When morning struck, Richie went back to his house. He was determined to tell Beverly everything, with even more detail than he told Stanley. He was certain she'd understand, and he had gathered enough courage to talk about it without despair.

So, he called her. He asked her to go to his house as soon as she could, saying they needed to talk, and that the conversation couldn't wait any longer.

In fifteen minutes, she was standing at his front door.

"You sounded so desperate on the phone, I got worried," she smiled to him, entering the house, and immediately throwing herself on the old couch in the living room, "Tell me, trashmouth, what's up?"

"There's something I need to tell you," he sat on the floor, facing her, "Two things, actually."

"Is it a 'good news, bad news' situation?" She narrowed her eyes, letting herself sink in the sofa.

"Not really, no," Richie shook his head.

"Then, start with what's easiest to say," she shrugged grinning, as she lit a cigarette she grabbed out of her purse.

"I'm moving out of Derry by the end of this summer. I'll move to San Francisco, and I'm never coming back."

"That's bad news, Richie," she mumbled with her eyes wide-open.

"I'm in love with Eddie," he let it out fast, without putting too much thought into it. If he stopped to consider the sentence for even one second, he wouldn't be able to get it out of his throat, "And I have been for some good time now."

"You never told me."

"I never told anyone. Well, I told Stan yesterday, because..."

"Because he told you about the break up, didn't he?" Beverly interrupted, "Let me tell you, that was one of the funniest things that ever happened to me."

"How can any of that possibly be funny?" Richie made a face.

"Imagine Bill trying to explain to me that we had to break up because he suddenly realized he was in love with Stan," she chuckled, "I mean, at that point, I kind of already knew Ben was the right one, so I was already trying to find a way to tell Bill we needed to break up. It was comical, trust me. Stan probably told you like it was some melancholic soap opera."

"Everything is a melancholic soap opera to him," the boy giggled.

"So, Eddie, uh?" She smirked, "I want to hear about it, come on! Tell me everything."

"There isn't much to be said."

"Liar," Beverly mouthed laughing, "Don't act like I don't know what's like to have a crush on a guy. There's always so much to be said, even if nothing ever happened for real."

"What do you want to know?"

"Why you like him?"

"I don't know why I like him."

"You do. Just tell me, come on!" She insisted, handing Richie a cigarette, "I'll borrow you the lighter, but only when you tell me."

"Fine," he mumbled, taking a deep breath, "You ever noticed that, when he gets too excited about something, he just opens his eyes, and you can see how it sparkles?"

"Ben does that too," Bev chuckled.

"And he's just so ticklish, it's ridiculous. His laugh it's just...," the boy sighed, "When I make a joke, and he doesn't want to laugh, so he just bites his lip, and covers his mouth with his hand, until he can't hold it anymore. And he is so caring, in that weird way of his. Oh, and there was this one time he got me a Hawaiian shirt for my birthday, and it's just the best shirt I own. He's such a dork."

"You're such a lovesick idiot," she laughed, lighting up his cigarette for him, "He wears the fanny pack you gave him all the time, even if it's just so goddamn stupid."

"There's also the way he freaks out about the stupidest things. He pays so much attention to small details. And the face he makes when he's annoyed, it's adorable."

"You know, I'm pretty sure Eddie's gay," she mumbled.

"Why you think that?" He asked shy, with a faint hope in his eyes, and in his voice.

"It's really just a guess," Beverly shrugged, "Stan agrees."

"No, he doesn't. He would've said something to me, if he did."

"Maybe he didn't want to make you lose sleep."

"Then why are you telling me?"

"Because I'm not Stanley Uris, I'm Beverly Marsh, we have both different jobs while being your best friend. He might be the logical voice of reason, but I'm here to make you wake up," she smiled, "Call him, and ask him."

Hesitantly, the boy reached for the phone next to him. He dialed Stan's bedroom's telephone number, and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" The recognizable voice on the other end said.

"It's me, Stan."

"Oh, hey there, Richie. So did you tell Beverly?"

"I did. I told her everything."

"That's improvement," he giggled.

"Hey, that's a random question, and I need you to be honest, ok?"

"Alright," Stan sounded reluctant.

"Do you think Eddie could possibly be gay?"

"Bev told you that we think he's gay, didn't she?" Uris sighed, "I do, kind of. But it's not based on anything, so don't get too caught up on that, it's just a dumb guess, promise me?"

"I promise," Richie smiled.

That was a lie. A quite blatant one. He had to know if Eddie was gay or not. If, at the end, the boy wasn't gay at all, nothing would change for Richie, he'd be in the same place he had been for more than three years.

However, if Eddie Kaspbrak was, in fact, gay, then it meant Richie stood a chance. Even if small, even if one in a million, it still existed, and he couldn't miss that opportunity.

***************
I already got the epilogue of this fanfic written lmao.
I've been considering a "When Harry met Sally" reddie au, what do you guys think?
Anyways, I love Bev's and Richie's friendship, I'd kill for them.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please comment, and give it a vote!
Love,
Liv💞