°°·.⬧︎ ᴀꜱᴛʀᴏɴᴏᴍʏ ⬧︎.·°° | ʀᴇᴅᴅɪᴇ |

#18: ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴀ ᴘᴇᴄᴋ, ʏᴇᴀʜ?

"Can't say that I do, Eddie bear."

If there was one nickname that Eddie hated just as much as being called Eds, it was Eddie bear. This was a name his mother always used for him, and she used it way more than his actual name. Eddie always found it embarrassing, however, because she'd use it every time his friends were in the room, and it drove Eddie off the walls, batshit crazy. Hearing me say it just made him even more upset. "I'm so ready to take twenty showers right about now."

"You gotta get dirty first, baby," I grinned charmingly to cover up how fast my heart was rattling in my chest. The adrenaline was like a rollercoaster and it made my stomach throb in a heated way. I walked over to the small janitor's closet that was no bigger than five feet tall, holding it open. "Ladies first."

"I'll keep time," Beverly said amusingly, crossing her legs over the other and taking a large drag. "Don't do anything too stupid."

Eddie's eyebrows dropped and he held his cupped hands to his cheeks to hide the red complexion. "No promises, Richie takes all the stupid with him wherever he goes."

Mike's hands flexed a bit as if he was tempted to push us into the closet himself, noticing the amount of stalling that had occurred. "It isn't rocket science, guys."

"Alright, alright, keep your shirt on," I held up my hands that shook and trembled the more I held them to the sky. "Eddie, after you."

Eddie glanced back at Beverly and met her eyes before stepping into the tight space, which immediately had a stuffy, mugged feeling to it. Eddie took a gasp at his aspirator quickly, and the triggering noise echoed through the tiny area. "You've gotta be f-fucking kidding me."

I pulled the creaking door shut behind me, taking a shuddering breath and wiping sweat from my brow when I realized no one could see me.

Darkness.

There was some comfort within it; I couldn't see Eddie, and he couldn't see me, and neither could the losers, and neither could Henry Bowers. I felt safe. I felt like myself when it was dark. And this didn't even begin to compare to the darkness of the sewers. 

There wasn't a murderer ready to eat my heart out at every turn. It was just me and Eddie, Eddie and me. Alone at last. I felt my heart rate rise and fall with every living motion, feeling Eddie's small tennis shoes touch the tip of my converse.

"It smells like shit in here." he said, from somewhere within the unlighted black. I could feel his breath against my face and it sent a shiver down my spine.

"I know."

There was silence for a moment, and I could feel my body subconsciously stepping backward and pressing against the back of the closet, finding calm in being able to feel my surroundings. I grounded myself, taking a deep breath. The quiet got deafening, and I could hear a distant ringing in my ears. 

I could continuously hear Eddie's lips parting, as if he tried to voice some words, but couldn't find it in himself.

"So.. what now, Eds?"

"What do you mean what now? I'm not going to fucking kiss you, Richie."

Silence.

I wondered if he could hear my pounding heart due to how silent it was. When it was extra dark, the type of darkness where you couldn't see your own hand if you waved it front of your face, your other senses tend to heighten themselves. In this case, hearing. Eddie's breathing was extremely loud and low, as if he was hyperventilating.

I needed to keep my composure and get a goddamn grip on myself, or Eddie would know something was up. And I couldn't for the life of me handle that pressure.