The Losers never broke apart, they stayed together throughout middle school, and now they were halfway through high school. No one knew the time would fly as fast as it did yet the Losers never changed. The clubhouse remained the same except for some extra modifications by Ben.
The seven Losers sat around, listening to music, and playing cards. Everyone was having fun but Richie seemed distracted, looking at his cards but spacing out in his thoughts. He quickly snapped back into reality when Eddie elbowed him.
"It's your turn, Dickwad." Eddie said before looking back at the group, they all didn't notice Richie was acting off except for Beverly.
"You okay, Richie?" Her soft eyes looked into Richie's as she tried to see what was wrong but Richie quickly looked away.
"Of course I'm okay! Never better after last night with Eddie's mom." He joked as Eddie punched him in the shoulder. He tried to play it off but his expression soon went back to confusion and loss as they packed the cards away.
"So, what should we do now?" Ben asked.
"We can go watch a movie at my place, my Aunt won't mind," Beverly said as she took a final drag from her cigarette, tossed it to the ground, and stepped on it.
"Richie, isn't your family on vacation? Let's go to your place." Bill suggested and Richie shook his head.
"Or will your babysitter not let you." Stanley taunted and Richie punched him in the arm.
"She's not my babysitter, she waters the plants because I couldn't give two shits about them," Richie said defensively.
Stanley punched Richie back in retaliation and they started having a small fight but the rest of the Losers broke them up.
"You guys will trash the place and if my parents find out, I'll…" Richie hesitated and looked down. "I'll get grounded."
"Whatever, Trashmouth. Let's go to Bev's." Stanley stood up and they all started grabbing their bags.
Richie looked at the entrance to the clubhouse and saw how late it was getting. "You guys go ahead, Eds and I should head back before Ms. Kasbrak has an aneurysm."
"Yeah, he's right. We'll see you guys tomorrow." Eddie said as the two boys climbed out of the clubhouse and started walking home.
Richie's thoughts ran through his head as he kicked rocks on the ground, hands in his pockets and his eyes avoiding Eddie's. Eddie could tell something was wrong but he knew that Richie would never admit it.
Eddie and Richie reached Eddie's house and stopped. "So I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Eddie smiled but Richie was kicking at the ground. After a few more seconds without a response, Eddie could tell he was zoning out. "Richie?"
Richie snapped up and focused. "Right. Yeah… Sorry." Eddie knew something was off. These last few days Richie wasn't acting like himself. He was distant and avoided telling those awful jokes. Eddie hated them but he felt as if Richie wasn't himself without them.
"What's wrong?" Eddie asked. Richie seemed hesitant when he answered. "Nothing... I'm fine, just tired." He smiled and was about to turn away when Eddie grabbed his arm.
"Rich, come on. You haven't been acting like yourself lately. You can talk to me and I can help you fix it." Eddie told him but Richie shrugged his arm off and put his hands in his pockets.
"No… it's… not something that can be fixed," Richie mumbled as his breathing quickened.
Eddie wanted to comfort his friend but didn't know why he was acting so strange. "Let me try."
Richie looked into his best friend's eyes. They were both a good arms distance apart, but Richie quickly broke the distance between them, bringing Eddie's face close to his and kissing him softly.
Eddie stood there in shock, his thoughts racing; he couldn't process what was happening. He suddenly pushed Richie away and backed up. "Dude...what the fuck?" Eddie wiped his mouth.
Richie looked at him, hurt. He felt his heart snap in half when Eddie wiped his mouth. "Shit… I-I'm sorry… I shouldn't hav-"
"Yeah… you really shouldn't have." Eddie cut him off He knew how gay people were treated in Derry. He knew that if anyone he knew found out, he would be tormented, and if his mother found out; he would be locked in his room forever. Hell, if Henry Bowers found out, he could kill him.
"Seriously, we're out in the fucking street and you kiss me?! What if Henry saw? Or anyone from our school!?" Eddie raised his voice, the pace of his breathing hastening as his anger grew.
Richie's eyes stayed on the ground. "I-I know… I'm sorry.." he whispered.
"You could've just talked to me instead of trying to kiss me! The last thing I need is to be bullied for being a fairy!" Eddie yelled and Richie looked up.
"So that's what you think of me?" Richie felt something snap, Henry calling him a fairy was hurtful, but hearing it from his best friend was heartbreaking.
"I'm not wrong!" Eddie yelled and Richie quickly turned away from him. "I thought you cared about me." He mumbled.
"As a fucking friend! Richie, get it through your head! I'm not a fucking faggot!" Eddie yelled and Richie couldn't help but let tears fall.
Eddie regretted immediately what he said to Richie. He felt a wave of guilt, realizing how hard it must have been for his best friend to show his true feelings. "Richie.." Eddie took a step towards him but Richie started running. "Richie!" Eddie yelled.
Richie ran, he needed to get away from it all. He knew that Eddie would never accept him now, and neither would his friends. He felt so alone, causing him to cry harder as he stopped at the Kissing Bridge. He sat against the engravings and put his face in his hands, sobbing painfully behind them.
He stayed there for half an hour, crying. He wanted to be angry at Eddie for what he said, but he couldn't. He believed it. He thought of himself as an outcast and now he knew his friends would never accept who he was.
He slowly calmed down as he saw the flash of car headlights moving down the street. He didn't pay much attention to it until he heard voices that sounded all too familiar.
"Fuck." He swore under his breath as he scrambled to his feet. Henry appeared into the light with Patrick by his side, a knife in his hand. "How's it going Trashmouth! You lost?!" He laughed.