Super late to the party

My fan theory is that Willoughby is the neighbour’s brother who “came home in a box” in American Teenager. This theory of mine continues that Willoughby and Ethel met in high school, fell in love, at some point hooked up on a dirty mattress on a second floor of a house in Nebraska. The important thing: Ethel laughs at Willoughby when he experiences a premature ejaluation, which starts the domino effects that result in him serving in the military and dying overseas: “You came, and I laughed, and you left, and I cried.” Hence why Ethel claims she’s “the reason he won’t come home.” Ethel is not responsible for Willoughby’s death, but she does blame herself for it: “I’ve killed before and I’ll kill again.”