#this came on shuffle when i was driving and my mind immediately went EDDIE

[hurtingbuck]

And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope It's a shot in the dark aimed right at my throat

[bords4life]

So I was about to release the next part. However there is a slight mention to a period of time that I wrote a little blurb, here is leading up to the birth of Noah.

Thomas’s pov

Coach had us doing lines as a punishment, we won in overtime but it shouldn’t have been a close game and we all know that. It was about an hour into practice and my legs were killing me. We were about to start another set when Gabby, one of our social media girls came rushing into the arena yelling my name. She is y/n’s roommate so immediately I think something is wrong. I skate as fast I can over to her barely stopping before I slam into the boards.

“Bordeleau!! Get your ass back over here!” Coach yells at me yet his voice is almost echoing in my head as all I can focus on is Gabby’s panicked look while millions of ideas run through my head as to what could be wrong.

“They tried calling you but couldn’t get a hold of you so they eventually called me.” Gabby spat out, rushing the words out.

“Who are you talking about?” I asked, who would be trying to call me.

“The hospital Thom, y/n was driving to work and she was struck by a semi. It’s bad Thom, it’s really bad.” Gabby looks at me with sympathy while the odd tear slips down her face.

I start ripping my equipment off then and there not caring about practice, the only thing on my mind is y/n.

“Bordeleau if you get off this ice you’re benched.” Coach threatens from behind me.

I turned around and see the rest of the team looking at me concerned, then I saw Luke. Fuck. I promised y/n I wouldn’t tell Luke but he needs to know his sister is hurt.

“Luke y/n was involved in a car crash and it’s bad. We need to go now.” I say as I look at him, the voice that came out was not mine, it sounded broken and scared. Luke’s face went from being confused to worried in a matter of seconds, he went pale so quick and started to rip his equipment off too.

“Okay guys practice is over, someone needs to drive these two because they cannot drive in this state.” Coach calls out.

The drive to the hospital felt like forever, Matty ended up driving Gabby, Luke, and I. It was silent the entire drive, until I realized someone needed to call her parents. Y/n changed her emergency contacts to Gabby and I when she found out she was pregnant.

“Hey Luke, do you want me to call your parents?” I offered as I looked over to him, he has been in a dazed state since I told him. Duker and Eddy had to help him get the rest of his equipment off as he was still processing the information.

“What? Oh ya uh yes please.” Luke could barely form a sentence which was unusual for him.

*Phone call*

“Hi Thomas, is everything okay?”

“Uh hi Jim, y/n was hit on the way to work. We are on the way to the hospital now, I have Luke with me.” How do you tell parents news like that? My voice cracked on every second word.

“ELLEN!!! Thomas is she okay? Did they say anything? Ellen grab the keys to my truck! Why didn’t they call us?!”

“I didn’t talk to them, they spoke with Gabby since I was on the ice, but Jim it doesn’t sound good.” I spoke quietly, then I heard some shuffling.

“Thomas is the baby okay?!” Ellen’s voice came over the phone, wait oh my god the baby. I totally forgot. Ellen knows?! Last I knew y/n didn’t want to tell them. Also to note I was on speaker since Gabby was the one the hospital called and she would have more information than me. I look up at Matty who is looking at me through the rear view mirror, his jaw is dropped but he doesn’t say anything. I then look at Luke who looks like his eyes are bulging out and is snapped out of his dazed expression.

“Ellen they didn’t say anything about the baby, I doubt the doctors knew at the time considering she still isn’t showing.” Gabby explains to Ellen in a calming voice. After a few more minutes we hang up the phone, I look at Luke who is ready to explode.

“You got my sister pregnant?!” Luke yelled at me, oh not exactly what I was expecting.

“No no I did not” Is all I said, I promised not to say anything, and with Matty here I definitely can’t. He’s too close to Trevor.

It was silent for a few seconds before Matty opened his mouth.

“It’s Trevor’s isn’t it?” Gabby whips back to look at me shocked, I’m shocked. How did he know?

“Trevor confessed one night a few months back after he got wasted, he called me telling me everything. We haven’t talked much since, I love him and he’s like my brother but she is important to me too and I can’t look past that.” Matty softly said not taking his eyes off the road.

Tag list: @hockeyboysarehot @emsully2002 @jayrami3

[springgirlwaiting4fall]

You and your Darling wanted to spend a fun day outside, everything was planned...and then it fucking pours. Do you have a backup plan or so you just spend the day at home?

As soon as I opened this, my mind immediately went to Dax. But than the doubts starting coming in, because I’ve been focused on him so much lately. So I tried thinking off other AEW Darlings who I would want to spend a rainy day with: Trent, Eddie, Santana, MJF, Ortiz, and even my most favorite idiot Max Caster. But nothing came. So strap on your seatbelt lady, because you are getting another Dax and me. I would say sorry…but I’m not. 😂 😝

When I was younger I used to be all about spring, but in my twenties that changed. All of a sudden, the world just seemed most magical in the fall. The air had a chill to it and I could wear flannels and cute boots. Halloween and thanksgiving two awesome holidays happened in the fall. And best of all, the activities that you could do in fall: Pumpkin picking, scary movies, costume parties, apple picking, making apple cider, decorating, carving and painting pumpkins.

Tomorrow was going to be one of the best fall days I could imagine. My boyfriend Dax was home on a Saturday, and with his schedule that was a huge deal. I went all out making plans. We would wake up and head right out, stoping for Dax’s coffee and hot chocolate for me. He would drive us over to this adorable farm where we could snuggle on a hayride and pick apples. Than we would go out for lunch and stop at the store so I could get ingredients to make apple pie. Dax even promised to help make it and we would have it after dinner while we sat outside on our sun porched and star watched.

My excitement quickly turned to disappointment when I woke up on Saturday and the whole sky was dark. I cursed the weather channel out in my head, when Dax told me on Thursday, he would be home my app said Saturday would be clear skies and and 63 degrees. I hoped that maybe it would be a quick thunderstorm and that we would be able to go out in the afternoon to pick apples. But I had no luck, it was only going to get worse as the day went on. I felt myself get teary eyed which was stupid, but my I couldn’t help feeling so disappointed. I turned Dax’s phone alarm off and went downstairs to pout. At least Dax would get to sleep in now, a luxury he normally didn’t get.

It’s a little after 10 when Dax comes shuffling down. I’m still on the sofa in my pajamas watching New Girl (the show I binge when I’m bummed and need a laugh) when he comes over and sits down with me. Dax wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his chest, before giving me a kiss on my temple. “I’m sorry firefly (the nickname he given me since ‘I brightened up his life’.) I know how excited you were.”

I kiss his lips and the instant they touch his I do feel a tad better. I’m here with the love of my life and we get to spend a weekend day together. I’m not going to waste this opportunity. “I am bummed. Cuddling next to you on a hayride would be the perfect start to fall. But we can always do that another day. And on a weekday it won’t be as crowded.”

We sit and finish watching the episode where Jess finds Nick dancing to reggae music.

The show ends, Dax stand up, takes my hands, and pulls me up. I have to bend my head to look up at him, since he is so much taller than me. He gives me a deep, knee weakening kiss. “Get dress,” Dax whispers in my ear, before lightly spanking my butt and running off to get in the shower first. I still dress in my apple picking planning episode and Dax makes my stomach do a flip flop In his jeans and Bret hart shirt. I still can’t believe someone as funny, charming, smart kind, talented, athletic, and such a handsome man loves me. And he doesn’t believe any of those things about himself, but I vowed to make sure that one day he will believe all those things about himself.

The first place we go to is a cute café we never been to before. Dax drinks at least 4 coffees with his brunch and I eat fluffy waffles with warm maple syrup and drink a mimosa. I try to ask Dax where we’re going next, but he won’t tell me. He pulls into a Halloween store and we spend our time walking through the whole store. We debate on what our costumes will be, with me coming up with so many ideas and Dax insisting we don’t need to dress up. Him

And I both know we will have matching costumes October 31st. We end up picking up a few new decorations and I’m bouncing out of the store. The rain has really started to pick up, but Dax says that we have one more stop left.

Dax pulls into a target parking lot, I raise my eyebrows at him and ask if we’re out of toilet paper or something. He takes my hand into his and kisses my wrist before saying, “don’t start doubting me.” We walk into the store holding hands and Dax grabs a cart. Together we take our time even when I have to look through the Dollar spot section and the office supplies for any cute journals or pens. He never rushes me. In the grocery area Dax starts loading up on soda, popcorn, and the movie theater style box candies. We have lived together for two years now, I know Dax doesn’t think I’m a gold digger or anything like that, but I still try to pay. He rolls his eyes and swipes his card before I can even get mine out of my handbag.

The rain has really picked up by the time we got home. It’s thundering and lightning, and the rain is coming down so hard that I thought Dax would have to pull over on the way home. Dax has me run ahead and unlock the front door while he grabs all the bag. Once we’re inside we change into our more comfortable at home clothes and Dax turns on the fireplace that is under the tv. We cuddle back on the sofa with all the snacks. I laugh, squeeze Dax’s waist and kiss his cheek when he turns on Hocus Pocus. He hates the movie, but he loves me more. The rain might have ruined our plans, but it couldn’t ruin our perfect fall Saturday.

