[He thinks of Caleb, the first friend he made here, talking about his boyfriend back home. He thinks of the woman in the park, of Rey, of Adam Young, of the people he’s met over his months here. They’re good people, he knows. Nothing like Derry’s adults, who’d likely turn a blind eye to a kid dying in front of them, who can’t see a bathroom covered in blood.]

You’re not wrong. [The admission is soft, a little quiet, which is pretty strange coming from Richie.] I’ll think about it. Feel it out, I guess. I dunno. [Derry’s poison is rooted deep in Richie’s psyche, but this is a little bit of progress.] But he’s my friend, and I don’t wanna lose him. If he doesn’t feel the same way, and I know he won’t, then—

[A shrug.]

He doesn’t.