#awaiting the busiest 3 days of my life starting sunday

[paul-newmans-sauce]

guys who dont know how to draw guns but wanted to practice perspective and shading with uh. this guy

[edsbrak]

CH 1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 Coming Soon

Read on Ao3 | New Kid AU

It's senior year and Eddie is determined to get through it with ease while also scared about what awaits him on the other side. But then a new kid arrives in town and turns Eddie's life completely upside down, in ways he never would have expected.

Tags: Modern Setting, Strangers To Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Coming Of Age

Chapter 2: Prescriptions and Mixtapes (5.1k)

It’s Saturday morning and Eddie’s mum sends him over the road to pick up his standard refills.

Eddie’s certain he and his mum are the pharmacists best customers based on how frequently they visit here. He can’t even place the time when he’d started regularly picking up his prescriptions by himself, and now he’d often wonder if there would come a day when he wouldn’t need to take all of these different drugs to help ‘keep him better’ as his mum put it simply.

He blows into his cupped hands thrice and steps inside the store, saying his greetings to Mr. Keene before the man wonders off behind the counter to collect Eddie’s refills.

Saturday’s were always Derry’s busiest mornings. Most shops stayed closed on Sunday’s, so people in their town were all forced out of bed early in the morning to purchase the week’s shopping supplies. Which is where his mum was right now; Eddie always takes the pharmacy while his mother did the grocery shopping (her tastes always differ so she insists on taking charge of the food).

Eddie was fine with that – the disgusting floors and ridiculously confusing shelving of the grocery store was something Eddie prefers to avoid.  

“Here you go Eddie,” Mr. Keene says once he returns. “And say hi to your mum for me.”

Eddie nods, taking the small rattling jars quickly and walking away. “Thanks. I will.”

He exits the store and squints into the light as he glances down the street. He can see his mother’s car still parked out the front of the shop, so he decides to wait outside on the footpath.

He observes other residents of the town as they walk past; a girl and her mother, an old man and his small yappy dog, two kids from his school who both give him a look as they pass. Eddie clutches his bag closer to his side and avoids any eye contact after that.

When a few more minutes pass and his mother still hasn’t shown, Eddie peaks halfway into the sliding doors of the grocery to see if he can spot her.

She was in the confectionary aisle, seemingly flirting (if her shrill giggles were anything to go by) with the man that Eddie thinks owns the dry cleaners around the corner. He sighs, knowing his mum will probably take her time now, and reluctantly leaves to go and find something else to occupy his time.

There’s a second-hand bookstore across the street that sometimes has magazines out the back that he can flip through. But before he can enter the shop the bell on the door rings out and another customer bumps right into his shoulder.

“Hey—” starts Eddie, but he’s cut short by a familiar laugh.

He looks up to see Richie standing in front of him, giving Eddie that all-knowing grin he’s seemed to master in the past week. His signature leather jacket has disappeared in favour of a denim jacket that’s covered in patches and politically-aware pins. He’s also branding a t-shirt that says ‘Death To The Man’.

“Well, well, if it ain’t ol’ Eds,” says Richie in a particularly horrible English accent. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?”

“Pure coincidence,” says Eddie, figuring his plan to hide away behind the magazines have now been cut short. “Don’t get too comfortable.”

“Our meetings are always a pleasure, Eds. Don’t deny it,” winks Richie, and Eddie looks away with a huff.

Eddie then realizes they’re standing quite close, so he steps away quickly to allow Richie to leave the doorframe of the shop. They make eye contact, and the longer it lasts the wider Richie’s smile grows. Eddie looks away again. Ugh.

“Sorry, did you have somewhere to be?” asks Eddie flippantly, mostly out of politeness and slightly out of curiosity. A ridiculous part of him hopes Richie says ‘no’, which he ignores.

“Want me to stick around, eh, Eds?” coos Richie as he crosses his arms over his chest. There’s a book clutched in his hand Eddie hadn’t noticed before. “I would if I could, but my uncle wants me back at his shop in five minutes or so.”

His uncle? thinks Eddie, until he remembers. “Oh, right. You said in English class you live with him.” He pauses to remember anything else. “You finally get those supplies so you don’t need to borrow off of me anymore?”

“Aw, Eds, you know you love being my sole provider,” says Richie, leaning in closer.

Eddie doesn’t step away and instead tries to make himself appear taller. “Well, from the looks of it you are capable of buying things, although nothing related to school, it seems.”

Richie glances down at the book he’d just bought. “Oh, yeah. Well, this is a classic, so you can’t blame me for that.” He shows the cover to Eddie proudly.

