Author's Note: I started this story right after 1x10 aired, but didn't finish it until after the final eight episodes aired/ABC Family announced the cancellation. Now that ABC Family (soon to be Freeform) has the full series available on their website and OnDemand, I thought old fans (and maybe some new ones) might enjoy a little more time with Jane and Billy.
Chapter 1
"I need to tell you something, Janie." Billy paused and rubbed his palms together before climbing up onto the runway. "I really have no idea how to say this, so I'm just gonna say it."
"What's going on?" Jane asked.
"It's you, Janie." Billy smiled as he spoke, anxious to see Jane's reaction.
She inhaled as she prepared to speak, but they were interrupted before she could respond. "Jane?"
Jane turned to face Jeremy standing at the far end of the runway, and then turned back to Billy. Billy saw the confusion in her expression, and his heart sank when her eyes slid away from him and she whispered an overwhelmed, "Wow."
Jane turned back to Jeremy and held up one finger, "Just a minute." Then she turned back to Billy and tried to paste on a calm smile. Few but him would have picked up on the tension in her voice or her nervous habit of rubbing the tips of her fingers over one another, but Billy Nutter was more than familiar with the quirks of Jane Quimby. "What is it, Billy?" she asked. "What were you gonna tell me?"
He swallowed hard, partly to moisten his suddenly dry mouth and partly to stall. "I, ah . . . ." His mind raced as the silence lengthened, growing more awkward. He tried again, "I . . . ." His desperate thoughts landed on the perfect nugget of info, courtesy of a cellphone app set to alert him to the social media activities of his contacts. "Valedictorian!" he blurted. "It's you! You did it, Jane!"
Her eyes widened and she broke into a genuine smile. "Seriously?! Really?!" She launched herself into his arms and clasped hers around his neck. She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked down at him as he held her up, feet dangling above the floor, "Wait, how'd you find out before me? Before Ben?"
"Lulu," he answered, rolling his eyes. "She posted a status about half an hour ago saying she got salutatorian. You two were the only ones in the running, if she's salutatorian that means you have to be valedictorian! You and Ben have been away from school and incommunicado most of the day; the school's probably planning to tell you on Monday."
Jane rested her forehead against his. "Can you believe this?" she asked smiling.
"Of course I can," he said. He lowered her to her feet, but his hands stayed at her waist and hers clasped his shoulders. "You're brilliant."
She grinned and shrugged her shoulders. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted again, this time by a none-to-subtle clearing of the throat. Jane turned her head toward her impatient colleague, and then back to Billy, "I need to go help get things wrapped up here."
"That's ok. I understand," Billy reassured. "I just – I just wanted to be the one to tell you."
"Thanks, Billy" she said. She leaned forward to give him a kiss on the cheek before scurrying down the runway toward Jeremy.
Billy observed the interloper as the other man watched Jane move toward him. Billy realized then that he must have the same besotted and goofy expression when Jane was anywhere within his view, and he finally understood why his friendship with Jane had made Lulu so uncomfortable. Billy made eye contact with Jeremy just before Jane reached him, and silently gave him the same warning that he'd given to Nick, "Don't hurt her."