Chance Encounter in a Dreary Bar

Disclaimer: I don’t own Green Day in any form, and I’m not trying to make money off them.

Dedication: This story is dedicated to ThisIsGreenDay, who sparked the thought of turning my dream into a story and started me on my way. Here’s to you, my friend!

“Why are you doing this?” Tre asked me. “Surely you are not so blinded by your crush on him that you are unable to see that he does not love you back?”

“That’s ridiculous!” I snapped. “Mike loves me – he said so a few nights ago.”

“Hah!” Billie snorted. “He feels sorry for you…why else would he let you come over as much as you do?”

“Maybe because he’s a nice guy?” I ventured meekly.

“Well, yes, I’ll give him that,” Tre said, “but you really need to be careful. From the looks of things, you will get your heart broken soon.”

“Tre,” I sighed. “Billie....maybe you’re both right.”

“Trust us, love,” Billie said. “We have only your best interests at heart.”

“Come out for drinks with us tonight – just the three of us,” Tre said.

I opened my mouth, ready to politely decline, but Billie caught me. He shook his head and said, “No, Sarah. You’ve seen enough of Mike in the past week; you’re coming with us, and that’s final.”

I sighed and answered, “All right, you win…for now.”

What the three of us did not know was that Mike was planning to go out for drinks that night, as well. He had overheard Tre’s request that I join him and Billie for drinks, and decided he might as well confront me about my feelings. However, that was going to be easier said than done because Mike was beginning to have feelings for me, as well.

True to their words, that night at eight, Billie and Tre rang my doorbell. After greeting me, they asked if I was ready to leave. As we walked out my door, Tre slipped an arm around my waist, causing Billie to drape one of his arms around my shoulders.

I laughed gently. “Guys, you’re not my bodyguards.”

“Oh, but that is where you’re mistaken,” Billie replied, winking at me.

“Yeah,” Tre chimed in. “We’re not only friends but bodyguards as well.”

I sighed, defeated. “Well…all right.”

When we arrived at the bar, my sixth sense seemed to be detecting Mike’s presence, but Billie and Tre were making it impossible for me to find him. They were sticking to me like glue in an attempt to make me forget Mike, but how could I tell them the attraction between myself and Mike wasn’t one-sided? It seemed that my only hope would be to somehow ditch them – and soon. Then, I got an idea that was not farfetched.

“I’ll be back. I’m going to use the ladies’ room,” I told Tre. “Tell Billie if you see him, okay?”

Now, Tre was quite tipsy – having had five or more beers and random cocktails – so he didn’t object when I told him where I was supposedly going. He nodded and slopped a bit of his beer down the front of his shirt as he took a sip.

Once free of my so-called bodyguards, I walked to the ladies’ room and went inside for a few minutes. This way, it would seem less improbable that I’d had an ulterior motive for my escape. After about ten minutes, I made my exit and walked to the dance floor. I spotted Mike instantly; he was dancing with a random girl who looked like she should have been twelve.

“May I cut in?” I asked.

“Sure,” Mike answered.

We danced for a few minutes before I asked if he wanted to go someplace where we would be able to talk. Nodding silently, he agreed that it might be a good idea, as there were several unresolved ‘incidents’ between us. Mike and I quietly took our leave and went to a restaurant several doors down, which Mike knew would be less busy than the bar we had come from.

Once we’d been seated and served drinks, Mike looked at me for a few minutes deciding how best to tell me his side of the past few weeks. He took a deep breath to reassure himself, and then took the plunge.

“Sarah, I don’t know how to tell you this, but…somehow during the past few weeks, I think you might have gotten the wrong impression,” Mike said.

I looked at him, unsure of what to say, so I decided upon the simplest thing. “What makes you think that?”

“Well, for starters, you are turning down dates from two great guys just because of feelings for someone who will never return them,” Mike answered.

I looked at Mike, my face bright red. “Gods, I’m so embarrassed.”

“It’s quite obvious, Sarah,” Mike said. “I knew you had feelings for me right from the start.”

Tears threatened to spill from my eyes by then, and Mike knew he had said the wrong thing. He reached out and stroked my hand gently, hoping to make me feel better. However, I pulled my hand out from under his and glared at him, then took a breath to steady myself.

“You’ve already hurt me enough, so why are you still here?” I snapped.

Mike looked at me and smiled – a genuine smile this time – and said, “Because I care for you, Sarah.”

I was so shocked I didn’t know what to say, so I settled on, “What?”

“In the past day and a half, I have come to realize that I have feelings for you, as well, Sarah,” Mike confessed.

“So all that stuff about having the wrong impression was just a set-up?” I asked.

“Guilty as charged,” Mike laughed.

“I’ll get you for that!” I smirked.

“Should I hold you to your word on that?” Mike asked.

“Yes,” I answered. “Please do.”

After that, we lost track of the conversation entirely, because Mike kissed me. It was a chaste kiss, simple and questioning, but it still left me wanting more. Mike and I simply could not get enough of the taste of each other, but after awhile we realized that people would be looking for us. Hand-in-hand, we walked back to the bar, only to find a very pissed Billie and Tre waiting for us. Though, when they saw how happy we were, they calmed down and let us be.

Mike drove me home that night, and it was only as we were walking up to my front door that I knew it was the start of something big. However, that is another story for a different time.