Meant To Be ? Reddie

- Eddie's POV -

We had all circled around the small fire, roasting marshmallows and telling stories.

The moon was already at it's peak, and the breezes that passed through were unpleasantly cold.

Beverly was wearing Ben's oversized jacket, and he pulled her close to his side, keeping her warm.

The sounds of crickets, rustling leaves, and a crackling campfire made any sudden silences not so bad.

"Shit, I burnt my marshmallow." Richie complained, a pitiful frown falling over his face as the small delicacy melted off of the stick and fell to the grass below. "Fuck."

Beverly laughed a little at that, removing her perfect brown marshmallow from the fire and taking a bite. "Want me to roast one for you?"

Richie shook his head, poking the stick he was holding through another marshmallow. "I'm a man. I know I can do this."

I watched Richie make a second attempt, while also admiring him as usual.

There was a huge difference, though.

I no longer had to admire him from afar.

He was now mine, and I was his.

We could be happy together. 

As long as no one found out.

I was still in total shock and disbelief that we had sex earlier. I was overjoyed to have had the opportunity to be with the person that I loved, and I just wanted to kiss Richie, hug him, hold his hand all the time. I wanted to do so much, but it was nearly impossible. 

Being with him was the best thing that I had ever felt or experienced. I wondered if Richie was still thinking about it as well. I wondered if he felt the same way about what had happened between us.

It was as if all of those secret feelings that we had kept hidden for so many years had finally been set free through action.

I considered telling Bill about all of this. He was my closest friend besides Richie. I usually came to him during troubled times to seek advice, or to tell him what was happening in my life. I came to him for anything at all, because I knew that he would always be there. When the incident with Georgie happened, Bill turned to me to mourn. Whenever I was struggling with my own internal conflict, I turned to him as well.

I was close to all of my friends, but I was skeptical. It was rather hard to earn my trust. I felt like the relationship between Richie and I would be a secret kept safe amongst us best friends, but if the word did get out somehow, trouble would surely follow.

My train of thought was put to a halt as Richie cheered himself on rather loudly, removing his well-cooked marshmallow from the fire.

"I did it! Fuck yeah!" He cried out in sheer joy, taking a big bite out of it and beaming cheerfully.

I rolled my eyes at the situation, yet managed a happy smile for him.

"It's been almost twenty minutes and Richie has finally roasted a marshmallow." Mike chuckled.

Stan raised both of his eyebrows out of shock and clapped briefly. "Maybe we won't have to listen to him talking to himself anymore since he's eating."