Shadow086

Yes he did. And where was Jack while this was going on? Maybe he was reviewing the directive he wrote to see if they can get off on a technicality?

Billy did almost everything right, for once. Treating Mary with respect and genuinely making sure she's having a good time, keeping his temper in check and calming down Dustin, admitting some responsibility for the breakup, and of course, throwing away valedictorian for Brett. He's grown so much ! B&B still have work to do to cement their relationship, but I think there's a new level of understanding and respect that will make it work. It's interesting to see that the student body appears to be supportive of B&B's relationship, I wonder how that's going to come into play once the principal tries to hand down punishment on Monday. Speaking of which, I'd love to see what happens if Jack suddenly shows up and starts chewing them out for trying to expel his son with no valid reason. I wouldn't be surprised if he resigned and threatened to sue the school district . Maybe someone could let it slip that Kenny was engaging in "inappropriate behaviour" during prom? I can't wait to see who ends up becoming valedictorian. Probably Sarah, but I think John Taylor (who should be expelled from a cannon) is going too far, and I can see Sarah's speech being drowned out by jeers from all the other students.

Loved it, Com. Always fun to see some backstories like this one.

Oh, I thought you meant how we the readers were blaming Billy ........I agree Billy isn't the only one to blame, and I've said it many times. However, I don't think that calling Billy out on his shitty actions is blaming him for everything, but he probably sees it that way. And since the story is told from Billy's perspective... That's probably also why we didn't see his parents' reactions as them trying to teach him that the way he acted was wrong, but instead as them blaming him and ignoring what he has to say. Billy was stuck because Jack and Jen basically made him choose between his boyfriend and his family. While I think Billy's mom was wrong to hide his condition from him, it's really hard to say for sure whether or not they did try to help him be more socially skilled. He's not socially skilled, and that makes him come off as selfish and arrogant, so it's hard for me to blame the people around him from reacting and treating Billy like a selfish, arrogant prick. All his friends said was along the lines of "What is wrong with you? You don't treat people like that!". But the breakup is mostly Brett's fault, I think. He wanted Billy to be honest with him and respect him, but if he'd been honest with Billy and confronted him instead of playing this silly game, this wouldn't have happened. It's likely that Billy would've caved in and told Brett everything if if he heard the words "I won't hate you." That's it. That's all Billy needed to spill the beans. But Brett had to be a little brat and fuck things up for both of them. I find it kind of funny that Joey's the one playing mediator and trying to get them back together.

I disagree with most of this, and I'll try to explain why. Yes, Billy was manipulated (intimidated is more accurate, in my opinion), but he still had many opportunities to come clean and tell Brett, yet he kept his mouth shut the whole time. I'll admit this is partly because Billy wasn't able to pick up the signals due to his condition, but if he really felt so guilty about this, he could've told Brett and accepted the consequences. The time to tell Jack to take his internship and shove it was when he offered it in that hospital room, but he didn't. I also think it's entirely fair to blame him for letting things get to this point when literally everyone he talked to about Jack told him to confess to Brett to prevent his current situation from happening. I do agree about Jen taking advantage of him, though. Now I can't help but wonder if, all these years, she ever saw Billy as more than a patient or case study for her book. Jack and Jen should tell Brett the truth, but I doubt Brett will listen to them, let alone believe what they tell him. No, Brett doesn't want anything to do with either of them at this point, and any truth-telling would have to come from Billy, or maybe Joey confirming their story. Brett needs to hear the truth from someone he trusts, and that list is very very short at the moment. I can't really blame Dustin either. Yes, Billy saved his life, but he contributed to letting Dustin get to that point in the first place, and he lied to him much like he lied to Brett. I also understand why Dustin treats Billy like a selfish, whiny brat, because he kind of is being one and needs a kick in the rear to get him to start fixing things instead of complaining about how his life sucks now. I do think Billy should tell him about his condition, though. I'm sure Dustin would understand and support him. As for telling Brett, again, I think Billy needs to be the one to tell him. He also has to be careful in how he tells Brett so he doesn't sound like he's using it as an excuse. But maybe Brett already knows about it. After all, he might have happened to look through a copy of his mother's newest book while he was stuck at home.

Well, now Billy's getting on the right path. Starting with the internship. I think Billy did the right thing at the wrong time, and a little bit for the wrong reasons. He would've gone through with it if Brett hadn't dumped him. I can see Billy being an activist for gay rights, but not a lawyer. Still, he did turn down the internship, and managed to sneak a hit at Pastor Carl while doing it, so I give him credit for that. What really made me proud of Billy, though, is how he pushed Jack to give it to Joey instead. That's the unselfish part, and Billy had no reason to try and do a good thing for someone he hates so much. I don't think this will go unnoticed by Brett, and trying to help Joey will mean a lot more to Brett than if Billy had simply given up the internship. Inviting Mary to the prom was also a nice gesture. And thankfully, he's being completely honest with her from the start. I think word of this will get back to Brett as well, and he'll be happy that Billy went to the prom. Now both boys have their prom dates, I wonder if they can play on technicalities and screw over John Taylor. Suppose Brett and Billy were to show up at the prom with their "dates", and decide to spend the prom with each other instead, they didn't really violate school rules, so Billy should still have a shot at valedictorian. That's the major roadblock to them getting back together, I think, but the way Billy is now he'll probably be able to talk to Brett and explain why he's so obsessed with beating Sarah Taylor. Maybe there's a bit of selfishness, but it's mostly the principle of valedictorian being handed out through nepotism instead of merit.

