Re: The Neighbourhood: Billy/Alex
Alex gets it, of course. He knows Billy has things going on, enough that he's talked about skipping town, running away, trying to disappear. Of course, that sort of thing worries him because it's pretty much the last thing he wants to happen. He finally, truly has people, and it's the sort of thing that makes him want to hold onto fiercely. The thing he's been trying to convey to Holly, the thing that makes his heart clench when he thinks about what Audrey has been through; it's selfish too, not wanting to lose his people.
He's still kind of getting used to the physical contact thing; it's never been a big part of his life, but Audrey is (was?) pretty touchy, and even Mal doesn't seem to mind the occasional touch. But, it's always been hard to tell with him. Anyway, of course he lets Billy hug him, and he always is a little surprised how nice it is to be hugged, even if Billy is sort of chewing in his ear for a moment. Other people, he remembers, can be so warm.
"'s kinda spooky," he agrees, and kind of wonders and even hopes for a moment that Billy is the supposed sibling his father was talking about. He's pretty sure, though, that's not the case, and ultimately, he's glad for that, for Billy's sake. No need for him to be going through the same shit Alex is with that; he's definitely got enough of his own. "You've got better hair," he allows. "Though I know mine's gonna look awesome braided," he drawled out with a little smirk, calling back their previous conversation.
He allows Billy to lead him over to the food, which works out since that's where his nose and stomach are content to take him as well. "Can you believe someone got rid of this?" He asks, enough disbelief in a voice that's never very expressive to convey the fact that he'd been genuinely surprised to find it. "Was listening to her on the way over too, so whatever that is, I'm down." He really has no idea. When he finally finds the pepperoni pizza, he just grabs a piece and starts eating from the open box. The little 'I love you' strikes him as sweet and hits him in a weird place since it's not something he ever heard a lot - goes hand-in-hand with a childhood where he wasn't shown a lot of physical affection, either. But as such, he's really not sure how to respond, though he definitely has a lot of friendship-level love for Billy. "Love you too, like just for the pizza to start," he says around a mouthful, maybe a little awkwardly, but that's what he does best. "'s so good."