Chapter Text
Eddie’s car is on fire.
It’s fitting, really, because it feels like everything in his life is on fire right now, and not in a good way, no, in an everything is burning down around him and threatening to take him out with it way.
He knows there are definitely bigger problems (including this current problem where his car is actively being engulfed in flames) but everything feels like it’s been going wrong the past several months. Summer had been a waste. He’d been back in Derry with his mom, and while a few of his friends were home, not all of them were, and on top of that, he hadn’t gotten anything productive done that could boost his medical school application. No clinical hours, no research, not even an unrelated job, he’d essentially been locked in his house all summer. Then, after the fall semester started, he somehow couldn’t stop failing his organic chemistry exams, which, yeah, it’s organic chemistry, which is a notoriously hard class, especially the second semester of it, but now he’s going to have to take organic chemistry two a second time, which is going to put him even further behind in his medical school pre-requisites,. Even worse, if he hadn't decided to drop the class to mitigate the risk of total failure, he wouldn’t have had to retake it, because his professor curved the grading scale to where, unless he fully and completely bombed the final, he probably would’ve passed.
On top of that, he got stuck with an insufferable lab partner all semester, that just so happened to also be one of Bill’s roommates. Any minor fuck up got a weird look, any word he said? Not listened to, even if their other lab partner literally said the exact same thing. Oh, and the guy ended up with an A in lecture, after complaining all semester that he was going to fail.
Another problem came in the form of finding a place to live next year. The only on-campus housing he could get was in the furthest dorm from any classes where he’d be sharing an apartment with three people he didn’t even know. It’d also be just as — if not more — expensive as renting an off-campus apartment, and he really didn’t want to live on campus again, anyways. He was supposed to move in with Bill at his off-campus apartment this year but he couldn’t get his mother to act as a guarantor so he could apply to live at that apartment. There’s still the possibility of living with Bill next year, since one of his roommates isn’t resigning, but it’s not like he has anyone that will act as a guarantor for him so he can actually get a lease. He’s not sure who he’d ask besides his mom and he already knows her answer is going to be a no. She’d insisted that he needed to stay in the dorms where it’s safe and secure if he’d be going to college so far from home (which she hadn’t even agreed to him doing, but he’d done anyways, hence the amount of loans he’s taken out). He thinks it might just be because it forces him to have to go home on breaks between semesters, since dorms close for those.
Maybe his mom had been right, though. Not necessarily on the dorm thing, he still would much rather be sharing an apartment with Bill than living on campus in a single or sharing an on-campus apartment with three randoms (that would likely include at least one underclassman). More so what she’d said originally when he was deciding what school to accept an offer of admission from. She’d wanted him to stay in Maine for school, or at the very least New England. She’d particularly wanted him to go to the University of Maine, since the main campus in Orono wasn’t too far from Derry so he could live at home with her while he commuted to school and studied something practical but that could lead to a job that wasn’t too dangerous (and didn’t require any extra schooling) like business. If he’d listened to her, he wouldn’t be in this situation right now. He also wouldn’t be dealing with the stress of trying to get into med school and a future career that would expose him to germs and disease constantly (though, he’s trying to work through that).
He’d almost listened to her, but after receiving a sizeable amount of financial aid from a school out of state, and encouragement from his friends, he’d ended up picking the same school Bill decided to attend, which happened to be only a couple hours away from the school Stanley and Richie had decided to go to. Mike had picked a school down in Florida, since they were all positive that clown was dead, and Ben had ended up reuniting with Beverly in Chicago.
He doesn’t really regret it. Well, sometimes he does, because this school is insanely competitive, especially within pre-med circles. It has good opportunities, sure, but only if you can get into them, and some of those opportunities feel more competitive to get into than the school itself did. And the classes are hard. Like notoriously hard compared to a lot of other schools. His GPA would definitely be higher if he’d gone to school almost anywhere else too. But otherwise, he likes it here, he’s definitely grown as a person here, and it’s nice that Bill’s here with him, and that Stanley and Richie aren’t too far. It’d be nicer if the other Losers were closer, but the seven of them starting to go separate ways (physically, at least) was bound to happen eventually.
