Of course Lyle had been right. Not that he would gloat about it, because that would be a horrible thing to do, but there hadn't been any doubt in his mind. Nico practically smelled of it, and it was written all over his face. Still, it always made Lyle a little sad when he was right. No one should have had to go through that.
For a long while, Lyle was quiet, both in voice and in action. Nico trusted him. That meant that Lyle needed to be worth of his trust, that he couldn't behave selfishly. It meant he was getting himself into exactly the same situation he always got himself into, the same kind of person he always found himself with. Even with friends, they all needed someone to depend on, and Lyle had always been dependable. Accepting this from Nico meant that he was going to have to force himself to heal. Which was exactly what Nico was doing too. They were forceing themselves to get better.
There was a red light right before the highway, and as they came to a stop Lyle took his hand from his friend's, grabbing his notebook and pen from his pocket and scribbling quickly. He tore off the sheet, folded it, then handed it to Nico and met his eyes. He needed to keep this one, not just to read, but to remember. This one was a promise. And when the asshole behind them laid on his horn, Lyle settled back in his seat and resumed driving, his hand finding his date's and lacing their fingers.