𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 | 𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕕𝕚𝕖

chapter eight: she's not there

When Eddie woke up from his deep slumber, he could smell bacon and eggs. For just a moment, he thought he'd dreamt the whole 'runaway' thing and he was back home.

He was reassured that it wasn't a dream when he heard Richie's obnoxious whistling and voice.

"Mornin', doll! You got real comfortable last night." Richie laughed.

'She's Not There' played over the small radio.

"I could say the same about you." Eddie said, "so are we continuing our reckless journey?"

"Yes, but first we have to go on a walk around ol' NY." The bacon was sizzling, causing Eddie's small tummy to rumble. "We have to have the full experience of the Big Apple, Eds!"

"Don't call me Eds." Eddie whined, jumping out of bed.

Richie came across a revelation the night prior, realising an uncomfortable truth. He realised that he liked Eddie as more than just a pal.

In fact, he wanted to be with him. He wanted to grow old with him. He wanted to adopt a dog named Albert with him. He wanted to kiss him really softly. He wanted to massage his shoulders after a rough day of work. He wanted him to be his.

The thoughts were so invasive, Richie could almost combust. He'd been holding in his feelings, but looking back to when he first met Eddie, the feelings were more obvious than he remembered.

"Food nearly ready?" Eddie asked, seemingly popping out of nowhere.

Richie jumped.

"Did I scare you?" Eddie giggled.

God, Richie loved his cute little laugh.

"Hello?" Eddie tried to gain Richie's attention.

"Oh, um, I don't get scared." Richie cleared his throat, "the food's just about done, sweetheart."

"Sweetheart? You sound like an old man, Dick."

"If my name's Dick, then yours should be Nothing if we're talking about largest features."

Eddie was confused to say the least.

"I'm saying that I have a big dick and you are a very small person."

It clicked in Eddie's brain as his look of confusion turned to disgust, "you're gross!"

Richie laughed and served the food onto two plates. "Dig in, babe."

Eddie didn't seem to notice the nickname, but on the inside, he kind of loved it.

★

"Richie, this is a really bad idea,"

The boys were walking on the streets of New York which no plan.

"Our disguises are great!" Richie assured Eddie, gesturing to his fake moustache.

"You still look like you, only with a moustache." Eddie grimaced.

"Oh, pish posh applesauce! Let's just go on a quick walk, we won't get caught." Richie's logic definitely had its faults, but at least he had good enthusiasm. He took off the moustache and walked forward.

Eddie rolled his eyes and was fully prepared to jump into Richie's arms and tell him to sprint if they were chased.

They had no clue what they were actually looking for, but it seemed that fate was leading them to a very particular spot.

The Stonewall Inn.

They stood along the busy streets, and looked at the inn with curious eyes.

"The Stonewall Inn," Richie whispered, "did you hear what happened here?"

"No," Eddie said.

"A few months ago, the police raided the inn because there were gay people inside."

"Really?" Eddie was shocked. He was very well aware of homosexual acts and their legality, but he didn't know about the extent of it at all.

"Yeah, Stonewall riots. I read about it somewhere." Richie felt so vulnerable in front of the building, knowing that he too could be gay. "Let's keep going,"

Eddie decided not to question the tears he saw welling up in Richie's eyes, but made a note to ask him why he was upset. "Maybe we should just keep going with the trip."

"You're right, we're being pretty risky walking around like this, let's head back."

They turned to walk back, but were faced with four boys.

One of them was from the diner they went to.

"We caught you," Henry, the leader said, smirking. "Should've known you'd be outside the fag bar."

Richie grabbed Eddie's arm and sprinted away from the boys, praying that his legs could go fast enough.

"This might be the end of our journey, Eds." Richie yelled, out of breath.

Eddie himself was wheezing slightly as he pressed the trigger on his inhaler.

The hotel was in the distance, where Richie's car was situated along with all of their belongings. "We can make it." Richie assured Eddie, racing towards the car.

They opened their respective car doors and slid into their seats, Richie shoving the keys into the ignition.

"What about Ben? We didn't say a proper goodbye!" Eddie worried.

"Those guys look like they would slit our throats, Eds. We don't have time!" Richie shouted, slamming his door shut and stepping on the gas.

The engine revved as the four hunters arrived at the scene, narrowly missing the runaways.

★

"Shit." Belch sighed.

"This isn't the end, boys." Henry still had an evil glint in his eyes, "they'd be headin' to Pennsylvania now, then to Ohio. We'll catch 'em for sure. The money's as good as ours."

Victor and Belch looked somewhat reluctant, but seeing Patrick smirk horrifically, they knew not to argue against this one.

Henry laughed like a maniac.

★

Eddie wasn't being stingy with his Ventolin.

After the chase with Bowers and his gang, he was still breathing rapidly with panic and fear. Richie wanted so badly to take time to comfort him, but he couldn't spare any time getting across the states.

Richie knew that getting to Pennsylvania would be child's play. It was a three-hour trip and he knew he could keep a steady pace for that amount of time.

The problem was that the car was breaking down.

"Oh, shit, fuck!" Richie realised the issue. "We're breaking down!"

"B-but they could be following us!" Eddie referred to the gang, taking another puff of his inhaler. "We can't stop!"

"There's a gas station, let's see if someone can help." Richie stopped at the gas station. "Oh, thank God. Let's try to make this stop quick. Need to go to the bathroom?"

"No."

Just when Richie was on his way back to the car, someone knocked on Eddie's window.