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Eddie always had something to say. Never mind if it was fitting the situation or under the conversation's subject, but he always had something to say. He talked mostly when he was nervous, and the boy was nervous his whole life.
His nervousness grew during the times when Y/N was sitting next to him on the bus, or at lunch, or in class. She was a new student in Derry High, and a new resident of Derry in general. And she found friends in the outcasts, which in her opinion were much better than the phony popular, rich girls or the gang of bully boys walking around the school like kings.
Eddie didn't know why his anxiety levels rose when she was around, and he certainly hoped that no one would notice. Not his rosy cheeks, his wide eyes or shaking hands or the fact that he rambled more than usual.
"D-Did you know you can make 50,000 people sick just from one sneeze?" Eddie inquires. Y/N had just sneezed because of a piece of dust flying into her nose while she and Eddie are sitting on the bus. She made sure to contain her sneeze in a tissue and turn away from Eddie. A character trait she had noticed about the boy was that he's really scared of sicknesses and germs. Understandable.
"Really?" Y/N asks, and her surprise is genuine. Her eyes are wide as she looks at Eddie, eager to hear more, if he has more to say. He freezes when she looks at him, the boy even blushes.
"Yeah, your sneeze can even travel as far as a 100 miles." Eddie adds to his previous fact, nodding. He'd much rather ask her what movies and books she likes or what she does for fun, or maybe if she'd like to hang out after school. He'd like to know her better, but the only thing he could find out was her health history and situation.
Y/N looks at him, puzzled. "You mean to tell me that if 1539 people sneezed at once, they could get the entire planet sick?"
Eddie shivers, the thought obviously terrifying him. Y/N chuckles. "That's—That's true, yeah." He tells her. "What's also true is—"
"How come you know so much about sneezing? And health, too." Y/N interrupts him, and it takes Eddie by surprise. His mouth hangs open, and he doesn't know what to say. Or what would be the right thing to say. Should he tell her the truth about how his mother has a crazy obsession with him being an asthmatic as well as the risk of getting other diseases and it's the reason he knows so many things about diseases and health? Or should Eddie tell her that it's a hobby of his to research health facts? Gross, who would have a hobby like that? "Cause I'm pretty sure the year we're in hasn't covered tuberculosis or how to stay clear of it. Not yet."
Eddie only gives her a puzzled look with wide eyes and mouth still agape. He doesn't know what to say! Ah, but Eddie always has something to say. "Tuberculosis is actually one of the most horrible diseases in the world, and you can get it if you breathe the same air as someone sick with it." Eddie tells her, quickly-speaking, as always. "Maybe even right now."
Y/N chuckles and bites her lip. "But really, Eddie." She presses on the matter. "How do you know—how do you remember that much?" Y/N sits back in the leather bus chair and her head tilts to Eddie. "It's really fascinating."
Fascinating? That's a great word. A great word to be called, in fact. An awkward, thankful smile graces Eddie's lips and Y/N smiles upon seeing that small feature, relaxing even more against the leather seat. This boy is one of a kind, he seems extraordinary to her. She hasn't met anyone like Eddie before and she has no idea which part of him fascinates her exactly.
"I—I have asthma." Eddie says to her then, quietly. "At least my mom—mother says I do. Ever since I was born, she says." Y/N nods, listening to the boy. He's finally saying what he wants to say, and feeling a bit proud of himself. Still, a little sad. The relationship he has with his mom is far from ideal.
"I've noticed your inhaler." She tells him, and Eddie's eyes shine for a second. She's noticed. "So you know so many things because of your mom? Or because you actually have asthma?" Y/N questions.
"Both." Eddie replies to her question, nodding. He looks down, away from her pretty eyes, shy all of a sudden. But Y/N sees that, and respects it. She thinks she knows what he wants to say, it's quite obvious. But if Eddie doesn't want to say it, he shouldn't be forced to.
"You should be a doctor when you grow up." Y/N tells him, rising a little from her seat. Her eyes travel to the sight outside of the bus window.
"A doctor?" Eddie echoes and Y/N nods while she turns back to look at him. "I don't know if I could ever operate on someone—nope, I couldn't." The boy decides and Y/N laughs.
"But I heard you patched up Ben Hanscom! And pretty good, from what I've heard." Y/N cheers him on. "You can be a doctor if you want to." She tells him softer.
"I don't know yet." Eddie tells her honestly. "I'm too young to decide what I wanna do, anyway." He says. Y/N laughs at this decision. Eddie gets more comfortable in his bus seat, looking forward.
"Do whatever comes to your mind. Be free while you can." She advises him with a soft smile. Eddie returns it, he takes her words as good advice now.
"Thanks." He tells her. Eddie feels as though he's gotta say something more. Maybe... "You wanna go to the pharmacy with me sometimes?" Eddie asks Y/N with audible enthusiasm and courage. It was the very first thing that he could ask her which came to mind.
Y/N smiles wide at him and even giggles, silencing the sound by biting her lip. Eddie finds this little characteristic of hers the most adorable. She shrugs. "Sure thing. Just say when."
