The Other Woman

"I can't believe Ken said yes."
"Me neither." I reply whilst both readjusting the phone to my ear, and folding and stuffing a pair of plaid shorts into my suitcase. "I think its partly because he's a fan and partly because I gave him a sob story of how I don't get to see Tre that often" I continue.

"Well, my greedy supervisor wouldn't given one shit, I'd still have to come to work. Fucking prick." she mutters from the other end of the phone. Taking a few seconds to laugh at her morbidly miserable situation, I continue packing, stuffing in a weeks worth of under and outerwear into my striped suitcase.
"Where's your boyfriend right now?"
"He went to grab some junk food for the plane ride at the Quickie Store."
"And where's the reminiscent Mike Dirnt?" she asks evilly.

Even hearing mention of his name caused my eyes to roll. The fucker...
"In our living room watching TV with his girlfriend. I feel like shoving my foot up his ass" I angrily whisper into my cell, roughly tossing a pair of black socks into the stiff luggage pockets.
"I bet you do Seny." Jen laughs. "You're in deep shit if he tells Tre, or even Adrianna for that matter."
"I know, and Billie's wife's name is Adrienne by the way." I correct.

'Aww shit' she suddenly sputters.
"What happened now?"
"I spilt hot sauce on my blouse."
"Have fun with that, beast." I reply with a heinous laugh, closing my suitcase.
"I was hungry." she reasons. "Lunchtime was at 12 and I had to catch up on a lot of filing and paperwork, and its now 1 o' clock."
"Excuses." I playfully yawn. "By the way did you find out about anything Tre might want for his birthday?"

I had recently assigned Jen to look on the Internet for any quirky interests that my hubby had, so that I could get a him a meaningful birthday gift. What else could I give him? He could afford anything he wanted, and more.
"Not really, I did find out that he milked a dog for his cereal once."
"That's disgusting." I cringe
"Yea and yuou never told me he lived with his ex-wife." she mumbles

"Excuse me? He lives with who?!" I ask, this piece of information completely new to me.
"You didn't know he lives with his ex-wife?" she asks in an 'oops, I didn't mean to say that' tenor

"No!"
"Well, uh, you do now." she faintly laughs.
I pause in my packing, entirely agitated that Tre had never bothered to tell me such an important and slightly uncomfortable detail about his life.

"Um, I gotta go. Have a safe flight, and give Mike a kiss for me."
"Thanks, and I'll ignore that Mike comment." I reply. And with an air kiss miles away we both hang up.

According to Tre, our flight to Detroit, Michigan where their next tour stop was at 2:45 p.m, and yet he still had yet to return from the tiny shop only blocks away from our apartment. I decide to take a quick shower and grab a snack from my kitchen, steering clear away from the living room where Mr. Dirnt currently occupied.

"There you are." beams Tre as he finally enters the kitchen, fifteen minutes after 2 pm.
"What took you so long?" I ask between shoveling a spoonful of Fruit Loops into my mouth.
"I went to the food store and got chips and shit, but then I figured I could do a little cruising around town since it was only 1." he replies while seating himself beside me.

"And I got you something." he continues, a devious grin on his lips
"Hey! I wasn't done with that!" I exclaim as Tre suddenly grabs my bowl of cereal away from my hungry grasp and pours the milky contents down the white sink.
"Don't you wanna see what I got you?" he frowns
"Sure, why not" I mumble dismissively
"I love your enthusiasm." he says irritably, sinking his fingers into the pockets of his tarnished jeans

My eyes drop to the tiling of the kitchen walls. I was happy he was here with me, and I was more than ecstatic that I was getting the opportunity to visit him for a week, but there was always this THING eating away in the back of my mind, the THING being Billie Joe of course. I was dreading having to see him again, dreading it so much that I had to get up in the middle of the night and vomit into my sink. And then Tre's little secret of living in sin with his wife was quite irritating.

"Sorry," I sigh. "I'm just a little groggy this morning."
"Its alright." he waves with his hands.

And only moments later I feel a billion times better when Tre reveals his gift to me. And I find myself laughing so hard that my sides begin to ache as I nearly fall out of my chair. Out of his pocket he gives me not one, but two orange $25 iTunes music cards for my iPOD.
"Now I can help you buy WORTHY music, and not that Shakira and Weird Al shit you have on it." he laughs with me.

