Chapter Text
“Are you ready, boys?!” Bev shouts from the passenger seat of Ben’s truck. She taps her door twice to get the attention of Bill who’s in the driver’s seat of his truck. He honks at her in confirmation. Next to him is Mike, then Stan at the backseat. In their truck, however, aside from him, Ben and Bev, is Richie.
“Is it a little crowded? I feel like I’m crowding you guys, lemme just change with Stan and we can go,” Eddie says, attempting to open his side of the door. Richie grabs his arm.
“Don’t be silly, Spaghetti. Wow, that rhymes!” Bev rolls his eyes and Ben smirks from the rear-view mirror. “Just stay put so we can go.”
“Yeah, if we keep changing seats it’ll eat most of our time.” Bev reasons.
“It’s not like they’re in the other town, they’re literally behind us!”
“Aw, come on, Eddie. Just stay here, just like the old times?” She bats her eyelashes at him.
They only went on a road trip TWICE when they werel teenagers. Both times they used Mike’s old truck and they all cramped inside except for Richie who stayed at the bed of the truck, screaming in glee every time Mike stepped on the accelerator. Sure, Eddie once joined him and enjoyed it but that was a long time ago.
“Fine,” he says, resigned. He leans back in his seat and closes his eyes. Richie snickers beside him.
“Whatcha pouting ‘bout, Eds?”
“I’m not pouting,” he replies, still closing his eyes.
“You sure are. Look at that pursed lip, do you even have lips? Dude, your lips are so thin. How do you even whistle? Whatever you’re doing there, buddy, that’s the definition of pouting.”
He finally opens his eyes and looks at him, unimpressed. He turns to Ben, “Can we just go?”
“Yes, finally.” He honks twice, signaling to Bill and then they’re on their way.
Twenty minutes in and Richie is snoring beside him. He grimaces and says, “Literally, how can he already be asleep? We’ve been driving for like twenty minutes!”
“Technically, I’m driving,” Ben says.
“Don’t sass me, Ben. You know what I mean.” he points at him, which he replies with, “Alright,”
“Let him sleep, Eds. You know how late he works every night,” Bev says, looking over her shoulder.
He scowls at her, “Then he shouldn’t have come with us. Look at him,” Richie snorts beside him. “He snores like a fucking chainsaw. Here, let me show you. Ben, do you have an aux cord?” He fishes his phone out and opens Spotify. He plugs his phone in after Bev gives it to him. He thinks of the loudest song he could think of, Guns N’ Roses’ It’s So Easy, and plays it at a reasonable volume. Loud enough that they have to raise their voices to hear each other, but not enough that it impairs Ben’s driving.
“Jesus Christ that’s loud!” Ben yells.
“I know, right?” He yells back at him.
“How long do we have to listen to this?” Bev shout-asks, gesturing at her ears.
“Just for a bit,” and there it is Richie’s snores. He might have been exaggerating when he said he had a chainsaw-like snore but it certainly is loud. He hears it slightly above the constant guitar strums and pounding of the drums.
Bev’s face lights up when he hears it. “Oh my god! I know Richie’s snores are loud but I never imagined it’s this loud!”
“It’s been a long time since we had our last sleepover and when we do we usually pass out drunk. And Stan goes home no matter what so nobody could really tell.”
Eddie pauses the song and rubs his ear. It’s not popping. “He should really let an ENT physician look at that.”
He looks at Richie’s sleeping form; head tilted back, mouth open with a little drool in the corner of his mouth, snoring like a loud exhaust pipe, glasses askew. He purses his mouth again and shakes him awake. “Wake up, dumbass.”
“Huh?” He looks at them groggily. He fixes his glasses and wipes his drool. “Are we here already?”
“No, not yet, dipshit. You fell asleep 20 minutes in. We still have like another 20 minutes before we get to Home Depot. And you snore like a fucking bear, you should get that checked.”
Richie looks at him like he just ate a moldy sandwich. “Huh? Oh, that. Yeah, Sandy’s been asking me to go to the doctor ‘bout it.” Sandy. Sandy’s been taking care of him, you don’t have to butt in anymore. You should not meddle anymore.
