LIVE FAST | REDDIE

- 13 | LIVE FAST

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"Listen, would you get off my fucking case? I'm not dealing any drugs. I told you, I buy them off the same guy as everyone else." Eddie closed his eyes, ear pressed firmly to the door, breaths soft but shallow. Richie's voice filtered through, sharp and contradicting, exactly the opposite of what it should be while talking to the police.

"I'm telling you the truth! I have no reason to sell weed if I can use it myself!" The accusatory tone in the Principal's voice when he came in to get Richie during Biology had been scary enough. Since Ben had been out that day, Richie had taken the liberty of moving himself next to Eddie instead of behind. The brunette didn't exactly appreciate the gesture, but he decided he'd rather the boy sat where the teacher could see his antics better than he liked having him breathe down the back of his neck.

However, now he was scared. He asked to go to the bathroom a few minutes after his friend had been escorted out, and sure enough, they were in the same room Eddie had been taken to. He knew it was a huge risk to be listening in, but the officer that usually stood outside the door was on a badly timed coffee break and he wasn't about to leave Richie alone when he got out.

"I'm 18 fuckin' years old, I can do what I want!" Richie nearly shouted. "I didn't sell the kid any weed, and I'm not dealing around the school, just ask anyone. I might share my own joint at a party, but I have not sold any drugs." Eddie ran a hand down the side of his face and stepped away from the door, unwilling to hear any more. He strolled away just as the officer came back into the hall. Their gazes met, and the woman's eyes widened as she looked from him to the door and back again. Eddie raised an eyebrow, but looked away, pretending not to notice her alarm. The door slammed opened behind him, and he jumped, speeding up. There were loud voices behind him as he rounded the corner, but he pressed on, pale-faced and anxiety-ridden until a pair of footsteps clattered after his own that were too light to be the heavyset cop's.

"Eds! Wait up!" Richie called breathlessly, catching up and grabbing him by the shoulders, spinning him around. Before Eddie could even contradict his choice in nicknames Richie was talking again, full-speed-ahead, and Eddie missed the first half of everything he was saying.

"—and I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Richie trapped him in that gaze again, and Eddie froze up, mouth falling opened slightly as those eyes captivated him again. He wondered if the bastard knew what he was doing every time he looked at Eddie with those eyes, so dark and full of endless possibilities.

"Sorry?" Eddie asked weakly, staring up at him with what felt like such desperation and he knew he wasn't hiding it well. Richie's gaze softened, and the anger from his previous conversation faded. Eddie found himself counting his freckles, forming constellations out of them, hardly even noticing the firm grip the boy still had on his shoulders.

"The questioning with those guys," Richie said again, slower this time. "It was brutal. I know they must have treated you like shit, too, so I wanted to make sure you're alright." Eddie hesitated, thinking back to the interrogation with dreamlike dazedness. It had only been a week ago. The officers were still going through students, trying to question everyone who had been at the party that had been reported. A parent had found their kid stoned when he got home that night.

"I think I'll be fine," he finally said, stepping back and out of Richie's reach. "Thanks, though. If you want to talk about yours then I'll listen. The interrogation, I mean." He nodded, pressing his lips together into a thin line. "I heard some of it, there was a lot of yelling. Just thought I'd offer." Richie's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but then he started to smile.

"Sure," he said, shocking Eddie into silence. "My place after school? You can stay as long as you like." Eddie was almost too baffled to speak. He stared at Richie for a few moments longer, watching the calm hopefulness in his striking eyes and the uplift in his freckled cheeks as he smiled softly.

"That could be nice," Eddie agreed quietly. "We can take my car, if you'd like. Anyone else who's coming can join us. I can fit three more besides you—" Eddie was cut off by sharp laughter. Richie had thrown his head back, wild curls bouncing with every movement. His black t-shirt lifted from his jeans, and Eddie was almost positive he saw a hint of a color that wasn't supposed to be there on normal skin before it fell back down with the movement of his arms.

"You misunderstood me," Richie explained once he had calmed down. Eddie raised an eyebrow, and Richie smiled, averting his eyes. "Nobody else is invited, dipshit. Just you and me. I've got a bunch of movies, games, and junk food. My parents won't be home. We can just chill out. Don't even have to talk if you don't want to."

"Okay, fine," Eddie replied stiffly. "Meet me in the senior lot after school."

"I know what your car looks like," Richie blurted just as Eddie started walking. He paused, a disbelieving smile crossing his face as Richie seemed to stumble over himself, face becoming a light pink color. "I mean, from when I drove you home. I remember which one is yours. So... I'll meet you there. You don't have to wait up at the entrance to the lot. I'll probably get there first, anyway." Eddie turned to look at him again, peering over his shoulder as his smile widened by the second.

"Do you want to go now?" He asked quickly, feeling a bit more rushed than usual. His heart beat a bit quicker than normal as well. He took a step back toward Richie, who's eyes widened, and a crazy grin spread across his face.

"You know it, Eds. Let's hit the road."