A Mass Hysteria In The Modern World

[Alyssa's POV]

A few hours later, Martena left with Alice and I started on dinner while the kids were upstairs with Billie. Though I heard him come down the steps and into the kitchen.

"What's for dinner?" He asked with his arms around my waist. I turned the heat of the stove down then turned to face him.

"It's a surprise," I smiled. He put his hands up my shirt, threatening to tickle the truth out of me. "You better not."

With wearing a low-cut shirt, he pecked small kisses all over my neck and upper chest. I laughed, trying to push him off of me. He eventually gave up.

"Well, do you need any help?"

"I'll be fine. Go write a song or something."

"Okay, give me a subject."

"Hmm..." I paused. "You already have everything: romantic, happy, perverted, angry, confused..."

"Nevermind," he sighed, grabbing a can of coke from the fridge.

"Write about me."

Billie turned and smiled.

"That'll be easy," he said, kissing the side of my face.

------------------

Billie woke up suddenly to the loud clatter of Tre and Mike most likely fighting over the T.V. remote. He then turned to his left and saw that it was 11:30AM on May 9th, 2004. Billie's mind began to race, he didn't know how he could have backtracked sixteen years in the blink of an eye. He heard either Mike or Tre's footsteps coming upstairs as he grabbed his phone.

"Hey, wake up!" Mike called out, coming into the room. "Oh. You're already up." Billie didn't speak. "Are you okay? You're about to miss your favorite show-"

"Mike," Billie spoke suddenly. "Am I dreaming?"

Mike looked at him confused. "What are you talking about? You've been sleeping since 5pm yesterday. You came home from the studio and just... passed out. Tre and I thought you were sick or something."

"I've... I've been sleeping?" Billie didn't know what was going on. Mike nodded.

"What's going on?"

"I just had this dream and-" He realized that everything that happened in his 'dream' before he went out for the walk where he had met the girl, Alyssa, was happening in the exact same order.

"Tell me about it later, you seem really confused," Mike said before leaving the room.

Billie had already dreamed this. He would wake up and Mike came in talking about their favorite show and he'd go downstairs, watch the show and eventually get bored with it before heading out to walk around Berkeley. He would see a Dippin Dots and drop some loose change on the ground where he'd go to pick it up and then run into the most beautiful girl he'd seen in his life. He knew that he would be getting over his ex-fiancee, Adrienne, after he met Alyssa.

I'll just go on and not rush anything. Billie thought. I have to meet her.

Billie got up and went downstairs to meet his friends.

Minute by minute, everything was happening the same way. Tre and Mike would make the same movements, Billie would look a certain direction like he did in the dream, etc. Before he knew it, he had gotten bored and he knew that this was his chance to go out and find the girl of his dreams.

"I'll be back," he said and quickly went upstairs to change.

"Where are you going?" Tre asked as Billie opened the door.

"I'm going to make my dream come true."

With that, Billie left.

He soon found himself staring at the ground listening to the same 'tap, tap, tap' sound that his shoes would make when they hit the cement. He was going down the same street and he found the same Dippin' Dots stand. He started to take out his change and he knew this was it. He'd be looking up to see the girl in the Operation Ivy shirt. He dropped the same piece of change: a quarter. He grabbed it and turned around and it happened.

[Billie's POV]

"I'm so sorry," I said as I helped her pick up her things. I tried to remember the things her and I said to each other. I wanted everything to happen the same way.

"Nah, it's alright. It happens all the time," she laughed and crouched on her knees while putting some of the stuff into her purse. When she had looked up at me, I felt like crying. It was really her. She looked the exact same. Her hair up in a ponytail, her bangs in her face.

"I know you," she smiled. I almost smiled myself at how she really was in person.

"Really?" I asked, sounding ridiculous but knowing that I had to say it.

"Yeah, you're Billie," she said staring into my eyes that were hidden from the sunglasses, then blinked. "Joe." I laughed then handed her books back to her and I began walking with her to wherever she was going. I still had no idea where she was heading. "I'm- I've been a big fan for about two or three years now." I smiled. "You're really good. Don't worry though, I'm not going to attack you."

"Thank you." I paused. "Have you been to any shows?"

"Just two," she said and bit her lip. "I was on the floor the first time but I got seats the second time."

"Why's that?"

"I was being pushed around too much and got beer spilled all over me."

I laughed. "That's the best part!" She sort of smiled. "Oh, come on. You know you had fun." She smiled even more.

"You're right." She sounded a bit nervous. "So, where are you heading?" I didn't know where exactly I was going, I just knew that I was following her. But I couldn't tell her that. Imagine just how weird that would be. I'd have to explain everything. "Same with me. I have nowhere to go."

I looked at her, and she was still staring at her feet. I stopped and grabbed her arm, stopping her too. I felt a bit pushy, grabbing her arm like that. But I pulled her to the side of one of the buildings we were walking past.

"Would you like to go get a cup of coffee?" I asked her.

That's where everything seemed to start rolling, like a film. From that moment on, I knew that everything was going to be the same. I knew just how hard we'd fall for each other, I knew what kids we would have and all the troubles we'd go through. I just knew everything.

[Two years and four months later. - No one's POV]

"You may kiss the bride." The pastor said and Billie kissed his new wife. Everything had gone as it had in his dream. It was now September of 2006 and he couldn't have been happier. The two will be in for a wild ride: dealing with their daughter using drugs and going missing, losing a child or two, being apart for a year, etc. But Billie knew what was to come and he knew that he wanted to go through it all in reality, he was prepared. Alyssa on the other hand had no clue as to what was ahead of her. But they were in love and nothing could get in the way of that.