Status: Completed
Always There
Everybody Got Their Something
A week had come and gone wherein Lynn Cevallos stayed with her grandchildren while Maria went to the local schools she herself had gone to a couple decades earlier. She enrolled Ben and Nate in the same elementary school she'd attended from 1977 to 1984, and then heading over to the junior high school she went to from '84 to '86 in order to enroll Olivia into the eigth grade. It was a little weird because one of the teachers she'd had for English in the eigth grade was now the principal, and also much older. Nearing retirement, actually.
And then it came time for the kids' first day at their new schools. The moving trucks had all arrived by then along with Maria's SUV, so she was able to drive them herself. Poor Nathan was the most nervous. He'd just started school that Fall and he was already starting a new one. Maria just hoped her little boy could adapt well. What with everything they'd been through lately, she'd already noticed changes in his attitude. He was a little more reserved than usual, and never liked going near Hazel; most likely because he didn't like the idea of no longer being the baby in the family.
While all this was going on, Billie Joe had flown back to Oakland with Mike in order to meet with Adrienne and they're lawyer to go over the intial steps of proceeding with terminating their 12-year-old marriage.
Seeing Adrienne was slightly bittersweet; neither knew what to really say to each other. The good thing was that she didn't look as furious with him as she had been. She asked how Olivia was and Billie Joe even found the balls to pull out her school picture along with Hazel's hospital picture that was taken after she was born. It had her name on the picture along with the date and how much she weighed which, in entirety, read:
Hazel Baby Armstrong
Nov 22, 2006 | 6 lbs. 12 oz.
Adrienne offered a small smile but her heart wasn't in it, and it was obvious to Billie Joe. Not like he expected her to jump for joy. He drove back with her to the house they had shared for so long, happily swooping his boys up in his arms as they ran to greet him in the front hall. He gave each of them a kiss and then sat down with them on the living room floor to show them pictures of Hazel. Joey seemed a little offish about everything and didn't care to see any more pictures, letting Billie Joe know that his oldest boy felt angry about his father's doings and now new baby, and how his parents were splitting up.
Despite that tension there, Billie Joe took his boys to Pizza Hut that night; just the three of them traveling in his Ford Fairlane. They ordered a large pizza and breadsticks and even went out for ice cream afterward. When they returned home, the boys had to get ready for bed for school the next day, which left Adrienne and Billie Joe alone downstairs. She asked if he wanted coffee, which he turned down, shoving his hands in his front pockets.
"The next time we meet with the lawyer we need to go over with him who's getting what in the settlement," she muttered, busying herself with random things in the kitchen as Billie Joe leaned in against the doorframe. She turned to look at him slightly, sadness in her eyes. "We should actually talk about this beforehand. I don't want to be one of those couples that fight tooth and nail over who gets what."
"No, that's...totally understandable. I don't want that either," he agreed. "And the boys don't need to hear us fighting about shit like that."
Adrienne nodded. She licked the inside of her bottom lip as she folded her arms under her chest and leaned her back against the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Will you give me the house?"
"This one?"
"Yeah. This one."
Billie Joe nodded without missing a beat. "Yeah, of course. Uh...it's yours." He sighed. "D'you want the bungalow?"
She shook her head. "No. I never really liked it."
"'Kay. What about the penthouse?" he asked nervously. He hoped she said no.
"No. I don't want the penthouse. You more than made that a place for you and Maria. I mean, she helped you decorate it. You even slept with her in it," she responded sourly. "There's no way in hell I want it. I do, however, want the BMW."
Shit, he really loved that BMW. It was so sleek and a fun vehicle to drive in. But, he could always get another. If she had asked for the Fairlane, he'd...well...fight her tooth and nail over that.
"Alright. The BMW's yours, too."
She nodded. "Maybe we should write this down. Go over all the things we have, and what there is to split up between us."
"Yeah, but...maybe not tonight. It's been a long day. And I should probably leave. Mike's letting me stay with him."
Adrienne nodded again. "Do you need to get anything out of our...uh...out of the bedroom?" she corrected herself.
Billie Joe thought about it. "I guess I should get some more of my clothes out. I can leave them at Mike's until I'm ready to haul everything together to...wherever I'll be."
"Aren't you living in San Diego now with Maria and her parents?"
"I'm staying there with them for now, yes," he replied sheepishly. "But I don't plan on having us stay there forever. I mean...I wanna be here in the Bay Area...closer to the boys for, you know, weekend visits."
