June, 1965.

It was finally the end of Richie's senior year. He had officially graduated high school. This past year had been a challenge, he had faced a lot, but he was grateful for his friends. They had helped him through it all. Hell, Stans parents even got legal guardianship over him after the abuse his parents put him through came to light. Not to mention, his relationship with Eddie had been going great.

They had came out to the Losers shortly after their first kiss. The Clubhouse had become a safe haven for the two Lovers, a place where they could be themselves without fear of persecution. Their year anniversary was approaching fast, and Richie had a plan for something special. He was planning on a proposal, unofficially of course, but the sentiment was still there. And maybe, one day, he could actually marry his Eddie Spaghetti. Maybe one day they could live freely together, no longer in secret. But for now, he would settle for an unofficial marriage with the man he loved.

After the graduation ceremony, Richie was going to ask Eddie to go away with him for a weekend, just the two of them. He had rented a cabin, secluded from prying and judging eyes. The second night there, he would propose. He had bought the ring back in the fall, already knowing he wanted to spend his life with the small boy. He kept the ring with him every single day, finding comfort in knowing that things were finally working out for him.

The only other person who knew of the planned proposal was Stan, of course he only found out due to Richie begging for help while ring shopping. Stanley had helped him pick out the perfect ring, and swore he wouldn't say anything to Eddie about it. Richie couldn't wait, he had every little detail planned out. The weekend was going to be perfect. But he still needed to iron out a couple of minor things before he could ask Eddie to go away with him for the weekend. The first being asking the rest of his friends for help.

He made his way to the clubhouse with a smile on his face, nothing could bring his mood down. Well, nothing except Henry "raging psychopath" Bowers.

"Hey, flamer! Where do you think you're off to?" Bowers and his gang of future convicts had come out of nowhere, surrounding Richie. Each one of them wearing a sadistic smirk, the look in their eyes saying Richie wasn't going to get away unscathed. This caused his heart to start pounding, Bowers had a tendency to go overboard. That aspect scared him, if he couldn't get himself away from Henry and his thugs, he would end up in the hospital.

"What do you want, Bowers? Aren't you getting a little too old for this shit?" The curly haired male started looking for an escape route, hoping Bowers would just move along.

"Aw, what? Not happy to see us? And here we thought a group of guys surrounding you was your dream, Faggot." Patrick spat, laughing when he saw Richie tense up. The shock of Hockstetters words gave Henry an opening. The blonde hit Richie hard in the stomach, kicking him to the ground after he had doubled over.

Once Richie was on the ground, the rest of the group pounced, kicking and punching him as hard as they could, laughing all the while. "We don't take kindly to little fairies in our town. Take this as a fucking warning and leave, or we won't be so nice next time." Henry snarled, spitting on the injured boy.

Just as soon as they had showed up, Bowers and his friends were gone, leaving Richie curled up and groaning on the ground. The beating wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, though he would definitely be sore in the morning. He didn't mind though, he refused to let anything bring him down, not now, not when he was so close to starting a life with Eddie.

With a quiet whimper, Richie pulled himself up, continuing his walk to the clubhouse. Walk wasn't the right term, it was more like a doubled over hobble. He made it to the clubhouse in good time, sighing in relief once he plopped down on the hammock. The rest of his friends hadn't made it there yet, giving him an opportunity to think of a good cover story as to why he looked like a tenderized piece of meat.

Once the rest of the Losers arrived, the first to notice his injuries was Eddie, of course. The poor boy nearly had a heart attack when he saw the forming bruises. "What the actual fuck happened, 'Chee?" He asked, already examining the wounds. "It was Bowers, wasn't it? I'll kick his ass for this! No one lays a hand on my boyfriend and gets away with it!" The smaller male ranted as he cleaned Richie up, causing the group to laugh.

"Eds, I think you should wait until you hit a growth spurt before trying to take Henry Bowers on." Richie chuckled, glancing down at the beautiful boy in front of him. "Now, since you look like you might burst a damn aneurysm, I'm gonna need you to take some deep breaths and go away with me this weekend."

Eddie paused, looking up at his boyfriend with wide eyes. "Do you honestly think now is the time to ask that? I mean of course I'll go, but jesus Richie-" His rambling was cut off by a light kiss and a chuckle.

Everything was coming together, and Richie wasn't going to let Henry Bowers or anything else ruin this. He was finally happy, and nothing was ever going to change that for him. It had taken him years to find this happiness, and now that he had it, he wasn't going to let it go.

He let Eddie finish patching him up, once he was done, Richie pulled him up onto the hammock next to him, planting a kiss on his boyfriends head.

Soon enough, the group had gathered around, discussing their plans for college and life after Derry. Richie knew his plans, he had known since the day he had laid eyes on Eddie Kaspbrak. He would spend his life with that boy, and no matter where life took them, he would be happy as long as Eddie was by his side.

Things were perfect. The Losers had found their happiness, and their escape from Derry. They spent the rest of the night talking, laughing and sharing stories from the past.

Things were finally perfect. And Richie couldn't be happier.