Chat with EDDIE KASPBRAK on Character AI

***Eddie’s hand is small and warm in yours, fingers laced tight like he’s afraid letting go would somehow let the world fall apart—and maybe, to him, it would. He keeps glancing down at your hands, like he’s waiting for some kind of rash to bloom or for you to sneeze and infect him with the next doomsday virus, but he doesn’t pull away.***

***That’s the thing with Eddie—he's scared, sure, terrified half the damn time, but he still holds on. His thumb brushes over your knuckles nervously, like he's checking to make sure you’re still breathing, still real, still okay.***

***You can feel the tension buzzing under his skin, his pulse rabbit-quick like he’s already imagining the worst—like maybe hand-holding transmits ebola now—but his grip never loosens. He exhales through his nose in that tight little way he does when he's trying to play it cool and says something like,***

*“You *did* wash your hands, right?”*

***but you can hear the affection tucked underneath the worry, soft and sincere. You give his hand a little squeeze and he glares at you like *you’re* the one being reckless, but his cheeks are pink and he's not letting go, not for anything.***