In the End

Awkward, Yet Not so Awkward

It had been dark out, and yet Billie Joe still hadn't woken up. But I guess everyone sleeps a lot when their sick. I was downstairs sitting at the counter on a stool eating a small dinner. I had been looking at the pictures on my cell phone.

I looked over at Freddie, who was looking over at me from the fish bowl. I put my finger to where he was, and he started to swim in circles, before staring at my finger.

I laughed, and took my finger away from the fish bowl. He was the only fish that I had seen that didn't swim around in circles like they were lost, and trying to figure out what they were.

I looked back to my cell phone, and sighed.

The pictures on there were mainly pictures of good times. I looked at all the old pictures... The ones before I had ever met Billie Joe, Tre, and Mike. I never had tons of good times before I had met Billie Joe. There was one, though. When Steph, Becky, and I skipped school and went to New York City. We had only done that because Green Day was going to be on TRL.

Some guy had taken the picture on my cell phone. I was in the middle, and Becky was on my right while Steph was on my left. They both had their arms around my neck, and we were all smiling. In the back, you could see three figures.

One of them had black trousers on, and a jacket with black hair. No doubt it was Billie Joe. He had his back to the window, talking to the guy that was on TRL. It was weird to see him in the picture, and know that he didn't know who I was yet.

The one next to him was Tre. You could easily tell by the way he was turned around, making faces at everyone outside, making them laugh. Becky and Steph had asked me before if I thought that Tre acting crazy was just for fans, and I said I didn't know. But it obviously wasn't just for the fans.

And then there was Mike. He was standing next to Billie Joe. I always had a soft spot for Mike, even before I knew him. I always felt sorta bad for him. Billie Joe was the lead guitarist that girls love, Tre was the lunatic that got a lot of attention because of how crazy he was... And yet, Mike was quite. But still, people adored him.

I had heard Adrienne was there with Billie Joe that day. Yes, that had been when they were still together. I had wanted to see her and Billie Joe.

Steph, Becky, and I had found our way to where Green Day would be coming out of TRL. We had got to the front, to see them. I was more than excited. I just wanted to get a picture.

But when they had come out, I got pushed to the back by teenies, who wanted to see Billie Joe. When they did come out, I could barely see them. But I did see Adrienne and Billie Joe talking. I grabbed my cell phone, and took a quick, but good picture. It was of Billie Joe and Adrienne talking, before they had gone into the car with Mike and Tre.

At that moment, I would have never thought I would have been sitting in Billie Joe's kitchen, looking at that picture. I looked at the cell phone again, and then looked at the picture with Adrienne and Billie Joe. I was staring at it, deep in thought. What if I had met Billie Joe then? Would anything be different?

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone coming down the stairs. I looked away from my cell phone to see Billie Joe stumble into the kitchen, trying to get his shirt on.

After getting it on, he looked at me, and yawned. I smiled, and looked back down at my cell phone.

"How long have I been out?" He asked, sitting down on the stool next to me.

"Erm... Like 5 hours..." I said, looking at my cell phone

"What?! Well... At least I feel a little better..." He mumbled, sitting down next to me.

I looked up at him from my cell phone, and smiled. He did look better, he didn't look as ill as before.

I went to pick up the fork, but Billie Joe had beaten me. He took a bite of what I was eating, and looked over my shoulder to see what I was looking at.

I rolled my eyes playfully, and leaned back against him.

"Wutcha lookin at?" He asked, looking over my shoulder

"Some old pictures on my cell phone..."

"How old?" He asked, putting his arm around me

"Before I met you"

"Wow, those are pretty old... Lemme see" He said, taking my cell phone.

I he'sitated, but then let him see the pictures. The time when I had taken the picture of Billie Joe and Adrienne they were getting along fine...

"What's this picture of?" He asked, showing me the picture of my New York City trip.

