Over the next hour and a half, Richie laid on his good side trying to get some sleep but felt a strong wave of nausea hit him. The day before, he was feeling nauseous but he didn't say anything to Bill because he didn't think it was going to last long. Richie held his stomach as he groaned, causing Ben's head to rise from his work.
"Rich? You okay?" Ben asked him and went to Richie's side, seeing how pale he looked. "I-I need a bucket.." Richie whispered and groaned again. Ben ran to the bathroom and emptied Richie's trashcan and quickly gave it to him. Richie held the bucket as he threw up, a sharp pain running through his side from his violent retching. Ben rubbed his back and felt how much heat his back was giving off. Richie painfully retched again and quickly tried to stop himself from throwing up again, but his attempt was in vain as he vomited once more. "Fuck…" He groaned in pain.
"You're burning up, Rich." Ben felt his forehead and could tell that he had a fever. "Shit, why didn't you tell me you were feeling bad?" Ben went to the bathroom and grabbed a cold cloth and placed it on Richie's forehead.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think it was that bad." Richie put the bucket down and held his side as he laid back.
Ben went to the bathroom and found a thermometer and placed it in Richie's mouth. After a few minutes, he looked at the readings and saw it was 99.4 F. "Shit, that isn't good." Ben went to the kitchen and grabbed frozen packs of vegetables and brought them upstairs.
"There's no way in hell you're making me eat those." Richie groaned and Ben rolled his eyes. He carefully placed the frozen vegetables on his side, neck, and wrists to try and bring his fever down. "Just sit back and relax. I think you have an infection, so we'll need some antibiotics from the drug store." Ben said and watched over Richie like a hawk while he rested.
After school, the Losers met up at Richie's house and knocked on the door. Ben opened it and they could tell from the look on his face that he was panicking. "What's going on?" Eddie asked as they went up to Richie's room. The group entered Richie's room and quickly saw the poor state he was in.
Eddie put his hand on Richie's head and felt how warm he was while Beverly checked on the wound on his side. "I've been cleaning it daily but the dirt from when he escaped Bower's must've caused an infection," Beverly said as Richie groaned.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Eddie asked and looked at Richie, concerned with how pale he was.
"If his fever goes over 102.0 F then we'll have to take him to the hospital. He needs antibiotics for the infection and if we keep his fever down, he should get through it." She told him. Beverly looked at Stan and Bill. "Stan, Bill, can you two try and get some meds for Richie?" She asked, handing them some money. They both nodded and left. "Ben, Mike, and I will try and get some ice and more frozen vegetables." Beverly stood up. "You good to stay here Eddie?" She asked and he nodded.
They all soon split up and Eddie was left with Richie. Richie groaned and opened his eyes to see Eddie. "H-Hey Eds," Richie smirked, trying to hide his dizziness.
"Hey." Eddie kept dabbing the cold cloth on his forehead. "I need you to try and drink something," Eddie told him and normally Richie would try to complain but he felt awful and knew he was dehydrated. Eddie brought the straw to Richie's mouth and Richie took little sips, and it made him feel better. "Good." Eddie sighed and hated seeing Richie so helpless and hurt.
"Th-Thanks for staying." Richie smiled slightly. "I would always stay with you… no matter what." Eddie told him. "You're gonna get better soon." Richie held onto Eddie's free hand. Eddie grabbed a cold washcloth and dabbed the sweat off of Richie's forehead, cooling him down.
"Can I… can I ask you something?" Richie looked into Eddie's eyes as he nodded, still focused on cooling him off. "I-If Bowers never beat me up, would… would you still have kissed me after that night?" Richie asked him and Eddie stopped.
Eddie looked at him in the eyes and Richie could see how much he was relying on him for an answer. "I was scared to show you how I felt… so I pushed you away. I was scared of everyone in this town trying to hurt us…" Eddie looked down. "But if this town was accepting of gay people, I would've kissed you years ago," Eddie told him and put a gentle hand on Richie's face.
Richie smiled and squeezed Eddie's hand on his face. "Yeah.. me too." He smiled as Eddie continued to help him cool off.