cliché || reddie ✔️

sixteen

This is going to be a good day, Richie knows that much. He woke up earlier than normal, yet didn't roll around to fall back asleep. Instead, he trudged out of bed and went downstairs to eat cereal while morning cartoons played.

A rumor of a snowstorm went around school the week before, so it was no surprise to Richie when expanding pure white was all he saw when he looked out the window. Richie was never one for winter. Summer gives him more freedom and chances to leave his house, but hey, who could give up a good snowball fight?

Right before noon, Richie's phone vibrated against the side table. His mind goes to Beverly, figuring it was her offering for him to come over to hang out. That's why Richie's confused when he sees a set of numbers instead of Beverly's name. Is his phone bugging out? He knew he should've asked for a new one..

Unknown
Hey it's ben!
I got your number from Beverly. I was wondering if you'd want to come over today and meet Max?

Richie fell deeper into the couch, thumbs over the keyboard ready to type out a response. He had no plans, just to be back before 6 to make dinner with Maggie.

He got up off the couch, took his dishes to the sink before running up the stairs to pull on his coat and shoes.

~~~

Richie double checked the address blocked in a gray bubble one last time before slowly taking a step up the driveway. It's a small house, a lot smaller than Richie's, but he figures it must be a nice size for only two people and a cat.

The porch groans in protest under his weight, and there's a welcome mat crooked in front of the door. Richie knocks on the window boarding the door, thinking it may be easier to hear instead of knocking on wood.

As Richie is waiting for a response, a flicking tail catches his eye. There's outdoor seats on the other side of the short porch and a gray cat sits on the closest one. It's looking at Richie, it's tail in the air as it flicks back and forth at a slow pace. Is this Max? Must be.. "Hi there Max," Richie says softly.

Just then the click of a lock sounds and the front door is being pulled open. Ben is there in the doorway, dressed in basketball shorts and a oversized t-shirt.

"Hi," he says and opens the door wider.

"Hey. Max is out here," Richie says, one of his hands motioning back and forth carelessly.

Confusion washes over Ben's expression, his eyebrows pulling together. "What do you mean?" He asks. Richie takes a sidestep to let Ben peek around the doorframe.

"Oh! That's not Max," Ben says and walks past Richie. He offers out a hand and lets the cat sniff him before gently rubbing the cat's ears. "This is the neighborhood cat, Rex. I'm sure he's someone's cat, just not sure who." Ben shrugs and drops his hand.

"You're telling me that there's more than one cat here?" Richie asks, excitement sparking in his chest. Ben nods, smiling himself.

Ben leads Richie inside, the two escaping the December cold. The front door opens up into a living room. It's cozy and there's a tall christmas tree standing in the corner, wrapped in lights and ribbon. "It's- It's not much to look at," Ben says, motioning a hand around. Richie's eyes linger on the tree. Even he doesn't have his Christmas tree up.

"It's nice," he says before running his eyes over the room once more.

Ben leads Richie to the kitchen, an open space dependent on natural light streaming in from the windows. "Max! Maaaxx," Ben calls out. Richie stands in the doorway, taking in his surroundings as Ben peeks around counters and under chairs. "She was here when you knocked," Ben mutters as he spins around, his eyes focused on the floor.