Charisma
Seventeen.
"You thought she was but she actually wasn't?" Mike asked, setting his bass down on its stand.
"Yep."
"And then she yelled at you and you haven't spoken to her since?"
"That's right."
Two days and two failed attempts at band practices later, Mike and I were sitting in my room feeling pretty helpless. Well, I was anyway. I had managed to hit an ultimate all time low. I missed Charisma. Granted, it had only been a mere two days, but it's not like we left things on a good note. I tried calling her, or even seeing her at work, but she'd either ignore the calls or disappear into the back room.
"What exactly was it you took?" He leaned his back against my wall and crossed his legs as I was sprawled out next to him.
"Cocaine." I could almost hear his jaw hit my bed.
"Coke, man? How'd you take it? No, no, where'd you score it?" He didn't take a breath between his questions and I rolled over onto my back.
"Yes, coke. Snorted it. Melissa."
As I stared at the bumps on my ceiling I couldn't help but think of Charisma, and how she'd react if she knew that my ex-girlfriend was the person who dealt me the cocaine.
"Your fuckin' ex?" Mike asked incredulously; looking down at me like I was mad.
I snorted. "Yeah, I know, right? Once I tell Charisma that," Mike furrowed his eyebrows at me. "I have to, dude. But, once I tell her, Melissa better fucking watch out. At Gilman this one time, I fuckin' saw her there yelling at her and it was so hot, dude. I could see Charisma wanting to throw a punch but Tim came and saved the day."
Mike laughed at my story and I felt a smile spread across my face.
"Nice, man. You did good on this one. She's quite the looker." I felt Mike slap my arm and I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, but I might as well forget it. I've messed up big time and I don't even know what to do. I wish there was somebody I could talk to."
As if it hit us at the same time, Mike and I looked at each other as I sat up.
"Her dad!" Mike exclaimed; smiling that he thought of that.
"Yeah, yeah! I'm going to go talk to him, are you good?" I hurried off my bed and felt my front pocket for my car keys.
"Yeah, Beej. You go talk to him!" He pointed toward the door and I smiled weakly before turning for my door.
* * *
As I pulled into their driveway I felt a little relieved to see that Charisma's car was gone. Since their driveway was circular, I parked a little ways from the stairs. Pulling the keys out of the ignition and opening my door, I ran a nervous hand through my hair. Hopefully I was still on Joe's good side and he wasn't going to punch me in the face for being so stupid.
I took the steps two at a time and rang the doorbell twice. Waiting for somebody to answer the door was nerve racking and I didn't feel any better when Maya slowly came into view.
"Billie Joe? Uh, Charisma isn't here." She smiled halfheartedly and I ran a hand through my hair.
"I know, I'm actually here to see your dad. Can I come in?" She silently moved to the side and I chuckled at how stunned she was.
"Uh, go ahead and make yourself comfortable in the living room, I'll go fetch my dad." She appeared at my side after shutting the door and pointed to her left before going off to the right.
I was too anxious to sit down and I noticed framed pictures on top of the fire place. I walked closer to examine them and chuckled at one of Charisma. She looked around five and held a clear jar that had some sort of liquid in it that was labeled 'pee' and she had a disgusted face while giving a thumbs down.
"Billie, hello." I heard Joe's voice come from behind me and I whirled around in surprise and he laughed lightly at my shock.
Seeing him only for the second time felt like meeting him all over again. I blinked hard once and realized that I was indeed standing only feet away from the great Joe Strummer.
"Hi, sir, I need to talk to you about your daughter, if you have the time." I smiled and Joe chuckled at my nervousness.
"I'd be glad to speak with you, Billie. We can go to my office," I nodded and walked around the couch to meet him as he turned to Maya. "Don't you follow, Missy. I know you'd like to hear this."
I cracked a smile as I watched Maya's mouth fall open. She seemed to be shocked by his warning but scoffed nonetheless.
"Oh, please. Like I care what he has to say to you." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.
"I think you do," He turned to me and smiled. "Now, lets get down to business."
