holes fanfics

in Between pt6

Begin Operation: No Stanley Yelnats V.

Stanley was pouring milk into his cereal. He didn’t make it obvious when he noticed how suspicious the two of his friends were acting.

“You two sleep well?” He asked nonchalantly.

“No. Yes,” Said Magnet.

Stanley hummed, raising his eyebrows. He took a sip of coffee, subtly rolling his eyes.

Twitch’s turn. “Did you sleep good? With Zero on top of you?”

The tall man squinted at them. “How do you know that?”

“He told us,” Twitch said.

“We have a picture,” Magnet said, at the same time.

The pair exchanged glances. Maybe this should have been more thought-out.

“One of you being a terrible liar makes this a lot easier.” Stanley chewed on his cereal, looking between the two with an amused expression.

They looked at each other with suspicion, then at him.

“Which one of us do you think lied?” Magnet asked.

Stanley poked Twitch on his forehead. “Peach wouldn’t tell you guys something silly like that.”

“You’re not his only friend…” Twitch huffed.

“Oh, of course not,” Said Stanley, “But I know he wouldn’t really care.”

“Do you?” Magnet raised his eyebrows.

Stanley seemed like he had to think about it. His face may have warmed.

“It’s nice, but it isn’t something to go around sharing, I guess.”

“”Nice”, yes…”

“What are you two, cops? I thought you had a criminal record.” Stanley became defensive.

“Hey, I’m a changed man, buddy,” Magnet pouted.

“Yeah, maybe from last week.”

…

“What did you tell Peach to make him stay home,” Stanley deadpanned.

Magnet smiled innocently. “Nothing.”

“Dang,” The taller one sighed, “I got the one who knows how to lie.”

They were now out getting groceries. This is normally something Stanley did with Hector, but Magnet and Twitch have been keeping the two of them apart all day.

“Don’t you have, like, a job? Hobbies?”

“My hobby is my job,” Magnet said, “And I’m off work.”

“If only you got paid for bothering people.”

Magnet followed Stanley around for a moment, silent but smiling. Old habits got him to look a bit too closely at some of the food on display.

“What does Zero do?” He asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Has he got a job?”

“Oh,” Stanley smiled fondly, “He plays guitar in some cafes. He’s pretty good at it, and he decides his own hours, which is good for him.”

He was inspecting the display of peaches. Magnet could only imagine why, since Stanley owns multiple peach trees.

“He doesn’t sing very often, but he can play any song he knows without any sheet music.”

Magnet looked at him knowingly. Stanley didn’t notice.

“He make’ good money?”

Stanley shrugged a shoulder, “Even if he didn’t, it wouldn’t matter. He’s like you’n Twitch; your job’s your hobby.”

While Stanley was distracted, Magnet tried to sneak in a couple bags of chips into the cart. The taller boy glared at him until he put them back.

As he sulkily put them back, Magnet commented, “You talk about lil’ Hec like he’s your girlfriend, my guy.”

The cart jittered sharply. Magnet turned back around to face him. Stanley stared at the cart wide-eyed.

“You… think so?” He said in a small voice.

“S-sorry.”

“No,” Stanley cleared his throat,” I… It’s not… Well…”

“Stanley?” Magnet tried not to seem too excited. Stanley wrung his hands and fidgeted awkwardly.

“You- You can’t tell anyone, man-”

“You LIKE him!!”

Magnet got all excited, doing an aggressive little dance. Stanley, however, did not share his enthusiasm.

“That’s great, man!” The smaller one smiled up at his friend.

“It… isn’t.” His shoulders slumped, his eyebrows pinched with worry.

“Dude, why?”

Stanley said nothing. Magnet looked him up and down, taking in his anxiety.

“Let’s go. I’ll pay the groceries.”