fearinfected

[fearinfected]

It really was him. By some divine intervention or some sort of twisted joke, Eddie was hearing Cardan's voice on the line as though he hadn't believed him dead for the past month. Should he have felt relieved? All he felt was confused -- Cold and shaky, nausea rising in his throat as he wondered if Richie knew. Fuck, he needed to tell Richie.

"Where the fuck is that?" With my brother. For a moment, he felt his heart stop. "With Richie? In Nevada?"

No, he couldn't be. The Toziers had up and left a couple of weeks ago, had filled the moving truck to the brim and let another family move into the house that Eddie had considered his second home. There was probably a kid making Lego in Richie's old room, another kid looking out of Cardan's window.

And as much as Cardan intimidated Eddie, even after all these years, he wanted to rip the view from this stranger's vision and give it straight back to the other boy.

Then he asked where his parents were and Eddie felt like he was about to pass out, clutching the phone to his ear with both hands. "They're- They moved. A couple weeks ago." The wound was still fresh, brows furrowed as he bit back the shaking that threatened to weave its way through his tone. "I haven't heard from them. Rich said he'd write with the new address, but... nothing."

Time was running out. "Cardan, you gotta tell me how to get there. Maybe we can, I don't know- we'll come get you."

                     Never  in  the  nearing  two  decades  of  living  would  Cardan  have  ever  thought  that  hearing  one  of  his  brother's  friend's  voice  would  be  soothing  ―  especially  not  when  he  can  nearly  hear  the  hysteria  in  the  hue  of  his  voice,  despite  the  white,  garbled  noise  of  the  horrid  signal.  Then  again,  he  never  would  have  thought  that  after  the  passage  of  all  these  years  he  would  be  able  to  recall  the  series  of  numbers  he  would  once  press  to  call  Eddie's  house  when  Richie  was  nowhere  to  be  seen  on  a  night  of  strict  curfew.  Alas,  all  sense  of  tranquility  vanishes  upon  the  inquiries  thrown  his  way  ―  upon  the  vanishing  of  the  momentary  nostalgia,  and  the  dawn  of  his,  quite  horrid,  reality.

                     And  the  realisation  that  the  phone  he  acquired  from  a  recently  glamoured  mortal  is  nearing  fifteen  percent  battery  drainage,  and  it  will  soon  shut  down,  taking  down  the  semblance  of  communication  the  Prince  has  managed  to  establish  with  the  outside,  human  world  for  the  first  time  in  five  years  with  it.

                     ❛  Were  this  to  be  a  joke,  Edward,  you  would  be  laughing,  ❜  Comes  the  hurried  response  as  Cardan  rummages  through  the  mortal's  schoolbag,  pushing  past  notebooks,  snacks,  and  a  particularly  dirty  set  of  clothes  in  his  search  for  a  charger.  Even  in  the  unlikely  scenario  that  a  charger  is  present,  where  to  place  the  phone  for  it  to  charge,  he  does  not  know  ―  alas,  he  comes  up  short  of  any  charger,  and  thus,  he  quietly  curses  under  his  breath,  pursing  plump  lips  into  a  frown  of  frustration.  ❛  Elfhame,  ❜  He  answers  curtly.  ❛  With  my  brother.  I  live  in  his  estate.  ❜

                     The  Fae  eyes  the  bag  of  chips  for  a  long  moment  prior  to  grabbing  hold  of  it,  opening  it,  and  then  swallowing  down  a  handful  of  chips,  savoring  their  taste.  Mab,  he  has  not  had  these  in  so  long,  even  the  plastic,  thin  fries  feel  devine.  ❛  Where  are  ―  ❜  Mom  and  dad,  Cardan  means  to  convey,  before  he  is  swiftly  reminded  of  Balekin's  cruel  punishments  when  his  former,  mortal  family  was  ever  mentioned  ―  and,  that  even  in  the  basement  cells  of  Hollow  Hall,  even  the  walls  have  ears  and  eyes.  ❛  Where  are  Maggie  and  Wentworth  ?  They  did  not  answer  the  landline.  ❜

[fearinfected]

It was insane to think that the man before him was still the same Ben that they all knew and loved as a kid and yet, aside from the drastic change in appearance, he really hadn't changed a bit. None of them had. It was a soothing thought and a sad one all at once.

