Title//Reddie

Part 16. Wednesday, August 14th.

Bev and Stan head to a local diner, that Bill happens to work at, for their first attempt at a date.
"I heard the food here is good" Stan said as they sat down in the booth closest to the door.
  "Oh. Cool" Beverly responded.
Stan didn't know what to talk about. Beverly wasn't interested in birds or funny stories about his bar mitzvah. Was there anything Stan liked that Beverly liked too?
  Beverly didn't know what to talk about either. Stan wasn't interested in plays or poetry. Was there anything Beverly liked that Stan liked too?
"So the weather...." Stan started, but the weather had been kind of neutral. It wasn't necessarily good or bad. "It's been... having"
  "Having what?"
"I don't know" Stan sighed.
  "I think the weathers.... having too" Bev awkwardly agreed.
   "Nice" Stan said.
After going through a million possible topics, and not liking any of them, Beverly decided to do what they do in movies. You know, romantically look into your partners eyes.
Beverly looked over at Stan, trying to put as much romance into her stare as possible.
But Stan didn't stare back.
  He seemed too interested in one of the waiters to even notice Bev.
  "Hello! How muh-may I t-take your order?" Bill asked.
"Hello Billiam" Beverly teased "Can I have a cheeseburger with fries and a strawberry milkshake?"
  "Of c-course!" Bill pretended like he didn't know them, his boss was watching.
  "Can I have the house salad please?" Stan, politely, asked.
"Coming r-right up!" Bill exclaimed before leaving to go put their orders in.
"House salad? Be careful, you'll be full for days" Beverly teased.
Stan looked down, the floor suddenly seemed really interesting.
"I know. Old habits." Stan said, referring to a past eating disorder.
"Oh I-" Beverly started, she felt horrible.
"It's fine, you didn't know" Stan reassured the fumbling girl.
"Sorry" Bev apologized.
She scanned her brain for anything to change the subject, but her mind remained blank.
Stan scanned the diner with his eyes, looking for a certain waiter.
He found Bill over in the corner, helping a teenage party of two. God he looked perfect. Perfectly friendly his brain suggested.
Beverly saw Stans eyes, engrossed in Bill, and she could tell Bill was wrong. Stanley did not like Beverly, no matter what he said. There was no chemistry, no spark, no crush. If they broke up, he would probably be more relieved than disappointed.
But Bev had learned her lesson with Richie, she wouldn't meddle in Stan's personal affairs. She wouldn't ask him if he liked Bill, if he wanted to say then he would. But Beverly couldn't be in a long relationship that's doomed to fail. She could have entertained Stanley for long enough if he was truly crushing, but he looked miserable around just her. They both wanted out of the relationship, but how to get to that conclusion? Stanley was obviously trying to be involved with Bev, she appreciated the effort, but couldn't generate a spark. He would never be the one to back out. But Bev didn't want to hurt his feelings. Both options seemed horrible. She could either
-1. Stay in a bad relationship, where both involved parties are not happy, until it falls apart.
-2. Break up with Stanley, all breaks ups hurt no matter what, and he'll be incredibly sad.
Both options seemed horrible.
Wait wait wait Beverlys mind screamed at her what if you can get him to break up with you.
She could definitely do that. She was a nice girl, but if needed, she could annoy the hell out of someone.
"Stan" she called "I don't like birds. I think they aren't real. They've been replaced by robots"
"Well that's just stupid"
"Birds even before the replacement were fucking stupid" Beverly pushed Stans buttons, just waiting for him to explode.
"You're fucking stupid" Stanley replied, starting to get a little wound up.
"Also, Richie's jokes are funny. " Bev lied "you just get offended too easily"
"Hey Bev, it's not just a joke you realize that?" Stanley attempted to reason.
Beverly understood, but she had to keep going.
"You're a snowflake. His jokes are hilarious. You're just super sensitive" Beverly began to feel horrible.
Stanley's eyes welled with tears.
"Why are you being so mean?"
"Because it's true."
"We're over" Stanley said as he grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the diner.
Beverly sighed in relief.
She felt horrible about what she said, but it worked. He broke up with her.
But their friendship might have taken a hit that day too.