Tilting her head, Adrienne narrowed her eyes. "You're not gonna fight me over full custody?" she asked in disbelief.
"No," he answered honestly. "I figure joint custody is best, and...well...you're their mother. The kids should be with you."
She swallowed back a lump in throat, pushing one of her dreadlocks out of her eyes. "Thank you."
"Don't worry 'bout it," he said, shrugging it off as a moment of silence fell over them. Billie Joe studied her as she looked away and shoved her hands in her front pockets, much like he was doing now. "I'm still sorry," he added, somberly.
Adrienne lifted her dark eyes to Billie Joe's green ones. "I know you are. But everything's different now. So, don't expect us to ever be the same."
He dipped his head slightly, digging his foot in little half circles on the floor. "I don't expect anything. But I hope that with time we could stay friends." He looked up at her through his eyebrows, nervous over how she would respond.
"Well...we'll see what time has to offer."
With a slight nod, Billie Joe excused himself from the room as he went upstairs to head to the bedroom that was no longer his to sleep in. Finding an empty suitcase, he began to shove some of his extra clothes inside. When that was done, he went around looking for his guitars, electric and acoustic. He also took and empty cardboard box and filled it with some records and CDs of his. He began to carry things out to the Fairlane, packing in as much of his belongings as he could. There was even the recording room he had in the house that he didn't even know what to do with yet. He'd have to have all that moved somehow, whenever. Maybe he'd see if Adrienne wouldn't mind keeping the equipment until he got himself a new place in the area.
When he had enough belongings at the moment, Billie Joe said goodbye to Adrienne and drove off to Mike's. He felt fine the entire drive to his best friend's house and even when the bassist help carry his shit inside to store into one of the extra bedrooms. But as soon as he stopped moving and sat down, Billie Joe began to cry.
Mike stood there a few feet away, frowning in sympathy for his friend. He remembered all four times total when he and Tre had been divorced. And how ironic that the guy who had had the most ideal marriage out of the three and had counseled the others when their's failed, was now dealing with a failed marriage.
When Billie Joe's hunched form jerked slightly with a sob that seemed to have originated in his toes, Mike stepped forward and drew his best friend into a hug, patting his back comfortingly.
"It's okay, man. Just hang in there." Mike, platonically, gave Billie Joe a kiss on the cheek. "It's hard now, but it'll get easier. I promise."
* * *
A few days later, Tre turned 34 and the guys threw him a big bash at a club in San Francisco, but every moment that wasn't used to focus on the birthday boy, Billie Joe was calling Maria to see how the baby was doing as well as the others. He felt a little bad leaving her with their newborn but he knew she was in good hands with help from Enrique and Lynn while he dealt with things up north.
Two days following the birthday bash, the guys were holed themselves up at 880 Studios, talking about their plans for what they wanted to do next. American Idiot had came out over two years prior and hadn't toured in over a year. They knew that the Reprise/Warner Bros. execs were getting antsy about what the guys were gonna put out next and when, and with Billie Joe's life getting so hectic, there was concern from the higher-ups that he would leave the band and go solo.
But he couldn't ever leave. He'd already gone through his phase of maybe wanting to go solo before American Idiot came out. But then they found a renewed passion for making music together and it only instilled how the only way any of them would leave the band would be in a bodybag.
"So, what do we do now?" Tre asked. "We have a few songs we've been working on here and there over the last couple of months." He looked over at Billie Joe, who was pretty much their ringleader, as if awaiting his say in all this.
Mike glanced at Billie Joe too, but didn't say anything as he shifted in his seat.
The guitarist shrugged. "I've actually thought a bit about it all, and I was thinking that maybe we should all share the work equally. I mean...we got such a huge response on 'Homecoming.' The fans really liked having each of us take turns singing and shit like that. Maybe we could do that again. We each write some songs and then come together to make them fuller. We each write and perform...and sing. I mean, I'll remain the lead singer in all this...but...what do you say?"
Mike sat back, stretching his long legs out before him and twisting his mouth in consideration. "Well, it's definitely doable," he replied with a smirk. "Tre?"
The drummer nodded. "Why not? I mean, if Blink can have more than one singer, why can't we? And, hey...Don Henley was, like, the lead singer for the Eagles for, like...ever. I can sing from time to time...or add harmony. Not sayin' I'm the best singer in the world...but, yeah. Cool."
Billie Joe and Mike looked between each other and shared a smile.
"Now that that's settled," Billie Joe began with an impsh smirk. "What do you think about sharing recording time between here and in the south...like, Los Angeles or San Diego?"