[billhaderlovebot]

beep beep (4) - richie tozier

some sexy stuff, swearing, angst, the usual. i don't know how many more parts there are going to be but if 5 is the last one then prepare for a Big Boy™

@ceruleanrainblues @the-star-above-you @a-second-hand-sorrow @shockwavee

----

the divorce was messy. timothy took pretty much everything on the grounds that you had run off with another man (which you thought was pretty fair) and he also had slandered your name in front of your whole family in court, which was actually quite petty of him. richie almost murdered him, that day, and had to keep his hand in yours so that he wouldn't get up and break timothy's nose again right in front of his big-shot lawyer.

your family, it was safe to say, did not approve of richie, because timothy was always such a nice boy, and you've made a terrible mistake, dear. the only one who ever did like richie was your grandmother, and she was long gone, bless her cotton socks.

so, yeah, you'd run off with richie.

yeah, you'd escaped from an unhappy marriage in which you never felt loved to be with someone who looked at you like you hung the fucking moon.

okay, granted, you did sleep with richie that night, which wasn't entirely moral, considering you were married to another man, but, yknow, timothy hadn't gone anywhere near you in months and months, and richie was just so good at the sex thing.

also, you loved him. so much.

leaving you with barely enough money to pay your hospital bills sucked. you weren't even sure how timothy was able to do that legally.

but it was alright. you took your stuff and moved into richie's penthouse apartment in malibu almost as soon as you'd been discharged from the hospital. he had made enough money over the first half of his trash-mouth tour to support the both of you for the time being, and he cancelled the reno dates, and all the dates for the foreseeable, because all he wanted to do was be around you and the rest of the losers.

your books and mugs and weird stuff that you'd hoarded over the years slowly spread themselves around richie's apartment, and it made him so happy because it was so utterly domestic.

whenever he saw your shoes in the hallway or your toothbrush in the weird ceramic holder with a bee on it that bev had bought him, he grinned like a stupid, lovestruck idiot, because he was a stupid, lovestruck idiot.

eddie came over a lot, regularly crashing in the spare bedroom because he, too was going through a divorce, and myra kaspbrak was quite a bit more intimidating than timothy. so, that became eddie's room while he was looking for his own apartment.

and you were so fucking happy.

the piece of string that had been serving as your engagement ring after richie proposing on a whim was a constant reminder of how loved you were, and you tied a matching one around his finger, because you didn't feel it was fair that he got to do the whole cute proposal thing.

it had been six months since derry. since the sewers, since defeating IT for the final time. since reuniting with your soulmate. you were sure that life couldn't get better.

eventually, you'd gotten an actual ring.

richie had given it to you on a whim, as usual, opening the little ring box in your direction while you were both surrounded by chinese food, the fourth consecutive episode of snapped playing in the background.

you had choked on your wok-fried garlic and soy broccoli, and he'd thumped your back so you wouldn't almost die, again, which hurt your recovering shoulder, and then he had panicked, and you were crying and laughing and choking all at the same time.

point is, he had given you a ring.

it was a thin, gold band with three little diamonds set into the middle, and you had immediately fallen in love with it.

you hadn't, however, wanted to take off the piece of string, so you wore it on the same finger as the proper engagement ring. richie was relieved because he also hadn't wanted to take the string off.

that night, after some really really great celebration sex, (albeit a little careful, as you sometimes got sharp pains up and down your ribs if you exerted yourself too much) richie bared his soul to you.

he told you everything.

and he cried, and he trembled because he was so scared of ending things with you before they had even begun.

it was the first time he had ever said it out loud.

"i'm bisexual."

and he had let out a breath, then. a breath that he had been holding in for almost three decades.

"oh, richie." and you held him to you without a second thought.

you had always known, somehow.

you'd known, for the same reason one knows the sun has risen. because you had eyes.

you'd seen how richie had always gravitated towards eddie, always grabbing onto him in moments of distress, the soft looks richie would give him when he didn't have time to put up his walls. you knew, and you loved him all the same. of course you did.

you didn't tell him, however, that you had known.

because this moment was so important. the moment where he finally had control over his life and his identity and he was spilling his heart out to you. you would not take that away from him.

this was his time. his moment. his life.

he told you about eddie, and the arcade, and the kissing bridge, and how he'd always, always pushed it down but now it was only the two of you, and if he was to marry you, he wanted everything out in the open.

and god damn you if you let him keep hating himself.

"richie, thankyou for telling me. im so happy that you... that you felt you could talk about it. and to me."

"so... you're not..."

"angry? no. honey, this is who you are. what kind of partner would i be if i didn't love you for who you are? you're perfect, richie."

he cried again, and you let him, because he fucking needed it.

----

richie's nightmares were bad.

really, really fucking bad.

he didn't have them as much as beverly said she had, because, while he had been caught in the deadlights, It was dead and couldn't push into his mind any further. he often couldn't remember what they were about, only that he woke up so scared he would cry. the deadlight-induced terrors came and went, but they always caught both of you off guard.

when it first happened, you were more than a little bit confused, because richie was not a restless sleeper.

you woke to quiet whimpers coming from the man sleeping beside you as he writhed under the bedlinen.

in your sleep-addled haze, it took you a minute to understand what was happening, wiping the sleep from your eyes and adjusting to the darkness.

what, moments ago, was little more than disturbed whimpers, was now loud, heart-fucking-wrenching sobs, the only sound in the otherwise silent apartment.

his body shook next to yours and you were beginning to panic, reaching for him.

"richie? baby, wake up." you shook him lightly, noting the sweat practically dripping from him, and his face, scrunched in fear. he whined lowly, jerking in the bed, but he did not wake. you hadn't been faced with such a situation before, especially not with him, so this was touch and go.

this had never happened before and you were absolutely shitting bricks.

you shook him again, and he jolted awake, crying out as he sat up with a start.

"richie?"

his eyes snapped open, searching wildly around the room for something that wasn't there.

the only light came from the moon and city lights outside your house. sobs of pain overtook him, great, heaving breaths, and then the man you were in love with was crying his fucking eyes out in front of you; fisting his hands in his sweat-soaked hair as his whole body shuddered.

they were tremors he had no control over, the aftershocks of the nightmare taking control of him.

it broke your heart. your face softened as you reached for him again.

god, he held on to you so tight that you almost started crying yourself.

"eddie..." he choked. "ben didn't warn him in time. and i-i-i couldn't... fuck-"

"eddie is at home." you murmured, pressing your lips to his sweat-slick forehead "a ten minute drive. he just moved in. we can go up to see him tomorrow, if you want."

"It's... It's in my head." richie sobbed. the front of your shirt was soaked through with tears. "It's still in my head."

"It's dead, richie."

"so why can i still feel it?"

and you didn't know what to tell him.

---

your first fight, needless to say, sucked.

you didn't even remember what you were fighting about, only that you screamed at each other a lot, and there were tears, and it ended with richie, head in his hands, asking you to leave him alone for a minute in a voice so uncharacteristically calm that it scared you. and so you left for the bedroom, shutting the door, your head swimming and chest burning from the sobs you'd been caging in there.

you knew, realistically, that this was just one fight, and you'd be back to normal within the hour, but this was the first fight you'd had since you were kids, and god only knows how hot headed you'd gotten in the 27 years since then. both of you.

and you hated yourself for letting it get this far and making him not want to be around you.

it was times like this, when richie's nightmares were at their worst and you woke up every night like fucking clockwork to make sure he was real and still there and still breathing, and eddie came round constantly because he couldn't stand being alone in a new place, it was times like this that you needed to be close. so while it was just a dumb fight, you allowed yourself to cry.

richie clicked open the door about half an hour later, shuffling into the room. his eyes were red and he was probably shaking a little bit, you thought.

"im sorry." his voice came out small, and you sat up from the bed immediately.

"no, im sorry, rich. i was overreacting and it was fucking stupid and we need to just-"

and richie all but staggered forwards, grabbing your face in his hands and kissing you, hard. you gasped, and he used the opportunity to gain access to the inside of your mouth. cheeky bastard.

you both had been crying for a while, so the kiss was rather wet, but you overlooked it on account of the fact that his hand was not-so-discreetly sliding up your shirt and fumbling at your bra clasp. as suave as he liked to think he was, his bra skills needed work. he eventually did it, and seemed more than a little bit proud of himself, muttering a triumphant: "fuck yeah."

you tugged richie's bottom lip between your teeth and he fucking groaned. and that noise coming from his mouth was so fucking hot that your knees almost buckled.

you made a mental note to do the sex thing really really well tonight, because the sex thing was definitely happening and it had been a bad night for the both of you and you fucking needed him, right the fuck now.

it wasn't long before you ended up underneath him, and he was pressing open mouthed kisses to your inner thighs, and you were breathing hard and you honestly thought that if he didn't get the fuck on with it you'd probably die right there.

"rich- ahh- richie?"

"yes, baby?"

god, how the fuck was he so smug all the time?

"i think you should- fuck, oh my god- probably get on with things right the the fuck now, or i'll have to... i'll-" you curled your fingers into his hair, your nails scratching across his scalp.

"or?" he hummed, continuing his ministrations everywhere except where you wanted them.

"i'll have to, mmmh, hurt you, actually." you whispered, breathless. you were unable to form a solid argument, what with richie fucking tozier being so sexy and all, teasing the shit out of you.

"you will?" richie put a hand on each of your legs and spread them further apart, his lips relentless, sucking and biting your sensitive flesh. this man was going to fucking kill you, god.

"yeah, yeah, i'll- ahh- bite your fucking face off, or something-"

and then he was between your thighs, right fucking there, so he never did find out what that something actually was, because whatever came out of your mouth after that wasn't decipherable.

---

"we shouldn't fight." richie murmured, as if he was afraid of being too loud in case he broke the moment.

you traced gentle patterns on his chest with your fingertips.

