learning // reddie

chapter five: soft curiosity.

  I awoke with sweat trailing down my neck, a delicate drop leaving dried stains on my skin, threatening to drip into my shirt. I opened my eyes, and for a spilt second I experienced such a fright; the room I was in was not of my own. The walls were covered in band posters, action figures scattering the shelves, and a record player with various vinyls in the far-right corner. And then I remembered the unconscious boy sleeping soundly next to me, and had a realization that I had slept over at another boy's house. Rich had his arms wrapped around my waist, his head buried deep into my sweater. I looked down at him, and he had looked so peaceful that I didn't dare move. As far as I knew, the boy had such a rough night. Not to mention that we hadn't gone to bed until around 3:04 a.m, preoccupied by movies and board games. I glanced down at the face of Richie Tozier, and began to notice things I hadn't before. The way his eyebrows were slightly flawed, and the deep-purple crescents beneath his eyes, a result from lack of sleep. I felt so much pity for him, but I knew the last thing he wanted from me was sympathy. I watched as the boy's eyelashes fluttered and his eyelids opened, revealing cloudy brown eyes. I laughed slightly as he gazed around, confused. His eyes landed upon me and I could feel myself soften. He looked at me with so much adoration that I really didn't deserve. "Hi, Eds," Rich said, and the softness that adorned his voice basically boiled my heart. I kept telling myself that I barely knew this boy, but it felt as though I had known him forever. Maybe I knew him in a past life. Maybe we just got along that well.

Richie looked just as beautiful as he did last night. His hair was a little unrulier, and his eyes were crusted with sleep, but he still looked perfect to me.

Dear God, why have you destined me to fall for a straight boy?

——————

Richie's POV:

  When I woke from my beauty-slumber, I realized I didn't have anymore nightmares while I was entangled with Eds. The boy was almost on top of me, so light that I barely acknowledged the fact that he was there. He was staring back at me, and he wore a soft smile. This brightened my day even more so; his dimples made the smile even purer. Was that even possible? I don't fucking know. But what I do know was that Eds was so goddamn beautiful. If I hadn't realized it yesterday, then I sure did take notice this morning. His nose was button-like, and being this close allowed me to see each freckle on his cheeks individually. His eyebrows were sharply angled, but also upturned somehow? It made him look so innocent, going alongside the childlike wideness of his caramelized brown eyes. Don't even get me started on his eyes. I swear that if you look into them long enough, you can see galaxies, full of constellations and planets. The curve of his smiled lips also got to me. How can one be so perfect? I'll never understand.

And his hair-

*BEEP BEEP*

Eddie's POV:

*BEEP BEEP*

The peaceful silence between Rich and I was interrupted by the god-awful beeping of my watch. I groaned as I realized that reminded me of pill time, where I downed 15 different types of pills. "Sorry, Rich. Have to take my pills," I explained, untangling myself from the tall boy's legs. He had them wrapped over my
waist, and he stubbornly refused to let me go.

"Just stay in bed for a few more minutes. You're so warm," he complained, pulling me even closer somehow, closing every inch of space between us. His head took its place back in the crook of my neck, and I swear that I could feel his noise trail down my jaw. I'm not complaining; it felt nice. I'll admit, I was flustered to be so close to this Tozier boy. But somehow, I was still comfortable with all of my boundaries being blurred. In fact, I liked it. I liked having this boy be so close to me. It felt like a dangerous sort of enjoyment, but enjoyment nonetheless. I was warm, too. I definitely was warm, but I was always a naturally warm child. My hands would always be a comfortable warm, but never sweaty. I always found it weird.

"Okay, fine. But only ten more minutes," I mumbled, closing my eyes once more. Before I could stop myself, I fell back asleep to the deep breathing of Richie next to me.

"Eds?" I heard, and I opened my eyes to the raven-haired boy shaking me softly. "Huh? What time is it?" I asked gingerly, afraid. Rich closed his eyes, and muttered, "3:32." I gasped.

"SHIT!" I scrambled out of bed, snatching the bottle of water from my bag that I'd brought. I quickly sat on the floor, and removing the contents of my fanny pack onto the carpet. I shakily removed the lids to each bottle. "Shit, shit, shit," I chanted until I forced two of my pills down, along with two gulps of water. Soon, all of my pills were down except one, which seemed to be daring me to swallow it.

It was light blue, with a bitter gel casing.

"Eds? What's wrong?" Rich asked me, and I swallowed the pill so fast I thought I'd choke. I had completely forgotten that he was watching me. In fact, he'd seen everything. God, please don't ask me any quest-

"What was that blue one for?"

Fuck.