Richie Tozier still hadn't found out the perfect way to tell his friends that he was about to leave town forever, with no plans of ever coming back.

He wasn't sure what made him guiltier, leaving or the satisfaction that knowing he'd never have to step foot in that town again.

It was the first day of summer. He could hear the youngest children of his neighbors playing in the streets, and the sun was brighter than it had been all year. In fact, the sun was brighter than it had been in such a long time.

Yet, the perfect atmosphere of the relieving first day of summer was about to end. He was determined to break out the news that he would leave, even if he didn't know exactly how he was going to say it.

He had to meet up with the Losers at the quarry in one hour. His hands trembled with the image of his friends arriving expecting to have a fun day, only to arrive to the news that they'd soon be a group of six, not seven.

He stepped in front of the mirror, staring at his own reflection. He was just another vulnerable sheep thrown in the middle of nowhere.

"Hey guys! Nice day, uh? Hey, did I mention I'm moving away, and I'll never see you guys again?" He waved to himself in the mirror. "Fuck, this is so stupid." He then mumbled, sitting on the floor.

Richie grabbed his bag. If he arrived earlier at the quarry, he'd have time to rehearsal it for real.

He was never much of a person that enjoyed staying inside his room. His bedroom was the most claustrophobic place on Earth, he'd rather be anywhere else. Richie would only truly stay in his bedroom when he had to sleep, although there were days that the room bothered him so much, he'd go to Stan's house.

There was nothing particularly bad about it. It had a wide window that would allow the sun to shine through the whole room. His bedroom was big enough for him to roll around, and comfortable enough to let him sink in it. His desk was crowded with his favorite objects, and, his shelf was full with books.

Still, he hated his bedroom more than he hated any other thing. It was supposed to be the safest place to him, but it was just another prison.

So, with his bag in his shoulders, he picked up his bike from the garage, and rode as fast as he could.

Since Bowers went completely bunkers, there was no special bully around town. Going out in the streets was easier. Sure, some kids were still targets, but the losers had been freed.

It didn't mean, however, the streets felt any safer.

Richie would still ride as if his life depended on it. The feeling of being followed, of being watched, of being in imminent danger never washed away.

He rode glancing at all sides, looking for anything that could put him in danger. He longed to, one day, find the danger he was searching for. Because, if he never found it, then he was the crazy one, and that was a weight the boy wouldn't know how to carry.

When he arrived at the quarry, expecting to have some lonely one hour to set his mind straight, he found out someone was already there. Even from far, he could tell it was Eddie.

"Eds!" He shouted, walking towards the small boy sitting alone, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just...," Eddie began to answer, then shook his head, "What are you doing here?"

"I asked first," Richie sat side by side to him.

Eddie gave a half-assed explanation. Though, it didn't matter. Richie didn't hear a word of it, not because he didn't care, but because he couldn't focus.

Of all his friends, Eddie was the one he was going to miss most. Eddie Kaspbrak was special.

Richie wouldn't be able to explain the reason why, though. It had something to do with the way Eddie's eyes sparkled when he was content, or the way his hands would shake when he was too nervous, or how fast he would speak whenever he got too excited about a topic. How stupidly passionate Eddie was about the most random things.

There were so many things about that boy that made Richie's heart beat differently.

"What about you? Why are you here already?" Eddie said, pulling Richie out of his day-dreaming.

"Oh. Yeah," he took a deep breath, adjusted his glasses on his face, and stared right at Eddie's brown eyes, "Listen, I need to tell you something. Don't tell the others, ok?"

"What the fuck happened?" Eds whispered wide-eyed.

"I'm moving out of Derry by the end of this summer. My dad got a job in San Francisco." He said as quickly as he could.

"What?" The smaller one blinked confused.

"I don't know how to tell the others!" Richie cried.

"But you're still gonna visit, right?"

"I don't plan on ever steeping foot in this town once I leave," he replied, breaking eye contact.

"Why?"

Tozier's heart stopped. His sweaty hands trembled, as he adjusted his glasses on his face once more. He glanced back at the fragile looking boy in front of him, and smiled, "It's been hard since your mom dumped me. Tell her I'm going to miss her, specially when she used to touch..."

"Shut the fuck up, Richie!" Eddie interrupted, rolling his eyes, and crossing his arms. "Why can't you tell the others like you just told me?"

"I told you cause I freaked out!" He gesticulated.

"How long have you known?" The Kaspbrak boy whispered.

"Uh, about three months, I guess." Richie shrugged.

"And you haven't told anyone? Not even Stan?"

"Why would I have told Stan?" He made a face.

"Why wouldn't you? You're closer to him."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You sleep at his house almost every day. And you hang out with him alone all the time, and..."

"Are you jealous?" Richie joked in a baby-voice. He'd have sold his liver to hear Eds answer 'yes'.

"Yeah, you're not taking this seriously." Eddie mumbled before resorting to silence.

The taller boy didn't understand why he would even take that conversation seriously. Sure, he accompanied Stan during his birdwatching, and he did sleep at Stan's quite often, but that didn't mean he was closer to Stan than to the other Losers.

"It's been a long time since we haven't done anything actually fun. The losers, you know," Richie broke the silence, as Eddie looked up to face him once again.

"Fun like what?"

"Like, going to a haunted house or something. I hear that old Holtz's house is haunted by her spirit," he widened his eyes.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Remember what happened last time we got into an old house? Was that your definition of fun? What the fuck, Richie!" Eddie Kaspbrak replied in a high-pitched voice.

"That was a joke! I was joking!" He interrupted quickly, waving his hands on the air.

I'm so fucking stupid, Tozier thought to himself,  adjusting his glasses one more time.

***************
Full honesty, I'll do anything to protect this couple, and I mean it. They're just the cutest, I can't.
I still haven't decided about what other ships I want to make subplot, though.
I'm pretty happy with this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! Leave a comment, and a vote, pls (talk to me!)
Love,
Liv 💓