Orphan -IT AU-

*1*

Eddie awoke, an all too familiar scent of hardcore smoke and softcore vanilla fill his senses. The smoke all radiated from just outside his room, the staffs smoking area. The vanilla kept him safe. Why? It was from his best friend, Stan Uris. A quiet boy, normally found reading when nothing else would snatch his interest, aside from a few birds flying by. Stan was a sucker for birds.

As Eddie's eyes adjusted to the bright sun's aura around their room, he felt Stan hold him close. They had both grown up together, since three years old up to them now being fifteen. Twelve years developed a very close bond between them, from just minor conversations up to them cuddling for warmth and comfort.

A loud bell rang, startling the boys. "Main Room! Now!" a voice crackled through the hallway speakers, blasting through the doors of each child's room. The rooms and orphanage themselves weren't dark and nasty, they were quite nice and prepped up for each child's liking. The only nasty and bad things were the owners, Maggie and Wentworth. They were 'old bags' each child would laugh out, though, they were only in their thirties.

Each door clicked, unlocking for every boy and girl to exit and make a bee line to the main room. Stan and Eddie follow suit, not wanting easily gained wrath to be unleashed on them. The halls were beautifully decorated with candles on each wall between doors, and vases lining the walls just under the candles. The walls were a very sweet maroon, capturing light in a wonderful way.

As a slightly crowded main halls doors shut behind the children, the two owners entered, a timid looking, lanky and a little bit tanned boy following suit. "Sit!" Maggie yelled out. Maggie was an instigator. She would start a speech, and each day it would continue for a week. She would also always start the fights between her and children and her and her husband, Wentworth. When Maggie yelled, the children obeyed. So they sat down on the wooden floor. "Staff is low because of your irritating assess! So, my son will be checking rooms until we have enough staff once again!"

Wentworth yanked the timid boy, dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a loose black turtleneck sweater and blue converse. His black curls were tied back into a small ponytail, cheekbones slightly prominent with thick lips. Wentworth wasn't much of an instigator, let alone a talker. He was a silent man until it came to fights. "This is my son, Richard. You will treat him as you treat us! Respect!" Richard seemed to cower at his mother's voice booming through the room, as the other children were like robots. Solid, still, not caring and cold.

After an introduction to Richard, everything else Maggie, sometimes Wentworth, had to say, was pointless. The children got sent to their rooms, Stan and Eddie Bird watching from their window, looking for a Robin. A knock sounded at their door and it shoved open. "Edward. Stanley. You're looking after Richie. He's living here from now on!" Maggie shoved her son inside, Richard landing on his side as she slammed the door shut. Stan looked down at the boy on the floor, he only really felt like Richard was a snobby kid. Sure, he didn't look it, but Stan was hard to convince to trust you. Eddie, however, thought a lot of Richard, even if they had never spoken before. He thought he could be more than just a snobby kid, he could be a caring guy for all they know.

Richard grabbed his glasses from his pocket and slif the onto his face, scrambling up to his feet. He was a good height for fifteen, in the middle between Eddie and Stan's height. His glasses were thick and turtle shell coloured, being shaped into large squares. His posture was slouched down, his shoulders raised slightly, like he's ready to flinch at the slightest movement.

"So... You're Richard?"

"Richie... I like Richie more than Richard." Richie pushed hair away from his eyes, looking at the two boys. He caught their features and his face began to heat up. Eddie's cute little nose and soft smile, with his pretty brown doe eyes and wafting Hazel hair. Stan's emotion ridden face just reeled Richie in, his half lidded browns somehow shining softly behind his almost blond curls. Richie blinked a few times before his eyes darted to his own feet.

"Well, I'm Eddie. And this is-"

"Stanley. Or Stan, whatever you want to call me." Stan shrugged a little and Eddie took a step closer to Richie. Richie took in what they were wearing too, he always knew how people acted by clothing choice.

Eddie was wearing a soft yellow polo shirt with red shorts, a fanny pack clinging to his waist tightly and his shoes a bright pink. He assumed Eddie was caring, soft but a little 'out there' at times.

Stan had a plain blue button up on, along with pale brown khakis and white sneakers with many bracelets with bird types on them. He assumed Stan was a plain kind of guy, also really calm, but can be sweet when close to him.

Stan cleared his throat and played with his hair. "Are you living a good life? Being rich and all?" a hesitant twitch was visible in Richie's hands, his fingers shaking along with the twitching. "No, it's not. My mother and father are driven by money, they don't care for me all that much. At all, actually. My father is dead silent most of the time and my mother isn't... Shy of hiding her feelings or anger as she takes it out on me."

"That bad?! You poor thing!" Eddie hugged Richie. "You deserve so much better-"

"What about school life?"

"Stanle-"

"No, no, it's okay. School is great. Straight A's. I like music a lot. I write down a lot of songs on how my days go! I guess it's just something I do as a stress reliever-" Richie rubs his arm as he babbles on. Stan smiles and laughs a little. "You like to talk, don't ya?" he laughs again. "Was it annoying? I'm sorry."

"No, your voice is nice to listen to." Eddie smiles and hops onto his and Stan's shared bed. Stan nods in agreement, looking at Richie. A smile creeps along Richie's face. He's finally found people who want to listen to him. Who care about what he has to say.

He's found real friends!