Sirens start blaring nearby, and Eddie finally gets out of his head and stops gawking at his on-fire car (that’s definitely totaled now) while thinking about how his life feels like it’s falling apart (and he hasn’t even bombed the MCAT yet! That wasn’t going to happen until March, when he scheduled (and he’d luckily gotten a date at a testing center near his university) to take it).
He has to get home somehow. He can’t drive there, clearly. In theory he could take a bus, but he’d have to figure out the best route(s) to get him back close enough to Derry (Bangor, probably) where someone could pick him up. Plus, buses could get gross, who knows how often those seats get cleaned and who sits in them for hours at a time. He couldn’t just go back inside his dorm, he’d lugged all his shit down to the parking lot (in one go, luckily) when he’d heard the fire alarm because he knows his key fob is probably deactivated by now for the break since he didn’t pay the extra four-hundred dollars for intersession housing, and he can’t just call housing about it since he was supposed to be out of the building two hours ago.
If Bill hadn’t left to go back to Derry for a couple weeks (or less, depending on how things with his parents are) he’d just ask him for a ride, but unfortunately, Bill hadn’t had any actual finals, so he’d left last weekend — after asking Eddie if he wanted him to stay until he was able to leave, of course, but Eddie told him it was fine, not knowing that he’d soon be without a car.
“This your car, son?”
Eddie almost jumps at the sound of someone talking to him. He hadn’t noticed anyone arriving. He quickly turns his head towards the source of the voice to see a police officer standing in front of him.
“Yes, sir,” Eddie replies politely, but shakily.
“You got insurance on it?”
Eddie nods. “Yeah, but the card’s inside, and I’m not sure if it burned up or not.”
The officer nods then looks at Eddie’s bags laying on the ground behind him. “You heading somewhere?”
“I was about to head home for the break,” Eddie answers.
The cop snorts. “Good luck.”
Eddie glares as he walks away. Dick, he thinks before finally going to sit down on a bench at a table close to the building. He pulls out his phone and takes a picture of his car. He’d probably need this later, anyways, but for now he just wants it so he can send it to his friends. The firefighters get to work trying to extinguish almost immediately after he gets the photo, just as a notification for an emergency alert text comes across his screen about a car engulfed in flames in the very parking lot he’s sitting next to. He snorts. About time they sent one out.
He screenshots the message, then sends the screenshot and photo of his car to the Losers group chat with no further context.
It only takes a few seconds for the messages to start coming in.
Ben
Is that your car?
Bill
What happened?
Bill
Are you okay?
Mike
Seconding that are you ok???
Eddie
I’m fine, I was in my dorm when the fire happened
Beverly
Can you get back in or are you stranded outside?
Eddie
Stranded outside hoping I won’t be out here long enough for it to get cold enough for me to catch hypothermia.
Bill
One of my roommates never left, so I can text him and ask him to let you stay in my room in the apartment for a few days at least until I can pick you up. Or all of break if you need to. I can have him leave the door unlocked for you too.
Eddie had met Bill’s roommates before. All three are alright guys, although the guy with the microbiology major and philosophy minor kind of pisses Eddie off. Or he did when he was his lab partner in one of his classes this semester, anyways. He hadn’t really had any interaction with him otherwise. The other two are an English major Bill had met through one of his classes and an engineering major who’d been close friends with said English major. They’re more tolerable, but Eddie doesn’t particularly enjoy being around them. He is kind of stranded, though, and he’s not sure when he’s going to get a chance to get a ride to Derry or where he’d stay until then.
Eddie
Which roommate?
He’d find another place to stay or an immediate way back to Derry if it’s his former lab partner. Fuck that guy.
