It Seems I'm Too Far Gone

Adie made sure to blow her nose and wipe her eyes before Billie Joe came over. She didn't want to do this immediately. She still hadn't figured out exactly how to tell him. He didn't even know she was going all the way to Minnesota. Sure, it wasn't New York, but there was still a part of Billie Joe, she knew, that hoped she'd stay somewhere closer.

She hadn't put just walked back from washing her face in cold water when there was a familiar creak of her bedroom window. The short, now dread-locked punk rocker climbed through the window and plopped down cross-legged on her bed. She smiled.

"By all means, make yourself at home," she teased.

"Really?" he asked. "Well in that case I think I'll go downstairs and grab a soda," he said playfully, getting up and walking past her to the door. "You want anything?" he asked, grabbing the doorknob.

Adie stood back and crossed her arms.

"You wouldn't dare, Funnyman."

Billie Joe smirked. He turned the doorknob and started pulling just as Adrienne lunged forward and pushed it all the way closed.

"Jerk," she muttered as he wrapped his arms around her playfully. He kissed her lightly and she walked over to her desk where she had a half-written essay laying out, begging to be finished.

"'Fraid I may not be very entertaining tonight," she said as she took a seat. "I've got to finish this essay. I procrastinated... again," she said, with a small laugh.

"Hey, procrastinating is still more than I did," Billie joked, pulling off his jacket and walking over to Adie's bulletin board. It amazed him how organized and planned out Adie's room was. He always found things like her overly-full calendar and the way she periodically changed out pictures in her frames interesting. He started reading the filled-in squares on her calendar while she tapped her pencil to her lip in thought.

"What do you think, is the imagery in To Kill a Mockingbird a contributing factor to the overall theme, or should I just forget it," she said, almost obnoxiously, knowing Billie's answer before he ever spoke it.

"Dunno, never read it," he mumbled, flipping through the calendar to the next month. He stumbled on an interested date. "What's 'MU Appointment, 2:00'?" he asked, not looking away from the calendar.

Adie turned around immediately.

"What?"

"It says right here. MU Appointment. What's MU?" he asked, half expecting the answer. Adie swallowed slowly before she answered.

"Well way to ruin the surprise, " she said, trying to joke. "It's Minnesota University. I just decided today," she said, smiling. Billie Joe smiled back, genuinely happy for her. While he hated to think of her moving to another state, he knew education was far more important to her than it was him, and this was the first step she was taking towards her bigger dreams.

"Well congrats then," he said still smiling at her. He walked over to her bed and lay down, putting his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, I was actually talking to my parents about it, just before you came over," she started, getting up and joining him on the bed. She went next to him and pulled one of his arms from behind his head to wrap around her shoulders.

"Oh yeah?" he asked, curious.

"Yeah... they're really excited too. For me, you know. And... just... ya know," she rambled on.

She knew this wasn't the proper way to do this, but, to be honest, she had no idea how she was going to tell him her crazy parents were following her to Minnesota to make sure she didn't do anything stupid with this crazy Billie Joe kid.

"Ya know?" Billie asked, peering down at her curiously.

"Well, there was this big ordeal about them moving to Minnesota when I go..." she trailed off again. This time, Billie Joe sat up.

"Wait, what? They're following you to college? What the fuck?" Adie sat up next to him.

"Look, I'm not happy about it either, it's just something that sucks, I guess," she said, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"80, this more than sucks. This blows," he said, looking down to the floor. "I can't believe you're not even going to be able to shake them off in college."

Adie frowned.

"Well, it won't be too different from what we do now..." She said it, but she knew how little her heart was in it. She was just as upset as Billie Joe, if not more. But she also knew there was no stopping her parents and it wasn't worth dwelling on.

"Yeah, 'cuz what we're doing now is the life," he said sarcastically.

"Well, if it's that bad, no one's forcing you to stay," Adie replied icily.

"That's not what I said. But seriously, Adie, when are you going to just tell your parents to fuck off for once?"

Adie rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Billie, I'm sure that would go over well. You've fucking met them. You know what they're like. This is set in stone. Nothing's changing their minds. Especially not me telling them to 'fuck off.'"

"Well, 80, it's just that every decision you make, somehow your parents are in on it, one way or another."

Adrienne got more defensive now.

"Look, Billie, this decision was hard enough. I can't help how it turned out. You wanted me to stay in California so bad, every time I mentioned an out-of-state school you pouted like a baby- and don't pretend you didn't!"

"Yeah, but you obviously catered to your parents and their wishes anyway," he said, almost regretting it when he said it.

"Catered, yes Billie, that's what I did for them. Just leave if you're going to be so one-sided about this," Adie said and walked back over to her desk where she picked up her pencil. She didn't even begin to start writing again though. Especially not after she heard her window creak back open and shut again. She blinked rapidly before she turned to see if he had gone, and he had.

Adie slumped in her chair, confused as to what his leaving meant. This just wasn't fair. And she felt like such a child to even admit that phrase. But it was just torture.

The only thing she could think to do was grab her jacket- Billie's jacket to be exact- throw on her chucks, and climb out her window.