Chapter 6

T/W :

Henry Bowers - homophobic behavior, a bit of violence

"Ok class and remember, for the exam next week, you have to do all the practice questions on sheet 7 and read through pages 69-72, have a good lunch,"

The second that the teacher had stopped speaking, Eddie had eagerly darted out of the room, leaving everyone else to slowly pack up as they talked. The only thing he wanted to do was get his lunch from the cafeteria and get out. Out being either under the bleachers, that was if there wasn't anyone hooking up or violently making out, or in the far corner of the library, where even the crusty old librarian wouldn't see him, and bullies would think twice about stepping in. 

So, for the 4th time that day, he ran down the corridors, glad that they weren't clogged up with students- conveniently forgetting that they would be in the next few minutes. And just like that, the floodgates opened, people spilling out from their classes on their way to lunch, stopping Eddie in his tracks, he was stuck between rows of lockers, the backs of bags, and people who walked slower than his mom. The small boy tapped their shoulders impatiently, anxious to buy his food and get away, before he ran into someone he didn't want to.

He was relieved when they finally gave way, not noticing the unnecessary annoyed looks they were giving him- Eddie only cared about lunch. After two more minutes of edging in and out of groups of people, a short jog across the field, and a quick stop to take out his inhaler and catch his breath, he finally arrived at the cafeteria, joining the end of the lunch line. 

He paused as he fumbled around with the zip of his fanny pack, to put his inhaler back in the right compartment, aware of the queue rapidly building up behind him, his fingers bent on not being able to pull the zip open properly. 

He really was trying to go as fast as possible, and he had nearly gotten it open, before someone gave him a light shove, startling him, "Hurry the fuck up girly boy, move your short ass along, we're all fucking starving."

Eddie mumbled an apology as he scurried forward to catch up with the person in front of him. He gave a sigh, feeling his face get a bit warmer, his small fingers tugging at the hem of his red shorts to pull them down slightly, and try and cover most of his thighs. He counted himself pretty lucky that he hadn't run into the infamous Henry Bowers today, as he usually did, lunch was prime time for bullies, their golden hour to pick on whoever they wanted, because the teachers wouldn't give a shit. 

Eddie tried not to focus on the snickers behind him, of the people who had seen him trying to make his shorts seem less....feminine. To be honest, he had gotten used to it, but that didn't mean that it never bothered him.

Standing on his tiptoes, he tried to get a glimpse of the menu for the day's lunch, seeing the bold, white chalk scrawled on the blackboard, spelling out 'Spaghetti $3.99, take it or leave.' Really? It had to be spaghetti today? He remembered the 'argument' he and Richie had in art and couldn't help thinking how stupid someone had to be to prefer spaghetti over pizza. 

He didn't like spaghetti, that was clear, it wasn't the greatest, and he was considering leaving the line, and just not eating anything for the rest of lunch, that was until his stomach gave a loud grumble, making Eddie look up suddenly to see if anyone had heard. After that, he made the wise decision to stay put, seeing as he was almost at the counter. 

"What do you want hun?" the large cafeteria lady asked, chewing some gum. She didn't bother look up, already scooping some of the spaghetti into a bowl, putting it on a tray, and sliding it towards Eddie. "Uh, can I not have a takeaway box?" "No can do sweetie, too much litter being left 'round everywhere, you kids are just gonna have to make do here" she said, jaw working away violently, as her lips smacked together making a gross sound, and Eddie was worried that the spit flying from her mouth would end up in his food. 

"Ok thanks" he said quietly, handing her the money quickly and turning around, clutching the edges of his tray tightly, not knowing what to do now seeing that many of the tables were full. He had no friends to talk to and no one to sit with, and he didn't want to sit on the ground somewhere, he was a loser sure, but the only empty space was near the toilets, and it was clear why no one would want to sit there. His eyes swept over the cafeteria desperately, without realizing that he was looking for a particular face, when he saw a mob of unruly curls on a face framed with large, dorky glasses.

Relief sank in only to be replaced with a little bit of anxiety, yes it was Richie, but what if the boy didn't want him there, what if he had other friends, Eddie couldn't just barge in to whatever they were talking about, just expecting to have a seat at their table because he had met Richie that morning. 

But the longer he stood there, in the middle of the crowd, holding his tray of spaghetti, the more stupid he began to feel, like everyone was watching him and judging, knowing that he had no friends to sit with. He took a deep breath, "What's the worst that could happen?" he whispered to himself, starting off towards where Richie was sat, and suddenly feeling himself lurch forwards, his foot getting caught on something, and that brief moment of horror consuming him, the bowl of spaghetti flying forwards and upwards landing with a loud clatter on the floor, Eddie's face making contact with the cold floor, his body landing on top of the spaghetti, and a shiver running through him as his stomach pressed up against the damp cloth of his shirt now smeared with sauce and tiny chunks of noodle. 

His heart pounded loudly, no this didn't just happen, no no no no no no-

A silence fell over the cafeteria as every pair of eyes was on the small boy sprawled out over the ground. And then someone snickered. Someone else followed along, and in less than a second the cruel laughs rang out loud and clear, bubbling up slowly until the whole cafeteria was hysterical and not even the freezing floor could cool Eddie's burning cheek pressed up against it. He didn't want to get up, he couldn't, it was too humiliating. 

