stanley was in pre-calc when the fire alarm went off. it was rather close to the end of the block, so stanley didn't hesitate to zip up his bag. following the normal procedure, he followed his classmates outside.
the approximately thirty students shuffled with the rest, making their way out each door of the school to the back of the field. the day was warm, and the dry dirt kicked up from their heels and layered the tops of their shoes without them knowing. the sun glinted from behind clouds, a rare sighting for derry.
the fire itself was a minor one in the cafeteria, but as they had no way of knowing this, the kids figured it was a fire drill, despite the vague worry on their teachers faces.
when stanley found his place in the field with the rest of his class, his eyes wandered until he found richie. there, across the field, was richie with the rest of his friends. richie was fake-punching bill, bill laughing. eddie looked like he was about to explode. stanley figured they were reenacting that night.
taking a glance to his teacher, who hadn't gotten his attendance list out yet, stanley weaved through all of the kids standing on the field. through class after class, he jogged, his hands outstretched to warn people he was coming through. he apologized repeatedly, making a beeline for richie. finally, he appeared in front of them, and none of them noticed for a moment, before ben finally turned his head.
"oh," ben let escape his lips, mike turning his head, then bill, then richie. richie's grin grew slightly bigger upon seeing stanley. was richie imagining, or did stanley look different? he felt like he could see his collarbone so clearly.
"jesus, stan, it's l-luh-like you--" bill started, stanley shaking his head immediately. bill, frustrated, paused out of pure shock. this was maybe the most emotive he'd ever seen stanley, and stanley hadn't even said a word yet. bill opened his mouth to stay more, but stanley beat himt o it.
"i'm gay." stanley breathed out. he felt sweat in his armpits, and he stuck his arms to his side, aside from briefly pushing his hair out of his face. the dull sun seemed to glisten on his face, and richie noticed. richie's eyes softened, and he laughed softly to himself.
taking a moment to breathe it in, bill furrowed his eyebrows. beverly moved her head forward, intrigued. the rest stayed practically still. richie ran his fingernails over his lips, still smiling.
"i'm gay, and i love richie," he panted with disbelief, glancing towards richie. richie was grinning like a madman. "and my mom found out. she ruined my life. i should've said something earlier, but i didn't want to come out. i never wanted to hurt you guys." stanley couldn't help smiling despite the grim statement. soon, a sad smile appeared on many of his friends faces. bill's eyes began to water.
"holy fuck. i-i-i-i'm suh-suh-suh-so s-suh-thu-sorry." bill said, his stutter significantly worse. stanley bit his tongue and smiled pitifully as if to say, it's okay.
beverly was the first to run forward to embrace stanley. soon, they all followed suit, stanley feeling tears but holding them back. bill could not say the same, and as he backed away, he wiped tears off of his eyes vigourously.
when they all separated, richie took a moment to laugh, "and if it wasn't clear, um, i love stan too." he slung an arm around stanley's shoulder, who felt his chest fill with excitement. it was fine. this was the feeling he'd been waiting for. he finally got to love richie tozier. thank god.
"is stanley uris present?" suddenly, the principal's voice rung through a megaphone, and stanley's eyes went wide. he laughed crazily and then sprinted back through the crowd. before he got too far, he turned back around, ran up to the group again, and kissed richie briefly on the lips. he then sped back through the group to his teacher.
leaning over, panting, in front of his teacher, he put up a hand, "i'm here! i'm here. sorry." he looked up, a grin on his face. he inhaled sharply, and exhaled, finally calm. god, this felt good.
