Poprocks and Coke: If I Can't Have Both, Which Do I Choose?

You sat down on the picnic table that was covered in roses and pretty drapes, along with a few lanterns and candles. You smiled up at Billie and watched the candlelight from the candle in front of the both of you twinkle in the reflection in his eyes, "Billie, you didn't--"

"Have to do this, I know," he smiled, "Trust me, I didn't do this because I felt obligated to, since your my girlfriend and I put you through a lot recently, but I did it because I wanted to. That's it; I just wanted to."

You smiled even more up at him as your cheeks burnt from his words and the candles around you. You nodded to response to his words, "But why, may I ask?"

He shrugged, "I just wanted to. It's really nothing much other than a dinner for just the two of us..."

You rolled your eyes, still smiling, "Billie, honestly, you underestimate yourself; 'Oh, my voice and lyrics need shaping up - I'm not that good at guitar - This is just a dinner that I thought up for the two of us'," you looked up at his amused face, "It's wonderful, shut up."

He laughed, "Okay, okay, fine, you win - I surrender - I'm putting up the white flag - I'm putting down my--"

"Shut up!" you laughed out loud, causing him to laugh more.

He had prepared a dish of lasagna and bread sticks for dinner. The dessert he had picked up was apple pie with a side of ice cream and whip cream. Whatever the reason he did this for you, he was keeping it hidden inside himself. The way he would drift off into thought when the two of you stopped talking and ate your food was very noticeable, however, you kept your mouth closed about it.

It was starting to hit about ten o'clock at night when the food had been finally eaten. Billie definitely out did himself on the lasagna. As for the apple pie and ice cream, maybe that was a bit too much, but it was still a great treat.

"So..." he cleared his throat, "There is actually a reason to why I pulled this together."

You stared at his nervous face as he spoke; I knew it! Since when does Billie do romantic stuff at random? Well... who knows what surprises he might conjure up in the future.

You smiled, "You can tell me anything, Billie, just say what you want to say."

A small smile spread across his lips as he stared back at you, "Honestly, it's lame how a lot of people just come out and say this when they don't actually mean it, but since I do mean it, I wanted to make this evening a bit special."

You smiled and listened closely to the next thing he would say. You had an idea about what he was trying to express and you remember he already expressed these feelings towards you when you first started going out, however, maybe this time he knew that he actually meant it. Although, you were not absolutely sure and you didn't want to get your hopes up.

He took in a silently deep breath, "Nikki, I love you. I really do, and I mean it with everything."

Your heart performed flips in your chest and your throat felt clogged. You could tell by looking at him that he really did mean what he was expressing more now than he did previously before, and he said those three words in the most honest and intimate way he could manage.

You smiled, "Billie, I love you too." I do feel something more than just lust, so it must be love that I feel. He is someone that I can always depend on and I do care a lot for him. Actually, I really care a lot for him...

He smiled and grabbed your hands from across the table. You could just tell by looking at him how his world was starting to come together for him. He was happy, and that's what made you happy at that moment: to see a smiling Billie Joe Armstrong.

****

"No, Billie, I told you that I think Rolling Stones beats The Ramones," you smiled as you kicked your bedroom door open with a loud bang.

You walked in right when Billie said, "Whatever! They're both kick-ass bands, but no way can Rolling Stones beat The Ramones in a boxing ring."

You laughed and kicked the door shut with another bang, "Billie, I'm seriously starting to get ann--"

"Look at Mick Jagger; He could never last in a ring with Joey or Dee Dee. They'd break him in half in a second," Billie went on very seriously.

You couldn't help but laugh, "Billie, shut up. I don't care. Why are we even talking about this?"

He paused as he was thinking. As you waited for some sort of response, you went to your make up table and sat down and kept your hands busy by playing with your hair brush bristles as you rested the phone between your ear and your shoulder.

"Shit, I don't remember. I know we were talking about The Ramones before you left a hour ago..." he paused, "Where this wrestling match came from between the two bands is beyond me."

You were about to respond, but before you could, he randomly asked; "Hey, do you want to see a movie tomorrow night? We can check the movie listings once we get there."

Without too much time to think about it, you said; "Yea, sure. They're some good movies in the theater at the moment."

Suddenly, you heard a beep. You took the phone away from your ear and looked at the screen on the front to see who was trying to get through. Even though you loved Natasha, you sighed; "Billie, I'll be right back; Natasha's on the other line."

"Okay, I'll be right here," he said right before a guitar string got plunked.

You clicked the call waiting button and answered to Natasha; "Hey, what's going on?"

She kept quiet for a few seconds before saying over-dramatically, "What have I been doing? The question is more like, what have you been doing?" you rolled your eyes and waited for her to continue, "I haven't talked to you in weeks."

