𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 -𝐋.𝐒

𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝. <39>

THE BOYS HAD NOT SHUT UP ABOUT BILLY SINCE HEARING THE NEWS. They figured that the next best plan would be to investigate for themselves what was wrong with him. Billy being flayed didn't surprise them. But, how was it even possible?

Billy was a strong, scary individual so knowing that he of all people was able to get flayed worried them. What if there were others? And who? There was also the possibility that Billy perhaps wasn't acting as weird as the girls were saying and he was just being Billy. Not that the boys didn't trust the girl's judgment, especially considering Alice said she could feel his presence being around Billy, but there was always the chance he was just being himself.

It had somehow gotten even hotter since the morning. The sky was roaring with heat, and Alice had attempted to cool herself down by speeding on her bike on the way to the pool. It was rather hard to cycle fast with Lucas on the back weighing her down.

They still hadn't spoken about what happened the other day, and quite frankly Alice wasn't in the mood given the current situation. All she wanted was for a clear answer to come of what happened to Billy. Not deal with boyfriend drama.

Still, it was hard to ignore her rage towards him when all he had done since her arrival was act as if nothing had happened. Max rolled her eyes at his behaviour and told Alice to confront him about it today. Alice just kept reminding Max that this wasn't the time. She would confront him, just not today.

Little did she know that she wouldn't be able to hold back her thoughts much longer.

"I don't know. He looks pretty normal to me." Max said as she spied on her brother from behind a car outside the pool. Alice grabbed the binoculars and took a look at Billy herself.

"Are you kidding?" She scoffed. "It's roasting out and he's wearing like fifty layers. There's no way he's not melting under all that."

"Yeah, plus." Lucas agreed. "How many times have you seen him with a shirt on? That ain't normal."

"I mean," Max mumbled taking the binoculars back. "It's a little weird." She still wanted to deny the fact that there was something seriously wrong with Billy.

Alice rolled her eyes. She was beginning to get really tired of trying to prove to Max that Billy needed help. The more she denied his state, the worse he could become. Then there would be no saving him.

"More than a little. He was in a tub with ice. The mind flayer likes it cold."

"I could really go with a tub of ice right now." Alice complained. "It's too hot."

Mike ignore her, shooting her a small glare as he continued. "Plus everything else——"

"But he's lounging at the pool, which is like the least Mind Flayer thing ever."

"Not necessarily." Will spoke up. He met Alice's eyes before continuing. "The mind Flayer likes to hide. He only used me when he needed me. It's like . . . Like you're dormant. And then, when he needs you, you're activated."

Alice nodded her head agreeing with Will. "We still don't know how he's affected. He could be like me, the Mind Flayer might be using Billy's energy. Or like Will, a spy. We won't know until we find out, but I know what I felt. And so does Will. The mind Flayer has taken over Billy."

Max hung her head low. She hated to admit that she knew Alice was right. She hated that he had to be him. Why Billy? Of all the people it just had to be him. She knew he was a bad person, but he didn't deserve this. She never wanted him to be involved in this fight. But it was too late.

"Okay . . . then we just wait until he gets activated."

"No." Mike shook his head. "What if he hurts someone?"