"Would this mean we get to hang out and play with the newest Armstrong?" Tre wondered.
"Of course."
"Then I'm in. Mike?"
"I'm in, too."
Billie Joe grinned. Mike was right. Maybe things would get better with time after all.
And then it came time for the kids' first day at their new schools. The moving trucks had all arrived by then along with Maria's SUV, so she was able to drive them herself. Poor Nathan was the most nervous. He'd just started school that Fall and he was already starting a new one. Maria just hoped her little boy could adapt well. What with everything they'd been through lately, she'd already noticed changes in his attitude. He was a little more reserved than usual, and never liked going near Hazel; most likely because he didn't like the idea of no longer being the baby in the family.
While all this was going on, Billie Joe had flown back to Oakland with Mike in order to meet with Adrienne and they're lawyer to go over the intial steps of proceeding with terminating their 12-year-old marriage.
Seeing Adrienne was slightly bittersweet; neither knew what to really say to each other. The good thing was that she didn't look as furious with him as she had been. She asked how Olivia was and Billie Joe even found the balls to pull out her school picture along with Hazel's hospital picture that was taken after she was born. It had her name on the picture along with the date and how much she weighed which, in entirety, read:
Hazel Baby Armstrong
Nov 22, 2006 | 6 lbs. 12 oz.
Adrienne offered a small smile but her heart wasn't in it, and it was obvious to Billie Joe. Not like he expected her to jump for joy. He drove back with her to the house they had shared for so long, happily swooping his boys up in his arms as they ran to greet him in the front hall. He gave each of them a kiss and then sat down with them on the living room floor to show them pictures of Hazel. Joey seemed a little offish about everything and didn't care to see any more pictures, letting Billie Joe know that his oldest boy felt angry about his father's doings and now new baby, and how his parents were splitting up.
Despite that tension there, Billie Joe took his boys to Pizza Hut that night; just the three of them traveling in his Ford Fairlane. They ordered a large pizza and breadsticks and even went out for ice cream afterward. When they returned home, the boys had to get ready for bed for school the next day, which left Adrienne and Billie Joe alone downstairs. She asked if he wanted coffee, which he turned down, shoving his hands in his front pockets.
"The next time we meet with the lawyer we need to go over with him who's getting what in the settlement," she muttered, busying herself with random things in the kitchen as Billie Joe leaned in against the doorframe. She turned to look at him slightly, sadness in her eyes. "We should actually talk about this beforehand. I don't want to be one of those couples that fight tooth and nail over who gets what."
"No, that's...totally understandable. I don't want that either," he agreed. "And the boys don't need to hear us fighting about shit like that."
Adrienne nodded. She licked the inside of her bottom lip as she folded her arms under her chest and leaned her back against the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Will you give me the house?"
"This one?"
"Yeah. This one."
Billie Joe nodded without missing a beat. "Yeah, of course. Uh...it's yours." He sighed. "D'you want the bungalow?"
She shook her head. "No. I never really liked it."
"'Kay. What about the penthouse?" he asked nervously. He hoped she said no.
"No. I don't want the penthouse. You more than made that a place for you and Maria. I mean, she helped you decorate it. You even slept with her in it," she responded sourly. "There's no way in hell I want it. I do, however, want the BMW."
Shit, he really loved that BMW. It was so sleek and a fun vehicle to drive in. But, he could always get another. If she had asked for the Fairlane, he'd...well...fight her tooth and nail over that.
"Alright. The BMW's yours, too."
She nodded. "Maybe we should write this down. Go over all the things we have, and what there is to split up between us."
"Yeah, but...maybe not tonight. It's been a long day. And I should probably leave. Mike's letting me stay with him."
Adrienne nodded again. "Do you need to get anything out of our...uh...out of the bedroom?" she corrected herself.
Billie Joe thought about it. "I guess I should get some more of my clothes out. I can leave them at Mike's until I'm ready to haul everything together to...wherever I'll be."
"Aren't you living in San Diego now with Maria and her parents?"
"I'm staying there with them for now, yes," he replied sheepishly. "But I don't plan on having us stay there forever. I mean...I wanna be here in the Bay Area...closer to the boys for, you know, weekend visits."
Tilting her head, Adrienne narrowed her eyes. "You're not gonna fight me over full custody?" she asked in disbelief.
"No," he answered honestly. "I figure joint custody is best, and...well...you're their mother. The kids should be with you."
She swallowed back a lump in throat, pushing one of her dreadlocks out of her eyes. "Thank you."
