Life As It Is

It seemed these days that everything seemed to rush. The seconds, minutes, and hours had come and gone as quickly as noticed. Suddenly it seemed to Ella that Billie Joe had asked her to move in with him a week ago instead of just a previous day.

She woke up tiredly and took a shower. She found it ridiculous to being scared of meeting two innocent little boys. But they had clearly been through rough times since their parents had announced their separation from one another and were in no way of expecting a new woman in their lives so sudden.

The pregnant woman felt guilty inside that she had somehow done something wrong. These days though, whose parent's weren't getting divorced?

Today, her reunited boyfriend was planning on talking with the kids and then introducing her to them the day after. It was too soon but honestly, she just wanted to get over it.

"Meeting Estelle was fine and I was really scared." Holly said to her that morning as she buttered her toast. These days, she was suddenly the advice giver after the many years of it being the other way around.

"Yeah, but that's different. Mike has had other girlfriends and stuff... "

"I know. But she had that tough time too. Look El," Her best friend looked at her in the eye.

"They're going to have to deal with it. Even if Billie had found someone else, they would still have to. And trust me; they are gonna grow to love you so much because you are a great person."

Ella looked at her, amazed with her words.

"Wow, thanks Hol'."

"No problem. On the other hand, I'm sort of having some problems with Mike."

The other thirty-three year old bit into her bagel.

"What happened?" She asked after swallowing quickly.

"He's been showering me with tons of gifts."

"What a jerk." Ella replied with a sarcastic tone, giving her friend a blank look.

"I know I'm supposed to be all giddy and shit. I am going out with the bass player from Green Day but I feel like there's more to this."

"What do you mean?"

Holly shrugged. "I don't know. I feel sort of bad he's going to all this trouble to please me with a million gifts as if I'm not happy enough."

"Then do what you're best at—confront him." The pregnant woman stood up from where she was sitting as the other pregnant woman nodded.

"Where are you going anyway?"

"I think I'm just going to drive around today and get my mind off of tomorrow. Maybe browse some stores and stuff. I'm going to borrow Tre's car," She said as she pulled out the car keys.

"Okay, well I'll be here... "

"Alright well I'm off."

Driving would soon end for Ella once she would get closer to having her firstborn so she enjoyed it while she could. She drove through the streets of San Francisco with nothing in mind to buy.

She walked from boutiques to department stores just looking around. And there she saw it. Mothers with their children. Little boys and little girls. Crying or pouting for some reason and watched as the mothers got frustrated with their babies or slightly older kids.

Would she get frustrated with her little boy or girl once they were to come? She knew once the baby was in her life, everything would change. But exactly what? Could she still have the privilege to be able to go out by herself or with her closest friends? Or even have some real alone time with Billie Joe?

The questions circled her mind and she knew she'd be able to answer them in a matter of a few months. Or she could ask someone who already had kids. But who did she currently know that had kids?

* * *
Billie Joe sighed to himself. He tried his best to explain to Joey and Jakob about his situation with Ella but thought that he could've done better.

He had told his two boys about how there was someone new in his life and that Ella would be giving them both a half sibling and that'd they'd all be moving in together.

Jakob was of course happy that he wouldn't be the youngest even if he was getting only a half sibling. Meanwhile, Joey just grunted and walked away. Ever since Billie Joe and Adrienne had sat their kids down to tell them of their divorce, he had barely spoken to the two in what seemed like forever. Even on New Year's when his father had called to happily wish him and his brother a Happy New Year, he had just mumbled the greeting back.

He was taking it all hard. The ten year old boy had seen his parents go from absolutely happy to suddenly apart forever.

"It seems that the Armstrong boys probably are starting to get this curse at the age of ten." Billie Joe had mumbled to Adrienne the following afternoon as their divorce lawyers were setting up for their meeting. He filled her in on him and his beginning relationship with Ella, surprised that Adrienne was taking everything well.

But he always knew Adrienne was a strong woman who could easily be hurt but could get back on her feet. Just like Ella.

She looked at him sympathetically and turned her head around as their divorce lawyers were about to begin.

They had talked about getting joint custody of the boys, each parent getting them on certain days and then rotating on Saturdays. They talked from things like their record label "Adeline Records" to getting certain items from one another.

Signs that they were definitely moving on from one another.

* * *
After returning back to the car, Ella got into the driver's seat to pull out her cell phone just as it was ringing. Quickly shutting the car door, she picked it up and read over to see who it was.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I told them." Billie Joe's voice came and suddenly her heart fluttered.

