"Run away with me."
The statement took Eddie by surprise, and he turned to look at Richie, only to find a fervent look on his face. They stared at each other for a few moments as Eddie processed his words.
"What?" the small boy finally asked.
"Run away with me."
Eddie shook his head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Eddie, your mum's an asshole. I love my mom but it's hard living with her..she's so distant since dad died and she doesn't seem to need me."
"Richie that's crazy, of course she needs you, you're all she has left.."
"She isn't making any effort to show me that..please, Eds. Run away with me."
For a moment, Eddie considered it. But then he shook his head again. "What about the losers?"
"Bill and his family are moving in two weeks, Stan leaves at the end of the summer, and I don't think Beverly is coming back."
"So we just leave Mike and Ben?"
"Yeah. They'll have each other."
"Richie-"
"Eddie, please."
Eddie hesitated for a moment, biting the inside of his cheek. "Is there something you aren't telling me?"
"I tell you everything."
"I know. But this..it's so sudden, Rich."
"I've been thinking of it for awhile."
Eddie raised an eyebrow and gazed at him curiously, intending he go on. Richie took the invitation.
"The train tracks. That's our way out, Eds. I know you like them..I know you think about what it would be like to just hop on a train and leave. But you don't like the hobos so..we can walk the tracks. We can pack bags with food and water and whatever else we might want or need to bring. We can just go wherever the tracks take us. Imagine we end up in New York City, we'd become famous! Imagine the headlines, Eds.." Richie put his arm around Eddie's shoulders and stuck his other out as if to paint an image for Eddie to see. "'Two scraggly teenagers follow train tracks all the way from Derry, Maine to New York City..what's their trick to survival? Passion.' Doesn't that sounds amazing?"
Richie looked at Eddie and grinned, giving him a small smile as he waited for a reaction. Eddie grinned a little, but it quickly faded as he considered.
"I wouldn't depend on making it all the way there but..who knows all the places we would find..?"
"That's the spirit!"
"I dunno, Rich..it seems kinda dangerous.."
"Eddie come on..please? I'm begging you."
The past few years had been a growing era for Eddie. He'd began to be more open to his friends ideas and agreed to so much more than he would have at 12 or 13. He no longer was under the control of his mother (but had ways to make her believe he was) and he was finally his own person. He thought about Richie's idea more and finally agreed.
"..Okay. When do we leave?"
"How's tomorrow night sound?"
"Tomorrow night.."
"Or we could leave in the early morning."
"Early morning on Friday?"
"Okay, deal."
Friday.
It was currently a Wednesday evening, Eddie and Richie were sitting on old pillows they had put plastic over so they could sit on the grass without getting damp from the dew. This summer had been a mix of dry, hot days and cooler, rainy days. Today had been a rainy one, but as the sun began to settle, it warmed up just a little with the rain long gone. The pair were both wearing shorts and t-shirts with the sleeves cut off (thanks to Richie) and their socks and shoes were damp from the grass. There were blades of grass stuck to their shins causing them both to occasionally scratch at their legs, and both heads of hair were unusually messier from the wrestling they'd done on the way to their current spot. They were in the middle of a field just off the edge off the main road to watch the sun slowly sink below the horizon and watch as fireflies erupted from all around.
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✦⋆reddie oneshots⋆✦
FanfictionR + E -table of contents- • lies • • one more • • good morning • • cherry chapstick • • sixteen • • starstruck • • train tracks • • love you how you are •