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PART 1
“Eddie- Eds?” The eerily familiar voice at the end of the line sounds like he’s about to cry. Eddie wants to tell him not to call him that but he doesn’t know why.
“Who is this?” Eddie asks worried that somebody had contancted his work office to personally get hold of him
“Fuck Eds it really is you isn’t it?”
“I-if you want to book a driver you can just talk to John in the office”
“But I don’t want to talk to John! Eddie it’s you I miss you! I didn’t even notice i was missing you but I didn’t rem- you don’t remember me” the voice was hazy at first but seemed to sober up as he came to his conclusion.
“I don’t even know who I’m talking to right now” Eddie stressed
“It’s Richie”
So that’s where he knew the voice from
“Richie tozier?” He asked softly
“Yes! You know me you remember now too right?”
“Richie Tozier the comedian? With the terrible joke about getting caught masterbating”
“Terrible that’s not what your mom thought”
“You make a habit of ringing up random company owners and testing out bad your mother jokes on them because you’re not fucking funny”
Oh there was the Eddie that Richie knew the Eddie that he-
“Eds come on we grew up together”
“I think I’d remember if I grew up with you”
“ you did I- to be honest I didn’t remember you until tonight and I’m terrified and I needed to hear your voice and I’m scared Eds and I don’t know why I just know you make it okay”
“I-I have to go”
“Eddie what town did you grow up in?”
The line fell silent.
“You don’t know do you? It’s weird neither do I, I just remember you if I think about it really hard I can vaguely remember another kid with curly hair and maybe a ginger girl but that’s all I’ve got Eds just you and faded memories”
“Please don’t call me that”
“You always used to say that”
Eddie heard real sadness in Richie Toziers voice and it hurt his heart so deeply and he didn’t even know why.
“I’m sorry Richie but you must be thinking of somebody else...I hope you find them”
A single tear fell from eddies eye he really didn’t know why he was so sad.
“Goodbye Richie”
Richie said goodbye to Eddie but the like had already gone dead.
PART 2
Eddie stared at his mobile, the screen showed Richie Toziers contact information. He’d saved it after their phone call last week he didn’t exactly know why but he knew he’d regret it if he didn’t.
Fuck it.
Call.
“Richie Tozier?”
“Who’s this?”
“It’s Eds- Eddie Kaspbrak” he stopped himself from using the nickname this strange comedian gave him the week prior.
“Kaspbrak? It rings a bell have we met before? Look if this is another complaint about the show on Friday I was- er- really hungover please send all complaints to my-”
“Beep beep Richie”
“What did you just say?”
“I-I don’t know why I said that”
“What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know! I don’t know Richie! All I know is that I’ve not been able to stop thinking about you since you phoned me last week, you’ve got in my fucking head! And I’ve been having dreams! And you’re in them but you’re a kid but I know it’s you and we-“
“I phoned you?”
“Yeah Thursday night I dunno you seemed drunk or stoned or sad I don’t know”
“Go for all three”
“Why are you sad Richie Tozier?”
“Why do you wanna know Eddie Spaghetti?”
“Don’t call me that”
“Why not?”
Eddie went silent Richie could hear another voice far away on eddies end, a shrill female voice.
“I have to go”
“Was that your wife Eds?” Richie felt heartbroken he had no idea why.
“Yeah” Eddie breathed almost inaudible
“She sounds hot” Richie says trying to make him laugh or be angry or just something to end the sadness in eddies voice now.
“She’s- she’s saying dinners ready it was nice speaking to you again Trashmouth”
And once again Eddie hung up
PART 3
“I saw a kid with a pure white cast on his arm today and I thought I should tell you” Richie hadn’t even bothered to say hello today
“‘Hi Eddie hows you’re day going’ oh great thanks rich I met Robert Downey jr ‘no way’” Eddie mocked how he thought their conversation should have gone down
“Wait really you met iron man?”
“No dickwad I drove Robert Downey jr to a red carpet event”
“So you met iron man”
“Why did you phone me to tell me about some weird kid”
“I guess I think he reminds me of you or the you I don’t remember of what I think you look- looked like”
“I did break my arm when I was kid”
“Really?! What did you do?”
“I-I don’t remember, weird”
“I don’t like this Eds these freaky memories! How did I know you’d broke your arm you barely know that you broke you arm!”
“I have to go Myra is calling”
“Please stop hanging up every time I mention our weird memory thing”
“Good bye trash mouth I call you later”
“You will?”
