Friday, December 8, 2017
Richie went back to school on Wednesday, and he was in no way, shape or form being dramatic when he said it fucking sucked. Everyone was whispering and looking at him as he walked through the halls, whether it be with or without the rest of the group. Some people even came up to him asking him shit that was nowhere near close to the truth. He'd even over heard people saying such bad shit about Bev that he wanted to punch everyone- girl or boy- and by Friday, he'd had enough.
Standing up on one of the tables at lunch, Richie yelled as loud as he could,
"Hey fuckers! If any of you have one singular mother fucking thing to say about Beverly Marsh, say it to me. You got a problem with her living with me? Take it up with me. If you think she let her father do what he did, take it up with the devil because you're fucking stupid. If you believe every rumor you hear? You're the dumbest fucking bitches I've ever seen. Look up the definition of rumor, that'll tell you all you need to know. Mind your own goddamn business and stay out of ours!" He jumped off the table, grabbed his bag, and stormed out of the cafeteria.
"Where ya going, Bucky Beaver?" Henry sneered as Richie stormed past him.
"Fuck off, Bowers. That name is old as fuck and completely irrelevant." He hissed.
"Fucking nerd."
"I'd rather be a nerd than some fucking dumbass like you, Bowers." Richie knew he'd regret arguing with the ass, but at the same time, he was pissed at the word, as well as surprised that Henry hadn't gone to his ass yet.
"Go ahead, Tozier, keep talking shit. You'll regret it soon enough." Richie just flipped him off and got in his truck. He considered just sitting there until the bell rang and go back in for the rest of the day, but decided not to, and left. He drove around for a while, listening to the sad playlist. There were so many songs on it he hadn't made it through all of them. Eventually, he went home, where Bev was stretched out on the couch watching Netflix. He walked in and threw his book bag up the stairs, kicking his shoes off and joining her. He lifted her legs and sat down, placing them back in his lap. He leaned his his on his hand and groaned.
"What happened, babe?" She asked, pausing the movie she was watching.
"People talking shit just got to me." He told her. "School is just kicking my ass thanks to midterms, and I'm probably gonna be murdered by Bowers during break- if not sooner."
"What happened?" She asked gently.
With that, he told her everything that had happened since Wednesday. He didn't tell her what people were saying about her, he didn't have to. She already knew it was stupid rumors they were saying and she didn't give two shits about them. He told her what he said to Bowers and she high fived him, and promised to stick by him so they can fight together when the time comes.
Eddie, Stan and Ben came over after school, whereas Stan immediately said,
"I heard Bowers is plotting your murder as we speak, Richard. What did you say to him?"
"I just called him a dumbass." Richie shrugged. "He told me I'd regret it and I honestly don't, because it's true."
"I'd rather my best friend be, you know, alive."
"Is it bad that we're actually talking about him like he'd actually commit murder?" Ben asked, playing with Bev's hair.
"I mean… You're not wrong, but that doesn't seem unlikely, does it?" Stan asked.
"He kills animals in the woods so people are next on the list." Richie shrugged. They stared at him.
"How do you know this?" Eddie asked, wide eyed.
"Uh." Richie shrugged.
"No, don't just shrug. What the hell, Richie?"
"I may have gone the wrong way home from the quarry one day and caught him killing a rabbit." Richie said, cringing as he remembered the scene. "He was torturing the poor thing. The fucking dick."
"God, he needs some serious help."
"On a better note," Bev said, "Do you guys want to go shopping with me and Maggie tomorrow? I'm asking Mike and Bill later on."
"You already know I'm going." Richie said, snorting.
"I'll be glad to get away from home for the day." Eddie said. "As long as someone doesn't embarrass us." He looked at Richie pointedly.
"When was the last time I embarrassed you, Eddie?" Richie asked, raising an eyebrow. Eddie started to say something, but faltered, making a face.
"It's been a while." He muttered. Richie nodded.
"Are you guys going to the fundraiser in February?" Eddie asked a few minutes later, after Mike and Bill got there.
"That's like two months away, Eddie." Mike chuckled. "Why?"
"I want to go!" He said, pouting. "A lot of people are going, apparently because people are singing like all day or some shit."
"Oh yeah, you like going to that stuff, huh Eds?" Bev asked, nudging Richie discreetly. He made a face at her and went back to whatever he was doing on his phone. She rolled her eyes. Eddie nodded. "Well, I'm actually one of the singers." She told him. Eddie gasped and everyone else- except for Ben and Richie- looked at her surprised.
"Really?" He asked. She nodded.
"Richie took me to audition Saturday."
"That's so c-cool, Bev." Bill said, grinning.
"If it was a competition you'd surely win." Stan told her.
"Thanks, Stanny." She smiled at him.
"Why didn't you audition, Richie?" Stan asked. Richie looked at him, an eyebrow raised.
"Who said I didn't?" He asked, smirking. They all looked at each other.
"So you did audition?" Mike asked.
"Maybe." Richie shrugged. Bev giggled.
"What song did you do on your guitar?" Eddie asked.
"Who said I played my guitar?" Richie winked at him and Eddie sighed.
"You mysterious bastard." He muttered with a laugh. Richie snorted.
"I may have… played piano." He said. "And sang." Everyone's heads snapped towards him.
"S-sang?" Bill asked.
"Mhm." Richie nodded. "You guys wanna watch a movie?" He changed the subject completely, and didn't leave room to argue as he jumped up to go make popcorn. Bev watched him go sadly, and stood to grab some movies to choose from.
"What do you wanna watch, Rich?" Stan called.
"Moana!" He yelled back.
"How the fuck do you work this TV so we can get Netflix up, then?" Eddie said, joining him in the kitchen.
"You gotta hit input then go to HDMI3. It should come up." Richie replied, digging in a bottom cabinet.
"Okay." He went and did that, but went back to help Richie. He'd just put the popcorn in the microwave. He jumped when he saw Eddie standing there.
"Dammit, when did you get so quiet and sneaky?" Richie asked, chuckling.
"I could ask you the same thing, Richie." He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. Richie pressed the start button and turned to Eddie.
"Whatever do you mean?" Richie asked, putting his hands on his hips.
Eddie eyed him. He's been paying much more attention to the taller teen recently- more than usual, at least. What's not to look at?- and he noticed some things. Okay, not some but a lot of things. They've known each other since they were five and Richie was always the happy kid, always had something to say and the worst fashion choices. But now, he talked nowhere near as much as he used to, doesn't joke or anything. Eddie's noticed. They all have, really, but Stan and Bill are convinced it's some elaborate plan of sorts to get attention- Richie loved attention. Or he used to. He stayed out of the way now.
"Cut the shit, Tozier. I've noticed some changes in you." He said matter of factly.
"Mhm, and what's that?"
"You're quiet." Eddie replied. "I don't remember the last time you called me Eds or- or wore one of those hideous shirts. Is something going on that I should know about?" Richie opened his mouth but Eddie continued. "And you sing? And play piano? Since when? And why didn't you tell us?"
"That's… a lot of questions." Richie said, finally. "Too many to answer at one time. We'll talk about it later, okay?" He took the popcorn out of the microwave and put it in a bowl. Richie smiled at him and walked past him. Eddie's mouth dropped open and he let out a breath.
"Huh, okay then."
They never talked about it. At least, not that night.
