Chapter 42
Suddenly, she grabbed hold of his arm and forced him to stop walking. When he faced her, she placed her hands on his shoulders, staring intently into his face.
"Please, Jonathan".
Without thinking twice, he told her everything. From the very beginning, until the present moment. She listened carefully to every word, taking in every word. Then, once he finished speaking, Nancy stepped back and let her hands fall down to her side again.
"Well", she muttered under her breath.
"How did you find out?", continued Jonathan. "About everything I mean?".
Nancy sighed and rubbed a hand over her forehead.
"Mike", she replied after a second or two of contemplation.
"What?"
"Mike spilled the beans", replied Nancy.
"Really?", gasped Jonathan, his expression changing.
"That explains why you guys came here today", stated Nancy, shaking her head slowly.
"But", protested Jonathan, "why didn't you tell me?".
"Because you weren't ready", explained Nancy, "and we wanted to give you space. We figured that after your little meltdown yesterday, you should come home for some time. Besides", she added, turning around to head upstairs, "we didn't want you worrying more over things you weren't ready to discuss with us yet".
Jonathan followed close behind. Nancy was standing in front of the couch in the living room when he entered. She turned around to face him, folding her arms across her chest and raising her eyebrows.
"So", she began slowly, "have you made a decision?", she asked calmly.
Jonathan shrugged his shoulders and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Yeah", he replied, "kinda".
"Kinda!?" exclaimed Nancy incredulously.
"Yeah, sorta", repeated Jonathan, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Well?", pressed Nancy. "Are you going to stay?"
Jonathan looked at the floor.
"Maybe", he answered honestly. "I don't know."
Nancy took a couple steps closer to him.
"You know", she started, "you can stay for as long as you need to. You can take whatever time you need off school. Just don't make me worry about your future".
She waited for Jonathan to say something, but he just kept silent.
"Come on", prompted Nancy, "are you going to stay?".
When no answer came, Nancy crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. Jonathan shook his head impatiently and finally spoke up.
"Look, I understand where you're coming from", he admitted. "You want me to be happy. And I do. It would be great if you could be a part of that. But, right now, I want to focus on getting better first", he said firmly.
At hearing these words, Nancy frowned.
"Okay", she conceded reluctantly. "I just thought…"
"I know", interrupted Jonathan. "Sorry".
Then, he turned around and left. After taking a couple of steps, however, he suddenly stopped and swung around.
"Wait!" he yelled hurriedly.
Nancy whirled around.
"Yes?"
"Will, I want you to stay", he blurted out. "As a friend, that is".
Nancy looked shocked, almost horrified. What the hell was he doing? Was he insane? Did he not realise how serious he was? Did he completely forget what she had done to him last year? She swallowed nervously, unsure of whether she should accept his invitation or not. Finally deciding to stay, she nodded slowly and smiled.
"Thanks, Jonathan", she said in a quiet, timid voice.
Jonathan smiled back at her. Then, taking his jacket off, he walked over to Nancy and gave her a quick hug.
"Thanks", mumbled Nancy.
"No problem".
A couple of days later, Will had settled into a new routine. Everyday, he spent his afternoon with Jonathan while Jonathan worked at the Wheeler house. He loved hanging out with him, and enjoyed their conversations. The rest of the time he simply studied, tried to finish all of his homework assignments early. Even though, after having a talk with Nancy a couple of days ago, he decided that staying with Jonathan wasn't a good idea, since the boy was starting to get suspicious after their conversation in the woods. However, Will couldn't find the right words to explain this change in plans. So, whenever Jonathan asked him why he was staying, he chose to stay silent and let the other boy assume whatever he wanted. Of course, that didn't seem to work all that well.
On Friday morning, Jonathan woke up bright and early in order to make extra preparations for Joyce's wedding. They agreed that, instead of driving to the city, they would take his bike to the venue, as the parking lot was pretty full with the huge number of cars, and Will would prefer not being seen in public with Jonathan in his current condition. So they took turns in the shower, changed clothes, then sat on the bed and played video games while waiting for Nancy to wake up. It wasn' long before Will fell asleep mid game, which surprised Jonathan greatly since he hadn't slept properly since Wednesday night. Jonathan was sitting upright, playing the game himself while Jonathan, lying down on his stomach, rested his head against his boyfriend's back. After a few minutes, he shifted slightly, making sure that he wouldn't disturb the sleeping boy. Then he reached for the remote control, switched off the TV and got up quietly.
As soon as Will was awake again, he sat up too and looked around bewilderedly.
"Where are we?", he asked, blinking in the morning sunlight streaming through the window.
Jonathan laughed at the sight of Will's disoriented expression.
"We're here", he replied.
"Here?" repeated Will confused.
With the controller still in his hands, Jonathan rose onto his feet.
"Yep", he confirmed as he walked toward the closet.
Once he opened the wardrobe, he pulled open two suitcases filled with all sorts of different shirts and pants. He handed each one to Will one by one as he continued speaking.
"It's my grandma's birthday today", he informed. "We're supposed to arrive there an hour late".
Will nodded slowly, accepting everything that was thrown at him. A couple of moments passed in silence. Eventually, both boys were dressed up and ready to set off.
"Alright", announced Jonathan. "Let's go".
He grabbed his jacket and slung it across his shoulder, then walked past Will, heading toward the door. When Will followed a couple seconds after, he saw Jonathan opening the door and holding the handle, waiting patiently for him to pass through.
"I'll drive", Jonathan declared, holding open the driver's side door.
After Will climbed into the car, Jonathan closed the door behind him, then walked around to the passenger seat and slipped behind the wheel. He glanced at Will briefly and gave him a small smile.
"Ready to leave?"
"Yeh", murmured Will.