BLEACHED ✧ REDDIE

| FOUR - 四

— 四 !

☆ ☆ ☆

— AT EXACTLY SIX O'CLOCK ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT, RICHIE STANDS IN THE YELLOW PORCH LIGHT OF THE KASPBRAK'S HOME!

he is unsteady on heavy feet, reeking of cigarette smoke and stale breath mints. his hands are shaking and shoved within the pockets of his dirty jean jacket, doing little to shield him from the biting cold air. raven curls sit wild atop his skeleton head, washed and clean for the first time in almost a week, still damp underneath from earlier's shower — if standing under freezing cold water for over an hour until it turned his insides to ice, washing away dirt and soap as he tried not to faint was considered a shower, then yeah, richie showered for the occasion. no one had cared enough to pay the bills yet so the hot water didn't work, didn't matter if they were good for it or not. richie refuses to pay for any unpaid bills, refuses to give his parents the satisfaction.

a trembling breath tumbles from cracked lips as richie takes a hand from his pocket, raising it to rasp his busted and bruised knuckles against the firetruck red door.

the gaping hole in his bedroom wall is covered by some playboy centrefold.

richie is left staring and swaying a few feet behind the welcome mat, just waiting. for seconds or minutes he couldn't ever say, sometimes time seems to blend itself together. he doesn't mind and tries to ignore the stinging in his sinuses.

the red door opens a tad, then a sigh erupts from behind the crack and soon enough, richie's source of sunlight is stepping out in nothing but a pair of small navy shorts and richie's 'the ramones' hoodie. this causes the taller to smile a slow grin, looking eddie up and down like a lion would its prey. a lamb stepping into the den of a starved wolf.

"what are you doing here?!" eddie whisper-yells after he has shut the door behind himself. richie is too mesmerized by the way the small boy's frame is swallowed whole by the oversized hoodie, eyes blown and blank. a cold sweat forms at the nape of his neck.

richie blinks a few times, wolfish grin plastered upon his face still, only wilder and less hungry. he leans against the porch post railing, trying to look suave as to not topple over from his endless swaying, "told ya' i'd be here eds. or did you forget our very first date already?"

the older of the two feigns a pout, dark eyes looking up from his black lashes. the look itself is unnatural on him, doesn't suit his needle sharp features at all.

"i told you i can't, it's a school night!" more whisper-yelling on eddie's part. his cheeks are flushed, from the cold, frustration, or embarrassment, richie couldn't place which one, but he found it endearing all the same. "my mother would kill me if i left to go skiving off with some stranger!"

"ouch, spaghetti, is that all i am to you? some stranger?" richie doesn't pout this time, just flings a shaking hand over his chest mockingly. "and here i thought we were just gettin' cozy."

eddie rolls his eyes and lets go of the door knob. he peeks at the curtains in the window near the door, "don't call me that. and you may not be a stranger to me, but my mother would freak if she knew i even spoke to you, much less sneak out with you. there's no way she'd allow it."

"simple," richie shrugs, patting his pockets for his pack. "lie to her."

the sunshine boy's doe eyes widen at the mere suggestion of lying to his mother. sure, he'd done it before, but never to sneak out to meet up with some boy. especially not a boy like richie tozier, who kicked up dirt and smelled like trouble and lung cancer. eddie knew his mother would never approve and yet —