Life As It Is

It was now January of 2003. So much had happened in the last four years that it couldn't be told in one sentence. Green Day was at the most roughest part of their career. After all they'd been through; this had to be the toughest thing they had to pass in order to be successful band.

They had put out Shenanigans; a compilation album that contained many of their b-sides from previous singles. And before that was International Super hits!; which of course self-explanatory, it contained most of their biggest hits. Fans and critics were already beginning to question whether the band was over or not.

During the 2002 year, Billie Joe, Mike, and Tre went on tour with Blink-182 called The Pop Disaster Tour, putting rumours to rest about the bands having some sort of rivalry.

But after the tour, the guys were slowly fading away from each other. Billie Joe in particular was feeling as if Mike and Tre were always depending on him to write songs and stuff like that. They all completely stopped talking. And it affected everyone around them. Including Adrienne.

She and Billie Joe were at the most rockiest of their marriage. They always bickered and such, causing them to slowly fall apart as well while the two Armstrong boys stayed clueless.

And so, on January fifth, the couple had yet another fight.

"I'm starting to get sick of your shit Billie," Adrienne said angrily. "You need to work this out with Mike and Tre. I'm sick of you being all depressed and doing nothing about it."

"Well jeez I'm sorry I'm so fucking depressed but why can't you fucking be there for me, Adie? And just understand me!"

"I am being there. But I'm not gonna let you fucking mope around while Joey and Jakob are starting to get suspicious about their own father."
Billie Joe rolled his eyes. He knew he wasn't being himself even as he spoke.

"Whatever," He said. "I'm out of here." He took out his keys out of his pockets and headed towards the front door of his house.

"Where are you going?" Adrienne asked.

"Anywhere but here," Billie Joe said over his shoulder and slammed the door.

He took out two six packs of beers from the garage and put them in his car. He needed alcohol to forget his troubles.

Billie Joe went into his car and drove to his old high school. It was Sunday night and nobody was there. He parked his car and sat in the grass near the parking lot and took the first six pack of beer.

There were tons of memories that he had had in this school parking lot. From getting stoned to being with Ella. They were all things he hadn't thought about in a while.

It was about a week after Ella's eighteenth birthday. She and Billie Joe were sitting a few feet away from the parking lot, onto the grass. They were both skipping class.

"Billie," She said as she sat cross-legged. "I'm supposed to be in an AP class and you dragged me here."

"Pfft. Fuck AP classes."

"In your great punk philosophical mind, do they brainwash us into thinking learning is fun?" Ella smirked at her boyfriend.

"Hmm... yes they do."

"You dork."

"I love you too, babe." Billie Joe reached over and started tickling her at her hips as she started squirming and giggling at the same time. From across the parking lot, they suddenly heard a door opening.

"Oh shit!" They both said, stopping what they were doing.

"Quick, behind the tree!" Ella whispered as they both staggered over to the huge tree that we near them. As the door closed, they looked over from behind the tree to see a teacher walk out to their car and have a smoke. They both stifled their giggles.

After a few minutes, the teacher got bored and went back into the school. The couple both gave out relieved sighs.

"That was close." Billie Joe said after the long silence.

"Yep."

Ella noticed her boyfriend looking at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Meh nothing... "

"Come on, spill."

Billie Joe sighed. "I don't know... I just wish we could both spend the rest of our lives together being carefree."

Ella smiled. "Yeah... me too." Billie Joe took a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear as he always did. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her under the sunny, sunny day.

Billie Joe remembered that day as clear as air, even though it happened fourteen years ago and he'd done a lot of drugs since then.

He sighed and chugged down another beer. With Ella, he felt the same things he felt when he started to fall for Adrienne. But even after those giddy feelings of first being with someone, he and Ella never lost it from their whole year and a half relationship.

The almost thirty-one punk rocker was now piss-ass drunk. He had drunk at least five or six beers and successfully threw them into the trashcan at the school so he'd leave no evidence of someone previously sitting on that very grass. He slowly got up and stumbled back to his car.

Nothing was going through Billie Joe's head that he was drunk driving. No one was there to tell him. He wouldn't care anyway because of his big depression.
He drove home successfully without hitting anyone or anything. He was about three streets away from his house. Suddenly, he saw sirens in his rear-view mirror.

"Fuck," He muttered, pulling over at the nearest curb.

The cop got out; he was a tall white man who was prepared for anything whatsoever.

"License and registration please, sir." The officer said as Billie Joe pulled out his wallet.

"Here," He said, handing over the license.

"Sir, have you been drinking?" The man asked him.

