𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡.

𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐲'𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰? | 𝐞 & 𝐫

E

    Eddie walked outside after he finished crying to get away from Richie. He was honestly embarrassed for letting his emotions take hold of him like that. He needed a deep breath. God, could this day get any worse? Eddie wondered, sitting on the steps to the apartment. He tried to get enough bravery to get back inside and apologize to Richie. He didn't know what to do. He felt a breeze behind him.

R

"Eds?" Richie said, watching Eddie bring himself together.  "Are you okay?" Richie nervously asked. "I'm fine," Eddie said, not turning about to look at him. "And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so out of control," Eddie told him. "I'm so stupid..." he muttered. Richie's heart slightly faltered. "I wish you wouldn't do that." Richie said, sitting next to the boy. "What do you mean?" Eddie said, looking at him a little bit. "Talk bad about yourself," He said, shrugging.

E and R

Richie had a cigarette in his hand, lighting it. The smell of the smoke almost made Eddie gag. "And I wish you wouldn't do that." Eddie said gratingly, gesturing towards his cigarette. Richie sighed, holding the cigarette in his hand. After a few quiet moments, Richie took Eddie's hand gently. Eddie almost pulled away and flinched, but he didn't. He clasped on more. "We should probably go inside." Richie said. Eddie nodded, slightly smiling.

They walked inside and Richie put on some music. The song was 'Comfort Crowd' by Conan Gray. Richie sat, as smoke from his cigarette filled the small apartment. They said next to each other on the bed. "Is smoking allowed in your apartment complex?" Eddie asked. Richie smiled a little. "Does it matter?" Eddie laughed a little. Richie froze for a second and so did Eddie, caught off guard. Eddie blushed a bit, his glowing cheeks showing a light flush of pink. "Sorry." Eddie said nervously. Richie smiled. "Did you just apologize for laughing?" He scoffed a little. "You're cute." Richie said offhandedly. Eddie looked back at him. "What?"

It was like that night all over again. Instead of saying 'nothing' like last time, Richie just said, "Yeah. You're cute." His voice wavered slightly leaning on Eddie. He blushed again. "You're just high and stupid right now." He said, gently pushing him off. "No. " Richie said, turning Eddie's face to his. They both stared into each other's eyes.

Without thinking, Richie put his lips to Eddie's kissing him gently and down his neck. Eddie laughed softly a little again. He felt so free. They both did. "Richie, come on..." He said nervously. When Richie continued and he could see that he wasn't joking, Eddie said again, "Richie, stop it." He slightly nudged Richie off of him. "Richie, I'm straight." Richie stopped, looking in Eddie's eyes again. "Oh. Yeah, uh, for sure." Richie awkwardly said, moving back a little. Eddie realized, deep down, he secretly wanted this. "I mean..." Eddie started. Richie moved closer again. "I guess friends... kiss platonically. You know? It doesn't mean anything." Richie slightly winced and shrugged, nodding. "Yeah, totally. Right?" He asked Eddie again as a sign for some permission. "Uh, right." Eddie said, blushing again. Eddie kissed Richie and Richie kissed back, running his long, slender fingers through Eddie's soft locks.

E

It goes without saying that the first day of Eddie's spring break was... eventful. He couldn't describe it. He woke up, the light shining on his freckled face from the morning sun. It was bright outside, which was a good thing. It meant the weather was finally warming up. After thinking for a few minutes, Eddie turned to the side. Shit. Richie was next to him in the bed. He immediately felt nervous. Eddie stared at Richie while he slept, realizing how attractive he'd gotten now. He didn't want to think about that, though. Richie's tired eyes blinked and opened.

R

    Richie was met face to face with Eddie. "Hey." He said, smiling. "You're pretty." Richie said. Eddie's face felt warm and he had a small smile upon it. "Uh, I don't know how to ask this." Eddie said nervously, shifting direction. "We're in the same bed... Did we, uh..." Eddie stammered a little bit. Richie laughed. "No. We didn't." He said and sat up, putting his knees to his chest and resting his back on the unstable bed frame. "Okay, good." Eddie said, with seemingly a sigh of relief. He got up, pulling the blankets back slightly. "Good?" Richie asked, teasingly pretending to be offended. "I, uh, no, sorry, I didn't mean to phrase it that way-" Eddie said, looking humiliated. "Relax," Richie said, standing up. He stood behind Eddie and gave him a slight massage. "God, you're tense." Richie chuckled again. Eddie turned to face the boy, Richie's arms now on his shoulders. Richie leaned forward a bit for a small kiss. "Gross," Eddie said jokingly. "It's morning, go brush your teeth." He said dismissively and walked away, leaving Richie smiling.