"i know." you said, equally as cautious.

"but i don't even remember what we were fighting about, and we just had several rounds of the apology." he laughed quietly, kissing your bare shoulder.

smirking at the hickeys on your collarbone, he pressed a kiss there, too, admiring his handiwork.

"i love you, fuck face." you yawned, your eyes fluttering shut.

"yeah, and i love you, dickweed."

richie stared fondly at the piece of string around his ring finger. you would be alright. after all, your wedding was coming up.

he had no nightmares that night.

[missing-marvel]

Lethal Protector

Pairing: Eddie Brock/Reader, Venom/Reader

Tags: violence (but it’s no more than is normal for the character)

A/N: Raise your hand if you’ve ever been personally victimized by the Venom (2018) movie critics. 

Also I know Venom isn’t technically MCU but shhh

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You sighed in annoyance as Eddie’s phone went to voicemail, again. You’d been trying to get ahold of him for almost an hour, but he wasn’t responding. It was date night and he was supposed to pick you up at 7, and it wasn’t like him to be this late. You’d even called his work, but they said he’d left hours ago. You were starting to worry.

A chill settled under your skin as the sun dropped below the rooftops. Giving up on your phone, you pulled your jacket tighter and turned to go back inside.

Once you were in the warmth of your apartment, you opened the messages app one more time.

Working late?

If you need a rain check, it’s okay. I promise I won’t be mad.

Eddie?

He hadn’t even opened your texts. You briefly wondered if he was ignoring you. Was he mad? Had you done something wrong without realizing it? Normally he would talk to you if something was wrong. You found it hard to believe he would just give you the cold shoulder. Even so, you thought carefully for a moment before you sent your next text.

Eddie... is everything ok?

Tossing your phone aside, you flopped down on the couch. You told yourself he was just busy with work or something. If only you were a better liar.

With nothing better to take your mind off the situation, you switched on the TV, mindlessly flipping through stations until you found something mildly entertaining.

You didn’t even realize you’d dozed off until you awoke to a darkened living room. You’d been asleep long enough for the TV to shut itself off apparently. You hadn’t realized how tired you were.

You suddenly remembered Eddie, briefly fumbling around the dark for your phone. You found it wedged between the couch cushions. There was a brief moment of relief when you saw the text notification, only to have that feeling whisked away when you saw it was just from one of your coworkers. You ignored it and opened your chat with Eddie.

Still nothing. Not even a ‘read at’ notification.

A sense of panic rose in your chest. Something was definitely wrong. What did you do in this situation? Did you call the police? How long before a person could be reported missing?

As you were considering going over to Eddie’s apartment, a loud crash pulled you from your thoughts. It came from the next room, which happened to be your bedroom. You immediately assumed someone had broken in. You never could get the landlord to fix the damn lock on the window.

You darted into the kitchen as quietly as you could and grabbed the first thing you could think of; a comically large knife used for cooking. You didn’t like guns and refused to keep one around, so this was the next best thing.

Slowly you crept towards your bedroom, listening for any other noises from the intruder. You thought you heard a very faint shuffling sound, but it could very well have been your imagination. It was certainly too quiet to be footsteps.

After a minute or so of silence, you gently pushed open the bedroom door. You still had the knife in hand, your grip on it tightening until your knuckles turned pale. The lights in the room were off, leaving only the vague outlines of furniture visible. You considered flipping the light switch, but didn’t want to risk the potential intruder using it as a chance for a surprise attack.

The first thing to catch your attention was the lamp in the corner of the room. It had been tipped over and luckily did not appear to be broken. The next thing you saw was the window. It had been slid open maybe an inch or less, barely enough to put your hand under. It didn’t look like anyone had come inside, though they may have come close. Perhaps the window opening caused a vibration that tipped the lamp over and the would-be burglar ran. You were grasping at straws with that one but really had no other explanation.

Your only other theory was that the intruder had tried to shut the window behind them, meaning they were still here. However, The room wasn’t big, and there weren’t many places an intruder could hide.

Just as you were about to turn the light on, a heavy weight suddenly landed on you from above and caused you to panic. You tried to grab at whatever it was but you couldn’t get a grip on it. It was almost as if the substance was slimy. It clung to you like glue. The harder you tried to dislodge it, the more it stuck.

You really began to panic when the mystery substance started moving. It worked it’s way from your shoulder down your arm. As it did, you felt yourself losing control in that arm, the knife slipping from your grasp to the floor with a ‘clang.’ The ooze slowly enveloped your entire body until all you saw was blackness and all you could feel was the pounding of your heart in your chest.

“Do not be afraid.”

The voice was deep and guttural. Somehow, it didn’t seem to emanate from anywhere. It was as if it was inside your head. Suddenly, as quick as it had come, the blackness receded from your vision and seemed to disappear from your body altogether. You inspected your hands and arms, finding no evidence of the ooze that had just been there. You ran to the bathroom in panicked disbelief.

As you investigated your reflection, you found nothing out of place. Had you been hallucinating? Maybe you were still asleep on the couch and this was some weird messed-up dream. Yeah, that had to be it.

“You’re not asleep.”

You spun around and searched for the source of the voice, though once again it sounded like it was in your head. “Who’s there?!” You knew it was a foolish question. You’d spent enough time yelling at people on TV for asking it in similar situations.

Turning back towards the sink, you turned on the cool water. You splashed it on your face, reveling in the chill it gave you. You felt calmer, more grounded in the real world.

‘I must be going crazy,’ you thought.

“Think again.” You looked up to the mirror and nearly leapt out of your skin at the sight. In place of your reflection was an eerie face with dozens of razor-sharp teeth and white patches where it’s eyes should be. It’s ‘skin’ looked the same as the black ooze from before. Before you could scream, it spoke again,

“Listen to me before you start panicking again. I am a friend of Eddie’s. He needs help. You’re the only one we could trust.”

That caught your attention. If Eddie needed help, you would be there. But you still had a lot of questions.

“What do mean by friend?” You all but snarled at the creature in the mirror. “And what the actual fuck are you?!”

The creature actually chuckled. It was a low, formidable rumble that you swore you could feel in your chest.

“Heh heh. No wonder Eddie is so fond of you. I am a symbiote, and Eddie is my host. Or, he was. Now you are, until we get back to him.”

You were a host? Did that make this— this creature like a parasite?

“I am not a parasite!”

The sudden outburst caused you to step back from the mirror reflexively. Did it hear your thoughts? Well, if you were its host then that would make sense, sort of.

“Why don’t I just show you? This will be easier if you cooperate.”

“What do mean—“ Before you could finish, however, the black ooze was back. It reappeared from your arms, swiftly enveloping your body once more. Once again you were plunged into darkness and the feeling of panic returned.

“Relax! You’re making this more difficult than it needs to be.”

For some reason, you found yourself believing the creature, despite having no reason to. As your heartbeat slowed back to a normal pace, you began to feel more in control. Your vision returned, as well as control of your limbs but it was... different. The ground was further away and your body was still covered in that shiny black ooze. Your hands ended in massive talons and you felt so much stronger, like you could lift a bus without breaking a sweat.

Strangest of all, however, was how you didn’t feel like you were fully in control. It was like you were driving a car with both your hand and someone else’s on the steering wheel. When you turned back to face the mirror, it felt like you were the one doing it but at the same time not. Your reflection was that of the creature you had seen before, albeit taller. This time, when you moved, the reflection moved with you. You could tell it wasn’t just in your head.

“Do you understand now?”

Your mouth moved, but the words that came out were the creature’s.

“I— I think so. You’ve been, er, Eddie’s been like this the whole time?” This time it was your words that were in your head.

“For as long as you’ve known him, yes. Now if you’re done freaking out, Eddie needs our help.”

You’d almost forgotten Eddie was in trouble. ‘Almost’ being the key word.

“Lead on. We’ll talk on the way. I’ve got about a million questions. Most importantly, what happened to Eddie?”

You let the symbiote lead, relinquishing some control over your body. You raced back towards the bedroom, prying the window open effortlessly and leaping into the cool night air.

“We were attacked,” the symbiote spoke in your mind this time. It was getting confusing having this shared headspace, yet at the same time it felt completely natural. “Caught off guard by a terrible noise, a siren maybe, and suddenly we’d crashed the bike. Men with guns show up. Target practice really. But then there was another noise, even louder. They had some kind of weapon. We were separated. When the noise finally stopped, Eddie was gone.”

You made your way to the rooftop, leaping and swinging between buildings with ease. The feeling of moving through your environment so easily was like pure adrenaline. You’d never felt more powerful in your life. No wonder Eddie seemed so fearless sometimes.

“Noise? What did noise do?” You leapt over a narrow street onto and adjacent rooftop, scaring the hell of some pigeons. You wondered how no one saw you, but in the dark of night you were naturally camouflaged. Not to mention, most people on the street weren’t watching over their heads.

“A loud enough noise is very bad. Lethal to us.”

“Oh.”

You moved in silence for a few moments, countless more questions racing through your mind but you were unsure how to ask them to the creature you were sharing a body with.

“So, do you have a name?”

“With Eddie, we were known as Venom.”

You would’ve chuckled if you’d had full control of your body. “Venom, huh? You come up with that yourself?”

“I’ll have you know it was a bit different where I come from.”

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s kinda badass. Wait, when you say ‘where you come from—‘

“Another planet.”

“Yeah ok. It’s been a weird enough night, of course you're an alien.”

Before the symbiote could respond, you were thrown off course by an ear-piercing sound. Literally, it felt like it was ripping through your body, threatening to tear you apart. A shriek filled the air and it took you a moment to realize it was yours.

