It Started Off With Just A Trip To Oakland, California

The morning came quickly, considering I didn't sleep that night. Becky ended up falling asleep, but I couldn't. I told her I'd be back, and I walked home to change quickly... My mother was awake though...

"Fuck! You're home!" My mother yelled, running over to me, and grabbing my shoulder

"Let go of me..."

"What were you thinking?!"

"Let go of me!"

"You stupid little-"

"Let go of me!" I yelled, and I hit my mother... I wasn't in the mood for this, I really wasn't... And I knew she was going to hit me...

She slapped me, and brought my face close to hers. "Hit me again... And that might be the last thing you do..."

I shook her off, and walked away. I ran up to my room, and slammed the door shut, crying...

"Billie Joe..." I cried, "Please... Help me..."

I grabbed my clothes, and changed quickly, before climbing out my window, once again. Becky was waiting for me, along with Steph.

"Hey" I said, looking at them, "How didja know I was gonna be out here? I thought you would be asleep" I said, looking from Steph to Becky

"Nah, Mandz, we're here for you! How could we sleep when we're gonna try to find you a job?!" Said Steph, smiling

I groaned, and rolled my eyes. "A job? Your fucking kidding me!"

"Money doesn't grown on tree's" Said Becky, like she was her father, making me smile.

These two were my best friends, they always cheered me up, no matter what. And they both will never know how much it meant to me they were gonna help me.

"Damn, Mandy! Are you okay?!" Becky said, looking at where my mom had hit me.

"Yeah... Except for the fact I'm on the other side of the country of the one guy I really ever liked"

"Agh, don't worry... We're gonna help you Mandz, we're gonna help you. Oh yeah! Oh my god Mandy! The store hot topic needs someone! That would be perfect!" Squealed Steph, turning back and forth to look at me and Becky, who were laughing

"Hot topic would be perfect, I love that store"

"Yah, same here" Said Becky, as we started walking into the town.

"Don't you know Billie Joe's phone number?" Asked Steph

"I never called his house" I said, shoving my hands in my pockets

"Weellll, that was smart thinking." Said Becky

"And why would I call there if I was living there?"

"Hell, I call my house just to hear myself talk!"

I laughed at Becky, "But you see, that makes you look crazy"

"I am crazy! I'm crazy, bitch!" She laughed

I smiled, almost laughing. I couldn't laugh too much... As stupid as it sounds it pained me to laugh... It killed me to laugh, because I couldn't be happy... I had let my parents win...

"Awww, cheer up, Mand" Said Becky

"I can't... I really can't... Sorry guys..."

"It's okay," Said Becky, trying to make me smile

"This time, I was sleeping there, he's sleeping right now"

"But he'll be awake soon"

"Heh, no he won't. He sleeps until like 10 there" I smiled

"You've got it bad, Mand, you've got it bad" Said Steph

"I know" I sighed

In a little while we got to the mall, we always walked there. There was no point in driving... Cuz well, we could never find a car...

We all walked up to Hot Topic, and inside.

"I might go for the job!" Said Steph

Becky glared at her, and so did I.

"Once... You leave..." Said Steph, smiling, trying to act innocent

"Dude, apply for this job while I'm here and die" I said

"And she's so pissed off that she might actually kill you" laughed Becky

"Okay, okay, I get the point"

I smiled, and then walked up to the guy at the front desk. He looked up at me, and smiled.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"What? Oh My God! Adam!" I yelled, throwing my arms around my brother's back.

"Yep, that's me. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be sleeping in your warm bed in California?"

"Dad... Came and got me... Last night..." I said, looking down

"Aww, hun, I'm sorry" He said, putting his arm around me, "So let me guess... You're coming here for the job to get money to get back there?"

"How... What?" I asked, confused

"I know what you think at all times" He laughed

"Adam.. That's creepy"

"It is... Isn't it?"

I smiled, and then looked at Becky(she had always had a crush on my brother... )

"Becky... You okay?" I said, waving my hand in front of her

"Yeah, I'm fine" She said, snapping back to reality.

I looked back at Adam, "So since when did you have a job here?"

"Beginning of summer" He said

"Oh, are they still looking?"

"Yeah, no one else is smart enough to know what the hell we sell"

"Oh, I do" I mocked

Adam laughed, and started to talk to me about the job. If I got this job, I could be out of there before I knew it! Maybe in a month... And then I'd get to talk to Billie Joe again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After what seemed forever, I got the freaking job. I got the job, I got the job, I got the job! Did I mention I got the Job? Yeah, well, I got the fucking job! Okay... So... I now had a job, and it was working at a store I had practically lived in with my brother. For feeling like shit, it was pretty nice.

"Are you going home?" Asked Adam, once a customer left

"Your kidding, right?" I said, hopping up, and sitting on the counter, "Going home or working for money to go back to where I feel like I belong... Hmmm" I said, sarcastically

Adam laughed, and leaned on the counter. I had told Becky and Steph to go out in the mall, and just to hang out while I worked, so now it was only me and Adam.

