Joey's Depression

***

"What do you mean, 'Oh. '?!" John exclaimed.
"I mean, 'Oh okay, you can kill me now," Tre explained.
"I don't know about you, but that kiss sorta just, you know, killed the mood," John told him.
"Yeah, I know what you're talking about," Tre nodded, starting to back off into his ward.
"Okay, so... See ya 'round," John finished, turning around and scurrying out of the building.
"Weird," Tre thought to himself, before climbing back into his bed.
"Excuse me," A young adult's voice said. Tre looked up- it was the guy John was harassing earlier. "Sorry to disturb you, but I just wanna say thanks for how you saved me from that guy."
"No probs," Tre smiled, "I'm Tre, what's your name?"
"Antonio. But hey, call me Tony, please," The guy smiled.
"Hi Tony," Tre grinned.
"Hey Tre," Tony laughed, "So why are you in here?"
"Cancer tumour, you?" Tre sighed.
"Severe concussion. Cancer tumour, eh? Must be hard to get by. How are your folks coping?" Tony questioned, placing himself down on a chair near Tre's bed.

"Sometimes I wonder if they even care anymore," Tre sighed, an image of Billie coming to mind.
"I know how you feel," Tony nodded, "I miss Shaun so much."
"Shaun? Who's Shaun?"
"Just someone. An old friend."
"What happened to him?"
"That's what I want to know. If I knew, I wouldn't be here. And as soon as I do find out, I'm off."
"That desperate, hey?"
"Uh huh. I hate this place. 2 months and nothing but victimisation."
"2 months? How bad was the blow?"
Tony's eyes widened, a smirk appearing on his face.
"I meant the concussion blow."
"Oh, yeah. Not too bad, but it's just they don't think I'm 'stable' enough."
"What do you mean 'stable'?"
"They all think I'm crazy. Even since THE incident."
"What incident?"

***

"We need to tell him about Michelle," Joey reminded Mike.
"Wait a while. I wanna see what this guy's like," Mike replied.
"I'll tell Michelle the news," Joey ushered, hurrying off to his room.
"Hey Michelle," He shook.
"Yeah?" She moaned.
"My dad's back. He and this dude are in the kitchen," Joey told her.
"Okay," Michelle groaned, turning onto her back to face Joey. Then she sat up and stared right into Joey's eyes.
"Thanks," She blurted quickly, wrapping her arms around Joey's upper waist and leaning her chin on his shoulder.
"Any time," He whispered into her ear, rubbing her on the back slightly. They detached, before another round of staring into each other's eyes.
Michelle brushed the fringe out of Joey's face with her clean hand. Slowly they came closer until finally... They kissed.
"Hey Joey, you coming out?" Billie Joe questioned, barging into the room.
"Oh. I'll just go and leave you and... Michelle alone. MICHELLE?! Joey, what's going on?!" He said. Joey turned to face his dad. Michelle looked down at the ruffled bed sheets shyly and tried to hide her blushing face.
"Oh well erm... " He stretched.
"You're sharing an intimate moment with each other," Billie finished.
"Yeah... " He popped.
"And what happened to the 'Michelle died' saga?" Billie Joe questioned.
"Well... About that... It was... A lie," Joey told him.
Michelle felt even more embarrassed.
"Michelle, is this true?" Billie Joe questioned.
"Y... Yes," She winced.
"It's a long story, dad," Joey chipped.
"Well we have a long time, please fill me in," He beckoned.

***

"I'd rather not say," Tony shyly gutted.
"You sure? I won't tell anyone," Tre pleaded.
"Promise?" He asked.
"Promise," Tre nodded.
"Okay then, if you insist," He bit, "I... Killed one of the patients in the ward next to me."
Tre almost choked on the dead air that existed in between the two of them.
"H... How? Why?" Tre stammered.
"I really don't want to tell you that," Tony solemnly zipped.
"Well okay. If you really don't want to," Tre compromised, "So how did that fight just then start?"
"That guy... "
"... John."
"John just barged into my room and tugged me out of the bed. He started hitting me as he dragged me out onto the hallway, and that was it."

***

"And that's the story, dad. What do ya think?" Joey finished.
"That's... Amazing. You found Joey. You cheated death," Billie gasped.
"And I'm tired. How about you?" Michelle smiled, lying back down.
"Not so fast, Michelle. There's still time to explain what I just saw you and Joey doing," Billie Joe firmly placed.
"Nothing happened, dad. I swear. It was only a little fling, it wasn't serious," Joey assured.
"Kissing on the bed at your age is a little inappropriate, so watch yourself," Billie warned, a stern look on his face. It was still there as he somehow managed to back out the door and close it without bashing into a few dozen toys that had been strewn around Joey's room earlier.
As soon as he had closed the door, Michelle's embarrassed face turned to a cheeky, rebelled smirk.
'Come on," She grinned, kissing Joey again.
"Are you sure it's right...?" Joey questioned.
"Sure it is, why wouldn't it be? As you said, it's just a fling," Michelle giggled, shoving Joey down, chucking herself down with him.

***

"Wow. Just... Ahh. Scary," Tre commented, looking around awkwardly.
"How did you know his name, anyway?" Tony asked.
"Well," Tre began, "Friends' friends. Used to drum in a band before I came in and took his place while he went off to college."
"Oh," Tony replied.
Tre's mind silently sighed. He felt guilty.
"How close have you come to finding your friend?" He decided to question.
"Not that close. All I know is that he might be in Adelaide somewhere," He responded.
"I know someone who's in Adelaide!" Tre exclaimed, "Maybe I can get in contact with him, and he could get in contact with your friend!"