Turning towards the sound’s source, you saw what appeared to be an armored truck racing through traffic. A soldier on top of the truck was wielding some kind of high-tech weapon. When another sound pierced through you, it was apparent that it was the source.

“It would seem they found us first!”

“That saves us half the work.”

That was certainly one way to view it. Luckily, whatever that weapon was, it wasn’t continuous. When the noise stopped, you leapt down to the street below, landing right in front of the truck. With inhuman strength, you grabbed hold of either side of it, claws forming large gouges in the metal. The vehicle’s momentum pushed you backwards until it grinded to a halt. As soon as it stopped, a squad of heavily armored soldiers came spilling from the back of the vehicle.

“That gun’s gotta go first.”

“Way ahead of you.”

Paying no mind to the soldiers on the ground, you pounced onto the roof of the vehicle, causing it to dent inward under your weight. You couldn’t help but enjoy the look of pure terror etched onto the soldier’s face as you towered over him. You tore the weapon from his grasp before he had a chance to fire another shot and threw it to the ground below. The sound of it shattering was immensely satisfying. Without hesitation, you picked up the tiny man by the throat and sent him flying into the side of a nearby building.

A shower of bullets pelted your body as the soldiers below formed into a defensive line. Their efforts were in vain as the bullets merely glanced off of you.

“Look at them. They’re lining up like a buffet.”

You knew exactly what Venom meant, yet you couldn’t bring yourself to hold back. The sheer destructive power you wielded simply felt too good.

You lept to the ground, landing right in the middle of the group of soldiers. Your claws tore through them like a knife through butter. One tried to duck behind a car and you were able to grab him with a single inky black tendril and yank him back to you. You were starting to feel like you’d lost control, not just to Venom necessarily, but to your own anger.

You effortlessly raised the soldier above your head and his screams reminded you of the buzz of a fly. That’s all he was to you; a puny bug, a nuisance to be destroyed.

The realization of what was about to happen hit you just in time.

“Stop!”

You let the man fall from your grasp and merely watched as he scrambled away.

“What are you doing?!” Venom’s voice roared in your mind, clearly surprised by your own outburst.

“You were going to eat him!”

“Yes, we were. That’s what we do.”

“Does Eddie normally let this happen?”

“Eddie says we can only eat very bad people.”

“Well I don’t personally want to eat anyone.”

“You’re starting to sound like him.”

Before your argument could continue, you heard a shaky voice from behind you.

“Stop right there! Or— or I’ll shoot!” One soldier had made it past you, or perhaps had been waiting in the truck. Regardless, he was now standing next to the ruined vehicle with a gun aimed at a rather disgruntled-looking Eddie Brock.

The look in Eddie’s eyes was one of surprise and confusion. “Venom! How did you— who are you—?” He was silenced by the soldier a few paces behind him.

“Shut up!” His body was visibly shaking as he addressed you again, “If you want Brock to live, the symbiote comes with us!” The soldier’s voice shook like a scared child’s. His attempts at being threatening would be laughable if he didn’t have a gun trained on your now-defenseless boyfriend. You needed to act fast.

“What are the odds we can reach this guy before he shoots?”

“Zero.”

“What are the odds we can protect Eddie before the bullet hits him?”

“Almost zero.”

“Well I guess there’s our answer.”

You lunged for the space between the soldier and Eddie, time practically slowing down as you formed one arm into a shield around Eddie, the other reaching out for the soldier. As you just barely managed to block the bullet, your free hand sliced clean through the soldier, his body collapsing instantly.

Before anyone else could show up, you grabbed onto Eddie and swung as fast as you could toward the rooftops, not stopping until you were certain you were in the clear.

Eddie spoke up the second his feet hit the rooftop, “Okay Venom, who did you—“

Before he’d even finished the sentence, Venom’s form retreated and you were back in your own body. Eddie’s eyes widened in shock and he raced over to you, immediately wrapping his arms around you and holding you tightly.

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I never wanted you getting involved in any of this. Are you okay?” He pulled away when it became clear he was squeezing you too tightly, cutting off your breathing. Instead he cupped your face in his hands, looking you over for injuries like a worried mother. You loved your boyfriend dearly but sometimes he could get carried away.

“Am I okay? What about you? You were the one that got kidnapped!” Leave it to Eddie to disregard his own well-being after having a gun pointed at his head.

“I’m fine as well, thanks for asking.” You sighed and Eddie gave a half-hearted chuckle. He could tell by your reaction Venom had probably said something snarky, even if he couldn't hear him.

As finally relaxed, at least a little, Eddie's hands came to rest on your waist. “So... Venom huh?”

You shook your head softly, still coming to terms with the fact that this was all normal for Eddie.

“Yeah your friend is really something. Can you uh... take him back?” You didn’t really know how this was supposed to work. Luckily, Eddie did.

In one swift movement, he closed the gap between you, wrapping one arm tightly around your waist. Before you knew it, you felt the familiar feel of his lips on yours. You wrapped your arms around his neck, savoring this moment while it lasted. At the same time, you could feel Venom leave your body as he slid up your arms and returned to Eddie. You felt a momentary pang of loss as the symbiote’s unnatural strength faded away, leaving you vulnerable and all-too-human once more.

You pulled away to get some air but never left Eddie’s grasp. He tilted his head slightly as if listening to something before turning back to you with that smile that you adored so much.

“Venom says he likes you.”

You suppressed a laugh a pulled closer to Eddie, your head resting on his chest. Of course the alien symbiote liked you. The thought was strange, but it was nothing compared to the night you’d had. You were starting to think you could get used to this.

“What do you say we go home? I don’t think we’ll be seeing those mercs again anytime time soon. And besides,” Eddie leaned in close and his voice dropped to a whisper, “I didn’t forget about date night.”

Your cheeks went red and you did your best to hide your face. You felt Eddie laugh and resisted the urge to give him a firm punch on the arm.

“You’re sure we’ll be safe from those soldiers?” you asked.

Eddie leaned to plant a reassuring kiss on your head. “Don’t worry,” his tone seemed to drop almost imperceptibly, as if Venom’s voice intermingled with his own. “As long as we’re around, you’ll be perfectly safe.”

[sophisticateddesign]

Broken Glass

INVOLVED:  Mercedes Jones & Dominic Wilds (DIAG) LOCATION: Mercedes Atlanta Home. TIME FRAME: December 18 NOTES: Dominic comes to town.  AUTHOR’S NOTE: n/a

Mercedes and Dominic’s time together had a certain rhythm. A primal beat, consistent and driving. They moved along in harmony, each step a well practice shuffle. Beat one dinner. Beat two dancing or a movie. Beat three, four, five, and six were where the melody started. Crazy and wild.  Her bedroom, office, his hotel, generally any surface that could bare the combined weight. But this time Mercedes had changed the rhythm.  She had to. This was a new dance.

The dimmer was set low. Only the vaulted recess in the ceiling emitted any electric powered light. The rest of the room was lit by candles set in mirrored holders, placed around the room in clustered groups. Some on trays that sat on the floor, others on the various dressers, and a few even on her night stand. They set a romantic scene. Even if not expressly intentional. The warm light from the tiny flames, flickered, casting dancing shadows throughout the room.  Vanilla, and Jasmine scented the air in the room, as its warm glow snuggled in close around her.  

Mercedes pulled the tiny dropper from the bottle, squeezing its contents over her still moist thigh. Two coconut oil droplets hit her leg and raced away from each other. Leaving two separate slick trails as they went. She caught them both with a circular motion and worked the oil into her skin. She hummed as Eddie Jefferson sung in the background. Then unable to resist she added her melody to his scratchy voice, “There I go, there I go…  Saying just how I’m still in love with you.” She sang softly. The song continued to play as her voice moved back to a hum. ‘Shouldn't he be here by now?’ She thought eyes drifting to her phone, charging where it sat on the mirrored bedside table.

She restoppered the bottle, tightening the cap, then wiped her still oily fingers on the towel just to the left of her picking up her phone. There were several missed messages, immediately her stomach fluttered. Three were from her assistant, one indeed from Dom and the other notifications from her calendar. The butterflies crumpled burning away.  Dying as quickly as they had appeared.  She sighed heavily and with a sudden hint of annoyance she opened Dom's message, reading it over. -Going to be 10 minutes late.

“You were never one to check your messages.” Came a smooth, baritone voice. If sex were sound, it would be Dominic's voice.  The fact that she had cum countless times listening to him; following his wonderful instructions, was all the confirmation she would ever need. Mercedes started, then bit her lip. She turned unhurried towards the man meeting his already darkened eyes.  Clothed in the white and navy-blue garb of a Delta pilot, Dominic radiated confidence. He leaned his carry-on bag against the door frame, continuing to leer at her. His hazel blazed candlelight, hinting at the pleasures to come. That danger -that untamable recklessness, it turned her on immediately. Only this time, eyes brushing against the flowers in his hands, it didn’t. Well, not quite anyway.

She smirked, laying her phone down. “Are we going down that road again?” She asked turning to fully regard the man. “I hope not.  I’ve already apologized many times.”  Mercedes said her voice playful.  

Though Dominic loomed in the doorway, his penetrating gaze never paused. His eyes roamed her full body pausing here and there. He had the look of a man idly perusing his notes before a test.  When he reached her growing stomach, he came to a full stop, worry lines creasing his forehead. He tore his eyes from her belly returning to her face, meeting her eyes, as he spoke absently.  “I still haven’t forgiven you, Antoinette. I think I need further convincing.” He told her, unbuttoning his coat. He paused inhaling deeply, “Lavender, coconut and... “  He frowned. “One day you’re going to tell me what that last oil is.”

