Forgotten

I glanced over at the clock beside me. 7:00 am. I couldn't sleep anymore. I carefully got out of the bed so I wouldn't wake up Billie and crept over to the kitchen, intent on getting a nice glass of water. I didn't bother grabbing those damned crutches. What was the point? They weren't of any help anyway.

As I stood in the doorway of the kitchen, I looked back at Billie's sleeping form. He looked more peaceful than I would have expected him to. His jet black hair fell lightly over his eyelids, hiding his stunning green eyes from view. He rolled over and pulled the blankets upwards, searching for more warmth. I smiled at how cute he looked, then walked into the other room.

The kitchen had a small table with two chairs set around it, a couch off to the side, a mini fridge, a mini-bar (of course), and a few cupboards. It reminded me of the breakfast rooms in smaller hotels, but it was exclusive to this room. I walked over to the sink and found some styrofoam cups next to it. I unwrapped one of the cups and filled it with cold water. I drank the liquid greedily, wanting more when it was gone. I filled the cup again, but drank slower this time.

I moved to go sit on the couch, and grabbed the tv remote from the table. I turned the tv on and the volume way down, I didn't want to wake Billie. I flipped through the channels, nothing really catching my eye. I finally got sick of that and just shut the tv off. I laid down on the couch, stretching myself out. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. So much had happened in so little time, it was hard for me to take it all in.

I supposed I should call Lexi's parents, get that taken care of. I couldn't do it right now, though. The hotel room phone was beside the bed and if I used it, I would wake the person sleeping next to it. I didn't know where Billie's cell phone was, and even if I did, it would have been rude to use it without asking.

I settled for looking around the kitchen for something to do. I didn't really see anything of interest, but then I saw it. A guitar case. I knew I shouldn't open it, it wasn't mine. But I was curious...so curious. I looked out the doorway, making sure Billie was still asleep. I wouldn't want to be caught looking at something that wasn't mine. For a moment, I reconsidered just going back to the couch and watching television again, but curiosity killed the cat.

I lifted the guitar out of it's case very carefully, not wanting to risk damaging it in any way. I sighed in relief when I realized it wasn't Blue. I would be much too afraid to touch his first guitar, especially without his permission. It looked like it was just another guitar that he used for playing when they weren't in full rehearsal.

The body was a deep onyx color, with a cutaway to get at the higher frets. The fingerboard was a delicate looking rosewood, with mother-of-pearl inlay in the shape of dots. The headstock was the same onyx as the body. The guitar brand was one I hadn't seen before, but sounded like it was a great guitar company. It was a very beautiful acoustic guitar.

I had to play it. I had thought that I could just look at it, but that plan had failed. I lightly strummed the strings with my fingers, not bothering to hold down a chord. The strings felt new, like they had been put on within a couple weeks or just hadn't been played much. The guitar was perfectly in tune, as far as I could tell. I'd learned to tune by ear when it became too much of a hassle to constantly have to find my tuner.

I held down a G chord and began playing a familiar melody. At the time, I didn't even realize what I was playing, just doing what felt right. I sat there, absorbed in my song for I don't know how long, until I heard someone behind me. I didn't realize anyone was there at first, until said person coughed.

I looked up, startled, and found Billie Joe standing in the doorway, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry! I just, well, I got really bored and I haven't played in so long and it's such a beautiful guitar, I couldn't resist! I'm so, so sorry!" I apologized in a rush. I hoped he understood what I said, it came out quite fast due to my extreme embarrassment. I thought I'd been playing quietly!

"Hey, don't worry about it. You're pretty good. I'm a little surprised at the song choice, though." He smiled.

"Really? What was I playing?" I asked. I honestly wasn't sure what song I had been playing. I lost myself in the music, forgetting everything around me like always.

He looked at me like I had just said something incredibly stupid. "You don't know what song you were playing?" I shook my head no and gave him a curious look. He motioned for me to give him the guitar. I handed it over to him reluctantly. I knew it was his but I didn't want to give it up just yet.

He closed his eyes and started playing Good Riddance. As I watched him, it was just like at the concert, only a thousand times better. He sang the words until after the first chorus, then stopped and looked at me.

"That's what I was playing?" I asked, feeling the heat rise up in my cheeks. Why did it have to be one of his songs? I'm sure I sounded stupid playing it, especially next to him.