“You should listen to her.”
“Mmkay. I’ll do it on my next day off.” He removes his glasses and rubs his eye.
“Don’t do that, asshole. You’ll ruin your shitty eyes.” He swats his hand away from his eyes.
“Ow,” he rubs his eyes harder.
“I said don’t!” Eddie grabs his two arms, pulling them away from his eyes.
“My glasses, my glasses!” He guffaws while Eddie cranes his neck to look for his discarded glasses. “I’m just kidding! It’s between my thighs.”
“ Ugh, you are such a dick!” Eddie grumbles but he holds Richie’s face in his hands and looks at his eyes. “Now your eyes are all red, fucknuts. You’re going to irritate them!” He looks at Bev who’s looking at them, smiling, “Bev, do you have eye drops?”
“I think I do, lemme check.” She grabs her purse from under her seat and rummages inside. “Aha! Found it. Here you go, Eds.”
He lets go of Richie’s face and takes the eye drops. “Thanks.” He holds Richie’s chin and tips his head back. He opens the cap with one hand and carefully raises it over Richie’s eyes. “Do not move or else I’ll squirt the whole bottle into your eye.”
Richie laughs throatily while holding on to Eddie’s arm like he’s going to have his teeth pulled. “Try me bitch. I’ll just blink them away,”
“Shut up. If you don’t want me poking your eye then stop squirming, I’m trying to concentrate.” He leans in closer then gently squeezes the bottle with his thumb and index finger until a drop is released. “There. Now the other one.”
Eddie squeezes the bottle one more time, making Richie jolt a little. He is wiping the excess liquid flowing down his cheek when he realizes he’s been way too close to Richie. He slowly goes back to his seat, slightly blushing. He catches Ben’s eye in the rear-view mirror which he instantly averts.
“Ugh, thanks Spagheds,” Richie says.
“Don’t call me that. And don’t squeeze shut your eyes too much,”
“Yes, yes.”
“So,” Bev interrupts, “What do you guys need at Home Depot?”
“We only need wood oil, hinges, and some screws. What about you, Eddie?” Ben says.
“We’re done with the kitchen, so I guess just paint.”
“We need a lot for the bathroom; tiles, the tub, new showerhead, a tap, shower curtain, just everything for the bathroom.”
“Okay. So I guess when we get to Home Depot we could scatter and when we’re done, we’ll meet you, Bill, and Mike in the bathroom section.”
“Sounds good. What about you, Eds?”
“I’m okay with it.” He looks at Richie.
“Sure, yeah. Anyway, I’ll be with Haystack here. Wherever he goes, I go. When he jumps, I jump.”
He rolls his eyes and listens to the music Ben plays.
Bev texts Mike the arrangement so when they get to Home Depot they grouped up and go their separate ways.
“What do you want to paint the kitchen?”
“I honestly have no idea.”
“Hm, let me give you a picture, maybe you can decide after. Your counter is going to be gray. Like, 30-40% gray.”
“Okay, I understand. Maybe we should get white for now? I want to ask Ben and Bev about designs and all since they’re the artistic ones so maybe we could have the paint for last?”
“So you don’t trust me at all in choosing paint for your house?” There’s a slight change in the tone of Stan’s voice, like teasing, even though his facial expression doesn’t change that much.
“You’re so full of shit, Stan. I know what you’re doing.” He smiles at him. Stan chuckles.
“Yeah, better we stick with white first. What about you find inspiration on the internet? Look for designs on Pinterest. I’m sure you can find something that you want in there.”
“Alright,” he fishes his phone out and starts typing keywords. He follows Stan around while Stan picks up what they need. He shows him pictures of various kitchens every now and then and when they finally decide on a kitchen they want, they text the others for their location.
“Hey guys, are you done with what you need?” Mike asks them.
“Yup, we’ve got a bunch of white paint and Eddie wants a little off white for the cabinets so we got this Antique White color. And this sealer for the countertop.”
“Yeah, I still don’t know what color I want the house to be. Sorry, guys.”
“Don’t worry, Eddie. White’s a good color. It’s clean, bright, and simple. Also, it makes the interior look larger than it really is. And you can pair any color with it, we just have to find the one you want.”