Scoffing at his tail-end comment, the shorter man held up his right hand, ignoring the smears of blood against his skin. "I'm a married man, dude. Richie's the one you gotta worry about." Pause. "All right, how's the pain? Scale of one to ten?"

Ben's responding laugh immediately turned into a wince, but he didn't complain. "Short version? Got tired of being the bullied fat kid, and asshole gym teachers who didn't do anything about it, so I joined the track team outta spite, lost a bunch of weight. . . Kinda just kept up with it. Hence the. . . 3% body fat? I honestly haven't checked in a while."

Partly because he wasn't a college jock anymore, but mainly because that sort of thing was the beginning of a very short road back to very unhealthy habits. But Eddie didn't need to know about that.

"But if you and Richie keep sayin' stuff like that to me, I'm gonna start thinkin' you have a crush on me," he teased.

[fearinfected]

"I'd have less headaches, that's for sure," he quipped back, but couldn't deny that a world without Bill wasn't one that Eddie wanted to be part of. If it were anyone else that had tried to pull him away from the stress of their studies, he would have put up a much bigger fight, but he could never say no to Bill.

Bars weren't exactly Eddie's favourite getaway spot, the errant stickiness of the place brandishing images of layers upon layers of disease on every surface. But he was here and he was hiding his discomfort well enough.

"All right, I'm setting a boundary right now: You're not gonna try and get me to talk to any random girls like last time. I'm not doing it, Billy."

"Even if you did try to get rid of me, you'd miss me too much and beg me to come back," Bill retorted, only pausing to reach back and grasp the brunette's upper arm to pull him along behind him. "You'd be devastated and you know it."

"Hey! We love Friday! Let's celebrate and not think about anything that may or may not be coming up in the near future!" Bill replied, eyes closing briefly as the two of them stepped outside into the sun.

It didn't take them long to make it to the bar with Bill holding the door open for Eddie to step in first. "Fucking finally." He was already feeling immense relief.

[fearinfected]

"A month?" The knowledge twisted in Eddie's gut like a knife, fresh panic washing over him as he glanced towards the clock -- The date was right below it in black and white: 15th August. Almost a month.

That meant that the world had carried on without him and he had no idea about any of it. What were they doing without him at work? Was Myra blowing up Bill's phone with questions? Were the others really okay?

"Holy shit, Bill - What have I missed?"

The author nodded, his hand gently squeezing the other's uninjured wrist. Bill would do anything for Eddie, including dealing with his wife on his behalf. He didn't even need to ask him. And if he ended up wanting him to keep being the one that dealt with Myra then he would.

"You don't need to thank me, Eds. If there's anything else you need me to do just say the word, okay?" Bill took a moment to force himself to think back to when Eddie had first landed himself in here. "About three weeks now. Almost a month."

[fearinfected]

✏️

Send in ✏️ and I’ll use this (improved) incorrect quote generator featuring both our muses!

the quote:

[fearinfected]

❛ Shit. My phone's about to die. ❜

( it verse cardan for eddie, BC joke's on Balekin he has a phone but there's no power source in elfhame )

As soon as Eddie put the phone to his ear, a cold washing of dread ran through his frame, the garbled clacking noises that emanated from the receiver sounding as though he was being phoned by a fucking clam under the ocean. But then he'd heard a voice, Cardan's voice, and every nerve in his body stood to attention.

Because Cardan was dead, wasn't he? He'd been taken by IT. Eddie had attended his damn funeral, had stood there dressed in black as they lowered an empty coffin into the ground for an act of closure. The cops said he was dead. So how the hell was he on the line?

