Hold Me (Reddie)

The Things I Forgot

"Richie," Eddie whispered. There was no reason for him to whisper it though, the other two heard it. "Follow me." Richie did reluctantly, followed Eddie as they walked behind a bookshelf of the Derry public library. Eddie was looking at him with wide eyes. "Things need to be said, but I don't know how to say them."

"Just go ahead," Richie urged. He hated the suspense. He wanted to get the waiting over with. If you are going to tell me how evil I was, at age thirteen, go ahead.

"Do you think I could kiss you? I was scared, I thought you'd be different. But for God's sake you're the same! And I still remember you. I loved you, you know." Richie smiled a little too wide, and then gripped his old friend's hips and pulled him close. Their lips connected gently, and Eddie wrapped his arms around Richie. Richie himself felt something inside him, a feeling he didn't recognize. He'd later look back on that moment and realize the feeling was undying love, but in the moment he just stayed in Eddie's arms until Eddie eventually pulled away. "Shit."

"Kiss me again, damnit," Richie whined, and Eddie practically leaned against him, banging his back against the bookshelf, making a few books fall on the floor.

"What's going on? Are you guys okay?" Beverly called. Eddie started laughing uncomfortably. I fucking love that laugh, don't you ever stop laughing, okay? Never.

"Let's go back, Rich."

————

It was only thirty-six hours later, but it felt like a fucking lifetime and that was the truth. They were all there, except for Mike, who was laying unconscious in a hospital. Bill had lead them down to the sewers, down to the layer, down to where the spider dwelled and feasted and thrived. We're beating It now, this is the end. Richie felt eager to kill it, like there was something burning in his chest. The spider was half tearing Bill apart, and Richie just somehow knew he had to save him. He could be a hero, couldn't he? God I'm going to kill It. Just watch Eds, watch this motherfucker die!

Eddie

He knew that something could happen, that anything could happen. Ge knew that Bill and Richie were both struggling, and he knew he was the only way to stop it. He clutched the aspirator tightly in his hand; he knew what it could do. He knew that it could be pretty much poison, and he knew that poison could kill, and he knew this creature certainly needed to die. He ran up to the terrifying bloody eyes of It, and squeezed tightly on the trigger as if it was so much more than just a damn aspirator. He triggered again, straight through the throat, and felt the paralyzing pain wash through him like he was already gone.

Richie

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Richie was screaming. The tears immediately started flowing, tears that for the life of him he didn't know how to stop. He watched as Eds, now only one armed, stumbled back and fell to the ground. "Bev! Ben! It's Eds please oh god what are you doing save him!" Bev was trying to stop the blood with her shirt. Richie ran over to the man, so broken he was just a boy, and held him and sobbed. God Eddie I'm so sorry it's all my fault pleas you don't understand I love you Eds!

He felt a little movement in his arms, as Eddie clutched to him and twitched just a tiny bit. "Richie," he murmured, almost so quiet Richie couldn't hear. But he did hear, and tightened his grip on his love.

"What?" He cried, and he brushed the hair out of Eddie's eyes.

"Don't call me Eds," Eddie laughed only a tiny bit. He placed a gentle hand on Richie's cheek. This isn't the end oh lord this can't be the end Eddie I love you. "You know I...I..." Eds faded off then, into a different world, and was gone. Richie screamed, a truly painful scream, the scream of one who was lost in the pain of it all. He found the now tiny aspirator tucked neatly in Eddie's fingers, and shoved it in his back pocket. He gave a goodnight's kiss, and prepared to destroy It.

————

Richie Tozier didn't take too long to leave Derry for good. After the battle was done, he sat on a bench for a while and only thought, bouncing the tiny aspirator around in his hand, so small and delicate. Almost like Eds was. He wasn't going to cry. He had a flight back to California in a couple of hours, considering he was doing a performance in San Fransisco at six that night. He had never been late to a show, and he was alive. So he would be going. He got up from the bench and started walking. He walked up and down many broken streets of Derry...after the 'earthquake', there was some damage. He walked down past the Barrens, and then cut across to the street of his childhood home. But he didn't stop there. He continued walking, inside of where he was going. All he knew was that he wasn't going to stop until he found out where. He had to find something. And then crossing into Kansas Street, it finally occurred to him where he was going. I'm going back to Eddie Spaghetti's house, look at me. He stopped dead in his tracks when he arrived. The place was old and shriveled, with a damaged For Sale sign staked out front. He stood in the driveway, staring, remembering, and he broke his promise. He started to cry. He cried hard. He cried and cried and cried in the driveway.

It's over Eds. We beat It. We did. Ben and Bill were heroes, Bev and I too, but you buddy, you were the real hero. A sacrifice. Oh I miss you, oh I love you, but I'm okay. I'm just glad I got to see you one last time.

The end xxx