“Eva Luna?” says Eddie. “I don’t think something that’s only existed for a handful of years can be dubbed a ‘classic’.”

“This is an exception to the rule, then,” says Richie. “You read much?”

“Occasionally,” shrugs Eddie. “I’m guessing you do?”

“Oh, not really,” admits Richie, and Eddie frowns questioningly at him. “I tend to get distracted easily. So, reading’s always been kind of hard for me. But there are a few books I’m willing to put the extra effort into reading, you know?”

“Not really,” echoes Eddie. He can’t really think of anything in particular he feels that passionately about, to do just for himself. His mother likes to disapprove of a lot of things.

Richie turns and makes a slow step away in the opposite direction of the grocery store. Without thinking, Eddie follows him almost instinctually, as if knowing their conversation hasn’t quite finished yet. Richie seems pleased, and he swings his arm out to tap Eddie’s shopping bag lightly.

“What’ve you been shopping for?”

“Oh, uh,” says Eddie slowly, wondering what Richie might say in response to his many, many prescriptions. “Just… my medication. Um, my mum… says that I’ve always needed them from a young age. Before I can even really remember.”

Richie hums lowly, but doesn’t appear to want to push him further. Eddie finds he’s kind of thankful for it, since trying to explain the inner workings of his mother’s crazy mind to someone who is essentially still a stranger can be a tedious process. Suddenly, some kids run past them at full speed, and Eddie finds himself bumping into Richie’s side to avoid a collision. Richie’s hand reaches out to steady him, and Eddie’s previously spiked heart-rate morphs into a different causation.  

“You okay?” asks Richie, clearly trying to hide his smile.

“Yeah,” dismisses Eddie quickly. They fall back into step as Eddie rubs where Richie’s warm hand had just been. “So, um, what’s your uncle’s store?”

“Oh,” says Richie, and points up ahead. “He owns the pizza parlour. I help him out with deliveries on weekends.”

“Your uncle is Mr. Chernik?”

“Yeah. What, you two friendly with each other?”

“It’s the only pizza place in town,” says Eddie. “My friends and I go there at least once a week. We love it there.”

“Yeah well,” says Richie, and his tone turns slightly bitter. “I guess my parents think the same thing, since they decided to send me up here to quote ‘improve upon my character growth’ unquote.”

“Oh,” says Eddie, feeling slightly awkward. He’s not sure how much he can ask about Richie’s situation. He’s not even sure why he cares to know at all. He plays it safe: “Where did they send you from?”

“Portland,” answers Richie, and he sounds happier. “My friends said they’d come up and visit as soon as they could. It’s strange, being in a small town like this.”

“I wouldn’t know what it’s like living in a big city,” offers Eddie.

He can imagine what it must be like though; taking into account what he’s seen in movies and TV. The only thing he finds less appealing is the higher crime rates compared to a small town like Derry. He wonders how much Richie must feel like a fish out of water right now – to be sent away by his parents doesn’t exactly scream great home life. Eddie can sympathize.

“I guess if one good thing has come out of all of this, it’s been getting to know you, Eddie Spaghetti,” says Richie, turning to smile at Eddie.

If Richie hadn’t have sounded so sincere, Eddie would have brushed it off as another one of Richie’s ploys to annoy him. But instead, it merely causes a bloom of warmth to burst in Eddie’s chest.

“That’s the only good thing?” he tries to deflect with a laugh. “So, okay. You live with your uncle above the pizzeria. And you do deliveries. So, that means you drive?”

Richie nods, looking down at the pavement. “As soon as I turned sixteen. My plan is to save up enough money to buy myself a scrappy car to fix up, and then travel the country.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely,” says Richie. “Haven’t you ever wanted to just… escape? To leave everything behind and start fresh?”

Eddie opens his mouth and then closes it. He has no idea, honestly. Up until now, the possibility of ever leaving Derry had been slim to none. As much as he tries sometimes, he just can’t see past life after high school. He knows his mother is the cause of a big part of that, but how much is because of himself? Where had this fear come from?

“Eddie,” says Richie, and Eddie’s attention snaps over to him. “You okay? You spaced out for a bit there.”

Eddie clears his throat and resists reaching for his inhaler. “Yeah, yes. I’m fine.”

Richie still gives him a concerned look, but lets it slide. They finally reach the end of the street, and there’s some noise coming from the alleyway next to the pizzaria. A man covered head to toe in flour appears from around the corner, and he startles slightly when he spots them near the entrance.

“Ah, Richie, you’re back,” says Mr. Chernik. “Eddie, almost didn’t see you there.” He walks over to them and nods while he cleans off his hands. “Nice to see you’ve made a friend, Rich.”

