Eddie couldn't stop staring at it. At him. It was such a blunt situation, yet, somehow captivating for someone like him. Someone so self-aware, someone that cares about small things, nevertheless someone who can miss very clear signs, but that's for another time.

The losers were having a sleepover at Ben's place, they had one every few weeks alternating between houses. It was mid-summer and Bev was back in Derry for the holidays, so this time, unlike previous sleepovers, the seven of them were scattered around Ben's bedroom floor with blankets, pillows and sleeping bags.

Around 10 p.m. they started changing into pyjamas and getting ready to later play games and talk until it was too late to even think straight. It was right then, when Beverly was in the bathroom changing and the boys in the bedroom, Eddie had already changed to his sleeping shorts and t-shirt and now sat on his sleeping bag ready to take his night pills. It was right then, when the lights were dim and the walls reflected orangy shades coming from the two lamps on opposite sides of the room, window slightly parted so a tiny heated breeze marked its presence around short hairs. It was right then, when Eddie gattered three double coloured pills in his hand and tilted his head backwards, that something caught his attention. Darting his eyes towards it, he saw Richie near a tiny mirror on Ben's wall just casually applying some weird transparent gel to the little pimples and acne scars on his forehead and cheeks.

Why was he staring? He didn't know.

Why was Richie applying acne gel on his face such a sight for him? He also didn't know.

But there he was, pills in hand, an open water bottle in the other and his lips slightly gaped while he followed Richie's movements.

Richie carefully applied pressure to the ends of the small tube and covered only one fingerprint with product. Then, just like a painter's process, he dotted every little spot on his face, the reds, the purples, the pinks, all of them. Eddie noticed that his forehead was lined with them almost like a crown close to his hairline, and he couldn't stop himself from gulping at the sight.

Now here's the thing, when you look at Eddie you see someone that almost certainly has a skin care routine, because, well, he's Eddie. He likes to have everything under control, and certainly everything clean, especially his skin. Everyone in the group had already seen him freak out over a non-expected pimple, as if pimples were expectable at all. But then there's Richie, Richie seems like a guy who doesn't take care of himself that much but still owns a very big ego. That's why Eddie was so drawn to the situation, he never guessed he would presence Richie taking care of his skin, it's out of character for him, Eddie thought, but so intriguing to watch.

After putting the lid back on, Richie started spreading the little dots of gel around his skin, but with an ever so gentle pressure that didn't leave traces of friction behind on his already scarred face. He had never seen Richie look more beautiful before. Eddie didn't notice his own cheeks warming up and he certainly didn't notice the over repeated movements of his subject of admiration.

A few meters away, Richie sat on a small stuffed stool with one leg beneath him, facing the wall that held a tiny mirror by a nail and string. He sighed silently before removing his glasses and resting them on his lap. He avoided staring at his skin closely, his acne didn't bother him, unless, of course, he was forced to sit by a mirror every time he had to do this stupid treatment, the more he looked at it the more he hated it. He just wanted to get it over with while his friends were distracted.

It felt refreshing against his heated skin from the warmness of the room they were in. When the little breeze from the open window made his hair flinch away from his peripherical vision, he noticed the small unmoving figure of Eddie sitting nearby. He felt watched, even though he couldn't know for sure since he didn't have his glasses on and he didn't dare to look directly at him anyways. So he acted like it was nothing and continued the task at hand, blushing madly at the possibility of being watched and later teased for caring about pimples.

After two minutes he was almost sure he was being watched. Richie knew that if he turned to face Eddie right now he would caught him right there and it would be priceless to watch, but he was having too much fun so he repeated everything over again. His suspicions were confirmed when he noticed the yet unmoving shape of his friend. Richie smirked internally, scratching the possibility of being teased rather than being admired.

Eddie failed to react quickly when Richie started picking up his glasses and turning his face to look at him straight in the eye. In an instant his eyes bugged open and his muscles tensed up, he clenched his fists forgeting about the open water bottle in his right hand. Next thing he knows his lap is covered in cold water causing him to jump on his sitting position.

"Shit." he got up on his knees " Shit shit shit. " he kept talking under his breath while grasping his damp clothes, the pills falling from his hand.

'I messed up so bad..' he thought. Not only did he get caught, he also embarrassed himself in front of everyone, luckily the rest of the group was turned away from them doing something else.

Richie did his best not to lose it once he saw it happen, he reached for his day t-shirt crumbled inside his backpack, and made his way to Eddie and Beverly who just now arrived.

"Eddie? What happened? " Eddie turned around to face Bev who just came from the bathroom in her pyjamas. She was already kneeling next to him with a planted hand on his shoulder, he tried to mouth an answer but Richie spoke for him. " Distracted much, Eds? " Richie said while attempting to clean Eddie's water repellent sleeping bag.

"Uh, y-yes."

The smirk was inevitable, Richie had really tried.