"Is this some kind of joke?" His words were supposed to be fiercer than they came out, shaking like a leaf. "Where are you? Cardan?"

[fearinfected]

With an expression of pure concentration, Eddie could feel his entire body tensing as the blood wiped cleanly away from Ben's wound, the slash of red causing pinpricks to radiate unpleasantly across his body. Whoever thought he would be a good doctor someday was out of their mind -- He only did this shit because he didn't want to see his friends in pain. Nor would he want to see them lose a limb from infection.

"I don't think it counts as Hamburger Helper when you're ninety-percent ab." The wound looked clean enough as he dressed it in white, leaning back to assess the damage. "How did you even manage that shit?"

( tend ) : sender looks after receiver when they’ve been hurt (for ben or bev?)

affectionate action prompts

"Well, this certainly brings back some memories--not pleasant ones. . . No offense, Eds, just not thrilled about once again being the guy leaking Hamburger Helper." Though Ben did smile faintly; even when they were kids, Richie had always had a way with words.

[fearinfected]

"You've been waiting about five fucking minutes, Richie." Scrambling to shovel his haul into a backpack, Eddie could feel his frustration rising as a pill bottle clattered to the floor and rolled against his shoe, an indignant sigh huffed against his lips to match the scowl that adorned his features.

Not that it was Richie's fault. It just so happened he'd caught the brunette on a bad day.

"I'm literally not making you hang out with me, so... shut up."

💬 - any of your IT muses? | @fearinfected

Richie was growing impatient waiting for Eddie to come out of the pharmacy. Maybe he just didn't wanted to spend some time with him, but he would never tell him that. "I've been waiting a long time for you."

It was better than, 'fucking finally', right?

[fearinfected]

Mirroring Bill's grin, Eddie faltered a moment as he tried to think of something they'd both enjoy. He knew his best friend's tastes and he knew how much they differed from his own. They'd sat through more than enough horrors for Eddie Kaspbrak's liking.

"Sure, something funny," he agreed, relief washing through him at that. "We never got 'round to watching Ghostbusters last time you were at my house."

The auburn-haired boy was relieved that the line of questioning revolving around their friend had finally ended. He honestly couldn't remember any of his friends asking him about anyone they way Eddie had been interested in his relationship with Beverly.

Bill gave the waitress a friendly grin in her retreat, never one to be unkind to anyone. With a few notable exceptions, but they had more than earned it in just about the entire town's opinion. If they bothered to notice, which did not happen very often.

"A m-movie?" He repeated, smile widening at the suggestion because he loved movies. Anything that told a story, really, and Bill was sold. "Sounds g-guh-good to me! What kind sh-should we get?" He knew that not all the Losers loved his taste and therefore Bill would often defer to whatever the others wanted. "Something funny?"

[fearinfected]

If I go down, you better be right beside me.

A bit rusty with comics but this turned out cute I think.

Commissions open here!

[fearinfected]

A cake on his birthday was a ritual that Eddie would never give up, the one time of year that his mom would allow a sugar rush as frosting covered his lips, tutting and warning him that too much of a good thing could cause cavities, diabetes, cancer. But for today, it was okay -- It was his day.

Even then, the tiny grocery store sheet cake that would be presented to him was nothing compared to the decadence that he gazed upon in Cardan's hands, chocolate and honey swirled together until it filled every one of his senses. Dark eyes widened as he glanced between the boy and his creation, his sleep-dazed state taking a moment to realise it was for him.

"Thank you," he murmured, before taking the request of a wish seriously. There were so many things Eddie had wished for over the years: A new bike, a Gameboy, to be allowed to do gym like his friends. A couple of years ago he'd found out about Prions Disease two days before his birthday and had blown out the candles wishing not to get it - So far, so good.