She sat back shifting more to the middle of the bed. Her arms pushed deep into the soft mattress. Mercedes quirked an eyebrow at his inspection of her. 'Did he just frown at my belly?' She thought, but when she spoke she continued in her playful manner. “Why would I do that? A lady isn't supposed to reveal all her secrets.” The smooth black satin robe had never fit properly. Now with her breast getting heavier, it gaped open down the front, only gravity holding it in place over her nipples. “Did you bring me flowers?” She said, pointing to the bouquet of roses with her foot.

“Is that so?” Dominic moved into the room, lifting off his hat, he tossed it to the chair. His eyes followed her shifting legs, catching a glimpse of her newly, naked womanhood. “What, these” He asked, dismissively. He looked a question at the flowers, holding them up,  “They could be... It depends on how you behave.” He laid the flowers down beside his hat and began to undress. Untucking his shirt, he nodded towards the cart, “So you don’t expect us to leave the house for the entire 48 hours, huh?“ He asked, pulling his shirt over his head.

Mercedes chuckled at his antics from her seat on the bed. She wondered at the flowers, perplexed. It was an uncharacteristically sweet gesture coming from the man. “Is naughty nice now? Are you my sexual Santa Claus? I like the thought of that.” She mused. The jazz she loved continued to play, an odd counterpoint to his undressing. Like the music, his movements were an unexpected yet, captivating mix.  “I don’t know about this we." She said, with a sigh. "Some of us have to work in the morning.”

It was his turn to chuckle, "I guess I am. If you're really naughty, I'll let you unwrap your present early." He said. “Work?” Dominic tested the word on his tongue tasting it for a moment. “What’s that?”  He shrugged, adding his shirt to his pile on the chair.  He rubbed his hands together as he approached a chrome, oval, and glass serving cart that sat at the foot of the bed. "You do love your toys." He almost growled. The second tier held assorted didlos, cock rings and vibrators. While on the top tier sat a decanter filled with brown liquid, conyac he knew. To the right of the liquor and its single glass, were crystal vials labeled, with things like flavored and strawberries. On the left side of the decanter were other bottles, some mark warming or cooling. He raised an eyebrow, then pursed his lips. He perused the bottles before lifting one of the flavored vials from the cart, “Pregnant." He said sniffing at the bottle. "You're sexy despite your condition. But are you sure about all this? It won’t hurt i-” He stopped gesturing towards her stomach instead.

 Mercedes rolled her eyes, laughing. She sat up, innocently eyeing the erotic display. "You know me..." Toys were a necessity, for a single woman. Masturbation, self-satisfaction freed you from the whims of men. You could enjoy them when you liked and leave them with ease. Never being chained or bound by that most heinous of emotions lust. Oh, most confused lust thinking it love but Mercedes knew better. She'd learned better. She cared for Dominic, but it wasn't love. It was lust. Simple to cure, and for her easy to dismiss.  She was brought from her thoughts, tensing at his demeanor. Pulling her robe closed, “Dom, we don’t have to do this.”  She said. Standing, voice unmistakably annoyed. 'I didn't ask your ass to come in the first place.' She thought.  “I understand if it makes you feel uncomfortable.” She didn’t really, but the word seemed like the right thing to say.

Dominic set the vial down with a click, “Did I..” He trailed off and moved quickly to the woman kissing her deeply.

Mercedes gasped when the man all but pounced.  She relaxed into the aggressive kiss at first, opening her mouth. There was too much desperation, too much need, too much… everything. She pulled away. Her lightly colored eyes staring into his. “What was that?“ She wiped the corner of her mouth, eyebrows narrowed, despite the heaving of her chest.

Dominic reached forward and pulled at the tie that held the smooth fabric closed. “It was my way of damping your concern. My way of telling you I’m not turned off. How I could never be turned off by you."

He was acting odd and all over the place. Mercedes shook her head stubbornly, “Dominic, something-“

“Shut up!” Dominic huffed, pulling her close. He used his lips to cut off whatever further protest she was about to raise.  His tongue slipped deftly into her mouth, tumbling over hers. Sure, fingers steadied her, cupping her soft ass. He unzipped his pants with his free hand, then grabbed her wrist slipping her hand into his boxers.  

Mercedes pushed against his form but only slightly, the heat from his body and the pressure from his lips were to heady a combination for her fight.  She could feel that 'need and...' the thought drifted away as her mind clouded further.  She let out a broken moan as her fingers closed around his stiff manhood and everything except the pulse between her legs seem to burn away. Forgotten.

 Dominic panted were he lay across bed spent.  He glanced to his side then leaned over kissing Mercedes’ sweat slick hip. His lips remained attached to her salty, sweet flesh for a moment before pulling away. “You okay? I didn’t hurt you? Did I?” He said, smiling in a satisfied manner. He rolled over onto his back, looking up at the woman in the darkness. The candles had long since died, though the sound of Jazz still played low in the background.

Mercedes was sitting on the bed head bent back. She felt relaxed and a bit sticky. Some of the flavored oils and lubes had that effect. She opened her eyes looking up at the ceiling as the man spoke. “I should be asking you that question.  I’m not the one who begged for mercy.” She chuckled getting to her feet. “I’m going to take a shower. So, you can rest a bit.”

“Don’t get cocky.” Dominic challenged. “Wait until I’ve had a few hours sleep. I’m going to make you eat those words.” He watched as she stood and swallowed thickly, hesitating for a moment around the question he had in his mind. “Mercedes are you seeing someone?” He asked, getting a sense of vertigo from looking at her upside down. He sat up clearing his head, back facing the woman.

“So, you keep promising,” She said, feeling the telltale signs of their activities as she moved. Mercedes chuckled, “No. You know I would tell you if I was.”

 Dominic stood from the bed, walking over across the room towards her.  He eyed her. In their time together, she’d always been honest. Telling him bluntly when to back off because another man had caught her fleeting attention. However, in all that time, she had never once called him another man’s name. Never! The fact that tonight with her eyes tightly pressed closed, as she tightened around him, her release emit she’d called another. It bothered him. He reached her taking her waist in his hands. “I don’t know. You didn’t tell me about this.” He said touching her belly.  

Mercedes shook her head, looking up at the man, “Me, making a family is different. It has nothing to do with you Dom. A relationship puts us on hold. But you know the rules." She reminded him. "Look, I meant what I said, if this makes you uncomfortable you don’t have to be here. I didn’t ask you to come in the first place, Dom. ” She frowned moving out of his grip. Now with her mind clear she recalled his earlier hesitation.

“Easy, it’s just you…” Dominic trailed off.  The twist in his stomach, unknotted as she spoke. He must have misunderstood her mutterings. Maybe they were just sounds of pleasure his mind turned in to a name. Anyone in her life would always be temporary, he was the only constant.  “I came because I had a lay over here in Atlanta. I missed it…” He said, with a smile. “This is new to me Mercedes. I only said those things earlier because I was worried, I’d hurt you or the baby. Don’t be upset with me." He said, using his voice to smooth the woman. "You as beautiful as ever, honestly.” He said letting a bit of true emotions show.  

'I what?' Mercedes thought. She stared up at him, searching. What else did she expect from the man? He had done as she needed, by quenching her thirst.  Outside of that he'd be gone in just a few hours. Arguing was pointless. She sighed giving up any further protest as the need for a shower over took her. "Mhm. She said, turning. "Come on you can wash my back."

[reddietofall]

It Started Out With A Pizza. (How Did It End Up Like This?)

Hey my guys. I’ve just edited what I’ve written so far and thought I’d post it to see if you guys like it. If ya do, please let me know and I’ll write more parts.

Summary: Eddie is a pizza delivery boy. One night, on a delivery, he meets a stranger he feels immediately captivated by.

Pairing: Eddie Kaspbrak / Richie Tozier

Part 2

PART 1

Eddie didn’t mind his new job. When he was growing up he never would have predicted that he’d be working as a pizza delivery boy. He didn’t think he’d ever get a job because of his overbearing mother. But Eddie had come a long way since then and had left his mother behind when he started college a few months ago. Although his mother tried to make him stay for as long as she could after he finished high school, he finally had enough after a year and moved to LA to start studying at the college he’d been accepted into the previous year, which he deferred from.

Eddie knew his savings wouldn’t last forever and he needed to get a job to pay for his education, and food, and all the necessities, so he applied everywhere he could. And a delivery boy for a pizza place was the only one that he was accepted for with his limited experience. Eddie spent the last year getting his licence and he was glad he did, otherwise he would still be jobless. He’d been working there for nearly two months and although his earnings weren’t huge, they were enough for him to live comfortably in his apartment. Eddie found balancing work and college really easy, always having a schedule for his school work that he stuck to.

It was Friday and Eddie had just finished his last class for the day at 3pm. His shift started at 5pm, which gave him two hours to finish off an assessment, eat and get ready for his shift.

Eddie always left 15 minutes prior to his shift so he would get there early. Eddie was like that with everything. He liked to be the best employee, student and, for a while, son. So once it hit 4:45pm Eddie was out the door and on his way to work, which was only a five minute drive away. Eddie parked his car behind the building, where the employee parking was, and went inside greeting his friends he had made since starting.

“Hey Mike”, he lightly poked him in the shoulder as he passed by the front counter. Mike was always at the front counter serving, he was so great with customers and people in general. “Kaspbrak!” Mike smiled as Eddie passed him before turning his attention back to the customer he was serving.