“Yeah, yeah,” says Richie on an eye-roll.

“Alright, well I need you inside to help Robert out back in storage, okay?” says Mr. Chernik to Richie, and says his goodbye to Eddie before stepping inside the shop.

“You said you were saving up, right?” asks Eddie. “So your uncle pays you to work? That’s nice, at least.”

“Yeah,” Richie says after a moment passes. “I guess that’s a silver lining.”

There’s s shrill call coming from back down the street, and Eddie turns around to see his mother has finally left the grocery store and is having trouble trying to pile everything into the trunk of their bangwagon. She calls out for him again and Eddie knows it’s really time to go.

“Well, nice seeing you,” says Eddie, and finds he actually means it this time. Huh. “But I have to go.”

“Me too,” Richie gestures behind him, and then they both hesitate for a moment.

When nothing life-changing happens Eddie finally makes the first move and begins to walk away out of ear-shot, but not before Richie can call out to him in that familiar teasing tone:

“Hey, tell you mum I say hi! She seems like a positively charming woman!”

With a disbelieving snort, Eddie swivels around to shout back: “You’re such a goddamn trash-mouth, you know that?”

Richie simply finger-salutes back and disappears inside the store. When Eddie arrives at their car and his mum asks him why he was taking so long, Eddie lies and says the pharmacy misplaced his prescriptions.

On the ride home, Eddie finds himself actually looking forward to the coming school weeks.

*

Tin the end, the weeks pass by relatively uneventfully.

Classes do start to become that little bit harder, when all of the teachers collectively decide to pile up their homework when it’s clear to any outsider that they already have plenty to deal with as it is.

Eddie never realized that the life of a senior really wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be, if up until now you still hadn’t joined a sports team or a popular clique. Really, it was all just an elaborate popularity contest that Eddie had no intention of winning. He was content, in this moment, to get through the year unnoticed and to continue living out a perfectly normal life.  

Fuck the system, Eddie thinks.

And during those first few weeks, Eddie regularly saw Richie hanging out around the school (and again a couple of times on the roof). He was almost always alone, unless begrudgingly copping it from a faculty member. And no matter when or where, he was always occupying his attention either with a book or doodling or skipping through songs on an old walkman he carried around with him.

Often times when Eddie had hung out with Stan and Bill after school, he’d see Richie walking along the main street in their town, or sometimes sitting outside the library with a book under a nice shady tree.

Eddie felt like he should be asking Richie to join them, perhaps; to see if he wanted to come with them down to the quarry he probably hadn’t visited yet. But then he stops, wondering if maybe Richie preferred to be alone, and soon the moment passed and Eddie would just see him the next day at school.

Although there were always their trips walking to and from school, something they’d done a few more times since that fateful first day. Eddie can admit (only to himself, of course) that he rather enjoys their conversations, and each morning catches himself hoping to see Richie approaching on his bike.

And then one day he realizes something.

“Hey,” he starts, and waits for Richie to acknowledge him. “You live above the pizzeria, and yet you bother to bike way off of your route to travel to school.”

“Uh, yeah,” says Richie, and if Eddie didn’t know any better he’d say he sounds nervous. “I just thought, may as well grace you with the pleasure of my company, of course.”

Eddie doesn’t satisfy him with a remark, finding sometimes he quite enjoys keeping Richie on his toes.

*

Walking into English class the following Monday morning, Eddie takes his trademark seat and greets Stan with a casual nod when his friend takes his spot beside him. The room starts to fill up slowly, as per usual, and through no fault of his own it’s only natural when Eddie’s gaze continuously glances over to the door in the hopes of spying out one Richie Tozier.

Call it habitual biology, if you will.

When Mrs. Crawford begins handing out permission slips for the viewing of an 18+ film she’ll be showing in class, it distracts Eddie long enough that he doesn’t notice a body plop into the seat to his right.

“Hey Eds.”

Eddie would argue he does not twitch like a frightened animal when Richie greets him, rather he was more shocked by the lack of black clothing Richie was sporting today therefore Eddie couldn’t recognize him. The obnoxiously bright colours of his Hawaiian shirt stood out considerably amongst the bleak senior class, as did his almost neon yellow shoes. Where does one even find shoes like that? More importantly, who even makes shoes like that?

“Hey,” Eddie eventually replies.

“Hey Stan,” Richie adds.

“Hey man,” Stan says, and passes along the slips to them.

Eddie looks at it and knows he’ll have to forge his mother’s signature, otherwise he won’t be watching the film. Unfortunately, he’s not so good with his copying skills. Fortunately, he thinks Richie might be. He makes a note to ask him later.

