Eddie let the front door slam behind him no regard for the scolding he'd receive from his mother.
He trekked hastily up the stairs before he completely lost all sense and went mad. Eddie tore open his bedroom door and locked it behind him, crashing atop his bed.
Eddie took a deep breath and let all the his pent up frustrations spill out. His screams muffled in his heavy bedding the painful howls became all but a whisper in his silent room.

Eddie banged his fist against the mattress hearing the springs squeal back in protest. He dug his fingers into the coolness of his pillow, pulling it to his chest. Eddie bit down on the fabric as tears welled up in his eyes. They weren't the kind he had been expecting to be greeted with on account of his role but for other reasons..

For Richie Tozier.

The only person he was so foolish to give his heart away to.
He looked like the feeling Eddie got when he listened to the Beatles for the first time. Richie had treated him with gentle hands and smiles that could melt the tundra. When their eyes would meet Eddie swore his heart beat different. That was the 'Tozier Effect' he nicknamed it. But just like every reaction there was a positive and negative correlation.

And what a plot twist Richie Tozier was. Pin-balling his way through life, his feet never touching the ground. Eddie loved the carefree side of Richie, but he would soon come to hate it. Eddie thought,
'maybe I can change him.'

'Maybe he'll be different.'
It stuck with Eddie for the rest of his life.

All at once Richie broke his heart and had the audacity to try and give him the pieces back. Eddie felt like a fool.
He gave Richie every part of him, if he wasn't so blinded by love he would see the flameless flickering fake love before him. Eddie was a second choice. And that became apparent when Richie showed up to school with a lovely young lady on his arm the very next day.

Life went on, but Eddie was never the same after Richie. He learned not to love too deeply. People will hurt you.
He never gave out a piece of his heart, even when others would give them theirs whole. Then they would ask Eddie,
"Do you believe in true love?"
He'd say, "Once." Eddie pulled a convincing smile, "Once and I'll never forget." His smile would drop, venom filling his mouth.
"How stupid I was to think love was real,"

Eddie sat up rubbing the tear tracks off his warm cheeks. He felt comfortably numb, his head felt full of stuffing and his eyes clouded. Nothing felt real.
Eddie swung his feet off the side of his bed and sighed heavily.
His head shot up a burst of anger coursing through him.
There was no way in hell Richie Tozier was going to dim his spotlight. Eddie worked harder than ever for what he had and no ex lover of his was going to block his way.

Eddie slept peacefully that night knowing he was the one in control now. Not Richie Tozier bossing him around in his little Tech booth he was in Eddies territory.
Eddie showed up at practice bright and early, two styrofoam coffee cups clutched in hand and a bag of doughnuts in the other. He liked to start off a good show right by christening it with some good food for the cast. Eddie dumped the bags contents out on the table for pickings, spotting Beverly chatting up with the stage manager.

A frown tugged his lips. He felt betrayed. She was the puppet master behind all this madness and he couldn't pinpoint why. What was her motive? Did she want the play to become a disaster, Beverly was always a sweetheart and there for Eddie. He sighed shaking his head, Beverly was there for the breakup so why put him through that again.
Eddie took a sip from the scalding hot coffee the burn soothing his tired throat. He whipped on a smile and strut down the runway tapping Bev on the shoulder.

A flash of auburn hair and she was wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Ah! Good morning, today's gonna be a wonderful day Eddie I can feel it!" She squealed pulling away from Eddie to grin up at him, her expression quickly changed to a sly look.
"Is that coffee for me?" She eyed up the extra cup, a special kind of lid on top to hold all the whipped cream.

Eddie handed it over Beverly snatching it up and taking a huge swig sighing contenly. She rapped her fingernails along the cup, grinning to show her appreciation. "I feel alive again Eddie, thanks." Bev cracked an eye open as she took another long glug of coffee, whipped cream getting caught on her top lip making a pseudo mustache.

Eddie snickered and swiped his thumb along her lip, "Got milk?" He teased as Beverly caught his finger with her mouth sucking the cream right off it then popping off. Eddie gasped with disgust, wiping his thumb off on his jeans leg. "Gross! Bev! Don't ever do that again!" He grumbled then started laughing as she cracked up herself.
When Beverly laughed the whole room seemed to light up, she was a firecracker.