Eddie head into the kitchen, where he found Ben. Ben made the pizzas with another older employee that Eddie rarely spoke to. He found it easier to connect with people around his own age, which is why he instantly became close with Mike and Ben.

“Ben, how’s things going?” Ben turned away from the pizza he was adding cheese to, smiling widely with excitement at Eddie. “No way Hanscom! Did she say yes?” Ben recently met a girl called Beverly and he would not shut up about her. Mike convinced him to ask her out on a date when they all met up for coffee two days ago. “I couldn’t believe it Eddie! We are going to a movie on Sunday.” Ben said, smiling even wider, before turning back to his pizza to add the remaining cheese onto it. “We have to meet her Ben. You better let us know how your date goes. Does Mike know?”

Eddie was excited for Ben. Eddie had never dated anyone before. He didn’t realise his sexuality until he was seventeen, his mother tried to convince him he was just sick. It took Eddie a long time to accept that he was gay after he had made the discovery, and he was too scared about what other people would think of him. But Mike and Ben were so accepting of him and didn’t care that he was gay, which made Eddie feel more okay and confident with himself. Not everyone was like his mother.

“You will. I will. And yes he does.” Ben answered, still continuing with his pizza whilst Eddie put his work hat on. “What about you Eddie?” Ben asked suggestively “You found a guy yet?”

Eddie rolled his eyes at Ben and the older coworker cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.

“Got any deliveries for me yet?” Eddie asked, wanting to change the subject because he didn’t want to talk about how he was still not seeing anyone, and because he didn’t want to involve the older employee in the conversation. “Yep, there’s one now”, Ben pointed to a pizza box and foil packet containing garlic bread, and handed the receipt to Eddie, “There’s a bottle of coke with it too.”

Eddie grabbed his pizza bag and put the box and garlic bread in and carefully zipped it up. He had once zipped it up too fast on a busy night and got his finger caught, and he wasn’t willing to relive that experience. Then he grabbed a bottle of coke and the company car keys and headed out the way he came in.

Once inside the car, he looked at the receipt for the address and to check if there were any requests left for him. He’s had many different requests from people, the strangest was when someone requested he knock and leave the pizza on the doorstep, and that the money was in the letterbox. There were no requests for this delivery, so Eddie routinely typed the customer’s address into the GPS and drove.

He arrived and noticed that the address was an apartment complex. Wait. It was his apartment complex. But there was no number for which apartment it was. Why would this customer order pizza delivery when he lived 5 minutes away from the shop? Eddie let out an annoyed sigh and gathered up his pizza bag and the drink and took another look at the receipt for a phone number, if he had called up and hadn’t just ordered online. Bingo.

He reached into the car to grab the company phone and typed in the stranger’s number. It rang three times and Eddie was sure that they weren’t going to pick up, and almost hung up out of annoyance until the ringing stopped and a voice beamed through the speaker.

“Hello?” The sound of the stranger’s voice took Eddie by surprise. It was deep and raspy, as if he had just woken up. It was hot.

“Hello?” Eddie realised he hadn’t answered and panicked.

“Uh, hi. Um, you ordered a pizza right?”

“Uhh, yeah i did. Who is this?”

Idiot. You didn’t tell him you were the delivery guy.

“I’m the delivery guy.”

“Oh cool. What’s up, delivery boy? Is there a problem?”

“You didn’t put what number your apartment is in the address..”

“Oh shit! Sorry. It’s number 77, Fourth floor.” Oh. That was the same floor as Eddie.

“Okay, I’ll be right up.”

“Can’t wait.”

God. Why did he say that like that.

Eddie didn’t know what to say back so he just hung up the phone and shoved it into the pocket of his jacket. He locked the car and made his way into the building, into the elevator and up to the fourth floor, knowing exactly where he was going. That always made him feel better about any situation. Once the elevator doors opened, he quickly made his way to number 77. He had already spent too much time on this delivery, and knew there would be more deliveries piling up back at the store as he quickly made his way down the narrow hallway.

Number 77. Eddie knocked on the door four times and waited, tapping his foot out of impatience. Or was it nerves? He heard a shuffling from behind the door and a thump and an ‘ow fuck’. He smiled at this. “Who is it?” the same voice from the phone called from inside the room. His smile dropped and he rolled his eyes back into his skull. He was in a hurry now.

“Who do you think?” a bit too much annoyance coming out in his voice than he had wanted. He had to remember to remain professional, even though he had a tendency to get impatient quickly.

“Woah, chill out sweet cheeks”, the voice behind the door defended, “I was just making a joke.” Eddie took a deep breath in and out and plastered a smile onto his face. Be professional. Then he heard a quiet, although clearly intended to be heard, voice continue, “Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”

That’s it. “Just open the fucking door and get what you ordered or I’m leaving. I’m in a hurry.” He added the last bit, because he didn’t want the guy to think he was a total dick. He heard the lock behind the door unlatch. Thank god. The handled turned and the door swung open slowly, revealing the guy behind the deep voice.

Holy shit. He was gorgeous. And he was tall, really tall. He had dark-chocolate curls that hung just above his shoulders; they looked so soft. His dark curls contrasted against his pale, lightly- freckled skin. He also wore huge glasses that amplified his compelling dark-brown eyes. Eddie found them insanely hard to look away from. That is until he spotted how dangerously low the guy’s sweatpants were resting on his hips from out of the corner of his eye. He swallowed hard and shot his eyes back up to the stranger’s, not wanting to stare. But his eyes failed him and they trailed back down again. Woah.

“Like what you see, huh?”

Eddie’s eyes widened. Did he just say that aloud?

The guy trailed his eyes up and down Eddie and he bit down his lip. “I like what i see too.”

“Here.” Eddie was hopeless at catching onto things and held out the pizza, without saying another word.

“I wasn’t talking about the pizza, cutie.” He winked and leant casually on the frame of the door.

Eddie was flipping the fuck out, inside. He felt his face start to heat up. He’d never had anyone flirt with him before, at least he didn’t think so, and he was trying to say something but didn’t know what to say, so he just stood there, mouth opening and closing like some sort of hopeless fish.

“So, whatcha doin’ later?” He was still leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his slender body. His lips upturned in a smirk. Oh. Those lips. How hadn’t he noticed his lips? They were so plump and pink and oh god Eddie found himself involuntarily thinking about what it would be like to kiss those lips. Oh. His tongue peeked through the lips, licking the bottom and pulling it in between his teeth. Eddie’s mouth fell wide open and he tried to recover but he found it nearly impossible.

When he did, he looked back up to the stranger’s eyes and found them staring right back. This made Eddie feel embarrassed because he’d basically just fantasized about the very person in front of him while they watched. Eddie looked down and remembered the pizza. “Oh. Um..your pizza. Here.” Eddie held out the pizza again and pleaded with his eyes for the gorgeous stranger to just take it. They reached out and took the pizza from Eddie, grazing their hands ever so gently, not breaking eye contact. Eddie swallowed again and looked away, face red.

“Thanks Eddie.”

“Wha- How did you know my name?” Eddie pulled his gaze back to those dark eyes. He couldn’t see his pupils, they were that dark. He found the darkness intriguing. It was so gruellingly hard to look away. A part of Eddie wanted to get lost in those eyes.

The stranger smiled widely back at Eddie, and Eddie had to remember how to breathe. He didn’t speak, only tapped on his own chest, prompting Eddie to look at the spot on his own chest. When he looked down he saw his name tag that was pinned there. Idiot.

Eddie looked back up and smiled at the stranger for the first time.

He smiled a toothy grin back at Eddie, “I hope i see you again, Eddie.”

“Me too.”

The rest of the night was a blur for Eddie. He couldn’t stop thinking about the guy in his apartment complex and the fact they were so incredibly close to each other. What was his name? He wanted to know. Eddie wanted to see him again. No. He needed to see him again.

Once Eddie had finished his shift and had driven back home he found himself walking slower than usual back to his room. He looked down the hallway to where the stranger’s room was. So, whatcha doin’ later? He didn’t have the confidence to make the first move. He’d hoped they’d run into each other in the hallway or in the elevator or something. But along with his impatience, Eddie was also stubborn. Which made the situation that much more difficult. So Eddie withdrew from his need to see the stranger again and went inside his own room and slumped into his bed.

Eddie didn’t sleep much that night, he couldn’t get the stranger in room 77 out of his head.

Please let me know what you think!! :) 

[eene-fangirl]

Ed, Edd n Eddy Big Picture Show Chapter 2 [A Fanfic Novelization]

The Eds  remained completely quiet. Ed squeezed both of his friends slowly backing into the corner of the room.

"This is all your fault, sockhead." Eddy whispered to Edd.

Edd felt his face heat up. "My fault? Funny, isn't it, how it's always my fault when yet another of your amazing scams goes awry."

"Yeah, well, I didn't see you try and stop me," Eddy muttered. No, Edd did. Edd explained countless times what may happen if he pressed the red button. And now look what happened. "You should have known it would go bad!"

"And boy did it go bad." Ed chimed in.

Their talking seized upon hearing a creak from out in the hallway. They were going to be in here forever if they didn't know what was happening. Eddy spotted a glass on the refrigerator. Sliding Edd over towards the door he handed him the glass.

Immediately knowing when he should do Edd pressed the water glass against the door. He heard shuffling,  Rolf was muttering to himself while Kevin was instructing everyone to be quiet.

The only thing that Eddy could hear was his own heart pounding, not only from being in his brothers room, but what the kids may do to them if they were found.

Edd started looking calmer when he heard Kevin say that they weren't here.