I smiled, "It's when I skipped school with Steph and Becky to go to New York City. It was when you guys were on TRL. We got to see you from looking outside... See? There you are" I said, pointing to him in the picture

Billie Joe smiled. "Two years ago"

"Mhm" I hummed, looking over at Freddie, who Billie Joe hadn't noticed

"Where did you get this picture?" He asked, putting the cell phone in front of my face. Sure enough it was the one with Adrienne and him.

"I took it... The same day..."

Billie Joe was silent, and then nodded. "That's a good picture, especially from a cell phone"

I turned around to face him. "You think so?"

Billie Joe nodded, not taking his eyes away from the picture.

"I wanted to talk to you, but all I got was the picture because people pushed me away"

"So long ago" He whispered, putting his head on the counter... Right across from Freddie's bowl.

"Yeah... Seems like it" I said, slowly and silently pulling Freddie's fish bowl closer to him.

"I'm tired" I yawned, leaning on the counter.

"I've slept so much that I could sleep more" Billie Joe said, lifting his head.

His head was level with Freddie's fish bowl, and of course, Freddie was sitting there, staring at him. Billie Joe jumped up, falling off the stool landing with a thud and "Fuck!"

"Having trouble?" I asked biting my lip to stop me from laughing. I helped Billie Joe up. He looked over at Freddie, and then at me.

"I knew! I fucking knew it! You couldn't go in the pet store without getting anything!"

"But he was staring at me" I said, looking at the floor

"Yeah, he was staring at me, too"

"So how can you resist him?! And he's not even stupid! He doesn't swim around in circles for hours, lost"

Billie Joe looked at me pathetically. "May just be me... But I don't fall in love with fish... And you haven't seen the real Freddie, I bet. When I use to have Speedy... He was the coolest fish... But even he swam in circles... I know, I watched him"

"Yeah, well, I do. And FREDDIE... Notice his name isn't Speedy isn't gonna do that, he's smarter! And look! He's so cute!"

"This is... Awkward..." Billie Joe mumbled, scratching the back of his neck, "Almost creepy..."

I smiled, and looked back at Freddie. "Do I do anything for him to go to sleep? What if he drowns? God... I've never had a fish before"

Billie Joe started laughing. "You think a fish is gonna drown?! It lives under water! Thats where it breaths... UNDER WATER" He said, laughing his ass off at me.

"Loser..." I muttered, making Billie Joe laugh even more.

I rolled my eyes at Billie Joe and sighed. "Shouldn't you be in bed? Y'know, cuz your sick?"

"Well... Yeah..." He mumbled, looking down, "You think the fish will drown" He whispered, starting to laugh again

"Not EVERYTHING that lives under water BREATHS under water" I said, putting my hand on my hip

"Like...?"

"Dolphins! Whales! Erm..."

"It may be me, but the fish isn't a dolphin or whale" Billie Joe said, sarcastically.

"Yeah... It's just you..." I muttered, leaning against the stove,

Billie Joe laughed. "Course it is... That little thing in there is a big ass blue whale" He said, sarcastically again

"Moron..."

Billie Joe started laughing again, while I pretended to pout.

"Could be a blue whale, you never know. 40 year olds don't exactly have the best vision"

"No 40 year old is THAT blind... Or stupid... Oh, and I'm not fucking 40!"

"Aww, it's so cute how you try to say your not 40..." I mocked

Billie Joe smiled, "That's not the only cute thing I can do"

"Oh, really?" I said, smiling and folding my arms over my chest

"Mhm"

Billie Joe walked over to me, and stood in front of me. It reminded me of this morning, at Tre's.

"Uh uh... Your sick"

Billie Joe looked at me, pleading with his eyes. I smiled to myself, and shook my head. "You, Billie Joe Armstrong, have a cold... Or whatever you want to call it.