“Now everyone,” calls Mrs. Crawford, “We won’t be viewing the film in class for another two weeks, so until then, I am assigning you all a brief, partnered essay on whichever two topics you wish off the board up the front. It must be no less than one thousand words.”

Eddie groans, hating partnering up for assignments. Maybe he’ll be paired with Stan, which would make it a lot more tolerable.

“When I call your names, find your assigned partner and talk amongst each other. I insist you have your topic outlines completed by the end of class.”

Eddie scribbles in his notebook as he waits, and then slumps considerably when Stan’s name is called out along with someone else. Finally his name pops up:

“Eddie, and… Richie.”

“Nice, high five,” whispers Richie, and Eddie thinks it could be worse.

Mrs. Crawford tends to whatever other work she deems more necessary and allows the students to organize their assignments by themselves for the remainder of the lesson. Instead most take the chance to simply talk about movies or pass along school gossip. Stan leaves to take a seat next to his new partner sitting up the back, and Eddie turns to face Richie and hopes to have this sorted by the end of the lesson.

“Fate sure likes to throw us together, right Eds?”

At this point, Eddie has already stopped correcting him on the nickname.

“Sure,” he agrees easily. “So, any thoughts on the topic selection?”

“You can pick whichever,” says Richie. “I’m happy to follow your lead.”

“As long as I’m not stuck doing everything,” warns Eddie.

“You have my word.” Richie places his hand over his heart dramatically and gives him a wink. Eddie wants desperately to believe him.

“I’m holding you to that.”

Eventually, Eddie narrows down the topic choices and selects two for them to study, all the while Richie had pulled out a pen to doodle throughout most of the lesson. Eddie observed him occasionally, and thought Richie was actually quite a decent drawer. He seemed to specialize specifically on caricatures.

Eddie really did hope Richie wouldn’t flake out on him with this assignment, but from what little Eddie knew of him, somehow he felt Richie wouldn’t just leave him in the dust. He appears to be a smart guy, too, although with trouble actually applying himself, it seems.

When the bell rang out and students piled out of the classroom left, right and centre, Eddie caught sight of Stan and they began walking down the hall together. Only then did Eddie catch himself and turn around to search out Richie.

“Looking for me?”

Eddie jerks slightly away when Richie pops up to his right. “Jesus, stop doing that! And, uh… yeah.”

“We’re heading outside for our break,” says Stan. “Would you like to eat with us?”

Eddie can clearly see Richie is mildly surprised by the offer, and his gaze switches over to Eddie, as if asking for permission. It hurts, slightly, for Richie to think that Eddie might not want him there. But then again, Eddie has never voiced otherwise.

“Come with us,” insists Eddie. “I mean, we can figure out a plan for days we can meet up to study, right? And you haven’t met Bill, either.”

“Right,” says Richie, pausing slightly. And then he smiles. “Yeah, okay. Well then, led the way my good fellows!” he brings out his poor English accent again.

Stan laughs, and that almost surprises Eddie, in a good way.

“That was terrible. I like it,” says Stan.

“Happy to be of service.”

“Come on,” says Eddie, and they all continue on down the hall. Eddie brushes against Richie’s side a few times, and suddenly, as if it were completely natural, Richie slings his arm around Eddie’s shoulders like a steady vice. Eddie hopes Richie doesn’t notice how tense he becomes.

And only after Richie steps away can Eddie feel like he can breathe properly.

*

After their impromptu hang out session at school and Richie had formally met Bill, Eddie had suggested they all meet up at the library after school on Wednesday to study. Everyone seemed to have some other commitment either on Monday or Tuesday, so eventually Wednesday became the default.

On Tuesday, Richie had joined them again at lunch, fitting in almost seamlessly and chatting away with Stan and Bill as if he’d always been there.

It simultaneously made Eddie glad and irritated.

It was still hard to dissect if he liked Richie or not. The other boy was funny when he really wanted to be, and Eddie enjoyed his company most times they ran into each other. But he could also be cocky, and brash, and sometimes it was hard to differentiate between his jokes and when he was actually being honest. He was a puzzle, really, and Eddie had never really been a fan of puzzles before.

When Wednesday morning rolls around, Eddie wakes up in bed feeling like utter crap.

Something like this would be downright impossible to hide from his mother, so he did not even attempt to act as if everything was okay and leave for school like usual. She checks his temperature immediately, fussing about in a panic and shoving what feels like 20 pills into his hand to swallow.

She calls up the school to inform them Eddie will not be coming in. Sent back to bed, she continuously checks up on him every hour on the hour, refilling his glass of water and changing the damp cloth resting over his forehead.