"Yeah, you were doing great until you saw me, too. I don't think you missed one note. You must have practiced that song a lot." He smiled.

"I guess. In middle school I had some extra time, so I took a guitar class. She didn't teach us much, just had us play the same easy songs over and over. I eventually got sick of playing the same stuff and started learning on my own, teaching myself everything I could. Pretty soon I was the best in the class. Ever since then, I've been learning all my favorite songs on guitar. I've known this one for a while. It wasn't hard to figure out, just simple arpeggios on common chords." I explained. He probably didn't need to know about how I'd learned to play, but this had brought memories flooding back. The feelings of nostalgia were too much.

"So do you know any more of our songs?" he asked, curiosity written all over his features.

"Yeah, actually. I know a lot of them. Once you get the hang of power chords and barre chords, they're usually pretty simple. Even "Jesus of Suburbia"." I laughed a little. That song was insane...nine minutes long!

"Yeah, they're not usually too difficult." For whatever reason, I felt a little embarrassed that he knew that I could play almost all of his songs.

"I think both of us are probably in need of a shower. You can go first if you like. I need to talk to Mike and Tre about something. When we're all dressed and good-smelling, you can go ahead and give your friend's parents a call and I'll let them know what's going on."

I nodded in agreement and made my way over to the bathroom as he headed towards the main door to go speak with his friends.

The bathroom was much larger than most hotels. There was actually space to move around and it wasn't as congested as I had expected. The shower looked extremely inviting, and I craved it's heat. I turned the knob, trying to find the perfect temperature. While I waited for the water to heat up, I laid out a towel and quickly undressed. I grabbed the small complimentary bottles of shampoo and conditioner from the counter and stepped in the shower, reveling in the feeling of the hot water washing over my skin. I did all the things one does in the shower and finally shut off the water, wringing out my hair.

I stepped out of the tub and grabbed my towel, getting the excess water out of my hair first, then drying the rest of my body. I wrapped my towel around my body, it was just barely long enough to cover everything. I pressed my ear against the door, listening for Billie or anyone else. I didn't hear anything. Opening the door a crack, I looked around the room, not seeing anyone.

I wondered what I should wear...did I put on the clothes I had slept in or the clothes I had worn to the concert? The clothes I had worn to the concert would probably be all sweaty and gross from jumping around so much, but Billie probably wanted his boxers and tshirt back. I decided on the concert clothes. I would just go out there and grab them quick, bring them back to the bathroom, and change in here. If they smelled too gross, I'd just steal Billie's clothes and tell him to deal with it until they left for Minnesota, at which point I would change into my other clothes.

I crept out into the other room, searching for my clothes. I found them laying in a corner, not as wrinkled as I'd expected them to be. I walked back to the bathroom, shut the door, and changed into my attire from last night.

***

By the time I got done changing, I realized that I didn't have any way to comb my hair. One of these guys had to have some sort of comb that I could steal.....My best guess was Tre. His hair always looked styled, so he must have some sort of object that he used to style it. Unless he just used gel...well, it couldn't hurt to try, I supposed. I opened the bathroom door and walked out through the main room and into the hallway. I stepped in front of the room that was right next to Billie's, room 715. This was Tre's room. I knocked twice and stood back, hoping he was in there.

I stood there for a few minutes until Tre opened the door.

"Yes, m'lady? What can I do for you on this fine morning?" I could see Mike and Billie sitting on Tre's bed in the background.

"Um...well, I need to comb my hair or it'll be a disaster."

Tre scoffed at me. "And you think I would have one?"

"Yes. I do. So do you or not?" He smiled at me.

"That I do. Tre is always prepared. Come on in." He opened the door wider to let me in.

Tre's room looked much the same as Billie's, except here there were clothes and other random items strewn around the floor.

"Good morning, Shelbie. DId you sleep well?" Mike asked as Tre disappeared into the bathroom.

"Yeah, I slept fine. Billie is a bit of a blanket hog, but other than that I slept amazing." I smiled at Mike. He was a genuinely good person. His smile turned to a frown.

"What do you mean, Billie is a blanket hog? Did he take the blanket from the bed over to the couch with him?" Mike frowned at me. What was that for? It was just a simple statement.

"He didn't sleep on the couch." What was the big deal? I was confused.

"He made you sleep on the couch?" Mike asked. Billie was just sitting next to Mike on the bed, until he spoke up.

