chapter twenty-five: complicated feelings

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Adora stared at them, her pulse pounding in her ears so loudly that she barely registered the hum of the TV in the background. Her fingers curled into the fabric of her jeans as if grounding herself in something tangible, something real, because what they were saying didn't feel real. It felt like some twisted dream she was having, one of those late-night thoughts that made no sense in the morning.

She opened her mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again. "I—" she cut herself off, shaking her head. "You both want me."

Stu let out a low chuckle, lounging back into the couch like this was the most normal conversation in the world. "That's what we just said, babe. Try to keep up."

Adora shot him a glare before looking at Billy, expecting him to roll his eyes at Stu's dramatics, but he just watched her, dark eyes steady, unreadable. That was what made her stomach twist. Because if it had just been Stu throwing out something ridiculous, she could have laughed it off. If it had just been Billy, she could have dismissed it as some weird post-breakup rebound. But the both of them? Sitting here, saying this so plainly, like they had discussed it beforehand?

No, that wasn't something she could just ignore.

Adora exhaled sharply, trying to gather her thoughts, but everything was tangled up—memories of all the moments she had shoved to the back of her mind, all the times she had caught one of them looking at her a little too long, all the times she had felt something and forced herself to pretend she didn't.

This morning, when Tatum had told her about the breakup, Adora had thought she'd seen it coming. She had assumed Billy and Stu had been weird because of that. But now?

Now, she wasn't sure of anything anymore.

She ran a hand through her hair, fingers shaking slightly. "This is—this is insane."

Stu grinned. "A little bit, yeah."

Billy just kept watching her. Waiting.

Adora swallowed hard, shifting her gaze between them. "What do you expect me to say to this?"

Billy tilted his head slightly. "The truth."

"The truth?" She let out a sharp laugh, but there was no humor in it. "The truth is I have no idea how to respond to this. I—I don't even know how to process this."

"Take your time," Billy said smoothly, like this was some simple, rational conversation.

Adora shook her head, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes before dropping them again. "No. No, you don't get to just drop something like this on me and act like it's no big deal. You don't—" She let out a breath, trying to steady herself. "How long?"

Stu raised an eyebrow. "How long what?"

"How long have you—" she gestured vaguely between them, "—felt like this?"

Stu hummed thoughtfully, rocking back and forth slightly before settling on an answer. "Dunno. A while?"

"That's not an answer, Stu."

Billy sighed. "Since before you even noticed."

"That's also not an answer, Billy."

Billy's lips twitched, almost like he was amused, but there was something sharper underneath it. Something that made Adora's stomach twist.

She inhaled deeply, trying to keep her voice steady. "You're telling me you've both—what, liked me? Wanted me? For how long?"

Billy leaned back against the couch, fingers tapping against his knee. "Long enough."

Stu smirked, tilting his head. "Long enough to know you never would've figured it out on your own."

Something about the way he said it, the certainty in his voice, sent a chill down her spine. Her mind scrambled for memories, for moments she had missed, things she had brushed off as nothing. And now, with this new perspective, she saw them all in a different light.

The way Billy would always linger just a little longer than necessary when they were alone.

The way Stu was always touching her—small, casual things, a hand on her shoulder, an arm slung around her waist, fingers brushing against hers when he passed her something.

The way they both looked at her when they thought she wasn't paying attention.

Her jaw clenched. "And you two just—talked about this? Like it was nothing?"

Billy's eyes darkened slightly, but it was Stu who answered. "More like danced around it for a while." He grinned, but there was an edge to it, something almost too eager. "Had a couple of real fun conversations. 'Course, none of them matter if you're just gonna sit there looking like we told you aliens were real."

Adora exhaled sharply, her mind racing. "Because this isn't normal, Stu!"

He snorted. "Since when have we ever been normal?"

That shut her up for a second. Because, yeah. That was fair.

She'd known them for years, been tangled up in their chaos for what felt like forever. It had always been the three of them, moving through the world like nothing could touch them. But this? This was different. This changed everything.

Her throat felt tight. "Why are you telling me this now?"

Billy's voice was calm, but there was a weight to it. "Because we got tired of waiting for you to figure it out."

