"If I'm too young to fall in love, why do you keep running through my brain? If I'm too young to know anything then why do I know that I'm just not the same?"
-Sabrina Carpenter
(Too Young, Sabrina Carpenter)
The car ride back to Derry was peaceful. Everybody was content. Beverly, Stanely, Bill, and even Georgie were waiting for the boys in front of Bill's house. When the truck slowly pulled up, Bill's heart was beating harshly against his chest. He grabbed Stan's hand and gave it a squeeze before taking a deep breath.
The car door opened and Ben stepped out first. Beverly rushed to him and pulled him in for a long hug before kissing him in front of everyone. Stan smiled at them.
Mike was the second one to get out. Bill was surprised to see Stan harshly pulling the real leader of the group into a hug. It warmed his heart. Mike brought one arm around Stanley and reached out for Bill's hand with his free one. Bill gladly took it and gave Mike a smile.
Then Richie got out of the car and the first thing he did was pick Georgie up and twirl him around happily. He put the boy on his shoulders and mumbled to him, "I missed you, kid."
Eddie was the last to get out of the truck. Bill softly dropped Mike's hand and just looked at the missing loser in front of them. Tears welled up in his eyes as he and Eddie made eye contact. "Hi," Eddie whispered to him, a weak smile resting on his face.
Bill still stood there, just taking it all in. He didn't say a word as tears kept forming in his eyes and falling from them. Eventually, he let out a shaky breath and stomped up to the boy until he was standing right in front of him. Bill yanked Eddie forward and pulled him into a bear crushing hug. He buried his face in the shorter boy's shoulder. Eddie hugged him back just as tight.
Bill let out a sigh of relief once he knew it was real. "I th-thought you were dead," he confessed with a crack in his voice. Eddie just tightened his grip and shook his head. Bill pressed a hard kiss to the side of Eddie's head. "I love you so much, Eddie. I'm so h-h-happy your back."
Eddie nodded his head, "Me too, Bill."
"D-D-Don't ever-"
"I won't," Eddie reassured him. He pulled away from the boy and held his face in his hands as he offered him a smile. "I promise."
They all gathered around Eddie and hugged him tightly until his face had gone completely red. In the middle of all that, Eddie had somehow ended up right back in front of Richie with his arms thrown around him. Stan and Bill held hands. Beverly had her head resting on Ben's shoulder. And Mike was carrying Georgie on his back. It was better now.
Eddie looked at Richie and smiled to himself. He thought about Derry, the letters, and the good in goodbyes. He came to the conclusion that the only good in goodbye was when you knew you were gonna see the person again. That was possibly the only good in goodbye.
Richie threw his arm over Eddie's shoulder and pulled him closer. "C'mon, let's go put a bag of dog shit on Peter's porch," he laughed.
Eddie rolled his eyes playfully. Only Richie could ruin the mood in the worst way possible. "You don't even have a dog."
"You act like stealing another dog's shit isn't a thing."
"It's not-"
Richie interrupted him by pulling him forward and their friends followed. Despite the disgusting situation Eddie was gonna be in soon, he couldn't help but smile at Richie. One more year was nothing. Not when he had him.
A/N: THE END...
The next thing is to wrap everything up and show what happened after all this. Thank you so much, guys! It's been a pleasure!
I love you all!
xoxoxo