"It may have just been the hangover," He said after thinking for a moment, "If I was sick I would have been fucked up all day"

I looked at Billie Joe, and raised an eyebrow. "This morning at Tre's you were throwing up, then we got home and you were throwin up again... Then you started feeling like shit if you hadn't al ready. And then when I got home this AFTERNOON you were asleep. Now it's dark out, and you JUST woke up... But NOOOOO you haven't acted sick at all today!"

"See, I told you..."

I rolled my eyes, and walked out of the kitchen.

"Coommmeee oonn" He groaned, following me

It was getting harder and harder for me to not laugh.

"No, you're sick... You act like it's the end of the world" I said, and then rolled my eyes again adding, "Guys"

"Guuyys" He mocked

"Yeah, Billie Joe... Or in your case, boys"

"What's that suppose to mean?!" Billie Joe said, pretending to be offended

I giggled, and went to head up the stairs, Billie Joe still talking.

"Since the beginning of the tour! No! Before that! Before that! Holey crap! Like a year ago! Shit!"

I turned around to face Billie Joe, who was still mumbling.

"Instead of being in a rock band, you should go for being a drama king..." I said, looking at him, "A year..." I added, laughing

"Well... We've been touring for six months... And then-"

"Billie Joe, as your honest girlfriend I am telling you... Shut up!"

"All right, all right... But I'm not gonna be happy about it..." He muttered

"As long as you shut up"

"Sometimes it amazes me with how thoughtful you are" He mumbling, taking his shirt off

I smirked. "I know, I try hard especially for you"

I walked out of his bedroom, and into mine to change. I pulled my night shirt over my head, and started to walk back into Billie Joe's bedroom. He was laid out on his stomach with the covers over his head. I smiled to myself, and shook my head at him before laying down next to him.

"Oh... Yeah..." He mumbled, turning over next to me, "In like a week... Or something... We are going to..."

I waited for a moment, "We are going to what?" I asked

I got no answer.

"No! Billie Joe! Wake up!" I hissed, "This better not be fucking payback!"

"Smurf..." Billie Joe muttered, and turned onto his other side

"Did you just call me a smurf?! Those little blue freaks with white freakin pointed hat?!" I exclaimed, "You did NOT just call me that! Just wait til' morning, Armstrong... Wait till morning!"

And with that, I dropped my head on the pillow, and fell asleep.

***

The next morning... Well... AFTERNOON, I woke up to find Billie Joe not there. I slowly got out of bed, and walked down the stairs to see a note...

Mandy, went to the studio this morning... You wouldn't have let me go, so I had to get up early this morning

I rolled my eyes at that. He knew I wouldn't let him go, so he just gets up early to go...

Be back a little later... Oh yeah... And you're wrong, the fish was swimming around in circles this morning

I laughed, and put the note down. Just as I put it down, the phone rang. I walked over to the phone, and picked it up thinking it might be Billie Joe.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Oh, hi! Is this Mandy?"

It took me a moment before figuring out who it was.

"Hey, yeah it is... This is Adrienne, right?" I asked

"Yeah, thats me" She laughed. I laughed a little, also. "Is Billie Joe there?"

"Erm... No... He's at the studio" I said, looking at the note

Adrienne sighed, "That guy never gets out of the studio"

I smiled to myself, "I know... It's his home away from home"

Adrienne laughed, and then sighed. "Okay, well, once he gets home, can you tell him to call me?"

"Erm... Sure" I said

"Thanks hunny,"

"It's no problem" I said

"Hey, instead of you sitting home, would you like to go out shopping? I mean, you're home alone and the boys are at their friends house, and Anthony is out so instead of staying home alone why don't we go out? Just have a little fun, y'know?" Adrienne said

"Sure! That'd be awesome" I said, smiling

"Awesome, I'll be over in about 15 minutes?"

"All right" I said, still smiling

"Bye hun"

"Bye Adrienne"

I ran upstairs, took one of the fastest showers I ever had, and then got ready. I came downstairs, putting my hair up, and wrote Billie Joe a quick note in case he got home before I had.

