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It was a Friday night. No plans, no commitments for the weekend, and Stu was excited to finally enjoy a night to himself. Most times, he was an extrovert party animal with a social battery bigger than most, but other times, he needed to step back and unwind alone. It had been a while since he had done this. Between school, parties, family, and plotting with Billy, it wasn’t often he got the opportunity to be alone. And it’s not that he didn’t enjoy doing all the other things. He loved it. But sometimes a night alone was what he needed to ensure he had the energy to keep going.
That’s what tonight was going to be.
His parents were out of town and it was raining, which was his favorite. Everything was perfect.
He picked out a VHS from his room and brought it downstairs, popping it into the TV and rewinding it. He never remembered to do that when he was finished. The movie he picked wasn’t his usual choice. Normally, he enjoyed bloody slashers but this time he was feeling something more tame and went with Rope. A bit of an older movie but definitely a classic.
While he waited for the VHS to get back to the beginning, he decided to get himself some food. Opening the fridge, he found some leftover pizza and took a slice along with a can of Pepsi. Perfect.
He brought his food to the living room, pressed play in the VHS player, and plopped down onto the couch. The soda can opened with a nice *click* and he savored the first sip as he washed down a bite of cold pizza.
He was completely relaxed. Sinking down into the couch cushions and finding the sweet spot, he finished up his slice of pizza and laid back. His eyes began to flutter closed as he felt himself drifting to sleep. It was so nice until…
Knock, knock, knock.
He jumped awake and spilled a bit of soda down the front of his sweater. He sighed. Great. Now, he’s gotta clean that up. But who the hell could be at the door? He wasn’t expecting anyone and he was sure that his family wouldn’t be home early.
He sat the soda can down on the table next to the couch and got up. He hadn’t even made it to the door yet before the visitor knocked again. Impatient, much? Going over to the window, he looked out of the blinds before recognizing the familiar face of his best friend. Why would Billy be here? They didn’t have plans to hang out anytime soon and Billy never showed up unannounced. At least not to his house. He was a little annoyed to have his night interrupted but nevertheless he couldn’t be too upset about seeing him.
He opened the door. “Hey, buddy, how’s it hangin’? I wasn’t expecting-“
He stopped mid-sentence. One look at his friend’s face and he could tell something was wrong. He was soaked from the rain which meant he probably walked here and his face was red, hair messier than normal, and he was avoiding eye contact. Billy didn’t like to admit when he was upset, but Stu always knew. And something had definitely happened.
“You look rough. What’s goin’ on?”
Billy sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets before responding. “My fucking dad.”
Stu’s expression changed to one of understanding. He should have known. Billy’s dad wasn’t the nicest man, especially after his mom left. He seemed like whenever he wasn’t ignoring his son, he was either yelling, calling him names, or occasionally hitting him. He hated that his friend had to live like that but he knew there wasn’t much he could do.
“Get in here. You don’t gotta stand out there any longer.”
Billy didn’t resist as Stu grabbed his sleeve and pulled him inside, but couldn’t stop himself from muttering “let go of me, dumbass” even though his voice lacked his usual harsh tone from when he was serious.
Stu ignored his comment and shut the door before looking his friend up and down. There was not a single dry spot on his clothes.
“Stay right here. I’ll be right back.”
Stu ran up to his room and grabbed some sweatpants, socks, and an oversized t-shirt for Billy to put on. He also snagged a towel for him to dry off with.
He brought the items back to Billy and handed them over. “You can go change in the bathroom if you want.”
Billy looked at the items in his hands. “I don’t need your clothes.”
“Yes, you do. You’re soaked and shivering. I don’t care if you wanna act all ‘tough guy’ on me and say you don’t need them. You do. Now go change.”
Billy set the clothes down and instead of going to the bathroom, he started to undress right there in the living room. Stu was a little surprised but didn’t stop him since he wanted him to get out of those sopping clothes as soon as possible. When Billy took his shirt off, Stu couldn’t help himself but take a quick peek at his chest. In their several years of friendship, he hadn’t ever changed in front of him before.
“Don’t look at me,” Billy hissed out. “Turn around.”
Stu became flushed with embarrassment as he got called out but he did as he was told. “Sorry, Billy. Jus’ surprised to see you take your shirt off for once.”
“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it.”
He stripped down to his boxers before drying off with the towel and slipping Stu’s clothes on.
“You can turn back now.”
Stu turned back around to see Billy in his clothes, drying his hair. His clothes were a little big on Billy since he was so tall, but they looked comfortable on him anyway.
He picked up the wet clothes off of the floor and took them to the laundry room, throwing them into the dryer so they would be nice and dry whenever Billy left.
“Want anything to drink?” Stu asked, walking back into the room.
“Beer.” Billy replied bluntly as he dried his hair with the towel, causing his friend to shake his head.
“Not right now.”
“Why the hell not?” Billy became more irritated than he already was. He couldn’t have a beer? He had never been denied a beer by him before.
