ethereal : it oneshots

as the world caves in

pairing: stozier

richie never felt at home. it didn't matter where he was, he was always alone. it sucked, knowing he'd never have the friend group he dreamed of. he'd never be able to just leave his house with a simple "i'm going to hang out with ___!". he'd have to spend his time inside, like always. inside an empty house with no feeling. okay, that wasn't completely true, there was one feeling. anger. they were always angry at him. he never had a second of rest. he was cooking, or cleaning, or buying groceries. it was always him being the adult. it was always him taking responsibility for everything.

"i don't understand, richie, how do you vacuum for so long and yet miss so many spots!" richie refused to make eye contact with his mother as she spoke to him. she noticed, but said nothing. richie was thankful for that, he knew he'd be getting an earful if this was his father. 

"do it again." his mother stated. richie raised an eyebrow, pleading. she glared at him, her moment of kindness was gone. he nodded, knowing he was just being hormonal and whiny. that's what they always said, hormonal and whiny. but richie didn't harbour a grudge against his parents, they were good to him. they took him out for food, or gave him money to go to the movies (not that he had anyone to go with). he loved them, he just didn't always like them. they weren't abusive or neglectful, not in richie's eyes anyways. 

hauling the heavy vacuum, richie sighed. at least it was thursday. thursday's were his favourite day, he got to go to the corner store. yeah, richie knew he was a walking cliche. he went to normal places like grocery stores and the occasional gas station, but the corner store had such a... nostalgic feeling to it. it felt like the in between moments in indie movies, or the landscape camera pan while all the characters are skateboarding into the sunset. the normal cashier didn't really like him, and always thought he was shoplifting. to be fair, richie had shoplifted a couple times in the beginning, but he learned to respect the place too much. he only shoplifted from big companies. eat the rich.

but there was a cashier, on thursday nights, who took quite a liking to him. she was older than richie, 19 maybe, and while at first richie thought he might have had a crush, he now recognized her as something different. she was the one break in his life. he realized now, he had one moment of rest. thursday nights at the corner store with beverly.

so yeah, it was thursday.

finally, the end of the day came. richie knew his parents knew of his habits, so he didn't bother saying goodbye. richie took no time lacing the extra holes in his converse, leaving the laces long and unruly. feeling confident in his corduroy jacket, he took off down the street. the walk wasn't that long (it was a corner store) but it left richie long enough to think about his social life. 

it wasn't that bad, when school was in session. during school, there were a couple people he talked to during school and classes, if not any other time. there was bill, he was nice. but richie knew when it came down to it, they were just 'nod to each other in the halls' kind of friends. it was like that with most of the people he knew. some of them really had potential, like eddie. if the two of them tried, richie was sure they'd be great friends. but they were just eh, and their dynamic wasn't one that clicked without a friend group to support it. richie would ruffle the kid's hair outside of classes when he saw them, and that was about it. 

the doorbell to the store rang when richie opened it and he smiled at the noise.

"i was beginning to think you wouldn't come!" beverly grinned at the smaller boy, tossing him a pack of cigarettes. yeah, it was illegal, and richie didn't actually like smoking, but anything to impress bev. she was the kind of young adult that older adults wouldn't approve of, but teenagers would idolize. she had many stick and pokes from when she was young, and kept her skateboards behind the desk. her hair was dark blue, but that didn't stop her from wearing the brightest colours, no matter the clash.