dawn : stenbrough

3

𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐔𝐏, and it occurs to him just how long he slept. it is now dark outside. how long did he fucking sleep? he groggily pulls out his phone from his pocket, trying to check the time. great, it's dead. bill mumbles a swear word to himself, and he notices for the first time his surroundings. 

he's not alone. there is a boy sitting in the diagonal opposite seat of his. he has a laptop open on his lap, illuminating his appearance. bill can't tell if anyone else is in this part of the train, but his eyes haven't really adjusted, either. the light is extremely dimmed. the boy is biting his tongue, it sticking out a little. maybe it was his focus face. bill recognized him from somewhere. not quite sure where. 

bill turns to look outside, and notices the stars rather bright in the sky. he puts his hand up to the window for a moment. in his peripheral, he sees the other boy glance over at him. bill bites back the anxious feeling in his stomach,

"what t-tuh-tuh-t-fuck-wh-whu-what time i-suh-s-is it?" bill stutters horribly, nervous for no apparent reason. he curses himself internally, and the boy looks at him strangely. 

"i'm sorry, what did you say?" the boy asks, his voice as soothing as he looked. it felt a little bit like honey to bill. bill's nervous feeling entirely dissipates, and is replaced with warmth. 

"s-suh-sorry. nervous stutter. what time is it?" bill asks the question, the boy glancing to his laptop. 

"oh okay, 3:22," he replies, bill's eyes widening. what? he thought it was like, 11pm. how did he sleep for ten fucking hours?

"holy shit, o-oh-okay, thank you," bill says, putting his head in his hands. 

bill, now wide awake, stares at his phone sadly. he sighs and looks back out the window. in the reflection of the window, he can see the boy's face still, lit from his laptop. the boy has pale skin, lighter hair, but not entirely blond, and a soft smile on his face. his hair is curly, and ends just below his ears. he's strangely familiar to bill. why? 

"is your phone dead?" he speaks, and bill nearly jumps. he turns back over to the boy, and he repeats his question. bill nods. "i could charge it for you, if you want." the boy offers. bill wonders why he's being so nice. 

"th-thuh-that would be really nice. thank you." bill smiles and passes his phone to the boy, who fumbles with a charger in the darkness and plugs it into his laptop. signs of life light up bill's phone, and he leans back in his chair, relieved. 

they stay in silence for an unbearably long time, around 3 hours, aside from the boy eventually handing the phone back to bill. bill sees all the concerned texts from richie, and laughs a little. 

richie: bill where tf are u its midnight

richie: HELLO???

richie: i'm going to hope you're alright and not dead

richie: i would come and try to find you but eddie is on me. like. his head is on my chest. im geeking out, dude. his arms are around my waist im going INSANNEEEE

richie: and nobody else is awake (or they won't answer my texts)

richie: praying that ur ok and going to sleep 😩😩❤️

richie: oh my god if you're actually in danger i'm gonna feel so bad in the morning

richie: fuck i really hope ur okay

richie: i love u man 

bill smirks, knowing richie barely ever says that to his friends. he does love them, of course, but he finds it hard to say. he texts richie back. 

bill: hi rich im ok i fell asleep my phone died i love u too

he sends the text and checks the time. 6:14am. the sun seems to be rising a little, the sky a light blue-grey. bill looks back out the window. the boy across from his snaps his laptop shut, as if he's decided to make a decision. 

"my name is stanley," he says, and bill assumes it's to him. bill turns his head rapidly, nodding. in the corner of his eye, bill swears the sun peeks out from behind the mountains just as stanley speaks. 

"my name is bill," bill replies, and stanley smiles in response. "wh-whuh-why were you awake so early?" he asks, turning his phone off and fumbling with his fingers. 

"i could ask you the same thing. my parents... complained about my laptop being too bright. i do a lot of reading." stanley hesitates, but answers anyway.

now in the light, bill is taking in more of stanley's appearance. he's dirty blond, and his hair is especially curly. his eyes have a soft look to them as well. everything about stanley looks pristine and welcoming. a smile appears on bill's face.

"i fell asleep out here really fucking early. slept tuh-ten hours," bill says. there is a silence for a second, "i should g-guh-get back to my room. see you around, stan," bill stands up, giving stanley a smile. stan smiles back and gives a small nod. 

bill wanders back to his room, a little dazed. he opens the door quietly, tip-toeing into the room. both the other boys are asleep, cuddling closer than what richie had described. yes, eddie is wrapped around richie, but richie is wrapped around eddie as well. as blackmail (only half-joking), bill takes a shitty photo of the two of them cuddling. 

he lies down on his bed, looking to the wall. he stays there for a while.