Still giggling, I manage to put the plastic cards down on the table before wrapping my arms around Tre's neck, sticking my nose into the collar of his shirt.
"Thanks." I burble into his neck. "Now I can start buying some Madonna songs and that new Missy Elliot album."
"What have I done!?" he exaggeratingly bellows, putting his hands around the back of my head, preparing us both for a kiss.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have to get going guys, its nearly 2:30" Mike interjects, popping out his blonde head from the corner of the kitchen.
"All your stuff packed?" asks Tre.
"Yep." I nod.

After the 4-hour long fight to the blisteringly chilly city of Detroit, we all gather at the Cobo Arena where the show was being held to meet up with the remaining band members and crew, not even having time to unpack and go to a room at the nearest hotel. I wasn't nearly prepared for the blizzard like weather that hovered over Michigan. A light patter of white snow fell, falling into my hair and onto my clothing, sending tiny prickles of cool liquid onto my skin when they melted.
"You cold?" grins Tre as we walk to the side of the building, my teeth chattering like there was no tomorrow.
"No, I'm just shivering for fun." I reply with a roll of my eyes, tightening my grip around his forearm.
He playfully hits me on my forehead as a minor punishment for my rude tone, only serving to make me smirk as we finally head inside the warm arena.

"Took you guys long enough." greets Jason.
"Dude, we have like 2 hours before we go on." rebuttals Tre.
"Hey Serenity." waves Jason, ignoring Tre and his excuse.

"Hey." I smile back, letting go of Tre's arm to shed my jacket.
"We're gonna warm up in a few minutes in the back room, so hurry up." Jason warns before exiting the hallway.

"I'm hungry."
I put a hand to his stomach, and force back a snicker as I feel the grumbling and drumming of his tummy.
"That's because you ate all that junk food on the plane." I explain.
"Cuz I was hungry" he responds. "I'm in the mood for some watermelon."

"Oh gosh". I scorn as he drags me through the corridor where his watermelon and other delicacies laid sprawled out on a large table.

"Tre, get your hungry ass in here." yells Billie Joe from around the corner
His voice makes my movements still, and the small chunk of melon that I was consuming with Tre accidentally falls to the floor.

Please don't see me, please don't see me

"Bite me." Tre replies through a fistful of juicy melon in his mouth, causing us both to laugh.
Unfortunately, my silent prayer is completely ignored and multiplied tenfold when not only Billie Joe, but Adrienne, and it doesn't even stop there, his KIDS step out of the dim-lit room. All of them are laughing at Billie Joe and Tre's antics. And when his green eyes catch glimpse of mine, they seep with pure guilt, and a rather large lump accumulates in his throat.

"Hey Seny." smiles Adrienne. She stands completely unaware next to her husband, wearing a black knee-length trench coat, a slick pair of grey vans with a simple pair of blue jeans and knitted black sweater. Her sincere smile only deepens the well of guilt deep inside my heart.

"Hi Adie." I smile in return, blockading my true feelings beneath the surface

"Tre, for real, their set is almost finished." Billie points to his left, where My Chemical Romance are quickly configuring their set as the opening act.
"I was kidding Bill, just one more melon and I'll be inside." Tre responds truthfully.
"And by the way Tre, your drum kit is missing its snare and a whole bunch of other stuff, so you're gonna have to go to the storage room and find them, cuz I have no I idea where you put them."

A slight patting on my hip breaks the trance that I'm in whilst watching my boyfriend and ex-lover converse. And low and behold, who I'm guessing is Jakob Armstrong, is poking my hip, eagerly waiting to talk to me.

"Hi." he cheerfully greets, two front teeth missing from the remaining set. The cute little brat...
"Hey, you're Jakob right?" I ask with a smile
"Yep, what's your name?" the curious child insists
"I'm Serenity, but you can call me Seny."
"You wanna see my new dog? I named him Henry" he says brightly. And before I can even respond, he's digging into the right pocket of his navy blue jacket with gluey fingers and producing three photos of an adorable golden retriever.

