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     i woke up to richie gently shaking my shoulder.
     "hmm?" i asked groggily.
     "we're getting off in fifteen minutes," he informed me.
     i sat up and stretched, then gasped. "wow," i breathed. "it's so pretty!" i was craning my neck, trying to take in all of the city at once.
      "you know what else is pretty?"
     "richie, i swear to fucking god, if you say my mom-"
     he silenced me with a kiss. i could feel my face heating up.
     "you. you're pretty eddie spaghetti!"
      i was too surprised to tell him off. "thanks 'chee," i mumbled bashfully.
     "ok so when we get off, we've got about five blocks to walk. my aunt will meet us on the corner ok?"
     i nodded. "sounds good."
     "stay close to me. new york people are crazy," he added.
     "how crazy?" i breathed.
     "just stay close to me ok. and don't give any homeless people money."
"umm ok," i said.
the bus rolled to a stop, and the remaining people on the bus began to stand and grab their things. richie and i followed suit, and trailed off the bus.
we kept our heads down; the city wasn't too busy yet, and we were able to get to the corner his aunt was going to meet us on.
i glanced up at richie, who was looking around, confused.
"what's wrong?" i asked, panic immediately griping my chest.
"she's not here yet. she was supposed to be here at five thirty and it's-" he paused to check his watch. "-almost six now."
i tried to stay calm. "maybe she overslept... or got caught in foot traffic?"
richie shook his head no. "she's never been late to anything. something must be wrong."
i felt my chest tighten, and the old feeling of asthma kicking in. "are you sure?" i whispered shakily.
"i don't know-" he cut himself off with a scream, and spun around.
i followed suit, clutching my bag tightly to my chest.
"aunt jen," richie cried, relieved. "you're here!"
i let out a breath of relief.
"sorry guys. your face is all over the news right now, i had to stop and get you two some hair bleach. and hair dye of course," she explained.
richie and i laughed.
"let's get you two home, i'm sure you've had a long night. i set you up ab air mattress, i never got around to cleaning out the guest room but i'll get right on it, don't worry."
"it's fine ms. jen," i told her.
she waved me off. "please, call me aunt jen," she laughed.
richie and i followed aunt jen silently as the city began to awake.
we arrived at her small apartment by seven.
"rich, you know how to dye hair right?" jen asked richie.
"yeah," he told her. "why?"
"i need you to bleach yours and eddie's hair while i go get bagels. you two can fight over hair dye while you're at it. toodles."
with that, she left richie and i standing in the doorway, with only our backpacks and a plastic bag of hair dye.
richie opened the bag. "oh! i call dibs on the purple and black!"
"richie," i whined. "that's so unfair! i didn't even get to look!"
"it's ok, you'll like what's left," he said with a wink.
i snatched the bag from him, and opened it. the only two colors left were pink and blue.
"eww," i muttered.
"aw come on eds, we can dye it half and half!" richie tried to cheer me up.
"what are you gonna do with your colors?" i asked as i followed him into the bathroom.
"well, we both have to bleach it first, but i'm going to dye my whole hair purple and then the tips black!"
"ooh. that'll look good on you."
"and cotton candy hair will look good on you eds!"
"don't call me that!"
he chuckled, producing the hair bleach.
"ready eddie?"
"no."


three and a half hours later, after many tips from jen, we were completely done. to say the least, i was impressed.
i grinned up at richie. "you look hot 'chee," i told him.
he blushed. "have you looked in the mirror? you are absolutely stunning!"
"thanks," i whispered.
"come on, let's go eat."
     two freshly buttered blueberry bagels sat on the counter, along with a note from richie's aunt, saying that she had to run to the store.
     "wanna take a nap after we eat?" 'chee asked me tiredly.
     "of course babe," i told him.
      i glanced over at the air mattress in the middle of the living room, piled high with blankets and pillows.
     i chewed slowly, watching richie eat.
     "you ok eds?" he asked me.
     "yeah." i didn't know how to tell him about the almost unbearable panic that wrapped around my chest like a snake. i knee my mom would find us. she would kill me. literally.
     i flinched at the sound of richie scooting his chair back, and watched him walk over to the air mattress.
     i left my discarded bagel on its plate, and went to join richie, who was trying to make sense of the mess of pillows.
     a wave of sadness and fear hit me; tears welled up in my eyes and i couldn't breathe.
     "come on," i whispered shakily. "we can deal with this mess when we wake up."
     richie obliged, and we both crawled under the blankets.
     i snuggled near richie, and he threw his arm over me.
     "you ok baby?" he asked me with closed eyes.
     "yeah..." i mumbled.
     he opened his eyes. "no you aren't. look at you, your pale and shakily and look like you're gonna have an asthma attack. what's wrong?"
     i felt a tear trickle down my face, but i wiped it off hurriedly. "i'm scared my mom is going to find me. if she does 'chee she will literally kill me! i left her. she-she needs my help. i-" i threw the blanket over my head to hid the fresh tears, trying to hold back sobs.
     "look at me kid," richie whispered gently.
     i shook my head no.
     "please?"
      i was quick to wipe my face, knowing he'd still know i was crying.
     i poked my head out.
     richie placed his hand on my cheek. "i promise- i swear on my life- i will not let that woman near you ever again. ok? you don't owe her anything. she's abusive eds. i wish you were able to see that more clearly."
     this time i wasn't able to hold back my sobs. richie wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly to his chest.
     "i love you eds."
     "i love you too 'chee. i'm so lucky to have you."
    

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