There's just something so incredibly calming about driving down a highway late at night. No other cars on the road, completely silent if it weren't for the slow song playing on the radio, thinly blanketed in static, the stars appearing so bright without any buildings or streetlights to interfere, the moon so full and iridescent, seeming to follow you out the window as you drive. The calmness that this can make you feel is nearly unmatched.

Eddie eventually driftedoff into one of the most peaceful sleeps he's ever had, head leaning against the window and arms crossed over his chest, the ghost of a smile still on his face. Richie drove through the night, knowing he needed to make this moment last as long as he can, hoping that this feeling, this glorious calmness, could last forever. And as he drove, he genuinely started to believe that maybe, just maybe, it really could.

He pulled into a gas station just as the first hints of sunrise started to show over the horizon. He topped up the tank, the hazy buzzing from the neon lights overhead filling his ears, making him suddenly aware of how tired he was.

He paid the cashier who, as far as he could tell, had been working non-stop for the last 48 hours, and was on the verge of death from exhaustion, and headed back to the truck with two coffee cups in hand.

Eddie came to just as they hit the road again, seeming a little confused as to where he was for a moment, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Where are we?" he yawned. Richie shrugged"

"Well, we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto, I'll tell you that much," he picked up one of the coffees from the cup holder, holding it out towards Eddie. "Here, sorry it's just black, I didn't know how you liked it."

Eddie closed both hands around the cup, holding it close up to his face so he could feel the warmth coming from it.

He shuddered when he took a sip.

"Ugh that's awful, what's in yours?" Eddie had grabbed Richie's cup out of his hand before he could do anything about it and replacing it with his own.

"Mmh, better, I'll have this one."

Richie let out a shocked laugh. "Did you just take my fucking coffee?"

"You made mine really shitty! No one likes black coffee!"

Richie took a sip of the coffee now in his hand and screwed up his face.
"Oh, god, that's bad. I want mine back," he tried, but Eddie shook his head, giggling. Richie put his cup down and tried to grab at Eddie's, while still trying to focus on not crashing the car. Eddie squealed and turned his body in the seat so Richie couldn't take it from him.

Richie slumped back in his seat, pouting and sighing dramatically.

"You're really pushy in the morning, you know?" he said, trying to look upset but failing to do so, and eventually cracked a smile.

"You love it, though," Eddie replied, relishing in his own victory with a smug look on his face.

'Yeah, I do,' he thought. "You want breakfast? I know a place that does the best hotcakes."

"I thought you didn't know where we were?"

Richie just grinned and winked at him, and kept driving.

By now the sky had transitioned from the dark, starry blue of night to the vibrant orange of dawn, the clouds reflecting pinks ad reds and purples, the trees and the hills around them only silhouettes against the brilliant hues. It seemed almost like it was just for them, that the world was presenting them with their own personal light show, one that far outranked anything that humans could achieve.
And then it was over, the sun rose higher and the sky turned a content shade of blue, and it was nice, it was content, and familiar, but it wasn't breathtaking.

About an hour later they pulled up in the near empty parking lot of a rather outdated roadside diner.

It seemed quite out of place, there had been nothing for miles and then suddenly, this, just like a mirage you would see in the desert, surrealand almost dreamlike. Eddie felt it might disappear at any moment.

But Richie pushed open the door and the place came to life, and they could hear the sounds of idle chatter between patrons, Bowie playing on the jukebox, delicious smells wafting from the kitchen behind the counter.

Theysat down at an emptybooth across from each other, and when the waitress glided over to ask what they wanted they both ordered coffee and a plate of hotcakes.

"Can I just ask, babe, when you said 'best hotcakes in the world,'did you really mean 'most slightly below average hotcakes in the world'? Because if not, then I really don't know what to tell you."

They were about halfway through their meal, Richie on his second coffee, Eddie feeling rather unsatisfied in whole about the food. He had decided after the first bite that drowning it it maple syrup might make it more appealing, and had had soon regretted that choice, because now it was sticky and way too sweet and still kinda gross. Richie didn't seem to mind the taste.

"Oh yeah, I totally lied. I've never eaten here before in my life."

"How did you even know it was here then?"

Richie shrugged. "Took a guess. Knew we would come across something eventually."

Eddie looked slightly bewildered.

"So that's how you live then? Just making blind guesses and hoping it's right without having any idea?"

"It's worked for me so far," Richie smirked, and then shovelled another forkful of food into his mouth. Eddie was disgusted, but couldn't help himself from smiling.

