In the End

It was fine that Tre had stayed in the house with us for the first couple days...well, with me it was fine. Billie Joe on the other hand...

He wasn't taking it too well. The fact that Tre was 'helpless' drove Billie Joe crazy...and that's an understatement.

"Hey Tre...why don't you go TRY to talk to Rachel?"

"Cuz she hates me..."

Billie Joe sighed angrily, running a hand through his hair, "How would you know...? You don't know! And you know why? I bet you do." He said in one of those creepy Mr. Roger tones, before raising his voice, "It's because ALL you do it SIT on your FUCKING ass all day, or get drunk!" Billie Joe spat angrily

"Billie..." I mumbled

"It's true!! Get your ASS up off the COUCH and do SOMETHING!"

"Oh no..." I mumbled

"There's no point" Tre said stupidly

Billie Joe looked at Tre, his eyes nearly bugging out of his eyes, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?"

I shook my head, not daring to get into this conversation.

"There's no point!?" Billie Joe snarled, "How about getting your girlfriend back!? How about getting a LIFE and stop depending on your friend for Every-fucking-thing!"

Tre bowed his head, "I'm sorry..."

"You'll be sorry!" Billlie Joe muttered through clenched teeth, "Listen man..I love you, kay? You're my brother...my best friend..but dammit!! Get outta my house, and off your ass!!"

Tre didn't say anything to that.

"Come on duuude" Billie Joe sighed, "The awards are at the end of the week...We leave in like 2 days for them!! Get off your ass and try something!"

"Try what?!" Tre snapped back angrily, "Oh yeah, Hi Rachel. I love you, and I know I cheated on you with someone else...but would you suddenly forgive me, and come with me to the fucking awards where we could act like a marry little fuckin happy couple, just to remind us that we're not!!?! Is that what you want me to say to her?!"

Billie Joe stared at Tre, takin back by his yelling.

"Ugh..." Billie Joe started slowly, "No...I want you to TRY and do SOMETHING"

This was obviously not heading in a good direction.

"Like what?!"

"Like getting off your ass for the 19th time!" Billie Joe sneered, "You're not gonna get to talk to Rachel if you sit there all day!! Jeez man, get it through your fuckin head already!!"

Tre glared at Billie Joe before getting up, and walking out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

There was silence in which I closed my eyes, resting my head on the back of the couch, curled up.

Billie Joe sighed, running a hand over his face, never being a fan of fighting with his friends. He looked back at me, raising an eyebrow before slumping down on the couch next to me, cuddling up against me.

"Now I just wanna go to bed," He murmured into my neck, "Sleep...oh yeah..."

I snorted, shaking my head with my eyes still closed.

"Whaat?" He whined

"You" I laughed softly

"What 'bout me?" He asked

I sighed, "Just go to bed, Billie"

"Bed? If you say so"

I went to ask him what he was talking about before I felt two arms wrap around me, while lifting me up.

"Woah" I muttered, "Where are you taking me?"

"You said bed" He said simply

"Riight"

I closed my eyes again, letting him take me upstairs.

***

I sat at the kitchen counter next to Jessica, one of the girls I had met backstage on tour.

There was the sound of a car, before a screeching stop and the sound of a car door slamming.

"Did you meet Billie Joe at the concert?" I asked her casually

"No" She mumbled, "I never even saw him backstage"

"Okay..." I said slowly, "Well...be prepared to meet him...in a bad mood"

The front door flew open, and slammed shut as Billie Joe stormed in, muttering angrily to himself.

"Billie?" I called

"What?!"

I sighed, watching as Billie Joe stormed into the kitchen looking as if he was going to murder someone.

"Ugh.....hi?" I said slowly

"Yeah, hi babe...do you know where the fuck Tre is?"

I shrugged, "No idea. He's not here.." I paused for a moment, "Why?"

