Perfection

Chapter 6: Richie

Richie was so excited to take Eddie out. He tried to look tough for the date, but the huge glasses and curly hair ruined it.

When he got to Eddies house, he saw Eddie sitting in his window. He looked so happy when he saw Richie. So fucking happy. And Richie knowing it was him that made Eddie that happy, it made him so happy. Eddie was his happy. Happy.

"Ready to go roller skating?" Richie said with enthusiasm. Eddie said he was, but Richie would tell something was wrong. Eddie was walking different. More on his heels than usual. He would know. He'd walked with Eddie to and from his house for years.

No one else would notice something that subtle, but Richie did. "Hey Eddie?" He asked.

"Yeah Rich?" Eddie replied. Richie suddenly got scared to ask Eddie why he was acting different, walking different. He wasn't talking to Richie as much, normally they go off about random topics, talk about the secrets they knew about the other Losers, what Richie did at Bev's house. But they didn't talk.

"Why are you acting different? And walking weird? Is this scaring you?" Richie asked. Oh shit. What if dating me is scaring him. I'm a monster. "It's nothing, I'm fine, don't worry about me," Eddie said. Richie didn't care how many times Eddie said he was fine. He knew something was bothering him. "No you're not Eddie. You're keeping something from me," Richie said. He looked around to see if anyone was in the parking lot, then ran to the back of the building.

Eddie took longer. His face got scrunched up whenever he took a step. What happened to him? Did he sprain his ankle? His foot? Hell, Richie had broken so many bones he didn't care to listen to which ones you could break anymore. Been there, broke that.

When Eddie finally got to Richie, he collapsed. "Eddie, what's going on?" Richie asked, pulling Eddie up off the ground into his lap. He was sitting on a huge crate that he could only assume used to be filled with skates or something. "Richie...don't hate me okay? Promise you won't break up with me?" Eddie asked. It was bad. Promise bad. That didn't happen. They would keep it a secret anyways, but when Eddie had to ask.. that was bad.

"I promise Eds," Richie promised. He would always promise. Nothing would make him hate someone as perfect as Eddie.

Eddie ripped off his socks and shoes, to reveal a huge gauze, soaked through with blood. "Shit," Eddie said under his breath as he took of the bandage. "I thought I put more on." He took off the gauze to show Richie the cuts. The 20 or 30 cuts that were making Eddie hurt.

They made Richie hurt. Richies ankle was suddenly on fire. Richie didn't mind his own blood, or seeing the people he got into fights with bleed, but seeing Eddie bleed. The cuts were fresh. Eddie had taught him what a fresh cut was versus an old one. "Eddie... what happened?" Eddie was crying now. Silently, but he was crying. His face was pressed in the dip of Richies neck, his arms wrapped around him tightly, as if he were going somewhere.

Richie wasn't going anywhere. Neither was Eddie. "It's okay, just talk to me next time okay baby?" Richie tried to reassure him. Eddie was still his best friend. No one could replace him. Not Stan, not Bev, not Bill. Eddie. It was always Eddie.

"I know, it was an impulse decision, and I didn't know what to do after I did it the first time because it's addic-" Richie cut Eddie off but rolling up his sleeve and revealing several scars. They look like regular middle school fight scars, but if you look closely, they matched Eddies perfectly. "It's normal. I know that you have mental health stuff going on, but Eddie... Talk to me next time okay?"

Eddie promised and they left the roller rink after Richie helped Eddie put the bandage back on, and then his shoes and socks. It took 15 minutes to get his shoes on because things were normal again. Perfect. Eddie was back.