Leah climbed out the car. "Thanks for the ride, see you tomorrow." She said walking to her house. Ava watched her walk in and then drove off. She remained silent. Ava had given up on trying to make conversation with Billy. He didn't want to talk and she really wasn't going to make him. Billy cleared his throat and Ava turned to him. She thought was going to say something but he remained silent. Soon they were home.

Ava walked into the house where her parents were already in the kitchen talking about Billy. "He's clearly still violent." Vanessa said to him.

"He's adjusting still." Dr. Daniels argued.

"Mom, Dad, we're home!" Ava called so they would both stop talking. She walked into the kitchen. "Hello." She said smiling at them. Billy walked in behind her. "Whats for dinner?" She asked sitting at the counter. Her mother pulled out two plates from the oven and placed them on the counter. Billy sat next to Ava. They both began eating quietly. Michael and Vanessa remained standing watching them. "Is something wrong?" Ava asked unsure looking at her parents.

"No...just...well the school called today." Her father said looking at Billy. "Is everything okay?" He asked. Billy nodded. "We talked about this before, we made a deal about you coming to live here didn't we?" Billy nodded again.

"It wasn't his fault." Ava said softly. Her mother looked at her confused. "We were eating lunch and Johnny came over messing with him." She said. "And he didn't get hurt or anything." She explained.

"Johnny Burt?" Her mother asked. "The kid from marching band?"

"Yeah Johnny Burt and he plays the drums. Which isn't even really marching band." Ava answered. "Anyway, he was mad because I told him to go away." She shrugged. "But he wouldn't and he tried reaching for Billy 1st." Ava said being honest.

"Wait..." Her mother said. "I thought you were friends with Johnny? He used to come over all the time and then a couple weeks ago..." Her voice trailed off as she and Michael realized that Johnny and Ava had been more than friends. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Ava said standing. "I'm gonna go for a walk." She said walking towards the door.

"I'll go with you." She turned and saw Billy standing. "You shouldn't walk alone in the dark anyway." He shrugged walking behind her. Ava walked out the door and Billy followed closely behind her. She stayed quiet for 5 minutes before speaking. "I think Leah kinda has a crush on you." She said turning to face him.

"Yeah?" He asked seeming to not care.

"Yeah." Ava answered. "What do you think of her?" She asked.

"She talks a lot." Billy said shrugged.

"Compared to who, you?" Ava asked a smirk playing on her lips.

"People in general." Billy clarified. Suddenly a slight whirring could be heard. Billy and Ava looked up towards the sky. "F-117 Night hawk." Billy said to himself.

Ava turned to him. "You can see that?" She asked surprised.

"20/20 vision, its a gift." Billy said shrugging. "Except mine is more along just plain 20 now, right?" He asked smiling at her. Ava smiled back at him. It had been the first time he smiled since she met him. He had a beautiful smile she thought. He should use it more often. "I was going to join the air force." Billy said. They had wondered into a park. Ava sat climbed up the plastic stairs and sat on the bridge that connected one side to the other. Billy sat across from her.

"Guess you can't join with only one eye?" She asked. Billy shook his head. "Do you know what you want to do now?" She asked. He shook his head again. "Well that makes two of us." Ava said her fingers pulling at the wood of the planks. She felt a stinging on her finger. She pulled her hand up looking at it. "I got a splinter." She said to herself. She tried getting it out but couldn't.

"Can I see?" Billy asked. She held out her hand. He squinted down at her finger while holding her hand carefully. She felt him squeeze gently and then he let go. "There, its out." He said looking at her.

"Thank you." Ava said bringing her hand back to herself. "So, why were you in jail?" She asked.

Billy opened his mouth but suddenly a light came into their faces. They both stood up and saw the Park Police. "Why are you two doing here?" They asked. "Park closes at 8 on weekdays." They ordered. "Get home, now."

Ava and Billy walked off the bridge and down the stairs. They began the walk back home which was quiet. Ava didn't want to ask him anymore questions because she didn't want him to feel like she was prying but she wanted to know everything about him. She knew she could wait for him to be comfortable enough to talk about it. Once they got back to the house Billy disappeared into his room where he stayed the whole night. Ava went to her room and fell asleep quickly. The lack of sleep from the night before made her more tired than usual.


Two weeks had passed since Billy joined the Daniels dinner and he was still silent almost always. Whenever asked a question he gave the shortest answer possible. Ava kept trying to think of reasons for them to be alone but other than the short drive to school they were always surrounded by people. Her parents were home always to make sure Billy didn't cause trouble and in school the teachers watched over him carefully.

Ava had given in to Leah's demands for her and Billy to join their group for lunch. This just kept Billy quieter. He didn't seem to like big groups of people especially when they tried to talk to him. Since the incident in the lunchroom Johnny had left Ava alone and she was happy with that. It was Friday and Ava's parents were going to be gone until Sunday. It was their wedding anniversary. Ava was originally supposed to be staying with Leah but since Billy moved in they decided it was best Ava and Billy remain in the house alone.

"Come on, its a perfect idea." Leah begged as they walked home from school. "Think about it, its our last year. Our grades are perfect, your parents are gone, my brother can get alcohol...I say we celebrate." She said pouting. "What do you think Billy?" She asked hoping he would agree.

"Its stupid." He said turning his head to the sky as a gentle whirring was heard from above. "T-1 Jay Hawk." He spoke softly. Ava smiled looking at him.

"Okay, ignore him. Hes talking to himself." Leah said rolling her eyes. Even though Leah still had a small crush on Billy she had taken to disliking him. Leah usually threw herself at guys she liked and got what she wanted. Billy couldn't care less when she spoke and it made her upset. "Ava please?" She begged.

"No I'm not doing it." Ava said firmly. "I said no already. Its a bad idea. I don't want my house trashed and my dad would kill me." She shrugged. They stopped in front of her house. "Now, I'll see you tomorrow right?" She asked. Leah rolled her eyes again. "I'll take that as a yes, good bye." She said walking to the door where Billy was already waiting for her. He didn't have his own key.

Ava opened the door and they walked in. Her parents were already gone. She walked to the kitchen grabbing the note they left. She read it quickly and saw they left $100 in case of an emergency. "So what do you want to do?" She asked Billy. He shrugged. "Wanna watch TV?" She asked. "Or play a video game? I don't know." She said.

"It doesn't matter to me." Billy said opening grabbing a can of soda from the refrigerator. He handed her one. They drank slowly in silence. "Do you believe in karma?" Billy asked. Ava shrugged unsure. "I'm going upstairs." Billy said before disappearing. Ava watched him unsure what she was going to do. She went to her room and did her homework for the weekend. It was around 9 that she was really bored.

Ava thought about karma and why Billy asked. She walked down the hall seeing Billy's door was closed like always. She placed her ear against the door and listened. It there was complete silence. Nothing could be hear. She knocked and there was no answer. She knocked harder and still no answer.