Wildest Dreams || Reddie Fanfic

XIX

"Where are you going again?" Richie interrogated Eddie in a whiny voice as they walked the halls with Connor, Elio, and Danny. They had just finished whatever half-assed meal the cafeteria served that night and were walking back to the dorms.

"I told you, Rich. I missed a few classes due to... circumstances." He said through clenched teeth. "Professor Marc asked me to meet him at the coffee shop a few blocks down."

"But why at the coffee shop and not on school grounds?" Richie asked as they entered Eddie's and Elios dorm room.

"Look, I'm not really supposed to be giving you help like this. Favoritism and what not."

"Am i your favorite?" Eddie raised a brow at him, laughing at his flustered reaction.

"Hey, now. You know what I mean. So it would likely be best to converse off school grounds. That is, if you're comfortable."

"I told you already, something to do with school policy. Do you want me to fail the class, Rich?"

"Of course not." He mumbled. "I just don't think it's safe for you to go alone. It's getting darker earlier now and-" Richie met gazes with Danny and trailed off. He sighed through his nose and closed his eyes. "Just, promise me you'll be safe. Okay?" Eddie stared at Richie with tenderness and placed a gentle hand on his cheek.

"Of course," Eddie said calmly. He checked his watch and then grabbed his bag and headed towards the door. "I gotta go or I'll be late. I'll see you guys in about an hour or so. Okay?" The four boys silently agreed and watched him leave the room.

The cafe was just a few blocks from campus, settled on a cute area over looking the forest. The sky was grey and starting to dim as the sun was getting ready to set. Professor Marc was waiting outside the cafe for Eddie when he arrived, standing under the bistro lights and reading from a book.

"Professor Marc!" Eddie called to him and met his gaze as he looked up from his book with a warm smile. "Sorry I'm a bit late. I got caught up. Should we go in?" Marc held the door for Eddie and they walked to the counter to order a drink. Eddie just got a hot chocolate and Marc ordered some complicated coffee drink. "So what did I miss during those classes?" Eddie asked after they got their drinks and sat down.

"How are you doing, Eddie?" Marc asked seriously. Eddie froze, staring into his swirling cup of hot chocolate.

"I'm alright." He lied.

"No you aren't. You're hallucinating aren't you?" Marc's tone was soft. Eddie didn't answer for a moment, lost in thought.

"Somedays are worse than others." Eddie muttered quietly, taking a slow drink of his hot chocolate. "I'm sorry about the other day... in your office."

"When did these hallucinations begin?"

"Uhm, I didn't notice them really until a week ago." Eddie sighed and blinked up to the ceiling. "Did you wanna go over the things in class?" He asked quietly. Marc stayed silent for a moment, before sliding a notebook over to him and leaning back in his chair. Eddie hesitantly lifted the spiral notebook and flipped through the pages, each one neatly penned in blue and black inks.

"What... what is this?"

"Everything." Marc said vaguely. "Everything we will be learning in class." The clarification made Eddies brows rise and he set it back down on the table.

"Why?"

"You needed to catch up." He replied simply.

"This isn't really catching up though is it?" Eddie retorted. Marc paused and shrugged.

"Consider it a favor."

"I thought you didn't have favorites." Eddie's voice held a certain playfulness to it that brought a smile to Marc's face.

"I don't have favorites."

"Then why give me this?" Eddie asked matter of factly. Marc's smile only grew.

"I want to get to know you more." He tapped his finger on the table and shrugged. "I want you to spend more time interacting in class and less time having to study... I find you fascinating." Eddie met his gaze and searched his face for a hint of mischief. When he couldn't find one, he leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"Okay, deal."

The remainder of their meeting was spent talking about concept of the class and a few personal questions here and there. Eddie wasn't sure how he felt about being studied in the way Marc was attempting to. He hated when his psychologist studied him.

His psychologist studied him in hopes to fix him. Marc studied him in hopes to know him. He flipped through the notebook as he began his walk back to the campus. The sky was already dark as their meeting went a little longer than planned.

Richie would be worried by now. Eddie walked fast, passing alley after alley. Few cars were on the road now as everyone has already gone home from work.

"No! Please st- mmph!" A faint distressed female voice stopped Eddie in his tracks and he looked across the street to a dark alley next to an antique shop. There was a commotion rising and the voice grew more shrill as the seconds ticked by. Eddie jogged across the street and towards the alley. "Stop!" As Eddie drew closer, he could barely see a girl, pinned against the wall of the alley underneath a man, while another man stood off to the side smoking a cigarette.

"Hey!" Eddie shouted before he knew what he was doing. "Let go of her!" His voice echoed in the alley and carried a power that he didn't know he had. The man released the girl and she ran to Eddie, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, thank you so much." She cried and hugged him. Eddie hugged her back and gestured for her to run away. He watched her leave safely and sighed.

"Well, what do we have here?" A vaguely familiar voice hit his ears and a heavy arm draped over his shoulders. Eddie tensed at this and looked up to the man, his piercing dark green eyes laced with malice. The breath caught in Eddie throat and he clenched his fists.

"Hey whoa, Theo. If Daniel finds out that your fucking with him-"

"He won't find out. When I'm done with him," he leaned down and whispered in Eddie's ear, "he won't even be able to speak." The three stood in silence for a moment before Eddie inhaled sharply and slunk from under his arm.

"Well... as fun as this has been, I'm gonna go ahead and head back to campus." Eddie said and turned to leave, but a tight grip on his wrist pulled him back. Just do it. His head screamed and he turned back around and drove his fist into Theo's face, sending him stumbling back in shock. "Oh my god." He said with an excited smile. Theo glared at him with fury and wiped blood from his lip. Eddie's smile quickly disappeared and his eyes widened with the realization of what he'd just done. "Oh my god."