"Jake, I told you to leave those on the bus." Adrienne sighs in a motherly tone as she steps closer to her son, kneeling down to the 6 year old. She gently takes the photographs from his candy sticky fingers and places them in the large brown handbag mounted over her shoulder as the little boy scurries over to his older brother.

"Kids." she tiredly sighs, standing up on her feet.
"Your's ain't so bad though." I casually respond

"You obviously haven't spent time with them, they can be scheming little demons when they want."
I laugh at her remark, knowing too well that it must be true. And pretty soon she's laughing with me. Wife and ex-mistress laughing together.

"I'll see you later Adie." Billie Joe quickly vows, kissing his wife of ten years on the corner of her mouth, as I stand contently in front. Neither of us not saying one word the entire time, but it didn't bother me. What was I supposed to say anyway?

"I'll be back in about 20 minutes Seny." Tre interjects, kissing me on my forehead, as he too follows the hordes of men wearing black walking down a narrow corridor to their rehearsal room.

Several hours later, while the beginning hum drum chords of 'Longview' by Mike are being strum, I sit backstage on a large black leather sofa, Adrienne and Vanessa on my left and right. We had been discussing all sorts of topics and gossip as we all sat and listened to our favorite band on stage, still keeping a keen eye on the two boys as they romped around backstage.

"So how long have you and Tre been dating now?" asks Vanessa as she fiddles about with a stack of playing cards in her magician hands.
"I met him back in mid-August, so I guess its been three, almost four months now." I respond doing the math in my head.

"I've only been seeing Mike for a month and a half." she snorts, flipping and stacking the playing cards at the speed of light, not one manages to falter to the floor as her fast fingers flip them.
"Do you guys find it hard for them to be on the road so much, or was that a stupid question?" Adrienne comments after subtly eyeing her children

"Yeah, Tre is the first boyfriend I've had where I don't spend as much time as I'd like to with. It's so much traveling and whatnot, but he's worth it." I shrug
"Ditto with Michael, and we make up for the time we've spent away." Vanessa giggles

"Joey!" yells Adrienne. "I don't wanna see you sticking up that finger again!"
"Sorry." the older brother mumbles, trotting away towards another hallway

Fumes of pot, beer, more pot, and more beer hit me as I open the large white-framed door of room 377. People whom I've never seen before walk past me, a bottle of Heineken pressed firmly to their lips as they trudge by. I look around the unfamiliar room for the time, and when I finally get a quick glimpse of the silver clock, its already 2:24 in the morning, and the post concert party was still in full swing. I look around for Tre, or even Vanessa or Adrienne, but find no one, only unfamiliar figures. And on cue, an unknown force yanks my elbow pulling me into a large closet.

I turn my head around to see Mike, Billie Joe, Adrienne, and Vanessa giving me scowls of displeasure as they stand huddled together with dirty clothes thrown about in the small room.
"What took you so long to get here?" Adrienne pegs
"I had to use the bathroom, and I'm not sure, but I think someone was snorting cocaine or something in that one, so I wen—"
"Forget it." Billie Joe rudely interrupts. "Look, we all need to talk. Tre knows."
"What?" I whisper in anxiety
"He knows Serenity." Billie Joe continues, his expression similar to a stone.

And in that moment, my heart malfunctions, or at least I know it skips a beat or two. The person that cared so much about me, that I cared for, had discovered the truth. The clown that stole my heart, that made me smile now knew the unforgivable truth. This was the end...

"He knows?" I ask in a soft somber tone, not believing him the first time
"Yeah, I think he heard me and Adie talking about his party yesterday. I'm sorry guys." he frowns.

Utterly abashed, I send Billie Joe a death glare as we stand only inches apart from each other. No one had even clued me in on any surprise birthday bash for Tre, so the bastard knew I was thinking that we were caught.

"Anyways, I was thinking we could just change the date around, to throw him off a bit." Adrienne insists.
"Lets just have the party like a couple days after his actual birthday." Mike includes.
"That's a good idea, what do you think?" Adrienne nudges me.
"Yeah that seems good, he wont suspect anything. Well, unless Billie says something again." I shoot back.

