The End Of Us || losers club ✔️

twenty seven

twenty seven - band-aids

It took a lot of courage for Richie to climb the stairs again. A lot more than he'd want to admit. But he made it and he's sitting on his bed, under the covers he's forgotten the pattern of, surrounded by walls of memories and happiness. His eyes continuously drag to the collection of photos he's put back up on the opposite wall. They're like a magnet on his eyes, drawing them back over every time he looks away.

It's just frozen memories. One of New Years four years ago, one on Eddie's thirteenth birthday, another on Mike's birthday. The others aren't from any specific day, just bright smiles and awkward moments. Richie wishes he could jump into those pictures and relive the memories. Maybe even stay there forever.

Richie thinks back to earlier in the day, when he and the others had escaped the heat and into the ice cream parlor. He thinks back to when Ben's mom's car pulled up and she stormed inside. How she pulled Ben from the line, how she ridiculed him for leaving the house without telling her.

How much she reminded Richie of Sonia.

She said they had "things to go over", but the way her eyes always glared in the teens directions and her nose flared whenever they spoke said otherwise. Ben tried to back her off, saying he'd be back later, but as the mother, she won. And he was taken away.

Just like Stanley will be soon.

"Fuck," Richie mutters. He rolls over onto his side, his glasses getting pushed up. He simply takes them off and tosses them to his side table, listening as they clatter and slide. Wentworth is getting him new ones anyway.

Everything is so.. messy. But not at the same time.

What the hell is Richie supposed to do?

He always thought once he got out of the Correctional Center, he'd get his life back into his own hands. He'd have freedom, he'd have control. But he got stuck with a parole officer and now his relationships are crumbling around him.

He barely got to talk with Ben. Not because he got dragged away from his mom, or because Beverly was talking his ear off, but because the two simply had no words for each other. There's something amiss between them. A barrier block; a weight on their friendship. Richie can't tell what it is and it's tearing him apart not knowing.

It's a similar situation with Eddie and Bill too, the only contrast being Richie had approximately an hour with them the whole time they've all been back. The two boys didn't come to meet up with the others in town, or maybe they couldn't find the teens. Either way, Richie misses them horribly. It's a strain in his chest to think about how close they are, but he can't see them. Can't talk with them, can't laugh or joke or playfully argue.

It feels like the only bright side to all of this is that they're together (for now) and not fighting or hating each other. The Loser's breaking apart has been a deep rooted fear for Richie ever since they've become friends. He's feared it then, and he fears it now. Perhaps even more...

Richie isn't sure when he fell asleep, but he's waking up the next morning with an aching body and a dry mouth. A horribly way to wake up, but he has the satisfaction knowing his sleep was deep and restful.

He hears Wentworth downstairs cooking by the way he lets out loud curses and the clanging of pans. He was never one for making meals, always leaving it for Richie and Maggie to do. If Maggie ever let Richie help, that is.