cynosure [it characters]

june 7th, 1989 [4]

"are you ready for late night, my friend?" stanley looked across the cabin towards eddie, a grin soon spreading across his face. it somewhat scared eddie. maybe he should be scared. after all, it's the fateful late night.

stanley's smile grew soft. "don't worry, bud. it's not that scary, if you are quiet, you shouldn't have to play most games. but some are involuntary, just a warning," he pointed his finger at eddie, as if telling him to watch out, and scolding him if he did play one of the games.

the two boys stood in the middle of their cabin, until they thought it was the right time to leave. "okay, eds, follow me," he said, wanting to make sure his roommate didn't get lost on the first night. it was already dark.

"first, we are meeting up with richie and bill," he said, eddie groaning lightly. he didn't hate richie, he only got annoyed from time to time. but he thinks he's had enough of richie for today. "they are over in cabin c," he said, pointing to a spot of black abyss. 

"it's bill's first year, too, right?" eddie asked, as the pair walked towards the cabin.

"yeah, actually," stan said, smiling to himself. there was something about bill that made stan always smile; he didn't know what, but he knew it was there and whenever it showed, he smiled.

they two walked up to the door and knocked. "come on in, whores!" richie yelled in from the door. stan rolled his eyes and sighed as he opened the door, looking around at the lowly lit cabin.

"richie, can you not talk about 'whores', please?" stan asked, raising his eyebrows and he hadn't found bill.

"sorry, stan the man, you don't want me talking about your mom's profession, am i right?" richie laughed, lifting his foot from the ground as he slapped his knee. stan rolled his eyes.

"where's bill?" he asked, beginning to fumble with his fingers. eddie smiled lightly, and so had richie, both of them seemingly starting to catch on. as if on cue, the boy walked out from the bathroom, rubbing his wet hair with a towel.

he paused when he noticed the two extra boys, especially stan, his face beginning to redden. "ruh-ruh-richie, i told y-you to nuh-nuh-not let them in b-before i got out of the sh-shower!" he whispered vigorously, gesturing down to his bare chest and jean shorts.

stan stared.

"i'm sorry, billy boy, i can't let them starve out there!" richie lied, giggling lightly. bill sighed as he walked over to his bed, throwing on a white striped, green t-shirt. 

"okay, can we leave, now?" richie asked. "it's so hot in here, stan's mom would be sweating out of her vagina!"

"oh my gosh, richie!" stan said, clearly disgusted as he turned around and walked out of the cabin. eddie giggled lightly as he followed after stan, bill walking out as well.

"what?" he chuckled, walking out last as he shut the door behind him. he sped up to the side of eddie. "hey eds, you ready for late night? it's scarier than stan's mom's body shape. i mean, what the hell is that thing? an oval? some sort of misshaped rectangle?"

"richie, i am this close to snapping your glasses in half," he stopped walking and turned around to face richie. the boy held his hands up, as if to say he surrenders. bill giggled as he walked at stan's side.

"suh-suh-sorry i d-didn't have on a sh-shirt," he said, his cheeks tinted with red from embarrassment. his lips lifted into a smile, though, finding it at least a small bit humorous. stanley smiled, too.

"it's okay, bill. it was richie's fault, anyway," he rolled his eyes at the mention of his four-eyed friend.

"wuh-wuh-when is it n-not?" bill joked, causing a few giggles to admit from the other boy. they walked in silence, and right before they made it to the woods, bill asked, "stan? what d-do we do a-at luh-late night?" 

stanley's face had riddled a pink tint, only for knowing what typically happens at late night. "uh-well, it's like-um, it's-"

"stuh-stan, i'm th-the one who stutters, nuh-not you," he smiled a little. stanley nervously shrugged. he had explained this to eddie easily, so why was it suddenly so hard with bill? it's not any different, right?

"so, what basically happens is a bunch of, like," he sighed, "weird, weird things. they play games."

"what g-games?"

"like," he bit his bottom lip, starting to fumble with his fingers, "spin the bottle. seven minutes in heaven, those games," stan shrugged, no longer making eye contact with his friend. bill's cheeks were rosy, simply at the thought of those activities.

"oh," he whispered to himself.

"yeah," stan replied. the group of boys eventually made it to the open area int he woods, where all of the kids (that dared to) showed up for late night. 

there were far older kids, since the boys were all only freshman, and bill said that it made him feel scared. stanley laughed it off but bill was serious, and eventually, stan felt a pair of cold hands wrap around his upper arm.

"suh-suh-sorry, stan, i just feel s-scared," he said lowly, his hands staying place on stan's arm. he felt a rocket go off in his chest, allowing bill to hold down as the four boys sat on one log.

eventually the groups split up to grade levels, and even then, bill still clung onto stan's arm. "alright, ladies and gentlemen," a girl had started. "last year, we were new to this. now we aren't. i'm assuming someone taught the newcomers what this is?"

people nodded, including stan as he looked over at bill, his eyes glued to the girl. his grip softened. "great. first things first, we will go around and remind everyone of our names, and then the games may begin."

eddie, bill, and stan swallowed hard, while richie eagerly smiled.