Just when they thought they were going to get away, both of them heard a crunching noise. Ed found a piece of buttered toast and was unaware of the noise it made.

The glass slipped out from Edd's hands and landed in his puddle of sweat.

In a matter of seconds the door began rattling around as the kids finally found their victims.

"We are not long for this world!" Ed hollered realizing it was his piece of toast that caused them to get caught.

Edd ran to the windows and opened the curtains. Only they were unable to escape that way. Eddy clawed at the cemented bricks. "What's with my brother and these stupid bricks?!" Eddy exclaimed not even noticing that he was walking into Edd.

They tripped over the rug which revealed a ventilation shaft. They were running out of time as Edd noticed the door breaking off its hinges by the second.

As Edd and Eddy struggled to open the ventilation shaft, Ed was thrown off the purple stuffed camel and slammed into the wall. A red box with a glass opening caught his attention.

"More bricks, Double Dee!" Eddy yelled out when he tried to escape through the vent. His brother really made it hard for someone to escape his room.

"Ooh, this-a-way guys!" Ed yelled grabbing the two of them. He put Edd and Eddy face to face with a red alarm box.

"'In case of movie break glass?'" Edd read. Movie?

"Bingo!" Eddy said smashing the glass in seconds. "My bro is always prepared."

What he pulled out was a lone peanut. His brother always did this! He made every plan have a flaw in it because he thought it was funny. Misery was his happiness.

A fist smashed a hole through the door and Kevin’s tattered burn smudged face poked in. "End of the line, dorks!"

The peanut flew out of Eddy’s hands inadvertently landing in Ed's throat.

"It was just a scam, Double Dee, how could it go so wrong?" So terrified beyond words Eddy actually latched himself around Edd in full fear hugging his friend so tightly.

Obliging to the hug Edd also wrapped his arms around his friend. "Eddy, the laws of probability can be a real mean..."

Ed got their attention when he bit down and broke the nutshell of the peanut.

It was a key! "It must be for my brothers car!" Eddy said opening the passenger side door.

"Eddy, we're too young to drive!" Edd soon ignored his own warning when a piece of the door planted on the ground.

All three of them got in the car. Empty pizza boxes or other stains inhabited the car.  Eddy was able to get the key through the ignition, but when he turned it, nothing happened. The car was working when he set it in this spot, but that was eight years ago.

Rolf smashed his head through the door, breaking the chains along with the impact. A large bump had grown out from his head. It look as if he were hit in the head pretty hard. "Rolf's vengeance will be slow and painful, like Papa's charcoal anecdotes, Ed boys!"

The cul-de-sac kid's smashed through the door. Edd found it a relief that none of them were dead, but they all looked horrendous. A bear trap snared Jonny’s head! Nazz was still inside the magician box and her hair was torn to pieces.

As Edd and Eddy cringed in fear, Ed had an idea and immediately took into action. He smashed his feet through the floor of the car, like one of those Flintstones cartoons.

Just when Kevin grabbed the mirror, Ed ran from the room and smashed through the wall of Eddy's house.

Kevin, Rolf and Jonny fell to the grass and took a moment to collect themselves. They were all injured enough already from the scam.

"They're getting away, guys!" Nazz called out seeing the Eds begin to destroy the cul-de-sac as they tried to escape.

Rolf let out an ear piercing whistle, which Wilfred immediately came to. "There is no escaping the son of a shepherd!" And he was off following the Eds in the red car.

Sarah and Jimmy peaked behind the house. They watched the Eds run past in the car. What happened to the kids? Rolf had the side of his body bitten off. And Nazz, was she naked under that box?

"Yowzers, what do you think they did this time, Jimmy?" Sarah asked

"Whatever it was, it must be worser than ever." Jimmy pointed out.

The two youngsters followed at a distance so they wouldn't get hurt.

The Eds were almost at the end of the cul-de-sac. It would be safer to get away from here. The kids looked hostile this time and didn't look a if they were fooling about killing them.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Edd yelled gripping his seat. He could feel his stomach churning from the events circulating.

"Not in my brothers car you're not!" Eddy warned. Did it matter though? His brother hadn’t been around for some time.

Just then, Plank landed on the windshield. The boys screamed upon seeing the creepy boards painted, now fading smile, stare deep into their souls. "Let 'em have it buddy!" Jonny hollered with his head still ensnared in a bear trap.

Ed swerved the car until he leaped in the air. The car came crashing on top of the sides of the fence in the lane. It just kept rolling along.

Edd tried to catch his breath, beginning to hyperventilate. Were they actually going to skip town? Would his parents actually come home for once and see he wasn't there? They actually spent some of their time with him before working got in the way.

"So much undone, unsaid," he belted out. "Mother and Father will be so annoyed.

Suddenly, Ed screamed in pain and began to slip out from the car. Rolf was following underneath with his teeth sinking into Ed's leg. This would be his first kill.

"They got me, guys! I'm a goner! Save yourselves!" Ed whined. Eddy watched as Ed's fingers slipped one by one. Were the kids going to kill him? “Don’t forget about me?” As he watched his last finger slip off, the memory of their first meeting came to his mind.

"See yah!"

"Ed!" In an instant Edd and Eddy grabbed their friend and will all their strength pulled him out of the grip of a maniacal looking Rolf.

"Curse you, Ed bo-" Rolf smashed into a dumpster as the Eds were ricocheted into a forest of trees, smashing them to pieces until landing in the junkyard.

Kevin was perched high above and watched the red car run past. He quietly made his way down the trash and saw the other kids coming. He made jesters about what they were going to do. They agreed and Kevin was off first.

Before Eddy could glance at his rear view mirror, Kevin smashed against the car rocking it off kilter. Edd looked at Kevin, seeing that the boy was no longer there. The devil looked as if it had replaced him.

Kevin rammed the car a third time making it somersault off a pile of junk. Eddy gripped the wheel as he was thrown out the window and was literally running along side it.

This chase was more insane than anyone thought. As soon as Eddy was spun back inside, the car broke through the junkyard, and spun out of control down the creek.

"Prepare for Rolf's water-laden bladder!"

"Plank's freaking out!" Jonny screamed at the back of everyone.

"Double D, you got any great ideas?!" Eddy asked. Glancing to the passenger seat, Edd wasn't able to answer the question. He finally threw up into a bag relieving his churning stomach. The rickety car chase was not helping anything. His face took a pale coloring when he saw Kevin's head reach for the door handle.

"How do you like your faces, fried or scrambled?" Kevin asked opening the car door.

The door was thrown open. Ed wasn't losing without a fight. He shut the door and Eddy rolled up the windows. It would hopefully keep them safer from just a little longer.

Their hearts jumped at the sound of thumps on the top of the car. Wilfred's tail speared through the top.

The head of the car was ripped off. Exposed!

"Time for payback!" Kevin yelled.

"Plank wants first crack at 'em!"

"Rolf will use their hides as a crutch for Nana's goiter!"

"Like, thanks for the help up here, guys? Duh!" Nazz said upon nearly falling off the car.

"It wasn't me, Eddy did it!" Ed yelled before his head disappeared into his shirt.

"In your dreams!" Eddy backlashed. He struggled for a moment, knowing to himself that this whole thing was his fault. No, it wasn't. Nothing was ever his fault. "It was Double Dee!"

Edd was left alone to face the kids as both his friends hid. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the playground.

"Uh, excuse me," he spoke, as always being polite. "I'll be right back."

Edd grabbed the merry-go-round which spun them all around. One by one each kid let go of the car and went flying in different directions. The hood ripped off leaving only Kevin.

His devilish eyes almost reminded Eddy of his brother when his last scam took a turn for the worst.

"You dorks ain't seen the last of me!" Kevin hollered when he was thrown off the car.

Edd's fingers slowly slipped off one by one.

Once they did, they catapulted through the sky, over the trees, until the kids could no longer hear them.

"DOOOOOORKS!!!" Kevin screeched at the top of his lungs. "I can't believe it. I almost had them!"

Sarah and Jimmy watched from a far and listened to the older kids from a far. Jonny slowly slipped away as Rolf ranted off and Nazz followed Kevin.  

The children were alone as they all left to hunt down the Ed's.

"Golly gosh, Sarah, they're gonna hunt down the Ed's! What on earth did they do?"

"I don't know, Jimmy." What were they going to do to Ed? Would it be worse then one of her poundings?

"Think of what they'll do to them, Sarah. It'll be worse than soap in your eyes. Worser than polyester chafing!"

"Let's have a picnic and watch!"

Both children agreed and walked off through the now destructed cul-de-sac.

[shootingstarcipher-blog]

Echo Syndrome (Deep Cuts)

Every day he seemed just that bit more broken than the day before, like someone was chipping away at him from the inside. Yet he still held it together, his composure and sanity never wavering – at least not outwardly – but Richie could see, albeit only ever from a distance, that he was cracking. They never spoke about it; it was virtually the one thing Richie never did speak about, mainly because he knew Eddie would shut down completely if he ever brought it up.

There were clues – hints of information, cries for help and times when his well-plastered mask slipped briefly from his face, revealing a barely noticeable imperfection every now and then that only Richie would be able to detect – that this had been going on for quite some time and every time a new one fell into Richie’s hands he studied it carefully before tucking it away in some hollowed-out corner of his mind until that corner was no longer hollow, full to the brim with every hint of Eddie Kaspbrak’s diminishing sanity.