"He was suppose to be at the fucking studio 3 fuckin hours ago!! Mike and I wanted to get in, and get fuckin out BEFORE noon! But you know fuckin what?!"

"No..." I muttered, "What...?"

"He doesn't fuckin show fuckin up!!"

I nodded slowly, "Why didn't you call him...?"

"I didn't bring my cell phone" He snipped, "Neither did Mike, and the phone at the studio has gone fuckin missing, so there's no way to get in touch with the asshole!!

"Uh huh..."

Billie Joe sighed angrily, running his hand through his hair, "Probably fuckin pissed off that I kicked him out...it was for his own fuckin good"

"Maybe he overslept..." I said slowly, "Like you tend to do"

Billie Joe groaned before grabbing the phone off the table, "I'll give him a fuckin wake up call, then"

Billie Joe tapped his foot impatiently, coming over to me and picking something off my plate. I smiled, looking down as Billie Joe leaned against the counter cradling the phone against his ear, letting Tre's answer machine pick up.

"Tre...it's Billie...You know, the guy who is in the band that your in?! The band that was suppose to be in the studio 3 fuckin hours ago!? Pick up the damn phone fuck head, before I go over there and personally pick it fuckin' up for you!"

I snorted, starting to laugh along with Jessica.

"Tre, pick up the fucking phone, dammit! I'm about to go over and beat the livin' shit outta you until you wake up, and then I'll make your day living hell! PICK. UP. THE. PHONE."

I started laughing my ass off, while Billie Joe threatened Tre, before hanging up.

He sighed, shaking his head, slumping down on the stool next to me, picking something else off my plate.

"I'm not goin back there until Mike calls me"

"Are you sure he'll call?" I asked

Billie Joe nodded, "Doesn't he always call?"

"True"

He bent forward again, noticing Jessica for the first time.

"Hi" He said in a small voice, waving as if he were a little kid

"Hi" She said back to him

I laughed softly, scrunching up my nose from laughing.

"Hi" He said again, waving again

"Hi"

"Hi" He said, once again

I laughed, shaking my head and folding my arms over my chest. Billie Joe looked to me, poking the side of my head.

"Ow," I muttered, "Why are you poking me? Why do you poke me, yet you just say hi to her?"

"I've told you," He said with a nod of his head, "You're poke-able"

"No I'm not" I muttered, poking him back

His mouth dropped open as he stared at me. "Did you just poke me!?"

"I think I did" I said cooly

"Oh my gawd!"

"Noo" I groaned, slamming my head on the counter, "Not this, please Billie Joe...I'll give you anything"

Billie Joe smirked, pretending to think as I shook my head, "I don't like when you're thinking..."

He laughed, "I don't think you ever do"

I shrugged, "You're probably right"

Billie Joe laughed again, resting his head on the counter.

"I don't want to go back to the studio..." He muttered

"Awwww"

He sighed, looking at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Thanks for the fake sympathy"'

I giggled, kissing his cheek and wrapping my arm around his back "No problem"

Billie Joe buried his head in my neck, resting it on my shoulder.

"Are you tired?" I asked slowly

"Nah," he murmured, "I slept too much to be tired"

"Sleeping is fun to you" I pointed out, "You always say how you can never sleep too much"

"It's true...sleep is fun...sorta."

"Riight"

I kissed him temple before looking back to Jessica who was smiling sweetly.

Billie Joe mumbled something into my neck before pulling away, digging into his pocket for his cell phone.

"Yellow?"

I smiled, laughing softly at how he answered it. Billie Joe raised an eyebrow, before understanding why I laughed, and grinned.

"Tre? Dude...where the hell are you, fuck head?...At the studio? No your not!...Heh. No one else is there? Heh. Hehe. Wait...isn't Mike there?...Ohh...he left. Right."

Billie Joe started laughing, now getting Tre aggravated.