"No," Billie Joe said.

"Well, you passed two stop signs and I see a six pack of beer in the backseat."

Nice going, Billie. He thought to himself.

He stood frozen, clutching at the steering wheel.

"Please step out of the vehicle." The officer ordered.

Billie Joe did what he was told and the police officer checked to see if he was really drunk by giving him some tests. And of course, he failed them all.

He stood against his black BMW as the officer arrested him for suspicion of drunk driving. He then found himself at the back of the police car where he would soon find himself in a jail cell.

What the fuck have I done? He thought to himself.

The police officer stood at his cell and handed him a dime.

"You have one phone call to make," He said. "Use it wisely."

Billie Joe thought of calling Adrienne. But then he thought against it. Without even realizing it, he dialled a familiar number. He waited a few rings before the person picked up.

"Hello?" A groggily man's voice said.

"Mike?" Billie Joe asked awkwardly. He and he hadn't talked in a long time.

"Billie? What are you doing calling me at—" A tired Mike Dirnt looked over at the clock near his bed. "One in the morning?"

Billie Joe curled the telephone cord.

"I uhh... got into some trouble with the law."

Mike sat up in his bed.

"What'd you do?"

Billie Joe coughed.

"I was caught with drunk driving and they're giving me a DUI."

"Whoa... " Mike said. They completely forgot their awkwardness.

"Yeah."

"How much is bail?"

Billie Joe said something he couldn't make out.

"What?" He asked.

"One thousand, fifty-three dollars." He muttered.

"Holy fuck!"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you call Adie?"

"She and I had a big fight."

Mike nodded and yawned. "Ok I'm coming with the bail money. You'll pay me back later."

Billie Joe let out a sigh of relief. He was feeling completely sober now.

"Thank you so much man."

"Anytime for you." Mike said and hung up.

A few minutes later, Mike arrived and took his best friend out of jail. Billie Joe would have to return to East 12th Street and fill out paperwork. Until then, he was fine.

The two men walked into Mike's car without a word. Throughout the drive, they were silent.

"So... where's you car?"

"Back at the station. I have to get it tomorrow."

"Damn, that sucks."

"Yeah."

They rode again in silence until they reached a red light.

"Why'd you do it, Bill?"

Billie Joe sighed and looked down at his hands and shrugged.

"I'm depressed again. I had a fight with Adie like I said. Everything is just so fucked up."

Mike sighed.

"I know."

Once again, they were in silence until they reached the Armstrong household. The kitchen light was open. Obviously, Adrienne was waiting.

"Thanks again man. I owe you big time."

"It's no problem." Mike said casually as Billie Joe got out of the car.

He breathed deeply and walked into the house and into the kitchen to find Adrienne in a bathrobe, sitting at the counter.

"Where have you been?" She asked worriedly.

Billie Joe sat down and explained the events that occurred not too long ago.

"Why didn't you call me? I was worried sick!"

"Well we had had that big fight and shit and I sort of just decided on calling Mike."

Adrienne nodded.

"You're right though, I need to stop moping around." He slowly got up from the counter and headed towards their bedroom, laid down on the bed, and fell asleep.

* * *
A week after the incident, Billie Joe called Mike again and they started talking.

"Do you even wanna do this anymore?" Billie Joe sighed as he stared out the window.

Mike let out a sigh as well.

"Of course I do Billie."

"Then let's start over clean. We'll all start jamming in the basement."

Billie Joe, Mike, and Tre were having band practice when they all stopped playing.

"This isn't how we have band practice." Mike said as Billie Joe and Tre nodded.

A few weeks later, they were back in the studio with their producer, Rob Cavallo.

"Ok you guys," He said. "I think it's time you guys let out all your feelings about each other before you move any forward. Billie, you start."

Billie Joe looked at Mike and Tre. His best friends. The guys he'd toured with since he was around eighteen. The guys who never betrayed him and were basically his brothers.

"Ok well... sometimes I feel like you guys put too much pressure on me to write a song. I mean, I love doing it but sometimes I feel like you guys depend on me too much and it makes me go crazy."

They all let out a little of their anger. And by the end of letting everything out, they were suddenly Green Day again. The band from Berkeley that always stick together.

A few months later, Mike was in the studio, fiddling around when he suddenly recorded a thirty second song. Then Billie Joe had done the same thing and connected it to Mike's and Tre as well did the same thing.

Soon enough, they came up with their eighth album American Idiot. They were well on their way to success and coming back as a band.

The next two years would be the craziest and most changing time of their lives. For each and every one of them.