In the End

Billie Joe sighed, resting a hand on my own as he tilted his head to the side, looking at my own sleeping profile.

He smiled weakly to himself, stroking my arm gently, resting his head on the seat.

He somehow managed not apologizing to Travis.

Billie Joe lifted his head once again, shifting his body closer to mine, his head resting on my shoulder.

"We'll be home soon" He said gently, placing a kiss on my hand, "And then you won't have to worry about anyone"

Then I won't have to worry anymore

Billie Joe shook his head lightly.

Stop it

Hr groaned lightly to himself, in an angry way, blaming his split personality at Mike.

"So you're leaving Florida?"

Billie Joe rolled his eyes, "No..I'm lying..asshole"

Mike sighed pathetically, "I can always count on you and your fucking sarcasm"

"...I know"

Mike snorted, shaking his head.

"So why you leaving Florida in such a hurry? Feel like you've screwed up enough here?"

"Shut up"

"No. You do realized you put your two year relationship in jeopardy once again by punching that poor kid, don't you?"

"I said shut up"

"And I said no..now are you gonna answer me?"

Billie Joe looked down at his fingers, twiddling his thumbs.

"Yes..okay Mr. I'm-Not-Going-To-Shut-Up-Til-I-Get-My-Way"

"That's an..interesting name," Mike paused pressing a finger to his lips, "Now..why did you punch him?"

"Will you stop questioning me?!" The smaller man snapped angrily, "All I did was come over here like the friend I am to tell you we're heading back to Cali tomorrow and you just find that you have bother me?!"

"Yes," Mike paused once again, biting at the nail on his thumb, "Well...I guess...Now, will you kindly tell me why you punched the younger kid that as I might add was doing nothing wrong"

"I don't like him," Billie Joe muttered

"You don't like a lot of people...you don't punch them"

"Will you shut up!?"

Mike quirked an eyebrow, biting on his lip now, "I already answered that, dumbass...No, I will not shut up"

"Then I'm leaving" Billie Joe scoffed

"WAIT! Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Mike called out, not being able to help but laugh afterwards

Billie Joe muttered something under his breath, placing his arms on his narrow hips, looking at Mike as if he were an angry teenage girl.

"What?!"

"Come on man, answer me" Mike breathed out

"I don't like him, and arguing with him just gave me more motivation to punch him...I don't like guys around her-"

"You're gonna have to get use to that," Mike interrupted, "You're gonna have to get use to other men around her..if you don't you're just going to screw up..again"

Billie Joe pressed a finger to his temple, rubbing it slowly as he sighed heavily, "I know, Mike"

"Uh..well..obviously not...considering as soon as you got your woman back you almost lost her"

"Can I leave now?" Billie Joe snipped

Mike groaned, "Fine..get outta here"

Billie Joe smirked slightly at the statement before exiting the suit

Billie Joe looked back at me, watching my breathing for a moment before nuzzling his nose into my neck.

"I'll make up for everything soon," He reassured himself, although it sounded as if he were talking to me, "I promise"

***

I had never lost touch with Travis.

In fact, I stayed pretty good friends with him as the months slowly crept by.

The goodbye was sad...considering I was leaving Florida, and I had befriended a great person.

It still amazed me that he held no grudge against me because of what Billie Joe had done to him...

But at the same time I was relieved.

Travis was a one of a kind friend who I didn't want to lose.

As the months slowly crept by, my stomach became larger, making me just..amazed in a way.

Billie Joe had been doing anything he could for me, including agreeing with whatever I said when I had a rough mood swing and lashed out at him.

Mike, Tre, Megan, and Rachel had returned a week or two later than Billie and I to California, happy as hell to be home.

November had slowly turned into December, which slowly turned into January, in which slowly crept by February into March and April.

Despite Billie Joe's wishes, it was decided that the sex of the child was going to be a secret.

"Why?" Billie Joe asked in a bitter way, "Why can't we find out what we're gonna have?"

"I think we should keep it a secret...there's only like 4 months of waiting"

"Only?!"

"Yeah...Listen, Billie. You're not pregnant. If you were, then we'd see. But you're not. I am...therefor, I get to chose"

I smiled smugly at him, Billie Joe sighing angrily.

"You're an evil bitch, you know that..right?"

I laughed at that, nodding my head, "A proud one"

"Yeah..whatever floats your fucking boat"

There had been times when Billie Joe and I went at it with each other, Billie Joe yelling back at me. I ended up depressed, Billie Joe not bothering to talk to me for an hour or two before he had found wherever I was in the house and apologize, then after curling up with me wherever we were.

He was doing everything possible to make sure that I was fine, and I constantly thanked him.

He knew he had screwed up a lot in the past year, and was trying to make it up to me.

***

"We're gonna go out later, kay?"

I looked up from the book I had been reading, quirking an eyebrow.

"Uh..okay?"