SILENCE
PART 4
“Are you talking about me in your new bit for your show this week?”
“ ‘hi Richie how’s life in treating you in sunny LA’ oh you know not too bad I met iron man today ‘no way’ you betcha” Richie’s impression of Eddie was way better than Eds impression of him.
“You met Downy too?”
“No fuckface I gave a dollar to a street performer in avengers cosplay”
“Fanny pack kid that’s me! Your childhood best friend with two fanny packs that’s me right?”
“Eds you know damn well I don’t write my own stuff for that dumb show”
“But you did this week!”
“What makes you say that?”
“It was actually funny...and Myra hated it”
“Oh Myras just jealous”
“W-What?”
“That my beard is nicer than hers”
“But you don’t have a beard”
“So she DOES have a beard!”
“Beep beep”
“So how do you know you’re fanny pack kid, I didn’t know you were fanny pack kid I thought I made it up”
“I was going through my moms stuff and there’s a picture of me it’s awful tiny shorts two Fanny packs and a pure white cast that says loser on it or possibly lover it’s hard to make out”
“Your moms not so hard to make out...with! How is Mrs K still as beautiful as ever I imagine”
“I know that you have no idea what my mother looks like you probably don’t even know what I look like”
“I’m picturing hot”
“Oh you really don’t remember my mother”
“I wasn’t talking about her”
“Richard”
“I know I know you gotta go ‘bye trashmouth’ I hear ya just remember you phoned me and you brought up the weird memories this time and you hung up before I even started this sentence didn’t you?”
PART 5
Eddie had spoke to Richie every day for 3 days straight after Eddie had first phoned him and it’s definitely Richie’s turn to phone him because he had phoned Richie last But he hung up after Richie had called him hot or well mentioned that he’d been picturing him hot and now it’s been two weeks and he hasn’t heard from the trashmouthed comedian and well he missed him.
“I have an inhaler but its psychosomatic and I don’t really have asthma”
“What the fuck Eduardo?”
“I’m telling you stuff about me until you remember who I am”
“I know who you are you’re Eddie Kaspbrak some poor guy I rang one time high out of my mind and apparently was charming enough to get a call in return”
“No I want you to remember before that”
“Have you tried to remember anything yourself?”
“No you’re better at it than I am”
“How do you know?
“Well in the two weeks you ABANDONED ME I did some research”
“Eds I swear to god if you’re fucking with me”
“In all your old stand up before you blew up you’re talking about me- possibly I think- and maybe our friends...you called us the losers club which a. That shit hurts b. Sounds very familiar and c. Would explain my stupid cast in that photo I found”
“Slow down Eds”
“My mother is Sonia kasbrak she was so fat Richie I know you’d make terrible jokes about that I just know it”
“I only mocked because I love her”
“I’m really fucking short you’d also make fun of that id bet my whole company on it”
“How short?”
“That’s not important”
“Do you want me to remember you or not?”
“wait the first time you rang me? You knew exactly who I was you told me you knew me you came LOOKING for me!”
“Eddie I was high as fuck”
“That’s it! The weed clearly helped you remember”
“I don’t think I like where this is going”
“It’s for science”
“You gotta do it too”
“God no moth-MYRA would kill me”
“You’ve got some serious mommy issues there Eddie Spaghetti”
“Okay tomorrow night I’ll tell her I’m doing a late night pick up and we’ll get high over the phone together and and and I’ll bring a note pad and we can make notes and when we sober up we’ll have FACTS”
“You’re ridiculous Eds”
“I miss you Richie, I think, I mean I think I miss the Richie I really knew”
“I miss you too”
“I’ll call you tomorrow Trashmouth”
+ ONE
Richie Tozier is nervous he can’t remember the last time he was this nervous just to smoke some pot but here he was waiting by his phone like a lovesick teenager.
Richie picked up after the first ring he was way over playing it cool.
“Eds! I really thought you weren’t gonna call you know”
“Richie Tozier?”
“Who’s this?” Richie asked he was only expecting Eddie
“It’s Mike Hanlon from Derry”
“From...Derry?”
“You remember Eddie?”
“I don’t...Derry? Where we grew up? Derry? Me you, stuttering Bill, Stan Urine! Bev, Ben? Oh my god Eddie”
“It’s back Richie, you made-“
“A promise...I know I-I remember”