"You shoulda been there earlier, loser" Billie Joe muttered, "I mean...where were you? Whatddya mean I don't need to know!?! I sat there, annoying the hell outta Mike for 3 hours, and I don't need to know where you were?!!" There was silence, "You're right..." Billie Joe said slowly, "I probably don't want to know"

Jessica started laughing as Billie Joe slowly brought the phone away from his ear, before putting it back.

"Tre! Shuddup, man! I said I DON'T want to know! NO! SHUDDUP!"

I listened, hearing Tre yell at Billie Joe, while Billie Joe yelled over him.

"Ewww..." Billie Joe whined, "The bird did what?"

I listened carefully, "It crapped all over my bed..." Tre spat angrily, "I woke up and there was crap all over it. It's one reason why you don't leave the windows open at night"

"Tre..." Billie Joe said slowly

"What?"

"Bird's sleep at night"

Both of them fell silent, Billie Joe biting his lip, "Well...good luck with that"

He hung up his cell phone, still nodding, before looking at me.

"That was Tre" He said nodding, "Yeah....he's probably high"

I started laughing once again, shaking my head.

"That...or he THINKS the bird..." He paused, shaking his head, "Never mind"

"Oh, ew Billie"

Billie Joe shrugged, "Pfft...I..ugh..I dunno!"

He scooted me over on the stool, wrapping his arm around me so I wouldn't fall off.

"Whatever" He sighed, "All that means to me today is no studio"

***

"Ew...Billie, what the hell is this?" I asked, holding up something brown

He shrugged, "I dunno...Where did it come from?"

"Behind the couch"

Billie Joe scrunched his nose up, "Ooh..I wouldn't go behind there...Even Adrienne was scared of behind the couch"

I dropped the thing in my hands, "I can see why..."

"Why were you looking there, anyway?" He asked

"My ipod fell..."

Billie Joe snorted, starting to laugh, "You'll never see that thing again"

"Billie..." I said slowly

"What? Oh, no. I'm not goin' behind the couch! There's monsters behind there!"

"Oh please...grow up"

"I am grown up! Well, according to the fuck heads who stop me from playin in the kiddie zone at places"

I just looked at him with a blank expression on my face, "Riight....poor people...how drunk were you to go there?"

"What?! Why do you think I was drunk?" He looked at me pretending to be surprised, before sighing, "I passed out in that box thing with all those plastic balls..."

I started laughing my ass off.

"Those fuckin balls hurt like a fucker! Holey shit...I got pegged by them, cuz the little kids decided to gang up on the weird drunk guy..." He shook his head, "Adie told me that it was probably the oddest, yet funniest phone call she had ever gotten...some guy calling the house, telling her that her husband passed out in the kid zone"

"Did she go and get you?" I asked, still laughing

"Oh yeah," He said nodding, "After also pegging me with the stupid fucking balls"

I fell back onto the couch still laughing my ass off.

"The whole way home she kept asking me how it was like to get beat up by little 5 year olds..."

"What was it like?" I asked, sitting up

He stared at me, "Oh, it was great! You know, falling down, and then getting up and getting pegged in the head with another ball...in the end they all grabbed like 10 of the balls and threw them at me...it was so fuckin fun"

I snorted, "I wish I coulda seen that"

"You were probably one of the little kids who thought of beating me up"

I nodded, "Probably"

He shook his head, sitting on the couch next to me.

"Hey Billie....about the ipod..."

"What ipod?"

"You're a loser"

"I love you too"

I laughed softly, shaking my head, before getting up on my knees, and looking over the back of the couch.

"It's gotta be back here somewhere..."

"Careful...I think Jakob dropped chicken back there once...it may be alive now"

"Eww...that's why it smells back here"

Billie Joe laughed, also getting up, and looking back behind the couch.

"I think I see it..hear it...whatever" He muttered, bending down and picking something up, "Aha! See, who's good? I'm good"

I raised an eyebrow, "Riight...can I have my ipod?"

"Hey! You were listening to Brain Stew!!"

