hard times// eddie + richie // IT

richie's dream

i heard the bottle clank against the sink after my father threw me in the bathtub. pain. everywhere. i was dying, and no one could help it. i closed my eyes.

i woke up, sweating, next to eddie. i wore the clothes i had worn to the movies. eddie rolled over and smiled at me.
"morning, richie." he said. he sat up and looked at me with concern.
"are you okay?" he asked. i breathed in. am i dreaming, or was my father's beating a dream?
"y-yeah, i'm fine." i replied. eddie's eyebrows raised in surprise, but fell quickly. he sat up, and so did i.
"want me to make some breakfast?" eddie asked. usually, his mother cooked breakfast. where was she?
"where's your mom?" i asked. eddie rolled his eyes.
"gross, richie. she's on vacation remember?" i didn't, but i agreed anyway. i rolled out of the bed, which was funny because i always slept on the floor at eddie's house. eddie stood up too and walked toward me. he grabbed my arm and pulled my body towards his.
"is this okay?" he asked, quietly. i didn't stop him. did i want to stop him? eddie looked at me. he cupped his hands around my face, and pulled it to his. then, he kissed me. my entire body filled with tingles as he pressed his lips to mine. i kissed him back, of course. after a few seconds, he broke the kiss. eddie laughed.
"we did enough of that last night." he joked. i felt my face turn beet red. i wanted to remember last night, if i was honest.
we walked down stairs together, and i plopped down on the couch. i turned on the tv. The Outsiders was on, so i left it on.
the smell of pancakes slowly wafted into the room.
"smells good, eds. but i thought you'd make spaghetti." i laughed. eddie gave me a confused look.
"why spaghetti?" eddie asked.
"because that's you. eddie spaghetti." i said. eddie rolled his eyes.
"i hate when you call me that." he replied.
after eating eddie's awesome pancakes, we cleaned our dishes in the sink.
"i know you've hung out with me for two whole days, but i wondered if you wanted to go to the river today?" eddie asked, shyly.
"sure eddie, but i didn't bring anything to swim in." i told him.
"i guess we'll just have to swim in our underwear." eddie blushed. so, we mounted our bikes and rode to the outskirts of derry. i was pretty siked to be hanging out with eddie so much.
we stood at the edge of a jutted rock, about a foot and a half above the water. eddie blushed.
"water is nice." he said.
"yeah." i answered, blushing too.
eddie started to take off his shirt, and i felt my blush deepen. but, i started to undress too.
soon, we were both just looking at each other. eddie smiled, and then pushed me off of the rock.
"hah, hah!" eddie laughed. i glared at him. then, he jumped in.
together, we swam for hours. then, when we were tired, we laid on the beach. eddie turned his head to look at me.
"would you want to die young?" i asked eddie. he paused to think for a second.
"it depends." he said.
"depends on what?" i asked. i was truly curious.
"like, if i we're happy or not, or if i got everything i wanted in life." he answered.
"what do you want in life?" my questions were probably annoying him now.
"oh, you know, what most people want. to travel, to get their dream job, to find true love." he told me. i thought about that. what did i want in life? eddie laughed.
"okay, it's my turn to ask a question now." eddie told me. he thought for a few seconds.
"do you love anyone richie?" eddie asked. i pondered that. who did i love? surely not my family. i LIKED my friends, but love was a bit too strong. i liked it when eddie kissed me, but was that love or just lust because it was my first kiss? (that i was conscious for, anyway.) i looked at eddie. how could anyone not love him? i wanted to drown my problems in him. he was so thoughtful and caring. i guess i did love him.
"yeah." i said. eddie looked surprised.
"who do you love?" he asked. i felt the temperature in my face slowly rise.
"you, i guess," and eddie smiled. then, he sat up.
"can i kiss you?" he asked. i had never seen eddie as so forward.
"sure," i said, starting to get up. before i could prop my elbows behind me, eddie rolled on top of me and we locked lips. again, my entire body tingled with wanting. not wanting, needing. suddenly, eddie broke the kiss.
"sorry," he said. he pulled out his inhaler.
"guess i really took your breath away." i told him. eddie rolled his eyes, for the third or fourth time today.
we heard a rustle in the forest behind us. henry bowers and his gang stepped out from behind a few bushes. luckily, eddie had gotten off of me a minute ago.
"oh look, it's the losers, hanging out in OUR spot. what are you two doing? making out or something?" henry snarled. if only he knew. eddie looked distressed.
"g-go away henry!" eddie yelled. henry just laughed. then, he kicked eddie in the stomach, which sent him reeling backwards. oh HELL no.
"WHAT THE FUCK HENRY?" i screamed. before he could answer, i swung my fist. hard. it hit him square in the eye, and he stepped backwards, covering his eye.
"oh, you are so gonna get it!" henry growled. he ran towards me, and brought his fist to my throat. instead of falling, i dodged it. his anger only increased. he grabbed me by my shirt collar and dropped me on the rock. he knelt down to get close to my face.
"remember, loser. whenever you think you're something, remember that i can take you down. you're nothing compared to me." henry spat. then, he cackled and walked away into the forest with his minions.
pain. not just my back and neck, but everywhere hurt. it felt like i was dying. i heard eddie's voice distantly.
"guys! he's waking up!" i felt his hands cup my face, but he wasn't there. the lake started to fade, but i could still heat eddie's voice.
"you're gonna be okay, richie."