billykeating:
There was an odd sense of relief that as knowledgeable – as smart as Nora seemed to Billy, that she didn’t have any firsthand experience with frat guys, either. “Yeah, I have. And I see the– the resemblance. Not that Mikey’d– not that he’d like hearing that, though.” And certainly not that Billy would tell him. Even though Billy suspected Mike wouldn’t recognise those kinds of characters for the assholes they were, even when everyone else did, frat guys weren’t Mike’s ideal, either – and not for their behaviour, but because brotherhood wasn’t what Mike wanted when it came down to it. He wanted something more like mindless backup. “Thanks.” Billy’s reflexive gratitude turned to something else entirely at the compliment that followed Nora’s promise, and Billy turned to look more fully her way. “You saying I have a pretty face, Nelson?” he asked, partially to provoke a reaction from her, and partially because, well, she couldn’t possibly mean it how it sounded. Could she? The kind of concern her boyfriend absolutely wouldn’t appreciate; that would give Mike a reason to blacken his other eye. “It really is,” he agreed, smiling as he took yet another deep breath. “It’s like a secret side to somewhere I thought I knew like the back of my hand.” It wasn’t just Mike and Nora’s neighbourhood, it was his, too; and Billy had to wonder if proximity wasn’t part of why he’d let himself be dragged so closely into Mike’s circle; why he’d fallen under his spell so effectively. Most of him, though, was simply relishing in the easy company Nora provided; a welcome change from the guys he’d been around all evening. His supposed friends. He nodded slowly at her assessment – it went unsaid that an upset Mike was the last person Billy wanted to deal with. Something bloomed in his chest at her laugh, however brief, however awkward it was. “Maybe I was a little dorky as a kid,” he admitted with a shrug. Before he’d been totally comfortable with his birthmark; before he knew how to confidence in such a way that it didn’t piss off everyone around him even further. “You’re talking to the kid who skipped English in favour of a smoke break behind the gym,” Billy replied, poking fun at himself with hopes of putting her more at ease. “Who do you consider the classics? You got a favourite?” He didn’t know why her answers were starting to matter so much to him, but he wanted to know; wanted to know anything she was willing to share, really. “Makes sense, though. You think I could ever see one? If I’m around when Mikey isn’t?”
Mike would hate hearing it, he wouldn’t simply dislike it, but she had a feeling he knew that so she just nodded stiffly. It seemed like they both knew just how bad her boyfriend could get, but found reasons to stick around regardless. She wasn’t sure what that said about then. In her case, it meant that she was terrible at standing up for herself. Was he in the same boat as her? It was hard to tell. He wasn’t tied to Mike in the same ways, which should’ve made it easier for him to escape and yet... Here they both were. Pretending to go on an errand to get away from him. “It’s not ugly,” she said as detached as she could pull off. As a girl with a boyfriend, she shouldn’t be commenting on any other guy’s pretty face, but the fact that Billy was one of Mike’s friends... Well, that made it exponentially worse. “I mean, I’m not blind. It’s hard not to notice these things.” She should’ve just shut up after her initial reply, but felt the need to defend herself. She still wasn’t sure how much of this encounter would get back to her boyfriend’s ears. “That’s because you usually stay inside when I go get food for you guys. Not that I hold that against you or anything. You come over to hang out with Mike, not me.” It was hard to picture a time where Billy wasn’t one of the cool guys, but she had to admit she sort of loved picturing him playing dodgeball as a kid. It wasn’t exactly the sport the popular kids usually went for. “Dorky’s good. Being dorky is better than being a prick,” she said meaningfully, knowing he’d know exactly who she was referring to. “Oh, so the dork eventually became the rebel? Interesting. I was your typical book nerd. Pretty quiet and not very wild.” She had friends, but she never got invited to parties or pep rallies. “F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby is just... magical. I feel transported whenever I read it.” Nora shrugged shyly, looking down at her feet as he asked to see her work. She never showed her paintings or drawings to anyone, but she felt like maybe Billy out of all people would get it and might not judge too harshly. “I guess, sure. Just promise you’ll pretend you love them even if they’re seriously awful.”










