Math Tutor 🥀 Reddie

Part 12

Beverly Marsh smiled as she made her way over to the lunch table that she and her friends occupied every day.  Her short, red hair bounced around the nape of her neck with every step she took.

"Hey Bev." Ben said with a smile as Beverly sat in the chair across from him.

"Hey Ben."

The table was as it always was.  Eddie, holding his lunchbox full of hypoallergenic food, bantered with Richie while the other Losers periodically turned to watch in amusement.    Mike enthused about books.  Everybody would just ramble on and on about whatever was on their mind.

"I'll have you know that your mother and I are in a committed relationship." Richie declared.

"That's so not funny."

"Why would it be funny, Eds?  What's so funny about love, pardner?" He replied, his voice slipping into an atrocious southern accent.

"You're dating Beverly anyway, numbnuts."

Hearing this, Mike looked at the two curiously.

"What?" He laughed.

Richie stared back at him blankly, unsure about what to say.

"Are you actually?"

"Is he actually what?" Asked Stan, turning to look at Richie.

"Are you for real dating Beverly?"  Mike whispered.

"What?" Said Ben.  Mike was a bad whisperer.

"W-What?" Bill joined in.  The Losers had started to sound like a broken record.

All at once, the group shifted their attention from Richie to Beverly.  Six heads turned in her direction.

"What?"

"Are you dating Richie?" Stan piped up.

Richie looked at Bev with pleading eyes.  He hoped she remembered what they'd talked about at the sleepover.

"Oh.  Well, we weren't gonna tell you guys yet but I guess since you're asking, yeah.  We are." 

Richie breathed an internal sigh of relief.  He knew he could count on Bev.

Ben, Bill, Stan, and Mike all wore shocked expressions.

"W-Wow I didn't see th-that coming." Bill laughed.

Although he hid it well, Ben felt the same hurt that Eddie had the day before.

He'd liked Beverly for a while but had never dreamed of telling her. Everything about her was perfect to him. Her face, her smile, her freckles. Her hair, red like winter fire. Hearing that Bev was with Richie gave him a stinging feeling in his heart.

He was disappointed, not surprised though. Yes, he was surprised that it was Richie but he wasn't surprised that Beverly liked somebody else.

Still, he smiled.
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"Thanks for saving my ass earlier." Richie said as he and Beverly sat on his bedroom floor.

Bev I'm flipped through Richie's comic books while he worked on homework from that day at school.

"Of course." Bev replied with a smile, although still looking slightly confused, "Why wouldn't I?  It was my idea."

"I mean, I don't know.  I thought maybe you forgot."

"I don't think I'd forget offering to be in a fake relationship with someone, Rich." Beverly laughed.

"I guess. So, what now? Do we just keep this going until whenever?"

"Yeah. Pretty much. Just until we don't want to anymore."

"Fine by me." Richie replied with a slight laugh.