The Tension Between Us

Chapter two - A secret

Warning: light LIGHT sin (just basically heated kissing)
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The next day went by fast, and for the most part it was pretty normal, Eddie included, no longer in his silent stance. It was sweltering hot, and they spent morning till noon at the quarry, swimming and eating and lazing around, except for Beverly, who had a family gathering with her cousins. She lived with her aunt now, but only a thirty five minute bike out of town, so it wasn't really a problem keeping in contact. That night was Griffin Redmond's house party, he was known for throwing the best in the school, and the whole losers club was going, planning to all pile up in the tray of Bill's truck and show up in style. Richie sat up from his spot on the rock next to Eddie and Stan, being the last ones left as the sun started to set. Stan has 'Stan Urine' tanned into his back, and it makes Richie snort, earlier that day he fell asleep, so Richie graffitied his back with sunscreen. Stan slapped the shit out of him when he woke up, but it was totally worth seeing Eddie laugh.
"Nice tattoo Stan." He snickers, receiving a death glare from the bird loving boy. Stan sits up then and so does Eddie,
"we better go," the shorter boy says,
"or we'll be late meeting at Bill's." standing and reaching for his shirt. Richie let's his eyes roam Eddie's lean shirtless figure before he slips his shirt over his head and turns around, Richie ripping his eyes away just in time. He then notices Stan's gaze on him, he's got a small knowing look in his eye, but turns away, only smiling. Richie feels his cheeks heat up at the idea of being caught. He's pretty sure Stan knows about his secret, but the quiet mousy boy had never mentioned anything to him, so neither did Richie. They collected their crap and made their way back up the rocks, Stan a bit ahead of the two goofballs. Near the top, a stone comes loose under Richie's clumsy steps and he feels his life flash before his eyes as he's about to face plant into the concrete, but before he can hit it, warm arms wrap around his waist. He opens his eyes to come face to face with Eddie, who has caught him and spun him around in his arms with a worried expression.
"You ok?" He asks frantically, lifting Richie back up surprisingly easily, one hand still on his bare waist and the other reaching up to grab his blushing cheeks. He moves Richie's face from side to side in inspection,
"you need to be more careful you idiot." He says in a huff before letting his hand rest softly on Richie's cheek.
"Sorry." Is all he can manage in response, Eddie looking at him a moment longer with that damned unreadable expression again, before giving Richie's shirtless physique a once over, and continuing to climb up the rocks with an awkward blush. The curly haired boy let's out a breath and tries to focus on his footing through the crowded thoughts in his head.
He didn't imagine that right? Eddie full on checked him out, right in front of his eyes. No, he was probably just checking for injuries, yeah that makes sense. Unless? No, don't hurt yourself Richie.
The whole ride back to his house, all he could think about was Eddie's hands on him, the way they shared a breath in their breef closeness. Fuck, this crush was gonna be the death of him. As he made his way into the shower, he decided that tonight, he was gonna drown the fuck out of his feelings with vodka. He decides to wear his usual grunge attire, but throws over a black leather jacket for the extra style. He tries to handle his curls with care today, scrunching them in his hands and letting them fall over his yes in ringlets instead of agressively drying it with a towel like usual, hoping to catch the attention of Eddie. He gives his reflection a study and smiles, satisfied, before kissing his Mum goodbye and riding the 10 minute trip to bills as the night sky starts to drown out the orange. He's the last one there, but he doesn't think about it for long, because once he enters the room to greet his friends, his brain is immediately focused on Eddie, his heart skipping a beat at the way he looks. He's a little bit tanner from yesterday's day of sun, the freckles on his nose more prominent and brown eyes bright. He wears a striped long sleeved polo tucked into denim jeans with a thick brown belt. White socks and tennis shoes under the loose cuffed pants. He tries to compose himself and pay attention to the world around him as he gets swept up into the back of Bill's Ute.