Back in Derry, their friends were still gathered at Bill's house, in his room, having waited up all night for the phone to ring. They had already had to cover their asses with Mrs. Kaspbrak, Stan calling to say that Eddie was staying the night at his house, and it had worked out okay, she was rather fond of Stan because he was clean and polite and quiet and offered to wash up whenever he came over for dinner, but they all knew she would be suspicious if he was away for another night.

When the phone rang they all jumped and lunged for it. Beverly managed to snatch it and held it up to her ear, the rest of them crowding around trying to hear.

"Eddie? Eddie is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me Bev."

Bev breathed a sigh of relief, then her tone switchedfrom desperate to stern.

"Eddie what the actual fuck are you doing? Where are you?"

Eddie was standing at a public payphone outside of the diner, with Richie sitting on the hood of his truck, listening intently.

"I'm fine, we're at some restaurant on the interstate."

Mike grabbed the phone from her.

"Hey Ed, how's life on the road treating you?" Bill promptly whacked him over the back of the head and took the phone.

"Eddie, p-put Richie on."

Eddie held the phone out to Richie and he slid off his truck and half-joggedover.

"Hello this is Mr Tozier, whom may I ask is calling?"

"RICHIE, YOU F-F-FUCKING IDIOT."

Beverly yanked the phone back.

"Richie, you need to drive him back here right now, this is ridiculous."

"What are they saying?" Eddie asked. Richie covered the receiver with his hand.

"They're saying I should bring you back home." Eddie gestured for him to hand the phone back.

"Guys, he didn't kidnap me, for fuck's sake, I left."

"Eddie you're not thinking.What about your mother? Are we supposed to just tell her that you're sleeping over every night?"

Eddie shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll call her, tell her the truth."

"She would have the fucking police tracking you down, and you know it!"

Stan grabbed the phone.
"Eddie, seriously think about this, okay? You're out there with no clothes and no medication and no money. How do you think this is going to turn out?"

"We'll make do."

"EDDIE."

Beverly took the phone back, annoyed at the fact it kept getting ripped out of her hands, and stood up so no one else could.

"Eddie, is this really what you want to do?"

Eddie paused.

Did he?

He had been so caught up in the thrill of it all, of doing something spontaneous and exciting, that he hadn't really taken the time to think. The whole ordeal was outrageous, that was obvious. It was so unlike him. He had always prided himself of considering every consequence of a situation, of being cautious and clean and routined. And sure, he had loosened up a little since he was younger. Things that used to scare him half to death, public bathrooms, large dogs, mud, (basically anything that would bring germs), were now less of a phobia and more of an inconvenience, he would still avoid them if he could but if he couldn't, then he managed.

And now, all of a sudden, here's this stranger who he held hands with, even with no evidence he had washed them recently, with a dirty truck that he rode in and slept in without ever feeling the urge to vacuum it first. A stranger who he kissed, and put his hands through his hair, and who sang to him and gave him botched dining recommendations. And who he ran away with after knowing him for four days, like in some bad romance novel.

Did he really want to do this?

But then Eddie looked up at Richie.

Richie, with his thick-frameglasses and untamed hair and a constant playful smirk on his face, lanky and ghostly pale, with dark circles under his eyes and a voice that could lull anyone to sleep. Richie, who he had been willing to drop everything and leave for in the blink of an eye.

"Yeah, it is."

Richie's eyes lit up as the words left his lips.

Beverly closed her eyes.

"Okay."

Everyone else in the room freaked.

"Beverly, what the fuck! He needs to come back!" Stan said, pulling at his own hair in frustration. Beverly ignored them and kept talking.

"Eddie, if you're ever in trouble you need to promise that you'll call us, okay? And- and we'll come get you, no matter where you are, got that? Do you promise?"

"I promise, Bev."

"Put Richie on."

There was a shuffling sound as the phone was handed over.

"Hello?"

"Richie, I need you to listen, got it?"

"I'm listening."

"If you do anything at all that puts him in more danger than you already have, I'll never forgive you for it. He's going to want to go along with everything you say and do, so don't do anything stupid. And the secondthat he says he wants to come back home, you turn that fucking truck around and you bring him right back, you hear me? No fucking excuses."

"Yes, ma'am. Understood."

"Don't fuck this up, Tozier."

She hung up, the four boys staring in stunned silence as she put the phone down.

"S-s-so what, you j-just let him g-g-go?"

