Chapter Text
It was a cloudy afternoon in the early October of 1990. It looked as if it would start raining at any given moment. But it didn't, leaving a weird tension in the air. Bill, Richie and Eddie were sitting in Richie's warmly lit bedroom, each with a comic book in their hands.
Bill and Eddie were sitting on the carpet leaned against Richie's bed on which he was laying on his belly.
"Guys," Richie suddenly broke the silence. "Have you ever kissed someone?"
"Where the hell does that question come from?" Eddie asked putting his comic book down.
The boy shrugged. "They just kissed in my comic. Sooo, did you?"
Eddie shook his head. He was only thirteen, he didn't even think about such things.
"I d-did, but o-only Bev." Bill replied.
"I did too."
"Who?" He asked.
"A cute girl, what do you think?" Richie said mockingly.
"And w-w-what's her n-name?"
"I don't kiss and tell! I'm a gentleman."
Bill sighted and stood up. "I would tr-try to get it out of you, b-b-but I need to p-pee." Then he left the room to go to the bathroom.
Eddie had already continued reading and forgotten about the conversation when Richie spoke again.
"Psst, Eds."
"What?" Eddie looked up at his friend.
"I was lying, I've never kissed anyone."
"What? Why did you do that?"
"Because... I don't know. I don't wanted to seem like a desperate virgin in front of Billy-boy, I guess."
"You are a virgin!"
"But I'm not desperate."
"Right now you seem pretty desperate..."
"Whatever. It just came out of my mouth. As stuff usually just does."
Silence filled the air again. Again Eddie thought the conversation had come to an end.
"Eds?"
"Don't call me-"
"What if you help me make it less of a lie?" Richie asked shyly.
"What? How?"
"Let's kiss." Richie said looking dead serious.
"Very funny, asshole." Eddie replied looking back at his comic book.
"No, I mean it. Just so we can say we've kissed someone and so that when we have a real kiss it won't be so weird. We'll be prepared, y'know?."
"You're seriously not kidding?"
Richie shook his head and Eddie could tell that he wasn't joking.
"I don't know Rich... Isn't that what people get made fun of?"
"We are not gonna tell anyone who we kissed."
Eddie thought about it and put his comic aside. "Just to have done it?"
"Just to have done it."
"Okay.." he replied hesitantly and got up. "But if you tell anyone, you're dead." He sat onto the bed as Richie sat up, so that they were facing each other.
Richie closed his eyes.
"Does it work with glasses?"
"Eds."
"Okay, sorry."
Eddie closed the distance between them by leaning forward. He squinted his eyes and pressed his lips together into a thin line. Then he pressed them against Richie's for a split second.
"That's not how it works! I can kiss your mother better than that!" Richie protested.
"Well, then you do it!" Eddie said in a sulky tone.
"I will!"
He cupped Eddie's cheeks which were turning a light pink shade. Again, Eddie squinted his eyes and pressed his lips together into a thin line.
"Don't do that with your mouth, you idiot. Leave it normal!"
Hesitanly Eddie did as told and opened one eye slightly. Richie then gently put their lips together for a few seconds. Then Eddie moved away.
"Kissing is weird." He said as he got off the bed.
"I bet it would be better with your mom."
"Beep-beep Richie!" He said grinning and hitting his friend with his comic book.