R+E

Chapter 2

"Richard. RICHARD" Joseph yelled as he tried to get the attention of a certain dazed comedian.

Richie's eyes seemed glassed over and his mind was somewhere else. All he knew is he has just gotten a call from someone he hardly remembered and when he heard the words Derry Maine  he couldn't help but panic. His heart was beating a mile a minute and he didn't know why. This wasn't like him at all.

A sharp pain is the only thing that shook him out of this dissociative state. His eyes locked on Joseph as he raised a hand to his face. He had just been slapped. At least that's what he thought happened since he in all technicality didn't witness it.

"What the fuck man?" He raised his voice as he rubbed his cheek carefully.

"The hell happened out there? You let yourself get eaten alive!"

"Listen man, I don't fucking care. I have to go." With that remark Richard turned on his heels and headed toward his car.

"Don't fucking walk away from me when I'm talking to you Richie."

Rich raised both of his hands and of course gave him the signature Tozier sign off of two middle fingers. He knew when he got back he would probably get it like the last time he disobeyed Joseph. He didn't like that thought. He didn't like accepting the fact that he would get locked up again and get fucked over, quite literally.

That's a story for another time though. At any rate, he had to get out of here. He needed to see what he was needed for. Thankfully his car was outside the club just like he had asked it to be. He popped the trunk open and smiled once he saw the suitcase he always carried in his car. It really wasn't much but it was for when he went out of town for comedy shows Joseph never knew about. He wanted to keep it like that.

Rich took a deep breath as he closed the trunk and got into his car, turning onto the highway. He wasn't taking any chance going home to pack more incase Joseph went there to look for him and stop him. He needed to get out. He gripped onto the steering wheel as he stared at the road driving a steady 60 mph. Richie couldn't help but get lost in his head. He felt like this was all too familiar. Derry.. why did he know the name but not remember anything from his time there. That is if he even spent time there in the first place. Could he have gone there on his tour? Maybe, but he normally remembered every live show so there was no way it could have been from that. He tried his best to remember but he couldn't get anything but memories of the same boy.

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"Richie what the fuck!" He screamed as he looked at Richie.

"Whattt its not like I'm doing anything wrong."

"YOU LITERALLY JUST  SPIT YOUR WATER ON ME" The boy screeched as he began to hit his hands against Richie's chest.

Richie just laughed as another boy with a blue shirt came to break up the play fight. "Oh come on ****. We are only messin' round."

As he spoke he pulled a small tin case out of his back pocket, smiling as he did. He had a bad smoking habit but he never thought it was that bad. ***** however hated it. The smaller boy couldn't stand the smell and the thought that it could hurt Richie, it made his stomach turn.

"Rich. Put it away?.. please" He looked at Richie with sad eyes, not even waiting for him to start. Richie nodded and  opened the case again, putting the unlit  cigarette back.

"Better?.." Rich asked carefully as he looked at the smaller male, running a gentle hand through his hair . 

"Much. You will be rewarded with this"

 As he spoke the small boy opened the fanny pack around his waist and pulled out a gold star sticker. He had started to carry them so every time Richie would try to smoke he would give him one if he chose not to. The boy put the sticker on the corner of Richie's glasses before closing the fanny pack.

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Richie snapped out of it when he got another call. Incoming call from Derry, Maine. He shook his head and took a deep breath. He couldn't answer it. If he did he would throw up again and he did not want his car smelling like vomit. That, that would be a level of disgusting he could never even reach. He just let the call pass so he could get to his destination with a somewhat sound mind. 

It had felt like time slowed down once he started to near his destination. It was odd.. He felt the time shift physically. It was almost as if something wanted to keep him out- or perhaps the opposite. Perhaps time slowed in order to keep him in, to make it harder for him to go back home after the restaurant meet up. He sighed as he finally saw the wooden sign that read WELCOME TO DERRY, MAINE.

The name made him feel oddly sick but nostalgic. Why did he feel... at home. He took a breath as he made his way through the quiet streets of the town, his eyes focused on the beaming lights ahead of him. As he tried to focus... A bunch of memories hit him in the face like a truck. What was this place?

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"What are you doing up here?" A voice called from behind him.

"Nothing- Just... thinking"

"About?"

"Don't worry about it Eds" The comedian spoke softly as he put out his cigarette on the tiles of the roof. Eds... he was always happy he was able to call him that.

"I told you not to call me that!" The brown haired boy whined as he sat beside the comic. "Were you smoking?"

"Would you hate me if I was?"

"No," The other started before sighing "but I would be sad. Richie, I don't want you getting sick."

"I know... I'm sorry." Richie hung his head before he lifted it and looked over at the boy beside him.

Richie took in every feature on his face, every minute detail out for his eyes to scan. The boy had pale skin, gentle and it looked so soft. He just wanted to hold his face in his hands forever. He held the constellations in his cheeks and when he gazed into the pools of chocolate brown... he got absolutely lost in them.

"I put it out when you came by. I didn't take more than two hits tops" The guilt in his voice was evident.

Eddie nodded and he smiled softly, Richie knowing it was genuine. The smaller male then placed a hand over the comic's.

"Thank You"

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As the male came back to reality, he realized he was now sitting in the parking lot of the Jade of Orient. This was the meeting spot and now he was mere feet away from the boy who had constantly plagued his memories. "Eddie. Eddie Kaspbrak..." He whispered to himself as he felt his lips turn up into a smile. That was the boy that was plaguing him for oh so long and it felt so good to finally know that who he was looking for was an old flame that never dwindled.