Between Us

Chapter 14: Unintentional Clarity

Billy was lounging on the couch, scrolling absentmindedly through his phone when there was a knock at the door. He frowned slightly, not expecting anyone. He set his phone down and got up to answer it.

When he opened the door, Pete stood on the other side with a wide grin. "Hey, man! Thought I'd drop by."

Billy blinked, surprised but not unhappy to see his friend.  "Pete, what are you doing here?"

Pete shrugged, already stepping inside like he owned the place. "Just wanted to catch up. You've been weirdly MIA lately."

Billy shut the door, his mind still buzzing from everything that had happened with Babe. "Yeah, sorry, been busy."

Pete flopped onto the couch, stretching his arms behind his head. "Busy, huh? By the way, you look tired. Trouble sleeping? Too much thinking about—what's his name again? Babe?"

Billy's heart skipped a beat at Pete's casual mention of Babe. He didn't respond right away, making his way to the fridge to grab a drink. "What about him?"

Pete chuckled, leaning forward with an exaggerated eyebrow raise. "You're always hanging out with him. Don't try to tell me you haven't noticed something different going on there."

Billy sighed, feeling the tension from the last few days rise to the surface. "Yeah, things have been... different."

Pete's eyes widened with curiosity. "Different how?"

Billy handed Pete a soda and sat down across from him, debating how much to say. "I don't know, man. Babe's been acting weird lately, and I'm trying to figure out what's going on with him. One minute he's fine, and the next, he's avoiding me or dodging questions."

Pete cracked open the soda with a knowing grin. "Sounds like someone's crushing on you, buddy."

Billy stared at him, caught off guard by Pete's bluntness. "What? No, that's... that's not it."

Pete waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, please. I've seen how he looks at you. Trust me, I know when someone's got feelings."

Billy ran a hand through his hair, his thoughts spinning. The idea had crossed his mind before, especially with everything that had happened recently, but he had pushed it away, not wanting to jump to conclusions. But hearing Pete say it out loud made it harder to ignore.

"And what if he does?" Billy asked, his voice quieter than usual. "What am I supposed to do with that?"

Pete shrugged, taking a swig of his soda. "I don't know, man. But you're not exactly the most oblivious guy out there. If you've noticed something, it's probably real."

Billy frowned, his thoughts drifting back to all the moments with Babe—the way their conversations had grown more tense, the way Babe had been pulling away, and the way Billy's own heart seemed to race every time Babe was near. Could Pete be right? Was this more than just a rough patch between friends?

"I don't want to screw things up," Billy muttered, almost to himself. "If I say something and it's not what he wants, I could ruin everything."

Pete raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. "Why do you care so much? If you're worried about screwing things up, that says something too, doesn't it?"

Billy hesitated. He hadn't thought about it like that, but now, the truth was starting to come into focus. He did care. A lot. More than he had realized.

"Maybe you're right," Billy said slowly, the words feeling heavy but true. "I guess I've just been avoiding it because I didn't want to make things weird between us."

Pete gave him a light punch on the arm. "Dude, you've been acting like you've already made it weird. Just talk to him. Figure it out. You're overthinking this."

Billy sighed, leaning back against the couch. He wasn't sure if it was that simple, but Pete had a point. The longer he avoided the conversation with Babe, the worse things seemed to get.

Just then, Billy's phone buzzed, and he glanced down to see a message from Nana to Babe:

Nana: Babe, how you holding up? Did you talk to Billy yet?

Billy glanced at the message, his heart skipping a beat again. He hadn't realized just how much this situation was affecting Babe too.

"Who's texting you now?" Pete asked, leaning over to peek at the phone.

"Nothing important," Billy muttered, quickly locking the screen.

Pete gave him a teasing grin. "Ah, keeping secrets now, huh? You've got it bad."

Billy rolled his eyes, though he couldn't hide the smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You're annoying."

Pete laughed, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table. "I try."

As the conversation wound down, Billy couldn't help but feel a little lighter. Pete's teasing had, as usual, cut through some of the tension, and while his advice was mostly clueless, it had helped Billy see things a bit more clearly. He cared about Babe—more than he had let himself admit. And now, it was time to figure out what that meant.

Billy glanced at his phone again, his mind still racing with everything Pete had said. Maybe it's time to stop overthinking.