Nine Chances | B.T.S.

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

Ο Ο Ο

ALTERNATE scene

Ο Ο Ο

You know in the third chance after Richie gets his Walkman back with Eddie's old mixtape and note in it? Well, this was originally what was going to happen when they got back to the townhouse and Eddie realized Richie had it.

Mike excused himself very quickly after that, and how Richie found himself sitting at the foot of Eddie's bed so quickly, he was unsure, but it was the last thing on his mind when Eddie shut the door and walked back over to him with eyes wider than ever.

"Where did you get that?" Was the first thing he asked. Richie was confused for a minute, until he followed Eddie's gaze down to the Walkman and gasped softly.

"Oh!" He said, unclipping it from his belt and disconnecting the headphones. "I found it in my old house. My room is still exactly the same. You'll never guess what tape is in it." He rewound the mixtape to the beginning, and the second the first melody began to play, Eddie burst out laughing.

"Oh my God, you kept that?!" He giggled, covering his mouth. Richie scoffed, offended.

"Of course I did!" He said, holding it close to his chest. "You didn't keep mine?"

Eddie blushed, hands reaching up to clasp his cheeks. "I-I did!" He said, immediately defensive. "But I don't listen to it anymore!"

"Sure you don't." Richie rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I also have the note that came with it." He scooted over on the bed and patted the place beside him, before laying down on his back and grunting as it popped a few times. Eddie flopped down beside him, getting close enough to read the note over his shoulder. Richie held it up above their heads, smiling warmly at the tattered old piece of notebook paper.

"Man, I was sappy," Eddie complained.

"I thought you were cute," Richie murmured, holding the note close to his chest. "And this was sweet."

"You only think that because I signed it 'Eds'," Eddie accused, giggling.

"Okay, so that's part of it," Richie admitted, rolling onto his side so he could face the brunet. Eddie rolled onto his side as well, and now they were face to face, close enough that Richie could count every freckle, or fleck of lighter brown in those eyes. "But it's also because it says love Eds."

"Well... Yeah," Eddie said, averting his eyes. "I thought it was kind of obvious. I had a huge thing for you when we were kids."

"I had a bigger thing," Richie hummed, absolutely smitten with the man laying in front of him. "Not a— Well, that too, but you know what I meant."

"Shut up." Eddie laughed, and the sound was even better than the stuttering music that was still steadily flowing from the Walkman. "You're impossible."

"Maybe," Richie agreed, brows furrowing as he prepared to take a leap of faith. "And maybe you're married, Eds, but I really did mean what I said out there, and I was kinda hoping that maybe we aren't."

"What? Impossible?" Eddie asked, and Richie nodded meekly. "Well, we are," Eddie said, but he made no move to put any distance between their faces. Richie's gaze flickered down to Eddie's lips, soft, and mere centimeters away. His own mouth ran dry and he swallowed thickly, tearing his eyes away.

"You're right," he murmured. "Totally impossible." Eddie seemed to inch closer, and their noses just barely grazed each other. He could feel Eddie's breath fanning his face, those long eyelashes tickling his cheekbones.

"Not a chance," Eddie agreed, tensing up. Both men went very still. The music clicked and stuttered. The song that had been playing when they danced in the rain started to fill the room, and Richie risked one more glance down at Eddie's mouth.

His lips were parted slightly now, so close that it hurt.

"If it's so far fetched then why do I get the feeling that I'm going to kiss you right now?" He breathed, daring to place his hand on Eddie's waist.

"Because you're not going to," Eddie whispered. "I'm going to kiss you first."

People often describe first kisses with comparisons to fireworks— in this case, the kiss wasn't the firework.

It was Richie.

The second Eddie's lips touched his, he was set off. He lurched forward, pulling Eddie as close as he could possibly get, and to an outsider, it may look as though he were attempting to smother himself with the other man. A hand was gripping his cheek, his glasses were smushed uncomfortably against his face, and Richie couldn't breathe, but it was a perfect moment in a sea of shitty ones.

It ended before it really started. Eddie pulled away, drawing in a shaky breath and seemingly unable to keep a straight face as he started to laugh.

"Sorry, I just never thought it would feel like that." He opened his eyes and smiled at Richie so genuinely that he was afraid he might actually become a pile of melted human body parts with an erratically beating heart. "I never knew that kissing someone you actually love could be so exhilarating."

"Say that again," Richie said immediately, stealing another kiss and squeezing his eyes shut once more.

"I just never thought it would feel like that," Eddie snarked.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"I know." Eddie pulled Richie back into another kiss, a longer one, tugging gently on one of his curls. He pulled away again and rested their foreheads against each other, breathing steadily. "I love you."

Richie hadn't been sure that it was possible to die from happiness before that moment, but he had a feeling that if you could, it would feel a little something like the way he was feeling right then.

"Eddie Kaspbrak... I love you, too."

Ο Ο Ο