Being with his friends made Richie feel slightly better, yet, it was a sensation that didn't last long.

Being with his friends only brought one thing to the boy's mind; that, if they knew the truth about him, they wouldn't want to be near him anymore. He'd lose the reason he was still alive, and the reason he kept on going.

As much as he tried to focus on the good things, it was barely impossible. No good was capable of overshadowing the fear inside him.

However, Richie didn't have much time to contemplate his own curse, because something was off. He didn't know what it was, who was responsible, or why it was. But, it most definitely was.

There was an unspoken tension reigning over the atmosphere of the quarry, and it made him even more anxious.

They stood in the quarry for hours, though it felt like only a few minutes had passed.

Eddie was the first to leave. He couldn't stay much longer, at least so said he, because his mom would end up finding out he left, and then he'd be in real trouble.

Richie hated the sight of Eddie leaving. Something in him always feared that the boy would just never come back. It was irrational, but it still bothered him.

At last, there was only Richie, and Stan.

Richie's parents weren't home. It wasn't their fault. They'd be soon moving away, which meant his parents were constantly going to San Francisco to set everything straight. They had to find a new house, they had to find Richie's mom a new job, and had to find a new school for Richie to attend on his senior year.

He just refused to go to his house, and stay there all by himself. He wasn't scared of burglars, nor was he scared of ghosts, but what did frighten him was the thoughts of what he could do locked at the house with only his mind.

The only logical, and safe, solution was to stay at Stan's. He told Stan there were a lot of robberies happening on his neighborhood, and he didn't want to be alone at his house just to get robbed.

On the walk back, they decided to not actually ride their bikes, but to carry it along while walking in a rather slow pace. It didn't make much difference, and it gave them more time to talk, which both appreciated, and needed.

"You really think it's a bad idea to date someone from your friend group?" Richie asked narrowing his eyes.

"Yes," Stan answered without blinking, side-glancing at the boy who was just a bit taller than him.

"But, Bill and Bev dated, broke up, and things are just normal," he commented.

"That's a different story."

"What's wrong?" Richie finally questioned, breaking down. "You know what's wrong, why can't you tell me? Is it me? Am I what's wrong?"

"For fucking Christ, Richie, it's not you," Stan replied quickly, wide-eyed, "There's nothing wrong."

"You don't even believe in Christ, you're Jew," Tozier replied.

"That's not how it...," Stan sighed, "That's not how it works. What the fuck?"

"Just tell me! There's something going on with us, I can tell," he cried, "Everyone knows it, but me! I can tell! It's me, isn't it?"

"It's not you! Where did you get that from?" Stan rubbed his eyes.

"So, there is something! And everyone knows it. Everyone but me."

"Not everyone knows, alright?" Stan gave up, throwing his hand at the air. "It's... It has nothing to do with you, I promise. Just ignore it. It'll pass."

"Stan, we don't keep secrets from each other," he mumbled irritated. That was a lie. An ugly lie. But he didn't care, he had to know what it was.

It was him. He was sure. They found out about him. His friends knew the truth about him. They were trying to avoid it, but it was unbearable already.

"Richie, I can't tell you," his friend whispered.

"Why not?" He said in a high-pitched voice.

"It has absolutely nothing to do with you," he reassured.

"Then why can't you tell me?"

"Because it changes everything!"

"What's everything?" The boy with glasses was embarrassed by how desperate he sounded.

"Everything! Our friendship, the way you see me, the way you see the Losers, it changes all of it!"

"Stan, I've known you forever, nothing you could possibly do is ever going to make me see you any differently than how I already see you," he whispered, taking a deep breath, "You're Stan, the Man! You're my best friend. Nothing will ever change that."

"Ok, fine," the curly-haired boy mumbled reluctantly, throwing his bike to the ground, and sitting near a tree. Richie sat on his side. "Just... Please, promise me you will never tell anyone about this. And, promise it will really not change our friendship. Because, I'd rather keep secrets than be alone."

"I pinky promise."

"Ok. Great. Fine. Ugh."

"How bad is it?"

"It's not bad! At least, I don't think it is. I just have to think of the best way to tell this story," he paused, glancing at the horizon of trees in front of them, then glancing back at Richie, "It's the story of why Bill isn't with Bev anymore. No one knows. Not you, not Mike, not Eddie, not even Ben knows it."

"That makes me feel better," he giggled.

"I think this story is overall going to make you feel better, if you asked me," he muttered under his breath. Then, collected himself. "Are you ready? This is going to be a weird trip."

"Just tell it already!"

"You know Bill broke up with Bev last month, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Alright. So, the reason they broke up was because Bill cheated on her."

"What?" Richie shook his head.

"Well, it wasn't a big of a cheating thing to do... But it counts as cheating, I think."

"How are they still friends?" The boy asked, blinking more times than necessary. "That doesn't make sense. Bill has always been all about loyalty, you know that! He'd never cheat on Bev."

"The circumstances were really different from what you're imagining, alright?" Stan took another deep breath, his hands were visibly shaking. "You're going to laugh when I tell you."

"I will only laugh if it's funny, and looking at you right now, I can't imagine an unfunnier situation," he whispered weakly, "Stan, you're worrying me."

"About the beginning of last month, Bill, and I were hanging out, trying to get that dumb biology project done, remember?"

"I hated that project."

"Well, I hated it too. But that's not the point. The point is that, while we were doing our best to not procrastinate, and get the job done, Bill kissed me. Just like that, out of the blue," Stan finally confessed.

Richie's heart stopped, and he was entirely sure that his blood pressure had dropped dramatically. His face was burning, and his hands sweating more than they did at the quarry.

"Then, I told him that I couldn't do it, because of Bev. That kiss meant cheating on her!" He continued, gesticulating to himself, "He was cheating as her boyfriend, and I was cheating as her friend. Then, Bill said he'd break up with Bev for me, which I felt was unfair to her, even if I knew she'd understand, and she did, for the record, that's why she's so cool about their break up. But I needed some time to process the whole thing, you know?"

Tozier couldn't make a cohesive response, so he simply shook his head.

"I had never looked at Bill, and thought, 'oh, I'd very much like to kiss him," he sighed, "And, as if it wasn't confusing enough, I'd still go to History class, glance at Rachel Louis's face, and think, 'I wish she'd let me kiss her', which I don't understand, but I don't have to, and that's not the point! The thing is, Bill thought I rejected him, which I didn't, and now he's been hanging out with Mike, and I just know he's been kissing Mike, and Mike doesn't even know that he kissed me first!"

"You like boys," Richie let out in a faint whisper, running his hand through his black hair.

"I like Bill, that's one thing," Stan answered, hugging his knees.

Richie took a deep breath, unsure of what to respond.

********************

I love this chapter. I just love it.
Also, I love Stan, so fucking much. In this household, we respect Stan Uris, as the boy who loves his friends very much, and would do anything for them. Oh, and sorry for not giving Bill, and Mike much space, they'll have in the following chapters, I promise.
I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, please, leave a comment, and a vote!
Love,
Liv💓