" LIPSTICK " + STENBROUGH

[40]

not at all what i planned for this, but enjoy regardless!

"c-could i sit here?"

bill denbrough doesn't know who he expects to be asking the question, with such hesitation that bill's heart almost snaps in half. there aren't many people who would want to sit with their group, honestly. bill blames richie, mostly, and his damn mouth for offending nearly everyone in their grade. so, maybe bill should have seen it coming, heard it coming. especially when he knows that voice, like he knows the lips it drips from, better than he knows his own stuttering voice.

his hair is curled at the edges, a dark mess sitting on his head. he wears a sweatshirt that is too big—only, bill has seen it before, and it's fit fine, making bill believe he has lost a significant amount of weight over the past few months—and jeans, worn high on his waist with a belt. he has converse sneakers on his feet, tied neatly, with polka dot ankle socks on. it makes bill smile a bit. his dark eyes sit on top of even darker under eye bags, like he hasn't slept in years. this might be what surprised bill the most. it isn't the casualness of the outfit he wears, or the messiness of his hair, but the fact that stanley uris always gets the perfect amount of sleep. always.

"why, so you can tell us off for being a bunch of fags, just like your girlfriend?" richie spits, laughing bitterly. stan's grip noticeably tightens on the straps of his backpack that hangs on his shoulders. the rest of the table seems to be just as mad at stanley, because no one chastises richie for saying this, no matter how out of line it may be. bill knows it's been a rough few days for stan—his parents having visited the denbrough's two days earlier, and stanley missing school the day before—but he says nothing, keeping his eyes trained on the school pizza in front of him.

"we broke up," stan says, quietly. "i-i shouldn't have ever gone out with her, and if i had known she would be so rude when my dad set us up, i never would have agreed to it."

"it doesn't excuse her behavior," eddie says, narrowing his eyes slightly. the boy sits under richie tozier's arm, hunched over a physics textbook, highlighter in his small hand, studying for a test. "or yours. could've broken up with her after the first day."

"then they would have found out sooner," stanley said. "i didn't want to risk it."

"what are you talking about?" beverly asks, eyebrows drawn together. she looks the least angry out of the others. she looks the most understanding. stanley doesn't answer for a moment, his eyes falling to the floor. he stares at his shoes, fingers creeping to tug at his collar.

"my parents. they, uh, they found out i was gay," stan explains, voice dropping to a whisper by the end of it. he glances at the table next to them, making sure no one is listening.

"how did they take it?" beverly asks, worry crossing her face.

"kicked me out," stan says with a shrug, itching the back of his neck. "i'm going to stay with my sister. she's always been the accepting type."

without saying a word, eddie and richie scoot over, making room for stanley. it's a gesture that causes bill to smile warmly. stan drops his bag slowly to the floor and takes a hesitant seat beside eddie. his eyes fall to the open textbook on the table. he takes his finger and points to something on the page bill can't read from his seat.

"you should highlight that. i took the test for mr. mccormick last week, and that was on it," stan says. eddie gives him a smile.