richie watched as his phone screen lit up, letting him know stanley uris was calling. he looked at the contact photo until it disappeared, and within about thirty seconds of it disappearing he had a new voicemail. that was weird. richie hadn't heard stanley speak in months. he was sorta figuring that no one had heard stanley speak.
richie missed the photo of stanley as soon as it disappeared. it was a cute one, richie had taken it while they were on the bus, and stanley was reading, looking all dramatic.
richie didn't blame stanley for not speaking, it seemed to be a defense mechanism. he wished he could've heard his voice in the cafeteria though. or at the party. it wasn't that he was mad at stanley for not saying anything. richie knew throwing that punch that stanley would not defend him. he knew how it was. he wished stanley could have comforted him, though.
instead, it had had to be beverly, who wasn't really his biggest fan at the moment.
he clicked on the voicemail naturally, curiosity killing the cat inside of him as stanley's voice came through the phone. it almost scared richie, as if he'd expected silence.
"i'm sorry. i'm sorry. i'm sc... i'm sorry." his voice was soft but cracking, and the crying stanley had been doing was apparent. it sounded painful for him to speak, and it probably was to some degree. there was a pause, and he took in a shaky breath. richie wanted to cry.
stanley continued, "i should've done something. i love you, but i'm not very good at it. loving."
-
earlier that night, stanley had been the last to be dropped off other than betty, living quite far out. stanley suspected lily drove past betty's house earlier so she wouldn't have to drive to stanley's house alone, and he didn't blame her. none of them had asked how he'd gotten there.
he was glad for that, because if he'd somehow had to nonverbally explain that he walked for an hour and a half with nothing but his own thoughts, he might implode.
"i'm going to walk him to the doorstep, i'll be back," betty said, opening her passenger door as stanley stumbled out. the two walked to the front door together, even though stanley knew he'd be sneaking up his side window. betty was clearly drunk, and stanley was hardly tipsy, but extremely tired.
stanley was kicking at the rocks in his driveway. betty cleared her throat. the tension was palpable, but it wasn't as upsetting as stanley had feared. for some reason, he felt more comfortable in the awkwardness here than in front of his old friends, watching bill beat the life out of richie.
"stanley, i just wanted to say, i hope things get better soon. you weren't really the best boyfriend, but i get why now." betty paused. stanley felt a feeling in the back of his throat like he was going to cry. "you love him. richie, i mean."
stanley gulped. he was definitely going to cry. thank god it was dark.
"and he loves you. and i don't know what's... in between you guys, but... fuck, stan, don't give up. i don't know, i'm drunk," she giggled, stanley feeling a tear roll down his face in the moonlight. betty smiled sympathetically.
"good luck." she winked, and started her walk back to the car.
stanley stood still on his porch, crying until he heard lily's car drive away.
he hadn't realized betty had known him that well.
-
richie didn't call back. instead, he bit his nails until his phone lit up again. this time, though, it wasn't a text from stanley. it was a call from eddie, which honestly, it surprised richie that he was up that late.
he picked it up, still chewing at the cuticles on his other hand.
"hello?"
"why the fuck is bill telling me you're talking to stanley again?" eddie's aggression was immediate, and it sort of shocked richie into momentary silence. he hadn't expected eddie to be awake, let alone angry.
finally, when richie found his voice again, he said, "... because i am."
"okay, let me rephrase asshat, why are you talking to stan again?" as pissed off as eddie sounded, there was a tone of concern that hadn't been evident in bill or beverly's voices.
"he's... i miss him." richie fucking hated this. he hated bill, and he hated stanley's parents, and he hated this dumb fucking world, and he hated everything and everyone.
"i know you do, richie, but we don't want you to get hurt. you know we love you, and i'm sorry but going back to a straight boy who abandoned his friends with no explanation is not going to be the love story you think it is." eddie paused. "i don't want to be harsh. i just want you to be smart."
be smart? eddie wanted him to be smart? how about using critical thinking skills to figure out that maybe something was going on in your friend's life and there was a reason that they disappeared with no reasoning. was that being smart, eddie?
"eddie's he's miserable." richie inhaled sharply, fed up, "his parents lock him up in his room and he's not allowed to talk to us at school or anywhere because his mom will beat the shit out of him. it's not his fucking fault, eds. none of you fucking get that." richie went silent, and so did eddie.
a moment passed, and richie could imagine the look on eddie's face.
"you've... you've never mentioned his mom. what?" eddie sounded heartbroken, almost like he was disappointed he hadn't known.
"she... i shouldn't be fucking telling you this. but he's literally not allowed to go anywhere. it wasn't his choice. it's fucked up." richie knew he was stepping real close to a boundary he didn't dare cross, but he couldn't help himself. he switched which shoulder his phone was sitting on.
"oh."
"yeah, oh. so tell bill to go fuck himself." richie hung up. he tossed his phone to the end of his bed and rolled over.
