gone boy. reddie

02| GONE BOY

"First when there's nothing but a slow glowing dream. That your fear seems to hide, deep inside your mind. All alone I have cried, silent tears full of pride. In a world made of steel, made of stone"

-Irene Cara

(What A Feeling, Irene Cara) 

"Why are you acting weird, Bill?" Stan questioned. The two of them had just gotten ice cream and they sat outside on a small beat-up bench. Bill hadn't even made eye contact with his friend, he was too upset to talk. A part of him was confused by Richie's words, 'the only reason Stan's helping you is because he's in love with you'. Bill never felt this confused in his life. He didn't pay much attention to the Stan part, he was still stuck on the part about Georgie and Eddie being dead. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't. Ever since he lost Georgie, Bill clung onto the idea of finding him perfectly safe and bringing him back home. With Eddie being gone, he felt like he was slowly going insane. Every good thing in his life was being taken from him. 

"Th-they're alive," Bill finally spoke up. The comment was mostly to himself. He needed reassurance but he knew it wouldn't really make him feel better. "They are a-alive. I know they are," he went on, "they can't be d-dead." Stan rested his hand on his friend's shoulder and just gave him a small nod. Bill frowned. If they were alive, where were they? Were they being tortured? Were they living life? Were they just complete strangers to Bill now? Were they just apart of his memory now? If they were out there, did they need him?  

Bill threw his ice cream to the ground and jumped up. He carried his feet away from Stan and he was on his way to find the two missing people that belonged in his life. Stan was more than confused but he picked himself up and followed after Bill. "What's going on, Bill?" he asked, a concerned look washed over his face. "You're freaking me out." 

"I'm s-sick and tired of everybody be-being nice and covering up the tr-truth," Bill didn't look back. He kept his stare on the road in front of him. Facing Stan would calm him down, but Bill didn't want to calm down. He wanted to find Georgie. He wanted to find Eddie. He wanted to find himself. Nothing made sense to him.

"Henry isn't nice to you," Stan tried to comfort the boy. Now that he thought about what he said, it didn't seem so comforting. Stan scolded himself before grabbing Bill's arm and turning him around. 

"H-Henry doesn't c-count as everybody," Bill exclaimed. 

"But everybody is everybody," Stan pointed out. "Who do you count as everybody?" 

"Everybody counts a-as the people I c-care about," he stated, yanking his arm from Stan's grip. "It counts as y-you, Bev, B-Ben, and M-Mike. The only person who isn't n-nice is Richie. Maybe he told me th-the truth. I don't know any-anything anymore." 

Stan's eyebrows raised at the boy. "What's wrong?" he asked. "What's going on? Did something happen?" 

"N-no, everything i-is fine. I can't d-do this right now," Bill pushed past Stan. "I gotta go f-find Georgie and E-E-Eddie." A small sigh left Bill's lips. All the pieces started coming together for Stanley and he frowned at his friend. 

"Will you wait a minute?" Stan questioned, pulling Bill back once again. "What's wrong with you?" 

"Why are y-you so n-nice to me?" he avoided the question. Everything Richie told him was starting to get to his head. Did Stanley love him? Was Georgie dead? Was Eddie dead? What was what? He felt like everything was spinning. His breathing increased while he waited for Stan to answer his question. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Why are y-you nice to m-me, St-Stan?" 

"Because you're my friend, Bill. Why would I not be nice-" 

"I-is that all I am to you?" Bill asked. Did Richie lie? If he did, Bill would feel embarrassed. His cheeks grew hot but that was mostly because he wanted to cry. His eyes were wide as Stan stood there in shock. 

Stan wondered if Richie told him anything. He was left speechless. He knew he couldn't respond with the wrong answer. "Well..... yeah, you're my best friend," Stanley answered. 

Bill just shook his head and began walking again. "None of th-this is worth it." Not only did he just make a fool of himself in front of Stan, he was still searching for two people who could be gone forever. He didn't know what he was doing. 

"Will you slow the fuck down and talk to me for five minutes?" Stanley took a deep breath while jogging up to Bill. "What happened? Just talk to me, Bill. You know you can talk to me." Bill just shook his head. Stan grew impatient and stood in front of him. "Talk to me." 

"I can't sl-slow down, Stan. I need to find Georgie and Eddie, o-okay? Do you even th-think they're a-alive?" he finally snapped. Everybody in the losers club has had their breaking point, besides Bill. As Stan stood in front of him with a look of worry, he realized that Bill had finally reached his own breaking point. "O-or do you help m-me because y-you feel sorry for me?" 

"I.." 

"Just tell me the tr-truth, Stan," Bill's voice cracked. "Please tell m-me the truth. Do you think th-they're alive?" 

"I don't know," Stanley said. "I truly don't know. Maybe or maybe not. I don't know if Georgie is alive. I don't know if Eddie's alive. I don't know who's going to go missing next. All I know is that if nobody helps you, you'll be by yourself. And if you're by yourself that means you could end up just like those kids and I can't have that. If you went missing, Bill, I don't know what I would do." 

Bill stared at Stan in awe. He just nodded his head at Stanley's words and let out a small huff. The two of them didn't know what to say. It wasn't awkward but they both knew something was changing. The way they looked at one another slowly began to change. There was no hug, no physical contact, or no eye contact. All there was, was a different feeling and a spark of something new. 

"Let me walk you home?" 

"Okay," Bill responded quietly. 

A/N: I have no idea as to what I'm doing. 

I had to add in Stenbrough because why not? The two of them together just works so well, plus I adore them so much. 

Anyway, what do you guys think? I've been trying to do better. 

I hope you guys have a good day and night. 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo