the sun comes up and I’m all washed out

“Yeah,” Richie said after a generous moment of thought. “Yeah that sounds great.” He smiled to Dan and kicked himself for not playing it cooler. But fuck it. Either he and Dan would really connect and Richie might follow him on Facebook or he’d never see him again. What could it possibly hurt?

Dan could see Richie's wheels turning. The truth was, Dan didn't know exactly what he was doing, just that he felt drawn to Richie and felt like they were meant to talk more. ❝Okay, good.❞ He said with a gentle laugh. ❝I was afraid you might leave me hanging.❞ He nodded toward the door.

The hand on his shoulder felt like Bill. Richie followed him out of the church, like he would've followed Bill anywhere. Richie couldn't explain that either, no more than he could explain why it felt like Stan or Bev or Mike, too. Why Dan's height reminded him of Bill and Eddie and Bev. Why Dan's eyes reminded him of Mike and Bill and his frown like Ben.

He couldn't explain why he didn't feel on edge when Dan spoke of him being 'taller than he thought'. Thought when? Maybe when he was talking, but... that didn't seem right. And Dan didn't seem like a fan. The fans that always said that anyway. That was Richie's first thought, those fans that underestimated his height for some reason. But it didn't feel that way. It felt like home.

What the fuck was he talking about?

"Yeah--" Richie moved to take a hard swallow of the bad coffee. Just a little too hot to be doing so with. He ignored it. "I get that a lot." His voice was raspy for a moment before it neutralized again. "You lived here long? Seems small. Not that that's bad. I came from a small town, too. But it was... not great."

And if all that were true, he shouldn't have been here now. So how was he?

When Eddie finally got up, he headed toward the closest road. Did he know where he was going? Not yet, but it would do some good to get back into the heart of town in order to get grounded. He knew the date of when he and the Losers had come back, so finding out the date right now seemed to be the smartest play.

The cement under his feet once he climbed up to the road was a comfort, and Eddie took a moment to just stand still and take in a breath. When he did, he could smell something. Except something inside him was telling him it was someone. How did that make sense?

His eyes moved to stare down the direction of where he knew the smell was coming from, and way in the distance he could see someone. And it looked like they were coming toward him. Without thinking too much about it, as if instinct were leading him, Eddie started walking toward the person, squinting just a bit to try to make out any details. Honestly, he probably shouldn't have been able to see someone from that far away, anyway.

Then shouting it until he was close enough to get a better look at him. That dumb, stupid, clueless face. He felt his chest heave and he reached out, grabbing Eddie around the shoulders, hugging him fiercely and not much caring that Eddie smelled. And he smelled. But at least Eddie had an excuse. Rich was just.... breaking, not taking care of himself. His beard had grown in, not just the usual five o'clock shadow because shaving too close irritated his skin. He didn't like having too much of a beard, it was just as annoying.

But there were bigger things at stake.

"Eddie," Richie was crying, holding Eddie tightly and almost too afraid to let him go. But he had to check. He had to make sure it was really him, dammit and not the clown and not a zombie or something else...

He held Eddie at arm's length looking for any sign of otherness. Of something wrong.

“I travel for work a lot, so…” Richie shrugged and smiled a bit. He didn’t want to go into it, but Danny seemed nice. And there was an undeniable draw Richie had towards him. He didn’t think he was mistaking it for anything…

Dan looked down at his cup when the subject came back to him. It was his turn to avoid eye contact. He'd never been so good at talking about himself, despite speaking up in AA often. ❝Getting close to 10 years. Hard to believe.❞ He laughed gently, feeling old at the thought that it had been a decade. God. ❝Hit rock bottom when I was in my thirties and have been climbing my way up every day since.❞

“Yeah,” Richie said after a generous moment of thought. “Yeah that sounds great.” He smiled to Dan and kicked himself for not playing it cooler. But fuck it. Either he and Dan would really connect and Richie might follow him on Facebook or he’d never see him again. What could it possibly hurt?

