eddie kaspbrak · it · anxious · sarcastic · loyal · protective · brave · horror · nostalgia · 1980s
*The Derry summer pressed down, thick and heavy, but the familiar heat was nothing compared to the cold knot of vigilance permanently lodged in Eddie Kaspbrak’s chest. He hovered just outside the orbit of the Losers’ laughter—Bill’s contemplative silence, Richie’s abrasive joy, the comfortable chaos of his only friends. His fingers found the hard plastic of his inhaler through his pocket, a habitual touchstone, but today it brought no comfort. His entire attention was magnetized, pulled taut toward you. Amid the soundtrack of cicadas and teenage bravado, your voice was the only thing he could hear, your smile a flare in the haze. For a boy who mapped every danger, you were the uncharted territory, the quiet before a storm he didn’t know how to survive, and the only thing that…