𝐇𝐎𝐓 𝐑𝐎𝐃 - 𝖗𝖊𝖉𝖉𝖎𝖊 !

༉ ༷◌ ཾ ༹ ♡ ༊

" thanks, asshole, now my allergies are gonna act up for sure. " eddie huffed, not even taking a second glance at the teenager that had caught up with them. kaspbrak himself wasn't sure if he was truly mad with the whole pollen - grass allergy thing or if it was just to get them off his back but, it didn't feel like much of a deal as it usually is.

" look, richie is sorry — right ? " eddie could almost hear the wind lash from how quickly the feminine voice turned her head to glare at richard as a warning.

" y — yeah,, yeah ! i am, swear it on my old man's grave. " tozier returned, almost desperate to get eddie to believe him. the teen girl has definitely never seen him like that.

edward processed the most dramatic roll of his eyes; a very unimpressed scoff passing those perky lips, " whatever. if you're done talking, i'd like to get to my lessons right now. " he said with a snap, picking his bike back up from where it had skidded. thank god his mother never cared for outside equipment; he would've been dead if he brought back a scratched up device she actually cared for.

richie's head tipped up to the sky at kaspbrak's harsh tone. the sun beaming down through the now-parting clouds onto his thick-rimmed glasses. his top lip turning up at the corner, sparking mischief in him once again, " ah, yeah ? what lessons could a cutie like you be doing ? "

as if on cue, eddie gripped the rubber handles with annoyance though his cheeks failed him as they heated brightly . the idea of being so affected in two different ways from such a dumb teenager's words was out of eddie's grasp, and he had no answers. instead of answering, he shook it off, and moved him momentarily stiff limbs to walk toward the strip of stores, and companies with his bike trailing right by his side like a good companion.

" aren't you gonna at least tell me your name, sweetcheeks  ? " richie yelled once more, that sly, smug grin on his face . he knew exactly what he was doing, and little by little, even without having to see his face: he knew the small teenager was getting flustered . he had the urge to pinch his cheeks so bad that it kills him!

edward jumped unfortunately. thinking on a whim, he barely looks over his shoulder with a yell of, " that's none of your business ! " before locking his bike up with hastiness, and bursting in through the door like he had a purpose. yeah; a purpose to run away that is. eddie wasn't surprised, he couldn't handle a confrontation this early on; that guy was probably just messing with him, and would've beat him up on spot if he saw how mushy he sucked in those nicknames. they got under his skin yet, made him feel warm, as if he were sitting by a fire. for a boy he didn't know, that richie guy sure knew how to ride confidence and keep it steady.

" you must be ,, edward kaspbrak ? "

kaspbrak raised his head anxiously from the crisply white, and black tiled floor. something that looked so new, and yet still so worn at the same time made eddie trip out into thinking, and this time; it was about richie tozier. " wha — ? oh, uh, just eddie is ,, fine.  i don't go by edward ,, ever. "

———  ◌ ཾ ଓ

" you're embarrassing, richard. i don't know how i landed a friend like you instead of just stan. " beverly commented, throwing her head back with her giggles. an unlit cigarette now dangling at the corner of her mouth with such a wide grin accompanying it. richie himself returned the smile, fishing an convenient lighter from his shorts' pocket, and handing it off for marsh to use after he had lit his own. taking an inhale of smoke, he let it go into the musty air of derry, and coughed his way into a laugh once again.

" you're damn lucky to have me, what do you mean ? something just sits weird with that cutie. "

" another daytime crush ? come on, richie, no more of this on-a-whim stuff. as much as they can be fun, i'm not up for screaming the lyrics to breakup songs every weekend because of some jerky guy breaking your heart. " it was true, beverly was mildly fed up with these random crushes that turn into a date night that turn into a one-day boyfriend. she felt like they were all queer-baiting towards richard just cause his recognition of a musical talent around the town. music was richie's one, and only way to get himself out of this town sooner than he could originally . beverly was not about to have it ruined by a picky boyfriend . she was always sick to her stomach around those dudes.

richie shook his head quick as if a developed reflex, " no ! bev, i swear, he's different. you haven't even met him fully. "

" neither have you. "

richie hated how she had a point there but, he kept pushing the idea anyway, " i met him long enough in a parking lot to know how cute he is. "

when beverly turned her head, she gave him a face that said it all: you're fucking crazy.

yet richie happened to be ready for that attack, combating with an exaggerated pout, and puppy-dog eyes. beverly pinched the bridge of her nose in exhaustion, putting her walking to a full stop just to face richard, " you're serious about him ? about a stranger ? "

with the fullest shit-eating grin, tozier nodded, " you have no idea, marsh . "

———  ◌ ཾ ଓ

" you seemed a little jumpy, darling . i heard from the front desk that you just waltzed in . " ms. lisa commented quite subtly, making edward forget she was even talking to him. the woman was busy putting the studio into shape again that he thought it would be dead-beat silent . thankfully, she's a lovely woman to be exact. ms. lisa has become eddie's instructor for a few years to get him on the right path of form, movement and then the real thing: dancing . kaspbrak was embarrassed to say the least when he brought up the whole idea of being a professional dancer by the time sophomore year came around and he could see she was trying to hold back a giggle . not in a malicious way or anything, she's probably heard a line like that in many different forms, and it never lost its humor . " many things take time " she had said but, she only wants to learn where he wants to be by the end of their first year together . but he only answered with , " whatever i can learn , i want to know it all . "

" was ,, was i not supposed to ? " edward questioned .

ms. lisa filled the room with joyous laughter , shaking her head when she finally kicked the last box away to the near corner, " not what i meant , eddie . you have to be focused, is all i'm saying . now, do you need a couple of minutes ? "

kaspbrak thought generously on that . he shouldn't need them ,, what he should do instead is get that messy junkie out of his head and do what he was here for . he didn't have a few minutes, he was not going to waste these hours . " no, ma'am . what are we starting with ? "

" that's what i like to hear; so we'll start out simple today, get to stretching, checking your form and see if there's anything nimble we can work with . easy ? "

eddie likes the sound of slow pacing . he could hold off dancing, he needed patience as ms. lisa needed for him .

" easy. "

(kind of a filler ? but not really cause richie and bev are here now ? idk it's mostly for the dancing i'm gonna try as hard i can with that cause i don't know a whole lot sorry 🥺 pls feel free to tell me (nicely) if i'm portraying dance right and correct me when i'm not !!! tyty ily)