LIVE FAST | REDDIE

- 04 | LIVE FAST

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"I love this song!" Eddie's father cheered the second the music reached his ears. Eddie's heart sank. He had been hoping this would be one his father hadn't heard before. Then again, everyone he had asked recommended this song, which meant it had to have been pretty well known in the first place.

"We built this city on rock and roll!" The man sang happily. Eddie settled back against the couch as the music flooded from the CD player they had purchased 3 years prior. It was old, but it got the job done, especially since they usually just listened to the tape in Eddie's Walkman instead.

The happy glimmer in Eddie's father's eyes eased his disappointment, and he found himself smiling too. "I should have put this one in that mixtape of yours," Frank sighed, and for a moment, there was a wistful look in his eyes. Eddie frowned, leaning forward and turning up the volume on the CD player a little bit so that he would focus on the music instead.

"I like the mixtape you made for me!" Eddie insisted over the music, and the spark of warmth he received in return was enough to make his smile return. "Those songs are my favorites. I couldn't have asked for a better collection of songs." His father reached out, and Eddie grasped his hand, humming the tune of the song since he didn't know the words. Frank, on the other hand, was belting it out. Despite the fact that he was sitting, Eddie was reminded of when they had danced around, singing Footloose. He swallowed thickly, trying to force his thoughts elsewhere before he got upset again.

After his freak-out the day prior, he had gone straight home once school was over. But after school every day that week, Eddie had gone to the library once he had asked around about unpopular music that people liked. Apparently, the people in Bangor were not to be trusted with telling people what was popular and what wasn't. Eddie sighed in defeat, and decided to go back later if he had time. If not, he would just go the next day.

This had been his fourth attempt. He only had a few more days to find something before it would be Monday again, and Mr. Epping would want to hear about their discoveries. When the song ended, Eddie popped the CD back in its case and stood up, stretching.

"I'm going to start dinner," he told his father, who nodded. He had gone to the supermarket while Eddie was at school the other day. The brunette didn't think that had been a very good idea, but he had gotten home safely and brought food, so that was what mattered. He decided to make a stir fry, and headed into the kitchen.

He felt exhausted lately. Every time he looked in the mirror he had dark circles under his eyes. Stan and Mike had been telling him that he looked like shit, too, and apparently he was looking paler as well. He brushed off these comments, insisting that he was alright. In fact, he had been sleeping a lot more lately, not less. The problem was that he felt overworked, and probably was overworked.

Eddie picked up a pan and pulled out the vegetables he wanted, glancing at the chicken that had been out to thaw. He cut it out of the package and sliced it up into smaller pieces on their cutting board once he had put the pan on the heat. He hovered his hand over the pan and felt the heat radiating off, so he threw the meat in, poking it around and shaking it every few seconds until he was sure the chicken was cooked all the way through. He grabbed a plate and put the chicken aside, cutting up bell peppers and carrots then dumping them into the pan for a minute. He waited a minute before adding the snap peas since they took less time to cook.

"Smells good," his father commented as he walked in. Eddie grinned, tossing the vegetables a few times. "Have you made the sauce?" Eddie shook his head, and his father got to work immediately, grabbing a small bowl and mixing together some soy sauce and broth, adding a dash of sugar and a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar. He whisked the ingredients together while Eddie dumped the chicken back into the pan, and gestured for the sauce. It was handed to him, and he poured it evenly over the food, shaking it around so everything would be coated nicely.