him as he shoves the box into his backpack and takes off on his bike, speeding down the road almost as fast as Bill on Silver. Once he reaches the kissing bridge he skids his bike to a stop and shoves it in the bush a little ways down the hill, a spot Stan called 'the losers bike shed' which initially Richie made fun of, but now admitted the name stuck. Only one other bike had arrived so far, a yellow one with a Looney Tunes sticker slapped on the side; Eddie's. His chest tightened and he quickly slipped down the hill, following their makeshift path of marked trees and old tires, eventually meeting the entrance, a familiar brown haired boy crouching in front of it, tying his white converse. "Ed's!" Richie grinned, making the boy practically screech in surprise and jump up to standing, he rolls his eyes and slaps Richie on the arm,
"you scared the shit out of me asshole!" His face is red as he Huff's. Eddie gave up on trying to stop Richie from calling him Ed's a long time ago, and now it was just what Richie called him, plain and simple. Eddie had grown into his features over the years, gaining some height and and structure, actually becoming generally pretty hot, if it weren't for the dumb polo shirts his mum still insisted he wore. Richie smiled and booped Eddie on the nose,
"you love it." He says as his best friend groans. After a moment of poking and teasing, they sit down on a mossy log near the entry,
"Bill called me up before I left this morning, apparently the gang is out getting scrap stuff for the hideout from the junk yard before coming down, so they'll be another few minutes or so." Eddie says checking his watch, before looking up at Richie, who nods. The big eyed boy studies Richie's face for a second before scoffing, a smile slipping onto his face, he reaches up and pulls one of the messy curls on Richie's head,
"you look like a wet dog." He says, tucking the strand behind the trashmouth's ear. Richie feels his whole body freeze up, falling silent as he stares at Eddie, who let's his hands absentmindedly neaten up Richie's hair, totally unaware of the blush seeping across his freckled cheeks. Eddie adds one more ruffle to his friends waves before nodding, "see? Now your curls don't look all matted." He smiles,
"if I had pretty curls like you ide look after them, it's a gift you shouldn't waste Rich." He warns, eyes lingering for a second before turning away and picking a dandelion in front of him. Richie then says his first word in 7 minutes,
"thanks." It's a small mumble, almost impossible to hear. Eddie turns to say something but before he can a stick snaps in the distance and they hear laughter, Bev's bright giggles echo down the clearing, the rest of the losers club finally emerging through the woods, Bill first, rolling some massive ass tire, then Bev, Ben, Mike and Stan. Richie gets up, trying to slow his hammering heart,
"Ah my fellow companions! What have you brought for us today?" He bellows out in his British voice, Bev rolling her eyes and grinning at his idiocy as Mike empties out a backpack full of stuff, old cans and scrap metal,
"I was thinking we could melt this stuff down and make something cool out of them, like little daggers and weapons in case we get discovered by some seniors." Then Bill flops down a huge truck tire from where he rolled it,
"a rope swing anyone?" Everyone woops, Mike deflating slightly at being outdone. Eddie notices and puts a hand on his shoulder,
"sick idea Mike, weapons it is." The boy grinning in response. Richie watches the exchange with a small smile before heading down into the bunker with the rest of the lucky seven. Once down in the darkness Richie shoves a hand into his backpack and pulls out the Tupperware box,
"guess who made Brownies for us this morning?" He sings, and the group immediately swarm towards him with calls of celebration,
"yes!" Mike screams, snatching the box from Richie and opening it,
"Mrs Tozier you absolute goddess." Stan mumbles as he reaches for a chocolaty treat. Mrs Tozier was especially famous amung the losers club for her incredible baking skills, always making a little something special for the teens when they went out adventuring.
"You know I wonder," Bev starts, scoffing down a brownie,
"how did a woman so sweet create such a loudmouth like you?" She snorts and Everyone quickly falls into laughter,
"hey! I gave you those brownies, I can just as easily take them away sweet cheeks." He smirks, socking her in the arm playfully as she snickers. After about half an hour of messing around, Ben starts sending people to their stations, Stan to set up sleepover things, Bill and Mike to start nailing cast iron boards to the walls, and Bev to help him paint the beams that hold up the ceiling in crazy patterns.
"Oi, what about us dipshit?" Richie smacks the back of Ben's head playfully, Eddie behind him,
"you guys uh, I dunno, set up the tire swing." He waves them off with a huff and then continues his conversation with Beverly. Richie rolls his eyes and grabs Eddie's wrist, dragging him up the entrance with a sigh. Once they reach the top, Eddie kicks a stone with a grumble,
"do they think we're that unfocused?? We can do things too." He says, bending down to pick up the tire with his eyebrows drawn in. Richie goes to help, grabbing the other side as they walk further out in the trees for a sturdy enough branch,
"I know! Just coz we mess around doesn't mean we can't complete simple tasks." Eddie nods
"exactly!"
They find a big moss covered tree which towers high above the rest, it bears a huge branch at the perfect height to set up the swing, and it's not even a two minute walk from the hideout. Eddie retrieves the rope from his backpack and, to the surprise of Richie, starts climbing the tree, getting higher and higher with a few determined grunts let out along the way.