I groaned, trying to get the ipod back.

"DUN NA! DUN NA! DUN NA! DUN NA, DUN NA!"

"Billie, give me my ipod"

"Nooo"

"Please?" I asked, before my cell phone went off.

I sighed, before picking it up, getting off the couch, "Hello?"

"Mandy?"

"Yeah huh..."

"Hey, sweet, we haven't talked in a little while..but remember me? The Billie Joe look-alike"

I thought for a moment, "Hmm? Oh, yeah!! Hey!!"

They laughed, "Hey, how ya doin?"

"Good, good...you?"

I walked away from the couch and over into the kitchen, sitting at the counter as Billie Joe continued to search my ipod, and tell me how he 'approves' of my songs.

"Actually, never been better" He said, me almost able to hear the smile in his voice

"HEY! YOU HAVE LIVE SONGS!!"

I groaned, running a hand through my hair.

"I know, Billie!" I yelled back, "I've had them for a few years!"

"WOW!"

"Idiot..."

Brad laughed, "Someone's amazed that you have live songs?"

"Oh yeah," I mumbled, "Billie....he gets easily amazed"

Brad snorted, "I can tell"

I heard Billie Joe yell somethin to me again.

"Shut up, Billie Joe!" I yelled, "I'm on the fuckin phone!"

"That rhymed!"

I groaned, "Shuddup!"

I plugged my ear, turning back to the phone, "Okay..sorry...so how you doin?"

Brad laughed, "Actually..awesome. I'm engaged to my girlfriend"

I jumped up, "Are you seriously!? Holey shit!! Congrats!!!"

Brad laughed softly, "Thanks"

"When did you ask her to marry you?" I asked

"Last week, you met her...right?"

"Mhm" I hummed, "Yup..like last month"

After Brad had offered to help me once I had gotten off the plane the 2 years ago, we hadn't lost touch. He was cool, and he thought it was awesome how I was with Billie Joe.

"You wanna catch up later? I mean, I have to head to Oakland for family"

"Suure" I said nodding, "Sounds cool, round what time?"

"Ehh...I'll be around that area at about 5...that sound okay?"

I nodded, "Suure...sounds good...I'll call you round then"

"Good, good. It'll be good to catch up after a month..who knew so much could happen"

I laughed softly, "True..so it's a date?" I asked, of course kidding..

Brad laughed, "Suure. I'll see ya around then, kay?"

"Sure thing"

And with that we both hung up.

I hopped down from the stool, to go back into the lounge to see Billie Joe standing there, staring at me.

"Got sick of listening to your own live songs?" I asked with a short laugh

"Who was that?"

"Who?" I asked

"The person the phone"

"Oh," I nodded, tucking it in my pocket, "Remember Brad? That was him"

"What do you mean it's a date?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Huh...?"

"It's a date...you just said that?"

I looked at him, starting to laugh, "I was kidding, Billie..."

"How do I know?" He asked stupidly

"What do you mean how do you know?"

"How do I know you were kidding?"

I looked at him, before starting to laugh my ass off. "Are you accusing me of cheating on you!? That's a good one, Billie"

He narrowed his eyes, looking at me, as I kept laughing.

"It wouldn't be the first time" He spat

I stopped laughing slowly, and looked at him, "Woah..are you like PMSin' for a guy? Cuz like, one moment you're a happy idiot...the next your accusing me of cheating on you..."

I paused, and looked at him weird, "When have I cheated on you?"

"You've kissed Mike before"

Aah...

"So have you!"

Billie Joe looked at me angrily, "That was for a show..."

"No" I shook my head, "You got drunk once and kissed him"

Billie Joe stared at me, "Will you cut it out!? Knock it off with the stupid fuckin smart ass comebacks"

I shrugged, "You're being stupid, Billie Joe"

"No I'm not..." He muttered

"Yeah, you are. Do you seriously think I'd cheat on you? I mean, seriously. Who the hell would I cheat on you with? The fuckin hobo down the street who stole my coffee once?!"