Quit the teenage flashbacks, El.

"Oh, you did... " The thirty-three year old put her seatbelt on.

"Yeah. Joey's taking it hard so I don't know if you should come over tomorrow."

Ella put her headset on and started the car.

"Whatever you think is best, Billie. But it's now or never. They should meet me now or question as to why I'm moving into their house." She drove out of the parking spot, surprised at her words and sudden confidence about meeting the boys.

"You're right."

This put a smile on her face. "Say that again."

"You heard me. So anyway, where are you?" The voice asked her.

"Just around San Francisco in Tre's car. You?"

"Home. Trying to get Joey to talk to me already. I've tried everything. I've given him his space and he's taking advantage of it."

"I wish I knew what to tell you to make it all better, but all kids eventually have to go through this."

Ella could tell her boyfriend was making a face over the phone.

"Oh El, remember the days where we didn't have to worry about kids whatsoever?" It was time to go down memory lane.

"Yeah but back then we had to worry about condoms breaking and how to make more money to buy our next meal." She chuckled, she remembered those days. They were the best she'd had.

"True."

"I hope this conversation doesn't eventually lead to a 'Let's run away to Canada talk'."

The thirty-two year old rock star laughed over the phone.

"That was the kind of talk me and the guys had whenever we'd get high."

* * *
The next day rolled around and Ella woke up with a strange feeling. She was nervous once again and didn't know what to do or how to react when she would finally really meet Ella.

Although they had met on Thanksgiving, she had just been introduced as a friend of the family. This time she'd be introduced as the girlfriend of their father.

She got up and changed into the most comfortable clothes she could find since her stomach was definitely starting to grow more and more even if it was still unnoticeable to other people.

When she was all done she took one last look into the mirror to confirm to her that she looked fine.

She walked downstairs to find her boyfriend waiting for her at the bottom step, fidgeting around with his shirt, obviously nervous himself.

"Hey," She said as she touched her shoulder and went down to the very last step. He looked at her with his worried green eyes and smiled at her.

"Ready to go?" He asked her softly. She bit her lip and nodded.

And off they went to meet the kids.

"Where are they anyway?" She asked him on the quiet ride over.

"Adie's." He answered. "You can stay at my house while I get them." She shrugged and gave an "Okay."

Ella waited a few minutes in Billie Joe's living room sitting on the couch, nervously biting her lip. She suddenly heard the door open and knew she'd have to overcome this small fear now or never.

"Guys," Billie Joe said as he herded his sons into the living room. "You know Ella."

Jakob looked up at her with a happy expression on his face. He was definitely a cheerful child and his innocence was precious. Joey on the other hand, gave her sort of a glare. She didn't blame him though. If she had been in his shoes, she'd be feeling upset too.

They both said hello to her, Joey of course just sort of muttered it.

"Wanna play catch with us in the backyard?" Jakob said happily. Ella looked over at her boyfriend who in back of them gave her a shrug.

"Sure," She said with a smile as Joey rolled his eyes. The four headed out to the backyard with a ball in Billie Joe's hand. As the two boys ran outside, Billie Joe snaked an arm around Ella's waist.

She looked over at him.

"I can see where your son gets his stubbornness from," She said sarcastically, making Billie Joe give her a grin.

"I promise you it'll get better."

They headed outside quickly getting off of each other in front of the boys as they started throwing the ball around. Jakob had thrown it to his older brother at that point.

"Joe, throw it to Ella." Billie Joe had innocently suggested.

"No," The ten year boy old said, glaring at his father.

"And why is that?" His father asked very fatherly.

"Do you think you can just drag another woman here and think she can replace what you had with Mom?" He yelled, just as if he had been his father at that age.

"Ok wise-ass. Inside. Now."

Billie Joe pointed to the door as his son sucked his teeth and went inside. Before going inside, the thirty-two year old father of two looked over at Ella.

"Keep an eye on Jakob, okay?" She nodded as she looked at the younger son who was amazed at what had happened.

She gave him a smile as he played around with the ball his father had thrown as he left the backyard.

Meanwhile inside the house, Billie Joe was lecturing his son.

"That was absolutely rude of you, Joey. What the hell is going on with you?" Not caring that he said "Hell."

"Whatever." He muttered.

Billie Joe gave a frustrated sigh. He had to get through to his son once and for all.

