kissing in cars|reddie

twenty two

After nearly a full week and a half, Eddie and Richie arrived in Derry. It felt like a blur that whole time, one in which there was a stinging in your ear and you were tied in handcuffs. Nonetheless, Eddie was actually glad to be out of a car.

He was woken up around seven p.m., the sun was going down and he was walking the line to some office. He felt like he was being taken to a death sentence.

Richie had gone first, he sat down in one of the empty chairs in a bailing room. He was still in his cuffs as well, looking down at his shoes as he waited for Maggie. Upon hearing the door open, Richie looked up.

And there he was, standing in all his glory. Eddie's head hung low, shoulders slumped and eyes circled with darkness, making him look somewhat like a raccoon. Eddie's hair was all over the place, some few tufts poking out here and a neat spot over there. Richie looked at him with heart-eyes, he looked gorgeous but tired.

Eddie sat down a seat away from him. He didn't look up still.

Richie could see the emptiness in his eyes and he felt so horrible for the boy. How painful was it for him? How much could his small heart take?

"Ed's?"

Eddie visibly exhaled silently. Then he looked up at Richie with the blankest eyes he'd ever seen, and Richie saw a different person. This Eddie was lost, hurt, bothered. He didn't see the Eddie who he had fallen in love with in just a month. Richie stared at him with all the love he could show and a frown on his face as he stared at the shorter male.

"Hey, Ed's." Richie smiled.

Eddie didn't reciprocate, his mouth stayed in a thin line. He sniffled; his pink nose scrunching up. Richie examined his sweet face- the bright blemishes on his cheeks, his freckles of course, and his sickly pale skin. He croaked out brokenly, "Hi." There was tension in the air, Richie could feel it. Something gone wrong resulting in pain.

"You alright?"

"No."

"Oh," Richie gulped. "I-I'm so sorry, Eddie."

"Okay."

"Really, I-"

"Save it." Eddie looked down. "I don't need your pity. I fucking failed. Again."

Richie scooted closer to him, making sure no one saw him. He nudged Eddie's arm with his elbow. "Remember what I told you, Ed's? I said we could try. And we did." He told him softly. "People make mistakes."

"Yeah, well, at least you had something worth coming back here for."

"Maybe I did. But Eddie, there's so much worth living for."

"Then why has nothing been going right for me? At all?" Eddie looked back at him, his bottom lip quivering. Richie could tell he didn't want to cry, and then Eddie coughed horribly, and his tears escaped. Richie felt worse.

"What am I going to do, Richie?" Eddie cried. "I can't do this..."

"Yes, yes you can, Eddie. You need to try for me. If not for me, then yourself."

"Why?"

"Because I love you. I can- we can leave here once we graduate. Yeah? Do you think you can do that for me?"
"Maybe." Eddie sniffled.

"Please, Ed's. You've gotta try for me."

"I'm not promising anything."

"Alright. That's fine. You don't have to. Just know that I love you, Ed's. And you can change. I'll help you."