Chapter XII:

Slip of the Tongue

Steve

After they had made the bed, Billy left and Steve went to pick up his parents from the bus station. Steve waited for nearly an hour before they finally arrived. Per usual, his father was disgruntled. He forced Steve to get out so that he could drive and complained, "I cannot believe the bus was late. What is the point of having a schedule when they do not follow it? Now I won't be able to pick up Sheila until tomorrow." Steve had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at his father's embarrassing habit of naming his cars.

Sometimes Steve thought that his father loved his cars more than his mother. He knew his mother thought the same thing as well. They spent the 20 minutes in the car with Steve's parents questioning about him about the summer and the state of the house. "Tell the truth, did you have any parties while we were gone? Every single piece of my china set had better be intact or so help me…" "No, mom. I didn't have any parties." She stared at him skeptically. "So no one came over?"

Steve sighed. "I did not say that. I did have friends over, only one or two of them at a time though." "Hmm, is that so? Well the house had better be spotless or you will be looking for somewhere else to live." "I promise, the house is clean." When they arrived at the house, his mother walked through and carefully examined each room. She made those small little disapproving noises in her throat while Steve anxiously followed her. Once she was finished, she scolded Steve, "You would think that you would have learned how to properly dust by now, but I suppose it is sufficient."

Steve let out the breath he was holding. "I'm sorry, Mother. I promise to dust better next time." She scoffed and commented, "Funny, you said that the last time." He was about to reply but she turned around and headed to her bedroom, indicating that the conversation was over. His father began to make his way towards the bedroom as well before Steve stopped him.

"Dad, I found a local teenage girl for the commercial." "Give her a call tomorrow and tell her to come in for an audition at 3 pm." "Yes, sir." Once he was out of sight, Steve went to his own room and tried to sleep. Unfortunately, his mind was plagued with the thought that he only had two more weeks of freedom before starting work as an assistant manager.

The next day, Steve called Robin and informed her of the audition. Over the next couple of days, he met up with Billy in empty parking lots or in the middle of cornfields. After Steve's father forced him to take part in the commercial along with Robin, Billy suggested that he stay over at Lisa's. "Do you think she would be okay with that?" Steve asked over the phone. "I asked Lisa and Susan and they said they didn't mind. It also helped that Max gave you an outstanding review."

Steve laughed and then promised to come over as soon as he spoke to his mother. After hanging up, he took a deep calming breath before searching the house. "Mom? Are you still here?" There was no answer but Steve continued to look for her. Finally, he found her in her bedroom. She was in bed with a sleep mask over her eyes. "Mom? Didn't you hear me calling for you?" She groaned. "I was hoping I was having a nightmare." She pulled the mask up and sharply asked, "What do you want?"

He was attempting to gather up the courage to say it but his mother grew impatient. "Spit it out. I'd like to get back to my nap." Steve sighed and blurted, "I'm going to stay with a friend for a while. I'm not sure how long but…" "Okay? You don't need my permission. Just make sure your room is clean before you leave. Don't forget to dust." She shooed him away and replaced the sleep mask over her eyes. Though his mother could care less where he was, he made sure to write down Lisa's number and put it on the fridge anyway.

He straightened up his already clean room and dusted every nook and cranny. Steve then gathered up a week's worth of clothing and other necessities before pulling out his savings from its hidden location. He took about $50 out, figuring that it was plenty and some. He threw his stuff into an old gym bag before leaving. Steve was anxious, but happy to get the fuck out of the prison he called home. The persistent fear that Lisa and Susan might catch on to Billy and Steve's relationship was making him very nervous.

He lightly knocked on the door, hoping he had the correct address. A woman similar in age to his parents answered, whom he assumed was Lisa. "Hello. I'm Steve, Billy's friend." The woman smiled and ushered him inside. "Come on in! Sorry, I wasn't expecting you so soon." She shut the door behind him and called, "Billy! Your friend is here!" Within seconds, both Billy and Max were there to greet him. Max gave him a quick hug and Billy simply remarked, "Well, that was quick."

Looking at his bag, Lisa inquired, "How long will you be staying with us?" "It is entirely up to you ma'am. I was thinking just a few days, maybe more but no longer than a week. Would that be okay? If not, I completely understand. I don't want to inconvenience you in any way…" She stopped him, "No, don't you worry about it. You are welcome to stay here as long as you like. I was just wondering because my son will be returning Friday, but you could sleep in his room in the meantime." He shook his head and gestured. "Oh no, ma'am. I don't want to intrude. I can sleep on the couch."

