Wildest Dreams || Reddie Fanfic

V

"Welcome to Biology 120." A well dressed older lady announced as she wrote on a white board. "Let's go over the syllabus real quick." Eddie had chosen a seat closest to the window, peering out at the campus grounds two stories up. The wind shook the trees and rain pounded against the windows.

Pounding over every thought in Eddies brain, a side effect of the alcohol and lack of sleep he supposed. Biology was his first class of the day. A subject he became well versed in living with his Münchausen syndrome mother for his whole life.

Syllabus day always seemed to drag on forever. School code, grading scale, office hours, course content, blah, blah, blah. Eddie didn't really care to learn all that. She had already passed out the packet, what more did they need to know about it.

Something about last night kept Eddies mind wandering. That guy, Danny, talking to him came easy, like he didn't expect Eddie to be okay. Like it was alright for him to feel bad. He welcomed bad coping mechanisms, didn't expect anyone to be perfect at handling their trauma.

"What's your poison? What are you running from, Eddie?"

The breath stuck in Eddie throat as he studied the cigarette in his hand. "Even if I was running from something... what makes you think I would tell you?"

"That's fair. Totally fair. You don't have to tell me." Danny paused for a moment, watching Eddie hesitantly raise the cigarette to his lips. "Just know that it's okay to be avoiding your problems. Everyone does it every so often. It's what makes us human, Eddie." A stifled cough sounded from Eddie after he inhaled the smoke from the cancer stick. "Never smoked before, huh?" He shook his head and handed it back to him.

"It's fucking awful." He exclaimed between coughs, meeting Danny's amused gaze before breaking into laughter together. The rain had let up a bit, leaving Eddie cold and wet. It felt liberating to stand in the rain and try his first cigarette. No one around worried about his wellbeing, no one to tell him how to feel about it. Nothing except a man who knows it's okay to run from problems...and a man currently running from his problems, sharing a moment in the rain at night, with a party raging behind them.

"Saturday, 8 'o'clock." Danny mentioned after awhile. "I'm having another party. You should come avoid your problems some more. Oh and don't forget to invite your friends."

"Excuse me, sir." The teachers voice intruded Eddies thoughts. "Excuse me." Eddie snapped to attention, looking at the teacher, deer in headlights expression.

"Uhm, Sorry. What?" Eddie asked, his voice shaking slightly from anxiety, all gazes on him. Patiently, the teacher leaned against her desk.

"We're going around the class and introducing ourselves and saying one interesting thing about ourselves." She explained and gave a friendly smile.

"Oh right," Eddie chuckled nervously and took a deep breath, standing up and steadying himself against the slick wooden desk top. "I'm Eddie, uhm... there's not really anything interesting about me that I can think of." What was he suppose to say? Hi, my name is Eddie and I've been almost murdered by a demon clown several times in my life. He doubted that would blow over well.

"That's not true." A poorly mannered girl spoke up from a few seats away, obviously lacking the social skills to stop talking now. "I saw you in the paper not too long ago."

"Oh, you did?" The room fell silent in confusion.

"I did. You were at the carnival." She said simply and Eddie froze. "You almost died. You should tell us about your experience!" She continued excitedly, the rest of the class must have realized what she meant as they began to whisper among themselves. "That yo-yo ride must've been horrifying."

"Thank you, Dawn." The teacher interrupted the girl with a kind scolding tone, one that would be used with a child. "Eddie, you don't have to do that." He stared out the window again. I don't wanna die, Richie. His own screams echoed through his head. "You can sit down." Eddies legs stay stuck straight for a moment longer before finally sitting back down.

"Thank you." He mumbled. Dawn made brief eye contact with him, guilt settling in her eyes as she realized now what she had done. She leaned over to a friend and whispered something, nodding in understanding at the response she got.

"Let's begin our notes on Cell Physiology."

~

"Fuck, fuck. Shit." Richie exclaimed as he rushed down the hall, his hair a tangled mess. He had slept in. His first class started an hour later than Eddies. Heavy footfalls echoed in the halls on the freshly waxed hard cherry wood floors. 122A, 124A, no, 128A. Finally! Richie burst through the door into a silent class of about 16 people. Sociological Studies in American History. A snore fest of a name, he had to admit, but it sounded so fascinating to him.

"Welcome." A gruff sounding voice said as Richie abruptly interrupted his class. He exchanged glances with the teacher and then cleared his throat.

"Thanks." He responded simply and took a seat towards the back of the room. Not much different from highschool, huh Rich? A mocking voice echoed in his mind. Richie rolled his eyes, a headache setting in. As the teacher continued to talk about whatever it was he was doing before, Richie's mind began to wander.

I wonder if Eddie got up on time. They didn't get back from the party until after 2am. Eddie seemed to have had a weight lifted off his shoulders for a while. Rich had thought that maybe the party had loosened him up a bit. He had stepped outside at some point in the night, that much Richie remembered. When he came back in he was soaking wet and smelled faintly of cigarettes. There must have been people smoking out there at the same time. He would never have smoked, not with his asthma that he so desperately believes he has.

A frown rested on Richie's face now. He was trying to give Eddie his space to explore new things, but there was a constant dread in the back of his mind. Too much had happened now. It seemed that without even trying, trouble always found Eddie. No matter what. It's suffocating clenches always seemed drawn to Eddie, ever since they were children. He had always gotten himself into trouble or dangerous situations. It made Richie worry even more. There was nothing worse than seeing Eddie hurt, to him that was the worst pain he could imagine.

It determined him to try his best to make sure Eddie never feels that way again. I don't wanna die, Richie! Eddies heart wrenching scream echoed in Richie's brain, shaking him to his core as each knuckle then began to tense up and form a fist. I won't let you die, Eddie.