“Because,” Stu started. “You’re upset. You don’t needa be drinkin’ when you’re upset. It’s gonna make you feel worse. Now, sit down and tell me what’s goin’ on.”
Billy mumbled something under his breath and begrudgingly sat down on the couch, Stu following behind. He picked up the soda from the table and handed it to Billy.
“You can have the rest of my Pepsi.”
He took a small sip, showing no appreciation. “I prefer Coke.”
“I know, I know,” Stu chuckled.
The two were silent for a few seconds. Stu looked at Billy, as he kept his eyes on the television. He could tell he was thinking, but before he could ask about it, Billy was already talking.
“I’m just so fucking pissed. I can’t have a single good day there. Came home from school, and he acted like I wasn’t even there. He was mad about work or some shit, I don’t know, but somehow it was my fault. I went up to my room to be alone and he came up later and started yelling at me about god knows what, then told me to get the fuck out. I’m sick of it. First… first my mom leaves me. Then, I found out it’s because of Sidney’s whore mother, I can’t even look at her god damn face without feeling sick half the time. And now my own dad hates me too.”
During his rant, Billy didn’t look at Stu or acknowledge him at all. It was like he didn’t want to be seen upset, though he clearly was. Stu didn't mind however. He’s had moments like this too, and he also knows how Billy is; how he never feels like he can be vulnerable around anyone else, which was understandable considering his past.
Stu glanced over at him for second before looking away, trying to figure out what to say to him.
“Billy?”
“What?”
“I’m sorry you’re goin’ through all this.”
Billy shrugged carelessly. “It’s whatever.”
Stu shook his head and looked at him. “No, it’s not. You’re obviously upset, man. You got all kinds of shit goin’ on. It’s okay to be frustrated, your dad was a dick to you tonight.”
Billy didn’t answer, he just kept his eyes on the TV.
“…I’m staying here tonight.” He didn’t ask, but Stu wasn’t bothered.
“That’s fine. My parents are gone anyway.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t throw a party.”
“Nah, I wanted a night alone.”
Billy finally made eye contact with Stu. “You? Alone? Since when?”
“Look, man, sometimes even party animals night a quiet night, yeah?”
Stu got up and went to the kitchen, coming back with another can of soda for himself before plopping back down on the couch right next to Billy, causing him to spill soda down his shirt this time.
“STU!” Billy raised his voice as he looked down at the small mess. “Really??”
Stu chuckled. “Now, we’re even. I spilled some on myself when you knocked earlier.”
“Well, that’s a you problem,” Billy replied as he aggressively shoved Stu. Luckily, he hadn’t opened his drink yet, so he didn’t spill any again.
Stu composed himself and sat up. He opened the can and took a big gulp.
“So, if you wanted to be alone tonight, how come you didn’t argue when I said I was staying?”
Shrugging, he finished taking a drink and sat it down on the coffee table. “Well, I dunno, maybe cuz my best friend walked through the rain to get here and is obviously havin’ a bad night.”
He reached over and put an arm around Billy.
“Don’t fucking touch me.”
“As you wish,” Stu said, retracting his arm quickly. “I can always be alone some other time. You’re more important.”
Billy finished off his soda and tossed the can onto the coffee table. He crossed his arms and leaned back. He heard what Stu said, but didn’t believe it. Him? Important? Since when was he important? And how was he supposed to respond? He could say “thank you” or some shit but that sounded corny. Plus, being sincere wasn’t in his vocabulary.
“Don’t be a fag.”
Stu rolled his eyes but smiled. He knew Billy appreciated him, even if he wouldn’t admit it. He looked back over at him, seeing he was now fully engulfed in the movie. It was almost over now, but it was the best scene, the one where Rupert finds out what Phillip and Brandon did.
“You like Rope?” Billy asked, trying to change the subject.
“Mhm. It’s a classic.”
“Thought you only liked slashers.”
“Nah. Just prefer ‘em. I like other stuff too.”
Billy was a bit surprised. He didn’t take Stu for the type to watch old thrillers. “This is actually one of my favorite Hitchcock movies.”
“Yeah?”
“Mhm. Nothing beats Psycho, though.”
The two continued to watch the movie, enjoying the tense ending. Billy looked over at Stu without a word. He was clearly lost in thought. Stu took notice and made eye contact with him.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Billy?”
He turned his head away quickly. “Nothing.”
Stu smiled at his agitated response. He didn’t have to say anything for him to know what he was thinking. He was secretly appreciative of the way Stu let him in tonight, even if he was still a bit shocked by it. Deep down, he knew that Stu would give up anything, even his own life, if he knew it would make him happy, but he was still struggling to believe anyone could do anything nice for him, no matter how many times they proved they would.
As the credits started to roll, Stu jumped up. “I’m gonna go grab the VHS for Psycho. And some blankets. It’s not a sleepover without blankets.”
He ran up the stairs to his room and Billy watched him leave, letting himself smile now that he was gone as he realized that tonight was going to take a turn for the better.