Boys in Crop Tops: Stozier

2

Stan laid in bed staring at his ceiling as he waited for Eddie to wake up. The concert still had Stan in a trance, the music and especially Richie. His confidence was what amazed him the most. The boy wore a crop top in Derry Maine, one of the most homophobic and overall just old fashioned ideology towns there is. Richie had grown up here too yet he seemed unaffected by the negativity and suppression. Stan wished he was like that, able to express himself however he'd like. 

Stan picked up his phone and opened it to a few new notifications. He flipped through social media and checked the posts he'd posted last night. He tagged the band and Eddie in his post and smiled at the horrible video quality but the memory was what counted. He checked the likes and he stopped when he saw a like from Losers Club. His heart leaped and a smile covered his face. Maybe, just maybe, Richie had noticed him as he thought. 

There was a shuffle and Stan looked next to him and saw Eddie had woken up. Eddie smiled tiredly and looked up at Stan yawning. Eddie wasn't much of a morning person so Stan gave him time to wake up typically but today he could hardly hold himself back. 

"Eddie, the band liked the post that I made last night!" Stan told him with excitement laced in his words. 

Eddie laughed sleepily smiling, "that's great Stan! I was talking to Bill last night... we are gonna... meet up later, wanna join?" Eddie yawned again but rubbed his eyes to rid himself of the tired feeling. 

Stan nodded and composed himself again but couldn't help but smile. It was a nice change for him. He usually only had his studies, he had to keep up his spot on top of the honor roll so he hardly had time to let loose like this. He didn't typically let himself have fun like this. 

 Stan got up and headed to his closet to get dressed, he wanted to look nice but causal for today. The spring air was still chilly so he decided for a button-up with a baby blue sweater over some black jeans and his vans. Comfy but casual. Eddie just pulled on a sweatshirt and his jeans from yesterday, he did fix his hair though and then pulled his old convers on. The two smiled and headed down for breakfast, which was hopefully going to be brief. Stan wasn't as open at hope due to his family's very strict views on life. 

The two teens sat together and ate some cereal in silence before Mrs. Uris walked in and smiled at the two. She said a brief hello and then went to make herself another cup of coffee. There was an awkward silence as she stood there waiting for her coffee. Stan glanced over at Eddie before getting up to wash his dishes. 

"We are going out to meet with friends, I'll be home later," Stan said softly and started to put the dishes away in the dishwasher. He glanced back to see what her reaction was, which was as he expected, stoic. 

"Ok, just make sure to come home before eight. It is a school night," was all she mumbled out and went to sit in the living room. Stanly sighed a bit and smiled softly at Eddie. Eddie smiled back sympathetically before the two got up and headed outside to Stan's car. 

He turned on the radio and started to pull out of the driveway to meet Bill. Eddie had pulled up the location and started to give him directions to get there. It was a comforting stillness in the car as the pair drove. Eddie would occasionally sing along with the radio when he knew the song causing them both to smile. It helped ease the tension and their moods as they pulled up to a diner. 

Eddie got out first dashing inside leaving Stan to catch up. He walked in and looked over seeing Eddie hugging the tall thin guitarist from the band, Bill Denbrough. They both wore giant smiles and laughed happily. Stan smiled a bit at the two thinking about how they seemed like a couple from an outsider's view. His attention was then caught by a loud voice and a bright smile. 

"Heya Eddie Spaghetti! Nice to finally meet ya!" Richie roared and stole the smaller away ruffling his hair causing Eddie to swat at him. Eddie lectured him about using the name and huffed getting riled up. 

Richie diverted his gaze to Stan and grinned, "Heya, who's your friend Eds?"

"I'm Stanly Uris, call me Stan though. Eddie invited me along today," Stan said calmly and straightened himself. He presented himself much calmer than he felt. His heart was racing out of his chest as well as his mind. 

Bill stepped in and grinned, "n-nice to meet y-you, I'm B-Bill." He held out a hand and he shook it smiling at the gesture. Stan was a bit surprised by the stutter admittedly but he didn't show it outwardly. 

"Are the others coming?" Eddie asked after introductions were made and looked between the two band members, "I haven't met Ben yet or Mike."

Richie shook his head, "Nah they wanted to rest up or avoid being seen by the locals." He laughed a bit at this leaning against the wall. 

Stan took a moment to look over Richie while he was distracted, enjoying the view in front of him. Richie had a black hoodie under a heavy denim jacket littered with pins from different rock bands and shows, his black jeans were reminiscent of the pair he wore last night, full of holes and skinny. Then he wore a worn pair of Timberlands with the laces undone, seemingly on purpose. The outfit and way Richie wore his messy hair gave him a very punk rock vibe, very contrasting to the yellow crop top from last night. Stan still felt the same strang attraction to him, despite him not admitting it. 

A sudden wave of confidence took over Stan as the conversation shifted to be mainly between Bill and Eddie. "So Richie, do you always wear crop tops on stage?" Stan asked with hints of playfulness in his voice. 

Richie chuckled and then shook his head, "Nah, it varies but I like them. I just thought it'd be funny to wear one here in Derry. The place needs to loosen up and get the stick out of their ass," he explained laughing more. 

Stan rolled his eyes a bit but was still smiling, "Such a trashmouth, and a loud one. Is that where the name came from hmm?" Stan leaned forward a bit still surprised by how calm he was. He typically lacked any confidence. 

"Actually yes, Bev calls me it all the time so I decided to use it on stage," Richie replied quickly and leaned forward, "now how about you Stan the Man. You a local?"

The shift caught Stan off guard and his confidence fluttered away briefly, "Yeah, born and raised tragically. The one and only Jewish kid at Derry High." Stan shrugged and rolled his eyes slightly. 

Richie thought for a moment before his eyes lit up, "oh shit! You were that OCD anal kid in middle school! Bowers threw your hat thing like a frisbee one day and hit me in the head!" Richie burst out laughing where Stan's face erupted with a red blush as he hid his face. The other two sitting with them looked over at the contrasting pair and snickered a bit. 

Stan groaned a bit and waved him off but continued to talk to him. He enjoyed having Richie around to talk to. It was nice to have someone as sporadic and fun to be with to contrast his very straight forward OCD personality. It was like they were meant to be together and be friends.

The group talked and hung out for a few hours but soon enough Richie got a call to go back to the room to prepare to leave again. Stan frowned a bit as they all got up to leave the diner not wanting to say goodbye to Richie yet. He was ready to go to his car and unlock it so he could head home when Richie stopped him. 

"I wanted to wait till the love birds were away," He started and took Stan's hand, "I saw you last night and you took my breath away... watching you light up with the music was incredible, here's my number so we can stay in touch ok? I'll be seeing you again soon Stan the Man!"

WIth that Richie bounced away from Stan, leaving him red-faced again and clutching the crumpled paper to his chest. His heart soared as he looked down at the paper and bit his lip. He got the number of Richie Trashmouth Tozier, the guy who might have stolen his heart.