Bill
Mike
Bill
Lucas might still be there but if he is he’s leaving this afternoon
Okay, so it’s not the worst possible option. It’s not even that bad of one. He wouldn’t have to go back to Derry and he’d have somewhere to stay, but Eddie does feel kind of bad about taking over Bill’s apartment and spiking his (and his roommates, by extension) utility bill while he’s not even there. Plus, at some point, his mom would get worried and might possibly call the authorities and/or hunt him down, then never let him out of her sight again. So, that means for his future freedom’s sake, he should probably head home. Plus, if he does head home, he’ll get to see the other Losers since all of them would be coming back to Derry for at least a few weeks this year. He still sees Bill kind of frequently, being at the same college, and occasionally Richie and Stanley, if they decide to drive a couple hours from their school (or if Bill and Eddie do the same from theirs). The others are too far to regularly visit, though. Speaking of Richie and Stanley, they’d been strangely quiet in the group chat. Well, Richie has. Stan a lot of times just lurks anyways, unless he has something to say (or Richie says something stupid) so this isn’t abnormal for him.
Eddie
If he’s fine with it, then I might take you up on that
Mike
I still can’t believe your roommate and I share the same name
Bill
I’ll ask him and send him your number. You want to stay the entire break or just a few days until I can pick you up?
Richie
OR you can ride back with me
Richie
I’m only like an hour away
Richie
No need to shack up with one of Bill’s pretentious roommates
Bill
They’re not pretentious
Bill
Mike and Lucas aren’t anyways
Eddie
So you want me to freeze my ass off for an hour?
Richie
I’d never want anything bad to happen to that ass of yours
Eddie rolls his eyes.
Stanley
Please tell me you’re not texting and driving right now.
Richie
Of course I’m not!
Richie
I’m at a gas station
Bill
I asked my roommate and he’s fine with you staying
Bill
He can also pick you up and drive you to the apartment if you don’t want to uber there
Eddie
I don’t think he’ll even be able to get into this parking lot rn
Eddie
It’s blocked off while they’re trying to put the fire out
Richie
I’ll speed so you don’t freeze ;)
Eddie
I never agreed to you driving me!
Eddie
Also don’t speed!
Eddie
That’s dangerous!
Beverly
Eddie aren’t you the only one of us who’s ever gotten a speeding ticket
She has him there.
Stanley
Yes he is
Eddie
That was two years ago!
Eddie
And the cops in that state are notorious for pulling people over
Eddie
And I was only going ten over the guy just had a stick in his ass!
Eddie
Richie you can only pick me up if you don’t get pulled over getting here
Yeah, he’d just said he didn’t agree to Richie picking him up a few seconds ago, but he didn’t really mean it that way. He didn’t really mind hitching a ride with him. Sure, he’d rather not be stuck in a car alone with him for several hours in case he says anything that fucks things up between them, but it’s more likely for Richie to do that before he does, but at the same time, whenever they say stupid shit to each other, they usually get over it and make up pretty quick.
Plus, no offense to Bill’s roommate, but he’s a lot more comfortable with Richie. Oh, and, this means he’d actually get back to Derry in a timely manner and see his friends again (and avoid his mom reporting him missing or driving or sending one of her friends out here herself).
Richie
As you wish
Bill
I guess I’ll tell my roommate no need to pick you up or leave the apartment unlocked
Bill
Unless you want to wait there for Richie
Eddie
I can wait here
Eddie
It’s not too cold yet
Ben
Bev and I just passed the Maine state line btw! We’ll be in Derry in a couple hours
Mike
Does this mean Bev was texting and driving?
Richie
Beverly Ann Marsh how dare you put sweet Ben’s life in danger!
Bev
We were at a red light!
Ben
Also that’s not her middle name
Ben
(She told me to add that, since we’re no longer at a red light)
A notification then comes across his screen, alerting him to a text directly from Richie to just him.
