𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡.

𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 | 𝐞 & 𝐫

E

The weather was warm as Eddie stepped out of the car. He felt the warmness on top of his head from the sun reining above. Birds melodically chirped, and the early-spring bees buzzed by his ear, causing him to flinch a bit at the sudden noise. Richie looked over at him, laughing softly.

The two were at a small apple orchard that Richie found online. Richie told Eddie that it was nice and that he'd enjoy it, but no amount of words Richie could spew could compare to the absolute beauty that Eddie saw as he stepped out of the car. The trees were large and towered over Eddie, but they weren't overpowering. The leaves were viridescent, showing a perfect shade of emerald green that seemed to be illuminated in the golden rays of the sun. The mahogany red, supple apples complimented the leaves' dazzling emerald glow, looking picturesque, almost as something out of a Monet painting. The grass was clearly well taken care of, being a vibrant shamrock green, yet glistening with the droplets of crystalline dew that was somehow still there, despite the morning being nearly over.

The vision was the likes of which Eddie has never seen before, and it was incomparable to anything he'd witnessed in a while. It seemed so simple, yet so perfect.

Eddie felt Richie's hand tap his shoulder, nearly sending chills down Eddie's spine.

"So? Are you coming?" He heard from Richie. He turned to him, realising he'd been zoned out for a couple of seconds now. Trying not to show his embarrassment, Eddie nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

Eddie followed Richie, seeing his shoes get wet from the saturated, green grass. Under normal circumstances, he'd be griping about how disgusting it was and how he'd probably end up tracking in grass or mud, or how he should have brought an extra change of clothes and shoes. However, today, all he could focus on was his hands touching Richie's and how perfect they felt when the wind would subdue the warmth from the touch of them.

R

Richie took Eddie to a small area near a tree with the sun shining upon it. There was a slight shade the tree gave off, but the sun was still predominantly prevailing. Richie knelt for a second, touching the grass to feel if this particular area was damp. He felt Eddie's eyes glare at him for a moment. Richie turned, looking up at Eddie. He knew exactly what the boy was about to say, so he beat him to it. "It's dry. And there's no bugs or anything." He said, smiling a bit. He saw Eddie smile back. He could tell the boy was still wary of the area, but he sat down anyway. That was another thing he liked about Eddie - he always wanted things to be a certain way. He was cautious. It was a good trait - at times. Other times, not so much.

Richie lied on his back, half of his body being in the shade. He exhaled a long breath, then inhaled the fresh, invigorating air. He smelt some delectable sweetness from the apples, some of which were directly above his head. He saw Eddie eyeing them, likely thinking that they were going to fall and hit him in the head. A valid concern, to be fair, but Richie wasn't going to let Eddie be distracted. He wasn't just there to take Eddie to an orchard and just enjoy their time together, as much as he wanted it to be that surface-level. He had to be sure.

Richie stood up, jumping a bit to reach one of the apples. He surprisingly grabbed a hold of one in a simple jump, likely due to how tall he was. He gripped the apple, feeling how ripe and firm it felt. It was moist and had some water residue on it, making the rich crimson color show even more than before. He felt it, feeling the smoothness.

Taking a bit out of it was possibly the most refreshing thing Richie Tozier had experienced in his entire seventeen years of living. 'Well, one of the most refreshing things.' Richie thought to himself, subtly holding Eddie's hand as he felt it made it's way over to him.

One bite out of that apple felt like it could undo years of bad and unhealthy apples. Richie was unprepared for the intoxicating and inebriating, divine sweetness of the first bite.

"Wow," Richie remarked while chewing. Eddie looked up at him. "What?" He asked, curiosity in his tone. Richie looked at Eddie with satisfaction, simply passing the apple over to him. Eddie stared at it, taking a bite from the other side.

Richie noticed how Eddie took in the flavor with all his senses. He observed as the crisp, golden sunlight danced on Eddie's cheeks effortlessly, making him almost shine.

"Yeah. Wow." Eddie said, returning the remark along with a slight smile.

'God, this is perfect. He was perfect.'

Richie noticed people walking by, looking at them ever so slightly. 'Don't do it. Don't ruin this moment. Just have this moment with him, okay?' Richie's subconscious said to him, speaking wiser words than he'd truly understand in the moment. 'Do it.' He thought to himself on the other hand, just wanting to be sure.

One side won.

While the people were still looking over, Richie sat up with a gust of wind to meet Eddie's position. He leant in and kissed Eddie, passionately, albeit a bit rough and aggressively.

E

Eddie was pulled out of his thoughts and tasting the sweet apple on his taste buds by an aggressive motion, Richie kissing Eddie. In public. Extremely caught off guard and immediately put on edge, Eddie pulled back from the kiss with a jerk. "Whoa, what the hell?" He said, shocked, but the expression coming off much more rude than he'd intended. He leaned back on his hands, nearly slipping on some of the parts of the grass that actually were wet. He saw Richie's expression which was shocked with a tinge of regret. He couldn't focus on how Richie felt at the moment - all he could focus on was the fact that strangers had been looking at them, while they kissed, in public.

"What the fuck, Richie?" Eddie spoke angrily, raising his tone but whisper-shouting.

R

'God no. Please no. Why the fuck did I do that?' Richie felt Eddie's hand pull away from his quickly. The people looked for a while, but walked away. 'Is this what it's like to be truly mortified yet crushed simultaneously?' "I..." Richie started to speak, but words would no longer come from his lips. Eddie stood up, clearly upset. "I told you I'm not out yet. Couldn't you have just fucking respected that?" Eddie said, his words cutting as sharp as ice cold daggers. Richie felt physically sick and pained by these words, whatever sweetness he tasted before being replaced by sour, zesty flavoring that made him feel ill. "I just had to be sure." Richie said quietly, standing up and trying not to make the scene any bigger than it already was.

"Sure of what? God, Richie!" Eddie said, almost shouting at this point. "I don't know... that you liked me?" Richie said, still keeping his calm tone. "That I liked you? Are you that fucking dense, Tozier?" Eddie said, like before, only this time, with no joking inflection to be found in his stern, bitter tone. "Do you think if I didn't like you that I would have slept in your bed with you? Opened up and told you shit that I've never told anyone in my life? Let you kiss me?" Richie didn't reply back, looking down at the ground. "How many times are you going to project your blatant insecurity onto me, Tozier? How many fucking times?" Eddie repeated, more forceful the second time. "Because I am so tired of it. I'm tired of you trying to test whatever sick desires you have out on me. I'm tired of you trying to prove whatever you think you have to prove to me. Do you not get it? Is it not clicking in your brain?" Richie felt like he was about to throw up. 'Please no.' He repeated mentally. "The more you start to try, the less I like you. And you've tried more times than I can count."

Pause.

Tears started to stream down Eddie's once glowing cheeks. "Whatever," Eddie said, wiping his tears with his hands and taking a deep, shaky breath. "I'm not going to cry over you. Enjoy your fucking apples." Eddie said abruptly walking away, throwing the apple back at him, it hitting him in the stomach.