"You really are mad huh Spaghetti?" Richie calls,
"shut up Richie!" He snaps, looking down at the curly haired boy, before the bark underneath his gripless tennis shoes comes away, Eddie slipping down with a yell. He falls to the ground with a loud thump and a cough, Richie rushing to his side,
"Eddie! You ok buddy?" He says, helping Eddie sit up, but the freckled boy shoves him off and heads towards the base of the tree again,
"trial and error." He wheezes, lifting his arms to climb back up. "Oh no you don't." Richie says, slipping his arms around Eddie's waste and carrying him back to the tire with ease,
"you're asthmatic dumbass, I think that's enough Adventuring for one day." He laughs,
"now sit down, your bleeding." He orders, grabbing Eddie's bag and rummaging through for his first aid kit. Though the boy had now upgraded from his quite embarrassing fanny pack to a normal backpack, he still kept the essentials on him at all times. Eddie huffed and complied, running a hand through his hair irritably,
"I just don't want them thinking we're useless." He says with a shrug as Richie squats in front of him.
"Getting hurt like an idiot won't prove jack shit." Richie mutters softly, wiping away the blood that bubbles from Eddie's knees, the boy hissing at the antiseptic. He then applies the Mickey mouse Band-Aids over the cuts before they can bleed through again.
"There! All patched up cutie!" He pinches Eddie's cheek who swats him away with a growl. "Thankyou." He grumbles, standing up as Richie takes the rope from him, and heads towards the base of the tree, "watch and learn short stuff." He says coolly, before easily hiking up the side of the tree, knotting the rope into place and slipping down within the span of four and a half minutes. The two then work together to attach the heavy tire, yelling in triumph at their finished work. Eddie jumps in first, soaring high, laughter bubbling up in his gut as Richie pushes him.
"This is amazing! You gotta try this Rich!" He yells between spurts of exhilarated cackles, the swing eventually coming to a slow. Richie stands facing Eddie as he holds the sides of the tire, Eddie leaning over Richie for once,
"Ha! Look who's a shorty now!" He snickers, Richie smiling up at him and rolling his eyes. "Whatever Ed's, at least I'm not the one with birds nest hair." He smirks at the ruffled strands falling over Eddie's eyes, the usually combed locks now wavy and soft from a day of activity. His warm brown eyes catch in the sun and turn almost golden, and it makes Richie blush, unable to tare his eyes away. "Shut up, I still look sexy and you know it." Eddie grins back, leaning down further to meet Richie in challenge. Richie's smile turns to a softer one, and he leans forward too, their faces inches apart,
"maybe I do." This sends Eddie into a malfunctioned state, his whole face turning red, smile falling slowly, and eyes wide, Richie mentally cursing himself for saying something like that so seriously, he probably just made shit weird for good.
Great job Tozier! You've gone and fucked yourself in the ass once again!
Richie pulls his head away like lightning and clears his throat, running a hand through his curls awkwardly,
"ok my turn!" He says, shoving Eddie out of the tire before he can bring it up.
Eddie doesn't say much for the rest of that day, staying quiet and only really speaking when spoken too. He keeps his gaze on Richie for most of his chosen silence, brown eyes refusing to show what he's really thinking, it makes the taller boys' heart tighten with nerves. Stan attempts to poke at Eddie's lack of normality, but gives up after a while due to the stubbornness of the neat teen. By sundown, most of the losers had made their way back up the hill and on their bikes home, except for Eddie and Richie, who watch Bev make her way back up the hill with a wave as the sky turns pink,
"I'll see you boys at Redmond's party tomorrow night yeah?" And then she's gone, eyes bright and a cigarette between her fingers. Richie turns to Eddie after a moment,
"we gonna head off Ed's?" He says hesitantly, trying to be casual as Eddie stares off into space, before snapping back to reality, eyes blinking up to his tall best friend.
"Uh, y-yeah." He mumbles, looking to his shoes and walking off with his eyebrows taught. They don't talk on the ride back to Eddie's, and when they arrive Eddie hardly waves a goodbye, so in a huff of frustration, Richie ditches his bike and runs up the steps after him,
"Eddie wait." He grabs his wrist, spinning him around,
"we ok?" He asks softly, pushing up his glasses as Eddie looks at him with an unreadable expression. He hesitates before shaking his head and smiling with a scoff,
"yeah we're fine Rich, sorry, just um, tired." He says, trying his best to seem totally normal. Richie eyes him for a second before letting go of the boys' wrist, nodding slowly. "Ok." He mutters,"I'll see ya." concern still drifting over his face, before spinning on his heels and mounting his bike, letting it carry him down the empty road.
The sky starts to turn lilac, seeming endless as it speckles with stars. Richie let's the cold night air fill his lungs and push his fringe back into the wind. He knows Eddie has something on his mind, obviously, but he knows not to push him when this kind of thing happens. The year when 'IT' happened, a week or so after, Eddie had a really shitty nightmare at a sleepover at Richie's house, and the next day at school he was basically silent all day. Well, one of the freshman pushed him a little too far with the teasing, and he ended up giving the kid a broken nose. It shocked basically everyone and from then on most people left him alone, except for the seniors, who Eddie couldn't beat if he tried. The summer of 89 effected them all differently, but Stan and Eddie took it the hardest. The pang of regret resides in Richie's chest at the comment he made that day, which he was sure somehow caused this weird outburst from Eddie. Obviously he couldn't say anything though, where would he even start? 'Hey Eddie! Is the reason you're upset because I made a romantic advance towards you and now you hate me because I might be gay by any chance?' yeah, no.
Richie pulls up to his house with a sigh, heading up to his room to collapse on his bed and sleep. What a day.
-P