"Ok, its settled, lets get out of here before he shows up." Vanessa sighs, opening the door to bring in a burst of fresh, well, not so fresh air. I stick to the side of the large closet as everyone files out, only Billie Joe standing impatiently behind me. And when he doesn't budge, motioning me to go first, I roll my eyes and step outside. But not before I feel a sharp pain welcoming my ass.

He pinched my ass!

Usually when such fiery slits of passion were shown, I got excited, but tonight, it only pisses me off.
"Watch where you put your fingers, ok?" I snarl, and before he can recover or even reply I step outside of the closet to rejoin the unknowing society.

"Where were you?" a familiar voice floats in my ear. His breath, tickling my ear lobe sends a small smile to face.
"I had to use the bathroom." I lie with a smirk.
He fiddles about with the fluorescent green drink in his hand, eyes a bit glazy, a small smirk on his lips.
"Liar." he leans over, whispering into my ear.
"Don't ruin your own surprise Tre." I warn.
"Can't help it. You ready to head back?"

I nod, hooking one arm around his sturdy waist as we silently exit the small room party. After a quick shower and a quick late night snack, Tre and I settle into bed. Sleepy, yet not sleepy, just happy that we have each other.
"Guess what?" he states, sliding his hand up and down the front of my shirt, his fingers ghosting over my bare stomach.
"What?" I play along.
"I brought the photos that we took at the beach."
"Oh gosh, lemme see them." I quirk.

He leans over to the side of the bed where his one of many suitcases lie. His back faces me as I watch him dig into the pockets, muttering profanities when he looks into the wrong compartment.
"Here we go." he smiles crookedly, turning back to me, a large stack of Kodak photographs in his hands. We look through the pictures, laughing at the silly ones, smiling at the ones that were adorable, and debating over which ones were appealing or not.
"I brought my camera." I state. "Lets take some more now!"

I laugh as I here him huffing and puffing, not wanting to take anymore photographs. Shuffling around inside my large bag, I find the thin digital camera before handing it off to Tre.
"Silly face?" he suggests, pointing the camera towards our heads as we lay on our backs against the comfortable mattress.
I nod before squinting my face in an obscure gesture, along with Tre as he takes the photo
"My ass?" he suggests, causing me to roll my eyes.
"How about a lovey-dovey one." I reply. And we both lean in to each other, giving a small kiss to our lips as he snaps the picture.
"One more, a smile." he spout.s
Giving a bright smile to the camera I wait for the flash to appear, but of course Tre ruins it by sticking his tongue into my ear, resulting in me flinching and souring my face, and of course that's when he takes the picture.

"Eww, I hate wet willies." I cringe, wiping his spit from my ear.
"That was a wet tongue Seny." he smiles evilly, now putting the camera on the nearby nightstand and removing his shirt. Licking my lips at his masculine figure, I slowly crawl my fingers onto the zipper of his pants, unfastening the clothing. And all he does is grin.

Only his gentle snore can be heard throughout the room. My heavy eyelids manage to crack open in the early morning, nearly 10.a.m. Thankfully, Tre had closed the dark blue window curtains from last night, because if he hadn't, a blinding ray of sunlight would have surely damaged my eyes. Stirring around, a small headache creeping inside my head, I turn my head around just a crack.

"Tre?" I attempt to wake the lifeless human being next to me. He doesn't budge, but his arm stays draped over my bare stomach. Repositioning myself in his weak embrace, I face his sleeping form, taking mental note of the hints of stubble on his jaw, the way his heart pitted and pattered with every small breath. The white duvet covering our bare bodies keeps me warm and snug.

"Tre," I kiss his throat. "Wake up" I kiss again.

Not even a louder snore emerges from his nostrils, he's still sound asleep. Being a bit more assertive, I mount atop his body, pressing my warm chest against his and entwining my legs between his amongst the messy layer of sheets. His shaggy looking hair sprays out in every dimension as I slink my fingers through it.
"Are you gonna wake up now?" I purr into his left ear. When he shakes his head I giggle into the crook of his neck, his grip slowly but surely tightening.
"Ok, well I'm gonna head down to the lobby for some coffee, and some aspirin, you need anything?"