When Eddie feels himself growing irritated of her pestering, he fakes that his illness is acting up so she will have to leave the house to buy more medicine. It works, and once he hears the car pulling out of the driveway he groggily stumbles out of bed and rummages the house for some loose batteries. When he successfully finds some he retreats to his room and pulls out his old walkie-talkie that his mother thinks she threw away years ago. Eddie knows Stan and Bill still have theirs.  

He places the batteries in it and crosses his fingers it will still work.

“Hey guys, it’s Eddie, do you copy? Over.”

It’s just after when school finishes, and Eddie knows his friends like to swing by Stan’s house to get some snacks before heading out to the library. He can only hope he’ll catch them.

He repeats his phrase plenty more times over the next ten minutes, and just as he’s about to give up, he hears Stan’s voice crackle on the other end.

“Eddie? Was that you? We’re here, over.”

Eddie brings it back up to his lips at lightning speed. “Yeah, it’s me. I’m at home with the flu. Over.”

There’s brief static and then: “That sucks. I’m guessing you can’t make it to study then? Over.”

“No, sorry. Over.” he says, before adding: “Is Richie with you? Over.”

“No, we’re meeting him there. I’ll let him know you’re sick. We’ll probably just hang out, anyway. Over.”

Eddie feels a pang of jealousy. And about what? “Okay, thanks. Um, have fun. Over.”

“Get better, man. Oh, and it’s nice to hear you over the walkies again, dude. We’ve missed you. Over.”

Eddie can’t help but smile. “Thanks. I’ll see you guys real soon. Over and out.”

“Over and out.”

Once the room is silent again Eddie sits there for a while, just fiddling with the buttons and listening out for his mother to return. He ends up putting the walkie-talkie in an old shoebox and hides it far under his bed. Soon his previous jealousy acts up again and he can’t help but fester on it for a while.

It was irrational, and he knew it. It wasn’t like they were five years old again and dumping old friends for new ones were a weekly occurrence. He knew Richie wouldn’t edge him out. He knew Stan and Bill wouldn’t suddenly realize what a nuisance Eddie was and drop him as a friend.

And yet, even knowing all of this he still couldn’t help but feel left out.

Later his mother makes up dinner for him and somehow includes every steamed vegetable known to man on one plate. Eddie picks at it after a few bites, his stomach not agreeing with him anymore, and his mother cleans up his room before leaving him to an early sleep. And he might have been fine with that if his body wasn’t still intent on murdering him on the inside and allowed him to actually rest.

A little after 8 o’clock Eddie hears the doorbell ring downstairs.

Curious, he gets out of bed and cracks open his door, trying to listen in to who could possibly be visiting at this hour.

“Yes? Who are you, what do you want?” his mother says.

“Um, is Eddie around? I’m a… friend of his.”

Eddie feels a flush of heat not related to his flu course through him. Richie. What on Earth?

“He’s sick. Why are you here?”

“I, uh,” stumbles Richie, clearly not used to his mother’s unrelenting personality. “I just… had some homework to give him. From today.”

There’s a moment of silence, where Eddie guesses his mother is probably looking over whatever pieces of paper Richie must have handed her. Eddie holds his breath without meaning to. Finally she says:

“Okay, I will give it to him. You can go now.”

“Right. Sure. Thanks.”

The door closes and Eddie wishes he could have been the one to open the door instead. Quickly, he turns around and crosses his room, lifting up his window as quietly as he can, and tries to spot Richie leaving their property. Around the corner a figure and a bike appear, and Eddie is sure it’s him.

“Richie!” he whisper-shouts.

The figure seems to stop and search around for the caller, and eventually he looks up to see Eddie waving to beckon him over. Richie dumps his bike again and inches closer, and soon the moonlight is showing Richie’s patched-up denim jacket and that shit-eating grin.

“Eds? Thought you were asleep. Cheeky.”

“I tried. Can’t.” says Eddie. He lowers his voice in fear of his mother hearing. “Did you really come over to give me homework?”

“What?” asks Richie, clearly not hearing him properly, and then he shakes his head. “Hold on, I’m coming up.”

“Wait,” says Eddie, panicking. “Wait, you can’t, my mum—”

Only Richie has already started to climb up the tree that grows along the side of their house. It takes him a few good minutes, but he’s getting higher and closer and Eddie cannot believe Richie Tozier is now climbing through his window like this is some goddamn 80s teen rom-com.

“Hey,” grins Richie, slightly panting.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Eddie grits out. “If my mum catches you—”

“Then I’ll just charm her, obviously.” Richie winks lewdly before looking around the room slowly. Eddie shuffles on the spot, still a bit dizzy from his flu. He goes to sit down in an attempt to settle it.

