The Tension Between Us

Chapter Seven - Nostalgia

It's finally here uwu
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Plot twist at the end ✨

- RICHIE'S POV -

As Richie skated home that day, the grin on his face was so wide, he was surprised the scab on his lip didn't split open again. He didn't want to be dramatic or anything, but it could've possibly been the best night of his life, well, other than getting beaten up by Bowers. He spent most of the day with a giddy smile on his face, reading comics and blaring grunge music from his stereo, and at around 6:30, he started cooking dinner for his Mum, it's what he did when she worked late. He made chicken and pesto pasta with black Olives, and set it out on the table just before he heard the door click open.
"Hey Mum! How was work?"
He calls as she drops her bag at the door and slips off her shoes,
"Same as always,"
She calls, walking into the kitchen, "something smells yummy!"
She claps and grins as she sees the meal set out,
"your not eating with me tonight? Got plans?"
Richie nods, turning around from the bench and placing a glass of wine next to the pasta.
"Sleepover at Bill's with the Loser's."
He shrugs.
"Richie!"
She gasps, and he looks up in surprise, "what?"
He raises an eyebrow and she rushes over, grabbing his face,
"what on Earth happened to your perfect face?!"
She asks, as if it was obvious. Richie cringes, he was in such a smitten mood he completely forgot about his battered appearance.
"Oh, that."
he says weakly, trying a smile as the short woman before him fumes, eyes narrowed and arms now crossed over her chest,
"It may have been Henry Bowers."
He mumbles, looking to the side. "Again?!"
She says, throwing her arms in the air, "that's it! I'm calling his father!"
She Huff's, walking over to the phone, "no! Mum please if you do that it'll just make it worse!"
He pleads, grabbing her by the arm,
"No Richie, this is the fifth time since he graduated, and it's been getting worse every time! No more cover ups!" He groans and runs a hand through his curls, stopping her again,
"please, Mum,"
he tries, tone quiet and desperate,
"if he knows I ratted him out, he'll..."
he swallows, his mother's expression softening,
"he said he'd hurt Eddie."
His eyes glass over and Ms Tozier sighs, studying her son's face before grabbing his cheeks and pulling him down to her minimal height, kissing his forehead,
"ok."
She says after a moment,
"ok?"
He asks, and she nods, pulling him into a hug,
"ok. But this is his last chance, next time, I'm not gonna let this go, alright?" Richie nods into her shoulder and smiles, blinking back tears as he takes in the comforting smell of his mother's perfume. She pulls out of the hug with a soft smile,
"now you head on over to Bill's and leave me and my lover some alone time." She waggles her eyebrows and motions to the bowl of pasta, making Richie laugh and go back for one more squeeze,
"Fuck you."
He says,
"Now that, honey, is what we call inscest."
She responds sarcastically, making Richie cackle as he pulls away, kissing her cheek and grabbing his backpack, "You really are the best!"
He calls as he runs out the kitchen,
"I know! I love you!"
She waves him off,
"love you too Ma'!"
And then he's on his board and speeding down the empty road towards Bill's, this time keeping a sharp look out for any shadowy figures.

When he arrived, all of the losers bikes we're already dumped out on the front yard, late again. He quickly hops off his board, shoving it in a bush before he runs up to the door to knock, hearing muffled laughter from behind the wood before it swings open to a slightly shocked Ben,
"What happened to your face?"
He laughs,
"You really that desperate to be matching?"
He raises an eyebrow, stepping to the side to let Richie enter,
"only for you Haystack."
He winks, striding in with a grin and meeting the rest of the losers, crowded around the kitchen collecting snacks to take downstairs. There's a big old looking radio sitting on the kitchen window sill pumping out Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by the Andrew Sisters, Richie immediately bobbing his head casually to the tune. Bev sits on the marble bench, Stan and Eddie preparing popcorn near the microwave, and Mike and Bill filling bowls with chips and candy from Bill's cupboards.
None of them react too surprised at Richie's cut up look, he was usually the one to get into a lot of fights anyway, it was pretty normal within the losers circle.
"Hello all! You are now blessed with my spontaneous presence!"
Richie calls out in a posh accent, striding into the kitchen space like royalty, earning a snort of laughter from Bev and eye-rolls from the rest.
"Hey Richie."
Stan scoffs, adding salt to the popcorn packet before giving it to Eddie to put in the microwave.
"So what's the plan my subjects?"
He questions, sitting next to Bev and pinching a gummy worm from Bill's hand.
"We're watching Goonies and Dirty dancing, then we'll see what happens I guess."
Mike shrugs, hopping down from his seat to steal popcorn from Eddie and Stan.
"Sounds like a plan Mikey."
Richie nods, slipping down and offering a hand for Bev, which she takes with a small smile. He can see the flicker of concern in her eyes as she looks at his face, she always got like that when he got into fights, but over time she stopped asking about them, though he could tell she still worried a hell of a lot, even with Richie's insistence on being fine.
As they all file down into the basement, Richie's eyes linger on Eddie, a smile lifting up his lips as his chest twists at the thought of kissing him. Eddie notices and turns to look up at the sly looking trashmouth, his cheeks darkening as he looks away again grumpily. He could tell he had an effect on Eddie, and he could also tell that the small boy hated it, which only fuelled him more.
They all spread out around the hideout, Stan, Eddie, Richie, Bev and Mike all squished onto the couch, and then Ben and Bill sharing a beanbag below. The two seemed to have ceased their drama for now and we're comfortably sharing a bowl of popcorn as the movie played out in the darkness.
The Goonies was a novelty favorite for the Loser's Club, as they all thought they should have a movie of their own about the insane adventures of Pennywise. Ben insisted that Bill write a book about it one day, and he promised he would.
About halfway through, Richie felt a hesitant hand brush against his thigh, making him jump a little. He looks over to see Eddie with a frustrated, flustered expression, desperately trying to keep his eyes on the screen. Richie smirks, turning back to the movie and boldly slipping a hand onto Eddie's thigh, riding his hands a little ways up the shorts and squeezing. He let's his eyes take another glance and Eddie's cheeks are as red as humanly possible, eyes wide and unmoving from the TV.
They stay like that for a while, neither of them daring to move or really paying attention to the film's as the hours tick by.
When they finally come to a close, Richie looks around and sees Bev's hand hanging off the edge of the couch to play with Bill's hair, and Ben trying to hide his pained expression. Richie feels terrible for him, and a little annoyed at Bev's obliviousness to how much it hurts the poor young historian. Mike then gets up with a stretch and a groan and Richie pulls his hand away quickly as the lights flick on. He feels a pang in his chest from the lack of contact, but suppresses the disappointed frown he wants to make.
Eddie checks his watch,
"it's quarter past eleven."
He mumbles, the group falling into light chatter of what to do now.
"We should go on a night walk!"
Bev squeals, grabbing a blushing Bill's hands and lifting him from his cosy spot.
"Hell yes Ringwald! I like the way you think!"
Richie calls, grabbing Eddie's hand and leading him up the stairs,
"Onwards!"
He says in a terrible attempt at a Scottish accent, Eddie rolling his eyes with a small smirk as he's pulled up to the first level. The losers all smile with excited agreements and shrug on coats and jackets before they fall out into the chilled night air.