"Alright." I nodded and followed him out of the living room.
Joe's office turned out to be rather professional for a guy like him. He had a desk with two chairs facing it, with a book shelf behind and bunch of vinyl's hanging on the wall. I noticed his infamous Telecaster and gaped at the guitar.
"Wow, Joe, I love your guitar." I walked over to it and lightly ran my fingers over the strings.
"Oh, yes, thank you. That guitar has seen some wild times and I'm leaving it to Charisma when I die." I turned around at the mention of her name and Joe seemed to take notice of the sadness that crossed my features when he spoke.
"Does she know?"
"No, and I don't want her to. It will be a great surprise, I don't even let her touch it now. It means too much to me and so does she."
"She means a great deal to me as well, and that's why I'm here." I walked around his desk and took a seat in one of the chairs.
"I figured. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" I smiled at the fact he sounded much like a therapist.
"Well, I'm a real jackass, okay? You need to understand that right now. I fuck up at times where it makes people take a second thought as to if I even have a brain," Joe chuckled at my explanation. "I fucking adore your daughter, and I consider myself lucky to even have met her."
"She's told me that she's glad she's met you."
"I don't know about that anymore." I mumbled, causing Joe to raise an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, that's why I'm here. I accused Charisma of cheating and we fought and everything is just really fucked right now. I know I shouldn't of accused her of cheating, she's in a band and she's doing what she loves and I know she wouldn't cheat, but I was coming down from snorting cocaine and I was really irritable and I just snapped."
I slowly looked up at Joe, afraid that he would be ready to yell, but when my eyes locked with his, he seemed surprisingly calm.
"You've got a lot of balls to come in here and tell this straight to my face. I appreciate the honestly, Billie, and if you're expecting me to yell, well, sorry but I'm not gonna. I understand that relationships are hard and it is rather difficult since Charisma is in a band with three other boys. You're going to have to trust her and I can tell you first hand that you can. Now, I advise you to talk to her."
"I've been trying to call but she only ignores my calls and when I go to see her at work she ducks into the back room." I frowned; the urge to see her was buillding up.
"How long has it been since you've talked?"
"Two days."
"Oh, you'll be hearing from her soon. She may be angry, but she's my daughter and I know she'll be giving in soon." He smirked and I felt myself smile.
"Well thanks for talking to me, Joe."
"It's my pleasure. But, listen, she'll be getting home soon, why don't you hang around until then? That way she can't ignore you and I've got your back. I know she's crazy about you."
"Well, there is something else I wanted to ask you." I smiled.
"Anything."
"Could you tell me some stories about Charisma?"
* * *
[Charisma's Point Of View]
After arriving home from Trevor's, I walked into the kitchen and hopped onto one of stools at the island. I was feeling pretty crummy lately but had managed to pull it together for today's practice. We had material that we needed to practice for our first gig at Gilman's in a few days.
I laid my head in my hands and contemplated the question that's been haunting me: Should I call Billie?
I sat back up straight and reached into my pocket to fish out my cell phone. I dialed his number and as soon as I held it against my ear, Brookelle came skipping into the kitchen.
"Hey, Charisma."
"Shut up." I hissed; listening to the ringing on the other end.
Brookelle stuck her tongue out and opened up the pantry. I finally got to Billie's voice mail and waited for the beep.
"Uh, hi, Billie...I don't really know what to say past that part. Uh, I know I've been ignoring you lately...but...I uh..I guess I've been quite unfair to you," Brookelle grabbed a bag of my cookies and held them out to me. "Have as my as you want, Brookelle, I don't care! God, you're just gonna get fat anyway. But, uh, yes, Billie, call me, okay? I miss you."
I hung up the phone and placed it in front of me on the island. I twirled it in circles with my hands while Brookelle put the cookies back and looked at me with a sly look on her face.
"Why are you calling Billie?"
"None of your business." I snapped; looking up at her.
She stuck her hands up in the air. "Gee, sorry, I was just wondering why you'd call somebody who was over."
