"...the blackest eyes, the DEVIL'S eyes…"
John Carpenter's Halloween played on the TV, as Billy watched from the living room couch.
"Hey, what time are you coming home from this party again?" Billy asked, as Sam came out from finishing the last touches of her costume.
"Not too late, I'll call before we leave."
"Just checking." He assured. "And you're picking Kinsey up on the way?"
"Yeah, I thought it'd be more convenient than driving all the way to Nat's house and then turning back around for her." Sam teased.
"Very funny." Billy chuckled. "I didn't know if what's his name that she hangs around with was bringing her here first."
"Seth.." Sam corrected. "..is not allowed to even blink in this house's direction….and he was a friend of her brother's, he just watches out for her, considering…"
"Right."
"Alright, I'll see you guys." She leaned down to give Asami some goodbye pets before she turned to head for the door.
"Wait, Sam. Sam!" Billy called out, just before she reached it.
"What?"
"Take your buck knife with you." He urged.
"Dad…"
"I'm serious." He insisted.
Though obviously concerned, neither he nor Stu had any serious objections to Sam going out and having her fun tonight, so long as she was smart about it, so this was the one and only thing Billy would really be putting his foot down on.
"Right, and get arrested when someone finds out I'm carrying a hunting knife, on Halloween, with a killer on the loose." She scoffed. "Sorry, I just didn't think I had to point out how brilliant that idea is."
"Then I'll set aside some bail money for you." He assured. "We can bail you out of jail, we can't bail you out of the morgue. Just take it as a precaution and hide it as well as you can."
"Right…" Sam sighed, turning back around to head up the stairs
"Thank you!" He called back out to her.
Stu glanced up toward the stairs when he entered the living room.
"Still getting the house to ourselves?" He asked playfully.
This brought a little smirk to Billy's face "If the stars align, anyway."
Billy paused briefly, glancing back up when heard the sound of Sam's footsteps approaching the stairs.
Sam held up the knife as she came down, just before tucking it safely away in her backpack of stuff she was bringing.
"Bye, Dad."
"Which one?" Stu joked.
Sam chuckled at the joke as she looked up. "Yes."
"Have fun!" Stu said.
"Thanks, see ya."
"Be safe." Billy replied, watching as Sam finally walked out the door.
"...Just don't hold your breath for it…" Billy finally said, when the door was shut and Sam was clearly out of earshot.
"For what?" Stu laughed, coming over to make himself comfortable next to Billy on the couch. "What am I holding my breath for?"
'I said don't hold your breath for it." He chuckled, putting his arm up around Stu as he let him snuggle up closer to him.
"My bad." Stu chuckled.
"Mmhmm…" Billy sighed. "...I meant, on having the house to ourselves. For the night, anyway."
"Why, are you expecting someone I should know about?"
"No, not here."
"I see, is that why you sent Sam out with her buck knife?"
"To this party with her buck knife." Billy added. "You know why."
"No, I don't know. Why this party, specifically? I mean, besides the obvious."
"You don't know why this party at your old house specifically? I was trying to give you a little credit here."
"Trying to…" Stu mocked with a little giggle. "I thought it was at Nat's house."
"Yeah…." Billy looked away from the TV to shoot him the most, are you serious?, kind of look he must've made in a while.
"Right…." Stu finally realized. "And you let her go."
"Would you not have?"
'You know what I meant."
"Yeah, yeah…"
Billy chuckled softly to himself, looking at Stu just before returning his attention to the TV, as he pondered whether Stu was actually being this naive about the situation or if this was some little gimmick of his to keep him from being quite so on edge as he currently was.
Knowing Stu, better than anyone of course, it could easily be either one.
"You wanna drive over there and check in on her in a while?" Stu suggested after a while.
"Hmm….." Billy considered the thought, as if the idea hadn't already crossed his mind earlier. "Well, not obviously...I was thinking more, we'd go for a little drive in a few hours and just pass by there and see if we see anything from the car.
Asami, who had parked herself on the floor just beside the couch after Sam had left, perked her head up briefly at the word car.
Billy glanced down, at the soft jingle of her collar, when she did.
"What? Who said you were going?" Billy teased.
"Be nice." Stu teased.
"Be nice, he says." Billy chuckled. "You remembered to lock her door, right?"
Stu rolled his eyes as he started to get up to cross the living room and give the dog door a couple light knocksto show that it was secure.
"I'm not that stupid you know."
"Never said you were." Billy chuckled. "Since you're up though, mind grabbing me a beer?"
Stu shot him a look and he looked back at him with a more pleading expression.
"Please?"
"You're such an asshole, you know that?" Stu teased, walking over to the fridge anyway.
"Tell me something I don't know." He smirked as he moved his legs up so that his feet were rested on the coffee table.
"Yeah, yeah." Stu mocked, jokingly, when he returned.
He handed Billy his beer and took a sip from the one he'd gotten for himself before setting it down on the coffee table and making himself comfortable up against Billy's side again.
"..You're my asshole, though." Stu tried hard not to let slip a giggle at that.
"I thought I said something I don't know." Billy pointed out with a chuckle.
A small grin spread across Stu's face, as he nuzzled up against Billy again.
"Yeah, you did…..you did."