cliché || reddie ✔️

four

Morning rays peek out over Derry, marking the beginning of the day nicknamed "the worst day of the week": Monday.

Richie can understand why people don't like Monday's, he also doesn't like getting up early after two days of sleeping in, but he can never seem to find the same grudge. It's hard to hate something that gives him so much freedom. Especially when that freedom is from the one thing people usually don't want to leave.

Their house.

But that's nothing new, Richie long ago settled on the fact that he seems to enjoy things others tend to hate on. Monday's, school, (in some occasions) Beverly Marsh.. and more.. personal things. Identities, feelings.

The first three all have the same connection. They give Richie a reason to leave his house. To get away from all of the.. suffocating loneliness. It's hard swimming in a dark, empty ocean. Richie's surprised he's stayed afloat for this long because he knows, he can feel it in his gut that sooner or later, he'll drown.

Drown in loneliness. Drown in confusion. Drown in the weirdly comforting scent of perfume and cigarettes. Beverly's scent.

Beverly.

Then Richie remembers what he's supposed to be doing.

His eyes snap over to the girl standing next to him. Her head is leaning up against the chain-linked fence, eyes half-closed. White smoke blows with the breeze over her shoulder as she smokes her last cigarette before school.

They stand in the back of the senior parking lot, waiting out the time until the 5 minute bell rings. Without fail, unless it's raining or snowing, the two meet up before school to smoke or do last minute homework. Beverly is the one who usually has a cigarette firmly between two fingers, but every once in a while, Richie will too. She breaths out and Richie lifts his head.

"I took him to see Back To The Future last night," he says. Beverly's eyes flicker over to him and that Beverly Smile spreads over her face.

"How upset was he?" She asks and Richie raises a hand in the air.

"He's Eddie, the only emotion he knows is anger." He falls quiet, but a smile plays at his lips. Last night replays in his mind - blasting previews, buzzing red lights, flying popcorn.

"I made him laugh a few times, though," he says and shifts his weight to the other foot. "I accidentally made a your mom joke, right? And I thought he'd, like, hate me forever or some shit but he doesn't. He just shook his head but he couldn't resist my Tozier charm."

Beverly quickly pulls the smoldering stick away from her lips as she chuckles. "Of course you would let a your mom joke slip."

A loud brriiinng cuts through the air and both of their eyes snap up. "Fuck," Richie sighs and pushes off the fence.

Beverly drops the cigarette and snuffs it out with her heel. "I'll see you second period?" She asks and Richie forms his hands into finger guns, shooting them her way.

"You know it," he says.

~~~

A laminated restroom pass dangles from Richie's wrist as he continues down the deserted hall. A few classroom doors are open, chatter spilling out as authoritative voices try to smother them. He reaches the restroom and turns the corner.

"Oh, hi," Richie says, his footsteps halting. Eddie looks up, his curious expression falling when he sees Richie standing there.

"Hey."

Richie looks to the urinals and reaches up to adjust his glasses, telling himself he can go later. Between classes, perhaps.

"What are you doing?" He asks instead as he rounds the counter to the sinks.