𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡.

𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 | 𝐞 & 𝐫

R

    Richie and Eddie walked to the cafe silently. He could feel Eddie's judgmental eyes examining him sometimes. Richie was so nervous he thought he'd pass out. He hadn't seen him in so long, and genuinely had no idea how this "talk" was going to go. Why the hell did he agree to this? It was too late for regret - the two had arrived at the cafe.

    The cafe was a small mom and pop building, but it was popular. It was apparently "The Best Cafe in Portland!" - which really wasn't saying much. All of the reviews were glowing. However, that didn't matter to Richie now. He couldn't pay attention to the beautiful wooden carvings on the ceiling or the luminescent sphere shaped lights right now. He was scared shitless.

    Eddie took off his coat as the cafe was noticeably warmer than the cold weather outside. He was wearing a white collared shirt and black jeans with a nice belt. Richie didn't remember Eddie having... actual fashion taste? It was a huge step up from his wearing fanny packs every day.

    They sat down at one of the tables that was not empty. Richie stared at his phone nervously. "How... have you been?" Eddie asked, breaking the silence. Richie didn't look up. "Fine," He said, his voice slightly cracking. He cleared his throat to mask it. "Yeah, I've been fine." He said. Eddie looked directly at him. Richie felt his eyes burning through him like lasers. "How about you?" He said, slightly looking up. God, was this awkward. "I'm alright.." Eddie said, trailing off slightly.

E

     "I'm alright.." Eddie said, trailing off slightly. He checked his watch. He was having "friends" over soon. He had to make the conversation quick. After a few seconds more of silence again, Eddie was tired of it being awkward. "Okay, fuck this awkwardness," Eddie said as he flipped over Richie's phone in order for him to not look at it. "I haven't seen you in almost five years, and all of a sudden you just show up in some sketchy alley, deliberately walking away from me?" Eddie asked, sounding slightly pissed off.

R

    "Me? Are you serious? You're the one who left Derry." Richie said, raising his voice slightly and losing some of the nervousness he had built up. Eddie looked at him in disbelief. What even was this new Eddie he was seeing? He watched Eddie bite his lip. Now that was the Eddie he was used to seeing, not this new facade he was putting on.

E

    "You can't be serious. Yeah, I left, but how was I supposed to explain that to everyone else?" Eddie asked, getting even more angry. "Okay, you want to play the blame game? It's your fucking fault. You think I left because of something else?" Eddie scoffed. He watched Richie's gaze direct back down. "You've changed, Eds." He said. Damn. Eddie was taken aback. He hadn't heard anyone call him that name in a while. He was caught off guard as he opened his mouth to say something. He closed it again. The silence was intense.

R

Richie sat, fiddling with his thumbs. After a few minutes of silence, Richie spoke up. He didn't want to seem like an idiot, he just needed to know: "Did you really leave because of me?" Eddie looked back up at him. "Yeah. I did." He sighed. "I really did..." He muttered, trailing off. "And to think, I came here for you." Richie silently said.

                                                                           E

    Eddie looked up. "W-What?" He said, slightly stammering. "Nothing," Richie said, grabbing his phone, about to get up. "Wait," Eddie said. "Nothing, it's fine." Richie got up and started to walk to the door. "Richie, sit back down now. You fucking followed me?" Eddie said, raising his voice. Eddie left the cafe, following him out.

R

"Richie, wait!" He heard Eddie call out. Fuck. This was not good. At all. Richie dipped into an alley. Eddie was too close behind. Richie stopped. What the hell was he going to do now? "Did you seriously follow me?" Eddie said, nearly shouting. Richie looked around nervously. He looked like he was about to melt.

E

    Eddie was pissed, and he started to get a weird feeling. He felt something intense, like he hadn't felt in a while. Not since he left Derry. His eyes started tearing up. Fuck. Was he seriously about to cry? There was no way. He hadn't since he'd left. "I left town. You gave me hell." Eddie's voice started breaking. "Why the hell would I leave, build my new life, and you've been fucking following me?" He threw his arms in the air, frustrated. "Unbelievable." He turned. He'd rather die then cry in front of Richie. Again.

R

    Richie didn't know what to do. He could tell Eddie was holding back tears. Instead of Eddie crying, like he used to, he held it back. He didn't understand how much his actions affected him. Richie thought he'd throw up. He couldn't tell if it was the mix of drugs in his system or the situation itself. "Eddie," Richie said, putting his hand on Eddie's shoulder. "Don't fucking touch me," Eddie shouted, completely freaking out. Richie watched and saw that Eddie was shaking at this point. "Eddie. Come to my place. It's okay. Just let me explain..." Eddie was trying to suppress his tears. Richie didn't know what to do.

E

    "Please, just come over. Everything's gonna be okay..." Richie said, clearly just trying to comfort Eddie. "I'm not going to your house." Eddie said, grabbing his bag. "Yes. You are." Richie said, holding his hand out. Richie was shaking too. "I'm having f-friends over though," Eddie said, stammering. "And you want them to see you like this?" Richie said. "Just come with me." Reluctantly, Eddie took his hand.