He just faintly shakes his head, still not yet opening his gorgeous blue orbs to this new day. And with that, I hop off the bed stark naked, a slight pep in my step as I search the room for my clothing. Too tired, I hoist up Tre's striped dress shirt from last night, fastening each button before slipping on his boxers that are not three feet away from the king-sized bed. I knew my hair looked like a nesting ground for exotic birds at this time in the morning, but honestly, I couldn't care less.

I walk down the narrow hallway, barefoot and in crushed men's clothing, but a doting smile on my face that I couldn't etch away. Finally finding the elevator, I linger in face of the frozen doors, waiting as the yellow light jumps slowly from the 6th floor... to the 5th... .4th... and finally the 3rd. And when the silver doors slide open, I immediately want to transfer to another elevator, ANY elevator but this.

"Mornin." yawns a smug looking Mike as I step inside the miniature death chamber.
"Hi." I murmur, not really looking at him.

Only three more floors, and you'll be at the lobby

"Had fun last night?" he pesters on.
"Yep."
The elevator was moving at a snails pace, possibly slower. We were only on the 2nd floor and somehow I find it difficult to breathe.

"So... where ya headed to this early?"
"Gonna get some coffee." I reply with slight annoyance, just wanting silence, just a simple awkward silence would suffice...

"Me too, I'm heading to Starbucks across the street, wanna come?" he invites casually. The capital G on the round dial on top of the elevator illuminates. Almost there...

"That's alright, I didn't tell Tre I would actually be leaving the building."
And with that, the elevator doors finally slides open, but before I can catch my breath or even take a simple step outside, he mumbles. "That's not all you haven't told him."

He walks out of the chamber, leaving me completely dumbfounded and exceedingly annoyed by his obtrusive and accusing tone.

"What's your problem, and furthermore, what are you implying?" I shoot back, walking heftily after him, heading towards the main entrance.
"The jig is up Serenity, you're a groupie. I spent all week trying to remember you, and then it dawned on me that I saw you at the Demolition club a few years back."

"Don't you DARE call me a fucking groupie!" I nearly shout as the entrance doors fly open. "I barely even remember meeting you."
"So why'd you lie when I asked if we met before? Hmmm?" he continues speaking calmly, pressing the tiny black button at the street intersection so we could safely cross.

"Because I didn't want any trouble to stir up. I haven't done anything to you, why do you keep bothering me?"
"I'm not botheri—"
"From the first day I met you." I continue as we cross the trafficked street. "You never liked me. All I did was ask for an autograph, and you gave me and Billie Joe this suspicious accusing glare."

"I'm not a moron, I know something was going on in that room. Billie's marriage was on the rocks at that time, and then you guys had that look on your faces." he persists. "And I don't know what you're trying to pull on Tre, but if you fuck with him, you're gonna regret it"

I sigh as I enter into a large Starbucks café, nearly full to capacity, and I feel miserably embarrassed that I'm standing barefoot with crushed boxers and a crushed dress shirt on.
"Fuck you Mike." I spit. "I really like Tre, whether you believe that or not. And if YOU," I point my finger straight at him "mess this up for me, and for NO good reason, you're gonna regret it, NOT me."

And I'm on my heel, turning around and exiting the store, Mike in disbelief at my demanding demeanor. And I knew things were going to get ugly, but just how ugly?

On my return to the lobby, I feel agitated, angry, guilty, and most definitely anxious. This entire situation was going to come crashing down on me, I could feel it. Ignoring those wretched feelings, I ask a close employee for a few packages of tea and coffee, plenty of sugar and creamer, and a most-needed miniature bottle of rum to melt away my seething troubles. Unknowing tears begin to sting the whites of my eyes and I realize that I'm in desperate need of fresh air. So I practically fly out of the lobby, a small brown bag with my coffee items in hand, and run into the back of the building where no one would find me. Along with fresh air, I receive an unwelcome waft of cigarette smoke. I walk further out into the back patio of this grandiose hotel, but accidentally stumble into someone, a vile and smoky stench lingering on them.

My lungs nearly collapse as my brown eyes meet and loiter with those of Billie Joe's.
Who am I gonna bump into next?! George Bush?!