Billy cleared his throat. "He can sleep in my room on the Murphy bed. I don't mind sharing the room." Steve could feel his face grow warm as Max struggled to hide a knowing grin. Lisa nodded. "That's a grand idea, I nearly forgot about the Murphy bed. Does that work for you Steve? If not, please use my son's room. I do not want any guest in this house to have to suffer by sleeping on that horrendously uncomfortable couch." Steve smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Billy's room is fine." For obvious reasons, he did not want to appear too eager to be sleeping in the same room as Billy.

For dinner, Billy cooked up a meal for all of them. Steve snuck into the kitchen to see him in action. "Whatcha cooking?" "Hey! You aren't supposed to be in here. It's a surprise," Billy said as he swung around and spread his arms to hide the food. "Well it smells delicious. How come you didn't tell me you could cook ba – " He stopped and quickly looked around before leaning in and whispering, "Babe." He quickly planted a kiss on his boyfriend's lips before Billy pushed him away. "I don't want the food to burn. It will be done in a few minutes, so please get out."

Steve smiled and shook his head before he left the kitchen, amused at how serious Billy was about his cooking. It was about 10 minutes before Billy finally called that dinner was ready. He had everyone sit at the formal dinner table as he served everyone a plate. Steve looked down and made a strange discovery of a large mass wrapped in a tortilla. "Umm… what's this?" Steve seemed to be the only one confused, whereas Lisa, Susan, and Max gleefully bit into one end of the mass.

"It's a Mission burrito, a San Franciscan staple. I know you are picky Steve but there isn't anything unfamiliar in it." He shrugged and followed Billy in tasting the burrito. Steve cautiously took a bite and not finding anything disagreeable, he continued to eat it. "This is really good," Steve praised with a mouth full of food. Lisa stopped consuming her own burrito and commented, "It is just as good, if not better than the taquerias in San Francisco. Thank you."

Susan and Max nodded in agreement and Billy beamed with all of the compliments. After dinner, all of them watched TV for a bit before heading to bed. Steve's heart thumped in his chest as he followed Billy up the stairs. Once they were in the room, Steve quickly shut the door before embracing Billy. They made out for a moment until Billy pulled away. "I'm going to take a shower really quick." "Can't it wait until after?"

He sighed. "No, Susan and Lisa have work tomorrow and I don't want to take one too late. Who knows how long we will be at it," Billy said with a wink. Steve chuckled and relented, "Fine, but hurry up." Steve undressed and climbed under the covers as Billy showered, which only took a few minutes. Steaming and wet, Billy entered the room with a towel lightly wrapped around his waist. He shut the door behind him and locked it.

Steve took that as his signal and flipped the covers down, revealing his nakedness. Billy smirked and dropped his towel before jumping into bed with Steve. They both giggled but Billy put a finger to Steve's lips. "Shh. We have to be extra quiet. You know how loud you can get," he whispered. Steve attempted to protest but Billy stifled his reply with a kiss. He then began to stroke Steve's hard cock, causing him to moan. Billy bit Steve's lower lip and hushed him. "Sorry," Steve mumbled between their lips. They spent the rest of the night quietly making love to each other.

After waking in the early hours of the morning, Steve decided to leave the comfort of Billy's bed in order to pull on pajama pants and climb into the Murphy bed. He was thankful that he had partially dressed and moved beds because only a few hours later, there was incessant knocking at the door. Billy, a sound sleeper, did not wake so Steve answered the door. Half asleep, Steve thought he still might be dreaming. He had opened the door to find Samantha. He rubbed his eyes but she still stood in front of him.

Samantha strode into the room and closed the door. She paced around the room while Steve attempted to process that she was actually here. Finally, he asked a barrage of questions in a harsh whisper, "What are you doing here? Who let you in? How did you even know where I was?" "Well, I went to your house and your mom said you were at a friend's and had left the number on the fridge. She called and asked for the address. A preteen girl let me in. I really fucked up Steve." "What happened?" She took a deep breath before launching into an explanation.

