[ 𝙶𝚘𝚕𝚍 & 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎 ] ~ 𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

XIII - Meanings

"Mike, are you there?" Max questioned into her super-com.  

"Yeah?" Mike's voice cracked. 

"Where are you guys?"

"I'm coming, just hold on a second." His com cut out. 

"God, I hope it's not you." Max mumbled after pulling her binoculars up to her face and looking through. 

Rylie sat, leaning against the side of her car with her arms folded. Her expression was harsh as ever as she too looked over in the direction of her boyfriend. She wouldn't say anything, but she was scared. He looked normal. . .ish. He was sitting on his post, an ICEE cup in hand. He had long sleeves on again, just like the day prior, and a towel over his legs, a baseball cap to shade his face and sunglasses covering his eyes. To be honest. . .normal-ish was a stretch. 

"I really hope it's not you." Max repeated. 

Rylie sighed, pushing off her car door and looked down at Max. "So if it is. . .him." She cleared her throat. 

"I hope it's not."

"Yeah, you've said that already. But. . .if it is. . .do you think we can fix him?" Rylie mumbled softly, almost to herself.

"I. . .I don't know." Max whispered under her breath, looking down and letting her binoculars drop against her chest. "I really. . .I really hope so. But I'm not sure. I mean- I mean, we saved Will. . .and he had the same thing happening to him that we think is going on with Billy. . .so, I hope so. But there's no way to be sure until we do it." 

"So this plan of yours, it won't. . .hurt Billy, right? He'll be okay?" 

"It will definitely hurt him. But it will be worth it, if it helps him. A little pain to save his life. . .right?" 

"Right." Rylie paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath. "Does. . .Does Ru know?" 

"I'm not sure." Max said immediately. "I mean, I didn't tell her. So she doesn't know what is up if you didn't say anything. . .but if she's talked to Billy at all, I'm sure she knows something's going on. She'd know if he parted his hair one millimeter to the wrong side. It's cool how much they care about one another. . ." 

"They care about you too." Rylie said roughly.

"What?"

"Ru and Billy? They care about you too. I don't know if they show it enough. But they talk about you a lot. Billy tells me about your skating and when you've got friends over, how happy it makes him to hear you laughing. And Ru tells me about how she sees you reading comics. . .uh. . .the DC ones, right? I'm sure Lulu's the one who got you on those. She's loved 'em for a while. She likes Marvel more though. . .Ru bought you something for your birthday this year, but she was too scared that you'd just throw it away. So now it's wrapped and stuffed somewhere in her closet. And Billy's the one who left you those flowers a couple weeks back. He knows you thought it was your mom, but he and Ru went out for a while to find the right ones. He asked me to go with him, but I told him I was allergic and that Ru knows a stupid amount about flower-language or whatever stupid name she calls it. . .She said that a mix of pink, blue and purple hydrangeas mean something about heartfelt emotions, apology and wanting to understand someone. . .Billy immediately bought the three in a bouquet, saying they were pretty and important. . .But when you thanked your mom for them, he didn't care, he was just happy you liked them." 

"He- He did that. . ?" Max looked over at Rylie, frowning slightly. 

"They care about you, Max. They both do, even if you think they don't. . .They love you more than you'd think." Rylie finished, sighing and leaning her head back to roll through a stretch. 

"I didn't even- I just. . .I just assumed they were from mom. . .I didn't even think that-" 

"It's fine, he understood. He was just glad you were thought they were pretty." Rylie mumbled, looking over to the ground. 

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Word Count - 693

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Published - December 10, 2023

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{Author's Note}

Hello!

I apologize for writing such a short chapter! I've had a lot going on recently but wanted to get this one out since I had a chapter for Twigs and Dirt ready, so I figured that giving you guys something instead of waiting for even longer, would be better.I hope you still enjoyed the chapter and hopefully I'll have a longer one next time.

I hope you're having a wonderful day, evening or night!

<3 - Ghosty