ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ᴘɪʟʟs ~ it/ st oneshots

swim: stenbrough

hey peopleee. this is a three part oneshot, and for those who don't know, it's essentially when all three of the otp's from this book are all together in one storyline. this storyline being, for example, they're all at the quarry together. the next chapter will be about what happened to byler during this au, and the following will be reddie. i'll try to finish them up soon so none of you are waiting for their parts for too long. but anyways, onto the oneshot!

stan's p.o.v.

the swim didn't help me relax whatsoever, despite how bill had assured me it would. i'd barely been able to sleep the night before, my mind racing with lines of both hebrew and english. and when i had finally dozed off for a moment, i'd received a phone call from bill, saying he was coming round to my place in ten minutes so we could walk to the quarry together. i'd protested, saying that i no longer had the time for the plans we'd made with and our other friends; richie and mike tozier, identical twins, eddie kaspbrak and will byers. i said i needed to rehearse my script for my aunts baby naming (essentially a jewish celebration, where i had to make a huge speech on congratulating my mother's sister on the birth of her child.) however bill, the stubborn one he was, had said i had practised plenty and that a nice swim at the quarry would help me calm and recollect. 

however, as we sat amongst the rocks along the quarry's cliff, my hands in my hair as i gently dabbed at my wet noodles with a damp towel, i was far from calmed and collected. various lines from my speech continued to play over and over in my head, and i felt heat start to rise in my cheeks, turning them a deep crimson red. sweat gathered along my hairline as i stared down into the quarry's waters far below us. my lips absentmindedly moved along with the words i was reciting in my head, my mind partially off somewhere else. i wasn't again aware of my surroundings until a felt a warm palm settle onto my bare knee. i turned my head to the side, my lips spreading out into a thin line, as i held my eyes on bill's.

" you a-alright?" he asked softly, his voice small and quiet compared to the hum of insects and sloshing of water from around and below us, along with will and mike's quiet conversation. richie was silent however, which i couldn't help but find a little odd. however i didn't really care, in fact i was rather grateful. his constant blabber was incredibly annoying, and his silence aloud me to focus on my speech- "stan? st-stanny?" bill said, waving a hand in front of my face. i leant back, away from his waving hand, and i leant back up when he lower his hand back down to my knee. " w-what's wrong?" he asked, able to tell something was up. 

" no, nothing." i lied through my teeth. bill frowned, putting a hand to my forehead. i watched his darting eyes as he scanned my appearance: my tense muscles, my dark and tired eyes, the flush in my face. i clenched and unclenched my fist, his hand slowly lowering from my forehead. he set his eloquent hands back in his lap, cracking the knuckle in his right index finger a couple times. i bit my lower lip, before standing up. " i just n-need to practice my speech." i said. 

i started pacing back at fourth, my eyes on my bare feet as i walked across the dry dirt beneath us. i looked to the side at our small group of friends as i walked. will and mike were sat side by side, a small notebook on will's lap, and they were deep in conversation. to will's left was a small amount of space, where i had been sitting, and then bill. bill had a frown etched onto his usually soft features, and his eyes were on me. i swallowed the rising lump in my throat, looking to bill's left. eddie was sitting there, toying with a daisy with his lips pursed. then to his left, richie had his knees hugged to his chest, his eyes on the large rocks beneath them all that they were perched on. 

i snapped my head back in front of me, my pacing growing faster. back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. i started rehearsing my speech, rather loudly as my already loud and rushed words echoed off of the water all those feet beneath us. i made vigorous gestures with my hands, as i continued to pace back and forth, the speech flowing from my mouth. i vaguely registered that will and mike had stopped talking, and i could see that now everyone was looking at me. i didn't care however, continuing the way i was.