Ella saw that the young boy was keeping himself busy. Suddenly she heard her phone beeping and realized she had received a text message from Holly asking her how things were going. She sighed and text messaged her back, explaining what was going on so far.

Suddenly, she heard a thud.

She looked up in horror to find an injured Jakob on the grass. She looked up and realized he had fallen from the tree. How had he climbed and fell from the tree so fast?

The back door opened as Billie Joe and Joey came running out to see what had happened. The thirty-two year old man ran over to his son and saw a whole lot of blood on the boy's knee and arm.

"You were supposed to watch him!" He snapped at his girlfriend.

The expecting mother bit her lip.

"I'm sorry; I was looking at my phone and then all of a sudden—"

Billie Joe was frantic; he scooped up his son and ran towards his car for his son to go to the emergency room. This wasn't your typical fall.

Joey and Ella heard the car slam shut and the engine start. Off they went. The woman let out a sigh, holding back tears that were forming.

How could she have been more occupied with her cell phone instead of watching after her boyfriend's son?

"This isn't the first time Jakob's fallen out of that tree. It's not your fault." The young boy said, reading her mind and breaking the silence.

She looked down at him as he sat down on the steps near the back door and decided to sit next to him.

"But it was my responsibility to look after him. I could've stopped him."

The ten year old boy shook his head surprisingly the same way his father always did.

"You can't talk Jakob out of things like that. I dared him to drink toilet water for five bucks and he did it."

Ella let out a soft laugh.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" He asked her.

Suddenly, she felt a bit more at ease talking to the boy. He was definitely similar to his father in many different ways.

"No," She shook her head. "I was an only child."

"Oh. Did you always want a brother or sister?"

"Yeah, when I was little I would ask my parents but they never wanted another kid so I was all alone."

"Did your parents ever get divorced?" Joey looked down. She could tell from the question he obviously needed to talk to someone about what was going on in his life.

She sighed. "No. But over the years they started to not like each other more and more. They started fighting a lot at one point." She never thought she could put her parents into simple words without a few curse words down the line.

"Look, Joey," She said as the young boy looked up at her with his own little chocolate brown eyes. "My parents ended up not being happy with one another and it headed them down a bad road. Sometimes parents need to be separated from one another to be happy with their lives."

"But why?" He pleaded. "My mom and dad looked so happy together and then all of a sudden they tell us that they're getting a divorce."

"Well, maybe getting a divorce is the best thing so you guys can be even happier with your lives. And your mom might meet someone else too. But don't ever think I will replace your mom or that some other man will replace your dad."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She gave him a smile. "Your parents will always be there for you even if they aren't together."

"Thanks Ella," He said.

"You're welcome." She glanced at her watch and noticed it had been a little bit after five.

When had Billie Joe and Jakob left for the hospital? It seemed like ages ago.

"Do you want something to eat?" She asked him.

"Sure."

They both went into the kitchen. Ella checked all over the kitchen for possibly something to make the boy to eat. All she could find was junk food. And lots of it.

"What has your father been feeding you guys lately?" She asked him as she gave him a quizzical look.

Joey shrugged. "Fast food and stuff."

"I guess I'll order us some Chinese food... "

* * *
Billie Joe hopped out of the car and helped his son walk inside. They both walked into the kitchen to find Joey and Ella eating what seemed to look like Chinese food.

"Hey," He said softly. He realized he had been such a dick to his girlfriend by snapping at her earlier.

She looked up from her food just like Joey did and noticed that Jakob had stitches on his knee and arm.

"Hey," She said as she looked up at Billie then looked at his youngest son. "How are you doing, Jakob?"

"Good. I got these cool stitches!" He gloated with a smile.

She smiled at the younger boy.

"Guys you can go upstairs and start unpacking." Billie Joe said in an attempt to be alone with Ella.

Joey stood up and left but then turned around.

"Ella, will you play the new Super Mario game with me later?" He asked.

"Sure."

Then he turned back around and headed upstairs with his brother. Billie Joe took a seat next to his girlfriend.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about earlier. I was a complete dick and—"

"Its fine, Billie. You were being a good father and I messed up."

"No you didn't," The man younger by a year edged in closer to her. "Jakob always climbs that tree and you didn't know."

"Well now I do." She edged in closer as well, almost about an inch near his face until she just went for it and kissed him.

When they parted, he gave a smile that almost seemed as if he had been in a daze.

"So, how'd you get Joey to give you a change of heart?"