The way I see it, the diagnosis isn't a challenge for Billy to conquer, but, just like his diabetes, learning to accept it and live with it might be. Billy had a lot of trouble coming to terms with diabetes and how it will affect the rest of his life, I think something similar will happen here. I think the challenge for Billy will be to convince himself that he's still the same person he's always been, and that there's nothing wrong with him.

Loved it, Com!

In Paula's defense, maybe she tried showing him some techniques, but Billy isn't always the most receptive to criticism about how he acts, so it's likely he would have ignored her. I have to wonder, though, if Brett would have been okay with dating one of him mom's "freaks", since he seems to look down on them. What Billy needed and still needs is someone to ground him and clue him in when he makes mistakes. I think George did that in his own way, but Paula really dropped the ball on that front, in my opinion, mainly because she's as short-tempered as Billy is.

The main problem I have with that is that Brett thinks Billy lied out of malice, when that's clearly not the case. He was still wrong, but it's not as bad as Brett makes it out to be, in my opinion. I don't buy into the argument that Billy screwing up justifies all of Brett's actions.

If you assume Billy is a selfish asshole who thinks he's smarter and better than everyone around him, then Brett is absolutely right in everything he said. But by assuming that, Brett just shows that he doesn't know and respect Billy as much as he thinks he does.

Let me ask you this: did Brett actually say anything to them? We don't really know for sure, and somehow I doubt it. It wasn't Billy's secret to tell, but he was wrong to help them keep it. That's the mistake Brett's making, but I can see why he'd think that. Billy's always come off as selfish and arrogant, so it's easy to assume his motivations as such. What Brett perceived as Billy thinking he's stupid was actually Billy's apparent inability to pick up the clues that were given to him. I'm sure he would've told if he understood that Brett would forgive him if he did. Brett's mistake is making false assumptions about Billy's motivations for his actions, and reacting accordingly. I saw the playing games thing as Brett wanting to show Billy that he's not smarter than everyone like he thinks he is. Which brings me to your next point. It's awfully convenient, I agree, but I also saw this partly as Joey trying to deflect some of the blame from Billy for this whole mess. Let's not forget that this is a big part of what led to Billy finding out and being threatened into keeping the secret. Then Brett had to go and blame Billy by turning it into a trust issue, another mistake on his part. Again, Brett needs to know that's why Billy isn't willing to give that up. They're going to have to work really hard to get that HEA. Both of them are equally to blame here, as well as Billy's parents for not telling him about his Asperger's. Billy needs to be more honest with Brett, but equally to blame is Brett's misinterpretation of Billy's actions and faulty assumptions about the intent behind them. My limited knowledge of Asperger's tells me it could easily explain almost everything Brett is basing his assumptions about Billy off of, but neither of them knew about it so I won't take that into account. The main problem is Brett's misunderstanding of Billy's actions, and the only people who could clear up the misunderstanding are the people Brett doesn't trust.

Well, that explains a lot. I'm kicking myself for not considering it sooner. And I guess thinking there's something wrong with you would make you act like you're better than everyone else to hide or compensate for that. But Paula and George were wrong to hide this from him. He's still not ready to give up on valedictorian, but maybe the prom tickets will help. Now he has something concrete to keep the option in the back of his mind, and I'm sure it's going to keep nagging at him. So Plan A was basically to apologise to Brett and hope all is forgiven? That was weak, even for Billy, but Brett also told him he still has a chance, so that's encouraging. I hope his plan B involves doing some research on Asperger's and how to deal with it. Just like diabetes, this is something Billy's going to have to learn to live with, so he might as well get some help. Maybe he should also try to get a doctor's opinion about it too. What he can't do (and I suspect he might) is use that as an excuse and not work on becoming the person Brett still believes he can be. And seriously, Billy, ask Brett to the prom. Just ask him to go with you, no strings attached. It's not about the prom, it's about you giving Brett concrete proof that you're willing to sacrifice something important to be with him.

Yay, I missed Riley. I couldn't help thinking about how much he's regressed since going into rehab, but it was just pent-up energy and a facade to keep Carter and his brothers from seeing his PTSD. It's going to take him a lot of time to accept what he sees as a weakness, but I think the James' and Carter will help him through it.

Nate's not gay after all, he's been caught having sex with Sarah Taylor in the girls locker room! And Billy's too busy feeling sorry for himself to even think about revenge dating. Mark my words, as soon as she's sure that Billy's out of the running, she's going to fuck something up. Then she'll take herself out and either Billy or Dark Horse Dustin Smith takes valedictorian. It would be nice if Dustin got the title, actually, he deserves more good things.