"Dang girly boy, now your cute little red shorts, match your cute little red shirt, fuckin gay bitch," Eddie heard someone whisper in his ear, before feeling a harsh kick to the side of his stomach. He groaned lightly, eyes moist, throat dry and palms clammy, as he forced himself up, wanting to puke as the laughter continued. He felt his chin tremble, Fuck, he thought, shuffling away from the mess on the floor and the stares of the whole cafeteria, struggling to stand up because his legs felt frozen. 

That's when he heard the smash of a head against a fist, a mixture of swearing and yelling, and then someone else was scooping Eddie up, helping him onto his feet, and hooking his arm around their shoulder, quickly walking out of the cafeteria and still shouting threats as they led the small boy through a door, and into a corridor filled with lockers. 

Eddie didn't really know what was going on, the embarrassment of what had just happened clouding his mind and he couldn't think straight. He just stood there, not saying anything, as someone wiped down the front of his t-shirt, and cleaned up the gunk on his face. They gently put their palm on his shoulder, "Hey Eds? Eddie? You alright there?" Richie asked softly.

Eddie looked away, unable to look the other boy in the eye, the whole cafeteria, everyone, everyone had seen him trip like an idiot, he looked fucking stupid.

"Eds, hey, it's alright, I put that dickhead in his place, he's a fucking asshole if you ask me, him and all his bitchy friends, don't listen to them, you hear me? Bunch of dipshits," Richie paused, looking down at Eddie's once creamy white shirt, now decorated with large blotches of red sauce, "You're gonna need something clean to wear, aren't you?"

"I'm so fucking stupid," Eddie murmured quietly, not paying attention to Richie, only remembering the way that everyone had laughed.

"No. No, you aren't, it wasn't your fault that fuckfaced douchebag tripped you over, and don't worry about everyone else, they're all a bunch of little bitches that need something to laugh over once in a while. Just watch, they'll forget about this in less than a day, I already know some bitch called Samantha is probably yelling at Tiffany for fucking her boyfriend or some shit" Richie said, opening one of the lockers and pulling out a big pale yellow bundle, and dusting it off, unfolding it and then putting it up near eddies front to see if it would fit him.

"Fuck them Eds. Fuck them." Eddie gave a weak smile, "Is that yours?" "Uh yeah, do you uh want to, you know, try it on?"

Eddie nodded, taking the hoodie, wanting to get out of his spaghetti stained clothes, hurriedly whipping off the shirt, and slipping on the pale yellow hoodie, which fell down past the top of his thighs, only letting the barest bit of the red fabric of his shorts poke out from under it. It was really big, and Eddie snuggled into it, the light scent of lavender and the barest hint of cigarette smoke flooding through his nose. Richie watched as Eddie pressed himself into the fabric, biting back a smile, as the hoodie almost covered up the small boy's shorts, and the sleeves reached his palms. He looked so small and adorable that Richie just wanted to pinch his cheeks. Eddie glanced up at Richie, who was smiling.

  "Well?" He asked, 

"You ...uh...." Richie said nervously, not wanting to say anything...... too weird, "....You look good Eds," 

The taller boy eyed the shirt that Eddie was holding and cleared his throat, "Looks like the universe was trying to convince you that spaghetti is better than pizza, but uh, guess that didn't work,"

"Yeah, no shit," Eddie replied rolling his eyes

"Well Eddie spaghetti, I have to-"

"What did you just call me?"

"Eddie spaghetti?"

"Don't. Don't call me that"

"Alright Eds, whatever you say," said Richie with a small chuckle, starting to walk back down the corridor

"Thank yo- HEY, I told you not to call me that either," Eddie called, jogging to catch up with Richie, "dickhead."

"Fuckface,"

"Moron." 

"Egghead" 

"Who the fuck says Egghead?" 

"Spaghetti head." 

"Fuck you." 

"I know you want to."

A/N 

Kinda sucked writing that chapter tbh :(( but at it was a bit fluffy...maybe? 

Not me never reading through anything sxdrcftvgbhnjhygtfr, yes this is a chapter I wrote back in october- I took like a 4 month break after that because procrastination :D and writers block

I have so many ideas for where this story could go like so much fluff and fun scenarios BUT I NEED A PLOT LINE GWGBEWHBDEBHHBDEHEB this is officially the worst writing feeling ever 

ALSO my notifications are so weird, like I'll never get them at the right time, they'll all just flood in at like 9pm and they're actually from different times in the day does anyone like, know how to fix that?? And like the really chunky gaps between the paragraphs on the chapter like wHaT :/ 

One more thing, I'll stop after this lmao, but I wanna do one of those getting to know the author and then the character questions thing that people do but the problem with that is there are like 4 people that would answer 💀

Anyways, thank you so much for reading if you've stuck through these long ass chapters this far, I love you all SO MUCH and appreciate every single read and comment. Have a great day and remember to drink lots of water and stay safe <33