"Well, we were all super high. Nancy, Jonathon, and I. We were just hanging out at my house. Eventually, Jonathon passed out and it was just me and Nance. Well, we started talking and she started saying some crazy shit. Like institutionally crazy shit, something about monsters and an alternate universe. Obviously, it was just the weed. She started talking about you, how you never understood her but Jonathon did. Then she started crying, said that she felt terrible about how things ended with you and the only reason she acts so passively aggressive is because of all of the guilt she feels."

"I – I just wanted her to feel better. To stop her from being so upset. I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking." While Samantha was speaking, Billy must have woken up at some point. He popped up and viciously asked, "What are you sorry for?" Samantha started sobbing. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry Steve. I'm sorry Billy. I told her not to feel bad, that you had moved on, Steve. She started pressing me for information, kept asking who it was. It… just slipped out." Disregarding that he was naked, Billy leapt out of bed with one hand partially covering his junk and walked over to her.

Samantha averted her eyes but Billy got up right in her face. "What slipped out?" She turned her head away with tears streaming down her cheeks. Billy forcefully grabbed her chin and turned her gaze towards him. "Answer me!" Steve put a hand on Billy's shoulder and tried to get in between them. "Billy, calm down please and give her a chance. And for god's sake, put on some pants or something." He sighed and moved away from Samantha, who then put her back to Billy to give him some privacy as he slipped on a pair of basketball shorts.

After quelling some of her emotions, Samantha was ready to continue. She spoke to Steve, "I told Nancy that you were seeing Billy. I'm so so sorry and I get it if you don't ever forgive me. If I were you, I wouldn't. It just came out before I could stop myself." Steve had to sit down. After some silence, he solemnly asked, "What did she say?" "Something along the lines of 'Oh, it all makes sense now.'" "She didn't freak?" Billy questioned. "No, she was actually really cool about it. As stoned as we were, she might not even remember anyway."

Steve stood up and declared, "I have to talk to her. See what she knows, explain." "Do you really think that is a good idea? If she doesn't know anything, then we can't have you revealing it. We should have never told anyone else, it has been too risky. Nobody else can find out about us," Billy cautioned. Steve shook his head, determined. "No, I have to talk to her." "I'm sorry for all of this, let me know if there's anything I can do to fix it," Samantha offered. Hurt from his trust being broken, Steve shortly told her, "I think it's best if you just go home."

With tears in her eyes, Samantha nodded and left. A couple minutes later, Max briefly knocked before simultaneously walking in and asking, "Is everything okay?" Billy rolled his eyes and harshly scolded her, "You know damn well what is going on, you little shitbird." "Sorry," she muttered. "I can't believe that Nancy told her about all of that stuff. If she was that messed up to be telling those secrets, she probably won't remember what Samantha said," she tried to reassure them both. Steve sighed. "I hope so, but I need to go talk to her. As soon as possible."

"Max, get lost so we can get dressed. Shut the door on the way out," Billy requested. Steve quickly threw on an outfit that he dug out of his bag. Billy started to get dressed too. "You don't have to go with me. Besides, it might be better if I go alone." "No, baby, I'm going." Steve could tell that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Okay, but hurry up." Steve sat impatient as it took Billy over 15 minutes to get ready. Eventually he groaned, "Billy, c'mon!" After taking one final look in the mirror and adjusting a lock of hair, he finally was ready to leave.

The two of them tried Nancy's house at first. Mrs. Wheeler answered the door. She skeptically asked, "Steve? Billy? What are you two doing here?" Before Steve could say anything, Billy pushed past him. "Mrs. Wheeler, we are looking for Nancy. Is she home?" "No, what is it that you want with her?" She looked from Billy to Steve with concern on her features. "Steve said some things the other day, that he isn't proud of, and he just wants to apologize to her." Her face relaxed momentarily but then she crossed her arms.

"What kind of things did he say?" Steve cleared his throat and answered, "I told her that I hated her, that she was stupid for leaving me to be with Jonathon. I had all this built up anger and I took it out on her. I just want to tell her how sorry I am. That's all." She considered him for a second before answering, "She said that she was going to the park for a bit and then going to Jonathon's after." "Thank you, thank you so much Mrs. Wheeler." They went to leave, but Mrs. Wheeler called after them.