"Don't worry 'bout it," he said, shrugging it off as a moment of silence fell over them. Billie Joe studied her as she looked away and shoved her hands in her front pockets, much like he was doing now. "I'm still sorry," he added, somberly.
Adrienne lifted her dark eyes to Billie Joe's green ones. "I know you are. But everything's different now. So, don't expect us to ever be the same."
He dipped his head slightly, digging his foot in little half circles on the floor. "I don't expect anything. But I hope that with time we could stay friends." He looked up at her through his eyebrows, nervous over how she would respond.
"Well...we'll see what time has to offer."
With a slight nod, Billie Joe excused himself from the room as he went upstairs to head to the bedroom that was no longer his to sleep in. Finding an empty suitcase, he began to shove some of his extra clothes inside. When that was done, he went around looking for his guitars, electric and acoustic. He also took and empty cardboard box and filled it with some records and CDs of his. He began to carry things out to the Fairlane, packing in as much of his belongings as he could. There was even the recording room he had in the house that he didn't even know what to do with yet. He'd have to have all that moved somehow, whenever. Maybe he'd see if Adrienne wouldn't mind keeping the equipment until he got himself a new place in the area.
When he had enough belongings at the moment, Billie Joe said goodbye to Adrienne and drove off to Mike's. He felt fine the entire drive to his best friend's house and even when the bassist help carry his shit inside to store into one of the extra bedrooms. But as soon as he stopped moving and sat down, Billie Joe began to cry.
Mike stood there a few feet away, frowning in sympathy for his friend. He remembered all four times total when he and Tre had been divorced. And how ironic that the guy who had had the most ideal marriage out of the three and had counseled the others when their's failed, was now dealing with a failed marriage.
When Billie Joe's hunched form jerked slightly with a sob that seemed to have originated in his toes, Mike stepped forward and drew his best friend into a hug, patting his back comfortingly.
"It's okay, man. Just hang in there." Mike, platonically, gave Billie Joe a kiss on the cheek. "It's hard now, but it'll get easier. I promise."
* * *
A few days later, Tre turned 34 and the guys threw him a big bash at a club in San Francisco, but every moment that wasn't used to focus on the birthday boy, Billie Joe was calling Maria to see how the baby was doing as well as the others. He felt a little bad leaving her with their newborn but he knew she was in good hands with help from Enrique and Lynn while he dealt with things up north.
Two days following the birthday bash, the guys were holed themselves up at 880 Studios, talking about their plans for what they wanted to do next. American Idiot had came out over two years prior and hadn't toured in over a year. They knew that the Reprise/Warner Bros. execs were getting antsy about what the guys were gonna put out next and when, and with Billie Joe's life getting so hectic, there was concern from the higher-ups that he would leave the band and go solo.
But he couldn't ever leave. He'd already gone through his phase of maybe wanting to go solo before American Idiot came out. But then they found a renewed passion for making music together and it only instilled how the only way any of them would leave the band would be in a bodybag.
"So, what do we do now?" Tre asked. "We have a few songs we've been working on here and there over the last couple of months." He looked over at Billie Joe, who was pretty much their ringleader, as if awaiting his say in all this.
Mike glanced at Billie Joe too, but didn't say anything as he shifted in his seat.
The guitarist shrugged. "I've actually thought a bit about it all, and I was thinking that maybe we should all share the work equally. I mean...we got such a huge response on 'Homecoming.' The fans really liked having each of us take turns singing and shit like that. Maybe we could do that again. We each write some songs and then come together to make them fuller. We each write and perform...and sing. I mean, I'll remain the lead singer in all this...but...what do you say?"
Mike sat back, stretching his long legs out before him and twisting his mouth in consideration. "Well, it's definitely doable," he replied with a smirk. "Tre?"
The drummer nodded. "Why not? I mean, if Blink can have more than one singer, why can't we? And, hey...Don Henley was, like, the lead singer for the Eagles for, like...ever. I can sing from time to time...or add harmony. Not sayin' I'm the best singer in the world...but, yeah. Cool."
Billie Joe and Mike looked between each other and shared a smile.
"Now that that's settled," Billie Joe began with an impsh smirk. "What do you think about sharing recording time between here and in the south...like, Los Angeles or San Diego?"
"Would this mean we get to hang out and play with the newest Armstrong?" Tre wondered.
"Of course."
"Then I'm in. Mike?"
"I'm in, too."
Billie Joe grinned. Mike was right. Maybe things would get better with time after all.