“Yeah, ‘cause you did so well downstairs,” jokes Eddie before he groans uncomfortably.

“Sorry, I know you’re not feeling good,” apologizes Richie. “I did actually bring over the homework from English class. I started on both topics today at the library, and I thought you might wanna check over it.”

Eddie blinks at him. That had almost been the last thing he’d expected. “Oh. Thank you.”

“I know you want a good grade, so I put in the effort for you,” says Richie, and perhaps so they don’t have to talk so loud he goes to sit right next to Eddie on the bed. Eddie tries to stop his eyes from widening. He reaches for his water desperately.

“What, you don’t usually put in any effort for yourself?” asks Eddie when he’s done.

Richie shrugs noncommittally, and doesn’t answer.

Richie Tozier is in my room, Richie Tozier is in my room, thinks Eddie over and over.

“Sad you couldn’t make it tonight,” says Richie after a moment, and he sounds completely honest. Eddie flushes again. “Bill and Stan were good company, though. You have cool friends.”

This time, there aren’t any stabs of jealousy, only pride. “Yeah, I do.”

Richie smiles at him and Eddie can’t bring it in himself to look away. And then Richie is pulling out a small box from his jacket pocket and handing it to Eddie.

“Remember when I said you could come over any time and look through my music? Well, I couldn’t really wait, so… I made you a mixtape.”

“You did?” asks Eddie, accepting the tape shyly. The cover reads: Eddie Spaghetti Volume 1. His fingers run over the smooth casing as Richie answers him.

“Yeah. It’s uh… well, I know we’ve never really talked about other artists, so I kind of just took a gamble and put this together. I think you’ll like it, though.”

Eddie realizes, with striking clarity, that no one has ever cared to make him a mixtape before. He’s not sure what to think knowing Richie has made this one for him, and he’s instantly curious to listen to whatever is on it.

“Thank you,” he whispers.

“I should um… go, I guess,” says Richie as he rubs his hands along his thighs. He stands slowly and looks back down at Eddie. “I hope you feel better soon. And… yeah.”

It was startling to see Richie acting so out of his element. Eddie nods, and watches Richie retreat to the window, and he’s halfway out when he angles around to give Eddie one last smile.

“See you soon, Eds.”

The minute Eddie is sure Richie has biked around the corner and is out of sight he goes to fish out his old tape player from his wardrobe and sets up the mixtape from the very beginning. Making sure the volume is on low, he presses play, and lies back on his bed and listens along with only the beating of his heart to accompany him.

Song after song goes by and Eddie hasn’t skipped any of them. It’s frightening, almost, how eerily accurate Richie is tuned to his tastes. The mix comes to a song that Eddie can recognize from the first two chords, and he rolls over onto his side to curl up better.

But I won’t cry for yesterday, there’s an ordinary world, somehow I have to find…

Eddie draws in a deep breath, letting the words blanket him in a moment of calm.

And as I try to make my way, to the ordinary world, I will learn to survive…

When the song is finished, Eddie stares up at his ceiling, eyelids heavy as he feels as though he’s sinking away and going happily. He thinks of Richie one final time.

“What the fuck?” he whispers to himself.

*

*

*

the next chapter will be up much sooner this time I promise! :D

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[mceproductions]