What did he want this year? With a glance towards the Prince, he found his breath catching in his throat at the thought that tried to burrow its way to the forefront of his mind. No. No. With eyes screwed shut to ward away the thought, Eddie found himself blowing out the candles almost instinctively, a quickened panic setting in as he realised he hadn't wished for anything.

I wish that Cardan could stay.

Cheeks reddening as he realised the wish his mind had conjured, the brunette let his finger swab a piece of frosting before licking it off, grinning as the sickly sweetness danced across his tastebuds. "Have some."

                   For  a  brief,  brittle  moment,  the  ever  so  wide  grin  that  pulls  on  the  corners  of  the  Prince's  lips  falters,  giving  way  to  uncertainty  in  sight  of  Eddie's  confusion  upon  seeing  the  birth  date  cake  ;  particularly  due  to  having  recollections  from  one  of  the  many  conversation  they  have  held  in  the  past  about  human  customs  and,  how,  when  it  comes  to  a  mortal's  birth  date,  a  cake  is  a  dutiful  requirement  that  ought  to  be  upheld.

                   Did  he  understand  something  wrong  and  thus  completely  wreck  the  birth  date  before  it  even  began  ?  Plump  lips  part  to  voice  his  concern,  alas,  all  doubts  are  put  to  rest  upon  witnessing  the  slow  grin  that  spreads  on  the  brunette's  features,  made  all  the  more  graphic  by  the  lighting  of  the  small,  burning  candles.

                   ❛  Of  course,  ❜  Comes  the  plain  answer,  spoken  in  a  way  that  dares  imply  such  is  rather  obvious.  Placing  the  honey  cake  upon  the  other's  lap,  the  Fae  takes  hold  of  the  wooden  bannister  (  upon  which  his  tail  has  coiled  and  has  thus  been  hanging  upside  down  for  the  past  handful  of  minutes  )  and  readjusts  himself  to  an  upright  position,  shifting  gracefully  to  his  feet  upon  the  carpeted  floor  and  allowing  his  tail  to  stretch  taunt  him  in  a  feline-like  arch.  Then,  he  situates  himself  at  the  edge  of  the  bed,  and  a  bejewelled  hand  waves  dismissively  at  the  cake.  ❛  It  is  a  custom  for  mortal  birth  dates,  after  all,  containing  all  the  sugar  and  chocolate  that  would  make  your  mother  froth  at  the  mouth,  ❜  Certainly  something  he  would  enjoy,  and  perchance,  all  the  more  reason  as  to  why  he  deviated  from  the  faerie  recipe  to  a  more  humane  cake.  ❛  Now,  go  ahead,  make  a  wish.  I  have  been  awaiting  such  for  the  past  hour.  ❜

[fearinfected]

Gratitude washed over him as Bill confirmed Myra knew little of what happened, remembering the woman completely freaking out at the thought of him up and leaving with hardly a reason, and knowing that she wouldn't take lightly to knowing the full extent.

"Thanks Bill." Expression still scrunched from the dull ache that ran through him, Eddie tried to force a slight smile nonetheless. "How long have I been out?"

"What we did here? Oh yeah," Bill confirmed with a half-smile. He knew now that everything he had been through in Derry had given him enough material for a lifetime already. This second go-around had given all of them more than enough trauma for several lifetimes. Bill just happened to process his through his writing.

"I, uh, I had my agent reach out," he confirmed. "She knows you're here in Maine but doesn't know what happened. I wanted to wait until... Until we knew if you would wake up. I also think we're all very lucky your phone did not make it." He'd owe his agent a huge thank you for putting up with whatever Myra was sending her way. "We also weren't sure what you'd want to tell her."

[fearinfected]

LATE NIGHT PHONE CALL PROMPTS.

things that can be said during a late night call. some lighthearted , some more serious. a prompt for every occasion! trigger warning for cursing. change pronouns when necessary.

