"BUT WHAT'S THE GOOD IN GOODBYE ANYWAY?"
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In which a heartbroken Richie Tozier receives letters from his missing best friend.
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ALOSERSWORLD
RICHIE X EDD...
"Slow down, you crazy child. Take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while. It's all right, you can afford to lose a day or two. When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?"
-Billy Joel
(Vienna, Billy Joel)
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Mike Hanlon's eyes shot open. He let out an unsteady breath as he thought of the nightmare that just took place. He shook his head and noticed that Richie was still driving. "Richie?" he yawned while stretching. On his other side, Ben was asleep and had his head resting on his shoulder. "Richie?" he repeated. When he turned towards the driver, he saw Richie's hands grasping the wheel tightly. When he didn't get a reply, he turned down the music that was blasting throughout the truck. Mike began to worry when he saw Richie's eyes wide open but he showed no emotion. "Have you even stopped for gas yet?" he asked. A big part of him wished that he never let Richie start driving in the first place.
"We need to get to New York," he whispered to Mike. Richie's eyes stung from not sleeping. There were huge bags under them but he didn't care. "We'll be there soon."
"We also have to get to New York alive," Mike protested. "So pull over now."
"We can't stop," Richie mumbled. "We're already almost there- we need to get there."
"Calm down and pull the car over," Mike ordered. "You're gonna wake Ben up and you'll be the one putting him back to sleep." It would shock people at how calm he was in these situations. Mike was very relaxed and he knew if Ben woke up, he would freak out at how fast they were going. He moved towards Richie and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Just calm down."
A frown was on Richie's face as he shook his head. "But-"
"You want to find Eddie, right?" Mike questioned. Richie nodded quickly at the comment. "Well, we gotta make it there first. If you keep driving like this we're gonna end up in the hospital- so just relax and pull over," he said softly. "We'll get there, I promise."
"We can't stop, Mike," Richie explained. "If we don't get there soon something could happen. Eds could be gone-"
"You know what, I'll drive, Rich," Mike insisted. "We only got three more hours on the road- I'll drive the rest of the way and you can get some rest, alright?"
"I don't want to rest!" he exclaimed. "I'm fine."
"That's okay, I can drive and you can read your letters. You still need to finish them, right?" Mike asked. Richie gave him a small nod. "Does that sound better?" Richie repeated his last action and slowly pulled over on the side of the road. Mike let out a sigh of relief.
