the stars in your eyes

•8•

he punched me in the face until i was coughing up blood. eddie was screaming for help and crying hysterically.
"come here little one" henry pointes at eddie who looked terrified.
"no! i'm begging you not to hit him. don't lay a finger on him. hit me as many times as you want, just don't touch eddie. please" he looked at me, then eddie, then back at me and pulled me off the ground.
"richie stop! let him hit me! you've been through enough the past few months!" eddie screamed.
"hah! what has tozier been through? the only issue with him is how fucking skinny he is" henry was holding on to my shirt so i couldn't run.
"are you kidding? richies parents constantly verbally and physically abuse him, almost every single day. not to mention he's struggling with school and doesn't have enough food in his house to even eat for one meal! richie hasn't had food in his house since he was 7. he has to get his own money to buy just a simple meal for himself. and he attempted suicide just a couple months ago, and now your constantly up his ass making sure he has enough pain. well you can fuck off because this boy has had enough pain. if your gonna hit anyone, hit me" eddie took one last hit of his inhaler. bowers let go of my shirt and began to step back. eddie ran over to me, pulling gauze and band aids from his fanny pack and applying them to my wounds.
"eds, seriously it's fine, i'm fine. are you okay? did he hurt you?" i try to sit up but fall back down. eddie catches my head before it hits the ground.
"yeah your totally fine" he says sarcastically. he somehow manages to pick me up and walk out of the woods with me over his shoulder. henry ended up following us out of the woods, offering to help eddie carry me.
"are you sure you don't need any help? it's the least i can do..." henry trailed off, seeming embarrassed.
"he's 16 and weighs 86 pounds, i think i've got this" eddie rolls his eyes at henry, still angry.
"wait- 86 pounds? he's 86 pounds?" henry asks, stunned at my disgusting weight.
"yep, he's a 6'1, 16 year old and weighs 86 pounds because his parents don't give a fuck about him. you know, maybe if you didn't beat him up, he'd be okay right now. i'm not saying his parents have stopped hurting him, which they haven't but only gotten worse, i'm saying that i'd seen his genuine smile for the first time in months for the past few days. and you completely ruined that by giving him more pain. and for what? because he's gay? because you saw him kissing his boyfriend? why is that a reason to beat him to death? why is that a reason to take away his happiness?" eddie sounded angry at henry. henry stayed silent for a few seconds.
"it's not a reason to beat him up......i know it's not" henry says, breaking the silence.
"then why did you do it? why'd you have to hurt him?" eddie was crying at this point. i could tell by the way his voice sounded.
"because i'm gay. and my dad doesn't like that. he hates it actually. he raised me to beat anyone up that's different when in reality i'm the one that should be getting beat up. i'm different...." he trails off, kicking the rocks on the ground.
"wait a minute....your gay too?" eddie asks, sounding confused.
"yeah..."
"then why did you do this? you know how it feels to be different!" eddies on edge.
"because i want what you two have! i want that! i want it more than anything! i want that with patrick...." henry had a tear streaming down his face at this point.
"patrick? like patrick hockstetter?"
"yep....but he's straight, i think. listen, the point i'm trying to get across is that i'm sorry. i'm so so sorry. i really am. i'll try and be better" tears were fully streaming down his face. i let go of eddie and stood up next to him, facing henry.
"let's ask him" i say, still coughing up blood.
"what?" henry looks up at me with hopeful eyes.
"let's ask him if he's gay or straight. listen, you cant live your whole life scared of what other people might think if you hold in your secret. sometimes, things might work out the way you want them too" i look at eddie and grab his hand, interlocking my fingers with his and holding our hands up, "it worked out just fine for me" henry smiles and nods.
"you have any idea where patrick might be right now?" eddie asks, staring to walk up the trail.
"he told me he'd be at the Aladdin today, but i don't know if he's still there" henry walks with us.
"let's check. and don't pussy out, okay? i pussied our the first time i tried to tell eddie and i ended up running away. don't be like me. do it" henry smiles at me when i say this. he might have a heart buried in that deep soul of his.
we arrive at the Aladdin and watch as henry walks in, looking around for patrick. he seems nervous, which i've never seen before.
"you think this'll work out for him eds?" i ask. eddie looks at me and smiles.
"yeah. yeah, i think it might. rich, what your doing for henry is amazing, even after what he just did to you." i look around to see if anyone's looking before kissing eddie on the head.
"i know. but he deserves to be happy, you know? his father isn't so easy on him" eddie looks up at me.
"neither is yours, rich. yet you never do anything for yourself. why are you so focused on everybody else?" he has a sad look on his face.
"i don't know. it's kinda just my default i guess" i shrug my shoulders and turn back to the door of the Aladdin. henry finds patrick and starts to pull him outside, gently.
"what the fuck are these two doing here?" patrick asks, looking at me and eddie. henry slaps him on the chest.
"stop it, seriously," he turns back to me and eddie, "what do we do now?" he asks.
"follow me" i say, walking up the street. we arrive at the cabin. there's blood stains all over the front of it, but i show henry and patrick in anyways.
"why the fuck are we in here, hen?" patrick asks as i shut the door. there's distant mumbling from inside the cabin but i can't make out the words.
"so are we playing matchmaker here or what?" eddie walks over to me, hugging my waist. i kiss him on the forehead and smile.
"you know, i've been thinking about it like this: henry's me in this situation. and patrick's you. except i'm not letting henry run away." eddie kisses me once and grabs my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine.
"do you want this to work out for him?" eddie asks, still staring into the window of the cabin, trying to see patrick and henry.
"yeah, i do. i really do. i know he's a bad person but people change, you know? i feel like he could change. i want him to. he can be a nice, sweet guy if he wanted to" eddie looks up at me, admiring my features, "what?!" i laugh, asking him why he's staring at me.
"nothing, your just really pretty, rich" i kiss him on the forehead once before letting go of his hand and walking towards the cabin door.
"ready to see if this shit worked out for them?" i ask, hand on the doorknob.
"yep" eddie takes a deep breath in as i open the door.
"alright fuckers, just tell us if it worked out-" i stopped in my tracks when i saw patrick's lips on henry's. henrys hand was on his waist and patrick's hands were on henry's face. they both turn to look at me and panic.
"fuck, hen, he's gonna tell the whole school that we're faggots! shit..." patrick starts to freak out.
"calm yourself, i'm not gonna tell anyone anything" i cross my arms in front of my chest when eddie walks up next to me.
"and why should i believe you?" he replies.
"because....." i turn to eddie who already puts his hands around my neck. mine go around his waist and i pull him in. i kiss eddie a few times before turning back to henry and patrick.
"oh...." patrick says, standing up. henry stands up with him and walks towards us.
"thank you guys. for helping me. i don't even understand why you did it in the first place. i beat the shit out of you, why'd you help me?" he asks.
"because i know there's good in you, henry. try and be a better person, please? that's how you can repay me" henry nods and pats me on the shoulder, walking past me and eddie. i turn to look at the new gay couple in town. henry grabs patrick's hand and they hold hands while walking home.
"looks like you did it, rich" eddie puts his arm around my waist.
"yeah. i did"