Richie
I’m about to leave the gas station, should be there in an hour
Richie
Also I shared my location with you a while ago so you should be able to see where I am
Richie
Don’t freeze before I get to you
Richie
I don’t want to take an Ed-Sicle back to Derry
Eddie reacts to his last message with a ‘thumbs down’ and closes his phone for a little while to preserve battery. His laptop and iPad are fully charged, anyways, so he can just use those to keep himself occupied, for now.
It’s close to forty-five minutes later (not that Eddie’s counting, because he’s not) when a car that almost definitely belongs to Richie finally comes into the parking lot (and almost takes out a curb in the process). It stops (not even in a parking spot, mind you) close to where Eddie’s been waiting, and the window rolls down.
“You called for a ride,” Richie says, grinning at Eddie. He’s got sunglasses on. Likely over his regular glasses, but it’s hard to tell at this angle. Unless he’s wearing contacts, which Eddie has seen him wear at least a few times now, including a couple of times that he and Bill had gone to see Stanley and Richie. He actually looked really good without glasses, not that he looked bad with them, but after not seeing him for so long then seeing him without glasses, he’d almost panicked at the way it made him feel.
“Please tell me you didn’t actually speed here,” Eddie asks with a huff. He was going to originally also ask if he was actually wearing glasses, but he can tell now that they’re underneath his sunglasses.
“Okay, I didn’t speed,” Richie says.
Eddie rolls his eyes. “Very funny, asshole. I’ve had a pretty shit day, don’t make it worse.”
“Okay, I did speed, but not like super illegal speeds and it was only really on the interstate,” Richie actually answers, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Do you need help getting your stuff in?”
“No. I don’t,” Eddie says, but it’s futile, because Richie’s already climbing out of the car and opening his trunk. He makes a move to grab Eddie’s suitcase, but Eddie pulls it away from him. “I said I didn’t need any help.”
Richie raises his hands defensively. “Alright, fine, I was just trying to be helpful. Don’t want to stress your pretty face out any more than you already are.”
Eddie shoots him a dirty look. Now was not the time for Richie to start his shit again. Doesn’t matter that he doesn’t actually hate it, or wouldn’t hate it if it was real and not just his friend picking at him. Eddie pulls the suitcase away from Richie and tosses it in the back next to the duffel bag that no doubt held Richie’s clothes, although Eddie’s not sure if they’re clean, dirty, or a mix. Hopefully just clean considering the laundry bag also sitting in the trunk.
He goes to grab his laundry bag and the way Richie’s just standing there awkwardly makes him give in. “Okay, fine, but don’t throw my backpack in the trunk, I don’t want my laptop breaking.”
“I was going to say you could put it in the backseat with mine if you wanted,” Richie says, picking up the bag Eddie had put basically everything else he wanted to take back with him that weren’t clothes and didn’t go in his backpack. “Jesus, what’s in this thing?”
“Toiletries, laundry detergent, a spare jacket, my MCAT prep books,” Eddie starts listing. “They’re all separated enough and my books are wrapped in my jacket, so nothing spills on them, I just couldn’t fit them all in my backpack
Richie sets the bag next to Eddie’s suitcase in the trunk. “Dude, you’re going home. Don’t you have some of this shit there?”
“Yeah, but—it doesn’t matter!” Eddie argues. “And be careful those books were expensive.”
“Then why’d you put them with liquids.”
“I had nowhere else to put them, and all the liquids are double bagged,” Eddie explains, putting his last bag in the trunk, as Richie puts Eddie’s backpack on one shoulder, then opens the backseat to set it down.
“Is that everything,” Richie asks, shutting the rear door.
“Yeah, everything I was able to get down in one trip, at least.”
“You got all this in one— that’s kind of impressive actually.”
“It wasn’t easy. Can we get going, though? And please tell me your heater is working, because after freezing for the past hour, I’d really like to get warm.”
“We’re literally from Maine, and it’s only like forty-five degrees out,” Richie says, looking at him skeptically. Or Eddie’s pretty sure he is. He’s still wearing those stupid sunglasses, so Eddie can’t actually tell his expression.
