Wildest Dreams || Reddie Fanfic

XIV

Eddie limped his way back to his dorm room, his ankle throbbing and sore. The sounds of forlorn guitar plucking could be heard from outside the door of their room, Eddies hand paused at the handle and he just listened.

The hollow echo reverberating inside the beautifully crafted wooden instrument made Eddies hair stand on end. Something about the sound felt new and other worldly to him, something he'd never heard before. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, wincing each time his right foot had to bare the load of his body.

How am I gonna hide this? Eddies thought barely had time to cross his mind when the door swung open and Connor nearly walked right into Eddie.

"Ah!" Connor yelped and jumped back, "what the hell are you doing out here, Ed's? You scared the shit out of me."

"Oh, right. Sorry, I was just listening to Elio play. I didn't want to interrupt his flow." Eddie explained and gazed into the room. Richie was sat next to Elio on his bed, jotting down notes into Elios music notebook.

"Hey Ed's. You like what you hear?" Richie asked and waved the notebook around, a sweet smile on his face. Eddie nodded and took small steps into the room, hiding his limp as much as possible. Connor stared down at Eddies feet, furrowing his brow curiously.

"I do. How did you finally figure it out, El?" Eddie watched Connor shut the door behind himself after exiting into the hallway. "Where's he going?"

"Coffee run." Elio said and then motioned for Eddie to sit on the other side of him. "I just stopped thinking for once and followed my instincts. I let my hands do what felt natural. It didn't sound great at first." Richie scoffed in agreement and chuckled. "Hey now," Elio warned and nudged Richie, "but after awhile of just letting my body do what it wanted, it finally started to come together. It got... easier."

"That's..." Act on your instincts. "Good advice. I assume Richie gave you that one, huh?" Eddie smiled at Rich, his heart full and warm as he stared at him.

"He did. Why don't you come take a seat?" Elio offered again. Eddie started towards them, his limp more obvious than before and he tried to hide his discomfort.

"Whoa, whoa." Richie stood up and grabbed Eddie by the shoulders. "What happened?" Eddie looked up at Richie with forced confusion.

"What do you mean?" Eddie asked. Richie deadpanned before smirking and taking a few steps back, grabbing Eddies wrist and forcing him to walk several large steps, each step his limp worsening.

"Ow, ow! Richie stop!" Eddie exclaimed and pulled his wrist back.

"Oh! So you do know what I mean then." Richie proclaimed sarcastically and then lifted Eddie like a baby and set him gently on the bed. "Sorry I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page."

"Okay, okay, I get it." Eddie said and crossed his arms over his chest. Richie carefully slipped off his shoe and sock and rolled up his pant leg, revealing Eddies swollen ankle. He sighed out his nose and glanced up at Eddie.

"What happened?" Elio asked as he also bent down to look at Eddies ankle with concern.

"Uh-"

"Eddie, you just gotta duck it." Jer explained as he swung towards him again, barley missing his face as Eddie leaned back from the hit.

"It's not that easy!" He shouted. The ground shifted beneath him as Kade grabbed his ankle and twisted it around, flipping Eddies body over with it, but not without a quiet cracking sound filling the air. "Ah, son of a-" Jer covered Eddies mouth as he shouted explicatives into the palm, tears stinging his eyes.

"Kade, what the fuck?" Danny yanked him back, anger lighting a fire behind his eyes as he geared up to hit him. Eddie inhaled sharply and forced Jers hand away.

"Ah- I'm fine." He winced and pulled himself up, "let's go again."

"Absolutely not." Danny said and rushed to him, putting his arm underneath his shoulder and helping distribute his weight. "You're injured."

"It's just twisted. I'll be fine." Eddie pushed Danny away and attempted to put weight on his foot. "Mm- see? I'm fine."

"Oh yeah? Walk." Danny demanded. Eddie glared at him and then took a deep breath and started to walk, the first few steps were normal enough, but soon after the limping kicked in. "I told you. We should take you to the hospital. What if it's broken?"

"No!" Eddie said quickly and then sighed. "I mean... it's okay. Really."

"I fell. On my way back. It was dark and one of the street lamps was out, I misstepped off the curb and rolled my ankle is all." Eddie explained, but looking at his ankle now, he could see the swelling had gotten a bit worse and the pain was a bit more sharp.

"Eddie," Richie said, his voice didn't sound convinced, "it looks like a sprain." Richie moved his ankle slightly, pausing at the sharp intake of breath that came from Eddie following the movement. "Don't lie to me. How much does it really hurt?"

Connor waltzed back in holding a few paper cups with coffee in them. "Okay so they were out of cream, so I put a fuck ton of sugar in-" he trailed off as soon as he saw Eddies swollen ankle, narrowing his eyes knowingly. "What happened?" Richie rolled his eyes and ignored the question.

"You need a wrap at least." He said as he studied the swelling closer.

"I guess I can call you Doctor K now?" Eddie joked, hoping to lighten the mood. Richie looked up at him unamused and pushed up his glasses.

"It's Doctor Tozier to you. Richard Tozier, MD." Richie smirked flirtatiously now and leaned forward, kissing Eddie on the cheek.

"Well, Doctor Tozier... am I gonna be okay?" Eddie whispered back and moved in close to his lips.

"I'm afraid it's terminal..." Rich whispered back and gave him a small teasing peck on his mouth.

A gagging noise pulled them from their banter and Connor stifled a laugh as Elio mocked them and their love show.

"Gross." Elio commented and then put his guitar in its case. "You guys make me sick."

"Good thing I'm a doctor now than huh?" Rich winked at him and laughed. Eddie tried to pull his legs up to his chest on his bed, but winced as he flexed his foot. "Shit , speaking of which." Richie reached into Eddies nightstand drawer and pulled out a stretchy pressure bandage, gentle guiding Eddies foot down and towards him. "Alright, Doctor K... guide me through it. What am I doin?"