November 2018 Blurbs

11/1/18 In Novembers Gusty Gale...The one baby song that sticks with me is that line from Chicken Soup with Rice... The fact that I know that and can sing falsetto really sets a tone. Rice Lake run today as Scholarships needed answering somehow the fact that i can only qualify for one and yet still can deal with classwork is a mystery. Eli in 2 Weeks and hoping Basketball at the Vikings Stadium at months end. Mom said shed go with on Saturday to St. Paul but in case not contingency is the Queen Movie. Stinks about Nutcracker being lousy Grinch remake for Christmas Movie it is. 11/2/18  Patti and the Bravada im trying to buy. Something tells me thats got to answer itself very soon. Ellen wasn't going to St. Paul either so contingency may now be in place. Work at least had benefits being sorted out. Also Lego Harry Potter man that game was fun, glad for the port, now they just need to port other lego games. 11/3/18 Bravada is now mine thanks to mom. More crucially Queen Movie was luckilly in town, at theater that is now only open weekends. Confusing yes, just hoping this isn't premant closing like Bruce. Movie was near perfect as Rami Malek Crushed It, a term I almost never use. Andrew fried microwave after 18 years. It was overdue but man it stinks that its gone. ReLife Anime...If episode 17 had me tearing up, the other 15 1/2 should be just as interesting. Unlike that other show A Sister Is All You Need, a premsise about slice of life, authors and drinking that wears dull quick. 11/4/18 So begins a short week, mainly due to assurance needed for initial plans. Just wish they could have called me in for one more day, i have assurance but still could have used it. Pete Davidson is really hurting based on this weeks SNL no matter his mindset and well wishes, he's hurting. Packers more so...and Ricks final Walking Dead, what a cop out...So glad I'm done with the show, no matter how interesting teenage Judith looks. One more detail, just when I thought 2018 had used up all its anime...Rapping Zombies on a Show that really should be used by the ZombieLand Sequel coming out next year, they can spit licks. 11/5/18 Remember Remember...An annual watching of V For Vendetta and its poigancy highlights today. Bravada is now officially mine just have to get it al registred and isured without it breaking my bank. Also never trust pictures for all purchases on Ebay, miffed on that count. Very long day tomorrow, even work may be overshadowed by this, could have used this 2 years ago on that fateful night. 11/6/18 The Blue Wave of election day. Unlike 2 years ago when that blowhard of president peeved off the country, this made me glad i was working. Plenty of distractions. But Walker is gone from Wisconsin and the Blue Wave crested at the house. Not the complete washover those wanting Trump gone hoped for but still great. 11/7/18 Those 2 dopes i call younger brothers...Somehow they dont get it. Only thing they do get, is how awesome Red Dead Redemption is and how i wish to high heaven it came out for the Switch. 11/8/18 This time of year when the cold comes out, the stuff you like to do seems impractical. I have a vehicle that I cant use until i get it titled, and a nephew coming in 1 week who may not even see me a bunch. Lone thing giving me some solace, the black Friday Ads popped up today. So many possibilities. 11/9/18 Winter has shown in full force, proof being, those 2 dopes stuck here. Me having to suffer through it until I head to work. Holding off on Grinch until next week, possibly seeing it with Mom and Eli. 11/10/18 RWBY Continues to astound. Salems storied history with Oz, wholly molly. Christmas season always seems to bring out the best when it comes to treats. Lately my favorite seems to be those nougats. Fresh and gooey all in one sweet package. Badgers sure do stink. That guy getting revenge on Pete Davidson especially the Ariana Ringtone that was worth it to see during SNL, Liev Schriber sure is not funny though. 11/11/18 Vets, heroes who give thier daily lives to defend all that we hold dear and sacred. Also fitting its the centiniel of said remeberence. New guy on Cap 2 Tristan, I'm really liking, seems to hold his own quite well. 4 days until Eli comes looking forward to it. 11/12/18 Why does family make the easy things so difficult, once again those 2 dopes. Store had Black Friday stuff being assembled today. Be glad to use debit card tomorrow when i get bulk of my funds back. Last few days have been rough. 11/13/18 GameFlip, an app ive been using to buy mainly Amazon cards is really having it both ways with me. Great to find digital codes for almost nada, but this one guy who i bought a card from on Sunday has been really screwey. Really miffed on that front. Said digital codes allows me to rewatch The Meg during work lunch. 11/14/18 Final Project for class has me creating a full training seminar. Stinks knowing that I have to do it on too broad a subject issue. Mobility in the workplace, having to do with wheelchairs and other devices. Wow city this is hard. Christmas box has been dug out, begining decorating tomorrow before Eli shows up. Hunters at play this weekend. Also glad store discount expands to food for rest of year. 11/15/18 Dad is 60 feels weird to say that. Well Eli, a little bit intimidated by me, but we have a week to fix it. Got A debt collection thing from WITC On the same day i finaly knocked off tuition. I know i wanted to not have autopay on tuition but this is ridiculously overkill. Likley watching Fantastic Beasts Saturday when we get back from Rice Lake, glad like the Queen movie this is in town. 11/16/18 Nora and Eli, weird combo that sends him into his Grandmas arms. Glad thats occuring while im not at home. At least my and Erics Grandma got to see him, just not sure how much longer that will be a possibility. One week to Black Friday and the trucks for delivery have tripled. The sales will be worth it but the work on the other hand, wish that just came faster. 