" LIPSTICK " + STENBROUGH

[42]

"get a fucking room already, jesus," richie mumbles, frown settling on his freckled face. he's leaning against the locker beside beverly marsh's, arms folded over his open hawaiian shirt and white tee underneath. his hair hangs in messy curls over his forehead, kissing the tops of his coke bottle glasses' frames, fingers grazing the small freckles that dot his biceps.

"i think they already have," mike says quietly, chuckling to himself. he wears a led zeppelin t-shirt that hugs his toned stomach, the colors bringing out the bright gold flakes in his dark eyes.

"we're just holding hands, richie. what's so wrong with that?" stan asks.

since their talk, bill and stan have decided to take things slow. it starts this morning when stanley picks bill up for school—it's raining, which is so surprising in derry, and stan offers to give bill a ride so he doesn't have to take his bike, which he gladly accepts—and he kisses bill on the cheek as he gets into the car. and now, as they are waiting with the other losers after last period, the two are holding hands. it's weird, bill thinks, because their relationship has always been private. they've always been this touchy and close, but never in front of anyone else, and all of the stares from their peers is very new to bill.

"he's just in a bad mood because eddie is sick, don't take it personally," ben tells stan with an uplifting smile. bill had wondered where the tiny boy had been, missing his 'shut up, richie' and 'do you know how many germs are on that pen?' comments that he always adds.

"when eddie's sick, he goes into fucking quarantine," richie says. "and it fucking sucks because i can't even kiss my boyfriend. and now here you two are, all happy and in love, rubbing it in my face!" richie slumps further against the locker, frown deepening.

"he does realize him and eddie are the two biggest culprits of pda in the school, right?" stan says, but directs the question at bill. bill simply laughs.

"let h-h-him sulk; i-it's not like he an-and e-ed-ed-eddie spend eh-every suh-second together or anything," bill says, causing the others to laugh. well, besides richie, who glares.

"fuck you," richie says, but there's a slight upward curl to his mouth that makes bill believe he enjoyed that comment.

"when did this whole arrangement happen anyway?" mike asks. "you two finally get your heads out of your asses and work it out?"

"t-this weekend, officially," bill says, cheeks flushing a rosy pink. he finally has stan as his boyfriend, for real, and it's the most amazing and peculiar thing bill has every truly experienced. stan releases bill's hand to put his arm around his waist, pulling the boy in and pressing his lips to the top of his hair. bill lets his head rest on stan's shoulder. beverly watches the two fondly.

"i should probably go," ben says. "mom wants me home to help make valentine's decorations for her classroom. richie, wanna come over and see eddie?" the lanky boy lights up, posturing straightening and smile wide.

"fuck yeah. see you, losers." he winks and salutes, as he back pedals down the hall and towards the school doors. he stumbles and bit, slipping slightly as he turns and walks facing forward. ben kisses beverly softly, before following richie to his car.

"someone please tell me how richie and eddie are so ridiculously infatuated with one another, yet they bicker like an old married couple?" mike asks, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder.