Wonder. | A Stanley Uris Fanfiction. | IT 2017.

7. New Friends.

 "H-here you are, Andie," Bill notified the girl sitting on the backseat of his bike. 

He stopped at the walkway in front of her house and steadied the bike as Andie hopped off, standing beside him now. "Thanks so much, Bill."

"What for?" 

"Today. I still had fun hanging with you guys," she beamed, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

Bill looked to her hand then back at her, "I-I-I'm glad. I hope you can go t-t-tomorrow."

"I'm sure, I'll go."

"Good," Bill nodded. "I look f-f-forward to it."

"I do too. Goodnight, Bill," she kissed his right cheek and watched as he cycled away. 

 Andie entered her house and called out for her mom. In response, she heard Linda's voice from the common room. She could hear voices and sounds that didn't belong to her mom, which could only mean that Linda was watching the television. Andie walked towards the living room and her vision revealed her mother wearing a green tank top, paired with a yellow mustard cardigan. As she suspected, the television was on, a commercial, playing. 

"Hey, honey. How was your day?" her mother asked, patting down the seat beside her. 

Understanding what it meant, Andie sat down and leaned her right arm on the back of the couch, her body facing Linda's. Linda turned to face her daughter as well, after turning off the television. 

"Do you feel better, mom?"

"Yes, I do. Now, tell me, did you have fun? If having fun at the sewers was even possible," Linda shrugged.

"It was fun. Sort of. I mean, they like having me around, since they invited me again tomorrow. Is it okay if I go tomorrow?" Andie tilted her head slightly, waiting for her mother's answer.

"What will you be doing tomorrow?"

"They plan to go to the quarry," Andie smiled with hope.

"Okay, sure. It'll be good that you spend your summer with your friends instead of cooped up, you know," she trailed off. "Plus, tomorrow, I'll be at work all day."

"Thanks, mom," she kissed Linda on her cheek before making her way to her room. 

 Andie couldn't wait to take a cold shower after the long, hot day she had. She closed the curtains and began stripping off her clothes then covered herself with a bath robe. She entered her bathroom and went on as usual. Except this time, she decided to stay under the cold shower longer, feeling relieved and happy. Happier than she had been since- Well, since Paul's death. Once done, Andie slipped on a nightgown in the color of pale pink and laid down on her bed, letting her thoughts run wild, coming to mind once more; the day she had, the new friends she made, her mother, her father and, Stanley. 

"Andie, it's for you!" Linda's voice broke Andie's field of thoughts. With that, she ran down the stairs and began heading to the kitchen. 

"Hello?" her voice, speaking to the phone. 

"It's uh, Stan. Again," his soft voice peering through.

"Oh, hey, wonderboy," her lips curled into a smile at the thought of how red Stanley would be. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I guess, I just wanted to thank you for today," he sighed. "You made it bearable."

Andie laughed, saying, "thank you, Stan. I can imagine you just wanting to rip Richie's head off."

"It definitely would have happened had it not been for you," he chuckled. 

 The two went on for the next twenty minutes, finally stopping when Andie began to grow hungry for dinner. They had talked about tomorrow and their excitement to see one another. She liked talking to Stanley and the way he would stutter whenever he gets flustered, which wasn't hard for him to be. Stanley didn't know that all the while they had called, Andie was smiling widely, melting at the sound of his voice, his breathing, his laugh. She wanted to hear him more. She knew she could go on and on just listening to the boy and not get tired of it, not get tired of him. 

 Just as Stanley didn't know that, Andie didn't know how Stanley's mind kept thinking back to her smile, her eyes, her laughter and her touch. He remembered it perfectly despite only living it for a short while. At the Barrens, he was scared, really scared and she understood. He didn't have to explain anything for her to know how he felt. Just as quick as his fears could arrive, the touch of Andie's hand would relax him. Stanley was a scaredy cat and he wished he could look into her eyes, and hear her laugh, and feel her touch forever so he would never feel scared anymore. 

 They both were oblivious to what they were feeling, pushing away the thoughts and feelings, trying to convince themselves it was just a fantasy. That they didn't have a chance with each other, that they are better off as friends. That the things they felt, was only something friendly, something platonic. To everyone else, it was obvious; Stanley Uris and Andie Tyler had developed a crush on each other in a short amount of time.