Suddenly someone cleared their throat from behind them. Eddie straightened his back and turned around to be faced with Mr. Manski. He clicked his tongue and looked the two over.
"Case of the giggles?" He observed with a quirked brow.

Eddie nodded feebly Beverly joining him at his side, leaning her head against his shoulder.
"Yes chef, case of the giggles indeed." She replied sarcastically a bemusing gleam still caught in her eye.
Mr. Manski chuckled shaking his head as if to say, 'damn with the youth' and handed the two a copy of the script.
Eddie took it graciously and began flicking through counting his lines like a little kid. When he would play smaller parts he counted everyone of his lines and made them damn near perfect hoping his teacher would see how he poured his heart and soul into such a simple role and give him the lead. Eddie shook his head at his foolishness and continued reading silently taking occasionally sips from his coffee cup.

"You sure got a lot to memorize." Bev scoffed softly.
Eddie opened his mouth to reply looking up expecting to catch Beverlys icy gaze but saw she was speaking to someone else.
"No thanks to you."
Eddie clamped his teeth together. Richie stood a couple feet in front of him, sprawled out across two foldable chairs a chocolate glazed doughnut sat in his lap, he turned the pages of his script with sugary fingers. Eddie tried not to gag. Beverly giggled then caught Eddies forlorn gaze, she smiled and gestured for him to come over and join them.

Eddie shook his head madly mouthing, 'no!' Over and over but Beverly kept waving him on.
"Get your ass over here Eddie!" She finally shouted making him go red in the face. Richies eyes shot up momentarily meeting Eddies own before shooting back to his script, shoving the rest of his doughnut down his throat. Eddie scowled but quickly obliged, his heart feeling way up in his throat beating like a drum against his Adam's apple.

He approached the two his hands fidgeting nervously with the ends of his t-shirt.
"Hey Bev," Eddie muttered glaring at the cheeky girl. He didn't bother looking at Richie when he mumbled his greeting, "Hello Richie." Eddie grabbed a chair off the ground and pulled up next to the two. Beverly drummed her hands against her bare thighs playing a beat to fill the silence. Eventually it all became too much and she started up conversation finding the other two immobile.
"This is Eddies first lead role." She fired out.

Richies head perked up, he swallowed thickly. "Oh mine too I guess." He coughed wiping his mouth off on the back of his hand then dusting the crumbs off on his pants. "Congratulations." He mumbled and it almost sounded sincere.

Eddie wanted to roll his eyes and go take a nap in his car but instead he pulled on a tight lipped smile. "Thanks Rich." He replied through clenched teeth making side notes in pretty cursive on the indents of his script.
Richie chuckled dryly watching him write. Eddie glared scrunching his nose. "What's funny?" He demanded hotly his brows furrowing.

Richie met his gaze with a surprised look on his face. His mouth bobbed open dumbly then clamped shut like a fish out of water. "You still write all prissy like you used to." He mumbled out clearly embarrassed. Richie ducked his head down fixing his glasses awkwardly and staring at his script, not truly reading it just keeping his eyes elsewhere.

Eddie felt his shoulders bunch up defensively as his heart banged in his chest. He hadn't expected that response. Eddie had prepared himself for a snarky remark or crude comment not a memoir to his handwriting. Eddie scoffed and stood up his chair squeaking as he did so. "Rehearsal ends in five anyway I think I'm gonna head on out Bev." He said stiffly checking his watch for the time. Beverly gave him a sympathetic look but nodded without saying a word.
Eddie gave a closed lip smile as he left the tense circle, he sped up his walk trying to get out before anymore memories came to haunt him.

Eddie felt his fist squeeze the styrofoam cup. It cracked under the pressure the last droplets of warm coffee tricking out onto his open palm. Eddie tossed it into the nearest trash can.
Richie was different.
Eddie blinked trying to keep his mind off him he didn't need to cause himself anymore pain. He was different but the same all at once. Richie spoke differently to him now, like he chose his words instead of letting them rule him.

Eddie grabbed his car keys from his back pocket cranking up his old Chevy. He placed his hand on the back of his passenger side, glancing out the back as he pulled out.
Richie looked the same if only a bit more worn down. He still had the same coke bottle glasses and his hair was in a disarray. Eddie couldn't help the smile he cracked but it soon fell as he remembered the pain he'd caused him. Eddie drove home with the thought of Richie Tozier invading his mind.

-
eDgY merry cummas I had a fantastic nap