17

                                    

                                          
𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑, and sitting on this hill, they now have time to reflect upon it. 
                          
bill has convinced stanley to come, and the two of them sit comfortably next to each other on the grass, watching the sun set. next to them is beverly, who is essentially lying across both ben and mike. mike's running his fingers through beverly's hair, and she's talking to ben about the fact that boba has caffeine in it. on the end sit richie and eddie, eddie in richie's lap. 
                          
the sun, now setting, made for the perfect scene to end a coming-of-age movie. bill and stanley are talking about buzzfeed unsolved, although it's mostly bill, and stanley is just watching him.
                          
"an-and i honestly think wuh-w-w-warner did it. otherwise, it m-makes no sense!" bill says, stanley nodding and staring gingerly into bill's eyes. the look on stanley's face makes bill's talking fade away for a moment, in awe.
                          
"you're wonderful, bill." stanley puts a hand on bill's neck, and bill flushes red. they've been showing affection towards each other for a solid amount of time now, but it never fails to make bill blush.
                          
"thuh-thanks," bill stutters, laughing, "you're wonderful too."
                          
stanley softly leans towards bill, pulling him into a hug. this results in the two of them on the ground, and they both chuckle quietly. ben looks over at them briefly, but decides to leave them to their conversation as he continues to talk to beverly. 
                          
stanley inhales, "i love you. i know it's really soon, and i know you're going back, but-"
                          
"i love you too." bill says, and stanley can now exhale. 
                          
stan lets go of him and presses a gentle kiss to bill's lips. bill smiles and takes stan's hand. they sit back up, and see that richie is rustling through his bag, looking for his camera.
                          
"we're remembering this summer, guys, whether we like it or not," richie finally pulls the camera out of his bag, and they all smile a little.
                          
"a pretty sp-sp-p-p-special summer," bill mumbles to stanley, who bites his tongue between his teeth happily.
                          
as the sun set before them, bill takes in the dusk settling upon the landscape. watching the darkness take over, it doesn't really matter, because stanley is sitting next to him. bill is safe.
                          
no matter what, he's safe.