gone boy. reddie

36| GONE BOY

"Sorry I didn't kiss you but it's obvious I wanted to." 

-Clairo  

(Bubble Gum, Clairo) 

The door to the apartment opened and Richie expected to see his friends and Jane. He kept his attention on the jacket until he heard the voice. "Hey, I know I came back pretty fast but it's only because the asshole said they didn't sell stamps-" the voice stopped as Richie quickly turned towards the noise. "Oh my gosh-" Eddie whispered. "Richie." 

Just hearing Eddie's voice made Richie's broken heart come back together. It happened so easily and effortlessly and the curly-haired boy understood why. That was all he needed- to know that Eddie was fine, to know that he wasn't hurt, scared, or alone. His voice made everything terrible become amazing, it made every heartbreak worth it, and it made this long month seem like five minutes, Richie dropped the hoodie that rested in his hands and blinked twice. This could be just a cruel dream but he felt nothing but relief to know that deep down it wasn't. 

He could have said hi, hello, or yell but he couldn't. His lips parted as he stared at Eddie in awe while he let out a short breath. Richie then spoke the only word that he could remember and the only word that made sense to him in that exact moment, "Eds."

Eddie stood right in front of him, his eyes wide, and his breath caught in his throat. "How did you- when did you- why did you-" he stopped, shaking his head, feeling the same as Richie. He knew his rambling was pointless. Everything had just stopped and there was no sentence or words to describe how the moment was. "Richie," he said again, not able to form a statement that could make any sense to himself or the boy standing in front of him. "Richie." This time when Eddie said the name it was to confirm that he was actually here and this was actually happening. When Richie gave him a small nod to give him clarification, the two stood very still as they stared at one another.

He couldn't tell if Eddie was happy, sad, or even angry at him for showing up. It's not like Richie wouldn't have looked for him anyway, Eddie already knew that. Richie never brought himself to imagine this moment taking place, now that it was actually here and he was living it, he could only hope for the best. The two were just stuck in silence as they stared at one another. Before he could even say Eds again, Richie was shocked to feel a body crashing into him. Even though he could barely believe the moment was happening, Richie wasted no time to realize that Eddie had quickly rushed towards him and pulled him into a hug. It only took a few seconds before Richie was wrapping his arms around the smaller boy and he happily sighed, shutting his eyes tightly while tugging Eddie closer. 

Eddie had buried his face into the crook of Richie's neck. The two were finally reunited and everything in both of their lives felt complete. It was the happiest moment of Eddie's life, it had made him wonder why he had left Derry in the first place. He could remember the main concepts like his mother, Peter, and a few other shitty things that weren't worth mentioning, but Richie and the rest of the losers beat those things by a long shot.