𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 | 𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕕𝕚𝕖

chapter ten: what a wonderful world

Greta switched the radio on, letting 'What A Wonderful World' play quietly while she laid back in the driver's seat. She just wanted to smoke some marijuana.

"How are you feeling, Eddie?" Mike came over to Richie and Eddie.

Eddie calmed down slightly, "I'm okay, Mike. I just had a moment." He had his inhaler held tightly in his hand.

"Ready to get back on the road?" Stan smiled.

"I think so." Eddie grinned.

Richie was in awe from Eddie's bravery and toughness. Sure, he cried easily and was kind of a hypochondriac, but how could he be so kind and resilient with all of the shit he'd been through? It was extraordinary really. Eddie had the world against him. Not only was he small for his age, but he was plagued with asthma and anxiety along with a very overprotective mother.

Eddie didn't know it yet, but he was also attracted to the same sex. It was as if when God was making him, he made the cutest person ever, but decided to fuck around and make his life a misery.

Richie was pretty much certain at that point that he wanted to be with Eddie forever, to hold him and kiss him, to love him and cherish him. He wanted to slow dance with him in an empty room, just them. But society was a cruel thing that was prejudiced and discriminative.

"Let's go." Mike announced, calling everyone back into the van.

★

Things were going quite smoothly for the two runaways.

After a few hours, the hippies made it to Ohio, where they intended to camp out somewhere remote and have some fun. You know, hippie fun.

Eddie was having a hard time fully trusting the activists, but Richie seemed to trust them so he gave them a chance.

"I see trees of green," Stan sang out of the blue.

"Red roses too." Mike sang.

"I see them bloom," Greta joined. "For me and you."

"And I think to myself," Eddie was calm enough to sing along, "what a wonderful world!"

Richie's eyes almost expelled tears of adoration upon hearing the small, usually frantic boy sing such a sweet harmony. He never felt it when Stan or Mike sang. Not when Greta sang. Only when he sang.

Richie whispered a quiet apology to whatever was in the sky judging humanity before their untimely demise and turned to look back to the glorious brunet with eyes like sweet chocolate.

Eddie glanced at Richie, seeing his admiring looks. He knew that Richie was something special, but he didn't know what it was exactly that he felt. He was just so confused. But actually, it's okay to not really know some things. Humanity took a decent amount of time to make toasters, right? Maybe one day, Eddie would know what was happening to his heart to make it beat so wildly upon seeing Richie's pale and freckled face.

The rest of the people in the van continued singing in funny Louis Armstrong voices. Richie would've joined in had it not been for Eddie's enchanted, eye-catching aura, which Richie could easily see (but no one else could).

"Eddie," Richie wasn't even thinking when he said his blessed name.

"Yes, Rich?" Eddie responded, feeling lost in Richie's god-like glance.