The way I see it, Brett just wants Billy to lose his internship. If he really is willing to give Billy another chance (as I think he is), then Jack doing any more than that, including trying to sue Billy and destroy his college prospects, could be going too far for Brett. As you say, it depends on how they try to spin it. Do they know Billy well enough to be able to portray him as more of an ass without saying something that Brett knows he would never do? Brett knows that Billy is a selfish coward, but would he really believe Jack or Jenny if they tried to make it look like Billy lied with malicious intent? For all we know, once they find out that Billy didn't tell Brett anything, they might even try to convince him that his lying was well intentioned. Well, Jenny might, if she feels guilty about dragging Billy into her web of lies and hurting both boys. She's the one who convinced Billy to keep doing the wrong thing, after all, by telling him it was the best thing to do to keep Brett happy.

He said he'd need to get a zero on a test to be out of the running. Now, does the quiz he missed qualify as such a test? I'd say no, but since the history teacher is clearly in John Taylor's pocket, he will push very hard to make that argument, just like I'm sure he gave that quiz after seeing that Billy skipped class. It's just too convenient.

You know he won't.

Not really. It's the lying about it for two years that caught up with him. If he'd come clean when it happened, Brett would've taken it out on Dustin instead and it wouldn't matter by now. And go Dustin!!

You could just tell he was looking for someone to tell him "Poor Billy, you're right, Brett's being totally unfair to you!", and when they didn't and told him the mistake was all his, he just shut them out. Funny how he keeps blaming himself for things out of his control, but when it actually is his fault, he never owns up to it. Oh well, as long as he doesn't cause serious physical injury to himself, let him reflect on his actions for a while. No one gave him any advice either. I think that's good, because whatever Billy does to try to start a new relationship with Brett, it all has to come from him, and him alone. Otherwise, he'll have learned nothing.

We all get that Billy's hurt and heartbroken, but his total disregard for Brett's pain (caused by him) is just unbelievable. I think that once Brett calms down, and maybe with a little help from Joey, he'll be willing to listen to what Billy has to say. I think he's already there and waiting for Billy to make the first move, but as usual, Billy keeps running away from his problems with his lame "He told me not to talk to me" excuse. The only reason this is going to drag on as long as it will is that fixing things requires Billy to admit he was wrong, and he's too hard-headed to do it. I was thinking about what George would tell him right now and it got me thinking. The only thing I can see that would send that message is for Billy to give up the coin collection. It'll be interesting to see how Brett will react when Jack goes after Billy for "breaking their agreement".

I totally called the history quiz! I'll admit I'm disappointed with that, since it means Billy will fight for Brett because he already lost everything else. I wanted him so sacrifice everything to be with Brett, but now all the things he could've sacrificed were taken from him, along with his chance to prove to Brett that he values him above all else. Now, no matter what he does, Billy's actions can never be seen as "I'm doing this because Brett comes first".

They were, but again, Brett doesn't have the full picture. He doesn't know that it was all initiated by Dustin, and that Billy stopped it when he realised what was happening. That's why Billy needs to find a way to get Brett to sit down and listen to him, then he has to properly explain everything that's been happening and apologise, honestly and sincerely, and without expecting Brett to forgive him. Sort of like "I know I fucked up, but I'll come clean about all of it. If you still hate me and don't want to see me ever again after this, I'll leave you alone." He still has the satisfaction of seeing Billy get hurt, though. But I can see the unspoken end of that speech: "You don't deserve my brother. You never did. So become someone who does, because he needs you as much as you need him."

Yeah, except Brett would never want to go to the prom with him now.

"Why hadn’t someone along the way smacked me upside the head and told me how stupid I was being? " Well, they all did, and you didn't listen. And Billy's being a selfish prick again. Not having anyone to comfort him is what he deserved. If Billy had paid any attention to Brett at all in the last four years, he'd know that he's putting up a brave front to cover up his pain. I'm sure that as soon as Billy left, Brett picked up the necklace and put it in a safe place. Of course he's angry and lashing out, but deep down he still loves Billy, that should be obvious. “You love sleeping with him. You love what he does for you. But you don’t really love him. If you loved him, you’d be willing to sacrifice everything to be with him. You wouldn’t let my dad or your mom or Pastor Carl stop you. You sure as hell wouldn’t let Mr. Taylor stop you. But no. You’re just as bad as they are. You would let a title or some money keep you from loving someone who would give up his soul for you. You don’t deserve my brother. You never did.” That's what Billy needed to hear, from all the people who said it to him. Maybe it'll get through his thick skull this time. Billy needs to think about why he wants the valedictorian (he won't get it), and more importantly, why he accepted and embraced the internship Jack offered him. I was under the impression it was so he could become a big-shot lawyer and change the laws so that he and Brett could get married. If that's what it was, then Brett needs to know. Billy really needs to make the first move and reach out to Brett and essentially beg for forgiveness. It'll be interesting to see if Billy's love for Brett wins out over his pride. He has to make amends, not excuses, and I'm not sure he's quite there yet.Subconsciously, he's still not taking full responsibility for the mess he's in and blames Brett for being unreasonable. It's weird, but somehow I think Joey will be the one to bring them back together.