Shadow086

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.

There was some satisfaction at seeing Billy get what he deserved, but I really hope this is the end of his little pity party and that he starts taking steps to get his man to take him back. Billy needs to start redeeming himself, and he needs to start right now.

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.

Speaking of that, we have one week to wait until we see Billy start blaming Joey for fucking everything up by telling Brett that he knew about Jack. No matter what he thinks, Billy's not at the stage where he'll take responsibility for destroying his relationship. So he'll blame Joey and go punch another mirror, as if that'll help.

"He'll never find out I knew all this time, what could go wrong?" Funny how his keeping quiet caused the exact thing he was trying to avoid by keeping quiet. What really gets to me is how Brett keeps dropping these "Please tell me the truth" hints, and Billy doesn't have the slightest hint or remorse or second thoughts about what he's doing. I find it a bit hard to believe that he's so oblivious that not even once does he start to think that maybe things aren't going to go the way he thinks. I feel sorry for Billy being stranded in Erie, Brett went too far with that one, but I don't feel sorry for Billy getting dumped, because he deserved it.

Billy really is his own worst enemy sometimes. I wonder who's going to pick him up and when. And also what Dustin will do when Billy goes over to cry on his shoulder.

You know, @droughtquake, if Brett had come right out and said in that parking lot "We're going to meet this guy, if you know anything about who my father is, now's the time to tell me. After we go in there, it'll be too late and I'll never forgive you.", then maybe Billy's oblivious brain could've decoded the secret message. And what Billy should've done is tell Brett the truth and turn this into a date in Buffalo. But again, Billy being scared and running away from one bad outcome led to an even worse outcome. Billy being worried that Brett would hate him if he said anything is about the only thing I can use to defend him right now, and that's tenuous at best. If all your friends and family tell you what you're doing is a bad idea, then maybe it's a bad idea and you should listen to them. Hell, when your best friend who's been in love with you all his life is trying to help you salvage your relationship with someone else, you take his advice. Not to mention what George would tell him right about now. Leaving Billy stranded halfway to Buffalo with no phone was a real dick move, I would be surprised if Dustin didn't give Brett a couple of slaps in the face over that. He deserves it. And now we have to wait a whole week to see the fallout from this and if there's anything to salvage from their relationship.

The other thing too is that Billy really took Brett for granted and assumed that he could just explain and Brett would understand and everything would be okay. Billy dug his own grave on that one. We never did find out how much he told Paula about this, and what she told him. I'm not trying to defend Billy, but Brett screwed up in this too. He should've known by now what a coward Billy is, and that he'd run away from it as long as he could. I'll never understand what made Brett think that this time would be any different. Instead of coming up with this ridiculous trip to Buffalo idea, he should have just straight up confronted Billy about it and tried to work things out like they've always done. Billy doesn't take hints, Brett should know that by now. They're both to blame for what happened, Billy more so than Brett, and the people around them will have a hell of a hard time getting them to work this out. Because if they're really meant to be together like everyone's been saying since the beginning, they're going to have to calm down and talk this through. But I wonder who Brett's "spite boyfriend" is going to be... Let's not forget the only person who could calm down Brett is probably Joey. He'll consider everyone else to be lying scum or people sent by Billy to try to get them talking again, so he'll ignore anything they have to say. (posting this from the forum thread)

The other thing too is that Billy really took Brett for granted and assumed that he could just explain and Brett would understand and everything would be okay. Billy dug his own grave on that one. We never did find out how much he told Paula about this, and what she told him. I'm not trying to defend Billy, but Brett screwed up in this too. He should've known by now what a coward Billy is, and that he'd run away from it as long as he could. I'll never understand what made Brett think that this time would be any different. Instead of coming up with this ridiculous trip to Buffalo idea, he should have just straight up confronted Billy about it and tried to work things out like they've always done. Billy doesn't take hints, Brett should know that by now. They're both to blame for what happened, Billy more so than Brett, and the people around them will have a hell of a hard time getting them to work this out. Because if they're really meant to be together like everyone's been saying since the beginning, they're going to have to calm down and talk this through. But I wonder who Brett's "spite boyfriend" is going to be...

I really don't know how to feel about this one. It's exactly what I was expecting would happen, but I was hoping to be wrong. Billy deserves to be in his current relationship situation, but I'm also sad that it doesn't look like there's any way things can work out now.

Billy may have won some battles along the way, but he lost the war in the end. Maybe this is the part where he finally and truly stops taking Brett for granted, after it's too late like every other time he owned up to one of his major mistakes. I'm still holding out hope for an HEA, but the way things are right now it's not happening. I guess it depends on whether the people around him will try to talk some sense into both of them.

BILLY, YOU IDIOT!! So Brett basically tells him "I know that you know, and this is your last chance to tell me", and the moron just sits there and pretends that everything's fine. How the hell can he not see this?! How can someone so smart be so fucking STUPID at the same time?! So this is exactly how I thought this would play out. Good job, Billy. As for what happens after this, I'm not sure. I think they'll get back together eventually, but that's a long way off. It all depends on who manages to knock some sense into Brett (I'm thinking Joey, since he knows best what their father is like), since Billy will probably self-destruct and take himself out of the race for valedictorian. A few chapters ago I would've said that Dustin would take this chance to jump in and be Billy's rebound boyfriend, but now I think he'll just try to support them through this. We're going to see a sad B&B for a long time, though. Wanna bet that the history teacher (John Taylor's lackey) decided to give a pop quiz when he saw that Billy skipped class? That would give him a 0 and take him out of the running.