cliché || reddie ✔️

twenty five

When Richie woke up that morning, he fully expected to waste his last day of winter break down in Beverly's basement, playing online games and staying in from the cold. Unfortunately, the girl had other plans set out for the day and Richie found himself finding all the comforts in Stanley's bedroom instead.

The weather prediction console sitting on Stan's desk reads a seventy percent chance of snow way later in the day, past Richie's early curfew of eight o'clock. To pass the time until then, Stanley mentioned when he and Mike talked at the party, about Minecraft to be specific.

"Wow, I haven't played Minecraft in months," Richie admits, a smile dancing on the corners of his mouth right before a joke slides out, "Banging your mom takes time."

Stanley's eyes roll. "You're crude, Rich," he says as he shifts in his seat at the desk. His feet are propped up on the bed Richie lays in, a laptop perched up on his thighs as the game in question loads.

"You just have no humor, Stanny."

"Shut up. The others found my jokes funny at Bill's birthday," he shoots back, yet the crinkle near his eyes hold its own smile.

"Whatever," Richie shrugs, "You gonna go on the world or what?"

Stanley breaths in deeply, putting his concentration on the laptop screen instead of the boy across from him. When Richie first brought up the idea of Minecraft, the two had to go searching around Stan's fathers office for the families backup laptop, which had all the apps downloaded onto it. It's a bit slow, Stanley found out, but it works.

To fill the silence that inevitably fell between the two, they both ask each other questions about school the next day. Stanley only ever received negative feedback.

"Fuck school," Richie says, sitting up from the headboard and looks to Stan. "Mr. Coyle doesn't know how to teach and this vacation from Bowers and his gang of pussies has been a fucking dream."

Stanley looks up at Richie before letting out a soft snort of laughter. "I never liked Bowers either."

It takes a second, but the smile on Richie's face falters a bit. He offers one last breathy laugh before slowly leaning back into the plush headboard, any trace of bliss on his face draining away.

Stanley seems to take notice of the sudden shut down. He stares up at Richie, searching the boys face. He looks like he wants to say something, the way his lips part slightly, but he eventually moves his eyes back down at the laptop and the words he could've spoken hang heavy in the air.

The two sit in silence for a few moments longer, only the sound of sniffles and clacking of keyboards keeping their ears company. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, as Richie would be quick to break it, but either boy would welcome some words.

"Shit, I got stuck in a water hole," Stanley says.

Richie snorts softly and leans over the edge bed to look at his screen, to which Stanley twists the laptop for Richie to get a better view.

"Is that near spawn? I can help dig you out."

"Yes please."

Richie smiles, settling back into his spot as he runs to Stanley's rescue. "You know," he starts again, "I'm running a little low on food. In and out of game."

Richie didn't see it, but he could defiantly feel the eye roll burning into his side. "Set me free and we can go downstairs," Stanley says, his character still helplessly bobbing around in circles.

Richie does what he promised and the laptops get pushed to the side for the time being. Stanley leads Richie into parts of his house he's never seen, even from the front door.