I watched as my cell phone spun off the counter.
"Yep."
"And then she yelled at you and you haven't spoken to her since?"
"That's right."
Two days and two failed attempts at band practices later, Mike and I were sitting in my room feeling pretty helpless. Well, I was anyway. I had managed to hit an ultimate all time low. I missed Charisma. Granted, it had only been a mere two days, but it's not like we left things on a good note. I tried calling her, or even seeing her at work, but she'd either ignore the calls or disappear into the back room.
"What exactly was it you took?" He leaned his back against my wall and crossed his legs as I was sprawled out next to him.
"Cocaine." I could almost hear his jaw hit my bed.
"Coke, man? How'd you take it? No, no, where'd you score it?" He didn't take a breath between his questions and I rolled over onto my back.
"Yes, coke. Snorted it. Melissa."
As I stared at the bumps on my ceiling I couldn't help but think of Charisma, and how she'd react if she knew that my ex-girlfriend was the person who dealt me the cocaine.
"Your fuckin' ex?" Mike asked incredulously; looking down at me like I was mad.
I snorted. "Yeah, I know, right? Once I tell Charisma that," Mike furrowed his eyebrows at me. "I have to, dude. But, once I tell her, Melissa better fucking watch out. At Gilman this one time, I fuckin' saw her there yelling at her and it was so hot, dude. I could see Charisma wanting to throw a punch but Tim came and saved the day."
Mike laughed at my story and I felt a smile spread across my face.
"Nice, man. You did good on this one. She's quite the looker." I felt Mike slap my arm and I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, but I might as well forget it. I've messed up big time and I don't even know what to do. I wish there was somebody I could talk to."
As if it hit us at the same time, Mike and I looked at each other as I sat up.
"Her dad!" Mike exclaimed; smiling that he thought of that.
"Yeah, yeah! I'm going to go talk to him, are you good?" I hurried off my bed and felt my front pocket for my car keys.
"Yeah, Beej. You go talk to him!" He pointed toward the door and I smiled weakly before turning for my door.
* * *
As I pulled into their driveway I felt a little relieved to see that Charisma's car was gone. Since their driveway was circular, I parked a little ways from the stairs. Pulling the keys out of the ignition and opening my door, I ran a nervous hand through my hair. Hopefully I was still on Joe's good side and he wasn't going to punch me in the face for being so stupid.
I took the steps two at a time and rang the doorbell twice. Waiting for somebody to answer the door was nerve racking and I didn't feel any better when Maya slowly came into view.
"Billie Joe? Uh, Charisma isn't here." She smiled halfheartedly and I ran a hand through my hair.
"I know, I'm actually here to see your dad. Can I come in?" She silently moved to the side and I chuckled at how stunned she was.
"Uh, go ahead and make yourself comfortable in the living room, I'll go fetch my dad." She appeared at my side after shutting the door and pointed to her left before going off to the right.
I was too anxious to sit down and I noticed framed pictures on top of the fire place. I walked closer to examine them and chuckled at one of Charisma. She looked around five and held a clear jar that had some sort of liquid in it that was labeled 'pee' and she had a disgusted face while giving a thumbs down.
"Billie, hello." I heard Joe's voice come from behind me and I whirled around in surprise and he laughed lightly at my shock.
Seeing him only for the second time felt like meeting him all over again. I blinked hard once and realized that I was indeed standing only feet away from the great Joe Strummer.
"Hi, sir, I need to talk to you about your daughter, if you have the time." I smiled and Joe chuckled at my nervousness.
"I'd be glad to speak with you, Billie. We can go to my office," I nodded and walked around the couch to meet him as he turned to Maya. "Don't you follow, Missy. I know you'd like to hear this."
I cracked a smile as I watched Maya's mouth fall open. She seemed to be shocked by his warning but scoffed nonetheless.
"Oh, please. Like I care what he has to say to you." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.
"I think you do," He turned to me and smiled. "Now, lets get down to business."
"Alright." I nodded and followed him out of the living room.