"Billy, can I speak to you for a minute?" He smiled charmingly and approached her. Though she talked in a low voice, Steve could make out what she was saying. "I just wanted to thank you for the other night. You were so sweet and it made me feel a lot better about… well about everything. Thank you," she purred and rubbed his arm. Steve could not believe what he was seeing. Nancy's mom was flirting with his boyfriend. It took everything in him to not walk over and claim Billy with a kiss on the lips.

Instead he insisted, "Billy, let's go." He told Mrs. Wheeler goodbye before leaving with Steve. Once they were back in the car, Steve demanded, "What the hell was that about?" Billy tried to play innocent. "What?" "Nancy's mother was totally flirting with you. It was completely obvious, don't pretend like you didn't notice." A sly grin spread across Billy's lips. "Are you… jealous?" "No, shut up, it's just weird. Super weird." Billy started to laugh. "You are, you are jealous!"

"I am not! Unless you tell me that you are into older women now. What did you do that made her feel better?" "On that night after I had left you, I went to pick up Max from the Byers' and she was in her car crying. I asked her what was wrong and she told me she was getting divorced and didn't know how to tell her kids. I just said that they would understand eventually and that I wished my parents had gotten a divorce." Steve let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay. Mrs. Robinson better keep her hands off of you, though. If I see her do it again, I can't promise not to go off on her."

Jonathon's car was at the Byers', so more than likely they were both inside. After Billy turned off his car, Steve sat in the passenger seat with his pulse beating rapidly. "Are we going in?" Billy asked. Steve took several deep breaths before responding, "I just need a minute." He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. Finally, after some time, he was ready. He inhaled and opened the car door. Billy followed him up to the door. Steve knocked and Will greeted them. Steve nervously inquired, "Hey Will, is Nancy here?"

"Yeah, why?" "I just need to talk to her about something." "Okay, I'll go get her." Will returned a few minutes later with both Nancy and Jonathon before going back to his room. "Shit," Steve whispered under his breath. Nancy approached the doorway with Jonathon right on her heels. "Steve, what's up?" Her voice was a little shaky and her eyes were wide as they darted between Steve and Billy. Steve was certain she remembered what Samantha had told her. "Can we talk, alone?" Jonathon scoffed. "I don't think so."

Nancy turned and braced her hands on her boyfriend's shoulders. "It's okay. We won't be long." "Can we go somewhere private? Just the two of us?" He looked to Billy for reassurance, who gave a reluctant nod. "Okay, let's go to the shed." She walked out the door and Steve followed her. Once they were inside, Steve pulled the door shut behind him with a thud. He braced himself and turned towards Nancy. Before he could say anything, she blurted, "Did you talk to Samantha? I figured this is about what she told me, or maybe what I told her?"

"Yeah, she came over this morning. I wanted to talk to you, see what you remember from last night." Suddenly, Nancy walked over to Steve and hugged him. "Everything. But it's okay, I won't tell anyone. Not even Jonathon." "You aren't mad, or freaked out?" She held him away from her and shook her head. "No, of course not. I have no reason to be mad, I'm glad that you have moved on and it's not with some 15 year old that Dustin is in love with. It is a little hard to wrap my head around but I'm not as closed-minded as most people in Hawkins."

Absolutely relieved, Steve pulled Nancy in and briefly gave her a tight squeeze before moving on to the next topic of discussion. "What all did you tell Samantha? She just thinks you were high as balls so she doesn't believe any of what you said. Thank god." "Well she was talking about dropping acid and seeing some weird stuff and I don't know why I said it, but I said I've seen crazier shit in real life. I described the Demogorgon and demodogs and I told her about the Upside Down. Once I started talking, I couldn't stop."

Though Samantha had mentioned part of it, Steve was still curious so he asked, "How did you two wind up talking about me?" Nancy sighed and then explained, "We started talking about Barb and how me and you weren't seeing eye-to-eye on revealing what we knew. I told her that it was part of the reason why we broke up, that you didn't understand but Jonathon did and how important it was to me. Then – then I started crying. All of the things that I had felt about our breakup but never had a chance to talk about started to surface. I felt – I still feel so guilty for things ending the way they did, seeing how much I've hurt you, and then for saying those awful things the other day."

Nancy paused and took a deep breath. "You know, Samantha was just trying to let me know you were okay. She may have gone about it the wrong way but you should forgive her. She really cares about you." Steve sighed. "I know. It is just going to take some time. I was so worried about anyone finding out, but especially you. I was afraid that you wouldn't want to be friends anymore." "Oh Steve, I was worried you wouldn't want to be friends after I said all those terrible things."