Her breath caught.

Waiting.

Waiting for her.

She stared at them, heart pounding. "And if I say no?"

For the first time, neither of them answered immediately.

Stu's smirk faltered just slightly, like the idea hadn't really occurred to him. Billy, though—Billy was still watching her, unreadable, his fingers still tapping against his knee in that steady, rhythmic way that made her stomach feel like it was tying itself in knots.

Adora turned to Billy instead when she saw that neither boys were gonna answer her question. Maybe because they had no reply to it, or because they didn't even want to consider that option.  "And Sidney? You're seriously just—over her?"

Billy's jaw tightened for half a second before he relaxed again. "I told you. She wanted out."

"That's not an answer."

Billy exhaled through his nose, leaning forward, forearms resting on his knees. "Things with Sid were over before she even said it. She wanted a way out, and I gave it to her." He met her gaze. "She's not what I want."

Adora looked between them again, feeling like the floor had been ripped out from under her. "So what? You're both just—fine with this? You're okay with the fact that you both like the same girl?"

Stu shrugged. "Yeah, kinda."

Billy didn't deny it either.

Adora let out a sharp laugh, but it sounded more like disbelief than amusement. "Oh, yeah, sure. That makes total sense."

Stu grinned like this was a joke, like she wasn't seconds away from losing her mind over the sheer audacity of what they were telling her. But Billy—Billy just watched her. The way he always did. Like he was studying her, picking apart every reaction, every breath, every flicker of emotion on her face.

She forced herself to hold his gaze. "And I'm just supposed to what? Pretend this is normal?"

Stu stretched his arms out across the back of the couch, lazily smirking up at her. "Nah, babe. You don't have to pretend anything."

Billy's voice was softer, measured. "We're just being honest with you."

Adora scoffed. "Right. Honest." She shook her head, her pulse pounding in her ears. "And what if I told you this is completely insane? That it doesn't make sense?"

Stu chuckled. "We'd probably agree with you."

Adora's breath hitched. That wasn't the answer she had been expecting. "Then why?"

Billy's fingers tapped against his knee again, slow and deliberate. "Because it doesn't have to make sense."

Her heart clenched at that, because—because damn him, that was exactly the kind of thing Billy Loomis would say. He always had this way of making things sound so simple, so matter-of-fact, like the world bent to his logic, not the other way around.

But this wasn't some game, wasn't some casual little thing they could just decide on.

She forced herself to take a breath. "You really expect me to believe that you two, you two, who have to be the most possessive guys I've ever met, are actually okay with sharing?"

Stu hummed thoughtfully. "It's not about sharing, babe."

Adora narrowed her eyes. "No? Then what is it about?"

Billy leaned forward again, his voice even. "It's about you."

She hated the way her stomach flipped at that. Hated that his voice, his words, had weight.

Stu grinned. "See, that's the thing you're not getting, babe. It's always been about you."

Adora's breath caught.

Always?

She looked between them again, searching for some kind of tell, some kind of catch—something to prove that this was some elaborate joke, some ridiculous scheme they had cooked up because they were bored or drunk or whatever the hell else they did when they weren't causing chaos.

But there was no hesitation. No punchline.

Just Billy's steady gaze and Stu's easy smirk, like they had already decided.

Like this was just true.

She felt her fingers shake slightly, and she curled them into her jeans again, grounding herself. "You're both insane."

Stu grinned wider. "We never said we weren't."

Adora swallowed hard.

Her mind was still a mess, still tangled up in every thought, every memory, every feeling she had forced herself to ignore for so long.

And now—now they were just sitting here, looking at her like they knew.

She licked her lips, trying to ignore the way their eyes tracked the movement. "I need air."

Billy nodded. "Then get some air."

Adora exhaled sharply, her hands shaking slightly as she turned toward the door. She barely heard Stu call out behind her, "Don't take too long, babe! We're kinda dying over here!"

She ignored him.

Because right now, she needed to breathe.

And for the first time in years, she wasn't sure she knew how.

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love Katherine

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WORDS: 1394

POSTED: WEDNESDAY APRIL 03, 2025

WRITTEN: WEDNESDAY APRIL 03, 2025