“I’m thinking about earth colors? Maybe olive or any of the darker greens? For the whole house, I mean. Not just the kitchen or the bathroom.”
“Yeah, sure. We can work with that.”
Richie and Ben appear a bit later just as Eddie shows Bev and Bill, then finally Ben, the design he wants for the second bathroom. They get to work after that, looking for the tiles similar to the one Eddie shows them. An hour and a half later, they all walk out with several carts in tow and a receipt that would probably make Sandra pull her hair out but hey, she offered to pay, right?
“We’ll be b-back again when it’s time to change the floorboards and p-paint the whole house, right?”
“Of course. And Sandra’s credit card is still at our disposal so we can do whatever we want, but maybe just not as expensive as the tub. I’m sure she’ll wring my neck if she sees another $2000 for a single item in the bank statement,”
“Sure. Unless you want to buy a french-door fridge, I think y-you don’t have to worry about the prices being too expensive.”
“Let’s eat before we head back! My treat,” Eddie offers.
“Oh no, you don’t. You’ve already spent way too much today, let us take care of the food for once.” Mike counters.
“It’s fine! Let me pay for it!”
“Just pay for it next time, ‘kay?” Richie winks at him. “We got this. Or they got this. I don’t have my wallet in me today.”
“You don’t have yo-- oh my god, what if we accidentally left you behind? How the fuck are you going home, you fucking goldfish?!”
“I have my phone with me so I could call one of you suckers to come pick me up.”
“What if you lost your phone, you cock?! How? How are you gonna get home?!”
“Then I’ll use my dashing good looks to hitch a ride back to Derry. Fucking easy, give me a hard one, Eds!”
“That’s not the fucking point! I bet if your dick isn’t attached to your body you’re going to forget it somewhere.”
“Well good thing it’s attached to me, right?”
“How did we get from offering to puh-pay for food to dicks?” Bill interjects.
“You’re asking as if you don’t know how these two could magically transform any conversation into a stupid argument.”
“R-right, why did I even ask.”
“Okay. Ben and I will take the check today, and you all can fight for the next one.” Bev says triumphantly.
“Bill and I will take the next,” offers Mike.
“Then it’ll be me and Patty,” Stan says, “Following the logic, you two can pay for the food after us, then it will go back to Ben and Bev.”
“Guys that is so not fair! You all are literally doing free labor, let me at least pay for the food!”
“Dude, you pay for everything already! Flipping a house is expensive, Edsters. How much did you, I’m sorry, Sandra pay today?”
“Over $3000,” Eddie purses his lips. He’s losing this battle and he doesn’t like it.
“See that’s an insane amount of money for a single trip and we’re not even done yet. Your friends are fucking loaded, let us pay for the fucking food, Jesus. It’s just food. We’re not offering to buy the house from you.”
“Richie has an excellent point, Eddie.”
Eddie scrunches his eyebrows at them, looking narrowly at Richie. “Fine. But I still don’t like it. I’m bothering you all so I should be paying for everything.”
“You already did that. Now it’s our turn.” Mike says.
“I hate it when you’re all right.”
They drive again to the nearest restaurant they could find that has good food (and a high Yelp review, Richie, you can’t just pick a restaurant for their food. You have to consider the cleanliness of the place, Jesus. I don’t want to get food poisoning from whatever restaurant you pick. Gimme back my phone or I’ll push you out of this truck and you can hitchhike you way back to Derry!). Bev texts Mike when they finally, finally picked a place; a mom ‘n pop diner called Lucy’s.
They pick a circular booth and Richie and Eddie rush to see who gets to sit in the middle (Eddie). Stan rolls his eyes and sits beside Richie. Bev sits beside Eddie and soon they are all seated.
“Guys, you’re almost forty. Stop behaving like you’re children.” Stan scolds them.
“Don’t look at me, it’s Richie. He elbowed me on the way inside and told me if he wins I’d have to drink a milkshake with maple syrup in it.”
“And you believed him?”
“No, I want to be in the middle, that’s all,” Eddie answers as a matter of factly.
Their waitress, Mandy, comes and takes their orders and after twenty minutes of waiting, their food arrives.