She sighed and then continued, "I didn't mean it, when I said I never loved you. Billy just pushed my buttons and I snapped. And with the whole Robin situation, I was so upset because it seemed completely unlike you. And I – I was worried that me hurting you is what had changed you." Steve shook his head. "No, no. I mean, at first, it was really hard and I was devastated. And then when you started dating Jonathon so quickly afterwards, it fucked with my head. I have changed, but you are not to blame and shouldn't worry."

"But I was worried. You seemed so sad and distant. But… I can tell Billy has done you some good, even if he is an asshole. You seem a lot happier." Steve smiled but it quickly faded. "I am getting there but I still have a long way to go. It's just been so difficult to hide our relationship. We've only told Max and Samantha. Dustin knows that I'm with a guy but not that it is Billy. Joyce found out, accidentally, and then Samantha told you. Other than that, and maybe Tommy, nobody knows. I wish we didn't have to keep it secret but it's our reality."

"Tommy knows? I'm surprised it hasn't spread through the whole town yet." "Well, he has a hunch that Billy is gay. He doesn't know about us but he knows I have been hanging out with Billy. He's tried to call Billy out but no one has believed him, at least not yet. Thank god." "We should be getting back. I don't know if it's a good idea to leave Jonathon with Billy for so long. Or vice versa." Steve nodded. "Yeah, Billy has a tendency to start shit." They went to leave the shed but Steve stopped Nancy. "Nance, wait." He grabbed her and hugged her. "Thank you. For listening and understanding and for not hating me."

She hugged him back and said, "Anytime you need to talk, I'm here okay?" "Okay. Let's go check on our boyfriends." The two of them found Jonathon and Billy quietly sitting inside the house. Jonathon immediately jumped to his feet and asked, "Is everything alright?" Nancy spoke the truth, but also covered for Steve. "Well, last night I messed up. I told Samantha some things after you had fell asleep. I revealed some stuff about the Upside Down and then I started talking about what happened with Steve and how I felt guilty about it."

"What?!" Steve continued for her, "Samantha came over this morning and told me about it, she just thinks that Nancy was high. I wanted to get Nancy's side of things and also have a long awaited discussion about everything that had happened between us last year." Jonathon crossed his arms and looked at both of them with suspicion. "So Samantha didn't believe any of it?" Nancy and Steve both synchronically shook their heads side to side. "I guess that's good then. I hope she doesn't tell anyone else about it." "I don't think she will but we could talk to her to make sure," Steve suggested.

Jonathon scoffed. "Yeah, right. That's a stupid idea." Billy stood up and walked over to him, getting in his face. "I don't exactly hear you coming up with any brilliant plans." Jonathon shoved him and in response Billy clicked his tongue and gave a wicked smile. "Though I would like nothing more than to punch that dopey ass face of yours, I'm going to try and keep things civil. So, what do you propose we should do?" Jonathon sighed. "I think we should just leave it. She won't tell."

Steve shrugged and commented, "Okay but if Samantha does end up blabbing, you get all the blame." "She won't. I trust her," Jonathon said with confidence that Steve had recently lost. Not wanting to argue, Steve didn't press the issue any further. "Well with all that cleared up, I guess we will be heading off then." He and Billy were about to take off when Jonathon called out, "Wait, I have a question for you two." Billy sharply responded, "What?" "I was just wondering when the two of you became all buddy-buddy. I would think Steve would have enough sense to not hang out with someone who nearly killed him."

He chuckled before continuing, "Then again, he still puts up with me even though I fucked his face up once." Steve looked to Billy, knowing that Jonathon's words would set him off. He could see the anger in his features so Steve had to act fast. "What can I say? I'm a forgiving person." Jonathon scoffed. "Maybe you're just an idiot." Nancy warned him, "Hey!" Billy started to bolt towards Jonathon but Steve stepped in front of him and held him back. "What the fuck is your problem?" Billy yelled at Jonathon.

"My problem? I don't have a problem. I've never really liked Steve; I've just tolerated him for Nancy's sake. Steve is the one with the problem. Why in the hell would he want to be friends with me, let alone you? There's obviously something not clicking in that head of his. I'm tired of pretending to be his friend in order to spare everyone's feelings. Okay? I'm done." Nancy was in shock. "What the hell Jonathon?!" Steve struggled to hold Billy back and quietly begged, "Please, don't. Let me handle this."

