gay ➳ reddie ✓

37

Saturday. July 4, 1987

Richie really had to applaud himself for his work. His plan to steal alcohol from Steve's cabin was foolproof and was to commence in less than an hour.

Meanwhile, the losers were gathered around in the center of camp where alleged fun was promised to them. Jonathan and Nancy were leading a game that really just consisted of all the kids throwing water balloons at each other and well, Bill could think of a dozen things he'd rather be doing. He stood near Stan who was awkwardly avoiding participation at all costs, like always. He smiled.

"Would it kill you to have a little fun e-every once in a while?" Bill winked. The rest of the gang was around them, laughing and chatting amongst themselves with the occasional balloon tossed back and forth.

"If I can recall, we were having fun this morning before we were interrupted by your empty stomach." Stan whispered in response.

Bill blushed, "Can't help the f-fact that I'm human."

"But y-you wouldn't know a thing about that," Stan was laughing.

"Whatever, this game is pointless. I mean what do we gain from smacking each other in the face with balloons?" Stan crossed his arms. "Nothing."

"Lighten u-up," Bill poked Stan's hip. "After this, Richie's gonna snag the beer and we can go back to our dorm to cuddle. You won't n-need to play anymore games. I promise."

Stan thought to himself for a moment, tapping his chin. He had his mind made up seconds before but he wanted to see Bill sweat.

"Fine," Stan smiled, picking up a random balloon that was on the grass at his feet. He closed his eyes and threw it as far as he could. Smiling, he opened them only to see Bill holding back a laugh.

"What?" Stan questioned. "Did I hit someone?"

Bill pointed six feet away to the purple balloon that hadn't even been thrown with enough force to pop.

"Fu-" Stan groaned, "I suck!"

Bill frowned, reaching out to caress his boyfriend's hand but soon stopping himself.

"It's okay, b-b-babe. You don't have to play." Bill shrugged it off.

"No, no." Stan shook his head, picking up another before throwing it, this time with his eyes trained on the first person he could see. A second later, Richie screeched.

"Uris, what the fuck!" He yelled, wiping his glasses with Eddie's sleeve.

"Hey!" Eddie complained, wanting nothing more than to go back to his dorm, completely dry and unharmed.

"Bill told me to have fun." Stan shrugged, innocently. Beverly was snickering at them all. Ben and Elle were laughing too. 

"You know what this means?" Will joined in, green balloon in hand. Eddie winced, knowing what would happen next, he ducked behind Richie, who was still trying to dry his lenses. 

"Fuck," Stan managed to mumble out before someone was shouting bloody murder and balloons began to fly. Bill scavenged the ground for any stray balloons, making it his mission to belt anyone who hit Stan in the process. The losers were all screaming, Richie taking the lead in firepower as he threw balloon after balloon in any and all directions. Mike was second in command, actively avoiding any contact with Elle or Beverly, though as to ensure their safety. Eddie and Will were playing out a scene on the ground dramatically, after Eddie was struck. 

"No! Keep your eyes open, soldier. Stay with me, now." Will shouted in a stiff voice, applying pressure to Eddie's faux chest wound. 

"I-I can-t do it. Tell my m-mommy I-" Eddie's body went limp and he stuck his tongue out. 

"No!"Will screamed, drawing attention to the group but everyone else was too busy attacking one another to care. Will vengefully picked up a balloon and marched over to the person responsible. 

"Beverly, how could you?" Will spat. Elle was laughing, dodging balloons left and right while Beverly glared at Will, jokingly. 

"William, it had to be done! He was a spy!" Elle joined in on the game. Will gasped. 

"He was my greatest fighter! You must pay for this betrayal." Will shouted before reeling his arm back and throwing the balloon with full force. The balloon flew straight at Beverly and she yelped, waiting for the cold water to hit her. She felt nothing. Seconds later, she heard Will fall backwards, gasping. 

"I've been hit!" Will shouted, looking confused but going with the flow regardless. He couldn't remember seeing a balloon in either of the girl's hands. 

Beverly opened her eyes, looking at Will who was playing out his death a few feet away while Elle was struggling to stay standing. 

"Elle!" Beverly, ran to help her. Stan ran over soon after and then the rest of the gang realized something was wrong. 

"G-give her air, back up." Bill said, pushing Richie back a few feet. Will was off the ground now, holding onto his sister's hand. Eddie was watching from a behind the crowd. 

"Elle, are you okay?" Ben asked. The girl nodded, waving off the boys around her to go back to the game. 

"Your nose," Beverly muttered. "It's bleeding, again."

"I'm fine, just a little tired." Elle said, asking Beverly to walk her to a bench. 

Once Elle had time to rest and drink water, it seemed as if nothing had happened. She was soon back to good health and was able to dance freely with Beverly while the boys continued their game of water wars. 

Stan stepped off the field to sit with the two, growing tired of the game very quickly. 

"It's crazy isn't it," Stan spoke up, the two girls turned to him with questioning gazes. "How they paired us all up."

"The cabins, I mean." Stan twiddled his thumbs. "Whether or not any of us were friends before camp, we all seem to be getting along." Stan watched Bill run around, as he spoke, a small smile on his face. 

Beverly looked at Elle for a second. "I guess we all got pretty lucky," Elle shrugged. 

"Yeah," Stan smiled. 

"You and Bill seem like really good friends. Did you ever talk before this?" Elle asked. 

"Never," Stan admitted. "I knew who he was, I mean of course. Who doesn't know stuttering Bill. But I never tried to talk to him. That's what's sad to me. He's like my best friend and I went through so many years without him in my life."

"It sounds like maybe you care more about him than you let on," Beverly smirked. "I mean you two did have that smokin' kiss." 

Stan blushed, she had no idea. 

"No," He chuckled. "Nothing like that." 

Honestly, he was surprised that more people didn't know about him and Bill. The only ones who had any real confirmation were Will and Eddie, and it was only because of movie night. The pair just wasn't ready to share that with everyone. 

"Could've fooled me." Elle raised an eyebrow at him. Their conversation was cut short by Richie who ran over to them, shirt wet and hair askew. 

"Steve just came out to cover for Jonathan, the cabin is empty," He rushed, but Stan was distracted by Bill who was walking towards them with a smile. "It's time!" 

//

yikes, im sorry for not updating in over a month. I suck, I just struggled a lot with delivering this chapter. I know what I want to do with the next chapter but I was having a hard time getting the filling out before we go into it. 

excited for chapter 38 though :) hope you are too but yikes who remembers when I used to update every day wtf

i didn't even update my other stories bc i wanted this one to be first since everyone's been asking but tbh the others were on my mind a lot more

also: I changed my mind ;) 

-kat

3/4/18 1:43 pm