𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏 • 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒆

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟖

Eddie makes Jake his favorite pancakes like he does every other morning without hassle. He doesn't drop the mix, doesn't burn the food. It's a good morning in Eddie Kaspbrak's book.

It's been a month since Richie had found out about his... issues. A month since Richie had freaked out, cried, threatened to kill Jake. He had been so emotional about it, but Eddie hadn't even told him everything. He didn't mention the diet, or the cigarette burn, the mental abuse. The isolation. They just hadn't felt necessary to mention.

He hasn't seen Richie since. He misses his so fucking much, but he knows he won't be able to face Richie. Not after everything. He's never had to deal with someone knowing, and he really doesn't to start now. Jake comes down for breakfast and eats in a hurry. Eddie doesn't eat at all, but neither of them mention it. "Alright," Jake starts with a smile as Eddie puts the dishes in the sink. "Today, we are going on a little adventure."

Eddie raises his eyebrows, but he's faced away from Jake so that he can't see him. Jake hates when Eddie raises his eyebrows - says it makes it seem like he's doubting him. Eddie should never doubt Jake. "Oh?"

"Dress nice, yeah?" At this, Eddie actually looks at Jake in confusion. Jake doesn't even mention it. "We're gonna go see a movie, then clothes shopping. I know you love that."

"Um," Eddie doesn't know what to say to this, not really. Jake never takes him out. Definitely not to do something Eddie would want to do - since when did he even know what Eddie liked to do? He wants to ask Jake why he's in such a good mood, but he doesn't want to ruin it. He just smiles sweetly instead. "Yeah. Yeah, sounds good."

So when he's finished washing the plates, he rushes up the stairs to find something decent to wear. He briefly considers his overalls, but decides against it because he knows Jake hates his overalls. They were a light, denim blue, and Jake prefers Eddie to wear dark clothes. It makes his look skinnier. So he pulls on his favorite pair of black skinny jeans, jumping to get them around his thighs. He looks for forever through his closet until he settles on a navy blue sweater. It's match his navy high top converse perfectly. He looks at himself in the mirror for maybe a moment too long, because Jake is calling for him from downstairs.

Jake eyes him for a moment with a satisfied smile before nodding his head to the door. Eddie grins. Being like this with Jake reminds him of when they had first started dating, when everything was a perfect bliss of love and happiness. Reality hits his with a force as he's making his way out of the door, because this will most likely be over after today. Things will be back to normal. Eddie will do something wrong like he always does, and then shit'll hit the fan.

Eddie tries to ignore these thoughts as they plague his mind. He gets in the passenger seat of the truck and smiles over at Jake, who looks out of his mind in glee. He decides he doesn't mind this Jake. He's nice to be around, even if just for the time being.

So they watch the movie, one that Eddie couldn't tell you the name of if he tried, because Jake held his hand the whole time. Eddie is so happy with this new change he doesn't know what to do with himself. He can't remember the last time he had been this happy. Maybe in the living room, dancing with Richie as he called him stupid names and stood a little too close to Eddie. Not that Eddie minded, really, because Richie had been his best friend for years. Nothing really bothered him anymore.

He felt an ache in his chest as he thought about Richie. He wanted to talk to him, and not over the phone - in real life. Richie had been calling him every night, talking in quiet hushes.