freaks of nature - stenbrough

-4-

(A/N): sorry for not updating. i've been at gym comps all day! here's this angst/fluff. i hope you enjoy!
unedited

——

The entire next week of school had been exhausting, but having the losers there with him made it bearable. Stanley was thankful it was Friday...that was until he returned home.

"I'm home!" Stanley called.
"Stan, honey, come in here!"

Stanley followed his mother's voice into the living room. He gripped his backpack straps tight and when he entered the room, he saw both his parents sitting on the couch together.

"Is everything alright?" Stanley asked.
"Sit down, please," Donald answered.

Stanley put his school bag on the floor and took residence on a nearby chair.

"Apparently you've started hanging out with that Denbrough boy," Andrea frowned.
"Bill?"
"Yes," Donald said, "you know what they say about him."
"What do they say?"
"Don't play dumb with me, son. You know he's a mutant," he whispered 'mutant' as if the word was taboo.
"And what's so bad about that?"
"He's dangerous," Andra crossed her arms, "and we don't want you getting hurt."
"He's not like that."
"We can't know that for sure."
"You're going to ban me from hanging out with my friend?"
"That's exactly what we're doing," Donald replied.
"There have also been whispers that you've been seeing that Beverly Marsh," Andrea added.
"We're just friends. What'd Bev do? What's so bad about her?"
"She's only hanging out with you to get in your pants," Donald said.
"What the fuck!" Stanley yelled, standing up, "you know those are only rumours, right?"
"Watch your language."
"No, I fucking won't. You have no right to talk about them like that!"
"We don't want you hanging with them and if you don't, you're grounded."
"Unbelievable," Stanley scoffed.

He picked up his bag, slung it's over his shoulder and stormed out the front door, completely ignoring his parents protests. His blood was boiling. He couldn't believe that his parents would say such things about his friends As he walked down the street, anger filled his veins. His hands were clenched tight around his backpack straps. Stanley just kept walking, unsure of where he was going. His mind was clouded with thoughts moving at lightning speed. He loved his new friends and wasn't going to let his parents change they, but did they really think mutants were bad? Do they really think that sleeping around makes you less of a person (even if it isn't true)? The false image he'd had of his parents being accepting of everyone had been in fact more false than he once thought.

After a while of blindly walking he made it to a junkyard...since when was there one in Derry? He had no idea, but he didn't really care. He looked around making sure there was no one there with him. All the wires to the security cameras had been cut and no one was driving past. He screamed. Screamed as loud as he could, letting his power flow out of him. Cars flipped, the fences bent, what was left off the cameras scrunched up and the dustbins twisted so much they split in half. The air pulsed around him as he collapsed to his knees. A sob was ripped from his throat as tears filled his eyes. His raw palms bled and he pressed them into the rocks below him.

Stanley wasn't sure why he was so upset. Maybe because he'd never warmed up to people easily. It took a year for him to even trust Richie fully, but these people were different. He'd known them for two weeks and was already completely ride or die. The losers where like no one he'd met before and he was absolutely heartbroken that his family didn't approve.

——

Bill sat bolt upright in his bed. Something wasn't right. Something in the junkyard on the edge of town. Someone there was breaking down, he could feel it. He jumped out of bed and bolted downstairs.

"Going out, I'll b-b-be home s-soon!" He called to his mom as he sprinted out the front door.

He hopped on Silver, his bike, and pedalled as fast as he could towards the junkyard.

As he got closer the air became tense. His bike began shaking and the second it did, he knew instantly who it was. Stanley. He jumped off his bike and abandoned it on the side of the road, somehow knowing that if he went any further it would crumble beneath him. He swears that he has never ran that fast before. Bill ran like his life depended on it. He ran into the middle of the junkyard to find all the metal either twisting, bending, being crushed or shaking. He looked around for Stanley, to no avail.

"Stan!" He called, "Stanley!"

It grew more intense, meaning Stanley could hear him. A car flipped in the distance meaning he was close. Bill headed towards it. As he turned for the corner, he spotted him. Stanley was on his hands and knees crying heavily. He could see blood by his hands and everything around him shaking. The air grew more dense as he neared Stanley.

"Stan," he said a bit quieter, not to startle him.

Stanley didn't answer. He just rested his head on the gravel and sobbed harder. Bill tried to access his mind, but he couldn't. He wasn't strong enough. Stanley was using almost all the power he had making his gene take over and shut off his mind from Bill. The air almost pushed him back as he tried to near closer.

"Stanley," Bill called out for a final time.

Stanley looked up and noticed the boy trying to make it over to him. He let out a sigh and everything stopped. The air cleared, the fences stopped bending, the cars stopped flipping and everything stopped shaking.

"Bill," he cried out, weakly, "why are you here?"
"I c-could tell s-something was wrong."
"How?" His voice was hoarse.
"I...don't know. It's n-never happed b-b-before."

Bill walked a bit closer and crouched next to him. He held out his hand and Stanley lifted his own from the gravel. He placed the back of his hand on Bill's palm. Bill inspected the cuts and grazes. There wasn't much he could do. All he did was close Stanley's fingers over the cuts and kissed where his fingernails met his skin.

"Wh-what happened?"

Stanley explained they conversation with his parents, wiping a few tears. Stanley moved so he was sitting down with his legs out in front of him slightly bent. Bill sat in the small space between Stanley's legs and pulled him into an embrace. He didn't car that Stanley's palms were bleeding onto his shirt, he just wanted him to know he wasn't dangerous. Bill would never intentionally hurt anyone, let alone Stanley. Bill wasn't sure how he was able to sense him breaking down...maybe his mutation knew something that he didn't. He shook it off and just stayed in the moment. Here. With Stanley.