Reddie For You [On Hiatus]

| Chapter 16 |

"Your first stand up original, 'Trashmouth Unleashed', is rolling up on us pretty soon." Stephen Colbert paused for the cheers and applause. "Tell us, how in the world did you end up with the nickname Trashmouth?"

Richie's face morphed into a devilish grin as he adjusted himself in the small loveseat. "Oh that started way before my career. I practically exited the womb with a trashmouth. You know, small-town kid who couldn't keep his mouth shut and loved impressions. My mouth got me in trouble a lot as a wee lad."

"That's quite a reputation to have so young." Colbert laughed, wide eyeing the audience for another round of laughter. "Now you are somewhat involved with a number of big names. Fashion designer Beverly Marsh and author Bill Denbrough are friends of yours, yes?"

"Best friends." Richie clarified. "Those guys are the best. Bev's getting married at the end of the week to our other good friend Ben, he does crazy architect shit now. And Bill's fucking awesome too. Sorry, I know you said to keep the cursing to a minimum but it's worth it for him. His books are cool, but he recently just came out with a new movie. It's great, everyone should see it."

"I'm so fascinated that you're all connected. Are they as excited about your special as you are?"

"I think so. When we were kids we all had this thing where if I went too far with a joke or impression, they would say 'beep-beep Richie'. It was the only thing that got me to shut up. So now that they are all encouraging me to go on stage and not shut up... it's pretty damn cool."

"Well we are very excited to hear it, and I think I speak for us all when I say that we are very happy to see you in such a good place. Do you think you're in a good spot right now?"

"I think I'm the happiest I've ever been." He answered confidently, nodding his head at the applause. "I think a lot of people were able to see in my old work how angry and depressed I was. I was lost, to tell you the truth, and I think that I used flings and drugs to hide who I was and just get through life. I really don't think I would've survived if it weren't for my friends and family. So yeah, I'm in a pretty fuc-freaking good spot right now."

"Wow, that is really something. Can I just say, I always had high hopes for you. You have a lot of potential, and you're a genuinely good person. Do your fans and friends make you want to be a good person and continue being who you are? Oh, congrats on coming out by the way! I don't think I got a chance to say it in person!"

"Thank you, thank you!" Richie laughed. "Now you're just buttering me up. But yeah, I think that I owe my fans a lot, especially the ones who have stuck with me when I was spiraling and the ones that are still here after I came out. It really means a lot, so big thanks to them, for real. And of course, my friends make me always want to be better. My family and boyfriend too, are all the reason I strive to work hard and keep at it."

"Thank god you brought it up so I didn't have to." He whistled in relief. "We've gotten a lot of requests to ask you about your boyfriend. Eddie, is it?" A picture of him and Eddie at Disneyland appeared on the screen behind him, and a few hoots and "awe's" came out of the audience. "We don't like to pry here... but tell us everything."

Richie laughed along with the audience. "Wow. Where do I even begin? I've known the guy since I was a kid. There's no juicy gossip there, sorry. We were friends and kind of parted ways for college. I saw him again for the first time in more than two decades like... a couple of months ago. Crazy stuff and... here we are!"

"Young love?" He asked with a smirk.

"Listen, I'm not divulging too much here. If you want to hear all of the juicy details you'll have to tune into my special." He shrugged, winking towards the audience. "Honey, if you're watching that's a joke... Cut this part out, he was too busy to come with me so he's watching the show at home. He's a pain in the ass but he's a cutie. Probably why everyone thinks he's my sugar baby or something." He winked again at the audience. His heart swelled at the thought of Eddie back in LA watching with his face all flustered and scrunched up. He planned to hop on a flight back home right after the show so that they could fly to Chicago for Ben and Bev's wedding together.