#i rewatched spaceballs after writing this and remembered there was a reference to alien at the end

[nblesbianbenhanscom]

71. “Me and the boys will handle it.” No particular ship, just the Loser's Club.

Read it on AO3

Sighing, Eddie leaned back on the pillows. He was sitting between Bill and Richie, their bodies warm pressure against his sides, keeping him still. In Eddie’s lap sat a bowl of popcorn and they were drinking soda, all of them talking loudly as they waited for the others to get there. Bev had shoplifted a copy of Aliens and they were having a slumber party.

Bev wasn’t supposed to be there though, something about six boys and one girl and it not being appropriate, but Bev was coming anyway. The irony of Bev having to sneak out of her house and into Bill’s was not lost on Eddie.

There was only one problem with the night. Eddie did not want to watch Aliens. He’d seen Alien and it had scared the shit out of him, and Aliens was supposed to be scarier.

Everyone ignored his protests though.

“B- B- Bev got this f- f- for tonight. She almost got c-c-caught,” Bill said. Eddie frowned.

“If you're worried about getting scared, sketti, just remember you can hold my hand,” Richie said and winked at him. Eddie blushed.

“Shut up, Richie,” Eddie said. He helped himself to some popcorn. Stan, Ben, and Mike came thundering down the stairs, talking loudly.

“Peanut M&Ms are the superior candy,” Ben said. “They are sweet and crunch and have a good mouth feel.”

“A good mouth feel?” Richie asked. “I can give you a good mouth feel.”

“Beep beep, Richie,” Eddie said even as the others laughed.

“Oh, lighten up, Eds. I was just kidding,” Richie said. He squeezed the back of Eddie’s neck and Eddie shuddered.

“Lay off,” Eddie said and pushed him away.

“Aww, babe, you jealous?”

Eddie blushed and shook his head, busying himself with the popcorn, bouncing the bowl a bit so the kernels bounced before taking a handful and shoving it in his mouth.

“Richie, are you already picking on Eddie?” Bev asked as she tossed down her bag from the open basement window. She jumped down lithely after it.

“Nah, Eddie is just being a jealous bitch,” Richie said.

“Oh, so jealous.” Eddie rolled his eyes and got up, shoving the popcorn into Bill’s lap. “Bathroom.”

He plowed his way past the others and shut the bathroom door behind him. He closed the toilet and sat down, taking a few deep breaths.

“You’re ok, you’re going to be fine,” he told himself. A few seconds later, he flushed and washed his face. He went back to the others and took his place amongst his friends.

They had this down to an art. They built a blanket fort and Bev would sit in the back of it so if Bill’s parents came down they wouldn’t see her. The boys lay in a fairly consistent lineup. Stan slept closest to the stairs because he always woke up first. Mike came next, then Bill, Eddie, Richie, and Ben.

Lately, Ben had stopped being quite in line with the other boys. He and Bev had started dating a few months back, and they liked to hold hands while they slept.

Eddie would watch them sometimes, wondering what it would be like to fall asleep next to Richie knowing Richie liked him back like that. As it stood, Richie was usually all over Eddie in their sleep, as if Eddie was his own stuffed animal. Eddie pretended to care, but he loved it and would put up with all the scary movies if it meant Riche would hold him close.

The movie started slow, the opening credits long and boring. Eddie giggled as he watched Richie give a quick reenactment of the first movie which included the chest bursting scene and Richie even threatened to take off his pants so his portrayal of Ripley fighting the alien in her underwear would be more accurate, but then Ripley appeared on the screen and the others made him sit down.

When Ripley had the dream where the alien burst out of her chest, Eddie jumped and popcorn spilled everywhere.

“Eddie!” Everyone groaned. Someone paused the movie while they cleaned everything up.

Bill took the popcorn from him, but Eddie didn’t complain, just pulled his blanket closer to his chest. Richie kept reaching over him to get popcorn, which Eddie pretended to find annoying, but really he welcomed the distraction.

By the time the crew got to the planet where the colonists were in danger, Eddie was starting to really enjoy the evening and even didn’t mind the first couple of loud bangs.

Just as he was begging to think the movie was actually going to be pretty boring, that the rumors weren’t true and then they got to the room where all the colonists had been gathered.

The Losers fell quiet as they watched the action unfold. Eddie squirmed and bit back the worst of his screams. None of this was lost on Richie who just let Eddie hold his hand tightly under the blanket.

Eddie’s breathing was a little erratic but under control until they got to the scene where Ripley and Newt were locked inside a room with a small, fucking creepy alien, and no one could hear their pleas for help.

