Richie woke up to the sound of glass breaking, knowing that it was already shaping up to be a shit day. Maggie was drunk, again. Which meant that Wentworth was going to be much worse by noon. Letting out an exhausted sigh, he pushed himself out of bed, fumbling with his glasses as he haphazardly put them on his face.
He had memorized the spots on his floor that creaked, learning to avoid them as the years went on; knowing damn well if he made a sound, his parents would have an excuse to punish him. Silently, he got ready for a day with the Losers, slipping on the cleanest clothes he could find before creeping out of the window. Once he reached his bike and started peddling away from the prison he once called home, he let himself smile. A smile of relief, but a smile nevertheless. He hated the affect that his parents had on him, you'd think after years of neglect he'd be used to it. You'd be wrong.
Every venomous word thrown his way still stung just as much as the first time, if not more so. Hell, at seventeen years old, Richie still felt like the scared five year old hiding in the closet from his parents lethal words. It was sad really, but what was he to do. He couldn't put this burden on the other Losers, not when they all had their own shit to deal with. Though he knew that they'd all be hurt, and a little angry, that he hadn't said anything sooner if they ever did find out. Luckily for him, he wasn't planning on letting that dirty little secret get out.
He rode his old beat up bike through the streets of Derry, until he eventually pulled up to a familiar house. A house where, regardless of how much one of the inhabitants hated him, he had always felt safe. There was just something about the almost sterile aroma in Eddie's room that had brought him so much comfort. When nights at home were rough, he would always sneak through the smaller boys window, careful not to wake up Eddie's mom. She'd have a fit if she knew boys were sneaking into her son's room late at night, she'd have a heart attack if she ever found out that the boy was none other than Richie 'Trashmouth' Tozier. He never knew why Sonia had hated him so much. Maybe it was the foul words that he dared say in front of her precious angel, or maybe it was the fact that Eddie acted more like a kid than a scared patient with him. Hell, maybe it was the fact that Sonia spotted him kissing some boy last summer, and now saw him as just another 'walking One Way Ticket to Hell.'
It could have been a number of reasons, but he never bothered to ask, nor did he care much. Just as long as he had Eds by his side, who cared what the world thought of him. The only opinion that mattered to him was Eddies.
Now, of course he loved the other Losers, but Eddie Kaspbrak was something special. He swore he could see the galaxy in those big brown eyes. Richie would do anything for that boy, absolutely anything. He'd take the whole Bowers Gang on by himself if it meant protecting Eddie.
After pulling himself out of his thoughts, Richie carefully set his bike down on the sidewalk, before creeping towards the side of the house. He climbed up to Eddies window, tapping on the glass softly, being very careful not to alert Sonia of his presence. The window opened to a very annoyed Eddie, shortly after. "Where the fuck have you been 'Chee, you were supposed to be here an hour ago!" The smaller boy snapped, shooting a glare at Richie.
"You mean you didn't hear me and your mom going at it just a few minutes ago, Eds? And to think, I had her scre-"
"Beep-Fucking-Beep Richie. Let's go, the others are probably wondering where we are. And don't call me Eds." He grumbled, waiting for Richie to climb back down before climbing out of the window himself. Once his feet touched the ground, it was like a switch flipped in Eddie "This is the last summer we have before senior year. Then it's off to college..." He sighed "Do you think we'll all still be friends, Rich?" His voice was soft, his eyes searching Richie's face for any sort of answer.
"Why of course we will, Ol' Chap! I could never stop being friends with ya, Doctor K!" Richie exclaimed, a grin on his face. He knew that he was only using his voices again to help him express genuine emotions, but he couldn't let Eds find that out. No, if Eddie found out then he'd start worrying about Richie again. He couldn't put that on Eddie. "C'mon Eddie Spaghetti, like you said. The others are probably wondering where we are. Don't want them thinking I spent too much time with your mom."
A smile formed on Eddies lips as he rolled his eyes. Both boys soon hopping onto their bikes, making their way to the clubhouse. Richie couldn't imagine any better way to spend his summer than this. The boy he loved and his five best friends by his side. They always seemed to make life more bearable.