𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 || reddie

school.

𝙣𝙤 𝙥𝙤𝙫

mike covered the medical bills, he covered a months worth of therapy for richie. he felt so terrible, he felt like it richie's incident was all his fault. just his.

he knew it was irrational, and quite frankly stupid. but that didn't matter, he'd convinced himself. mike was good at convincing himself.

𝙢𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙫

i think the reason i feel like all this is my fault is because, well, my parents got divorced all because of me. my dad hated me. my dad wanted my mom to get an abortion but she refused. they were young, it made sense... but my mom didn't care. she sacrificed dad for me.

i have no idea where he is, now.

that doesn't matter though, my step-dad's rich. i really like him and i think he's fond of me. he agreed to cover all these bills probably cause he has no other thing to spend his money on.

we finally arrived at richie's house.

richie's house was alright. it was a small, navy blue one story the door was red and there was a beat-up rocking chair on the front porch. the house had a basement, which happened to be entirely richie's room. it was a mess. there were posters all over the ceiling and walls. there were neon led lights lining the ceiling, they were always blue. the bed had a tie-dye orange and yellow comforter with a shrek stuffed animal sitting on top with pillows spread across the twin bed.

there was a greenish-grass rug over the popcorn brown carpet. you could barely see it, though. his clothes and random items were flooding the floor. his desk contained magazines from the late 80s and early 90s, plants, and other random shit. there was an electric guitar leaning against it.

there was a step stool in the corner with a record player sitting on top. it was closed right now.

richie eyes the spot near the bathroom entrance with faint blood stains, they were fresh. i saw and tried to distract him.

"you ever gonna clean this up, rich?" i laughed.

"eh." he replied. no snarky comment, no pun, no joke. just eh.

i sighed. i wondered if he'd be okay. if he'd ever be okay.

i knew he would, i hope he would
he sat down on the floor and leaned on his bed. i sat next to him.

"you okay?" i asked after a long silence.

"i will be." he said.

i smiled. "sooner than later?"

"i hope so." he grinned and looked at me.

there was a silence. a comfortable silence that never really made any sense. "okay." i said as i stood up. "we gotta get ready for school, you excited?" it was the first day of sophomore year and to be completely honest, no. richie was not excited. not one bit.

and so they changed.

𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙫

it was pouring outside, so mom had to drive me and mike to school.

"let's go, boys!" she called from outside. she held the daily newspaper above her head in attempt to stay dry.

mike wore a pink button-up that had a chain under the collar, with lighwash blue jeans and nike teknos.

i just wore a plain brown sweater and dark blue jeans, i didn't feel like getting that attention today.
that feeling. (𝙩𝙬) that feeling. that feeling when if i were to raise my hand in class, and anyone saw, they would tell everyone. that feeling of walking into school and seeing people snicker and turn there heads to whisper something in their friend's ear. that feeling of thinking the world is against you.

well, not the whole world, of course.

there was always mike. mike's caring smile and calming voice. his beautiful hazel eyes and strength. he could honestly make anyone feel better just by looking at them.

we got in the light blue 2003 ford. there were scratches all over the paint, and the tires had duct tape almost covering them.

i opened up my phone and went to twitter. the first thing i saw was people trying to cancel finn wolfhard. jeez, they really must be bored. i showed mike and he laughed

"wasn't he in that clown movie?" he asked. "yeah! and he's like, so unproblematic. what the hell." i muttered back, laughing too. i heard the tires screech and i knew we were at the school. i eyed the large number if cars surrounding the school and i felt my heart fall to my stomach. i just hoped no one figured out it was me, i don't know what i'd do.

mike had a different first period than me, so i had to do this on my own. we waved goodbye and i lifted my black shoulder bag from my side. i reached inside to grab my phone and earbuds. they were just where i left them, i didn't realize how hard it was to do the simplest things with a cast.

i think it was easiest to focus when i'm doing multiple things. i know, it's weird.

i open spotify and shuffle 'billie eilish'. (iK So EdGy) the first song that pops up is 'i love you.'

my favorite.

i slightly smile as my feet fly me to math. 'careful rich.' i say to myself, smile having dyed down by now. i tend to say that in situations that i feel nervous in. it calms me, that's what mike always tells me anyway.

i sit in the cold, hard plastic chair and i feel a shiver run down my spine. i look to my left, then right. making sure no one was staring at me. i sighed in relief, heart slowly fluttering back into place.

'hostage" plays.

i look back to my right and see a boy. there's another feeling in my stomach but it's not bad. it's good. like butterflies. they were butterflies

the boy had short brown hair, tips slightly dyed blonde. his clothes were simple, just a black shirt with a flannel jacket and light-wash mom jeans. i didn't realize how long i'd been staring. the boy looked over to me and smiled awkwardly.

i looked away but quickly looked back at this beautiful brunette. "eddie, right?"

he looked back at me. "yeah...and you're richie?"

i smiled. "yeah. wanna listen?" i asked, holding one of my earbuds out to him.

"that's disgusting, do you under how much bacteria could be on that?" he whisper-shouted to me. i just laughed and held it further. he glared at me but stuck it in his ear.

"jeez, that's loud. turn it down, will you?" he asked politely.

"the-the music? or me and your mom last night? cause i can-"

"oh my fucking god, shut the hell up." he said, annoyed. he was still smiling, though.

'you made him laugh.' i thought.

'all you ever wanted to do was make him laugh.'