“And all I’m wearing is a sweatshirt and sweatpants,” Eddie points out.
“Okay, well, the heater is working if you want to get in so we can get this show on the road.”
“Thank fucking God,” Eddie says, climbing into the passenger seat. The car had been left running while Richie got out to help him, and thankfully the heater is already on, even if it’s not on the warmest setting. The car is also much more comfortable than the picnic table bench had been, although, he’ll probably be changing his mind about that after being stuck in this seat for several hours.
“Stupid question, why is there mysterious steam coming from the ground?” Richie asks, not even thirty seconds after they leave the parking lot.
“Dude, I don’t fucking know, it’s always like that. Especially if it’s cold. It’s from the sewers or something,” Eddie says.
The car gets uncomfortably silent for a second at the mention of sewers. Eddie knows exactly why too, and it has to do with that stupid clown they killed (well, they’re about ninety-five percent sure they killed) when they were thirteen that just so happened to take kids through the sewers. He hadn’t even thought of it until he’d mentioned the sewers, but now he’s definitely thinking about it, and Richie is too.
The awkward silence ends when music starts playing through the radio, which is definitely from Richie opening one of his playlists and pressing play. And honestly, the distraction is welcome, even if the first song that starts playing is fucking Rock Lobster by The B-52s.
Eddie’s sure to roll his eyes dramatically when Richie starts singing along. “Seriously? This song?”
“What’s wrong with this song?”
“You’re going the wrong way by the way,” Eddie says in lieu of actually answering.
“What? No I’m not.”
“Yeah, you are, the interstate is that way.” Eddie points in the direction behind them. “Use maps or a GPS or something, how’d you even make it here?”
“I used maps on my phone but turned it off once I got to your dorm.”
“Why the fuck would you not just reroute it to Derry before we left?”
“Because I have you to navigate me now. Plus, I know my way once I get back to the interstate.”
Maybe that part’s true, but it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t know his way to the interstate.
“Which you’re going the wrong way to get to!’
“Okay, how do I get back to the interstate, then,” Richie asks, looking at Eddie now that they’re stopped at a stop sign.
“Turn left at the next stop sign, then go through the second exit of the roundabout and come out the way you came, then turn left at the light,” Eddie huffs. “And next time use maps like a normal person.”
“See, spaghetti? You proved my point, no need to use maps and waste my phone battery when I’ve got you,” Richie teases, bringing one hand over to the passenger side of the car to mess with Eddie’s hair as they pass that stop sign, and continue on, following Eddie’s directions.
Eddie swats his hand away. “Don’t fucking call me that, you dick.”
“Hey! No beating up the driver,” Richie squeals. He almost misses the correct exit from the roundabout.
“Well, if the driver would keep his hands on the wheel and off of me, there’d be no reason for me to beat him up,” Eddie argues.
Richie grins at him stupidly. “Well, if the passenger wasn’t so—”
“You turn here, by the way. At this red-light. Then the on-ramp is on the right side of the road in about three miles,” Eddie says, cutting him off, realizing where they’d ended up.
“See what I mean? Who needs maps?” Richie ruffles Eddie’s hair once again. “I’ve got you to tell me where to go.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t need to if you just used the GPS in your fucking phone.” Eddie removes Richie’s hand from his head, once again. “Also, what even is this playlist? We just skipped like three decades between the last song and this one.”
Richie shrugs. “It was just one I made before Thanksgiving. Hang on, I have a better one I can change it too.”
“Dude, just leave it on this one or hand it to me, you’re driving!”
“We’re at a red light, it’s fine,” Richie insists, opening his phone up and scrolling through it, periodically looking up at the light ahead of them.
Eddie looks from Richie to the light, back to Richie, then back to the light once again, which is now green and the traffic in front of them is starting to move.
“The light’s green,” Eddie says.
