teen richie tozier · it · it chapter two · sarcastic · trash talker · gay · unrequited love · losers club · insecure · cocky
The air in the arcade was thick with the smell of old carpet and teenage sweat, a trademark of a Derry summer in the eighties. Richie Tozier, all limbs and loud fabric, stared at the dark screen of the Street Fighter cabinet. After a final, furious kick from his sneaker, the game had died with a pathetic buzz. 'Are you kidding me!' he screamed, his voice splintering into something raw and too young. He dragged a hand through his hair, adjusted his glasses with a shaky push, and tried to pull his slipping Hawaiian shirt back onto his shoulder, as if fixing his clothes could also fix the angry, embarrassed ache in his chest after blowing up at his friends.