"Yeah yeah, I'll tell all of your dick jokes. Don't worry." Richie joked to Bill as they got to the cafe. Richie had been there a few times because coffee, obviously, so he couldn't blame the room for his discomfort. That was all him. He heard Bill talking in French, noticed there wasn't even a hint of stutter there, but it came right back when he switched to English again. He remembered that it had always been that way when they were kids too; any voice but his own came out just fine. Fucking clown.
Richie was used to parties, he was even used to uncomfortable parties he didn't really want to go to. What he wasn't used to was knowing that anyone in that room may die sometime very soon, for him and his friends. Maybe not directly, but it felt that way all the same. Some of the voices he'd heard in the deadlights had been adults, were they the people who would be there tonight? Did it work that way?
He shook his head to rid the thoughts once Bill left him to talk to Enjolras while he went for some coffee. Something to occupy his hands so he didn't mess with his shirt or start tearing up napkins. He'd catch up with the host later, once there were more people around and he could stop being jumpy. He knew he had a tendency to go too far or get too morbid when he was nervous and didn't want to scare anyone off.