𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡.

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 | 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

author's note: here we go. the anticipated chapter (for no one). the one i've been dreading to write. i'm in this kind of mood now, so let's do it. welcome to the accident.

{March. 2015. Derry, Maine. }

"Come on, it'll be fine!" Richie shouted across the water to Eddie. The fourteen year old boy had swam across the lake, which was sparkling in the early spring sun rays. The weather was slightly cold, but the beaming sun rays danced on their skin, warming them up. Eddie and Richie had snuck out of their homes in the afternoon to spend some time together, as Eddie's mother didn't like them hanging out. Eddie was a ruler follower - he didn't disobey his mother much, except when it came to Richie. Eddie and Richie were extremely close friends - they had been for a while now.

The curly-haired, thirteen year old (almost fourteen, as he constantly reminded Richie) Eddie was terrified to swim across the water. He thought there would be too many diseases he could contract. He was a young hypochondriac, formed on his mother's behalf. She was always convincing him he had some sort of disease. Eddie believed her most of the time, but he was still skeptical from time to time. Richie was always trying to push him out of his comfort zone, and Eddie preferred to play it safe. He got Richie out of trouble a few times: in a sense, they balanced each other out perfectly. "I'm not doing it. There's no way in hell!" He shouted, laughing a little to ease his nerves. Richie laughed too. "You have to! I'm not gonna swim all the way back if you don't come. You're gonna have to walk home alone!" Richie shouted back. Eddie sighed, shaking his hands to get the nervousness out of his system. He put his foot in the shimmering, dark blue water gently. Anxiously, the boy got into the water, shivering almost instantly. It's freezing. How is he doing this? Eddie thought, gazing longingly at the taller boy, playing in the water.

Richie noticed Eddie staring. "Come on Eds, are you just gonna stare at me like a freak or swim over here?" He said, smugly. Eddie blushed slightly, putting his head down so that Richie wouldn't notice his dewy, red face and say something about it. He hated when Richie called him that. Kind of. He swam closer, smiling a little bit. The water felt good to Eddie, even though it was very cold. Refreshing. It was a nice break from spending most of his days inside with his mother.

"Come on, stop swimming so slowly. What are you, a grandma?" Richie said, rolling his eyes back and chuckling a bit. "Sorry, I'm scared." Eddie replied, looking a little nervous. "When aren't you?" Richie jokingly said. He admired Eddie a lot, despite him being the biggest coward he'd ever met. He liked that he wasn't scared to open up. It was a good thing. "You'll be fine. Just hurry up," Richie dismissively said, looking up at the sky to notice the sun was going down.

Eddie eventually made his way across, swimming alongside Richie. "I don't really have a good feeling about this. Plus it's cold, and I'm hungry." Richie looked around, looking for some land. He saw a shady area right by the woods with the tall, green trees. "We can sit there for a second. Come on." Before Eddie could say no or ask anything else, Richie's pace sped up a bit. "Wait for me!" Eddie said. Richie grinned, not slowing down.

"Beat ya," Richie remarked as they arrived at the land. Richie got out the water and sat on the dirt and moist grass by the lake. "I told you to wait," Eddie said, annoyedly. Richie smiled. "Couldn't hear you." He lied sarcastically. Eddie got out of the lake, his curly hair dripping wet from slipping under the water a few times on accident. "There's no way I'm sitting on that dirt." Eddie said. Richie laughed. He felt so good right now. They both did, despite Eddie being a little annoyed with Richie's antics. But then again, when wasn't he?

"Oh my god!" Eddie shouted, pointing at his own leg and screaming. "Get it off!" He shrieked. Slightly concerned, the other boy looked at Eddie's leg. "Eds. It's literally string." Richie said, unamused. "Oh. Damn." Eddie blushed, embarrassed. "It's a lake in Derry. What did you think it could have been?" Richie asked, scoffing. "A leech. A snake? You never know." Eddie told him and shrugged as Richie playfully rolled his eyes at the boy.