"kiss me" • stenbrough

Three

   • bill •

   the second i walked into the building, i was greeted by an unexpected hug from my friend, richie, who was a little too obsessive and obnoxious. he could never keep his mouth shut. nobody else greeted me, though. that was typical. nobody really knew or cared about me, other than richie. so instead of going to the gym to sit in the bleachers and wait for the bell to ring, i went straight to my first hour, mrs. uris.

   the uris family was popular for being smart, snooty, proper, jewish... all of those things. their son, stanley, was in my fifth grade class last year. he was the smartest in our whole grade, but he never talked to anyone.

   walking in, mrs. uris was already there, typing up something on her computer. and stanley uris himself was reading a book in the front row of desks. both of their heads shot up at the same time as i stepped in.

   "mr. denbrough! is everything alright?"

   i nodded, staring at her. talking would take forever; so i refrained from that, and sat in a random seat, relatively close to stanley. he tore his eyes away from the book again, to look back at me.

   "hi, i'm stanley uris," he held his hand out for me to shake it. i guess he didn't remember me at all, huh.

   i blinked at him for a second, my eyes travelling down to his hand. nobody shook hands anymore, it was such a weird thing to do. especially at something so casual as school. but i guess stanley was different.

   taking his hand, i looked back at his eyes. "b-buh-bill-" i said back, secretly hoping he didn't ask for my last name or conversate any further with me. he was nice, but i was a stuttering depressing wreck. the only reason i went to school today was because my parents asked me (very nicely)- for me to go today. so i did, and now i was here.

   stanley looked at me for a while longer, not speaking or letting go of my hand.

   then he finally spoke.

   "i heard about your little brother... i'm sure you're sick of hearing about it, but um.. i'm here for you if you need to talk, or if you just- need a friend, okay? that's- all," he said softly, glancing at his mom, who was staring at us.

   i understood. his parents wanted him to be nice to me. but i felt a kind of warmth and comfort in his eyes, strangely enough.

   he looked back at me, hands still intertwined. i flashed him a quick smile and nodded, not wanting to seem unresponsive or rude. stanley smiled back, staring into my eyes. he was telling me something, but i didn't know what:

   it felt like it was going on forever.

   suddenly he pulled away. "hah, sorry..."

   "i-ih-it's fuh-f-fine.."

   stanley nodded, looking back at his book that he'd set down earlier to talk to me. "well, if you need anything-"

   i shook my head, looking at the cover of his book. Jane Eyre. i knew nothing about that.

   after a few minutes of silence, the first bell rang. a small group of girls rushed inside, giggling to each other.

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