"He's not a kid, Bill. If he wants to go then there's nothing we can do."

"It's Eddie, for crying out loud! This Tozier's got him acting like a moron!"

"So he'll realise that on his own, Ben. Guys, we know he's not an idiot. He's just acting on a high, and soon he'll come down and he'll be back home."

"And you trust Richie?" Stan asked.

"Yes," she said, tilting her chin up just slightly, "I trust him. And yeah, if he messes up then I'll beat the ever-loving shit out of him, but still, I would trust him with my own life and I trust him with Eddie."

The others seemed to backdown after this. She had the tendency to be right about a lot of these sorts of things, so if it was okay with her, it was okay with the rest of them.

Richie had walked off somewhere to smoke as Eddie dialled his mother's number.

"Hi ma. Yes, I'm fine. No, nothing's wrong, I'm- look ma, I've – No. I'm fine. It's just that I'm not gonna be home for a while- I can't tell you where I- Yes I'm safe- No. No. Yes. Ma it's fi- I'm just gonna be away! It's fine- I don't know. Yes. Yes. Yes! Mommy please- I promise I'm not- No I haven't been abducted – You don't know him, ma- yes. No- I swear – Ye- ma!"

This went on for some time.

It took nearly twenty minutes, and several quarters, but by some miracle he managed to convince her that he was genuinely okay, and she didn't need to call in a SWAT team to come rescue him from some drug-lord's caravan in the middle of the desert.

"Bye ma, I love you – Yes I'll call – I promise. Okay – love you, bye."

He hung up the phone with a huff.

"We in the clear, love?"

Two arms wrapped around Eddie's waist, and he could feel Richie's breath on the back of his neck.

"Mm, I think so. But maybe keep an eye out for any search helicopters." He felt Richie's chest rising and falling against his back, and he spun around to wrap his own arms around his neck.

Richie leant in to kiss him but stopped when he saw people glaring at them through the diner windows, and suddenly felt overwhelmingly unsafe.

"Not here, babe." his voice turnedto stone. Eddie tried to turn and see why, only catching a glimpse at the door starting to open, and the waitress that had served them only half an hour earlier with an unexplainably terrifying expression, and he knew instantly it was intended for them.

They separated and walked to the truck, feeling the eyes of the patrons inside burning through them like red hot iron. It was a jarring reality check for the both of them. Before, they had been blissfully oblivious, stuck in this perfect snow-globe they had built around themselves. But now there was a chip in the glass, and it was small, and they could ignore it for now, but it was still there. And chips tend to lead to cracks.

While what happenedmade himfeel shaken, it had an effect on Richie that Eddie couldn't quite place. Back on the road he seemed to return to normal, singing along to the radio and drumming his fingers on the steering wheel just as he had before, but there was something wrong now.His eyes moved too quickly, his smile just a little too big to be genuine, his hands quivering, so slight thatit was almost unnoticeable, but Eddie saw it, and the sight anchored itself in the pit of his stomach.

They didn't stop again until nightfall. Richie pulled over on the side of the road, next to a fence around a field with knee-high grass. The air was hot and dense, so they decided they would try to sleep in the cargo tray. Richie grabbed a thick blanket he had stored under the passenger seat and laid it out on the back of the truck, then helped Eddie up. It was warm enough that they didn't really need anything to cover them, so they just lied down, Eddie resting his head on Richie's arm, their legs entangled with one another's, looking up at a diamond-studded sky that seemed to go on forever.

"Are you okay?" Eddie asked timidly after about ten minutes of quietbetween them.

"I'm fine," he replied, "why?"

"It's just – you know what other people think doesn't matter, right? Like, about this? About us?"

"I know," Richie's spoke slowly and uneasily, though he tried his best to hide it, "I know, it's just, I think I forgot about that stuff, you know? I forgot that most people don't understand this, us, and then, back there, it's like it came flying back in my face and I wasn't prepared for it. And it scared the shit out of me, Eds."

Eddie nodded and buried his face into Richie's chest. His shirt smelt like mediocre hotcakes and cigarettes, and Eddie realised that should have disgusted him, but it didn't.

"You okay?"

Eddie hummed a short note of agreement and closed his eyes.

Richie kissed the top of his head and closed his own.

"Babe?" Eddie yawned, seconds away from falling asleep.

"Yeah?"

"Don't call me Eds."

Richie stifled a laugh and pulled him in tighter.

"Whatever you say, love."