When Writers Bleed On Paper

Not Prince Charming But He'll Do Just Fine

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Characters: Richie Tozier x Eddie Kaspbrak

Setting: College

Romantic: Yes

Story Type: Fluff

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New school, new me. Isn't that what they always say. Richie looked up the tall brick building. His new university. All his life he had lived in Derry, a small town in Maine. Nothing exciting ever happened there. The most interesting about the whole town was probably Bowers and his stupid gang that used to bully him and his group of friends when they were younger. And even though Richie was absolutely terrified of Bowers, he still missed the times when he would run away from the gang with his friends and in the end they would end up in their secret hide-out where they would stay 'till the setting sun would shine through the wooden planks that worked as a ceiling. Richie would never admit it, but he missed his childhood friends.

Beverly had been the first one to leave, moving to her aunt to escape an abusive father. Just shortly after her, Ben and his family also moved away. The next one had been Stan, his parents had sent him to a boarding school after his grades had started dropping. After that the rest of the group, Richie, Eddie, Bill and Mike, slowly fell apart. Mike worked at the farm full time, so he could take over one day. Bill stopped leaving his house when his stutter became worse, the death of his little brother a few years ago mixed with all their friends moving away, was a burden on his psyche and he started getting homeschooled. The last straw was when Eddie also moved away, so he could attend his dream college. He had been Richie's best friend. After he had left, hell had broken loss over Richie's head.

Shaking his head, he tried to forget the memories. Here we go. He thought, stepping through the dark, wooden double door. Of course, Richie didn't have any classes today, it was late noon on a Friday. Officially, he would start college on Monday. He only came around to get the keys to his dorm and to at least somewhat get a plan of the campus.

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With a heavy sign, he let his bags fall to the ground as he fumbled with the keys, opening the door to his new "home". Kicking his three sport bags with one foot over the floor, into the dorm and closing the door behind him, Richie took in his new surrounding.

Ok. It was ugly. There were two beds on either side of the room, with one big window in the middle. Under the window was a desk with a radio on top which was playing music. Right next to the entrance was a second door, probably leading to the bathroom.

The laughter that had been erupting from one of the beds since Richie had stepped into the room stopped, a pair of eyes focusing on him. On top of the bed on the right was a boy with a laptop on his lap, on the screen, an open Skype call with a red haired girl. The boy looked back onto the screen saying: "Have to go Bev, my new roommates here" and closed the laptop.

The second their eyes met, Richie felt like a bucket of ice had just been dumped over his head. goosebumps immediately covered his arms and neck as he took in the sight before him.

Eddie hadn't changed a lot, he may have gotten taller and his hair looked a bit longer, but overall he was still just Eddie. The boy with those big eyes, soft features and light freckles, and Richie felt his heart in his throat. "Eddie?" His voice came out broken, overwhelmed.

Eddie looked just as spooked as him, pupils blown wide and lips slightly parted. A shaky breath and then Eddie erupted into disbelieving, shaky laughter, hand coming up to cover his mouth. Richie felt how joy floated through his body and he quickly launched forward, swept Eddie off his feet and hugged him like his life depended on it. The shorter instantly tangled his fingers into Richie's dark hair, as the taller hid his face in the space between Eddies shoulder and neck.