"Hey, Rich?"

"Yeah, Bev?"

"Can I stay in here tonight" Beverly stood in Richie's doorway, letting out a tired yawn. "I can't sleep"

The fiery redhead usually had trouble sleeping, so Richie wasn't surprised. He too, found it hard to sleep most nights. It was really a family thing, inherited from their mother, unfortunately.

"Sure" he replied, getting up from the spot at his small desk and walking over to his bed. He began to clear the mess of photos off of his bed.

"I can sleep on the floor you don't have to-"

"I am not gonna let you sleep on the floor Bev," Richie said, glaring at her at he stacked the pictures neatly and put them in a small box "just get in bed"

"Okay," She replied climbing under the covers of the futon bed Richie slept on. 

"Do you want water or something? I'm gonna go get a snack real quick" Richie said as he stood in the doorway.

"No, I'm okay" Bev replied as she opened the book she had brought with her and began to read.

Richie went and got some fruit snacks, which were god knows how old, and a glass of water. He slowly passed by the living room, stepping on the floorboards he had learned did not creak. He needed to be quiet in order to not wake up his father, who was snoring in the living room recliner.

 Once Richie knew he was clear, he walked back to his room and grabbed his camera, wrapping the worn-out strap around his neck. He opened his window, crawling onto the ledge and pulling himself up on top of the roof. He sat down with his legs dangling over the front of the rackety home. He stared up at the sky, snapping a few pictures of the stars.

Richie Tozier loved photography. He had almost completely covered his wall in pictures of random things, most of them being shots of Beverly, others being of random things. It was something about the power of a photo, and its ability to capture a single moment in time amazed Richie.

The fact that anything could be expressed by a photo, and that anyone could interpret it in any way. It was mesmerizing to him, and a way to escape the horrors of the dark reality he lived in.

It was his distraction.

Richie got so distracted, in fact, that he hadn't noticed Beverly climbing onto the roof to join him. She just sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder, making him startle a little until he realized it was her. Bev was particularly stealthy, and Richie hated how easily she could make him jump out of his skin.

"Jesus Christ" he gasped "you shouldn't sneak up on people like that. I thought you were going to sleep." 

"Like I told you, I can't sleep" Bev laughed, sounding just like their mom used to. But then again, Bev had a lot of similarities to their mother. She was practically the spitting image of her, with her red hair and button nose. Richie only got his mother's brown eyes, Beverly getting her bright blue ones from their father.

Richie stared at Beverly, thinking about how much he missed their mother. He missed going to the fair with her, riding the Ferris Wheel and holding on to her for dear life. He missed her cooking, the smell of pot roast filling his senses as he and Bev would come inside from playing baseball with their father. He missed being a family. Their father was a drunk, and they had no other family that wasn't in prison, on drugs, or dead. They only had each other.

Just a brother and sister against the world.

Richie pulled out his box of Winstons and a lighter, covering the flame as it ignited the cigarette. At that moment, a shooting star flew across the dazzling sky. "Make a wish," Beverly said, barely loud enough for Richie to hear. Her face was lit up, a wonder in her eyes that he would trade everything in his life for. She was his life, the one person to keep him grounded in this world. He thought for a moment as he blew out a puff of smoke. It's not like anything has ever gone good for him, so why would a stupid superstition like that be any different? He decided that there was one thing worth a shot.

I wanna be happy

The two of them sat on the roof for the rest of the night, enjoying the silence. What must've been hours felt like minutes. And before they knew it, the light was peeking out over the Oregon mountains. Richie snapped photos of the sunrise, not even noticing that Beverly had fallen asleep. He nudged her awake, and they both climbed back into Richie's room. 

The time on Richie's alarm clock read 6:30.

Ugh,

Monday

"I'm gonna go shower," Richie said to Beverly as he grabbed a towel from his closet and walked over to the hallway bathroom. He showered quickly, getting dressed in an old band t-shirt and ripped jeans like usual. 

He exited his bedroom, throwing on his old denim jacket. He waited in Beverly's room as she got ready, watching her pop in and out of her bathroom in her five different outfits, asking his opinion on every single one. Eventually, she went with a navy blue shirt and her maroon overall shorts.

The two made toast downstairs, taking it with them as the left the house. Of course, their father was drunk from the night before, so they needn't worry about him. It wasn't the best morning routine, but it was good enough for them.

They rode to school in Richie's black Oldsmobile, Bev blasting Fleetwood Mac on the radio. They got to school and went their separate ways. Richie took the long way to class, trying to avoid Geometry for a long as possible. He finally got to the room, taking his usual spot next to the window towards the back of the class. As Richie sat in his seat, all he could think about was the wish he had made.

Ha,

like that would ever happen.

~

What up ma peeps

It's me,

I didn't die.

So this is gonna be the rewrite.

It's going to be very different but it's way more planned out than the other one.

I really hope you guys like this plz don't be mad that I didn't finish the other one I was really unhappy with it and I wasn't enjoying writing it.

ok goodnight y'all

-J😍😍😘😘❤❤