Always There

As the end of the semester began to roll around, everyone celebrated Tre's birthday. He was officially no longer a teenager. And, boy, did he ever get wasted.

Needless to say, Thanksgiving had come and passed.

Maria and Billie Joe had returned to Berkeley and resumed their lives prior to the craziness that was spending the holiday with her parents. And, an added bonus was that Billie Joe came back with a few dime bags from Enrique. Couldn't get any better than that. He was, by far, the most awesome parent the punk rocker had ever met or known of.

What wasn't awesome was how distant Maria seemed to have become since returning from San Diego. She was quiet, which in itself was unusual. More often than naught she was more than happy to strike up a conversation, even if there was nothing really exciting to talk about. She even surprised Billie Joe by going out and dying her hair completely fire engine red.

One night, when she wasn't studying, he poked his head into her room to hear her stereo pumping out Guns & Roses' 'November Rain.' And as he stood there listening, he watched her writing in a notebook on her bed, tapping her pen to her lips and resting her head in the palm of her hand. When the song changed to some pop/R&B tune called 'I Love Your Smile' by some singer Shanice, Billie Joe realized it was the radio that was on, and not an album.

"Whatcha doin'?" he finally asked.

She jumped slightly and turned her head, closing the notebook. "Oh, hey, uh...just writing."

"Notes?"

"No. Just a poem I've been kinda working on."

Smiling a little, he grabbed her desk chair and dragged it up to the bed, turning it around and sitting backwards in it. He folded his arms on the top of the chair's back and then rested his head on his arms. "Can I see it?" he wondered.

Maria shook her head. "It's not done."

"Not even a peak at what you have so far?" he egged on.

"No. Not until I'm one hundred percent happy with the outcome."

Billie Joe snickered. "Perfectionist."

"Slob," she smirked.

"Ow. That hurt my feelings. I think you should kiss me and make me feel better," he said, leaning forward and puckering his lips and closing his eyes goofily.

Shaking her head with a smile, Maria grabbed his ears, kissed him quickly and then hopped off her bed to turn off her radio. Billie Joe was kinda flustered by the quickness of the gesture, and kinda disappointed, too.

"You okay?"

"Uh huh."

"You sure about that?" Billie Joe turned his head, looking at her sideways.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm okay. Why?"

"Well, for starters, you look like Punky Brewster fell head first into a bucket of red paint, not to mention you're really...not here all the time."

"I'm here," she insisted.

"I mean mentally," Billie Joe amended, tapping his temple. "You're always off in some other world or whatever. Not talking as much. It's just not you."

Sticking her hands nervously into her jeans pockets, she rocked on the heels of her feet.

"I think we should break up," she blurted.

Billie Joe blinked, letting his mind wrap around what she'd just said. "What?" He sat up straight and turned his body to face her more. "Wh-why?"

"I just think we should."

"Do I get a fucking reason?"

Looking down at her feet, she shrugged. "I have some things I need to sort out...in my head, and they can't involve you right now."

Feeling completely crestfallen, Billie Joe stood up and took a few steps toward Maria. Placing his hands on her arms he forced her to look at him. "Why can't I be involved? Is shutting me out of whatever the fuck is going on gonna really help?"

"To me, yes."

He dropped his hands and took a step back, studying her face. His brow knitted in mild confusion. "Is there someone else?"

"Billie---"

"Just tell me."

"No, I---"

"Nevermind, I don't wanna know. I'm just gonna...go." Before Maria could respond, Billie Joe walked out of her bedroom and shut the door quietly after him.

* * *

Two weeks had passed wherein Maria and Billie Joe were still on their break from each other. He felt restless, taking his only comfort in playing gigs with Mike and Tre, usually at Gillman Street, but also at other random places like people's houses and local college parties.

As Christmas became closer, Billie Joe found himself wandering the promenade of a mini mall in Oakland with Mike, glancing into the stores' front windows when they came upon a small boutique that had a Christmas sale going on. Shrugging, the popped inside, immediately garnering looks from the snooty sales people.

Probably because Billie Joe was now sporting those dreadlocks he had been planning on and Mike had shoulder length brown hair.

They began to scan the racks of guys' clothes and making fun of the designs.

"This would go great with MC Hammer's pants," Mike laughed, pointing to a shirt that was gaudier than all fuck.

Billie Joe smirked and continued on, wondering just how much the sale was? 50 percent off the price on the tag, or was that already the price cut in half? If it was the latter, damn. They might as well walk out right now.

Out of curiosity, he migrated to the women's section and thumbed through the dresses, telling Mike they should get one for Tre to wear at their next gig. But then, something caught Billie Joe's eye.

The jewelry counter.

Walking over to it slowly, he pressed his palms down on the glass, feeling the warmth from the long light bulb inside the glass structure. He leaned forward and looked down at all the shiny pieces of silver and gold. The diamonds...er...cubic zirconias. Knock off diamonds. What he thought was the best looking piece in the case, was a simple cubic zirconia tennis bracelet.

Lifting his head, he locked eyes with the sales person standing on the other side of the counter, already staring him down suspiciously.

"How much is that bracelet?" Billie Joe inquired.

Hesitant to even give an answer at first, the sales person replied, "Ninety-six dollars."

"Oi."

"Sale price is forty-eight."

"Really? The jewelry is half off, too?"

The sales person sighed. "That would be why this is our Half-Off Christmas Sale."

"Right, yeah." Billie Joe felt like an idiot.

"Would you like to try it on?" the sales person quirked an eyebrow.

Shaking his head, Billie Joe laughed. "No. But can I hold it?" Off the sales person' wary look, Billie Joe rolled his eyes. "Fuck, I'm not gonna take it and run."

The sales person relented and pulled it out and handed it over to Billie Joe who inspected it as if he knew what he were doing; as if he were a master jeweler. The only thing that he thought would make this bracelet better, would be if Maria was wearing it. And, that alone, pulled at his heart.

He was so sure there was another guy in her life now. After all, who was this guy Dominic who kept calling the house for her? And why was she staying at school later than usual? She went out at night and came back late.

She had to be seeing this guy Dominic. And it stung. He didn't even know this guy and he hated him. Never even saw the guys's face. He didn't know whether it was jealousy or not. Maybe he was just being dumb about it all. After all, he and Maria weren't actually together anymore. But this Dominic certainly had one over him.

"Well?" the sales person spoke, cutting into Billie Joe's thoughts.

"Oh...uh, yeah. I'll, um...I think I'll take it. I mean, take it as in pay for it. Not, you know, take it and run."

And so, Billie Joe bought the cubic zirconia tennis bracelet, having Maria in mind as the person he'd give it to. Even if they weren't together now, he'd make sure he could beat this other guy he didn't know. He wanted Maria back.

Maybe he'd right a song about this chump to help sort through his feelings.