#bidd

Eddie pulled his hood up, despite the weather getting warmer and being slightly uncomfortable to be walking around the thick school pride hoodie. But like hell he was going to prancing around the school in his size-too-small track shorts and no shirt. Which were, of course, the option he’d been left with when his co-called team mates had stolen his clothes from his locker while he was changing and run off with them.

Eddie always tried to keep from shower around his team mates ever since The Incident early that November, just before his birthday. He’d wait around outside doing extra (unnecessary) stretches or talking to the coach, then go into the change rooms once he was sure that all the other guys had left. Which is what he’d thought he’d done that day, but apparently they’d stowed away where Eddie couldn’t see them and waited for him to get into the showers.

They could have done worse, Eddie told himself as he moved quickly out of the school. They have done worse. This is nothing. He continued to give himself the up speech, he was shaking and crying not to cry from pure embarrassment. Sure, he’d been through worse- harsh words and physical attacks, but something about this almost felt like a much more personal attack. Words he could shrug off, and physical wounds could heal, but Eddie would always have had to walk home half naked because the people who used to be his closest friends had stolen all his clothes.

“Hey, faggy!”

Ohhhh no. Scratch that. It could be so much fucking worse. Eddie didn’t even turn to look over his shoulder as he took off at a run. Despite the situation, he was grinning to himself as he ran. It was always a mistake to give Eddie the chance for a head start. Ambush him and he was yours, but you’d never be able to catch up to him if he was already running.

It was something Eddie did well, running. Physically and metaphorically. Eddie Kaspbrak was always running from something.

Eddie made his way through the halls, still smiling, as he listened to the shouts of his team mates running after them, shoes hitting the floor. Two pairs? Three? More than would ever be needed to take him down- if they’d ever be able to reach him. But even Eddie had to admit that he’d get tired soon enough, maybe sooner than the others with his extra exercise after practice.

When he was sure that his chasers couldn’t see him, he took a sharp left and rushed into the first room he reached. He exhaled hard, pressing himself up against the door and letting his eyes closed. His breathing was labored, from breaking into a sprint just after his cool down, and it took him longer to realize he wasn’t alone than he’d like to admit.

Eddie let out a high pitched gasp of surprise when he opened his eyes and noticed the person sitting on the piano bench across the room, smacking his head against the music room door in his haste to move backwards but not being able to. The other boy was staring at him, a little gaped faced, and Eddie realized he knew him.

Richie Tozier hadn’t been living in Derry for very long, coming in just after Christmas break. He’d missed the Infamous Downfall of Edward Kaspbrak, but no doubt he’d heard all about it. He was the newest of Went and Maggie’s foster kids, living in the big house down on Neibolt street. Stanley Uris, as one of the members of baseball team, had been there during the big reveal and was Richie’s brother now, so he’d no doubt filled him on anything that would have been important to know.

As for Richie himself, Eddie knew very little of him. He was cute, in a nerdy way, with big head of black curls and thick rimmed glasses. His teeth had a certain straightness to them that had implied braces at one point, and there was an explosion of freckles that covered his cheeks and nose. His outfits were loud and demanded attention when he’d first started at Derry High, but in the months since he’d begun to settle in he’d tamed down to neutral coloured sweaters and jeans.

If rumours were to be believed, Richie Tozier had his eyes on lead in the end of year musical, and nobody had cared enough to tell him he was playing with fire. Or if they had- Richie wasn’t good at listening to advice.

“Uh, hi?” Richie said, glancing around the room as though it held some sort of answers for him. “This is kind of a closed practice and- are you fucking naked under that?”

Eddie startled, both at the question and at Richie’s voice. He realized that this was first time he’d heard the boy talk, since his... special welcome back in January. Richie Tozier was made himself known quickly; loud, vulgar and spot light demanding. He hadn’t been the kind of person to stand for any bullshit- for the first week or so, until the students at Derry High knocked him into submission. Eddie hadn’t heard much from Richie since- not unlike Went and Maggie’s other kids, who knew it was best to keep a low profile if they didn’t want to be that days entertainment.

Eddie felt a little bad for wishing that just once- they’d be the entertainment, so he wouldn’t have to be.