❛ I hope I didn't wake you. ❜

❛ Hello ? Can you hear me ? ❜

❛ It's late, I know, I just wanted to get this off my chest. ❜

❛ I'm really fucking tired of this. ❜

❛ Is this a bad time ? I can call back later. ❜

❛ Please, I just need you to be honest with me. ❜

❛ C'mon, I won't tell anyone. ❜

❛ .. No, I'm pretty sure that's not how that works. ❜

❛ I'll be right there. ❜

❛ No, it's okay. You didn't wake me. ❜

❛ Can this wait ? I haven't gotten any sleep. ❜

❛ Bullshit. I know you better than that. ❜

❛ What do you mean by that, exactly ? ❜

❛ Can you speak up ? I can hardly hear you. ❜

❛ You sound exhausted. ❜

❛ This sounds like something you might regret telling me tomorrow. ❜

❛ I'm not tired. ❜

❛ I think you may be overthinking this just a little bit. ❜

❛ There's nothing to worry about ! ❜

❛ Can I come over ? I just really don't want to be alone right now. ❜

❛ Promise me you won't tell a single soul what I'm about to say. ❜

❛ Shit. My phone's about to die. ❜

❛ You know that I miss you, right ? ❜

❛ Go fuck yourself. ❜

❛ You've got to listen to me. ❜

❛ This can't wait. It's important. ❜

❛ I don't think I follow. ❜

❛ Man, you're not making any sense. ❜

❛ Are you even listening to me ? ❜

❛ Dude.. I never even thought of it that way before. ❜

❛ Look outside right now. Right now !! ❜

❛ Hm. I don't like the sound of that. ❜

❛ Just trust me ! ❜

❛ I know I don't say it enough, but I love you. ❜

❛ You're really starting to worry me. ❜

❛ He's nothing ! ❜

❛ I don't think this is working out. ❜

❛ Be serious. ❜

❛ That's not funny. ❜

❛ I'm not joking ! ❜

[fearinfected]

[fearinfected]

Their first one-on-one hangout :-)

[fearinfected]

❛ i'm not afraid of anything! ❜

fear / horror sentence starters

Bullshit - That's what Eddie thought of that. Everyone was scared of something, like spiders or heights or needles, or something really stupid like that one kid in Elementary that was afraid of cotton swabs. Usually he wouldn't care about the dumb brush-off of his questions, nose scrunched in obvious disbelief, but this was actually really fucking serious.

"Come on, Bev. If we know what you're scared of, then that means we know what IT's gonna turn into, right? Just tell me. I swear, literally on my mom's life, I won't laugh."

[fearinfected]

Eddie quirked a grin at Bill's assurance, glad to have some sort of argument he could take back to Richie when he next brought it up. Beverly was pretty cool as far as girls went -- She liked comics and video games and hanging out at the quarry. And she was kinda pretty, he guessed. But that didn't mean one of them had to be dating her. Maybe Richie was the one with the crush on her.

A glance was sent to the waitress, pausing a moment after Bill took his order. "Uh, yeah. The same. Please. Thank you."

As soon as they were left to their own devices, Eddie found himself leaning forwards against the table, eyes bright. "So what do you wanna do tonight? The video store is open until six-thirty if we want to rent a movie?"

"I duh-don't have any s-s-secrets," Bill replied with a shrug. He was never the type to have anything he felt needed to be kept secret. At least not until Georgie went missing and his parents had become shells of themselves. But that was to keep his friends from feeling bad for him. Or pity him more than they already did. Bill didn't want to cause any trouble.

"And we're n-not dating. Oh-or if we are it's n-n-news to me," he joked, grinning as the waitress finally came over to take their orders. He asked for his milkshake and curly fries in as steady of a voice as he could manage and waited for Eddie to get whatever he wanted. It was a relief knowing that he wouldn't have to go back to his house tonight. Even if Mrs. Kaspbrak wasn't his biggest fan. At least she liked him more than she liked the others. Even if it was purely because he and Eddie had been friends for so long.