Richie's been struggling with his sexuality for years, unsure of what everyone would think of him when they found out his secret. After defeating Pennywise with the other losers, he's clueless as to where his life is leading him.
Little does Richie...
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Eddie slowly pulled away from Richie, bringing his heels back to the ground.
The boys didn't say anything for a moment. Richie looked at Eddie in awe. That really just happened?
"I'm sorry." Eddie whispered, tears welling up in his eyes, "I feel so wrong. I shouldn't have done that to you. It's not fair." Eddie stormed away, attempting to jog without his lungs acting up.
"Eddie, wait! Come back!" Richie called after him.
Eddie was already gone.
"I love you," Richie whispered, knowing only he could hear it. "God damn it, Eddie."
Richie was left on the road with an apple pie container at his feet. "Eddie!" He yelled again.
Eddie's lips were sweet. They tasted of blueberries and strawberry milk and although Richie's lips were only a quick visitor of Eddie's, he still cherished the wonderland that was made of Richie's brain. Richie's brain must've turned to mush. His thoughts were fuzzy and he wasn't thinking. He let Eddie run away. How could he?
Eddie briskly moved away from where Richie stood, going who-knows-where. All that Eddie knew was that he'd fucked everything up. Their friendship, his friendships with the other losers, and he knew for sure that his mother would find out.
"Love is hard." Eddie whispered to himself, wrapping his arms around his stomach.
"Love is hard." Richie whispered to himself, remembering and savouring the feeling of Eddie's soft and beautiful lips. He knew their love was really doomed, but he still had hope.
As the school day ended, the streets were filled with teenagers instead of looking bland and bleak like a ghost town.
Eddie still wandered the streets, wondering what Richie was thinking at that second. Did he hate him? Maybe. How could Eddie have thought that Richie felt the same way he did? He didn't even really know why he did it. Maybe it was just the heat of the moment. Regardless, he felt broken and diseased.
Meanwhile, Stan and Bill strode down the sidewalk towards Bill's house.
Their relationship was going rather steady considering that they'd only recently come to terms with how they felt about each other. The had been on a date or two with more in the making (mainly bird-watching, but still) and they couldn't be happier. The only thing that bothered them was that Richie and Eddie were absent from school (Eddie hated missing out on his education).
"Hey, Eds." A deep voice called to Eddie. His breathing rapidly sped up.
"Decided not to go to school after that beating you took? Classic fag." Xavier snorted.
"I'm not a fag." Eddie said.
"You're lying to yourself," Xavier laughed. It seemed that the rest of his gang was missing in action, but Xavier's appearance held so much power and raw terror that he didn't need a gang to scare someone. "And where's Prince Charming now?" He held a smirk that Eddie imagined could corner a small animal and maul it to death. In this case, Eddie was the small animal. Maybe a mouse.
Eddie refused to answer (he didn't want to dig a deeper hole). He just looked at the ground where he stood and prayed although he couldn't bring himself to believe in a god.
"Oh, the silent treatment, huh?" Xavier just chuckled, knowing what he could do. "That's just what faggots are meant to do. Keep their mouths shut." He smiled the devil's smile and marched closer to Eddie.
Eddie finally noticed what was in Xavier's hands.
It was a needle and thread.
The realisation hit Eddie like a truck.
He was going to sew his mouth shut.
It was ridiculous! Both Eddie and Xavier could admit that it seemed silly to carry sewing materials like that, but only Xavier knew that he'd been planning the encounter all day and snuck some supplies from the textiles room at school. Ironically, textiles was one of Eddie's favourite classes.
Xavier kept coming closer and Eddie backed away, terrified. Maybe being a homosexual was a disease. Maybe Eddie's mom was right all those years. But he didn't want to admit that. If there was a god, then why would they make Eddie the way he is unless it was alright?
Eddie's thought process sped up in reaction to his inevitable fate. Eddie wasn't worried about his mouth being sewn shut. He was worried about what Xavier would do after. There's no way Xavier would just leave him with the evidence of the encounter.
Eddie thought about Xavier tying him up and leaving him in a ditch for the maggots. He almost vomited right then and there. Maybe Xavier would hang him up on a post with 'fag' written on him. He even thought about whether Xavier would bound him and toss him in a river or the sewers. Sharing a grave with Pennywise was the worst thought imaginable.
But now Xavier was on top of Eddie on the ground with a needle ready to pierce the skin.
He lowered the needle attached to the thread while Eddie squirmed (just like he'd imagined the maggots to do) and he refused to accept his fate. Eddie began to yell for help. "Help, please, someone!"
Just as the needle was against his cheek, a distant voice was heard.
"Luh-luh-leave him alone!"
Bill and Stan ran to the action, ready to dive in.
Xavier jumped off of Eddie and brought out another weapon. A pocketknife.
The pocketknife made a noise as it opened and he threatened all three boys with the power of it. His pride was ugly. He was all of the seven deadly sins rolled into one.
Bill and Stan cowered inside their minds, but remained strong individuals on the outside. Eddie was picked up and felt cold metal against his neck.
"No, he's ours." Stan stood strong, "you could never understand friendship. Look at you," Stan looked Xavier up and down, "you're all alone."
Xavier's face turned from being smug into being infuriated. "Listen here, fag," he pressed the knife further onto Eddie's throat. "Don't matter if I don't got my friends here. I have a knife. And I have this fag's throat. Leave us be and you won't be next."
"N-no way." Bill said exactly what Stan was thinking.
All Eddie could think of was that he was glad that he kissed Richie before his inevitable demise.
Will and Eleven walked down the street, gushing about their day.
"I think she asked me out on a date." El recounted.
"That's awesome!" Will replied, but listened to the distant sounds of some sort of... rumble maybe? "I think there's someone in trouble, El."
"Let's look."
The two teenagers searched around the area for the noises and finally spotted a boy with a knife held to his neck.
"Eddie?" Will whispered to himself.
Xavier's pressed the knife even closer to Eddie's neck, causing some blood to drip onto the ground.
The worst part in Eddie's mind was that his mother would probably be relieved that he would die. Hell, Eddie was relieved that he would die.
