𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡.

𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧 | 𝐞 & 𝐫

The two had gone inside, realizing the atmosphere had shifted from somber to the environment of a party. It didn't seem fitting, and almost felt, well, inappropriate to be drinking at an event meant for mourning.

Richie's stomach shifted. He felt a bit uneasy with the newfound ambience of the house - the scent of alcohol immediately threw him off, and sent a bit of panic to his brain. This definitely wasn't an ideal environment to be in, especially since he had to be sober for Eddie, which was already proving itself to be a challenge beyond his control.

He remembered what happened out on the porch, and Eddie's words that left a mark on him.

I like you in the way that makes me want to hate you.

What is one supposed to say when someone says that to you? Was it even a compliment?

Before he could finish his thoughts, he saw Bev walk up to Eddie. Richie immediately felt defensive, but he caught himself and let his guard down. It disgusted him how he was already getting jealous when someone other than himself spoke to him.

"Can we talk out there?" Beverly said, semi-whispering to Eddie.

He looked back at Richie for a moment, making eye contact. He turned back to Beverley as she had a slightly amused smile. This was slightly concerning, as Eddie began to become increasingly suspicious that she knew something that wasn't for her to know.

"Mhm." Eddie nervously said, following her out.

➵

The two stepped outside through the back of the house, at first struggling to get through the old door. Through the back, there was a backyard that led straight into the woods with a garden of lush vegetation, and overgrown flowers. He could tell it hadn't been tended to for a while; nonetheless, it was tragically beautiful in a scenic and picturesque way.

The ground was damp and earthy, the grass a noticeable green in contrast to the front lawn. Vines twisted throughout the ground, resembling chains of some sort. The vines look as if they were containing the passion the earth held, waiting to casually seep through at any moment. The smell was woody, and branches stuck out from trees with faded forest green leaves. Gust of wind sent the leaves to the ground. Eddie half near expected faeries or woodland elves to be hiding behind the trees, sitting atop the mossy logs that floated in from the stream behind them.

"So what's the deal?" Beverly said, tugging on the a branch covered in moss and dripping with rain water.

"You and Richie living together, or something?" She asked.

"Oh, no. No. Just visiting each other, I guess." He trailed off.

"For how long?"
"I don't know, uhh, a few days?" He said, estimating.

Time really had gone by. He didn't know how many days it'd been since they ran into each other. It was like a void in his mind.

"Wait, what?" She said, dropping the stick with a confused glance.

"We thought you guys had been living together this whole time." She continued. "So what, you guys just left near the same time and went separate ways?"

Eddie took a second to process what she was talking about. He then nodded.

"Are you gonna tell me what's going on?" She said in a lower voice.

...

"Nothing's going on. Something happened, and we thought it'd be better to take a break."

"Like what, a fight?"