Richie looks at Eddie, having just hit play on whatever playlist he was searching for and thrown his phone into the place it had been sitting under the radio. “Huh?”
A car behind them honks and Richie turns his full attention to the empty stretch between them and the light ahead of them.
“Oh. Shit. I swear it just turned green,” Richie defends himself as he hits the gas and turns. “I was looking,” he tries to reassure Eddie.
“Just not at the right second.”
“Well, I was trying to find this playlist I made for— it’s not important, actually.” Richie changes the subject. “The overpass down the road is the interstate, right? I’m pretty sure this is the way I came when I got off.”
“Yeah. What playlist were you searching for?”
“This one, it’s got some songs on it that you like to listen to, so I figured I'd put it on,” he explains, as they continue on, quickly approaching the turn lane for the on-ramp. It’s not the full truth, Eddie’s pretty sure, and he’s not sure why Richie is hiding whatever he’s hiding, but he’ll just ask about it later. There’s other things for him to think about right now, namely, the inevitable freak out his mother is going to have when she realizes his location is different from his car’s location and he’s leaving a lot later than he told her.
Eddie takes a glance at his phone for the first time since getting in the car with Richie to see twelve missed calls from his mom and several frantic texts from her that, to summarize, wanted him to call her and were voicing how worried she is and that if he doesn’t call her back or answer her within the next few minutes she’s calling campus police. Not that that would do much of anything.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “How’d she manage to call and text me this many times.”
“Who? Your mom?” Richie asks. “I hope it’s your mom, so I can take the phone from you and have the most amazing phone sex with her.”
“You’re not telling her anything,” Eddie says. The joke had helped ease his nerves about this conversation a little, but less-so than it would had the joke been unrelated to his mother. Not that he planned on telling Richie that.
“Aw, but I wanted to tell her what I have planned for us when we get back to Derry? The things I’ll let her do to me,” Richie says dramatically.
Eddie rolls his eyes. “Yeah, you’re definitely not telling her anything about that.”
“C’mon, Eds—”
“No, and I swear to God, Rich, if you tell her anything, I will make this ride miserable for the both of us. Also, you know I fucking hate it when you call me that.”
His phone screen lights up again with his mom’s contact. “Not a word,” Eddie hisses at Richie, then answers the call, changing his tone so he sounds much more polite. “Hi, Mommy.”
Richie laughs. “You still call her mommy when talking to her? I only call her mommy in bed, if that.”
Eddie motions a ‘shut up’ signal at Richie and silently hopes that his mom didn’t hear him. Luckily, Richie listens and quiets down for a second, even turning the radio down so Eddie’s mom would be less likely to hear it over the phone.
“What’s going on Eddie–Bear? I checked your location and it showed that you were on the road, you never texted me you left? I also checked the device in your car and it wasn’t responding, the last time it was, it showed you were still parked at your dorm. Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, Ma, everything’s fine. It’s probably just not working right because of the cold,” Eddie lies, feeling extremely guilty as he does so.
“Are you sure? You didn’t pick up the phone the first few times I called you.”
“Sorry, Mommy, I was driving, I didn’t realize you’d called,” Eddie continues to lie. Truthfully, he just hadn’t paid much attention to his phone since getting in with Richie, then, instead of immediately calling her back, hesitated until she called him for what was probably the twentieth time in a not even fifteen minute span.
“You took your medications before you left, right? And packed all of them? If you didn’t, I can stop by the pharmacy and pick up more.”
“Yes, Mommy,” Eddie answers. He didn’t. He threw most of what he knows are placebos (basically everything that wasn’t over-the-counter) away after move-in. Aside from the inhaler. He didn’t need it, he doesn’t actually have asthma, but it helps sometimes with panic attacks.
“Good. I wouldn’t want you getting sick on the car-ride back, we both know how fragile you and your immune system are. The drive will shake your stomach up and make you feel even worse."
