quiet | stenbrough ✔️

running to you

CH. 37 | RUNNING TO YOU
"I come running to you like a moth into a flame."
— defenseless by louis tomlinson

★ 彡 GEORGIE'S MISSING. It's a sort of alarm going off in Bill's head as he is standing up in Stan's room, biting his nails. He's not sure how to approach this. It's not like Georgie hasn't done this before. Every kid wants to rebel against their parents and stay at a friend's house without their mother's knowledge. Bill doesn't want to decide what to do for himself, so he looks over to Stan's sleeping form.

And all of a sudden, Stan's woken up with a hard shove and a phone being pressed to his ear, Bill's mother pestering him. She's asking him if he'd seen Georgie. It takes him a couple of seconds to yawn and open his eyes before he looks to Bill, uncertain of his answer. Bill silently shakes his head, seeming to calm for the conversation, to begin with. Shouldn't he be worried his little brother didn't come home the night before?

"Hi, Mrs. Denbrough. This is Stan, Bill's boyfriend." He hadn't realized he had even said it, but from Bill's eyes that are widening next to him, Stan's figured out fast enough at Bill hasn't gotten around to tell her anything yet. He doesn't have time to ask Bill what his mother knows because she's not done talking.

"No, we haven't seen Georgie. Do you have any ideas on where we could look to find him?" Stan asks in his professional, trying to calm the angry and worried parent over voice, and Bill sends him a grateful look. She seems taken back by him almost.

"Uh, I have no idea. Boyfriend, you said?" Right. He may have spilled the beans on that one. On the other hand, Bill's eyes look calmer at this point. Bill's mother also hasn't hung up the phone on him, so he can confidently say the odds are on his side.

"Yes, ma'am. Are you home right now? Did you call the police?" Why is he the only logical one right now?

"I'm at work, and no, I didn't call the fucking pigs. Can't trust any of them to do their jobs," The mother snaps angrily over the phone. Stan tries to not take offense to it, considering it seems her worry for her son has probably taken over.

"Okay, well. Bill and I will look for him. Don't worry," Stan nervously lets out but doesn't let it show through the call. Mrs. Denbrough hangs up on him next, and he throws the phone on his bed, using his hands to rub over his eyes.

"Your mom's sorta a bitch." He lets out, looking up at Bill's whose perched at the side of his bed, looking down at him and beginning to smile.

"We should look for your brother, yeah?" Bill nods as they both go to get changed as quickly as possible. "Do you know where he is?"

Bill looks over at him when he's throwing on a shirt, giving him a shrug. Stan gives him a confused look in return, almost judgmental. Bill decides to not press him on it.

They make it downstairs in record time before bumping into Mr. Uris, staring at them both with wide eyes. Bill gulps in a large breath, looking up at Stan for his reaction, but finding a blank one.

"You boys want some breakfast?"

So Stan's Dad has decided to not comment on why the two boys are running down the stairs and are now both holding hands.

"No, we're good, thanks. I'll see you later," Stan smiles at him in a kind tone, but almost a wary one as well. Bill assumes his testing out the waters with him. He doesn't get to look for any sort of reaction for the two of them because Stan's pulling him out the door.

The car ride to Derry Elementary is oddly tense. Sure, add one mute boy, one awkward boy, and the car ride is inevitable of it being tense. But Bill thinks it's never been like this. Stan's presence has always had a way of making it almost seem like Bill was talking back to him like Stan wasn't just talking to a wall. Something's different. Even the air is tense around them.