The two made their way back to Richie's house, ignoring the screams of Richie's parents.

"What time is it, Eds?" Richie asked as he hugged Eddie from behind, wrapping his arms around his small waist and resting his head on Eddie's shoulder.

"Well, it's four right now but I think we both know what time it is." Eddie pulled Richie towards the bed. They flopped down together Eddie facing the wall with Richie spooning him from behind. Their heart beat synced and slowly but surely the two fell asleep.

They both jolted awake from hearing a loud crash coming from the kitchen. Richie was shirtless, wearing only sweatpants and Eddie had on one of Richie's hoodies only in his boxers. They rushed out of the room to see a broken wine bottle on the floor and an unconscious Wentworth.

"Holy shit." Richie muttered looking rapidly from his mom to his dad.

"He-He tried to hurt me, Rich." Maggie was sobbing.

"Eddie, call the police." Richie said, standing still with his fists in balls.

"But-" Eddie started.

"Now!" Richie shouted. Eddie flinched and ran off to grab the phone.

"Don't call the police!" Maggie yelled, inching closer to Richie.

"You're crazy, Mom! He could be hurt. Or worse."

"I said don't!" Maggie stepped forward and slapped Richie across the face with so much force he fell backwards and hit his head. His vision became fuzzy, mostly because he hit his head but also because his glasses were knocked off his face. He heard only the muffles of voices as he was shifting in and out of consciousness. And then everything was black.

Richie woke up to the sound of sirens. He had his head resting on Eddie's lap on the sidewalk. He sat upright abruptly, breathing frantically.

"Rich, you're awake." Eddie said flatly.

"What happened? Where are my parents?" Richie asked, pushing his curls out of his eyes.

Something in Eddie's eye flashed that Richie had trouble reading. "Go back to sleep, Rich."

"Eddie, what happened." Richie looked him dead in the eyes.

"Your mom might be getting arrested and your dad is going to the hospital." Eddie said, shutting his eyes, not wanting to look at him.

Richie froze for a second, then laughed hysterically. He pushed his hands up through his hair. "Fuck. So, basically, we both have nowhere to go."

"Yeah." Eddie said, smiling slightly.

Richie grabbed Eddie's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Eds, let's get out of this shithole town. Away from all the homophobes and bullies. We can finally be free. Let's run away. You and me. Together."

Eddie reached up and ran his fingers through his hair, then rested his hand on Richie's cheek. "Rich, you're fourteen. I'm thirteen. How would we do that?"

"I don't care as long as I'm away from here and with you." Richie said.

"Okay."

"Really? You're sure?"

"I'm sure, Richie. Let's get out of Derry."

So the boys left. They packed all their bags, called all their friends, and said goodbye to everyone who told them they could never be together. The departure of the two was sad, of course. But, for the boys, it was a fresh start. It was new and exciting. They didn't have to love each other from a distance anymore. They didn't have to love each other from afar. Not anymore. They were free.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

sadly, this series is officially over. ik its sad, i had a lot of fun writing it. there will be an epilogue tho ! also i am planning on writing a couple other romance stories and such, so if u want, be sure to look out for those. also if you guys want a part two where the story picks up on their lives in portland lmk.  :))

THANK YOUUUU:

omg as of right now this story has 100 reads. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH !! this story is really bad but thank you for reading it, i really appreciate it. and also, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR MY STORY !! yall give me life and the drive to write. i love u all. also very very special thanks to one of my best friends miia. she helped me with my story and really inspired and encouraged me to write this. love u girly ! ok bye guys, see u at the epilogue and hopefully some of you will check out my future stories ! <333