Like the red marks that appeared on his forearms occasionally. Like the way his hands shook as he held his inhaler up to his mouth and how he’d been relying on it a great deal more of late. And like the way he flinched whenever someone touched him unexpectedly, the way his gaze always seemed to be concentrated on the floor or how he’d been staying inside more than usual, always coming up with excuses not to spend time with the rest of the losers.

Bill had mentioned it the other day – not to Eddie, but to everyone else – and the others had all agreed that he had indeed been staying away from them more often, somehow constantly reluctant to spend time with them even when they weren’t planning on going to places he hated like the sewer. Richie agreed with them too but kept quiet about his strange conversation with Eddie the week before, when he phoned to invite him over but Eddie had told him, in the weakest of voices, that he already had plans. It’d sounded like he was crying, though he refused to admit that to him over the phone. Richie still often wondered what had upset him – to the point where he was unable to fall asleep at night without calling him to check up on him, and if it sounded like he was crying then as well, Richie would have to go the whole night without sleeping.

In a way it was hurtful that he seemed to feel the need to hide so much from all of them, but Richie was still far too concerned about him to think of wanting to hurt him back. But he needed answers (and naturally, to see for himself whether Eddie was as in control of himself as he claimed, which he suspected he wasn’t). Eddie wasn’t usually the type to lie but in this case, he had no reason to believe he was telling the truth.

That was how Richie Tozier ended up banging on the Kaspbraks’ front door at 11 o’clock at night, his parents having chased him out of the house in a temper after his constant panicked muttering and pacing had apparently “ruined their evening” (though he secretly thought they were just getting back at him for complaining about their so-called friends taking over his room). His bike lay next to him on the ground and the clatter of it falling to the ground had probably woken up half the street, Mrs Kaspbrak included, so it was no wonder she was in such a bad mood when she finally answered the door and turned him away immediately, seeming more angry than concerned about him being out at such a late hour (even though there was a police-enforced curfew and he really shouldn’t have been out on his own at night, regardless of the sudden bout of missing children cases).

It was fortunate for Richie, then, that Eddie’s bedroom was located on the ground floor of the house because after promising Mrs Kaspbrak he would return to his own home immediately, he crept round the back of the house, picked up the biggest stone he could find that wouldn’t have caused any damage and launched it at his best friend’s window, the unexpected noise almost making Eddie fall out of bed in a panic. He knocked on the window twice to capture his friend’s attention and grinned like an idiot – momentarily forgetting all his worries and concerns – when Eddie crossed the room and slid the window open without a word, grabbing his hand and pulling him up through the open window.

But if Eddie was being so friendly and helpful, then why was Richie the only one smiling?

“You can’t be here!” Eddie hissed at him once the window was closed again. Richie’s grin faltered for a moment but returned soon enough as he completely disregarded the younger boy’s comment and wondered over to sit on the edge of the bed, remarking at how exhausted he was. “I don’t care! My mom will literally kill me if she sees you here and- How did you get out of the house?” He paused for a moment before answering his own question. “Your parents kick you out again?”

Richie nodded without a word. It was a frequent occurrence that all his friends had gotten used to. Only Eddie had met them and that had only been on one occasion and for no more than a minute or so, but he had seen first-hand how they treated him – like he was nothing but an inconvenience. Maybe he was just an inconvenience. He hoped Eddie didn’t think so but the way he was looking at him then made him think that he probably was bothering him. Eddie yawned but the look of irritation failed to die from his eyes. That’s when Richie suggested they both just went to sleep.

“You don’t mind if I crash here for tonight, do you?” he asked rhetorically, knowing that Eddie probably did mind but also that he’d never throw his friend out onto the street, especially given the current circumstances.

“Fine, but you’re sleeping on the floor,” Eddie remarked as he tossed one of his pillows onto the floor, right beside the bed and motioned for his friend to get out of his way. Richie stayed put, irritating him further. “I’m not having you in my bed,” the younger boy continued, folding his arms across his chest and scowling at him. “Who knows what kind of ugly diseases you could have? No offense, but it’s a wonder I’m letting you set foot in my room, let alone sleep in my bed. Now get up.”

Richie did as he said then, knowing from experience how frantic and defiant he could get when it came to germs, though as he stood up from the bed he jokingly gave Eddie a hurt look, quickly followed by his trademark grin to let him know he wasn’t really upset about it. That was just the way Eddie Kaspbrak was. And that was one of things Richie liked so much about him – even though it did frequently drive him crazy. As he took a seat on the carpeted floor Eddie threw him a blanket he’d retrieved from a nearby cupboard and climbed back into his own bed, shuffling to the edge so he and Richie could still see each other as they lay there, trying to get to sleep.

Eddie fell asleep within minutes. Richie was still wide awake an hour later.

His mind was racing and sometimes his heart was too. He still wasn’t convinced Eddie was okay and he was starting to realise that he probably never would be, even if he asked him about it directly; even if he interrogated him about the marks on his arms and legs and about his consistent avoidance of him and the rest of the losers, he probably wouldn’t believe anything Eddie came up with. Even if Eddie told him the absolute truth. He’d never be happy with it and that was not a statement of the younger boy’s trustworthiness but of Richie’s own paranoia and constant fear that something was wrong with Eddie.

Besides, Eddie was always convinced there was something wrong with him. That’s why he was taking so many pills. But Richie knew that something else was going on – something worse, something so bad he couldn’t admit it.

Becoming so restless he thought his heart and mind were going to erupt simultaneously, he stood up to stretch his legs and started pacing around the room, just like he’d been doing at home earlier that night. Eddie’s room was so neat it was almost sickening. Everything had a place and he guessed Eddie would have had a heart attack if something was ever moved from where it was supposed to be. The idea to move something out of sheer curiosity was tempting but the sounds of thrashing coming from the bed distracted him before he had the chance to go through with it.

His blanket was half-off the bed and he seemed to be repeatedly attacking his pillow with fists, eyes shut firmly but his body moving about so rapidly it was hard to believe he was really asleep. Richie was by his side within a fraction of a second, grabbing at his hands and holding his wrists together in an attempt at keeping him still. But he failed miserably, Eddie successfully breaking free from his grasp almost instantly. It was then, as his sleeve rode up his arm in response to his violent thrashing and flailing that Richie saw the full extent of those mysterious marks on his body.

There weren’t just a few reddened patches of skin like he’d thought beforehand. There were bruises, most of them fresh, and a larger wound on the back of his right arm, dried blood smeared all over his skin and the inside of his sleeve. He kicked himself for not thinking something like this (whatever “this” was) had been going on before. But he still didn’t have all the answers. In fact, there were even more questions infiltrating his brain now than he could cope with. But now wasn’t the time to be trying to figure it all out. Now he needed to calm Eddie down and wake him up. He had to confront him.

He spoked to him softly, whispering, trying to make him understand that all he wanted to do was help. He promised not to tease him or make jokes – and for Richie Tozier, that was an extremely difficult promise to make – and could only hope that Eddie could hear him in his sleep. Eventually, he stopped thrashing about on his own, his breathing returning to normal without the aid of his inhaler, and Richie gently shook him awake with a small, relieved smile – though he could not completely relax until he’d had an explanation for his injuries.

When Eddie awoke Richie would have liked to liken him to a deer caught in the headlights of a car but he kept his promise and stayed quiet, waiting for any jokes he wanted to make to be banished from his mind before speaking. “What’s going on, Eds? You can tell me.” Eddie simply acted like he had no idea what he was referring to, repeatedly shaking his head until Richie interrupted the silence again. “Your arm, Eds. I’m talking about your arm. You’re covered in blood and I have no idea what’s happened, so you’re gonna tell me. I need to know. You’re freaking me out.” He kept his voice calm the entire time, in spite of the growing urge for him to shout and scream and shake Eddie by the shoulders until he explained. That wouldn’t have helped anything, anyway. Eddie was already skittish and there was no need for him to do anything to make it worse.

Eddie still wouldn’t speak, even in spite of Richie’s pleading, but he did at least look up at him, shifting slightly so that his arms snaked around the taller boy’s waist, pulling him down to sit on the edge of the bed in the process. Richie smiled to himself, Eddie’s warmth radiating through to him, at the idea of him finally allowing him to go near his bed. Maybe he’d forgotten about all the hideous diseases he probably had or maybe in that moment he just didn’t care, the more important thing being that Richie was there for him in a way nobody else was.

“Does it hurt? Your arm, I mean. That cut looks pretty deep.” Richie’s voice tore through the silence but Eddie still failed to react, keeping his face pressed into the cruck of the older boy’s neck until he was pushed away and the pressure to speak became too great to go on ignoring – and Richie hadn’t even mentioned his surprise at how his wound hadn’t been dressed yet (usually Eddie would be the first to leap up and fetch as many bandages or plasters as required).

He eventually nodded in response, acknowledging that his injury was more serious than he’d let on. “Don’t make me talk about it, Rich. I just… I just can’t.”

He flinched when Richie’s fingers grazed the wound on the back of his arm, a sudden stinging sensation rippling through his flesh, but he was grateful when he snatched a pair of scissors from the closest nightstand, cut off a piece of his clothing (which made Eddie smile slightly anyway, noticing how ridiculous his friend looked with a rectangular gap in his t-shirt) and wrapped it around his arm, tying a knot in it to keep it from slipping. Catching a glimpse of the younger boy’s coy smile, Richie decided that although he hadn’t uncovered the reason for his strange behaviour or an explanation as to how his injuries had manifested, the night was a success so far (Eddie seemed much more comfortable around him now, after all).

But that was until Mrs Kaspbrak burst into the room, her icy glaring eyes aiming at one person in particular – Richie Tozier.