freaks of nature - stenbrough

-12-

TW: murder, seizures, abuse, ptsd

——

Stanley and Bill had been locked in a cell together. Stryker had been sick and tired of them causing so much damage, so he decided to keep them together while they made Stanley a room without any metal. Bill didn't even remember being put in there. All he remembered was waking up and seeing Stanley asleep next to him. He didn't want to talk to him at the moment. He wasn't even quite sure what had happened before he fell asleep, but he didn't want to have to deal with Stanley asking him questions.

Bill sat with his back against the far wall. Stanley was sitting across the room. Neither of them had spoken a word since they woke up.Bill rested his head against the wall behind him as he stared into nothingness. He didn't feel the way he normally felt with Bill. There were no butterflies and his heart wasn't racing. He just felt empty and numb, almost like he was dead.

"How d-do you kn-know her?"
"What?"
"Betty. H-how do y-you know her?"
"She was my girlfriend when she went missing."

Bill looked over to Stanley. He noticed a tear rolling down his cheek, but still, he didn't feel anything.

"Do you st-still like her?"
"No...yes...no...I don't know. I thought she was dead and I tried to get over her. I thought I had, but seeing her just brought back a whole lot of emotions and memories I didn't know I had anymore."
"Were y-you ever going to t-tell me that you don't l-like guys."
"Were you only my friend because you wanted to get with me?"
"No. I was your friend because I wanted you to love yourself. I saw you destroy that street! I read your fucking mind, Stan! Do you think I always had control over my mutation?"
"You...you didn't stutter."
"No, I didn't. Do you al-also think I always h-had a stutter?"
"I don't know...I just assumed you did."
"I was f-fine until th-they took me."
"They did more than just that...didn't they?"

Bill didn't answer. He shut his eyes and looked down. He lifted his knees to his chest. Tears of his own slowly made their way out from his eye lids and down his cheeks. For the first time since he woke up, he felt something, but it wasn't a nice feeling. The pain and hurt the MHA had caused him was all he could feel. The guilt, the loss and the aching. All the emotions he'd kept bottled up for years were spilling out all at once and he couldn't control it. He opened his eyes and looked back over at Stanley.

"How d-do you kn-know that?"
"I don't know. I can just...feel your hurt. I don't know how to explain it...maybe it's the same thing as you knowing I was upset even though I was across town or across this god forsaken building. I just know they did something to you that you've been keeping in for too long."
"Y-you wanna know wh-what it was?"
"Yeah. I want you to know you can trust me."
"Were you ever g-going to tell me about B-Betty?"
"I didn't think it was important. What'd they do to you?"

A sob Bill was trying his hardest to keep in fell from between his teeth. He rested his head down on his knees and let the sobs keep escaping.

"Bill?"

"Okay, Bill. I want you to find his frontal lobe, disrupt it and then put it back," Pennywise instructed.
"M-my mutation doesn't w-work like that."
"Do it or we'll kill your little brother."

Bill looked at the small boy across from him. Ed Corcoran they said his name was. He was only four. Bill closed his eyes and focused on his mind. Despite not wanting to hurt him, he didn't want to lose his brother. He found Ed Corcoran's frontal lobe. He focused as hard as he could, managing to disrupt one neurone. Bill opened his eyes to find Ed convulsing. Bill jumped to his feet and backed away. None of the agents moved. They just watched him.

"Put it back."

Bill tried to focus, but he couldn't. Ed's mind had closed itself off from him.

"I...I c-can't, it's n-not w-working!"
"Put it back!"
"R-roll him over! C-count h-how long h-he's c-convulsing for! He's going to die!"
"That's on you, not us."
"You made me d-do it! I didn't w-want t-t-to!"

Pennywise ignored him and left the room, leaving Bill alone with a seizing Ed Corcoran. Bill bent down and rolled him over. He began counting how long he was convulsing for. Soon he stopped and Bill felt his neck for a pulse. He felt nothing. He frantically reached for his wrist and left his fingers there for a few moments. He still felt nothing.

"No no no no no no no!" Bill cried, "I'm so s-sorry."

Bill rolled him into his back and began attempting CPR despite his first aid knowledge not being great. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he begged Ed to wake up. After what felt like an eternity, Bill gave up. He rested his head on Ed Corcoran's chest and sobbed.

"I'm so sorry, I d-didn't mean t-to."

Stanley stood and walked over to Bill. He slid down the wall next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling Bill out of his memory.

"Whatever happened wasn't your fault."
"I w-wish I could b-believe that."
"What do you mean?"

Bill sniffed and took his head off his knees. He held back his sobs and was about to attempt to explain what had happened, but then he remembered their conversation in the junkyard. He remembered what Stanley had told him about his parents calling Bill dangerous.

"I can't t-tell you."
"Why not?"
"Y-you'll think I'm d-dangerous, l-like your mom d-does. I d-don't want you t-to be scared of me."

Bill turned his head and faced Stanley. Stanley glanced down at his lips for a second before meeting his eyes again.

"Stan," Bill whispered.

Stanley moved his hand that wasn't around Bill and placed a finger under Bill's chin. He glanced down at Bill's lips, leant in and kissed him. Bill was taken aback, but didn't hesitate to kiss back. Their noses brushed each other's as they deepened the kiss. Bill cupped Stanley's face. His hands slowly snaked around to bury themselves in his soft curls. They pulled away for air and they both left their hands lingering on each other. Their eyes widened and they realised what'd just happened. Bill couldn't read Stanley's expression as he didn't really want to. He didn't want to know what was going on in his mind.

"Bill-," Stanley started only to be cut off by keys fumbling in the door lock.

They jumped away from each other, Bill pressing himself further into the corner as Stanley moved basically halfway down the wall. The door opened and Betty was there with Stryker behind her.

"Stan, your room is ready," Betty gave him a sorry smile.

He didn't respond. Stanley just stood up and walked over to her.

"Jesus, Stan, you look like shit," she stated, teasingly, "did something happen?"
"No," was all he said.

Stanley turned and put his hands in the air. Stryker cuffed him and pushed him away from the room. Betty smiled at Bill before shutting the door and locking it. Bill lifted his hand and let his fingers linger on his lips were Stanley's lips were a few moments ago. He had never been anymore confused, but so in love in his entire life. The numbness and aching he once felt had been wiped out by the butterflies that had been lost. Bill smiled and rested his head against the wall behind him. Bill didn't care about the mixed signals. Stanley kissed him and that's all that mattered.