Stuttering Anxiety

Halloween

It had been a couple of weeks since Billy and I had confessed our feelings for each other. Being one of the few patients who was able to help out, Nurse Ratched had enlisted me along with Billy, Taber, Cheswick, and Harding to decorate the day room for Halloween. Billy and I were currently hanging paper bats from the ceiling around the nurse's station. I laughed as Billy gently rocked the chair I was standing on.

"Billy Bibbit!" I laughed as the chair rocked a little harder and I started to lose my balance. I reached out and gripped Billy's shoulders to keep me upright. "Quit it Billy!" He smiled up at me as he wrapped an arm around my legs and harshly rocked the chair again. My eyes widened as I lost my balance completely. I closed my eyes before realizing Billy was keeping me upright.

"I g-g-got y-you." Billy smiled as he helped me down gently. I shook my head at him as I turned towards the nurse's station door. Knocking on it, I handed the remaining bats and tape to Nurse Ratched.

"All done with those." I smiled at her, having finally got in her good graces. "Anything else for us to do?" Billy joined me and looked at Nurse Ratched expectantly. Using our closeness, he discreetly put his hand on my back. I leaned into it and smiled at Billy when Nurse Ratched turned around to pick something up.

"The two of you could go outside and put these cobwebs on the bushes." She said, giving Billy and I a look before handing us the fake cobwebs. Billy gathered them into his arms as I got the keys from Nurse Ratched. "Come right back in once you finish. No funny business." Nurse Ratched gave Billy a look. He nodded before leading me out the door separating the dayroom from the rest of the institution.

"What was that look for?" I asked as I bumped shoulders with Billy. He looked at me with a small smile.

"I t-turned to to r-run aw-away once." He admitted. "I d-didn't g-get f-far." I nodded and looked around before unlocking the door to the outside. I smiled as the breeze hit my face and blew through my hair.

"That's ok." I turned towards Billy, allowing my smile to grow. "At least tried." He laughed as he handed me a few of the cobwebs. We joked and laughed as we made the front bushes look like they had been covered. It didn't take as long as we had hoped and we had to go back in. "So Halloween is coming up," I trailed off. Billy nodded as he locked up the outside door.

"Y-yeah. S-so wh-what?" He asked. I blinked at him.

"Are you really not a Halloween person?" I asked in shock. Billy shook his head.

"N-not r-really." He shrugged and put his arm over my shoulder as we walked down the hall back to the dayroom.

"Billy, I'm sorry but that's a little bit of a deal breaker for me then." I deadpanned before taking the keys back from him. I slipped out from under his arm and started further down the hall. Once I had gotten halfway down the hall, I turned to look at Billy. I started to laugh at the look on his face.

"Are are y-you s-s-s-s-serious?" Billy had trouble getting the sentence out. My laugh stopped and I raced back to him. I took his face in my hands and gently rubbed circles into his cheeks.

"No." I shook my head as I made sure to make eye contact with him. "No. Never." I pulled him in for a hug. "I was joking. It was a bad joke." Billy nodded against my shoulder. "I'm sorry Billy." I whispered as I ran my fingers through his hair. I pulled back and cupped his cheek before wiping a stray tear away. "I really am."

"I b-b-believe y-you." He nodded. I shook my head and made up my mind.

"I'm gonna make it up to you." I slid my arms around Billy's neck. His hands automatically went to my waist. I smiled at him while he cocked his head to his side. He looked so cute when he did that. I gently tugged him closer until I could feel his breath on my lips.