Nine Chances | B.T.S.

- D E L E T E D S C E N E

Ο Ο Ο

Deleted Hammock Scene

Ο Ο Ο

Richie hadn't been expecting anyone else to come down into the clubhouse that day, so when the hatch swung open and the cutest butt that he would recognize anywhere came into view, he was very pleasantly surprised.

"Hey, Eds," he said, well aware of his failure to hide the shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Eddie said, striding over to Stan's container of shower caps and selecting two. He put one on and scurried over to Richie, shoving the other one over his wild mass of hair. "Room for one more?" The brunet asked, eyebrows knit together. Richie shrugged, and Eddie seemed to take that as a yes. Richie nearly choked on his own tongue when Eddie swung a leg over his hips and snuggled himself up right on top of him.

"Jesus—" he spat out, comic book slipping from his fingers and hitting the dirt floor with a rustle of its pages. Eddie buried his face in Richie's shoulder, arms clenching around his middle. "Eddie, what the hell are you doing?"

"Are you okay?" Eddie asked, voice muffled by Richie's shirt. Richie's heart sank.

"I'm fine," he grumbled, turning his head away. "You don't have to worry about me. You should be hanging out with everyone else, anyway."

"But I am worried and I'm not hanging out with the others," Eddie said, lifting his head so he could rest his chin on Richie's chest. "You didn't come to school today, and you've been avoiding almost everyone. Even me." Richie's heart cracked at the hurt in his friend's voice. "What's wrong? Did someone say something to you?"

"No," Richie lied through his teeth, but he couldn't keep his sneaky fingers from curling into Eddie's shirt, clutching the fabric tightly. "I told you, I'm fine."

"Did something happen the day that I yelled at you in here? When you found me by the quarry, and we talked it out?" Eddie pressed, shifting so that his face was level with Richie's and he was looking down at him with concern in his eyes. Too close. Richie couldn't focus.

"It was a long day," Richie relented, pursing his lips. He wasn't going to get emotional over something that he had dreamt a week ago, and he especially wasn't going to get emotional over something Henry Bowers had said to him.

"Was it something someone said? Did Bowers bother you at the arcade?" Eddie guessed, and sometimes Richie was a little scared at how well the boy knew him. He didn't answer, and Eddie's fingers brushed his cheeks, drawing him back to reality.

"He called me a faggot in front of everyone," Richie finally caved, scowling and averting his eyes. "They all think I'm gay now."

"So?" Eddie challenged.

"So I'm terrified that they're right," Richie snapped, and Eddie's fingertips shook against his cheeks, tracing gentle little shapes, tracing the taller boy's freckles.

"What makes you think they are?" Eddie asked, and Richie could feel his breath, his face was so close.

"Well, for one, there's a cute boy laying on top of me right now and I'm kind of freaking out about it," Richie said, finally meeting Eddie's gaze. "And for another thing, I've liked this boy for as long as I can remember. I just never knew that there was a difference between the way I liked him and the way you were supposed to like your friends until I heard that there was something wrong with it."

"Richie," Eddie started to say, but said boy cut him off, pressing forward.

"And I have always been terrified to tell him, because he had a really controlling mother who would flip her shit if I ever touched her son. So I carved our initials into a hunk of wood alongside a bunch of other names and tried to put some space between us, hoping that it would be closure enough and the feelings would start to go away." He took a deep, shuddering breath, and stared unwaveringly into Eddie's eyes. Was the boy smiling? "But now he's laying on top of me and all I can think about is the fact that we're here. He's here, I'm here. And I love him."

"You can be really sweet, you know that, 'Chee?" Eddie whispered. He was smiling. Richie shrugged sheepishly, hands coming up to settle hesitantly on Eddie's waist.

"Only for you, Eds," he grumbled. Eddie laughed, and then he kissed him. Richie kissed back as if he had been expecting it, although he truly hadn't— Eddie had nearly shocked him out of his system. Richie stiffened completely, eyes flying wide as their lips collided. It only lasted a split second before Eddie was pulling away again, but holy shit, Richie was seeing stars.

"Too bad we weren't on the bridge," Eddie murmured against Richie's cheek. "Then your little carving wouldn't be for nothing."

"It's never been nothing to me," Richie replied breathlessly, curling his arms around his friend and crushing him in a deep hug.

"Don't tell anyone," Eddie giggled, smiling shyly when Richie finally let go and they were both getting up. Richie smiling, looking at him with a faraway feeling.

"I won't, Eds. Honest."

Ο Ο Ο