Life As It Is

"Guess who's getting married!" A cheerful Holly said the following morning.

Groaning from the sound of her best friend's effervescent tone of voice, Ella got up. She looked over at the clock near her and Billie Joe's bed.

"Jesus, Hol'! It's only six!"

"And we're already delayed."

Giving a groan once again, the soon to be bride got out of bed and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was getting married today. Holly stepped behind her with a smile.

"It's finally happening," she said.

Ella sighed. "Finally."

"So Laura's downstairs," Holly chuckled. "I nearly had to get her off of Tre."

"I can't wait to see THEM get married," she joked.

"I couldn't imagine."

A few hours later, the makeup madness began. Laura applied the light makeup on the bride who was happy as hell but emotional as well.

"El, don't cry again or else I'm gonna have to do everything all over again."

Ella nodded and bit her lip, trying not to cry again.

As soon as they were finished with everything, the bride looked absolutely radiant. She studied herself in the mirror, looking at how much she had changed over the years. She once remembered herself as a seventeen year old girl who was lonely and was too eager to get out of high school and start her life.

Now she was a thirty-five year old mother and bride who had a life and was about to marry the man she had loved all these years.

Holly and Laura then got ready and came back into where the bride was sitting, letting her know that they were both finished with getting dressed as well.

"Ready?" Holly asked.

Ella took one last look in the mirror before looking back at her best friend. "Ready as I'll ever be."

* * *
"Waake up, waake up!" Tre screamed to Billie Joe while banging pots and pans in the Green Day front man's ear.

He immediately awoke, making a face at the grinning drummer who was still banging the pots and pans before he threw them on the floor.

Tre made a face at him as he picked up the dropped items. "You're getting married today, buddy."

"And here I thought I passed out in Mike's house," Billie Joe muttered sarcastically.

"No that was last week, silly!"

The thirty-four year old man rolled his eyes and got out of bed, pushing Tre out of the way. He made his way towards the bathroom as he washed his face. Looking at his reflection, he smiled.

The day was finally here. It was all finally happening.

As he got ready, the groom and his best man, none other than Mike both fixed their hair. Tre made his way into the bedroom Mike and Holly shared with a pouted expression on his face.

"Oh look, it's the best man," he said darkly.

"Tre... " Billie Joe began.

"I see how it is!" he exclaimed, starting to fake cry.

The two men rolled their eyes at their best friend, assuming he was either drunk or a bit too hyper.

After Billie Joe put on his tuxedo, he heard the doorbell ring. On the other side of the door was Adrienne with their two dressed up sons.

"Hey," she said with a smile. "You look... great."

Her ex-husband returned the smile. "Thanks."

"Okay you guys, get inside... you'll stay at your Uncle Mike's tonight," Adrienne said to Joey and Jakob who hugged their father then went inside.

"So, today's the big day, huh?"

"Yep."

"I'm really happy for you, Billie. And I'm not just saying that."

"I know," the thirty-four year old man leaned against the door.

She reached over and hugged him as they both smiled politely, then went their separate ways.

Looking back on the last two years, Billie Joe thought about all that had happened. If he had never seen Ella again, where would he be? Would he still be with Adrienne or would he still be divorced, but single?

He pushed the questions out of his mind because he was sure as hell happy with the outcome of the last two years.

* * *
When the bridal party made it to the garden, they had to stay far from where the grooms were and do any last minute things they needed to do before the ceremony.

As they each got out of the limo, Holly made sure everything was ready.

"Do you have your something blue, something borrowed, something old, and something new?" the maid of honor asked the bride.

Ella rolled her eyes. "Do I seriously need those things?"

"Yes."

"Something new would be my studded earrings, something old would be my necklace Billie gave me a long time ago," she said touching it and remembering back to when he had bought it for her.

"El..." Billie Joe began and put his arm around her. Then he had an idea.

"Wait, I'll be right back." he started to get up.

"Where are you going?"

"You'll see," he said and gave a grin for the first time that day.