"No, I didn't, Mikey. We both slept in the bed, since the couch didn't look very comfortable."

"Yeah, but Beej, you're married. To Adrienne. And you have kids. What the hell were you thinking?" Mike stared.

"I know! Nothing happened! I wouldn't cheat on my wife, Mike." Billie looked kind of pissed that his best friend would assume something like that about him.

"I realize that, but would Adrienne? If all she knew was that you were sleeping in the same bed as a girl you'd just met, what do you think she'd say? Hmm?" I'd always thought Mike to be the rational one, he seemed the most grown up.

"I-I don't know. I guess she'd assume the wrong thing. But I'd never cheat on her, especially not with some fan who I'd just met!" He shouted.

I could feel tears forming in my eyes but I pushed them back. I didn't have anything to cry about, he was just telling the truth. I was just another fan, just a very clumsy one.

Just then, Tre walked back into the room.

"Hey, I've got your- woah, what happened in here? You could cut the tension with a butter knife!"

"Nothing. You said you found the comb?" I said, trying to change the subject. Mike and Billie could argue later.

"Uh...yeah, I did. Here." Tre handed me the comb. I quickly took it through each section of my hair, getting all the knots and tangles out as best as I could while everyone else sat in silence. When I finished, I handed Tre the comb back and just stood there.

Billie coughed. "So, uh, do you wanna call your friend's parents now? I can talk to them quick, so they don't think you're lying."

"Yeah, I suppose." I thought it was kind of stupid that my parents wanted me to stay a friend's house while they were gone. I was 20 years old, perfectly capable of taking care of myself for a week. But whatever makes them happy. I picked up the hotel room phone and quickly dialed the number I knew so well. The phone rang a couple times, then Lexi's dad answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi. It's Shelbie."

"Hey there Shelbie. Should I go wake Lexi? It's kind of early for you of all people to be up." He commented. I always liked to sleep late, but I got over that once I started college.

"No, that's okay. It's actually you I wanted to talk to." I bit my lip. How was I supposed to go about this?

"Oh, okay. What did you need?"

"You know how I'm supposed to come over to your house later this afternoon?"

"Of course. Is there a problem with that?" he asked.

"Um...kind of. See last night after the concert, I guess I somehow lost Kathryn and Christen in the crowd or something. I went out to the car to find them, but the car was gone. My cell phone died, too. So, yeah. I think they left without me...." It was mostly true. I didn't exactly lose them, they just weren't where I'd expected them to be.

"Really? Oh no. So you're in Fargo all alone?" I could hear the worry in his voice.

"Not exactly. See, after I looked everywhere for them, I somehow ran into Billie Joe Armstrong, you know who he is." I decided to leave out the part where I sprained my ankle. He didn't need to know that...

He started laughing. "Oh, really? And what did Mr. Armstrong say?" He said in a voice like he didn't believe me, like I was making it up, like it was a joke! Then again, there's a chance I would say something like that, just to be stupid. But I wasn't kidding, not now.

"No, I really ran into him. He's sitting next to me right now. The point is that I'm still in Fargo. I just thought you might want to know."

"Shelbie, really, I doubt Kathryn and Christen would forget you in Fargo. They would've noticed you missing!" Yeah, you would think so. Apparently not.

"I know, I know, it sounds unlikely," Billie motioned for me to hand him the phone. I did. "Hold on."

"Hey there, this is Billie Joe. I think we have a little problem." he said. I couldn't hear Lexi's dad's reply, only what Billie was saying.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry about it. We've got it covered." A pause.

"Yep, we'll take care of everything. Don't worry about a thing." Another pause.

"Of course. I've got to ask her something, but I'll have her call you later." Finally, he hung up the phone.

"What was that all about? What's going on?" I demanded. I could guess that I was the "her" he was talking about.

"What are you doing the rest of the summer?" Billie asked me. I looked at him suspiciously...

"Nothing much...just the usual. Going to the river, hanging out with friends, you know. Why?" This couldn't be good, not with the smirk on not only Billie's face, but Mike's and Tre's as well.

The question they asked me next surprised me to no end.

***End Chapter 7 - Basket Case***

Ahhhh....I'm sure some of you can guess what's gonna happen next....especially the people I discussed this with......don't be mad? Ahhh next chapter is gonna be awkward to write...dammit.....