golden boy : stozier

two

richie tapped his hand on the cafeteria table, ignoring the perfectly edible sandwich in front of him.

"when i was little, my sister, used to play the stupidest songs on the piano—and by the way, the only song i could ever play on the piano was chopsticks, which i tried to play to impress a girl in third grade. it didn't work. the same girl asked me to a grade five dance and then blew me off for a fucker with braces, acne, and glasses. i mean, he was basically me! i don't know what she wanted. anyway, i've now forgotten how to play chopsticks," richie went on, telling a story that none of them were really understanding. this was normal.

beverly, whose head leaned on bill's shoulder, sighed and closed her eyes. bill ate a fry and stopped listening to richie, knowing it was going nowhere. mike was lost in thought, staring at the plate where bill had just picked up a fry. beverly fumbled her hand around for bill's, who reluctantly let her take it. his fingers barely closed on hers, while her fingers gripped his knuckles.

"where was i? right, so, she played dumb songs. i remember one of them, i think it was from a tv show. um, what show was it, wait, hold on," richie's hand had sped up tapping on the table and bill exhaled through his nose, annoyed. "adventure time! i think. was it? wait, i dunno. she also really liked other shows. not that i care. i don't remember them."

"beep beep richie, oh my god." beverly voiced her thoughts, and richie's hand stopped tapping abruptly. only for a moment, and then he shifted his hands and started rubbing his nails together, making a strange wood-like noise.

"oh. sorry. i did it again, didn't i? i honestly don't mean to, i just get lost in thought, and then i can't stop talking and i—" richie started up again, beverly closing her eyes once more and squeezing bill's hand. mike pursed his lips and looked up to bill. he motioned to the fries, can i? and bill nodded. mike took a fry and took his eye contact to richie.

"i really l-luh-luh-liked adventure t-tuh-tuh-t-tuh-tuh-t-fuck! adventure t-tuh-time as a kid," bill added, his stutter getting the best of him. beverly leaned further into him, and bill leaned a little further away.

"that would make a really sad dubstep song. stuttering bill, attempting to be the king of t-t-t-t-t-t's," richie laughed, no one laughing along with richie. bill looked down, his eyebrows twisting upwards. mike and beverly both shot a glare towards richie, mike's glare a little more kind-hearted. richie opened his mouth to say sorry, but he didn't know how to phrase it without sounding stupid. it wasn't that mean, was it?

beverly moved her hand to rub it up and down bill's arm. mike looked to bill with concern. richie remained speechless for a second. bill pushed beverly away from him, grabbing his bag and standing up.

"i have a cl-cluh-class to get to. early seats." bill mumbled, swinging his bag around his shoulders. mike nodded, mouthing "see you later" to him. bill smiled weakly to mike, and walked off to the class. as he walked away, he shoved his hands in his pockets. richie knew it was a lie. there were still 15 minutes left of lunch.

beverly frowned, putting her bag on her shoulder and standing up as well. she looked to richie, scoffing angrily. she ran away as well to go after bill, but mike stayed in his seat. he looked rather inconvenienced, but he stayed sitting across from richie. mike shrugged.

"you know he's sensitive about that. maybe keep the comments to yourself next time." mike offered advice, richie still scratching at his nails. he shrugged.

"i didn't mean it like that." richie said, telling the truth. he knew he came off a little rude sometimes, but he didn't mean it like that half of the time. richie found it challenging to keep his comments to himself, honestly.

"yeah, well. next time, i guess," mike muttered, eating slowly at the fries remaining on the plate in front of where bill had sat. richie nodded, trying his hardest to keep his mouth shut. he shivered, and felt uncomfortable in the dead space between them.