A few minutes later he returned and was holding something in his hands.

"Here," he said and handed Ella a necklace.

"A one dollar necklace?"

"That way you'll remember me—sweet and cheap."

She smiled at the memory as Holly brought her attention back.

"So that only leaves it to... something borrowed and something blue."

"Something borrowed would be these shoes and I'm not sure what for something blue... "

The maid of honor thought for a second before grabbing the bride's bouquet. She found a semi blue colored flower somewhere in there and pointed it out to her.

"Done," she said smirking.

"Thank God, here I was thinking we'd have to cancel the whole wedding," Ella said sarcastically.

"I'll refrain myself from saying anything mean because it's your wedding day."

She turned on her heel and went to find the rest of the wedding party.

Sitting down in "the bridal room" that wasn't far from where the wedding would take place; Ella sighed until she heard the door open. She looked up only to see Tre.

"Hey," she said as she got up.

"Wow," he said, gushing. "You look... beautiful."

"Thanks, Tre. Obviously you haven't hit the booze yet."

"Nope, saving it for the reception."

"Looking for Laura?" she asked.

"No, just wanted to see you... plus, Billie kicked me out."

She chuckled at the drummer who looked around. "What did you do?"

"I got too hyper so Billie was all, 'Tre, go check on Ella.'"

"I'm glad he pinned you on me... "

"Nah. I doubt it... he really wanted to know you were okay."

He shrugged as she gave a smile. She knew Billie Joe was most likely worried something would somehow go wrong, but it wouldn't. And she was sure of that.

"So... is anyone giving you away?" Tre suddenly asked her.

"I was just thinking I'd give myself away... as humorous as that sounds."

"I'll do it."

She looked up at the drummer who gave his "whatever" expression as the bride smiled at him.

"Thanks Tre," she said and hugged him.

As they hugged, they heard someone's footsteps come to a stop. When Ella looked up, she noticed it was Laura with her arms crossed, her eyes focusing on the drummer.

"Tre... " she began.

The thirty-three year old man let go of the bride, who laughed as he turned around and gave an innocent smile to Laura.

"Yeah?"

The drummer's girlfriend blushed a bit before saying, "I thought we were going to uhh... meet outside before the wedding."

"Oh yeah...don't be shy, babe. El's not five; she knows what we're up to."

"Do... your business, you guys... please."

Tre gave a grin as he escorted Laura outside.

Feeling alone, the bride sighed a few moments before the ceremony. She was completely ready to get married.

* * *
As Holly readied Ella to go down the aisle, Tre appeared by her side, ready to escort her. The two walked down the aisle as their friends and family gave heartfelt smiles to them.

Billie Joe's attention was grabbed as he looked at his beautiful bride. Her ringlets of blonde hair cascaded down her back and the white veil on top of her head. He grinned as he saw her and she returned it, her heart beating a bit faster than it had been before.

Ella and Tre came to a stop as they both hugged and then took their places up front. Ella shyly looked at the groom and gave yet another smile before the minister began to speak.

When it was time for the vows, the bride went first, turning to her maid of honor who had the piece of paper she had written them down on. Turning back to Billie Joe, she took a deep breath and gave him a smile once again before starting her vows.

"When we first started hanging out, I thought you were probably the sweetest and most together guy I knew. But, you were just as dysfunctional as I was," she said, chuckling.

"I remember when we first started going out how much I was crazy about you. After we broke up, there was a little part of me that still had that feeling. Even after all of these years, I'm still crazy about you, Billie. You changed my life for the better and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

The front man's lips curled into a smile, he couldn't wait to kiss her already. He dug out his vows from his pocket and started to read it aloud.

"Ella, when I fell in love with you, it was the greatest feeling I could possibly have felt when we were younger. When we broke up, it was the total opposite. Then I met Adrienne and fell in love with her, but it was never that same exact feeling. And when we got divorced, I remembered that the day you left in that airport you told me that people who were meant to be always ended up together in the end. You were right, because you gave me a beautiful daughter and I'm standing here today declaring my love for you in front of all our friends and family. I've been waiting so long for this moment and I'm in for nasty weather," he finished off, quoting one of his songs.

