Summary

In this chapter, the narrative remains third-person past tense, but the narration is told through an unnamed character. The chapter depicts a group of friends in New York City in the early nineties, the heart of the AIDS epidemic. From the opening line, "We all thought Billy was with Greg" (36), through to the end, the narrative voice created the feel of gossip. The narrator is someone within the community who does not reveal himself, but he treats the reader as though they already know the names he drops. The majority of the chapter is narrated as though Billy is the main protagonist of the story, rather than Dan. Through the narration, Dan remains almost a secondary character--a love interest for Billy, but not the active main character.

Although the chapter will eventually focus on Billy, it begins with a character named Greg...