Reddie - Down To Earth

Chapter 2 - Humanity

"You know she isn't even that bad, right?" Eddie said, looking at Richie, who was staring off down the road, deep in thought. Well, that or he was just not paying attention, both of which were regular character traits. "I know, she tries to be nice and all, but I don't need a baby sitter all day, every day." Richie sighed. He knew his Mom was nice, better than Eddie's at least, but he liked his space, and she didn't always respect that.

"Where are we going anyway?" Eddie looked up at Richie, who shrugged, and continued to walk aimlessly through the empty streets of Derry. "As long as I'm back by morning, my Mom can't notice I'm gone." Richie nodded. He seemed unusually quiet. Perhaps he was just tired. Eddie kept studying him up and down, trying to figure it out.

"If you keep staring I'm gonna have to break up with your Mom." Richie said, breaking the silence. Eddie got flustered, he didn't know why, and quickly spluttered out "Not funny dude, never had been, never will be." Richie rested his elbow on Eddie's head, which always annoyed Eddie because it just emphasised how short he was in comparison. "You love it Eds, cutie." Eddie ducked his head out from under Richie's arm, and gave him a stern look, which from him wasn't entirely threatening, "Don't call me Eds." Richie smiled, and the pair continued walking.

No more than a minute of silence passed before Eddie needed a minute for his inhaler. Richie spent the entire time insisting that an Inhaler just gave you more oxygen, and Eddie spent the entire time wheezing between correcting him. The pair were sat down in the main street on the pavement, backs against a building, close enough to feel eachother's body heat.

"It's kinda pretty, isn't it?" Richie said, not doing any voices, no tinge of humor in his words, just plain Richie, which was uncommon but not unheard of for Eddie. "What is?" Eddie asked, curious, turning his head to look at Richie, who was just gazing off into the street. "The empty roads. The strange quiet. The orange of the street lights in the asphalt." Eddie smiled gently. He could tell Richie was in a fairly serious mood based on the lack of ass joke when he said 'asphalt'.

"I guess it is, yeah." Eddie said, leaning into Richie slightly. As they made contact Richie broke his gaze to look down at Eddie, who was leaning his head on his shoulder. He raised a hand to tuffle his hair, but stopped himself. He didn't think he could ever have what he wanted, but he was ok with that, as long as Eddie was happy, he was happy. 

"Richie?" Eddie asked, yawning at the end of his name. "Yeah?" Richie asked, looking back off into the street. "Hypothetically, what if you thought you had something really important to tell someone, but you think if you told them it might ruin the kind of thing you have going?" Richie paused after the question. He knew his answer, at least he thought he dead. He pondered. "I guess I'd tell them. Just be honest about it, no point holding it in." Richie said, confident in his answer, but knowing it didn't apply to  himself. "Then why aren't you telling me?" Eddie asked, looking up at Richie, straight in the eye.

Richie turned bright red, flushed with a strange heat of an emotion he didn't have the brainpower to regulate. "I don't know what you mean." Richie said, in a way that he instantly knew was unconvincing. Eddie looked down at Richie's hands, then back up to his face. "I know... at least I think I know that you like boys, Rich." Richie began to sweat nervously. "I know which boy you like too." Eddie said, maintaining eye contact. Richie was internally screaming, his brain in full meltdown, he just sat there and did nothing.

"I know you like Bill, Richie." And with that simple sentence, Richie's brain stopped working and performed a full reboot in a matter of seconds. "What? No! He's too... well now that you..." Richie's mind trailed for a short moment, before quickly snapping back "No! Eww! Bill? Seriously?" Eddie turned red and flustered, "What? I see the way you are always looking at him, you never look at me or Stan that way." Richie performed a weird gasp, he looked at Stan different because he was afraid of being punched at all times, and Eddie just didn't see the way he looked at him.

"No way! Completely wrong idea Eds!" Richie said, smiling to reassure Eddie that he wasn't going to hold it against him. "But you do like boys?" Richie instantly turned red again. Eddie leaned his head back onto Richie's shoulder. "You can tell me shit Richie, I have literally only ever judged you for things you do with the lower half of your IQ." Richie smiled, he didn't even realise it properly until he heard somebody else say it.

"I guess I do Eds." Richie said, before gazing back off into the street, watching the orange hue light up the road, feeling Eddie's every inhale and exhale, even feeling his heartbeat when he leaned in closer in gusts of wind. "Eddie, it's not Bill, but it is someone."