She gave him a flirty smile. "I have my ways."

* * *
The next day Ella and Billie Joe started packing up the woman's stuff and putting them into a majority of boxes.

"How many times have I done this for you in my lifetime?" Billie Joe asked her as he lifted up a box from where it was standing on the bed.

She crossed her arms and gave him a grin. "Two."

He grunted. "This better be the last time."

Ella was amused. "Macho Man can't really carry anymore boxes?" She laughed.

Billie Joe pouted as if he were a young child who wasn't getting what he wanted.

"Noo... I'm just getting... old."

This made Ella laugh even more.

"You're only thirty-two!" She exclaimed.

"I'm still old."

"Well I guess that's a good thing then. It means you'll get looser year by year."

"Did someone say they were old and loose?" Tre asked, walking into the room.

"No, Tre." They answered in unison, catching them both by surprise.

"You didn't say no to me laaast night, Billie!"

Ella walked over to the drummer and whacked him on the head, making her boyfriend laugh.

"Damn, bitch! You're getting hormonal!"

This made the pregnant woman hit him harder on the head.

"No, you're just an annoying person."

"Duuh I know. Everyone tells me that."

Mike and Holly walked into the room, noticing all of the boxes ready to go.

"I can't believe you're moving out, but it was time I guess." Holly shrugged.

"It's time I go somewhere where I don't hear someone screaming 'Oh Mike' every night." Ella laughed as she put her hand on her best friend's shoulder.

"I knew you guys did it every night!" Tre exclaimed with happiness.

Everyone gave him a look which made him look down and kick something imaginary.

The moving process didn't take too long. Within a matter of a few hours, Billie Joe and Ella were permanently moved in.

"El, why is your Insomniac CD cracked a little?" Billie Joe asked his girlfriend as he held it up.

She bit her lip nervously. Remembering the story of how it had gotten cracked.

"Dave threw it at me once," She said quietly.

"What?" He asked angrily but then noticed the blank less expression on Ella's face. He watched as she sat crossed legged on his bedroom floor, motioned him to come sit next to her.

She remembered the day as if it were yesterday...

Ella had just gotten home from a long day at work to find a drunken Dave in their bedroom. Walking in, he immediately stood up from where he had been sitting and shoved the Green Day album in her face.

"What the fuck is this?" He asked angrily.

"A Green Day album I bought last week... why?" She gave him a confused face.

"What's it doing here?" He inched in closer to her and she could smell the beer in his breath.

The young woman crossed her arms.

"I bought it. What's the big deal?"

"THE BIG DEAL? THE BIG DEAL IS THAT IT'S YOUR EX-BOYFRIEND'S BAND!" He yelled in her face, scaring her to death. Making her want to cry.

"Who cares? It was a long time ago!" She pleaded. "We're not together."

"Yeah right." He sneered as he drunkenly stepped back.

"Whatever. I'm not up for your shit today, Dave."

She walked off; sighing at having yet another fight with her husband in two weeks. It was getting pathetic.

"DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME!" Suddenly she felt something hit her back—hard.

She winced at the pain, turned around and realized he had hit her with the very CD he had been bitching about. She turned to look at him and saw his horrified face.

"I'm—I'm so sorry!" He cried.

The tears started rolling down her cheeks as he came near.

"Get away from me!" She said as the tears kept coming down. She went towards the door, opened it and left.

With nowhere else to go but Holly's.

Billie Joe breathed deeply as she finished her story. Ella thought he was having a panic attack, but he wasn't.

"I—I can't believe he did that to you."

He put his arms around her and pulled her shirt up a little to search for any bruises. Ella knew what he was doing.

"Don't worry, it's not there anymore."

The thirty-two year old man looked at her again.

"And after all the shit you went through with your parents. I can't believe that asshole would do that to you." She nodded as he said this.

"I'm gonna find that bastard and beat him shitless." He growled getting up.

Ella gave a small laugh.

"I don't think you're gonna find him in the California phone book."

"Oh I'll find him."

The thirty-three year old dragged him down by pulling his neck collar.

"You have nothing to be worried about though. I'll all yours."

He smiled at this as he kissed her. She was finally at a point where she could consider herself happy. She was also finally with the man that made her heart rate fasten whenever he was around and make her smile whenever she would think of him.

Things were finally great for the two. They were okay and probably had no more obstacles to go through. But the couple was yet to know of something unexpected happening that would shake one of their friendships.