“This is so fucking lame,” Eddie announced, his heart pounding in his chest. The others glanced at him.

“You g- g- good, Eddie?” Bill asked.

“I’m fine,” Eddie growled and got up. “My asthma’s just acting up and this movie’s just fucking stupid. I don’t know why we’re watching it.” He pulled himself free from Richie and went to the bathroom, grabbing his fanny pack on the way.

Still grumbling under his breath, Eddie closed the door and turned on the light. He opened his pack to pull out his inhaler and his chest tightened when he saw it wasn’t there. He dug through the small bag, dumping out it’s contents onto the bathroom counter. Pill bottles, bandages, and various other first aid supplies bounced around.

It wasn’t there.

His fucking inhaler wasn’t there.

His mom was going to kill him.

Without turning off the light or picking up his stuff, he opened the bathroom door and rushed to his backpack. The others watched as he fell to his knees and began tugging things out, throwing them all around the room.

Someone paused the movie.

“A- a- are you o- o- okay?” Bill asked.

Tears filling his eyes, Eddie ignored him and he kept searching. When his back was empty, Eddie looked over at his friends.

“What are you looking for, Eddie?” Bev asked softly.

Chest heaving, Eddie struggled to get the words out. “I can’t find my inhaler.” Richie got up before the others could move and went to Eddie’s side.

“Did you check your second fanny pack?” Richie asked as he grabbed Eddie’s bag. He tugged all the pockets open.

“I don’t use my second fanny pack when I have my backpack, asshole,” Eddie snapped.

“Eddie, it’s going to be ok,” Stan said. “Just- just try and breathe.”

“I fucking can’t, jackass,” Eddie groused. He couldn’t believe Stan of all people was being so fucking stupid.

Stan opened his mouth to say something, but Mike elbowed him and he fell silent.

“L- l- let’s g- g- go g- get it,” Bill said.

“If I go home, my mom won’t let me leave. She’ll- She’ll make me-” Eddie hated this. He wanted to go back, wanted the night to return to the levity, but the others were still watching him. There was no salvaging the night.

“It’s ok, Eddie,” Bev said. He looked over at her. “Me and the boys will handle it.”

“If you get caught-” Eddie started to argue, but Bev, Mike, Bill, Stan, and Ben were already getting up looking for shoes and coats.

“We won’t,” Bev said. “It’ll be ok. We’ll be right back.” She looked at Richie who hadn’t moved. “You got him?” Richie nodded. “We’ll be right back.” She and the others slipped out the window Bev had come in.

When they were alone, Richie looked at Eddie.

“You’re going to be ok,” Richie said. Eddie nodded. He tried to take another deep breath, but his chest was so tight.

He hated this, hated how his body betrayed him when all he wanted to do was have a fun night with his friends. True to himself, Richie talked non-stop, but Eddie wasn’t really following what he was saying. Richie didn’t seem to mind. He just kept talking.

Eddie didn’t know how long the others were gone, but it didn’t feel like long before the others were slipping back in.

Bill handed Eddie his inhaler and watched him take a couple puffs. Eddie finally relaxed when he felt his chest start to ease up.

The others talked quietly, and Eddie watched Ben pull the movie out of the VCR and select another from a stack near the TV. Eddie blushed but let Richie put an arm around his shoulder. Stan picked up Eddie’s belongings while Bill and Mike went upstairs to get more drinks and popcorn.

Eventually they all settled back into their places, someone hit play. They fast forwarded through the trailers for other movies until they got to the MGM logo. Eddie settled into Richie’s side, the other boy’s arm still around him, and Eddie smiled when the Spaceballs title popped up on the screen. Eddie loved Spaceballs.

The embarrassment Eddie had felt was melting away as his friends laughed at the movie, quoting their favorite parts. And Richie kept his arm around Eddie, holding him close. None of the others said anything, just like no one had said anything when Ben and Bev had started holding hands before they officially started dating.

They stayed up late watching movies and laughing loudly until Bill’s mom came down and told them to be quiet or they would never be allowed to sleep over again.

It was incredibly late, so Stan put on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The others settled around them, and Eddie wrapped his arms around Richie’s chest. Eddie lay there listening to the others talk and Richie’s breathing.

The night had been so up and down, but Eddie smiled into Richie’s chest because the night was certainly ending on a high note.

#reddie #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #prompts #this got away from me #it was supposed to be a drabble #but idc #also #i rewatched spaceballs after writing this and remembered there was a reference to alien at the end #whoops #ahahaha #dysregulardyke