Eddie bites back a sigh, mentally reminding himself he’s not fragile and not sick. Not like she says he is.
“You aren’t lying to me about any of this, are you Eddie-Bear,” she asks, in that same sickly-sweet voice she liked to use with him. “You would tell me if something happened wouldn’t you? If I needed to come pick you up? I wouldn’t want you to have to take a bus or a plane where you could easily get sick. There are so many germs on those things, and you know how weak your immune system is.”
She knows. She knows. She knows, his mind repeats. “No,” Eddie continues to lie. “Everything is fine, I need to hang up so I can focus on driving, though.”
He hangs up before she can say anything else, then slides down into the seat, letting out a heavy sigh as he runs a hand through his hair. His eyes widen as the realization fully catches up with him.
“I just lied to my mom,” he says, staring blankly ahead of him. He then sits up properly in his seat and looks at Richie, eyes still wide. “Holy shit, I just completely lied to her.”
Richie looks away from the road for a second to look at Eddie, giving him a proud smile and light shove. “Hell yeah you did, dude.”
“Why do I only feel a little guilty about it? I should be feeling super guilty. I just lied to my mom. I lied to her and she was just worried.”
“Okay, you and I both know that with her there’s a fine line between what she does being because she’s worried and what she does being because she’s manipulative and controlling, and nine times out of ten, she crosses that line to the ‘manipulative and controlling’ side.”
“Yeah, but, she’s still my family, Rich,” Eddie tries to explain. “She’s the only family I have. She— she cares. She can just be… over-bearing sometimes.”
“Correction: she’s the only blood family you have, you’ve got the Losers, we’re your family too, and if your mom would ever let me—”
“Beep, beep,” Eddie warns. He knows Richie’s right. On the Losers part, not the last part. They were always there for him. Always cared about him. Hell, multiple of them were trying to figure out how to get him back to Derry or just not leave him homeless for a month if he’d decided to just stay at Bill’s apartment for the break. A weird family, that’s not very reminiscent of a biological one, but a family nonetheless.
“Okay, yeah, bad timing on that one,” Richie admits. “What did she say to you?”
“She was just asking if anything was going on, because my location is different from the last location she saw my car at. She also kept prying and trying to be sure I wasn’t on some bus or plane and took those placebos she’s still trying to get me to take because she’s so convinced I need them.”
“How does she know where you are and where your car is? Did she actually put a chip in you?” Richie pauses. “I was just joking when I said she probably microchipped you like a dog whenever you left for college. She didn’t actually do that, did she?”
“Might as well have,” Eddie sighs. “She has my location from my phone and has a device in my car that can track its location and my top speed. Oh god, she has my location, she’ll catch on eventually that I’m not in my own car and am riding with someone — hopefully she doesn’t assume you — back to Derry.”
“Wait, why not me,” Richie squeaks, sounding at least a little offended.
“You know exactly why.”
“Okay, but, wouldn’t she assume Bill first, since you two actually go to the same school?”
Eddie shrugs. “Even if she did it wouldn’t be much better than her thinking it’s you, she’s hated him since we were thirteen.”
Richie looks at Eddie briefly. “Wait, does she still blame him for you breaking your arm that summer?”
“Yes.”
“Damn. That woman does not let things go, I mean I would know that with how her pussy clenches around my dick.”
Eddie barely hears the joke at the end as he starts to spiral. “I just don’t know what to do. She’s going to figure it out eventually, then call the police to find me and track us down. Then she’s going to make me drop out or transfer to a closer college — which won’t even really be possible because I’m an upperclassman — and my life will be over.”
Richie puts an index finger up. “One — I think you’re giving her too much credit, she literally spends most of her time rotting in a chair in front of the TV.” He then puts up his middle finger as well. “Two — you could always just stop sharing your location.”
Eddie gives him an incredulous look. What the hell was he thinking? Had he forgotten about the time he did that in high school and his mom had called the police, reporting him missing, when he was literally just at the quarry with the other Losers, then spent the night at Richie’s (with some of the other Losers). “That’s a terrible idea! She’ll think I was kidnapped! Did you forget what happened last time?”