You sighed, going through the events that had taken place since the last time you had spoken to Natasha.

"So..." Natasha urged.

You blinked, trying to get your thoughts together, "Well... um... I got together with Billie..."

"Joe Armstrong?" she sounded impressed.

You rolled your eyes, "Yes, Joe Armstrong. Billie Joe Armstrong," before she could say anything, which you could tell she wanted to, you went on.

You could sense she was biting her tongue, trying to keep from squealing or becoming a bit over dramatic, "Anything else happen?"

Well, lets see: After I got with Billie, he got into a big fight with Jamie, then I watched my boyfriend get into a fight with the asshole, then was confessed to by Tre about his feelings for me, then I had to go through a huge action-movie-real-life-scene with Tre and Billie and had to save Billie from getting badly injured or dead - but in the meanwhile - I didn't know whether Tre was alive or dead or in prison, then I had to spend days in the hospital with Billie and Tre and wait for them to recover, then I questioned myself over Billie and Tre and I still haven't really come to a conclusion, then I found out I love Billie for sure, and now I'm here not talking to you, but rather going through my own thoughts as you sit on the phone and wait for some kind of response.

"Hey!" she urged, "Did anything else happen?"

You bit your lip, "No - not that I can think of."

What? It's too late to have to go into a lot of detail and stories.

"So what about Tre?" she brought up. You were in a daze and only came back to reality when the name, Tre, got brought up.

Your heart raced at just the name, "What about Tre?"

You didn't understand why, but you felt like you were being questioned under a white light with the rays from the bulb scraping at your skull; "He's okay with it," you pursed your lips, "We're friends."

"Really?" she sounded astonished, "I thought he had it bad for you when you first met," she laughed lightly, "I think you had it bad for him too."

You stared at the wall intently, feeling as if everything she said about Tre was intimidating.

She paused and took a big, content breath, "So he's back on the market? Can I go for him?"

NO!

You bit your lip as your stomach made turns and your heart was feeling as if it was under attack. You didn't know how to answer and words didn't know how to be expressed.

Slowly and hesitantly, you said, "Sure..." You bit your lip even harder at the thought of someone else going for Tre, especially such a close friend.

"Nikki..." she said slowly, "You don't still like--"

"Natasha, I got to go, I left Billie on hold." you chocked out in hurry and quickly hung up on her before she could answer. "Billie?"

There was a strum from a guitar, "I almost thought you forgot about me, then I thought that it would be impossible to forget a face and voice like mine."

You kept your eyes on the wall and your lips pursed as you tried to get over the conversation you just had with Natasha.

Laugh, idiot! He's kidding and wants you to laugh!

You let out a big laugh after a few second duration, which made things a bit more awkward.

He couldn't help but laugh as he strummed his guitar more, "Okay, I see that you're just not on the same planet as me at the moment."

You shook your head, even though you knew he couldn't see, "I just got off the phone with Natasha..." LIE! "She just wanted to know about Kyle."

There was a bit of a pause, but then Billie said; "I almost forgot about him; How is he?"

You nodded, "He's fine. He's back home, but he's in his room a lot, so I don't usually see him unless we pass in the hall."

He got back from the hospital right before Billie and Tre were put in the hospital. He had some injuries to his legs and arms and a bit to his memory. As long as he followed the doctors rules, he was going to be fine.

"Well, I'm glad he's doing better. You were really upset that day you first got the news."

You blinked down at your hair brush as you recalled the phone conversation with your dad, and then breaking down in front of Billie, "Yea..." you said quietly.

You yawned after a few seconds and said tiredly into the receiver, "Billie, I'm going to go to bed. Thank you so much for the dinner tonight; it really means a lot to me and I had a great time."

"You deserved it, especially after that whole night with the drama with Jamie, Tre, and me," he paused, "Just know that I do love you and find you amazing."

You smiled at his words and really knew you meant it when you said, "I love you too, Billie."

"I know," he said contently, "Have a goodnight, and I'll pick you up about eight tomorrow night for the movies."

You smiled, "Okay. Goodnight."

You hung up the phone, threw the portable on the edge of your bed and got into your pajamas.

You climbed on your bed and got yourself cozy under the covers. Before you went to turn off the lamp on your night table, the phone you had not too long ago threw on your bed was vibrating and lighting up.

You sighed at the object and reached over to grab it. Once you had the phone in your hand, you looked down at the called I.D., and just by the number written on the dial, you knew it was Tre's cell phone number.

You pursed your lips and took quick breaths at the sight of the number. At that moment, you questioned: Should I, or should I not pick it up?