Joe's office turned out to be rather professional for a guy like him. He had a desk with two chairs facing it, with a book shelf behind and bunch of vinyl's hanging on the wall. I noticed his infamous Telecaster and gaped at the guitar.
"Wow, Joe, I love your guitar." I walked over to it and lightly ran my fingers over the strings.
"Oh, yes, thank you. That guitar has seen some wild times and I'm leaving it to Charisma when I die." I turned around at the mention of her name and Joe seemed to take notice of the sadness that crossed my features when he spoke.
"Does she know?"
"No, and I don't want her to. It will be a great surprise, I don't even let her touch it now. It means too much to me and so does she."
"She means a great deal to me as well, and that's why I'm here." I walked around his desk and took a seat in one of the chairs.
"I figured. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" I smiled at the fact he sounded much like a therapist.
"Well, I'm a real jackass, okay? You need to understand that right now. I fuck up at times where it makes people take a second thought as to if I even have a brain," Joe chuckled at my explanation. "I fucking adore your daughter, and I consider myself lucky to even have met her."
"She's told me that she's glad she's met you."
"I don't know about that anymore." I mumbled, causing Joe to raise an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, that's why I'm here. I accused Charisma of cheating and we fought and everything is just really fucked right now. I know I shouldn't of accused her of cheating, she's in a band and she's doing what she loves and I know she wouldn't cheat, but I was coming down from snorting cocaine and I was really irritable and I just snapped."
I slowly looked up at Joe, afraid that he would be ready to yell, but when my eyes locked with his, he seemed surprisingly calm.
"You've got a lot of balls to come in here and tell this straight to my face. I appreciate the honestly, Billie, and if you're expecting me to yell, well, sorry but I'm not gonna. I understand that relationships are hard and it is rather difficult since Charisma is in a band with three other boys. You're going to have to trust her and I can tell you first hand that you can. Now, I advise you to talk to her."
"I've been trying to call but she only ignores my calls and when I go to see her at work she ducks into the back room." I frowned; the urge to see her was buillding up.
"How long has it been since you've talked?"
"Two days."
"Oh, you'll be hearing from her soon. She may be angry, but she's my daughter and I know she'll be giving in soon." He smirked and I felt myself smile.
"Well thanks for talking to me, Joe."
"It's my pleasure. But, listen, she'll be getting home soon, why don't you hang around until then? That way she can't ignore you and I've got your back. I know she's crazy about you."
"Well, there is something else I wanted to ask you." I smiled.
"Anything."
"Could you tell me some stories about Charisma?"
* * *
[Charisma's Point Of View]
After arriving home from Trevor's, I walked into the kitchen and hopped onto one of stools at the island. I was feeling pretty crummy lately but had managed to pull it together for today's practice. We had material that we needed to practice for our first gig at Gilman's in a few days.
I laid my head in my hands and contemplated the question that's been haunting me: Should I call Billie?
I sat back up straight and reached into my pocket to fish out my cell phone. I dialed his number and as soon as I held it against my ear, Brookelle came skipping into the kitchen.
"Hey, Charisma."
"Shut up." I hissed; listening to the ringing on the other end.
Brookelle stuck her tongue out and opened up the pantry. I finally got to Billie's voice mail and waited for the beep.
"Uh, hi, Billie...I don't really know what to say past that part. Uh, I know I've been ignoring you lately...but...I uh..I guess I've been quite unfair to you," Brookelle grabbed a bag of my cookies and held them out to me. "Have as my as you want, Brookelle, I don't care! God, you're just gonna get fat anyway. But, uh, yes, Billie, call me, okay? I miss you."
I hung up the phone and placed it in front of me on the island. I twirled it in circles with my hands while Brookelle put the cookies back and looked at me with a sly look on her face.
"Why are you calling Billie?"
"None of your business." I snapped; looking up at her.
She stuck her hands up in the air. "Gee, sorry, I was just wondering why you'd call somebody who was over."
I watched as my cell phone spun off the counter.
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:)