Drops of Heaven

04

Richie called Eddie when they pulled up in the van outside his house. The losers all knew that Sonia took sleeping medications as that she would not be a problem for them.

"Good morning, Edward," Richie said, smirking when Eddie groaned over the phone. "Get your ass out here. You can sleep in the car."

Eddie hummed. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

Richie bid him a quick goodbye and hung up. He and Eddie would be sitting in the very back for the start of the trip, potentially the whole time. They all had drivers licenses and could take turns, but chances were that only a few of them would drive.

"You're in the back, Eddie," Bill said, scooting toward Stan so Eddie to climb over the seat.

Eddie tossed his backpack to Richie and clambered over the seat. He slipped and landed in Richie's lap, which made both boys blush in the darkness of the car as Eddie scrambled away from Richie.

Ben was the starting driver and Bev was taking care of music in the passenger seat. Mike, Stan, and Bill were in the center, and Eddie and Richie shared the back seat along with a couple of the bags beside them and the rest shoved in the very back.

"Ready to go?" Ben asked once the door to the van was closed and they were all settled.

"Yes!" the others cheered, all of them ready to get away from their hometown and head to Portland.

The dream when they were younger was California, but as they grew and learned about Oregon, they decided it would be a better (and cheaper) place to go to college and experience adulthood.

They got to the bridge, the entrance to Derry, and Ben slowed down the car. They'd all grown up there, except for Ben who moved there at the end of middle school. It was strange, leaving the town that so many people they knew growing up had never escaped.

"Goodbye, Derry," Richie murmured, but everyone else heard him.

Ben gently pressed on the gas and they slowly went over the bridge and out of the town. They were all silent as they got onto I-95 and started to head on their way to the city of their futures.

"I got an interview next Thursday," Stan announced, breaking the silence. "At a wildlife protection center."

"That's awesome, Stan!" Mike exclaimed, grinning at the curly haired boy. 

Richie and Eddie shared a humored look; they were happy Stan got an interview, but of course it was at a place where he could watch birds for hours on end. It was predictable but they were still happy for their friend.

Bev, Ben, and Mike already had jobs going in, as they'd prepared in advance and gotten online interviews. Now Stan had an opportunity as well, and that left Richie, Eddie, and Bill to still search for somewhere to work while in college.

"Good for you, bird boy," Richie commented.

"Don't call me that, asshole," Stan scowled.

Bill chuckled. "Yeah, keep it up and Eddie will get his own room."

Eddie perked up. "If that's the case, I'll help you hide the body, Stan."

"You wound me, Eds," Richie said, placing his hand over his heart. "How dare you?"

"Stan and I are victims of your shitty nicknames." Eddie glared as Richie laid down across the seat and set his head down in Eddie's lap. "He and I have to stick together."

Richie looked up at him. "You love me too much to kill me."

"Don't push your luck, Trashmouth," Eddie scowled, tangling his fingers into Richie's hair and gently undoing the knots.