The rest of the Losers were already at the quarry by the time Richie and Eddie rolled up. Laughter was floating through the air, the sound warming Richie's heart. He never said it enough, but he loved them. They were truly his family, the one constant in his life. It was hard to imagine a world without them, a world without the light they managed to bring into his life.
"Wow, I can't believe you started the party without me! And to think, I thought I was special!" Richie gasped, a smile ghosting his lips as he threw a hand over his chest dramatically. He noticed the way Stanley rolled his eyes, letting out a small chuckle. He saw how both Ben and Bill shook their heads, making room for the two boys. He couldn't help but see how Beverly brightened up a bit when Richie arrived, out of all of the Losers, Bev was the only one that knew about his home life, the others only had their suspicions.
Mike moved to welcome the boys, a goofy grin on his face "Now, Rich, you know that it's not really a party until you get here. So quite the theatrics and come sit down." He laughed, motioning for them to come sit.
Eddie was the first to move, happily taking his place in the circle "Sorry guys, we would've been here sooner, if somebody wasn't late this morning." He explained, sending a playful glare Richie's way. God, even then Richie still thought it was the most beautiful sight in the world.
"You know how Mrs. K gets, one taste and she just can't get enough. Maybe you should give me a taste yourself, Eds." He suggested, sitting down next to the boy, throwing his arm over his shoulders "Whaddya say Eds?" He asked, wiggling his eye brows, earning a groan from the aforementioned boy.
"Don't make me 'beep beep' you twice in an hour, 'Chee." Eddie warned, though his voice was filled with amusement. "So, what's the plan for today? Or are we all just going to sit on bacteria covered rocks?" This earned a laugh from the rest of the group, causing Eddies eyes to go wide. "I'm serious! Do you know what kind of diseases you can get!? Diseases are everywhere!" He exclaimed, instinctively reaching for the sanitizer that had made its home in the fanny pack he refused to stop wearing.
Upon hearing Eddies words, Richie pulled his arm away, a pit of self-loathing forming in his stomach, just the way Eddie spoke of diseases made him want to wash the gay away. He wanted to be clean for Eds, not dirty and disease ridden. "Uh, Eddies right, as much as I love a good circle jerk, we should save that for the last day of summer, not the first." The shift in Richie's mode didn't go unnoticed by Eddie. He couldn't quite place what had made the the raven haired joker so upset, but something was wrong.
"W-W-Well, Ben had said s-something about a new m-movie playing. Why d-d-don't we go see that?" Bill suggested, looking to the rest of the group, before focusing his attention on Ben, giving him a nod. "Yeah, A Shot in The Dark, the new Pink Panther movie!" Ben said excitedly. Though there were a million things Richie would rather be doing, he couldn't help but agree to the movie after he saw the light in Ben's eyes.
"Alright short stack, that sounds like a great idea." Richie agreed, pushing himself off the rock he had inhabited. After Ben had finally confessed his love for their resident Red Head, Richie had a new found respect for the boy. He had done what Richie only dreamed of doing.
But it was only a hopeless dream. As much as it hurt, he knew he could never tell Eddie how he felt. He knew his feelings were dirty, were wrong. He knew if he ever told Eddie how he really felt, it would ruin their friendship. Eddie would never want to associate with a gay man. That thought hurt him more than anything. He couldn't risk losing his best friend over some silly crush, not when Eddie was the one person who could truly make Richie happy.
Pushing the intrusive thoughts aside, Richie made his way over to his bike "So, are we doing this or what?" He asked, faking his usual enthusiasm, as to not raise the suspicions of the others.
The rest of the group made their way to their bikes, following Richie's lead to the theater. They remained silent, sensing that's what the curly haired boy needed most.
As much as Richie wanted to pretend, the Losers had guessed that he had it rough. He had come to school with bruises on multiple occasions, he never invited them over to his place, hell whenever he ate, he ate like he hadn't seen food in years.
This made the Losers more protective of the boy, more cautious with certain things. They always made him feel loved and wanted. Because that's what family does.