“Uh, no,” Eddie said, readjusting the hood that had fallen down during his chase. He also tugged subconsciously at the hem of his sweater, though he knew it couldn’t make it go down any lower. That the entirety of his thighs were visible. He’d been fighting to get new track shorts since the season had begun, and he was really at risk of showing a bunch of parents and younger siblings illegal parts of him if they didn’t come in soon. “No, I have my track shorts on but they’re... short.”

Richie raised one eyebrow and Eddie thought that he’d gotten more personality out of the other boy during this small interaction than he’d gotten in three months of classes with him. “Whatever you say, naked kid. But I’ve got to get back to practicing so if you could maybe fuck off...?”

Richie didn’t turn back to the piano though, and Eddie didn’t leave. He just looked at Richie for a moment, frowning. “My name’s Eddie-”

“I know who you are, Eddie Kaspbrak.” Richie said blankly, but with a hint of a smirk on his lips. “It’s not a big school. You’re the reason I knew better than to tell anybody I was bi.”

Eddie felt a rough chuckle fall out of his mouth. “Glad I could help.”

Richie broke into a toothy grin then, waggling his eyebrows. “Nah, I’m kidding. This isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve been to fair share of high schools. My transfer scripts are probably longer than the Declaration of Independence by now.”

Eddie raised his eyebrows back at Richie, making moves across the room and jumping up to sit upon the grand piano sitting within it. Richie made a squawking noise in distress, but turned around in the chair to keep looking at Eddie. His eyes dropped to the widely exposed thighs for a moment before his cheeks turned pink and he looked up to meet Eddie’s gaze.

Eddie smiled sweetly at him. “What are you practicing for?” Richie continued to look blankly at him so Eddie sighed. “You said this was a closed practice so...”

“Oh!” Richie said, blinking heavily. “Yeah, yeah it is. The auditions for the musical are next Thursday and I’m trying to get my act together.”

“Oh.” Eddie repeated Richie’s original surprised response, but sounding much more somber. “I’m not sure if anybody has ever told you, but Greta Keene and Michael Johnson have had the leads in all the plays since like... fourth grade so-”

“I heard.” Richie said with a nod. “But have you ever thought that maybe that was because nobody ever went up against them?”

He had a point, Richie Tozier did. For as long as Eddie could remember, things just were a certain way. That included Greta and Michael being the leads in all plays were able to a part of. There were other drama kids, of course, but none of them ever went out for the leads; always choosing smaller leads. Last spring, nobody had even signed up and the pair of them had gotten the parts without even needing to audition.

“Look,” Richie said, sounding suddenly so serious that Eddie couldn’t help but stare at him. “I love music, and acting, and all of that stuff. I’ve always wanted to be part of a play, even if high school plays are stupid and low quality. And this... the first time I’ve thought I’d be around at a school long enough to bother auditioning.”

Eddie frowned. He realized then that he didn’t know much about Richie Tozier at all. He remembered when Went and Maggie took in Beverly Marsh, her entire story had been town wise news by the end of her first day. She’d only come from one town over, and the original story had been plastered all over local television when it had happened. But Richie? Eddie didn’t even know where he’d moved from, let alone what had happened to his parents and why he was in foster care.

“I’m not throwing away my only shot just because some self entitled kids from the suburbs think they’re entitled to the leads just because nobody has ever dared to question them.” Richie finished with a firm nod, before turning back to the piano and putting in a tune that Eddie vaguely recognized from when he forced to take music class but in junior high.

“You’re right.” Eddie said simply, shrugging up one shoulder. “Things are too status quo around here sometimes. Shake it up. And even if you don’t get it, I think I’d like to see Greta and Michael sweat it out. Just... be careful. People around here don’t like change.”

“You shouldn’t be so nice to me.” Richie said, shaking his head and changing the tune to something a little darker, a little more foreboding. Eddie’s arm erupted into goosebumps. “What would hanging out with the freaky foster kid do for your pretty boy jock reputation?”

Eddie laughed. “Trust me. My reputation is beyond saving. Might as well sit back and enjoy the chaos.”