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Chapter Three

Richie froze. Seeing Eddie's blank expression as they met eye-to-eye. The small boy's ears burned red as he unconsciously raked his eyes up and down Richies lean figure, soaking up every ounce of the boy before him. His messy hair was pulled back into a small ponytail, so his thick glasses were on full display sitting atop his crooked nose and freckled cheeks. Cheeks that were now the color of Eddie's shorts. Bright red. Down to his chest, that had freckles lightly sprinkled along his collar bones. To his slim abdomen that showed a hint of abs that Eddie longed to get his lips on, leading down to his defined v-line that held a trail of dark, wispy hair. Eddie pulled himself away before he could see Richies "business", turning his head away and covering his mouth and cheeks in an attempt to hide his blush.

"Like whatcha see, Ed's? You seem to be blushing a little hard." Richie says nonchalantly as he pulls up his swim-trunks, reaching for his button-up, hawaiin print shirt. Once Richie gave the 'okay' for him to look, Eddie's eyes landed immediately on the taller boy's crotch. Those shorts didn't leave much to the imagination, outlining his bulge and making it stick out like a road-flare on an abandoned highway. Quickly pulling his gaze away, Eddie mumbled a quick 'I am so sorry' as he embarrassedly fumbled through his bathroom cabinet, dropping to his knees. Taking in Eddie's current position, Richie blushed awkwardly and stepped around him, heading for the stairs.

"Hey Spaghetti-Man, I'm gonna snatch a couple beers from the fridge for everyone, that cool?" Richie shouted as he clumsily made his way down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

"Absolutely not! I am not taking care of a drunk Richie again!" Eddie yells back, shoving his things into a backpack and starting for the entryway. Richie snickers, putting the alcohol back in its place.

"What crawled up your ass m'gee?" The curly haired boy says sarcastically, walking away from the fridge and towards the door where Eddie was, putting his shoes on. Eddie rolls his eyes and hands Richie his shoes that the smaller boy had snatched off of his window-sill on his way down. After putting their shoes on in silence, the boys headed out the door in the same undisturbed quiet. They made their way down the familiar street, nostalgia being the first of many things they started to feel, seeping into their pores like a thick sweat.

Richie glanced down at the tense boy beside him, noticing the way the morning sun lit up his features and made him look doll-like; from his long, thick lashes to his button-nose. Eddie felt Richie's eyes beating down on him, more-so than the ball of fire in the sky. He pretends not to feel his heated gaze against his skin, and wills away the butterflies that swarm his stomach as their hands brush together occasionally.

As they come to the end of the road, they turn into the woods, finding the trail by memory. When Eddie thinks that the taller boy finally looked away, he dares to let his eyes wander to Richie's pale complexion. The warm sun-rays peak down through the thick canopy of leaves hanging above them, complementing the raven-haired boy's freckles and turning his wide, blue eyes a light-grey. Eddie feels heat pool in his lower belly and smiles up at the beautiful boy, wondering how his small hand would feel in Richie's large one.

Eddie quickly brushes the thought from his mind, sighing as he looks forward. When he spots the trees opening to the small, grassy plane, he grins from ear-to-ear and excitedly grabs Richies long forearm, leading him to the previously mentioned tree that Eddie loved to sit under while his friends tried to impress each other by doing dangerous flips off of the small cliff. When they reach the infamous-tree, Eddie reaches around to his backpack and pulls out his favorite quilt, one that Beverly had made him herself after almost four months of work.

He tosses the blanket down gently, letting go of Richie's arm as he spreads out the quilt evenly. Without looking back at Richie. Eddie tosses his backpack near the tree and plops down, sprawling out his legs and leaning back on the palms of his hands. He looks up at Richie and directs his gaze at the spot next to him pointedly. The tall boy takes the invitation and sits down next to the chestnut-haired boy, crossing his long legs.

For a few moments, the two just stared out at the water silently, occasionally stealing quick side glances at each other until Richie felt like he was going to combust if someone didn't break the tension.

"Say Ed's, you didn't bring any cards with you, did ya?" The tall boy asked as he reached for the pack of menthol cigarettes hidden away in his back pocket.

"You're in luck 'chee." Eddie grinned as he reached for his bag. Unfortunately for the short boy, the bag was out of reach for his small arms.

When Richie turned back from lighting his cigarette, Eddie was on all fours, crawling over to his bag to retrieve the promised deck of cards. His back dipped low enough for his shirt to ride up and expose his pale lower-back. Richie swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth as he shamelessly eyeballed Eddie's perky bottom that was being hugged tightly by the material of his swim trunks, giving a flattering definition to his ass.

When Eddie gave a victorious 'ah ha!', dictating that he'd found the desired object, Richie took a long drag of his cigarette before turning away to hide his blush, so as the small boy next to him wouldn't know what he had been doing moments before. Desperate to distract himself from his intrusive thoughts, Richie stood and walked to the edge of the ravine, taking another long pull from his cigarette.

"Say Ed's, how much for me to do a flip?" Riche called from over his shoulder.

"I'm not gonna pay you to break your neck, Trashmouth." Eddie yells back in a distracted voice, shuffling the deck of cards.

"What, not even a kiss?"