11/17/18 Stags day, the first day of hunting season a little less crowded around the area. Went with mom and Eli to see Grinch but showing ended up being sold out. Eli for being 4 is just a near ball of energy, even if we never gave him sugar Wish he could calm down, mom somehow seemed chill with it, might have to take her advice on this issue. Cute when he has to be, bullet like mom put it on all other fronts. As for Fantastic Beasts, it seemed overstuffed for its own good a two hour episode like youd see on Netflix or somewhere else. Though Depp did win me over as Grindlewald. 11/18/18 Eli was better today, and we managed to actually get some stuff done. He ended up being major help with placing ornaments on my tree. Work however was a mess, misinformation abound. Thursday outside better not be a bigger mess. Oh wait its the Black Friday sale yeah it will be. 11/19/18 The thanksgiving week is always wacky, Monday somehow is wackiest. Eli went with Mom to meet Rafe while I mainly spent it finishing decorating the room. Green Light Strand isnt working will have to replace it. Cayedn surprsingly got a deer and Eric is really helpful on that front. Work meanwhile was nuts, this time however, with Split Pants. May have to get new ones before Thursday Night. Glad this week a lot of stuff on Itunes and Amazon is on sale. Will likely take big advantage of this. Andy possibly thew wrench in plans, hopeful that i dont have to cancel. 11/20/18 Lone day off this week has me stopping at WITC to finish work i have assigned since i have no class tomorrow. Had to pick up pants as my others split. Will hold off on game or blu ray until thursday night after work. Mom and Skillet cookies glad she makes them but could wonder what else around here might break as stove is going. Our turkey is set for tomorrow as Eric and compay leave before parade on thursday. Hopin to get Eli once more to do craft project, want to surprise mom on that count. 11/21/18 The day before, aka the busiest travel day of the year. Made rudolph feet with Eli, a lot bigger than i pictured him to be. Had to wear split pants as replacements didn't fit. Turkey was good, unexpectedly tried Moms squash that was really tasty for some odd reason. Back outside for carts tomorrow, first time since the summer and i get thrown to the wolves on the big one. Colder than usual i will admit. 11/22/18 Eli seemed sad to leave us, but at least i got him the ornament he made ready before he did. Another thanksgiving the parade in full glory. Lions crappy game, Cowboys decent game, and Wal-Marts annual 6pm sale. Cole really needed to be slapped. He must think im dumber than i look. Best part is always the low price movies and tv shows. Annual pickups of Flash, Arrow and Big Bang Theory. Handmaids Tale DVD counts too this time along with Jumanji and a film i personally wanted to see but heard crap about, Assassins Creed. Not looking forward to the rain tomorrow. 11/23/18 Quieter than usual actual Black Friday. Couple that with Rain that washed away snow, pretty off day all around. 11/24/18 Plans for Basketball with Andy and Carynn are officially scrapped, could remedy that in another surprise way. Something about today that just felt so much more off than usual. Lingered at Library, lingered at Store, even lingered at McDonalds stuff i would not normally do on a day like this. Ralph Breaks the Internet I'll hold off on for now. Really still want to see Grinch. Badgers finally lost the Ax after 15 years, really makes you think. 11/25/18 Finally got Wolfenstien 2 downloaded for Switch, will look forward to play something else besides Zelda for a bit Smash Bros awaits in the wings. Christmas gifts are starting to take abit of idea form. UCF continues to climb, will need upsets by Texas and Northwestern to have a shot at Playoff but without QB is risky. 11/26/18 Mom threw out her back, not sure if it was from picking up Eli but she seemed more out of sorts than usual. Other replacement for Cap 2 joined, liking him so far. Small issue with Chyenne who was on phone for nealry 15 minutes in the middle of the aisle, and nobody said a peep. If it was me, would have been fired. Privelege indeed. Guy at McDonalds may be homeless, was tempted to report him but with all the white calling blacks for doing normal stuff no way id risk it. 11/27/18 This day always seems to be the quietest when it comes to stuff coming out, almost nothing. One movie I wanted to get for Eli when he was here finally showed up. Wrapped up DVD's as gifts for Eric and them. 15% extra coming Thursday. Not sure what itll be used for. 11/28/18 Rare Wednesday I had store duties as well as class. Got extra 15% card for the even 25%. Glad ill be able to use it this time. Unlike what I originally had intended for The 30th. Could use some more snow around here. 11/29/18 25% discount thankfully goes 2 days so held off on that. Visited WITC the Christmas decorations are great as usual. Visited Menards but the so called enchanted forest seemed lacking. At least I was able to get bulbs and another set of blue lights. Sold ticket, hopeful Andy can get in tomorrow and enjoy himself. 11/30/18 Contigency Plan #2: Animated Grinch, OK Cumberbatch was excellent and Pharell ups Anthony Hopkins but the movie was just simply Ok. 25% got used well for Moms clients and Connor and Amber. Andy and Carynn got in and enjoyed themselves. Also got thier save the date and details on the  Weddding. Looks like a fun 4 day trip next May. Last Part of Year begins, lets see if this can finish strong. Never  figured at start that id be blogging this but just goes to so. 334 Days down 31 to Go.