"By the end of this month think I could be out of here?" I asked, looking down

"Yeah, I hope so. Nice necklace" He said, changing the subject, and pointing to my necklace

"Thanks... Billie Joe got it for me"

"You're whole life has to do with him now, doesn't it?" Adam said, standing up

"Yeah... Adam, you're never gonna know how I really feel. At first when I saw Billie Joe on the plane, I thought 'Oh shit! This is Billie Joe! ' But now, when I see him I just think 'Whats up Billie?" I said, staring at the floor, "He's become more of a best friend than anything. If it wasn't for the teenies and all the magazines he's on, I would think he's just your normal guy... And well, he is... To me"

"That's deep, but cool" Said Adam, smiling, "Don't worry, you'll get your buddy back"

I smiled, and jumped down from the counter as Steph walked in the store, with her ipod on.

"STEPH!" I yelled, yanking the ear phones out of her ears after trying to get her attention for 5 minutes

"Ow! Fucking Hell Mandy!" She said, rubbing her ear

I rolled my eyes, and walked back over to the counter where Adam was, and sat back on the counter. I know, my home didn't sound too bad, that was only because I wasn't at home, and I was with my brother and my two best friends, well, Becky was somewhere... But still, even thought I had my best friends there and all that crap something was missing... A huge part of me was missing...

Adam turned on the TV, to Vh1... Of course... Drivin... Green Day...

I tried not to let it bother me, but it did. I wanted to be next to Billie Joe again, and just hear his voice. He was the part of me that was missing. The part of me that made me want to cry and die because I didn't have. I never felt so much for a guy, but Billie Joe was like I've said 1000's of times... He was there for me, not treating me like shit...

The only thing that kept me from crying was thinking about when I first met him on the plane, and when he had actually asked me out... Each time they made me smile...

"Yo, Mandy!" Yelled my brother, getting my attention, "I know I'm your brother... But think you could work at your work?!"

"No, thats why I have you" I said, sarcastically

"Aha, and that's why I'll have your cash at the end of the week"

"Oh, thats just not cool"

"Maybe not for you, bet hey, I get more money" He laughed

"Do that and die Adam"

He laughed and then sighed. "Dude, I'm hungry, want something to eat?"

"No... I'm fine"

To be honest, I hadn't eaten since the day before...

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm not hungry at all"

"Okay... I'll be back in a few, okay?"

"All right, see ya"

"See ya"

Adam walked out of the store and I just sat there, looking around the store, until Becky came in, and sat on the counter next to me, talking.

"Hey! You're fucking back!"

I turned around from talking to Becky to see none other than freakin Matt in the store.

"Not today Matt, I'm not in the fucking mood"

"Awww why? You sad that-"

"Not fucking today!" I yelled, hopping down from the counter

"Why? You sad that someone else- Mother fucker!" He yelled, stumbling backwards, and cupping his nose

Thank god no one else was in the store, or I would have been in huge trouble considering I just punched someone in the nose. And god, did that feel good. All mu anger from being taken home, and anger about everything else was in that punch.

Becky started laughed, at Matt who was now trying to stop his nose from bleeding any more than it was. I had actually laughed a little at this, I couldn't help but to... He had it coming...

Steph walked into the store, not knowing how I had punched Matt in the nose, but once she saw him she looked at me, with her mouth open. I just shrugged, while she was still amazed.

"You're a bitch" Snarled Matt

"Yeah, and you just got beaten by your x-girlfriend" I snarled

"Bitch, get your head outta your ass. I don't give a shit"

"That would make sense if you weren't yelling at me"

Matt walked out of the store, still holding his nose... When Adam walked in, his mouth slightly open.

"Please... Tell me his nose was bleeding that bad before he came in here" He said, looking at me

"He had it coming"

"YOU did that!?"

"Yeah..."

"It's your first day here, I'm gone for, I don't know... 10, 15 minutes, and you've already punched someone?!"

"He had it coming! He was saying shit about why I'm back here"

"So you punch him in the nose?"

"Yeah! I told him to stop!"

"So you punch him in the nose? I don't think you saw his nose..."

I smirked, "Was it really that bad?"

"It was nasty"

"He just got the crap beat out of him by is crazy ex" laughed Steph

I smiled, and looked down at my feet. I knew Billie Joe had wanted to do that the day he met Matt at the mall.

"Where's your cell phone?" Asked Adam a little later

"In my room at Billie Joe's..."

"Oh... Hey, think you could call it from my cell phone, and he'd pick it up I bet"

"I broke it... By throwing it at the wall..."

"You threw your cell phone at the wall?!"

"Yeah.. When... Matt called"

"Ugh... Okay then..." Said Adam, a little frustrated

"The only way I could talk to him is to go and see him, that's why I'm here... To get money..." I reminded him

"Mhm"

I rolled my eyes, and walked over to some magazine that Adam had. I flipped through it until I saw some article on Green Day. The band was haunting me. Everything I looked at had something to do with them...

"Mandy... Hello?" I jumped out of thought, and looked at who was calling me.

"What?" I snapped, for some reason pissed off

"The store is closing... And unless you wanna be locked in here, you have to leave, too" Said Steph, who had come back to get me

"Oh, right, sorry"

"Come on Mandz. Listen, I'll help you out with cash. But right now, we gotta get outta here"

I nodded, and looked at my feet, walking out of the store.

"It's been a day without you, Billie Joe... It's been a day... And it's been the worst.."