𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 | 𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕕𝕚𝕖

chapter twenty-three: eddie my love

Eddie pecked Richie on the lips again, only narrowly avoiding poking his eye out with his nose.

He felt rebellious; new, and completely changed. All the hate inside him that had been eating away at his heart had turned around and become acceptance. He knew that he still had a long way to go, but he was glad that Richie was going along with him too.

"How would our parents feel if they knew?" Eddie giggled slightly, snuggling into Richie's side.

"I think they would feel utterly horrified at best." Richie smiled, which caused Eddie to laugh louder. "I just don't know how I didn't do this earlier. How did I control myself?"

There was a brief silence as the boys basked in their new-found love.

Eddie's smile faded and his expression became serious, "we're on the run. We're gonna get caught eventually."

"Well-"

"No, we're gonna get caught!" Eddie moved away from Richie and scratched his palms, "ugh! I always have to go and ruin everything! If we'd stayed just being normal and friendly, then I wouldn't have been as heartbroken being separated! What's wrong with me?" He was scratching palms harder and harder until Richie softly took both his hands and laid them on his lap. "God, I've barely processed that the weird Jane girl could be my sister! I feel like a dickhead!"

"Eddie, you need to take a deep breath." Richie spoke calmly, which made Eddie feel strange. Richie was sweet, of course, but he wasn't usually that calm. "They won't catch us because I won't let them. Even if I have to fight them off, I'll do it. You're so important to me, Eds. You should know that by now." He kissed his cheek softly, and rubbed his arm, "and by the way, I'm pretty sure that you being related to Jane isn't our main worry right now."

"Yeah, I suppose- uh- you're right." Eddie sighed and squinted, tugging on his sleeves in an attempt to distract himself from his rapidly increasing heart rate.

And that's when Eddie looked at Richie, but all he could see was sheer terror on his face.

"Eddie," Richie breathed out with shock in his eyes.

"What- what's wrong?" Eddie was invested in Richie's fears only for a moment before he heard the sound of a fierce engine coming closer and closer. The major mistake that Eddie made was turning his head to look in the rear view mirror.

A brown and rusty car was speeding closer and closer to them with two boys inside. Henry Bowers and Patrick Hockstetter.

"Drive!" Eddie yelled, on the verge of screaming like that of an infant. "Richie!"

Richie spring back to life, returning his focus to the steering wheel. "Safety first!" Richie quickly clipped his seat belt and Eddie clipped his even with his incredibly shaky, pale hands.

"We're comin' for you!" They heard Patrick yell from his open window like a maniac.

"Oh gosh, oh no." Eddie whispered to himself. He ran every memory he'd had on the trip through his mind. It started with the thoughts he had about boys, then his constant swearing, kissing a boy (and enjoying it). It was God punishing him! It was all his fault...

"Eddie, breathe! We can outrun them!"

"No we can't." Eddie had tears streaming down his red, yet somehow pale face. "I can't- no."

"I'm gonna buy you an ice cream sundae after this! What do you want on it?" Richie kept looking behind the, and then looking back ahead, then to Eddie.

"This is no time for ice cream!"

"What do you want on the sundae?" Richie repeated, attempting to distract Eddie from their possible end.

Eddie sighed in a furious way and wiped his face, "strawberries," he sniffles and curled himself into a ball on his seat, "and whipped cream."

"Yeah? What else?"

"Chocolate- lots of it. And a cherry on top."

"I'll get it for you," Richie was crying slightly too, but ferociously attempted to hide it and remained composed and ready to fling the car off a cliff if they had to. "Anything for you, Eddie. Dearest."

And then something extraordinary happened.

★

Eddie couldn't control his tears no matter how hard he tried. He balled his eyes out as Richie pulled him close to his chest, letting his calm heartbeat remind Eddie that it was okay to relax. "Baby, it's alright. We're okay." Richie whispered. "Those bastards are gone now. We don't have to worry."

They'd pulled off to the side of the road after they witnessed a simple jerk of the wheel, push Hockstetter's car down a hill. Although they were horrible people, it only made Eddie cry harder.

"Let's find some place to hide." Richie spoke and slowly changed gears, pushing forward and biting his tongue to prevent his empathy for the horrible gang members. "The cops'll be here soon."

Richie found a rather impressive spot to hide amongst some trees, just out of the line of sight for anyone passing by. He took the opportunity to pull Eddie into the backseat with him and hugged him closer than imaginable. "It- it's alright now. Just breathe, Eddie." He encouraged the small boy to take deep breaths and dry his tears.

Richie leaned forward and turned on the radio, which just so happened to be playing the perfect song.

"Eddie my love," Richie sang low, holding Eddie's head up to his eye level, "I love you so," he placed a quick kiss on his salty tear-stained cheek and sighed, "Eds?"

Eddie looked at the boy with hair as dark as the night. "We're safe. Right?"

"Yes, we are." Richie spoke and leaned closer until their noses touched, "we'll always be there for each other."

"How do you know that?" Eddie wondered out loud.

"We're soulmates." Richie smiled and closed his eyes, sealing his lips with Eddie's.

Eddie knew that it was crazy, yes. Eddie knew that it was absolutely bonkers, but he felt that perhaps Richie was right. Although they were so different, they still seemed to be made for one another.

After a while of kissing, they were back on the road, ready to get to California with (almost) no obstacles.