She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, but she fought them back. They put their wedding rings onto one another's finger and waited for the minister to declare that they were married at last.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," were the last words the minister said before Billie Joe slightly tilted back his new wife, giving her a long kiss as everyone else clapped and cheered.

Grinning back at her new husband, Ella straightened herself up, entwining her hands with him, walking down the aisle as they all threw white flowers.

The reception was held in a small hall where other wedding ceremonies, parties, and so on were held at prior to that reception. The newly married couple sat in their seats as their wedding party sat along side them.

"Aren't you guys going to go see your people?" Holly asked the two.

"What people?" Ella rested her head on Billie Joe's shoulder. "Our people are sitting right next to us."

"You got that right," Billie Joe said.

The bride turned her head to focus on Phoebe who was sitting in her carriage, staring off into space. She picked her up and smiled down at her as Billie Joe did the same.

"Kiiidd you're no longer a bastard child!" a clearly drunken Tre said as he stumbled towards the two.

"Tre!" the couple yelled angrily as Holly shooed the drunk man away.

* * *
The time had come for the two to cut the cake. As they both did, a silly Billie Joe took a handful of cake frosting and plastered it on the bride's face. Shocked at what he had just done, Ella did the same, grinning at his mouth formed an "O" shape.

The DJ then called for the two to get onto the dance floor for their first dance as man and wife. As Billie Joe reached for Ella's hand, she looked up at him.

"So what song did you end up picking?"

"According to Hol', we need a song to dance to," Ella announced to her fiancιe as he sat on the couch, staring at the television screen.

He looked up at her and got up. "Okay... "

"And please don't take Mike and Tre's suggestion to do a dirty song," she said, trying hard not to laugh.

"Well babe, I'm sure we have some decent songs somewhere in this house."

"Pretty much. We have everything from AC/DC to ZZ Top."

"ZZ Top? Why do we have ZZ Top?"

"Billie, never mind the point. You pick out the song since you're so musical... "

The rock star nodded as he made his way to go rummage through the music collection upstairs.

"Oh you'll see," he said mischievously.

As they made their way to the dance floor, the DJ immediately followed, starting to play the song.

There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

Ella looked up at him. "In My Life by the Beatles?"

He grinned down at her as she rested her head against his chest. "Yeah, I heard you and Laura talking about it once and I just thought it was a great song for us."

"How cheesy of you."

"It's all your fault, babe," he chuckled as they danced.

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

She felt close against his warm body as The Beatles song continued to play on. It was one of her favorites and she was more than happy to have had it as a wedding song. She pulled down her new husband and planted a long kiss on his lips.

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

In my life I love you more

The song was over, but their marriage was just beginning.

The couple was a bit buzzed after a few drinks of champagne. But compared to their friends, they were practically sober.

As the younger children made a line to kiss the bride on the cheek, Tre drunkenly paid each of them to cut in line.

"'EEY!" he said with a stupid grin forming on his face.

Ella laughed at him as he tried to keep his balance. Billie Joe, who had been talking to someone else, made his way towards them.

"Ohh Ellaaa, you look so pretty," Tre said but instead of looking at the bride, looked at the groom.

He waddled over to him, missing his cheek and instead of a peck, rammed his tongue down the groom's throat.

With her eyes widened, Ella tried to push the drunken man off of a laughing Billie Joe. When she successfully did, Laura made her way over as well after witnessing the whole thing.

"That was hoottt," she slurred a bit.

The bride looked over at her husband as placed his arm around her waist.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"No... Tre only kisses well when he's sober."

Ella hit him jokingly as they made their way back to their seats. The thirty-five year old woman seemed a little too bored and examined the room at that exact moment.

Family members, friends, old colleagues, they were all there. Then, she noticed someone coming towards her and Billie Joe.

