Watching a Silent Dawn

Short-Circuited

Eddie groaned and got up off of Beverly's bed and began to pace quickly back and forth in her room. "Beverly,Beverly,Beverly. How the fuck am I supposed to deal with this? IhaveacrushonRichieTozierandIdon'thaveasingleclueonwhatIshoulddo. I mean what should I do? Bevbevbevhelphelphelphelp what the fuck do I do Beverly?" Eddie started spitting out his words all in one sentence while pulling at the end of his hair in his despair. Beverly just laughed at his state. "Eddie! First thing you do, is you sit down, and take a breather. Don't make me pull out your old spare inhaler, because I definitely still have it." Eddie just glared at her. She smiled. "Second thing you do, is you think about what you want. Okay, so you like Richie. What do you want to come out of that? To kiss him? Date him? Know what you want before you act Eddie." Eddie dropped his hands from his hair and stopped pacing. "Shit. I didn't even think about that. I-I don't know what I want Bev." Eddie sat back down with Beverly. Eddie sighed and flopped all the way down on his back. Bev laughed. "Okay well, what do you like about him then?" Eddie smiled to himself without even thinking. But thinking was a no-go anyways because all his brain would be able to think of would be RichieRichieRichie. Not even any distinctive features, just him as a whole. "So much Bev. I'm short-circuiting just thinking of him!" Bev laughed and grabbed onto Eddie's shoulder for support. She took a moment, and looked back up at Eddie. "You're whipped dude. Whipped I tell ya. Whipped." Eddie groaned again and turned away from her. "Okay, back to where we were, take things slow. Just keep things how they are now and see if Richie does anything that might indicate of a possibility of him liking you." Eddie liked that last one. This was much harder than he thought, but talking to Beverly always made things easier.

~

Richie fidgeted anxiously with the hem of his ridiculous floral shirt while waiting on the front step of Mike Hanlon's home. At last, Mike had opened the door and stepped out. "Hey, sorry I took so long to come out. You said you wanted to talk about something? Well, not actually talk but..." Mike had trailed off and looked at Richie. He nodded and grabbed his notebook that sat waiting on the ground next to his feet. Mike led him to an old barn and sat down on a large rock placed in the center. Mike gestured to the open space next to him for Richie to sit down. Richie sat. "So what's on your mind Rich?" Mike had asked. Richie stared at him for a few seconds before beginning to write at a speed so fast Mike thought he might burn through the paper. Finally, Richie handed him the notebook. I don't really know how to go about this but I'm gonna try. I- I think I like Eds? I'm not really sure. I've walked him home a couple times, and well, I'm not sure if it's too personal to share but I'm gonna do it anyways. The past couple of times I've walked him home, we linked pinkies. I mean it's such a small move but it means so fucking much. And another time he said that I mean alot to him? Every time I'm with him I get this weird tingly feeling in my chest, almost like I'm allergic to something or some shit like that. Mike, help me please I'm so lost. Mike smiled and laughed at Richie's "dilemma". He handed the notebook back to Richie. "Richie you are so whipped. It seems to me that you most definitely have feelings for Eddie. And that pinky thing? It sounds like maybe he likes you too. Now, I don't want to be rude but, how was that so hard for you to figure out?" Mike asked Richie tentatively, hoping he would take it the right way. Richie began writing again. Well I've never liked anyone like that so I never really knew what that felt like. Richie handed the notebook to Mike. Mike smiled as he read. "It seems to me that you definitely have romantic feelings for Eddie." Richie froze with his hand on the pen he wrote with. His face saying everything his mouth couldn't. Holy shit. Holy shit I like Eddie like that. Holy fucking shit I have feelings for Eddie Kaspbrak. His face speaking louder than any words could. His face dropped into the palms of his hands. Mike just put an Earth-grounding, and cooling hand on his shoulder. "It's okay if you do, Richie. Just take your time and try to relax okay? Just relax." Richie lifted his head and looked at Mike. He smiled in thanks. Mike was always the best at keeping someone level-headed. Maybe Richie could figure this out. Talking to Mike made everything seem so much easier.

Turns out Eddie and Richie had a lot more in common than they thought, that being they both communicate at a speed faster than most would think is normal to their friends, ranting about their feelings for each other.