Work Text:
Stan’s Pov:
The last bell rang signaling school was over so I packed my stuff up and walked out of my class. There was a lot of people in the halls so I had to maneuver around so I wouldn’t run into anyone and get to my locker. Usually I would meet up with the losers but ever since what happened last year everybody seemed to just split up and go their separate ways, well, everybody but me and Richie. I’m glad we didn’t split up because then I would have no friends at all. But the thing is I’ve had a slight crush on him ever since 4th grade so I was a bit flustered when Richie said that he was fine if the other losers left him but not if I left. He’s been my best friend since 2nd grade so if he left I don’t think I’d be okay either.
“Hey Stanny!” Richie screamed running towards my locker. Speak of the devil, I thought to myself and rolled my eyes. “What do you want, Rich?” “What are you doing later?” “None of your business.” I said sarcastically “Um, Actually it is, Staniel.” He poked me in the arm playfully. I rolled my eyes at him and he fake gasped “Wow, So rude today, Stan.” “Oh, shut up, what are you gonna do?” “Your mum.” I hit him lightly in the arm and he just laughed. “You totally fell for it!” He said a bit loud so I told him to be quiet.
“I have to get going, Rich.” He groaned dramatically and started complaining about how “we never hangout” which is just a lie. I closed my locker and started walking down the hall and he kept following me, not shutting up. Some other people gave us weird looks but I don’t care, I'll just let them judge me and I’ll ignore them. We were close to the front entrance so I decided that I would try to ditch him and actually go bird watching. “Bye, Rich.” I rolled my eyes and ran out the door. I heard him shout and giggled. I remembered that I didn’t bring my bike so I would need to walk there.
I started walking down the sidewalk and I thought I heard rustling behind me a few times but everytime I would look back there was nothing. I guess it’s just my imagination…
Richie’s pov
I shouted after Stan as he ran out the door and left me. I didn’t know where he was going but I wanted to follow him since it’s boring without him. I slung my backpack over my other shoulder and ran in the direction I saw him go. I ran until I saw him about 10 feet away, I slowly stayed behind and followed where he was going.
Occasionally he would look back if I made a small noise like kicking a pebble, crunching a leaf under my foot, stepping on a twig, etc. Everytime he looked back I had to quickly hide behind a trash can or a bush and it surprisingly worked. Then all of a sudden he made an unexpected turn into the woods and started running. Stanley was actually pretty fast for him being unnaturally skinny. I had to fully sprint to catch up to him but while I was sprinting I didn’t notice a rock in my way since I was focused on running after Stan, I tripped and fell face first on the ground “Ow, Fuck!” I yelled then quickly covered my mouth as I saw him look back.
“Richie, What are you doing here?!” He shouted, crossing his arms as he walked towards me. “Uhm…Your mum?” I had said but it came out like a question, he scoffed and rolled his eyes “Did you follow me?” “No shit.” He sighed disappointedly, kind of like how a mother would. He stuck his arm out to me and helped me get up. He then took my glasses off my face and examined them. I could barely see him until he put them on my face and gave a concerned look. “You have a crack all the way down one lens, did you hit your face hard?” He put his hands on the side of face to inspect if I had any cuts. While he did this I could feel the blush rising on my cheeks. “I’m pretty sure I’m fine, My face doesn’t hurt.” I grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands off my face.
“Anyways, Stan, What are you doing in the woods?” “Oh, just…bird watching..” His face flushed with embarrassment as he mumbled the last part of his sentence.”Aww, Stanley, I didn’t know you were so soft.” I teased him “Shut up.” I faked being offended and he rolled his eyes for the millionth time.
“Okay Richie, you can go home now.” “What? No! I’m staying!” I said loudly “Well, I’m not having you ruin my bird watching.” “Oh, Come on, Stan, I won’t get in the way, I promise.” I held out my pinkie and he shoved it away. “Yeah, I’ll believe that when I’m dead.” I groaned and grabbed his wrist “Please, Stan?” I tried to give him the best puppy eyes I could and he just turned away and started walking “Please, Stan, I’ll pay you.” “With what money?” I just sighed defeatedly
He gave me an empathetic look and sighed “Fine, but if you annoy me once you have to leave.” I perked up and smiled “How sweet of you, Stanley.” I teased “Don’t push it, Rich.” He warned and I motioned zipping my mouth shut.
We started walking again which was incredibly boring. Once Stanley found this special spot he liked near a clearing he sat down against a tree and slid his backpack off. I just stood there awkwardly as he pulled out a giant book about birds “You gonna sit?” he motioned to the spot next to him. I ran over and sat down next to him.
About 5 minutes in I just thought how unbelievably boring it was. At one point our knees brushed and I felt my face heat up. I glanced down at his book and giggled. “What is it, Rich?” He turned to me. I pointed at a bird called ‘White-breasted Nuthatch’ and laughed “You’re so immature.” He groaned but smiled a little.
Another 5 minutes passed and Stan was looking at a gray catbird or whatever it was called, I noticed how focused and beautiful he looked. His eyes would brighten whenever he saw a bird he liked and he would smile slightly. I was so mesmerised with him that I didn’t even care how boring this was. When I was this close to him I could see the slight dusting of freckles on his face.
I didn’t realize I was staring until Stan snapped his fingers in front of my face “You okay, Rich? You were out of it for a while.” I looked into his eyes and blushed “O-oh, uhm yeah..I’m fine.” He just gave me a concerned nod and went back to watching birds.
“Holy shit, that’s a big one.” Stan gasped looking at a fatass bird. “That’s what she said.” I laughed out “Shut up Richie.” He groaned and rolled his eyes.
A few inappropriate jokes later Stan had enough of my shit and smacked my hand pretty aggressively. I didn’t care about the stinging in my hand, all I could think of was the fact that he touched my hand and that I wanted to hold his hand. I couldn’t stop thinking about how much Ireally wanted to hold hands with him and make a move since I could sense that we were basically more than friends at this point, we’re always flirting with each other jokingly and I can see when he blushes at the little hand, shoulder, or knee brushes or when I look him in the eyes, especially if we’re really close.
A few minutes go by which feel like hours in my head as I plan the perfect way to execute my plan. I had noticed that Stan was getting a bit tired so he was probably gonna want to leave soon. Just as I was thinking he starts packing his things. It’s now or never. “Hey, Stan? Do you think we could just rest here for a little while more?” “Oh, sure, Rich.” He sets his backpack aside and leans against the tree behind us. I do the same and glance at his hand. It’s resting on the ground next to his leg, perfectly in reach. I set my hand next to his, slightly touching. I breathe in and out, I have to do this before it’s too late. I rest my hand on top of his gently and I see his eyes shoot open, look at our hands, then look at me. We just stare into each other's eyes as our hands slowly become closer until our fingers are interlocking. This whole time I’ve been blushing and so has he. I look at our hands and feel my face getting hotter.
Stan’s pov
I feel a hand rest slightly on top of mine and my eyes shoot open and I look down at Richie’s hand resting gently on mine, I look up at him and blush. His eyes stare deeply into mine as our hands get closer, fingers interlocking. I see him look down at our hands so I do too. Our fingers are interlocked and held firmly together. I turn away as I feel my face getting warmer and warmer. I close my eyes and rest my head on the tree.
As it gets darker we walk home, never letting go of each other’s hand.