“walk me there?”
i’m in a reddie mood; sorry it took me so long, hope you like it!!
it was the perfect summer day in derry, which meant the losers club was out at the quarry, as usual. bill and eddie were having a lightsaber duel with sticks; stan, mike, and ben were admiring the newest additions to stan’s bird watching book; and richie and beverly were sharing a joint. everyone was laughing and generally enjoying themselves, but the sun was setting, meaning it would soon be time for everyone to go home.
bev stomped out the last of the joint, pulling herself and richie up. “you excited for your date, rich?” she nudged his arm teasingly.
richie slapped her in response, glancing in eddie and bill’s direction to make sure they didn’t hear her. “shut up, it’s not even like that,” he said, more to convince himself rather than her. he dusted off his pants, shaking off the close encounter, and returned to his normal self. “alright, friends. it’s been real, but i got a date to catch.”
the eyes of small eddie kaspbrak immediately shot up to look at richie. there was a twisting in his stomach, one he’d felt before in the presence of the club’s trashmouth. the only way he could think of to describe it was anger, but even that didn’t feel right. “who with, rich?” he asked, as nonchalantly as possible.
everyone looked up at that. the rest of the gang knew of richie’s plan, and all had somehow managed to keep it a secret. but with the fateful day here and the plan in action, they were nervous.
stan cleared his throat to break the tension, saying, “uh, yeah richie. who with?” he hoped that feigning ignorance would help his friends cause. he closed his bird book and focused on the situation at hand.
richie, who had thought out every scenario for once, was completely prepared for this. “wanna find out eds?” he replied smoothly, plastering an incredible grin on his face. “how about you walk me there?”
eddie tried to ignore the leap his heart made at the offer. “sure.” he snatched his fanny pack from the rock it had been resting on, clipped it back around his waist, and started walking. “lead the way.”
the boys bid a farewell to their friends, quickly moving from the wooded area into town. few people were out, leaving most of the sidewalks clear. eddie watched richie’s arms swing at his sides, and shoved his hands into his pockets, attempting to resist the urge to hold his friend’s hand. richie, however, was smirking devilishly.
“so where is this date?” he tried to make his voice sound as relaxed as possible. somehow, he didn’t think it was working.
richie chuckled softly. “at the diner, right around the corner.” he side-eyed eddie, watching for his reaction. the diner in question was eddie’s favorite place for fries and milkshakes, something everyone knew.
the asthmatic nodded, trying not feel that… anger again. but he wasn’t angry that richie was going. he wanted his friend to have a good time and enjoy himself. he deciphered that he was more angry that richie had decided to go with someone other than him. “sounds fun. must be someone special.”
this was richie’s chance. “oh yeah,” he started, “super special. one of my best friends, ya know.” he could see eddie cringe out of the corner of his eye. “hang out with them all the time. like, almost every day.”
eddie balled his hands into fists inside his pockets, trying to qwell this… what must’ve been jealousy. “really? didn’t think you had any friends other than us,” he snapped.
as they rounded the street corner, richie let out a hearty laugh. “wow, eds. i’m hurt.” he placed a hand over his heart, and stopped in front of the diner door. “i think you’d really like them.”
eddie scoffed. “doubtful. see you later, trashmouth.” he turned to walk away, but felt a hand wrap around his wrist.
“wait!” richie called, latching onto eddie. he pulled his friend back to face him. “aren’t you coming inside? we have a milkshake and fry date,” he teased, his smirk taking its rightful place back on his face.
it all clicked for eddie at that moment, and he could feel himself turning red. nonetheless, he smiled, pulling himself free of richie’s grip, and nodded. “sounds good to me.” he slung his arm over his friends shoulder, dragging him inside, too excited for his milkshake.
