///

oh          ,          sweet     apothecary          .               ♡     

self     -     imposed     hangover     is     an     angry       drumbeat     against     richie’s     skull     as     he     ascends          ,          slow     and     sluggish     and     so     obviously     ill     it’s     almost     𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒚       ,          up     the     stairs     towards     eddie’s     apartment          &          ultimately          ,          it’s     the     thought     of     the     disapproving     mien     behind     the     door     pushes     him     up     those     last     few     hurdles          .          (          imagine     his     surprise     upon     their     first     reunion          ,          more     tears     and     gasped     greetings     than     actual     vocables          /          stab     of          longing     and     yearning     and     love          only     just     started     undoing     its     tight     knot     in     his     ribs          ,          but     sight     of     wide     brown     eyes     sent     him     toppling     right     over     the     precipice     all     over     again          .               )          he     knocks     a     rhythmic          ,          lethargic     beat     into     heavy     wood          (          shave     and     a     haircut          ,     two     bits          )          that     precede     a     𝘨𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭     𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯     and     a     careless     slump     against     the     front     door          .               ❝               eds          ,          baby          — — -               ❞               he’s     𝐭𝐨𝐨     𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫     𝐭𝐨     𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞     about     how     fond     that     last     word     sounds     as     it     pours     from     his     mouth          ,               ❝               tell     me     you     have     advil          ,          or     neurofen          ,          or     somethin’          .          i’m     dyin’     out     here          .          remind     me     never     to     let     people     peer     pressure     me     into     drinkin’     again          .               ❞

he’s been up for a while now, body clock having him out of bed by 8 a.m. & coffee in his hand 30 minutes later. it’s a simple routine, a lot simpler that the one he still practiced when he first arrived in castle rock. the only medicine he’s taking now is some vitamins with a glass of low-sugar orange juice. it’s nice. he should be used to richie’s visits by now, but that knock seems to always catch him off guard. when it happens, he’s mid sip of coffee & is clumsily trying to avoid the spillover. “hoooo -- FUCK ! hot, hot, hot,” a string of curses rings out & he grabs a paper towel to wipe the dripping coffee off his fingers; then heads towards the door. “good morning to you too,” eddie drawls after opening it, eyes taking in a washed-up richie. “you’re a fuckin’ idiot, i hope you know that,” & he should just close the door in his face, maybe THAT will make him stop drinking, but he’s ushering him in as he speaks. “literally no one told you to drink that much. sit down. i’ll get it for you.” 

@bullshitkaspbrak​ / for eddie kaspbrak !

              𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐒 but bill might have loved eddie kaspbrak the most. they had always been friends since the beginning and in those endless days after georgie was gone , it was eddie who helped him refocus his grief into something tangible , in as simple as helping fix up a shoddy bike too big for a boy . bill saw all of the losers as family , but eddie sometimes filled that vast void that georgie left . 

with stan , richie , eddie , and him all at castle rock  — bill had began to wonder whether it was all coincidental , or if there were higher forces at work . and of course , bill had his theories but he couldn’t bring them up , not yet , as to avoid unearthing trauma and past hurt that they all wanted to leave behind until the time IT  would return .  “ my birthday isn’t until january , you know ? so if you , richie , and stan are trying to pull a surprise birthday party for me by being all here , consider yourselves busted , ”  well, that was one way to make sense of things even if probably, superbly wrong .  “ but seriously , how a-amazing is it that we’re all here ? it’s like —   ”  a venus flytrap attracting its preys with its sweet nectar before devouring them ? “  — a perfect example of fate. ” 

“dude, i wish we were as creative as that.” truth be told, eddie doesn’t know how they’ve all ended up in the same place. they’re in the middle of fucking nowhere maine, so the chances shouldn’t be THIS high. but, this wasn’t derry. IT didn’t infest these sewers, which meant they were safe. so, this couldn’t be caused by anything bad. “my car broke down here, & i just decided to stick around.” that was the short version. the longer one involved eddie going through a three-day long panic attack of not knowing what to do. he probably would’ve turned tail & run home, but it wasn’t long before he’d stumbled upon richie. he was unavoidable, really. eddie’d heard him yelling down the street one day & the two had stuck back together like velcro ever since. “an oaths an oath,” eddie answered, holding up his scarred palm for bill to see. “maybe we’re all s’posed to stick together.”