hard times// eddie + richie // IT

the make up

okay.
deep breaths.
i'm not nervous.
why would i be nervous?
it's just richie..
somehow, i still can't get my breathing to slow. i stand outside his front door, trying to find it in me to knock.
i can't do it. what if he's mad at me? what if he slams the door in my face? my shaking hand raises to he door and gently taps the wood.
i wait.
ten,
twenty,
thirty seconds.
one minute,
two minutes.
no answer. maybe he didn't hear me? so, i regather my courage and knock on the door, louder this time.
ten seconds pass.
then, twenty pass.
suddenly, the door opens. richie stands in the doorway, wearing an old, wrinkled t-shirt and boxers. his eyes widen.
i open my mouth to say something, but only air escapes.
i can already imagine my tombstone.
"here lies edward d. kaspbrak, the most awkward kid on the planet. like, he couldn't even apologize to his BEST friend. he died because he was so awkward he melted. what a loser."
yep. this was officially an awkward silence. richie cleated his throat.
"uh.. hey, eddie.." richie greets, quietly. i take a deep breath.
"hey." i couldn't think of anything else to say. richie gestured into his house.
"do you wanna come in?" he asked. i shook my head quickly and entered his house.
"so... how are you feeling?" i asked, trying to lighten the mood. richie shrugged.
"fine, i guess. i can walk good and stuff." he answered.
"that's good."
"yeah." i couldn't take it anymore. i had to apologize.
"look, richie. i'm sorry, okay?" i told him. richie looked at me, for the first time since i had come to the door.
"i get it. okay? just please don't do that again." he scolded. that was only half of it though, i had another band-aid to rip off.
"how's everything with you and your dad?" i asked. richie flinched, and then went completely calm.
"oh, them? i've forgotten about them. they're dead to me. i don't think about them and it helps." he said, so nonchalantly that it was creepy. i nodded.
"as long as you're happy and healthy." i said.
"i am, but i've missed you." richie tells me. i smile. i can't help it.
"me too, rich."
"wanna watch a movie and eat all the junk food we can?" richie goofs.
"hell yeah!" i cheer.
so, with that, we were okay again. the waters had calmed. richie and eddie were friends again.
we dragged all of the blankets and pillows from richie's room to the living room, and made a comfortable little nest. richie raided his pantry and fridge for every sort of junk food they had.
after twenty minutes of going through dvds, we FINALLY decided on a movie. we popped it into the player and settled in for the night. it was like our own theatre. no light except for the TV screen, just us and the junk food. of course, i fell asleep
first.
i'm not sure how late richie stayed up, but late that night, we got a knock at the door. i checked my watch. 1am.
"richie!" i hissed. he was standing up to answer the door.
"do not answer that door!"
"why?" he asked.
"what kind of sicko goes knocking on doors at 1am? it's probably a serial killer trying to find his next victim!" richie rolled his eyes.
"i'm checking the peep hole, chill out." he laughed. richie took off his glasses and put his eye to the hole.
"oh shit!" richie exclaimed. he quickly unlocked the door and ripped it open.

there stood stan, shaking, and in tears. he immediately collapsed into richie. i could hear his sobs from the couch. richie lead stan over to the nest and made him sit down. i sat on the opposite side of stan.
"shh. shhh. calm down stan," i comforted. he took in a shaky breath and sobbed again. richie and i shared a concerned look.
"they don't believe me," stan sobbed, rocking back and forth.
"who doesn't believe you stan?" richie asked, concern filling his voice. for a few minutes, stan regains his breath.
"m-my parents." stan whimpers, fat tears still streaming down his face.
"what do they not believe?" i ask.
"remember when i went to escape from reality and that pretty girl was there?"
"yeah." i tell him. richie gives me a confused glance. shit. i forgot we didn't tell him anything.
"turns out i told her i loved her. and now she's obsessed with me." richie muffles a giggle. i give him a death glare.
"i mean, you're pretty hot, stan. who WOULDN'T be obsessed with you?" richie joked. stan looked at him, completely mortified richie would even crack a joke right now.
"okay, so how do your parents tie into this?" i ask. stan sniffs.
"so, i left yesterday, because i went there to ask what happened when i was, uh, not doing well." stan must've figured out that richie didn't know about escape from reality.
"when i talked to her, she called beverly these horrible names, and told me i couldn't do better. then, i yelled at her and i left. so i went home, and got grounded. then, i went to bed. when i woke up this morning she was at my door." richie gasped.
"holy shit, she's a crazy bitch." richie muttered.
"so, i closed the door on her and tried to explain to my mother that she wasn't nice, and she wanted to hurt me. obviously, she didn't believe me. i kept trying to convince her, and she brought in my father. he didn't believe me, either." stan had to stop and regain his composure.
"so, they made me spend the entire day with her. she threatened me so many times, and then she started threatening beverly. i completely lost it. i yelled at her again, and didn't talk to her for the rest of the day. at the end of the day, she told my parents i was moody and cold, so they yelled at me and locked me in my room. i climbed out the window to get here." richie and i just stared at stan.
i didn't really know what to say.
this girl could be dangerous.
luckily, richie stepped in.
"well, welcome to casa richie and eddie, senor," richie said, in a horrible spanish accent. i blushed. he said richie and eddie, like it was our house. i patted stan's shoulder.
"it's safe here, stan. from the girl and your parents." stan shook his head.
"thanks, guys. i think for now, though, i want to sleep," stan told us, yawning. richie grinned.
"you can have my bed!" he exclaimed, excited.
"me and eds will take the couch," he told stan, before he could protest.
so, richie and i made the bed for stan, and left him to sleep. he was out like a light.
richie and i sat in the living room, in silence.
"eddie?" richie asked.
"yeah?"
"what the hell is escape from reality?" i felt my heart sink a little. would he have a problem with the alcohol?
"it's not really my story to tell," i told him. richie looked disappointed.
"alright, well let's just go to bed." he said. i gulped. there was no way we were both gonna fit on that couch. so, we laid down, my feet next to richie's face, and his feet next to my face. after a few uncomfortable minutes of tossing and turning, richie sighed.
"this sucks," he muttered.
"i know, i don't like having feet in my face," i agreed. richie sat up, and turned so his face was just millimeters from mine. we were so close our noses touched.
"is this better?" richie whispered.
"much," i answered. he smiled his beautiful goofy smile. i smiled back.
then, we slept.