now or never [reddie au]

23

That night, Bill lie down in his bed, unable to sleep. It felt as though everything bad that could possibly happen to him was happening all at once. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry about the way his parents argue over something that he felt wasn't even that big of a deal.

Bill begins to feel tired, but the feeling disappears almost immediately when he hears the sound if his alarm go off. He pick up his phone and looks at the time. It was 6 a.m. and he hadn't realized he was awake all night.

Bill sighs as he gets out of bed and gets ready for school. He decides to skip breakfast to avoid having to talk to his parents- his dad, specifically. He didn't want to start any arguments this early in the morning.

The only thing keeping Bill from walking to school instead of driving is Georgie wanted Bill to drive him to school this morning instead of their dad.

After Bill drops Georgie off, he gets to the high school and meets his friends at their usual table in the cafeteria. Bill sits down next to Stan. Bill notices that at the table where the Bowers cousins and their friends usually sit, Connor is the only one missing from the table.

"Hey, Bill.," Stan says to him, "I bought our prom tickets already. They're in my backpack."
"O-Oh.," Bill says, "I could've p-p-paid for mine."

"Don't worry about it.," Stan smiles at him.

"Speaking of prom.," Beverly turns to Eddie, "Do you want to go shopping with me this weekend, Eddie? I haven't decided what I want to wear to prom."

"Yeah.," Eddie smiles.

"Eds, you should wear a dress to prom.," Richie says, "You'd look cute."

"No, thank you.," Eddie shakes his head, "My mom would kill me."

Richie wraps his arm around Eddie, making him blush.

Bill yawns and begins to rest his head on the table, but shortly after, the bell rings. He sighs and sits back up, walking with his friends as they all go to their first classes of the day.

Bill had barely made it halfway through the school day without falling asleep in class. Either he had some kind of test to take and couldn't or he'd get in trouble for having his head on his desk. After what felt like forever, it was finally lunchtime. Bill was the first of the losers in the cafeteria. He sits at their table and lays his head down.

Shortly after, the rest of his friends join Bill at the table. Stan, who's sitting next to Bill, crosses his arms on the table and rests his head on his arms, looking at Bill. Stan could tell that Bill hadn't gotten any sleep. "Are you okay?," Stan asks softly.

"Mhm.," Bill mumbles, "I'm j-just tired." "Okay.," Stan smiles at Bill, "If you need to talk, I'm here for you." By the time Stan had finished his sentence, Bill was fast asleep. Stan remains in his position, his eyes locked on the beautiful boy as he slept. It was obvious there was something going on with Bill, but Stan didn't want to press the issue too much.

Since Connor hadn't showed up at school that day, Henry decides to confront Richie about the drunk phone call from a few nights ago. "Hey, Tozier!," Henry yells, standing at his table. Richie flinches as he hears Henry and the whole cafeteria goes silent. Henry's yelling wakes Bill.

"What the fuck is your problem?," Henry asks. Connor had told Henry that he was okay, and that he shouldn't be worried about it. However, Henry had always had really bad anger issues, and anyone who would breathe wrong around him would be lucky to see another day.

This terrified Richie. He knew that being with Connor in the first place would be risky. Maybe that's why Richie was reluctant to end the relationship. Sure, he didn't want to break Connor's heart, but he also didn't want Henry to break any of his bones.

All of the losers at the table turn their attention to Richie. Ben was the only one who had no idea about the drunk phone call, but he assumed that whatever Henry was mad about had something to do with Connor.

"Seriously, Tozier!," Henry begins to approach the losers' table, "What's wrong with you?"

"Listen, Henry.," Richie starts, "I was drunk. I'm sorry-"

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to, you fucking idiot!," Henry is standing next to their table, and his eyes shift to Stan, "You. What the fuck did you say about my cousin, you freak?"

Henry was referring to when Richie said Connor was using Stan. Stan, however, was confused. He didn't do anything but laugh while Richie was on the phone. "I don't know.," Stan says softly. "What?," Henry asks, moving closer to Stan.

"I... I said I don't know.," Stan tells him, his voice shaking, "Can you just leave us alone?"

Beverly looks over at Bill. She had never seen him like this before. He looks like he's about to snap at Henry at any second. Bill clenches his fists under the table, his cheeks flushed he's so angry.

Henry grabs Stan by the collar of his shirt, "Why should I?," He asks, "You and your buddies won't leave my cousin alone."

Richie didn't know what to do. He had no idea why Henry was attacking Stan like this, and he knew that Stan is too scared do anything to Henry. At the same time, Richie couldn't do anything either. Stan feels the tears roll down his cheeks. He thought Henry was going to kill him.

Suddenly, Bill stands up, giving Henry a death stare so bad that the other losers were scared of him for a second. Henry looks at Bill, and Bill throws a punch at Henry. Henry throws Stan on the floor, turning his attention to Bill.

Richie pulls Stan up off of the floor and Stan sits down next to him. "Are you okay?," Richie asks. Stan nods, his whole body shaking. Henry opens his mouth to say something to Bill, but Bill throws another punch, hitting him right in the nose.

Blood begins to drip from Henry's nostril. "You're gonna fucking die, B-B-B-Bill.," Henry says, mocking Bill's stutter before he throws a punch at him. Bill reacts as if Henry's punch doesn't hurt. Bill then grabs Henry and throws him on the floor, punching him some more while he's down. Finally, a teacher breaks up the fight and sends them to the principal's office before the fight gets any worse.

"Damn, I didn't know Bill could do that.," Richie says to his friends. "I know!," Eddie agrees, "He looked like he was gonna kill him." Richie looks at Stan, who looks too shaken up to move. He felt bad for not doing anything. Stan is his best friend, and he was too scared to stand up for him. "I'm sorry, Stanley.," Richie tells him, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Stan nods, "It's okay. I'll be fine."