The last time Richie had seen his friends was December 1989.
"Richard. You're late" his mother called out from the kitchen.
"You never gave me a curfew" Richie mumbled, kicking of his shoes.
He honestly expected his mom to already be passed out by the time he got home as usual. The wine bottle still in her clutching hand. A plate of crackers in her lap. But that's not how Richie found her. She was sat at the kitchen table, still with the wine glass, full to the brim. Wentworth sat beside her, a bottle of beer in front of him. It was rare for them to ever be in the same room at the same time. Richie always wondered why they stayed together, as far as he knew they hated each other.
"What's going on?" Richie questioned, sitting down opposite them.
"We're moving" His father announced.
"What?"
"I've been offered a job in Chicago" Wentworth told him.
Richie didn't even know what his dads job was.
"No fucking way!" Richie yelled.
Wentworth slammed his fists down on the table, smashing the beer bottle.
He snatched his son's hair. Richie responded with a yelp. "How dare you speak to me in that manner?" Wentworth screamed. He smacked his youngster in the face. "I-I'm sor-ry! Let go of M-me, let go!" Richie was in tears.
Richie's father hoisted him into the air and then slammed him down. "Fuck!" Richie was lying on the floor when he noticed blood running down his face. His father gave him a kick in the side. "You need to be taught some fucking respect!"
Wentworth hissed angrily. Kick. "Please, stop it!" Kick. "P-please, dad!"- kick, kick. Each kick became more powerful. Richie's eyes welled up with tears as he winced with each kick. Wentworth kicked him in the gut one last time as hard as he could. "Pack your shit, we're leaving in the morning."
Richie faintly heard his mother leave the room. He slowly got up, staying bent over for a while until the throbbing subsided enough for him to move. He limped out the door. He didn't even realise where he was going at first. It took him a lot longer than usual to arrive.
"Eddie, oh Eddie. Let down your hair!" Richie shouted, hurling pebbles at Eddie's bedroom window.
Eddies faced appeared at the window, he pulled it open. "Are you crazy? You're gonna wake my mom up" Eddie hissed as Richie began climbing the tree next to Eddies window.
"Nah, she's completely worn out after the time we just spent together" Richie joked.
"Beep, beep, asshole."
Richie climbed through the window frame, tripping a little.
"Could you be any less graceful?" Eddie asked sarcastically.
Richie rolled onto his back on the floor.
"Holy shit. What happened to your face?" Eddie asked, panicking.
Richie never spoke of his parents, his friends didn't even know their names.
"Never mind about that Eds." Richie got up, grunting in pain. He sat next to Eddie on the bed. "I'm leaving. Dad got a job in Chicago… we go in the morning. I'm gonna miss Derry, what a shithole" Richie laughed pathetically and lacking in humour
Heartbroken. He has no choice but to leave Eddie... Eds is his... best friend? He must abandon everything he has ever known. He has to say his goodbyes to his losers, his family.
"No fucking way! You can't leave stay please. You can-" Eddie stops himself.
Richie assumes Eddie understands he has no choice. Eddie throws himself forward, clinging on to Richie. Richie laughed into the hug.
"I have to go now Ed's, can you say goodbye to the losers for me. Tell them I'm sorry, especially Bev. I'll call you when we get there. Give you my new number and address?" Richie cried into Eddie's shoulder, Eddie didn't even complain about the germs and the blood getting on his top.
"Yeah of course."
"Tell the others I'll call them all when I get there" Richie stood up and climbed back out the window. He didn't look back at Eddie and Eddie didn't say anything else or stop him. Richie couldn't tell if he hated that or felt grateful. Richie landed on the ground with a thump, he groaned in pain before brushing himself off. With one last look up at Eddie, Richie took off.
He did call each of them when he arrived, Bev and Stan had been furious that he hadn't said a proper goodbye, so he left them to cool off. It was an okay house, he couldn't really complain. His room was nice enough, a built in closet and double bed. Within the first week he had already plastered the walls completely in posters, polaroid's and pictures of him and his friends. His favourite was on his ceiling right above his bed. They'd taken it at the quarry all smiling with their ice creams.
Richie remembers when things started looking up, before snowballing back down.
He was stood behind the gym at his new school, trying to light a cigarette. He'd settled in okay so far, no bullies but no friends yet.
"So… New kid. What's your name?" the girl asked. She'd seen Richie's lighter give up on him and offered to light his cigarette. Richie took a long drag of his cigarette as she lit hers.
She was beautiful. And had a fiery aura like Bev's. She had dark brown short hair, up to her upper neck. Big hazel doe eyes.
"Richie… Tozier" He answered, he remembered when they called Ben new kid.
"I'm Heather" She reached out to shake his hand, which he accepted, her hands were soft like silk
He had to get rid of his glasses, they were too smashed after his dad, so he was wearing contacts.
"So, where you from Richie Tozier?" Heather asked.
"Maine." Richie replied. Heather observed him.
"You wanna come to a party with me tonight?" Heather bluntly asked. "I can introduce you to my friends"
That was the first time Richie ever smoked a joint, but he'd never tell Heather that.
"Do you think I'm a bad influence?" She closed her lips around the joint and whispered. He paused for a moment before responding to the question. "No," he said, letting the word hover. "I make my own choices."
He took another long drag with his eyes closed after she handed him the joint back. But before he could open his mouth to let the smoke out, her lips gently pushed against his, soft, warm, coaxing the smoke out. her gentle fingers found Richie's sharp jaw and she kissed him.
What. the. fuck.
Heather giggled. "Come on I'll introduce you to the guys"