butterflies // stenbrough

~ Stan ~

Stanley Uris looked over his bag for the fourth time.
    "Toothbrush, toothpaste, socks.." He muttered to himself while crossing items off his packing list.
"Now honey, are you sure that you have everything?" His mom asked.
"Yes!" He triumphantly crossed the last item off his list "I am all ready."
"You know" She smiled as she walked over to her son and gently put a hand on his shoulder "I'm really proud of you for taking this initiative. I'm glad you decided to be more active this summer. Plus I know you've always loved being a camper at Eagle Eye."
"Thanks mom" He smiled, knowing her words weren't really true. It wasn't initiative or wanting to be more active, he wanted to pay for college. The Uris's weren't a poor family. Donald Uris was a successful accountant and Andrea Uris was on the city council. But Stanley was a smart kid, and he had Ivy League potential. And small town budgets don't cover Ivy League potential. His parents could pay for most of it, but he wanted to start saving up money so they wouldn't pay for all of it and nearly go bankrupt. Otherwise he never would have taken a job at a summer camp.
His mother look disapprovingly into his bag
"Why so many sweaters? You'll be sweltering."
He immediately tensed up and looked down at the white fabric covering his greatest secret. Well, one of his greatest secrets.
"It can actually get kind of cold down there." He lied "Richie said it would be especially cold this year."
"I don't want you hanging out with Richie" Andrea frowned "I think he's a bad influence"
"Why?" Stan asked, but he knew why. Every parent in town thinks Richie's a 'bad influence' because of the dumbass rumours. It was part of the reason Stan kept his secrets to himself. Every parent loved him and he didn't want that to change. Some things are better left unspoken.
Andrea sighed "Well I think you should be off soon! Wouldn't want you to miss the bus."
"Yeah I'll head out" Stan grabbed his bag and headed for the door.
"Wait!" His mother exclaimed "One last hug before you go."
"Fine" Stanley succumbed to his mother's tight arms. There was no use in fighting her, if she wanted a hug, she got a hug.
"Now you can go" She stepped aside so Stanley could pass through the doorframe.
He stepped out the front door with a groan. He really didn't want to do this fucking camp. A month with little monsters pawing at him and bugs everywhere was Stanley's personal idea of hell. Honestly, he did enjoy his days there as a camper. But counselling was completely different. For one, campers don't have to manage eight other campers. He was only looking forward to the bird watching, it was better near the lake and far from Derry. Derry was like a black hole, swallowing hopes and dreams and the birds did not want to be part of it. The only cool birds Stan had ever seen in Derry were a murder of crows. There were so many of them, flying in perfect formation. Flying out of Derry. What he would have given to be one of those birds.
"Hey!" Greta yelled from inside the bus.
"Huh?" Stan didn't realize that in his weird bird dreams, he had gotten all the way to the bus.
"Are you going to get on or what?" Greta barked.
"Um yes" Stanley stepped onto the bus, hanging her his ticket.
He scanned the bus with his eyes. Richie was sitting all the way at the back beside Eddie, with Ben and Beverly right across. Mike was on the bus too but he was chatting it up front with some girl Stanley recognized from homeroom last year. Everyone was sitting with someone. A young girl in the front with a ponytail and red nail polish eyed him up and down, giggling, she whispered something to the tall boy sitting beside her. They both erupted in fits of laughter while side eyeing the boy at the front who was awkwardly looking for any place to sit. His eyes fell upon a empty seat, more or less in the middle of a bus. He practically ran towards it, making sure no one could see him for another second. He felt so embarrassed. They hadn't even gotten to camp yet and he was already being judged by the campers. He pulled out his Walkman and put on his headphones, hoping they could distract him from the side eyes he was still getting from random campers on the bus.
'The Show Must Go On' by Queen was blasting in his ears and he found it comforting. He always loved Queen.
"I l-l-love Queen!" He heard a voice beside him say.
He paused his Walkman and turned around to see the cutest guy he had ever seen in his life. He had soft brown hair, slightly wavy. The kind of hair you'd see and just immediately want to run your hands through. His hair complimented his dark brown eyes, the color of a polished violin. He was wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts but it worked. Stan could not take his eyes off him, he was beautiful.
"Um sorry?" Stan asked, too busy staring at his face to comprehend his question.
"Your muh-muh-music" He clarified "I could k-k-kinda hear it thr-ru-rough your Walkman."
"Oh yeah, I love Queen too." Stan smiled.
"Do you muh-mind if I sit?" He asked.
"No, of course not" Stan said.
"So I c-can't?" He looked confused.
"No you can!" Stan said "I don't mind."
The boy laughed a little and took a seat beside him.
"I'm Stanley Uris."
"Nice to meet you S-S-Stanley" He smiled "I'm Bill Denbrough."

///
Hey! Writer here. That was the first chapter, how you guys feeling about it? All feedback and all comments 100% welcome <3