Billie Joe sat down next to me, looking at the ground in thought.

"Where are we going?" I asked, closing the book and scooting towards him

"Hmm?"

"Later..where are we going?"

"...Out"

I tilted my head to the side, running a hand through my hair.

"I got that part, but I mean...where?"

"Oh..oh...I'm not telling you that"

"Ookay...can I ask you why?" I asked, confused

Billie Joe leaned back onto the bed, his head resting on my knees that were folded under me.

"Sure," He paused, pressing his lips against my stomach, "But I'm not going to tell you"

"What? What..why?"

"Because..it's a secret"

Billie Joe smiled innocently at that statement, pressing a finger against his puckered lips.

I looked at Billie Joe, biting my lip before nodding.

"Uh..right.."

He laughed softly at that, scrunching his nose up.

"I love you" He murmured gently after a moment of comfortable silence

"I love you too, Billie"

"You promise?"

I looked at Billie Joe, confused as hell now.

"Do I promise?"

"Yeah..yeah...do you promise you love me?" He said softly

I looked down at Billie Joe with a hard expression on my face before easing up.

"Of course...are you okay?"

Billie Joe's eyes flashed upwards, looking into mine.

"Yeah.."

"You wanna talk?" I asked him softly, placing a hand on his shoulder gently

"I..uh..Nah..I'm okay"

"Are you sure?"

Billie Joe nodded, "Just promise that you love me"

"I do..I promise, Billie"

"And I love you, too"

With that, Billie Joe sat up a little, pushing me gently on my back and dropping his body next to mine on the bed, curling up against me.

He was definitely not okay

***

"So..he's not telling you what's wrong?"

"No," I mumbled, leaning against the counter, "He just keeps asking if I love him"

"Hmm..."

I quirked an eyebrow, "Does he think I don't love him?"

"Nah..he knows"

"Then why the hell is he asking?" I asked

Rachel sighed, "I don't know, Mand..maybe he's got something planned..."

"Oh! He did say he was takin me somewhere tonight" I piped up

"Did he say where?"

"..No"

"Hmm," Rachel paused, "That's...odd"

"No, it's just Billie Joe"

She laughed lightly over the phone, "Just wait..he's got something planned"

"Yeah?"

"Well...I mean...he has to if he's acting so weird"

"But Billie Joe always acts weird..hell, he is weird"

"What are you going to wear?"

I quirked an eyebrow, "To what?!"

"To wherever he's taking you"'

"I..I don't even know! Dammit, Rachel, do you know what's going on!?"

"Mandy, I didn't even know you were pregnant at first..okay? I'm 100% out of the loop of whatever you two are doing"

"...I don't believe you"

Rachel sighed, "Listen Mand...whatever the hell he is going to do...just enjoy yourself, kay? And then tell me everything. I have to go because Tre says he lost Frankito upstairs..however the hell he did that...so call me tomorrow, okay?"

"He lost Frankito? Uh..okay..Bye Rach"

"Bye Mand"

I hung up the phone, shaking my head.

Billie Joe slowly made his way into the kitchen, his head bowed.

"Billie?"

Billie Joe's head snapped up.

"I've been looking for you" He said softly, "What are yah doin?"

I slid off the stool I had been perched on, walking over to him and wrapping my arms around him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Billie?"

"Yeah babe"

"You promise you're okay?"

Billie Joe nodded, "I promise. Ya know, it's one of those days where I'm just quite.."

"You sure?"

"Positive, babe"

There was a silence in which I broke.

"Billie..can you tell me where we're going so I can at least dress right?"

Billie Joe shook his head, "Dress yourself"

"Casual?"

He gave me a lopsided smile, "Since when have I been known to want you to dress fancy?"

"Yeah...true..so I just dress..casually?"

"Yes"

I sighed, "Why can't you just tell me where the hell we're going?"

Billie Joe grinned, "Because then you'd ask why, and then you'd bug me about that...it's spoil everything"

"No it wouldn't..."

"Trust me..just..you have to wait..but I promise..the wait is worth it"

***

He said 'dress causal,' so that's what I did.

A simple pair of jeans that weren't too tight, a regular shirt that I had found and a sweater.

Even though he told me to not worry about how I looked, I still did...if there was so much buildup to something, I didn't want to look like shit...

I slipped on my shoes, pulling my hair back, and giving myself a once over before heading downstairs.

Billie Joe slid inside, closing the door behind him.

"I was starting the car," He said, motioning to the door, "It's getting old..so I have to start it like a couple minutes ahead of time..It's a little slow"

"Oh..right.."

I looked at Billie Joe, my eyes going wide.

"Casual! You said dress casual!" I let out

Billie Joe dressed in black pants, black shirt with a red tie, a jacket over him..back to the 'American Idiot' days.

"What?" He asked confused

"You said to dress casual..should I go change?" I went to turn around when Billie Joe grabbed onto my shoulder

"Hey, hey, hey...relax, babe. You look fine...you look..beautiful"

Despite how I was feeling, I was able to smile lightly.