Billy groaned but remained where he was, to Steve's surprise. Steve turned and stared down Jonathon. "I know you don't like me, that you never liked me. I'm not your biggest fan either but I try not to be an asshole about it. For both Nancy and Samantha. I get it man, I really do, but we have much bigger problems and worrying about who likes who is a waste of energy. So let's just leave it at that, we don't like each other but we need to tolerate each other for the sake of everyone. You don't have to pretend to be my friend, I see through that shit. Just don't be a dick."

"Well, if I agree not to be a dick you have to agree not to be an idiot." Steve attempted to stop Billy, but it was too late. "Billy, no!" Steve's plea fell on deaf ears. Billy shoved Jonathon as he laughed. "You know, you are the only idiot here Jonny Boy. Everyone sees through your bullshit. Just because you are a pretentious fuck who likes to take pictures doesn't mean you are some sort of genius. Maybe if you actually took the time to get to know Steve, you'd learn just how wrong you are."

Steve took the opportunity to get between the two of them. He gave Billy a stern look, hoping he wouldn't go after Jonathon again. Nancy then unexpectedly defended Steve, "Billy is right. Steve is not an idiot – not any more so than you Jonathon. Sure he didn't make straight A's but he did great in some subjects. Math. Econ. Spanish. He's a great athlete. Basketball. Baseball. Tennis. Track. He's also really funny." She listed the qualities Steve' possessed on her fingers. "Umm… Steve is also right here and doesn't exactly like to be talked about like he isn't."

Nancy giggled. "See! Hilarious!" Jonathon rolled his eyes. Nancy walked over to her boyfriend and slid her arm around his waist. He pulled away from her and had a dark look in his eyes. "If he's so great, why be with me? Why choose me over him?" Nancy was speechless for a moment. "Where is this coming from? I love you, that's why." "You loved him. You… went back to him after Tommy spray painted the marquee at the Hawk," Jonathon's voice cracked as he became emotional. He wrapped his arms around himself.

Steve had never seen Jonathon like this before. Steve knew that he was sensitive, Nancy was always saying it, but he wasn't expecting this. Steve cautiously approached him. "Jonathon, Nancy may have loved me before, but that was before everything that had happened. Before Barb died. Before I let Tommy write those terrible things. Before fighting the Demogorgon. Before our entire world was turned upside down. You were there for her, I wasn't. Not in way she needed me to be. She loves you, man." He put a hand on his shoulder.

Jonathon violently pushed Steve's hand away, which then made contact with Nancy's face. Horrified, Steve exclaimed, "Oh shit, sorry! Nance, are you okay?" She was leaning over holding her hands over her face. She mumbled through her fingers, "Yeah, I'll be fine." Jonathon had his hand on her back and gently asked, "Let me see." She stood up straight and removed her hands from her face. Her nose was bleeding profusely. Steve felt terrible and attempted another apology, "Fuck, I'm s – "

He was interrupted with a hard hit to his cheekbone. There was a sickening crunch as Jonathon's fist met his face. "Jonathon!" Nancy screamed at him. Knowing what would happen next, Steve tried to shout at Billy. It was too late. Billy threw Jonathon to the ground, his rage fueling his ferocity. Billy jumped on top of him and began to throw punch after punch. "Billy! Stop!" Steve yelled and tried to pry him off of Jonathon. "Please!" Nancy cried out.

Billy stalled his fists. Jonathon laughed as he lay on the ground. "Looks like you've finally found someone to fight your battles for you, Steve." He then looked directly at Billy. "Why is that? Are you in love with him or something?" Billy punched him again. Steve grabbed his arms and begged, "Stop Billy! You promised! He's not worth it." Billy groaned in frustration and punched the floor next to Jonathon's head. Suddenly Jonathon's expression changed from humor to confusion.

As he looked from Billy to Steve, a look of realization flashed in Jonathon's eyes. Billy noticed it too and stood up with Steve guiding him away. "Come on. Let's just go. Sorry Jonathon, sorry Nancy," Steve blurted as he dragged Billy away. He did not know how to deal with everything going on and just wanted to get the fuck out of there as soon as possible. Nancy called after him, "Wait! We need to discuss this! Steve!" He ignored her and didn't stop until they were inside Billy's car.