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stu was pacing his house almost nervously, eying the rain outside the window and triple checking the vhs player was working, ready for billy to come over for the millionth time.
it's not like stu never goes to billy's house. it's just billy's dad is usually at home, judging them from behind his newspaper, while stu's house was more often than not empty apart from him and the cat.
suddenly the doorbell rings & stu dashes to answer it a beat too quickly, almost crashing into the door instead of opening it for his friend, who stood shuddering.
"are you gonna let me in or what?" billy asked in a way that would have been more intimidating if he wasn't soaked through from the rain. "there's a storm out here, dickhead."
"not scared of a little thunder, are ya, billy?" stu grinned, almost sneering down at the soggy cat on his door.
billy responded by elbowing him in the ribs & trying to shove his way through when stu winced back; stu, however, had other ideas, gripping one of billy's hips as he walked past.
this time it was billy who flinched away.
"if you're going to be a dick all night i can go home & watch a movie myself."
"oh, please," stu replied. "you're soaked. you'll catch pneumonia if you go out like this." stu wondered why he never bothered to bring his coat. he knew he still had the one his mom bought him - probably why he never wore it - but surely it would be easier than risking getting sick every winter.
"also, if you go home, you don't get to cuddle with herbert when the movie gets too scary for you."
as if on cue, the macher's ginger cat appeared from the doorway behind them, mewing up at billy who leant down to stroke him.
"that's not why i play with herbert, you-"
"yeah, yeah, yeah," stu cut him off, delighting in the frustrated look in billy's eyes before entering his living room to show billy the videos he'd rented.
"i only got 3 this time," he said as billy followed him in to look at them, herbert close behind.
stu held up the VHS cases for billy to look at; one featured a clown with an awful red wig who billy vaguely remembered also being in the rocky horror picture show when he'd snuck round stu's to watch that, the first 'a nightmare on elm street' - despite three more having come out since then - and a classic & one of their favourites, 'the exorcist.'
"good choices," billy almost smiled, leaning back down to pet the already impatient cat who had begun rubbing himself against billy's jeans.
"you think?" stu grinned, beaming down at him earning himself a muttered "dork" from billy.
"i've been meaning to watch 'It' for ages and i know you like stephen king - remember when we watched 'the shining' and you kept rewinding it -"
billy smiles, because he does remember watching 'the shining' with stu for the first time. easily one of his favourites - the way the tension was built, the story, the special effects - & although stu preferred the guts & gore & tits of other movies, they both enjoyed 'the shining'. it was stu who had picked it out & watching it was one of if not the first time they held hands.
billy acted like he didn't like being close with people, like he was cold & cut off from the outside world, but stu had found out very quickly just from being a bit nice to him that this was a lie. billy's harsh exterior had melted away in a heartbeat, leaving a boy who would kill to be held safe in stu's arms but would never say that was what he wanted.
he looked back up at stu, who was still talking about the videos he'd picked out, and stu noticed him peering & remembered just how soaked from the rain he was.
"shit, you must be freezing," stu muttered. billy tried to shrug it off but stu was already bounding out the door, calling through for billy to make himself comfy.
he sat down in the corner of stu's couch, pulling herbert up to his lap, as stu ran back down with two or three blankets, a spare shirt, and a doll from his room.
"got you a shirt - the one you're wearing is basically transparent," he said, chucking the one he'd brought over to billy, who looked down at his shirt confused.
"thanks," he mumbled, pulling his sopping shirt over his head. stu, feeling his face flush at the sight, looked away which billy seemed not to notice.
he pulled the new shirt over him - a faded white 'jaws' tee, way too baggy on him but still cool - and stu handed him one of the blankets to wrap around himself, the other for stu to keep & one for their legs and herbert. "
"why the doll?" billy asked as stu set up the vhs player. stu had left it on the sofa while he did this and almost forgotten about it in the excitement to get 'It' up and running.
he looked back, pulling a stupid face - almost mock pouting - at billy.
"you have herbert," he argued, glancing at his doll and back to the vhs player. billy hummed in acknowledgement, not questioning further, & was soon joined by stu, who wrapped the remaining two blankets around the both of them & clasped his doll to his chest, nuzzling his head between billy's head & shoulders, tickling his neck slightly with his hair.
"who's scared of the movie now?" billy laughed at him. "it's not even started yet and you're cosying up."
"shut up, dishit," stu mumbled, nuzzling further into billy and elbowing his ribs, hard.
billy winced in pain, grimacing, but sill mumbled a quiet "awww." herbert meowed loudly, as if telling stu off for being mean to billy, and snuggled himself between them, ready for the movie to properly start after the opening titles.
the movie was really good - better than billy was expecting, 'it' was never his favourites stephen king book - and surprisingly intense. he felt they'd really achieved the sense of hopeless, nightmarish, inescapable sense of childhood fears - something billy was all too familiar with. stu said something about what randy had told him when he rented the video, something about the actors avoiding tim curry on set, and billy couldn't say he blamed them. he'd never really liked clowns.
stu also seemed to have loved the movie; while he was a bigger fan of clowns & had been more excited about it than scared, billy had noticed him clutching the ragdoll closer to his chest during the shower scene - something to tease him about later.
