Richie was gone when Eddie woke up, a pillow in his place. Eddie looked at the clock and saw it was eight, so he decided to get up. He pulled on the same pair of jeans from the day before and left on the sweatshirt that he had worn to bed. It smelled like Richie, and Eddie needed that comfort. He made sure his bracelet was still secured to his arm, and he was ready to go.
A knock at the door alerted Eddie. He opened it and saw Bill on the other side.
"G-good morning E-Eddie. My m-mom wanted me t-to make s-sure you're awake. She's dr-driving you th-this morning," he said with a smile.
Eddie opened the door, walking out. "Yeah I'm ready," he said, running his hand through his hair. He narrowed his eyes, looking at Bill suspiciously. "What's on your neck, Bill?" he asked, looking at a reddish purple mark on Bill's neck.
Bill clapped his hand over the mark, eyes blown wide. "Don't tell Richie."
Eddie was only more confused. "Tell Richie what?"
Bill knew it would be easy to escape Richie knowing anything about what had happened because Eddie was clueless about a lot of things, but he felt bad letting Eddie walk out without knowledge.
So, sighing, Bill led Eddie to the bathroom to cover the mark using some of the makeup Bev left at his house. "Never h-heard of a h-hickey, Eddie?"
Eddie shook his head, watching as Bill applied foundation to his neck, blending it to cover the mark. Eddie had always been fascinated by makeup but never dared to use it. He was caught going through it once when he was seven and ended the night with scars that never faded.
"Basically, when t-two people are m-making out, sometimes they s-suck on each other's n-necks and leave m-marks," Bill said in a low tone, trying to make the skin look natural.
Eddie's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Wait you and Stan-"
Bill cut him off. "Yes we m-made out l-last night. P-please don't tell R-Richie." Everyone knew if Richie found out Stan had been making out with someone, he'd never hear the end of it.
"Does it hurt?" Eddie asked, curious.
"M-making out?" Bill asked, looking at Eddie with a strange look. He was sure Richie would have kissed Eddie by then.
"N-no, not that," Eddie muttered, suddenly looking embarrassed.
Bill put an arm on his shoulder. "What th-then?"
Eddie pointed at the makeup. He really wanted to try it, even if his mother told him it was only for what she called "faggots who can't go a day without getting AIDs." Eddie didn't want AIDs, and he hated being called a faggot, but he did want to using makeup.
Thankfully, Bill smiled at him. "B-Bev can pr-probably help you w-with it when sh-she comes over next," he said, opening the door and leading Eddie down the stairs to where Sharon was putting things in her purse.
"Good morning, Eddie," she said with a kind smile. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes," Eddie said quietly, following Sharon out the door.
She let him sit in the front seat of the car and drove toward the town. Sharon didn't try to make conversation, waiting until Eddie was comfortable enough to talk to her. They didn't know each other well, but she cared a lot for other children, and really wanted to help Eddie feel safe.
When they arrived at the tan building with a clock tower on it, Sharon led Eddie inside. He fumbled with his bracelet while he sat waiting for his name to be called.
Eventually a young woman with her hair pulled into a half-up walked out of the room and called his name. Sharon nodded encouragingly, so Eddie followed the lady into what looked to be her office.