"Be fucking serious!" He snarled, "And you have cheated on me-"

"Hardly!" I snapped, feeling myself grow angry, "You really are an idiot...you always tell me how you're sick of fighting, yet here you are...telling me how I'm cheating on you"

He didn't say anything after that.

"I mean, what the fuck?! I mean, yeah..I kissed Mike once, okay? But that was after you kissed your x-wife in front of me! Remember that, asshole?! I don't know what's makin you think that I'm cheatin' on you...and when I cheat on you? I'm practically everywhere you are! Wait...no..maybe I'm secretly fucking someone in the kitchen while your in the lounge!"

"How about when I'm on tour?" He asked, folding his arms

I rolled my eyes, "That's pathetic, Billie...okay? First of all, you called every night, at different times, and we talked for a while. If I had been fucking someone, it would have been pretty bad fuckin, considerin I'm sitting there talking to you on the phone"

"I don't know what you do when I'm on tour!" He snipped angrily

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not havin' this conversation right now..this is pathetic"

"Yeah. you are having this conversation" He snapped, going to grab my arm to stop me from walking away

"You," I pointed to him, "Are a complete fucking asshole! Why the hell are you suddenly thinking I'm cheating on you?"

"I always think if you are!" He blurted out

I stood there looking at him, shocked.

"So you've never trusted me?" I asked, shoving him away from me, "That's great Billie Joe. So you've been going along, acting as if everything was fine, yet you've NEVER trusted me? I fucking trusted you when you were on tour...but yet you never trusted me? That's fucked up, you fucking asshole"

He stared at me, mentally kicking himself for saying that.

"There is no point in this...us...if you can't trust me. I mean, seriously, Billie Joe"

His mouth dropped open a little, him now regretting every word in this conversation.

"Wait...wait...what?" He asked, suddenly speechless

"I don't want you to feel like you can't trust me" I said angrily, "Cuz you know...no one wants that kind of relationship. I'm surprised you've put up with me"

"Mandy" He muttered, "Wait-"

"So, here's what I'm thinking...how about you go and find some girl, since I'm a slut apparently who can't be trusted, why don't you go find some girl who CAN be trusted...kay?"

"What?!"

I nodded, "Sorry you had to be paranoid for nothin over the past 2 years"

"No! No, Mandy...listen to me...listen-"

"You've said plenty, dontcha think?" I asked, picking up my sweater from the chair.

"No..seriously, Mandy..."

"And I'll go find the hobo, considering he trusted me enough to drink my coffee...which really was yours by the way"

"What?"

"Ask him for it some time...or maybe you can get your trusted girlfriend to do that"

"Pleas tell me you're kidding me...I mean..Mandy-"

"What?" I asked, folding my arms

"I didn't mean that I didn't trust you" He said weakly

"Dude...You told me you think I'm cheating on you. That means you don't trust me. Got it? I don't want you to have to worry about me fuckin someone else..so I'll just let you go find a trusted girl"

I backed out of the kitchen slowly, shaking my head..not knowing what the hell was really going on.

He stared at me, as I shoved my hands in my pockets.

"Please tell me your kidding" He said, stumbling forward

"What's there to kid about?" I asked

He didn't say anything, he just stared at me in horror, watching me grab my ipod off the table. I looked at it, before dropping it on the couch.

"I don't need it...nothing I really wanna listen to on it"

I took a step towards the door, putting my good up.

"Oh yeah..." I mumbled, "Have fun at the awards"

I stepped out the house and onto the yard taking my cell phone from my pocket, feeling my eyes water.

"Rach?" I asked softly hearing the other line pick up

"Mandy?"

"Yeah," I croaked, "Would it be cool if I were to go to your house?"

"Yeah...sure, hun...why?"

I looked down, scuffing the dirt with my shoes.

"Billie and I split up."