"You should give yourself more credit..now come on" He said softly

I really didn't know how to respond to him.

"Come on, let's go" He said, nodding his head to the side with his trademark smile plastered on his face

"Can you tell me where we're going now?" I asked softly, Billie Joe leading me out the door with his hand holding onto mine

He turned around to face me, tilting his head to the side.

"If I tell you...you can't ask anymore questions"

"Okay," I said simply, happy that I was at least getting some sort of hint

He thought for a moment before pressing his lips against mine.

"Beach"

Beach?

"We're going to the-"

"Ah, ah, ah. I said no more questions" Billie Joe interrupted me, pressing a finger against my lips

"But-"

Billie Joe quirked an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side like before.

"No more questioning"

He took his finger away from my mouth before pressing his own lips against mine.

"Don't ask so many questions" He whispered in my ear, "Curiosity killed the cat"

I felt a small shiver run down my back, feeling his lips brush against my ear.

I just nodded, kissing his cheek in a sweet way making Billie Joe grin.

"All right...now come on" he said, his voice light

Billie Joe led me out to the car, us both climbing inside of it.

"Is it just us?" I asked, resting my head on the window

"Yeah...you and I"

I smile to myself, glad that whatever he had planned wasn't going to interrupted or anything.

"You love me, yeah?" Billie Joe asked after a moment

I turned to face him in my seat, putting my hands in my lap.

"Why do you keep asking me that?"

"It's..just..like..It's just...sorta something that I need to hear"

"Bill," I placed my hand on his arm, "Seriously...are you okay?"

He took his eyes from the road, looking at me and smiling.

"I swear on my life, babe..I'm fine"

"Okay," I paused, "But if anything was wrong..you know you could tell me"

He smiled and nodded, "I know..and I would"

"Okay, good"

I sat back in my seat, placing a hand on my stomach.

Billie Joe gave me a lopsided smile, "You know..I swear...it..it seems like it was yesterday that you had confessed that you were pregnant"

I nodded my head slowly, "Yeah.." I bit my lip in thought, laughing softly, "Jeez...I was..so..so scared to tell you...I thought you'd hate me cuz..you know..we weren't exactly ready"

"I was..hell, I was shocked..I didn't expect you to tell me you were pregnant...I mean, I came in the suit that night..and you were cryin..broke my heart..but also confused the hell out of me. Tre looked like he had seen a ghost when I entered the room, so I thought he did something..to you..which is why I went freaked out on him"

"You were..really mad at him"

Billie Joe nodded his head slowly, "I really thought he did something...but then you told me it wasn't him, so I thought I did something..I thought it was cuz when I left I acted like an asshole..but that was only cuz I just wanted to stay back in the suit with you and Tre made me go..." He sighed lightly, "Killed me when you didn't tell me what was wrong at first...it made me really feel as if I did something"

"I'm sorry.."

Billie Joe looked over at me quickly, "What? No..don't apologize"

A comfortable silence overcame us.

***

"You gonna tell me why we're here now?"

Billie Joe looked at me, wrapping his arms around me.

"I love you so much," He murmured, pressing his lips against mine, "I want to..apologize..make up for all the things I've put you through. I want to..show you..how much I love you..show you how much I need you in my life..how much you complete me.."

Despite how confused I was..I had couldn't help but blush and smile at what he was saying.

"Those...those 5 days that we weren't together..I was..dead" He mumbled, "Every fight we have makes me want to do something to myself..like..hurt myself in a way..cuz I feel so bad," He paused, pressing his lips in an affectionately way against mine, "I want to be together...forever..."

With that, he brought us into a slow kiss, his hand moving to the back of my neck.

"I want to make it up to you..for everything I've done...everything I've done to jeopardies our relationship...everything that has made you hate me, love me, despise me and everything else"

He kept his lips close to mine, barely an inch away.

"You remember in Florida when I was telling you I wanted to marry you?"

I felt my heart flutter, my legs turning into jelly.

He won't

"I wasn't kidding," He continued, his lips lightly brushing against mine as he spoke

He turned his head a little, looking at the water, before back at me, a twinkle in his eyes.

"I want you..to be my wife as soon as possible after our baby is born"

I looked at Billie Joe in the eyes, my breath hitching.

Billie Joe took a hand from my body, sliding it into his pocket.

He looked one more time at me before going down to one knee, smiling.

"Let me..start over...well..not necessarily start over..but...try everything..in a new way..." He paused, becoming nervous at the last moment, "I want to start a new family with you...and I want you to be my wife not girlfriend..."

Billie Joe looked down, then back up at me, opening a small box in his hand to reveal the most breathtaking ring I think I had ever seen in my life.

"With..with all that said..will you make me an oh-so, oh-so fucking happy man..and marry me?"