He Likes Boys//It (2017)

s e v e n

Chapter Seven:

Hom ordered a double chocolate chunk ice cream from the truck. He loved the sweet taste. He look shyly over at Beverly.

"I can pay for you if you want?" Hom offered her.

Beverly shook her head. "It's fine. I've got money." She pulled her wallet out of her pocket. "Vanilla ice cream please." She said politely to the man working the truck. He nodded and quickly got to work on her ice cream, passing it to her again through the window. She payed him, and thanked him once more before going off to join Hom and the rest of the losers at a nearby park bench.

"You know, I gotta really enjoy this place. Just the care they put into making their ice creams." Beverly had no idea what Richie was going on about this time, but she knew it was bound to be funny, and tried to listen in anyway.

"Stop mocking me, Richie. I was only pointing out how the tip was off centre." Mike stated.

"I know, but just look at the craftsmanship that goes into this ice cream!" Richie replied. "Look at all this white, gooey stuff."

"Beep-beep Richie." Ben said loudly.

"Shut the fuck up, I literally wasn't referring to that."

"Beep-beep Richie." Mike join in.

"You can't censor me after I say it. That's not how it works." Richie replied.

"There are little kids around, though." Ben points to the young first graders getting their ice cream at the ice cream trucks.

Richie rolls his eyes. "Like they haven't said worse. When I was their age I cursed like a sailor."

"I remember that." Beverly said. "Every sentence had to contain a swear. You were just trying to make yourself look cool."

Stan elbowed him. "Awww, our Richie will always be a loser."

"Damn right." Richie grunted. Hom blushed as he watch Richie give his popsicle a slightly sexual lick. He pulled his mind back before it started to wonder, looking over at Beverly. She sure was beautiful, definitely the most beautiful girl Hom had ever seen. Slowly, their bodies seemed to go nearer to each other yet again, almost by an unknown force of gravity.

"Losers club?" Richie gawked. "More like lovers club."

Beverly and Hom broke apart, feeling embarrassed for having almost done that in front of the group.

"D-d-don't mind him." Bill whispered. "He's just jealous cause he hasn't even had his first kiss y-yet."

Hom's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I thought he was just bragging about not being a virgin?" Hom asked curiously, looking over to where Richie was currently occupied by trying to put the remainder of his ice cream in Stan's hair, while Stan was trying to put his left over ice cream in Richie's hair.

"H-he j-just likes to tell people th-that to try to impress them. H-he means well, he just does that wh-when he wants to be friends with someone." Hom looked back at Richie again to see that him and Stan had both abandoned their ice creams on the ground and were two having what looked like a sword fight with very long sticks.

"Oh." Was all Hom could say. He looked over to where Beverly had just rested her hand between them on the bench. He really wanted to hold her hand, but he was nervous, and didn't really know if it was what Beverly wanted.

Eventually Beverly got tired of Hom gazing at her, and then back down at her hand, and just went to grab his hand, linking their fingers together. She looked him in the eyes.

"Is this okay?" Beverly asked, referring to their linked hands. Hom nodded, feeling quite tongue tied because of her. She made him nervous, he knew that she probably wasn't judging him, but he felt that he still needed to make her think he was a good person even though she probably already thought he was.

He held his ice cream in one and hand, and Beverly's hand in the other. Hom couldn't possibly feel more happy. Every part of his body seem lit a flame by joy. He smiled softly at Beverly.

"Why are you smiling?" She asked him, feeling quite curious.

"I'm happy. I'm here with you." He replied faithfully.

"I'm happy to be here with you too." Beverly said and smiled back at him.

Why oh why did her heart do this to her? Why oh why did it spring with joy at the mere mention of him? Why did she have to love him so? She felt her hand get slightly sweaty under his, she felt nervous about this. Everything was so new to her. Relationships were new to her. She didn't know if she was doing it right, but she had a feeling that he didn't either.

"Hey Hom?" Beverly asked. Hom turned his attention away from his ice cream.

"Yeah?" Hom replied.

"Are we dating? Like officially?" Beverly asked. They were there holding hands, and having kissed, but she still wanted to make sure that thing were official. Although calling him her boyfriend felt just a bit too serious.

"I-if you want..." Hom said, cursing himself for stuttering and letting his nerves get the best of him.

Beverly nodded. "I guess this make us boyfriend and girls friend?" Hom was unsure of what to say next.

Hom scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess it does."

"Ohhhh!" Richie shouted at the top of his lungs. "Beverly's got a boy toy!" He teased, screaming it into the air and scaring off several birds. A mother glared at them from across the street, whispering to her children to go back inside.

"Shut up Richie." Beverly said angrily. Although  she knew that deep down inside Richie meant well, his teasing was still quite the annoyance.

Bill smiled softly and looked down at the watch on his wrist. It was almost time for the losers to go back home.