quiet | stenbrough ✔️

fine, it's a date

CH. 33 | FINE, IT'S A DATE
"i never understood what love was
really like. but i felt it for the first
time looking in your eyes."
— one direction

★ 彡 IT WAS EIGHT in the morning when richie, stan, eddie, and bill headed towards richie's car. bill rubbed his forehead as if that would take away his aching hangover.

he didn't even remember much of what happened after talking to mike the night before. he did remember walking back to the others and beverly shoving a bottle of jack in his chest. and then another. and then a fucking bong that richie just conveniently pulled out of his backpack and handed to him, much to eddie's dismay.

"holy shit guys, greta was right," eddie chirped out moments later as they were only a few steps away from richie's truck. bill turned to see henry fucking bowers in the flesh, camped out in his beatdown car on the other side of the road.

bill could see three more figures in the car with him, but he didn't pay attention to them much, just knew they were there. bowers was too much of a coward to face them alone.

"you fags have a faggy sleepover?" bowers called out to them, and bill felt stanley immediately tense at the slur. bill traced circles on his back in an angle where henry couldn't see, in a way to calm stan down, knowing his temper.

"we were just leaving," richie answered back, opening the driver's door quickly and hopping in, bill doing the same with the backseat door, not looking for a fight this early in the morning. or any time in the day would be fine as well.

bill looked out his window to look at bowers' gang, but it didn't last long because they saw henry driving away.

"well that was uneventful," eddie huffed out as they watched bowers' car drive off in the distance. moments later when they were driving away, the silence had glazed over and everyone seemed to forget about bowers camping out in front of the hanlon residence.

stan scooted over in his seat to the middle seat, resting his head on bill's shoulder, and bill smiled into the touch as stan gently rubbed along bill's leg.

bill almost laughed at how different the atmosphere was from the front of the car, richie trying to smoke and drive while eddie tried to turn down the loud radio and slap the cigarette away from richie.

"my mom saw me sneak out last night," stan said twenty minutes later, out of nowhere as bill stepped out of richie's car and closed the door behind him. he watched as stan walked around the vehicle to meet bill by the denbrough's driveway, halfway from the denbrough and uris residence's.

richie had his full foot on the gas before bill could give him a sign language, thank you, but bill didn't care anyway, considering every time he did any asl with richie, richie would flip him off and tell him that meant hello in sign language. he didn't even want to question richie's humor.

"she didn't say anything but when i jumped out the window i hear her open my bedroom door. to be honest, i don't think she cares. and i- i think she knows." stan cleared his throat, and bill watched as his hand rubbed the back of his neck, feeling through his curls before he reached down and grabbed bill's hand gently.

bill furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but they both knew what he was talking about. "my dad doesn't know. i mean, he is a rabbi and like super fucking religious, so it makes sense she didn't tell him i'm..." he sighed. "into guys and girls."

bill smiled up at him immediately, trying to make him less nervous, and took a second to sign to stan, i'm proud of you. it took bill actually several minutes and five tries before stan understand what he was saying.