now or never [reddie au]

7

"Fuck!," Eddie whispers to himself as he locks his phone and puts it on his nightstand. His phone begins ringing, the contact "trashmouth 🤡," aka Richie, showing up on his phone screen. Eddie doesn't answer, waiting for his ring tone to stop. He then gets a text from Richie that reads, "Talk to me, Eds."

Eddie wanted to call him back and tell him everything, but he knew that it was a stupid idea. Either Richie would be mad at him for possibly trying to break him and Connor up, or Richie would actually break up with Connor for him, and Connor would be mad at Eddie for stealing Richie away. Either way, the outcome wouldn't be good for Eddie.

Eddie picks up his phone and unlocks it, calling Beverly. Eddie puts his phone on speaker and Beverly picks up, "Hello?"

"Hey, Bev.," Eddie says nervously, "I kind of just came out to Richie on accident."

"Really?," Beverly says, "How did that go?"

"He kept asking about you and me dating and I told him I don't like girls. As soon as he asked about it I panicked and hung up on him."

"Eddie!"

"I'm sorry! I was going to tell him eventually but I didn't think I would do it this soon!"

"Hang up on me right now and call him back."

"But, Bev-"

"What? It's not like you have to tell him again!"

"I guess you're right."

"I know I am. Now call him.," Beverly hangs up on Eddie.

Eddie opens his messages with Richie and sees that he had texted again, "Come outside."

Eddie was already freaked out about telling Richie that he was gay, and was nervous to call him. Having to talk to him about it in person was a whole other thing. He sighs and texts Richie back.

richie wtf are you doing
at my house?

I want to talk to you.

omfg

Just come out here.

Eddie slips some shoes on and makes his way to the living room, quietly walking out of his house without his mom noticing. He closes the front door behind him, seeing Richie's car parked outside of his house. Eddie approaches Richie's car and opens the door, climbing in the passenger's seat. He closes the door, avoiding eye contact with Richie.

"Are you okay?,"'Richie asks. "Yeah, I'm alright.," Eddie answers, crossing his arms. He was still wearing the t-shirt and shorts from earlier and it had gotten cold outside.

Richie reaches in the back seat and grabs a 'Street Fighter' throw blanket that he kept in his car. Eddie had gotten it for him for Christmas a few years ago, and it was one of his favorite things that he owned. He puts the blanket on top of Eddie.

"Wow, you still have this fucking thing?," Eddie smiles, looking at Richie. "Of course I do!," Richie tells him, "It's soft, comfortable, it has my favorite video game on it, and I got it from my best friend! Why wouldn't I still have it?"

Eddie wraps the blanket around himself more and quietly says to Richie, "Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to hang up on you."

"I get it, Eds.," Richie assures him.

"It's just... I wanted to tell you a long time ago, but something came up and I just avoided it-"

"Hey.," Richie puts a hand on Eddie's face, making Eddie look at him, "You don't have to explain yourself. You're fine."

Richie could feel Eddie's face heating up. Luckily for Eddie, it was dark and Richie couldn't see him blushing. Richie slowly takes his hand off of Eddie's face because if he were touching Eddie any longer, he would be tempted to kiss him.

The awkward silence is interrupted by Richie joking, "Beverly's going to be really disappointed, though."

Eddie laughs, "She already knows, Rich."

"You told her before me? Come on, Eddie Spaghetti!"

"Who did you tell first?"

"Stanley-"

"Okay, shut up then."

"Oh, Eddie! Speaking of Stan, maybe I could hook you two up!"

"What?," Eddie asks Richie, confused. If Eddie has it his way, he'd tell Richie that he wanted to be with him, no offense to Stan.

"Yeah! I mean, he isn't having any luck with girls, so maybe he needs a boyfriend!"

"Or I have an even better idea.," Eddie says before telling Richie, "Let Stan decide who he wants to date."

Richie reclines the seat, laying down. Eddie does the same, laying on his side to face Richie. Eddie rests his eyes, causing him to eventually fall asleep. Richie notices that Eddie is sleeping and softly smiles. He didn't want to wake Eddie, and he didn't want to disturb Eddie's mom. He raises his seat back up and drives carefully to his house.

Richie pulls into his driveway and gets out of the car. He then goes around to the other side of the car and opens the door, carefully picking Eddie up. He kicks the door shut and carries Eddie into his house, going straight to his room.

Richie lays Eddie down on his bed and ticks him in. He turns off his light and lays down next to Eddie, pulling his comforter over himself. As he was about to fall asleep, he gets a text from "Connor 🥰," that says, "Are you awake?"

Yeah.

Can I come over?

Now isn't the best time, sorry.

Why?

Richie decides not to text Connor back and he would tell him he had fallen asleep before he could answer. He sets his phone and his glasses on his nightstand before moving a little closer to Eddie.

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hi! thank you guys for 200 reads already! <3