They talk while they eat, mostly about the stuff they’re doing outside of renovations; Stan with his demanding clients from next town, Bill with his latest book now finally on its way to printing, Mike with their new cattle on the farm, Ben with his new designing project for an elderly couple’s retirement home, Bev with her photoshoot, and Eddie with his incompetent co-workers.
“What about you, Richie? What’s new with you these days?”
“Caleb is officially in first grade!” He announces as he picks up a fry and dunks it on mayonnaise. Eddie grimaced at the sight.
“Wow! Congratulations, man.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Finally! I was getting worried you both forgot to enroll him.”
“Great!”
“Who’s his homeroom teacher?”
“Did Sandy cry already?”
“No, but I did. His teacher’s name is Dockery. I don’t know her, probably didn’t grow up here. They’re gonna start on the first Monday of September.” He takes a sip of his milkshake then continues, “Thanks guys. I really appreciate your enthusiasm for him. Not gonna lie though, even I don’t believe it sometimes.” Everybody gives a shrug or a sound of agreement leaving Eddie confused because he has no idea what they’re talking about. He doesn’t ask.
They talk and talk and eat some more until they’re all full and Richie can’t move anymore from all the milkshakes he’s consumed the whole time. Ben helped him up and they’re back in the truck in no time, driving back to Derry. It took 15 minutes for Richie to fall asleep this time and it took 80% of Eddie’s willpower not to shake him awake because sleeping when you’re full is bad. But he still has 20% left so he pinches Richie’s side to wake him up. Richie grunts and snorts but doesn’t wake up. He’ll try again in a few minutes.
The drive back to Derry is quiet, pleasant even. Richie doesn’t snore that loud, the air is hot but bearable when they don’t slow down, he’s full, and Bev is playing soft songs from her playlist. It’s a good afternoon.
“Eddie, hey. Honey, wake up, we’re home.”
He groans, and rubs his eyes. They’re in front of the house. “Where’s Bill and the others?”
“They’re on their way, they just bought something,” Bev whispers.
Eddie tries to look around, then he realizes he’s been lying on something. He looks up and sees Richie’s face, soft with sleep, above him. He has been sleeping on Richie’s lap with his hand resting on his arm, making sure Eddie’s comfortable before going back to sleep himself. Like when they were kids
He slowly peels himself off from Richie’s lap and runs his hands down his shirt, smoothing any imaginary wrinkle. He looks at Bev who’s watching him from the rear-view mirror.
“How long have I been sleeping? Where’s Ben?”
“We just got here, don’t worry. You fell asleep a few minutes after you tried to wake him up. He just opened the gate.”
When they get inside, Ben and Bev immediately get off to unload the truck so he’s stuck with waking Richie.
“Richie. Richie, hey,” he shakes his shoulder gently. “Richie. We’re here.” He tries tapping. “Richie!” Nothing. Out of options, he tries pinching him lightly.
“Ugh, what?”
“We’re home,” he says.
Richie slowly blinks. He looks exhausted.
“Hey, you’re here,” he slurs. Still half asleep, Eddie decides.
“Yeah, we were all out.”
Richie reaches out to run his fingers on Eddie’s jaw. “Miss you so much, Eds,”
“What do you mean? We’ve been inside this truck for hours.”
“Why’d you leave me, Eds? Waited for you, wan’ come to you,”
“Richie, I...” he trails off as tears fall from his face. The fuck?
“Don’ leave me ‘nymore,” he slumps back to his seat, snoring faintly.
Eddie looks around, watching out for Bev and Ben or any of his friends. Finding none, he leans forward, resting his forehead on Ben’s headrest. He wipes his tears away and climbs down the truck.
The seven of them finish up early.
They put all the things they bought inside the house, prepared the things they are going to do tomorrow, and soon they’re locking the house.
Eddie, not in the mood to socialize after what happened earlier, waves goodbye to his friends and drives back alone. He buys a microwavable meal (and ice cream) from Don and Adrian’s and goes straight to the townhouse. He eats his food, spends 5 hours making a report from his latest client’s portfolio, takes a shower, and spends 45 minutes in bed, wide awake.