"Sorry." I mumble a quick apology.
"You ok?" he asks, referring to the welling of tears in my eyes, a cigarette tucked firmly between his lips.
"No!" I accidentally blurt out. There was no use in hiding my emotions from him too, we were after all on the same ship. The same ship that would sink and drown us both if we didn't help each other out.
"Billie." I continue. "Your fucking friend Mike knows about me, and he keeps harassing me about Tre, and how I'm gonna regret it and—"

"Wait, Mike?" he interrupts with a useless question.
"No, the boogey man. Yes Mike, he keeps pestering me, and he had the AUDACITY to call me a groupie! Can you believe that!?" I nearly shout, earning a few scowls from nearby smokers

He paces back and forth, discarding the cigarette and kicking it around with the rubber front of his shoes.
"You HAVE to talk to him."
"I know." Billie mumbles, reaching into the pocket of his jacket for another cancer stick.
"Or maybe we should just confess." I softly suggest.
"Are you crazy!?" he practically shouts "If we do that, then we're all done. Me and Adie, you and Tre." he points out.

"Well its better than sitting on my ass while your bassist blackmails and threatens me."
"Mike would never do that, he's like a brother. He's just watching out for Tre"
"I DON'T CARE" I yell, meriting more dirty scowls. "I really like Tre, possibly love, and I don't need this right now."
"Will you keep it down!" he alerts. "I'll talk to Mike and we'll leave it at that. Feel better?" he smiles sweetly.
"Yes." I sigh, my tears finally sinking back down. "Just don't pinch my ass anymore." I chortle with a slight smirk.

"Oh yea, sorry about that. I wasn't completely sober."
"That's new." I mutter sarcastically. He lightly hits my upper arm.
"Don't worry about Mike, just focus on Tre."
"Thanks Billie, I'll see you later." I wave, feeling TONS better.

Opening the large white-framed door to me and Tre's room, a paper bag of hot drinks in my hand, a lovely scent of pancakes wafts through my nose, and when I open the door even further, I'm hit with an aroma consisting of what seems to be eggs, muffins and yes, a yummy variety of pastries.

"So that's where my clothes went." he speaks.

I lock the door behind me and turn my head towards his raspy voice, both smiling and frowning simultaneously. He's still lying on the bed, his back against the headboard and the remote control snug in his hand.
"What took you so long to get coffee?"
"I ran into Mike and Billie Joe, we had a small chat about you." I reply truthfully, dumping the paper bag onto the nearest circular glass table. "And please don't tell me you ordered breakfast after I embarrassingly went outside, lookin' like I needed a morning after pill, to get coffee." I add after seeing a sterling silver cart with the tasty smelling foods.

"Oops." he impishly grins. All I do is roll my eyes before turning my back to him and opening the coffee bag and mixing and spooning the ingredients together for a satisfied brew. I already know he's watching me with his huge blue eyes, I can feel them burning into my back, and that only serves to further annoy me.

"C'mere." he finally yawns while moving about the bed to make room for me. I willingly comply, placing the mug of coffee to cool off on the counter and sliding between the sheets with him. He notices my perplexed expression and raises my chin with his thumb and index finger to look at him.
"What's wrong?"

"When were you going to tell me that you still lived with your ex-wife?" I ask, a tinge of bitter venom in my tone. His fingers fall from my chin and he looks at me, an air of frustration about him.
"Because its not really important. There's nothing going on if that's what you think." he adds.

"I never said something was going on, and its important to me." I plead. "How would you feel if I lived with my ex-fiancé and didn't tell you? I bet you wouldn't delighted."

"Look Seny." he sighs. "I only live with Claudia for Frankito. We didn't want him growing up without a steady father figure in his life like Ramona." he grumbles. "And I have a child, you don't, so no, I wouldn't be fuckin happy if you lived with your ex." he snaps, throwing the sheets off his body and getting off the bed.

"Well it would've been nice if you had told me. I didn't realize I would have to surf through fan sites to learn stuff about you." I growl.

He bends over, retrieving a towel from off the handle of a nearby chair and flinging it over his shoulder, his eyebrows furrowed in anger and curiosity.
"What the hell were you doing on a fan site?" he asks heatedly.

"Browsing around since you obviously won't tell me anything." I yell.
"I have a press conference." he grumbles, stalking off to the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind him.

Our first fight... hooray