"do you wanna get something to eat?" stu asked, sitting up from where he'd leant against billy to take the VHS out of the player - a move herbert had been very opposed to, meowing at him angrily.
"sure," billy replied, peering almost nervously out the window. "not sure you'll get a delivery driver out in this weather."
as if summoned, thunder rolled in the sky, causing billy to grimace and look away.
"we're not all pussies like you," stu mocked, seeing billy's face. "some of us would walk down."
"i walked all the way here, remember?' billy gestured to the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. "only an idiot would go out in a storm."
stu went to point out that billy must be an idiot by that logic but decided against it - if he wanted to stay snuggled up with him for the evening, he needed to stay on his good side. he did look cute in the jaws shirt.
stu walked to the kitchen, checking the fridge to see what was left from before his parents went away. some leftover chicken, noodles, and some victoria sponge his mum had made to make it less hard to tell him they were going away until christmas. it was almost like they didn't do this all the time now stu was old enough to be left home alone.
stu called through to billy asking if he wanted cake & a minute later walked back in with two very large, very poorly cut slices which crumbled just from being carried in. luckily, stu had also thought to bring two spoons in with him & sat on the opposite end of the sofa to billy, this time facing him.
there was silence for a brief moment, only the faint sound of rain outside, but stu being stu felt he had to fill it & began chatting away to billy.
"what do you think you'll do when all this is over?" stu asked, trying not to make a huge mess of his cake. "school, i mean."
billy didn't look up at him but replied "i'm not sure, you know." he scraped his spoon against the plate, thanking about his answer.
"i always wanted to be in movies, you know? scary ones, like that one." he gestured to the vhs tapes on the cabinet. "i guess i got scared they wouldn't like me."
"i like you," stu replied, not in his usual joking tone.
billy hummed again.
"sometimes i feel like i'm always pretending." billy finally looked over to stu, putting his plate down on the table and drawing his knees up to the sofa. "sometimes i feel more like one of them - some monster in a b movie - than i do a real person like you."
stu didn't say anything but he could see the sadness in billy's eyes when he said this, and reached for his hand when he looked down.
"i think we're the same."
billy looked at him again, staring intently into his eyes as stu looked at him in earnest.
"i'd be in your movie."
herbert had leapt down from billy's lap by this point, seemingly in the other room, and stu lay his plate down and leant across, moving to where billy was sat & lying down so they were nearly face to face, stu slightly below billy.
they looked at each other for a minute, billy looking down at him a strange mix of vulnerable & discomfort before murmuring "you would?" closing the distance between them, pulling stu in for a kiss.
billy's lips were softer than stu had imagined & he could feel himself smiling more than he was kissing back but still he pushed himself upwards and closer to billy.
they stayed like this for a little while, lips brushing together between kisses, until stu began trailing down billy's neck. billy groaned quietly, trying to make as little noise as possible, until stu reached his collar bone & bit down gently.
billy moaned loudly & swatted stu away from him, who sat up & knelt again on the opposite side of the sofa to billy.
"we'd never make it into the movies," billy grumbled, glaring half heartedly at stu as he fingered where stu had bit him. "not like this."
"maybe we could make our own," stu said, grinning at billy. "i'd let you be psycho killer."
billy sat up straight, facing stu, & leant over, allowing himself to be on top this time. "oh yeah?" he smirked. "who said you'd be directing?"
billy leant forward & pulled stu in for another kiss, allowing stu's lips to feel his teeth gently before he bit down, hard. he heard stu moan loudly but didn't let go until he tasted blood.
he leant back to see what he had done. he should probably be worried he's hurt stu, given how quickly he rushed his hand up to his mouth, but he soon sees stu's shit eating grin wider than ever as blood drips from his mouth and all ideas of remorse are forgotten. stu's probably into it, the sick freak.
"you fucking bit me," stu grumbles, still somehow beaming at him, blood oozing from his lips.
"you bit me first," billy shrugs. "seem like you enjoyed it more than anything."
stu kicks him half heartedly, long legs reaching over to where billy has retreated to, but billy grabs his foot & grips his ankle hard, causing stu to yelp.
billy leans in for a kiss once more, mostly to lick the blood off of stu's lips, and leans back. as much as stu whines & he'd love to just make out with him all evening, he isn't oblivious to the fact they have two more films to get to before they go to sleep for the night & billy needs to get home as early as possible so his dad doesn't suspect him of anything.
"what are we thinking next?" billy stands & walks over to the videos, discarding 'it' to the side & picking up the over two. " 'a nightmare on elm street', the original, or 'the exorcist'."
stu looked at him, blood still smeared across his lips, & billy decided whatever they chose, he needed to get back to stu now.
" 'the exorcist', it is." he pushed the vhs into the player & went back to stu, this time biting his shoulder & grabbing his wrists & arms until they turned blue.
stu returns the gesture, both groaning & struggling to be in control, and they each wake the next morning with the other's bruises covering them.
billy keeps the jaws shirt. it looked better on him anyway, stu said, and the one he had worn on the way there was still translucent from the rain. his dad would definitely notice the bite mark bruises on his ribs through that.