“Okay, but that was like four years ago. Could it even be considered kidnapping since you’re an adult?”
“Yes! I think, anyway.”
“I still think you’re giving her and the police too much credit.”
“I’m trying to play it safe,” Eddie huffs. “If I turn my location off, it’s just going to worry her more, and I really don’t want to do that.”
“Okay.” Richie turns the radio back up. “So, your location is staying on then?”
Eddie nods. “For now, at least.”
“For now? Very ominous of you, Eduardo.”
“You know that’s not my full name.”
“Are you sure though?”
“Yes, I’m sure, dickface,” Eddie snaps. “I’m also sure that you should be focusing more on the road and less on how my mom is way too concerned about my location. You’re distracting yourself and distracted driving is the number one cause of car accidents.”
“Relax, I can focus on two things at once, like the fact that your mom might show up if we take to long and I’ll get to see her again because she has your location and staying far enough away from this semi so I don’t crash into it and you don’t start worrying about me crashing into it,” Richie tries to reassure him, in what’s probably one of the most Richie ways possible.
Eddie grips onto the handle on the roof, looking at Richie with wide eyes. “I wasn’t worried about you hitting a semi, but I am now. If you get in an accident with one of those things it could crush us.”
“Which is why I’m not planning to get into an accident with one.”
“No one ever plans on getting into an accident, dumbass! That’s why they’re called accidents,” Eddie exclaims.
“Huh, and here I thought they were called accidents because they might make you piss yourself,” Richie remarks.
Eddie rolls his eyes, but he’s grateful for the joke, not that he’d admit it aloud. It’s pretty dumb, definitely not Richie’s best work. Plus, most accidents don’t cause you to piss yourself, unless it’s like a super severe one, but it does help distract his racing mind. Richie was good at that. Eddie’s not sure if he knows it or not.
“Most accidents don’t cause you to piss yourself, dumbass,” Eddie corrects. “And if you do piss yourself during an accident, that might be a bigger problem. Or be because you died. Although most people shit themselves when they die.”
“That’s morbid.”
“You brought it up,” Eddie argues, then softens his voice, just a little. “Also, sorry for making you drive me, I can help pay for gas if you want.”
“Dude, I literally offered to drive you, it wasn’t a problem at all,” Richie states. “And you’re not paying for gas, you literally just lost your fucking car. Plus, my parents gave me gas money anyway, so there’s no need.”
“Do they know you’re—”
“Driving you back? Yeah, I called them when I left the gas station to come get you.”
“And they’re fine with it?” Eddie asks.
“Totally,” Richie answers, laughing. “They’re actually relieved someone else is going with me in case I need a break from driving at some point. Plus, I’m pretty sure they like you more than me, sometimes.”
Eddie’s pretty sure that last part isn’t true. Sure, Richie’s parents don’t mind (and might actually like) Eddie, but definitely not more than their own son. No matter what Richie might think.
“I can also take over driving for you if you need to,” Eddie offers.
“Relax, Eds, if I need you to drive, I’ll tell you, just sit back and enjoy the ride for now.”
Eddie rolls his eyes, but a small smile tugs at his lips. “Thanks, by the way,” he says quietly.
“Dude, I literally told you, it wasn’t an issue.”
“I know I just feel kind of bad. Plus, if my mom finds out—”
“Well don’t feel bad, and don’t think about your mom finding out. Because she won’t and if she does, I’ll tell the police that inevitably hunt us down that you went with me consensually and that you’re a whole-ass adult who can make his own decisions, including riding with his friend and/or not going home as fast as his mother wants.”
Eddie snorts, imagining that overly-dramaticized scenario going down, and feeling a lot more comfortable about this ride back, though once he got back to Derry, that would be a completely different story. But for now, for the next several hours, things might just be okay.