Do Not Fucking Touch Me // Reddie

Eighteen

(Eddie's POV)

I woke up to a knocking on my window. I knew who it was immediately. I looked at the clock as I jumped up out of bed and ran to see my boyfriend. It was 2 am.

I opened the window and gave Richie an annoyed look. "Richard Tozier, do you have any idea what time it is??" I asked sharply.

"Hmm.. no Future Mrs. Tozier, can't say that I do," he snapped back.

"Hey, I'm not necessarily gonna be taking your last name," I replied. He put a hand on the ladder he'd propped up against the house.

"Well I'm not gonna be Richie Kapsbrack, so we're just gonna have to talk about that. Now come down and kiss me, please."

I rolled my eyes, blushing and smiling with my lips. It was so much easier getting down a ladder without a cast on. I stood at the last step and the taller boyfriend of mine tapped on my shoulder. I turned around and grabbed ahold of the ladder. Richie and I were at eye level, which was a rarity.

"You know, my neck was getting pretty sore from leaning down all the time to kiss you," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He laughed. "No, no, Eds. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You're like... my little koala bear."

I rolled my eyes and he came closer to me. "A koala bear, really?"

He nodded and pouted. "My sweet little baby koala bearrrr," he teased.

"Oh shut-" I started to say. He cut me off my pressing his lips against mine. Three months later and I still blushed every time he kissed me.

"Why did you come to my house at 2am, Richie?" I asked.

He looked sad. He looked away from me and frowned. I placed my hand gently on his shoulder and pulled him close to me.

"Richie, what's wrong?"

He paused for a second before answering. "Well, I..... I have some secrets to tell you too. You just got me thinking since you showed me your....anyway.... I wanted to go stargazing with you or something, and talk."

I stepped down from the ladder and wrapped my arms around my boyfriend. I loved him, I really did, but this worried me. If it's anything like what I did, I don't know if I could take it. I was going to have nightmares for weeks, if it was. He sighed deeply and I felt the pattern of his breathing through his sweatshirt. He wrapped his arms around me too, and leaned down to kiss the top of my head.

"Whatever it is....." I said, trying to sound like the suspense wasn't killing me, "We can get through it."

Richie did that for me, so I wanted to be able to do that for him too. I wanted him to be able to tell me anything, especially things that were bothering him. I wanted to be able to love him unconditionally. If he was able to handle me and my problems and take care of me every day, I was surely going to need to return the favor.

We set out to Hickory Park, which was near my uncle's house. It wasn't so much of a park as it was a giant field. Kids played soccer and ran around on it, but there wasn't a pond or many trees, or even a playground for that matter. He pulled his backpack off and unzipped it. He searched the contents for the blanket he brought along and laid it out on the dewy grass. Crickets could be heard from every direction. It was kind of chilly, so I was glad that I had chosen to wear the sweater Richie bought me to bed that night. It seemed like fate.

He and I both laid down on the blanket and faced upwards. The stars were beautiful. The sky was so clear and the contrast between the dark and the stars made them shine even brighter. The moon was in a crescent shape, and lit up every blade of grass in the park. The night was perfect in every way. Even lightning bugs mirrored the stars in the sky as the floated about the atmosphere.

Richie bit his lip and turned his head to me. I saw him do this out of my peripheral vision, and faced him too.

"What did you want to tell me," I asked nervously.

"I'm bulimic," he looked me in the eye. I could tell when Richie was lying, and he wasn't lying. I didn't even know what the word meant, but it sounded bad.

I didn't want him to know that I didn't know what he was talking about, but my expression must have given it away.

"I throw up whatever I eat," he said.

I knew he was skinny, I just thought it must be due to his ridiculously high metabolism or something.

"Why?" was all I could say.

"I don't know. Food just.. disgusts me now. I'm kinda afraid I'm gonna get fat..."

I looked at him with the most confused look I could muster. "Fat, Rich? You're.."

"Skinny. I know. I just want to keep it that way. It's getting out of hand though. I weighed myself today for the first time since the doctors office in May. I've lost like twenty pounds."

I hated myself for not seeing the signs. I didn't see anything. I didn't notice the length my arms had to reach to hug him had grown shorter. I shut my eyes tight and faced the sky.

"What do I have to do?" I asked desperately.

"W-What? You don't-"

"No, Richie. You're trying to fix me, so I guess I'm gonna have to try and fix you. It's what boyfriends do right?"

He sighed. "No. We're more than just boyfriends, Eddie. We're best friends. We help eachother and can tell eachother anything."

"So what can I do to help you?" I yelled.

He shrugged. "I'm gonna go to the doctor, I think he might be able to fix what's wrong with me,"

I nodded. "As for you," he added, "Just... be there for me. Love me, it's all I need."

I smiled weakly, fighting crying. He deserved so much better than me. I was too fucked up for him, it was affecting him too. "I do love you," I said. "But you are better off without me."

This time I really did start crying.

I got up and prepared to run back home. He grabbed ahold of my hand and looked confused and hurt.

"What? Eddie, you're everything to me. I need you."

I pulled my hand away. I started to run and he groaned. He picked up the blanket quickly and sprinted after me. Unluckily for me, he was faster than I was. He tackled me and I hit at him.

"Get off me!" I screamed.

He was crying, holding me tight. "No! I'm not letting you go, Eddie!"

I stopped fighting. "I love you, asshole," he said. He got up and started walking slowly towards my house. Now I was the one chasing after him.

"Richie, Richie... listen to me... I'm sorry."

He scoffed and looked up at the sky, just so he wouldn't look at me. "You were going to leave me because I'm bulimic."

"What? No. I was leaving because I made you bulimic."

He stopped in his tracks and turned to me. With an eyebrow raised, he said, "Are you crazy? You didn't make me bulimic, Eds. You didn't do this. I did this. I just wanted to tell you to make sure we were both being honest with eachother. I didn't know how you'd react, but... I didn't think it would make you feel responsible."

I sat in the grass and slumped backward until my back collided with the earth.

He sat down too and hovered over me. "I'm going to leave you, Richie."

He laughed. "You just did. I had to stop you."

I frowned. "I'm sorry."

He sighed. "It's fine. Please just don't do it again? We can talk anything out, we can help eachother. That's why we're dating."

"Hmm," I joked, "I thought we were dating because one day I'm gonna be Mrs. Richie Tozier."

He nodded and smirked. "So you are gonna take my last name."

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "In your dreams."

"Every night!" he added.

We were gonna be okay