golden boy : stozier

forty two

"are you being serious? i can't tell if you're being serious." richie's arms were swinging, and stanley was thinking about how fucking gangly he was as a person, and how richie's arms kept accidentally bumping his own. it kept shocking him, sending adrenaline through his veins. how silly. 

"yeah, i want to sleep over. is that alright?" stanley would've rather died than put his hands in his pockets, though, so he let richie walk like a spider with legs much too long for its body. richie nodded quickly, pushing his glasses up his face. 

stanley couldn't have explained what he was doing if anyone had asked him to his face. he'd had no plan for the rest of the night, all he'd known was when they'd left bill's, he couldn't stomach the idea of parting from richie's side. the two had been chatting all night, and stanley didn't like the idea of losing the warmth in his chest.

"no, of course it is!" richie replied, happily, then laughed, "no, i'm going to force you to go home. because that's so me, isn't it?" richie snorted at the idea, and stanley glanced at him. 

"shut up. i have to ask." he rolled his eyes.

"you can spend the rest of time with me, if you like staniel, i don't mind," richie had been saying things like that all night—things that made stanley want to grab richie by the thick skull and kiss him until he couldn't breathe. he'd also been calling him staniel all night. 

"that sounds like purgatory," stanley crossed his arms, and richie took that as a sign to fully bump his body into him, stanley yelping.

"hey! not hell, so it's doable!"

"i—sure. yeah." stanley resisted the urge to roll his eyes again, letting just the unbelieving smile take over his mouth like it always did.

"sooo... does this mean things are better?" richie asked, skipping weirdly. stanley curved an eyebrow, and richie continued, "like, at home." 

stanley looked away, to the ground still lit up by the summer's never-ending sun, and then to the lamp post that had yet to turn on. he bit his tongue, and the idea of telling richie actually spent time in the forefront of his thoughts. there was a pause in between them now, one that stanley was obliged to break, but he couldn't say a word. he could only let the sound of richie's shoes, scraping by their toes as he walked beside him, fill his ears and distract him. 

richie didn't press any more, simply strolling along in the silence. stanley put his hands in his pockets, scratching at his thighs through the fabric. stanley knew that boys didn't talk about feelings, but richie was different. he wanted to tell richie everything. the line between a best friend and a boy met in the middle and made richie, and stanley had fallen. 

"i'd rather hang out with you anyhow," stanley finally said, stretching the first vowel out and cracking his neck in step with his left foot. richie glanced over at him, nodding. he pushed his glasses back up on his face and looked away, like suddenly he'd learned how to feel shy.

"purgatory my ass," richie muttered, smile framing his expression like always. stanley turned down richie's street without even thinking about it, and he scoffed. he took his hands back out of his pockets, his wrist brushing richie's in the process. "you okay with borrowing my stuff? i think we've even got an extra toothbrush, if you want."

"yeah, that's fine," stanley tried not to blush thinking about wearing richie's clothes, staying the night in richie's bed, his hands knocking against richie's. richie, richie, richie. 

by the time they reached richie's front door, stanley had counted 16 accidental touches, all gone unsaid by either of them. richie fiddled with his key until he heard it click, pushing the front door open carelessly. stanley still took the time to take his shoes off properly, and richie leaned against the wall, waiting for him instinctively.