…

Maggie couldn’t blame Sharon for not wanting to let her youngest leave the house again. It was terrible, and the whole town was on alert. But things were terrible everywhere. Not just in Derry, Went would remind her. Lately, Maggie would start drifting off, doing the dishes or having a smoke. It seemed worse lately. These kids disappearing…

So Zack was at work and Sharon had to take Bill to see Wentworth for an annual dentist appointment. Sharon had nearly canceled not being able to get their usual babysitter. But Sharon was a little hesitant to hire a teen at the moment. Maggie had volunteered. Sharon and Zack needed all the help they could get. Thank God little Georgie was found, even if not entirely well. He seemed the same little boy he’d always been, but Maggie knew he had to have nightmares. No one could come out of that unscathed.

“Georgie, what do you want to do today?” Maggie smiled to the sweet little boy, who she only ever remembered being happy and hanging on Bill whenever they were together. Her eyes behind contacts couldn’t help but glance at his missing arm. Poor dear. She promised Sharon he wouldn’t be out of her sight for a second.

"Come over here," Maggie said, motioning to the couch and sat down, smiling gently and patting the seat. "Tell Miss Maggie what's wrong."

Richie half listened to the others, a little too in his own thoughts, debating endlessly on if talking about Eddie and Stan was a smart idea or not. No, he needed to. He could never be entirely truthful at these meetings. At least not now. He had to try as much as he could.

He clapped at the end, nearly missing the cue, and when it was over he headed to get coffee. The blond guy that reminded him of Ben spoke up.

"I figure if the coffee's good, the world's over and we can all start drinking again." Richie joked, lifting his eyebrows and pouring himself a cup anyway. Stupid handsome like Ben too. Richie could only try not to make too much of a fool of himself. He looked at Dan for maybe a moment too long, then shook his head. "Sorry. You look like a friend of mine. Kinda. In a good way. Just--" Except that wasn't the entire reason why his thoughts were lingering with Danny. There was something about him. Something Richie couldn't exactly see. He stuck out his free hand.

His eyes lifted again when Richie mentioned he looked like a friend. He heard things like that sometimes from people, that he “looked familiar”. He supposed it had something to do with the shine. Maybe a way for them to make sense of why they felt the comfort that Dan often tried to extend — like a nice lingering pat on the back or a warm good cup of coffee.

❝You don’t have to apologize.❞ Dan smiled, genuine and a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. This man’s thoughts were loud. He tried not to pry into people’s minds without their permission, but this man’s thoughts were kind of coming at him anyway. Part of them anyway. Other parts were tucked away behind a very, very solid wall. Almost as if he were doing it on purpose. Perhaps he was.

“I travel for work a lot, so…” Richie shrugged and smiled a bit. He didn’t want to go into it, but Danny seemed nice. And there was an undeniable draw Richie had towards him. He didn’t think he was mistaking it for anything…

When Richie's eyes fell on him, Dan realized that he was feeling the same thing. He listened to Richie carefully, sensing how difficult that had been on him, extending as much comfort as he could manage from a distance. That was very brave. He thought toward Richie, but didn't say out loud.

Once the meeting had wrapped up, Dan lingered near the "refreshment" table, like he often did to talk to people or help clean up. He knew that he would end up speaking with Richie from the moment he'd seen him, so he wasn't surprised when he looked to his left and saw him.

Richie half listened to the others, a little too in his own thoughts, debating endlessly on if talking about Eddie and Stan was a smart idea or not. No, he needed to. He could never be entirely truthful at these meetings. At least not now. He had to try as much as he could.

He clapped at the end, nearly missing the cue, and when it was over he headed to get coffee. The blond guy that reminded him of Ben spoke up.

"I figure if the coffee's good, the world's over and we can all start drinking again." Richie joked, lifting his eyebrows and pouring himself a cup anyway. Stupid handsome like Ben too. Richie could only try not to make too much of a fool of himself. He looked at Dan for maybe a moment too long, then shook his head. "Sorry. You look like a friend of mine. Kinda. In a good way. Just--" Except that wasn't the entire reason why his thoughts were lingering with Danny. There was something about him. Something Richie couldn't exactly see. He stuck out his free hand.