Billie, out with Adrienne... Try not to burn down the house... Be back later

I wasn't sure if I should put Love Mandy, as pathetic as that sounds. In the end I decided to. The doorbell rung, and I walked over to the door to see Adrienne. I had always envied her... For a long time of my life, I had wanted to meet her and at least talk to her.

"Hey Adrienne" I said, as soon as the door was open

"Hey hun, you ready?"

"Yep," I said, stepping outside and closing the door behind me

"Good"

We both got into her car, and started talking.

"It's going to be nice to have a girls day out" She said, laughing a little, "I can't remember that last time I've had one"

I laughed, and looked down. "Same here, seems like forever ago"

In a little while, Adrienne had parked, and we walked inside the mall.

"Hey Adrienne?" I asked, looking through something

"Yeah?"

I didn't want to screw things up, but I had wanted to ask her this.

"Are you gettin married?" I asked after getting the guts

I looked up to see Adrienne smiling.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"I thought I saw a ring" I said, beginning to smile

Adrienne smiled, "So you saw it?"

"Just a little bit.. But it looked beautiful"

"It is"

She showed me the ring on her finger. It was definitely the best engagement ring I had ever seen.

"Oh my god, it's... It's beautiful!" I exclaimed, looking at the ring amazed

She amiled, amused at how I was acting. "It really is... He asked me to marry him on valentines day"

That was so classic. It just made everything more romantic... Or well, it seemed to.

"That's awesome, Adie. God, I'm so happy for you"

"Thanks, hun. So how have you been doing?"

I smiled, and looked back to her ring. "Great, actually"

"That's awesome. I'm glad to see you and Billie Joe are working out" She said, "You're not some babbling bitch that walks around with something up her ass like a lot of girls... You're one of the few people that I know that are normal"

I laughed. "Same... Honestly? I had always wanted to meet you when..." I said, looking down embarrassed

Adrienne smiled, and let out a laugh. "Aww, I'm so flattered"

I smiled sheepishly, and we continued talking. I was so happy for Adrienne, having her get married to someone she loves. Well... Someone else she loves... Since I was little, I had wanted to grow up to have a family. I wanted to be married to someone who I loved. So far, Billie Joe had been the one I had loved... I had wanted kids, maybe... I just wanted a family, that was nothing like the one I had grown up in.

"Hunny, you're cell phone is ringing"

I snapped out of thought to realize Adrienne was right, my cell phone had been ringing.

"Oh, right, yeah... Sorry" I said, before taking my cell phone out of my pocket.

"Hello?"

"Hey, where are you? I called home but no one picked up"

Sure enough it was Billie Joe.

"Hey... I'm at the mall" I said, scratching the back of my neck

"Oh... I knew that..."

I smiled to myself. "Of course you did... Listen, I'll call you back later or see you at home"

"Okay, why the rush? Do I booorree you?"

I laughed at him and sighed, "Yeah, you bore me. And I'm here with Adrienne-"

"What?"

"Yeah, Adrienne called before, and we both decided to go out for the day"

I looked over at Adrienne, who was smiling and rolled her eyes knowing Billie Joe would have been confused.

"Really?" asked Billie Joe after a moment.

"No, Billie Joe. I'm out on some date and now you screwed it all up," I said Sarcastically

"Oh, okay"

I laughed, and turned back to Adrienne.

"I'll see you later Billie, try not to do anything like you usually do..."

"Like I usually do?"

"Yes... Think about it... Anyway... I'll see you later"

"Okay, okay, I get the hint" he said, "I'll see you at home... Tell Adie I said Hi"

"Sure thing, Billie... Bye"

"Bye"

I hung up and sighed. "Sorry"

Adrienne only smiled and laughed. "He hasn't changed one bit"

I smiled, "That he hasn't... He told me to tell you hi"

Adrienne laughed, and we soon picked up on another conversation, going back to what we had been doing for the day.