"Hello," her mother said nervously, making her way up to them.

"Hi... Mom," Ella said awkwardly as she could feel Billie Joe's hand reaching over and squeezing hers under the table.

"Everything was wonderful... the ceremony and the reception."

"Thanks."

Mrs. Montgomery looked over at Billie Joe with a glint of recognition. "Congratulations," she said with a small smile.

He nodded, murmuring a small thank you to his now mother-in-law.

He looked over at his beautiful new bride as she smiled to the other guests. He squeezed her hand again as she looked over at him.

"Care to dance, Mrs. Armstrong?" he said with a grin on his face.

"I thought you'd never ask, Mr. Armstrong."

* * *
As the newlyweds sat in their seats again, the bride leaned against the groom's shoulder closing her eyes.

"Can we go already?"

"Excited to start our wedding night already?" he asked, chuckling.

She looked up at him with a smirk on her face. "Of course."

"Let's go then... "

The two got up and said their goodbyes to everyone. Before they could make it to the door, Ella realized something.

"I forgot my purse," she said.

Billie Joe nodded. "I'll go get it."

He made his way to the table, where he saw Mike and Holly going at it—drunkenly. As he looked for Ella's purse, he spotted it on the back of Holly's chair. Billie Joe walked towards the two, slowly trying to get the purse off of the chair.

The thirty four year old man cringed at their sloppy sounding kisses.

"Get a room," he muttered.

The two stopped making out for a moment and looked at him.

"Coming back up for air, you two?" he grinned at the couple as he grabbed the bag.

"You guys are leaviing?" Mike asked, slightly slurring.

"Yeah... we announced that almost five minutes ago."

A red faced Holly grinned as she shooed the Green Day front man away. "Well go already. Your bride is anxiously waiting for you."

He shot a grin at her and turned around, making his way back to the front. Ella smiled and grabbed her purse from him, then grabbing his hand to walk out of the hall.

As the thirty-five year old woman made her way into the black limo, Billie Joe couldn't help but think of how much had changed in the past two years his new wife had re-entered his life.

"I'm pregnant."

The words hit Billie Joe hard. Ella was pregnant. With his child. Of course it was his, why would she have the need to tell him and have such a worried look on his face?

"Y-You're pregnant," he said out loud.

He felt like everything was spinning around. He never saw this coming.

"What's wrong?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.

He looked at her as her chocolate brown eyes filled with curiosity.

"Nothing. Just thinking about how much has changed and how beautiful you look right now."

She gave a heartfelt grin and leaned over to give him a long kiss on the lips. He took a whiff of her scent as he had his arms around her.

"Mmm, you smell great," he whispered in her ear as he could feel her smiling.

Pressing the button for the window between the limo driver and the couple, Ella leaned over to Billie Joe again, putting her arms around him as they continued to kiss.

The limo suddenly stopped to halt and the two realized that they were at the hotel at last. Sharing one last kiss, Billie Joe and Ella made their way out hand in hand.

After finally checking into the Renaissance Hotel they'd only be staying in for a night before heading off to their honeymoon in Greece, they made their way in the special honeymoon sweet to start off their wedding night together.

"I'll be right back," the bride said, winking at her new husband and making her way towards the bathroom.

Giving a smug grin, the Green Day front man lay down on the bed and made himself comfortable. The bathroom door opened and there stood Ella in a nightgown that made Billie Joe's eyes widen at the sight of his wife.

"Holy shit," he said as she grinned at him, making her way towards the bed. "You look—holy shit."

Chuckling, Ella reached over and kissed him as he returned the kiss hungrily. Making his way on top of her, their tongues explored each other's mouths and the two continued kissing to the point where Billie Joe continued it on her neck as she started undressing him slowly.

He put his hands on her hips as she tugged on his jet black hair, kissing him down his neck. She grinned as he started kissing her stomach affectionately, making his way back up to her neck as she continued grinning. Their lips met again as they continued to make love to one another.

The couple was now happily married, for life. They could never lose one another again.