Pieces of Truth

Nearly a week and a half after I admitted to Billie that I wanted to try a relationship again, we were on the summer long tour. We were in an actual tour bus, and we were going all over the country as the guys played in clubs, bars and other venues.

"Hey Tre, when did Billie get that tattoo of my name on his arm?" I asked as we walked to our motel room with buckets of ice in Reno, Nevada.

"Well, uh.. A super long time ago! We 'celebrated' his birthday before we came home from our first tour and he was higher than a kite. He said, 'I want a tat, man!!' So we took him to the place and he was all for getting your name. Mike, the guys and I decided that we'd take him to the hotel and if he still wanted one when he was sober, we'd pay for it.. And that's what he wanted."

"Really?" I asked as we walked into the room and Tre nodded.

The next few days were spent on the road while our nights were devoted to shows and parties. Nothing too crazy; just a few drinks at a bar here or there after the gig, during which I'd be selling shirts and copies of their CDs to help pay for food, gas or whatever.

Billie and Mike were already twenty-one and it was close to my birthday; Tre's was in December, but that didn't stop us from anything.

The first couple of weeks of tour had been working out for Billie and myself. On the road, we had the time to reconnect and talk until we couldn't anymore. It allowed us to finally confront what happened, how I reacted, how he reacted, and we made promises that I knew we could keep.

But the tour gave Billie a chance to escape and zone out everything on Earth that wasn't being on stage and doing what he loves. Billie Joe was becoming everything he'd ever dreamed of or wanted to be, right before my eyes and it was fascinating.

A week before my birthday I was laying up in my bunk on the bus; we were driving to Denver, Colorado and Billie was right outside of the curtain.

"Grace, can I come in?"

"Yeah," I answered and he slipped into the bed with me. Even though it was late afternoon, I was tired and had wanted to take a nap.

"So, I was thinking, and uh, your birthday is in a week exactly," Billie said casually.

"I know," I nodded, lacing my fingers with his and twiddling our thumbs.

"Do you have any special requests? I mean, you are turning the big two-one and all."

I could just hear the smile in his voice, but I looked at him just to make sure it was there and it definitely was.

"I don't need a big party or anything special. I already have everything I could ever want."

"Why are you so hard to shop for?" he groaned, "Why can't you be like every other normal girl and ask for like, a pony?"

"Because if I was like every normal girl, I doubt I'd be laying here right now with you."

"That's a great point."

"I know, it's kinda my thing," I laughed, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"I just want to make your birthday special.. Something you'll remember."

"Billie, you don't have to do that. It's not that big of a deal."

"Yeah, it is. I love you and I want you to be happy."

"But I already am! I'm in this tour with you, Mike and Tre. I'm seeing all of these new places and it's amazing. I just can't believe that you feel so strongly for me after what I did to you," I admitted, gently tugging my hand out of his as I rolled over on my side to face the window and away from Billie.

"I don't get how you didn't just move on while I was gone. Girls would die to date you," I added.

"Like you said, you're not like all of the other girls I've seen. It wasn't like I was gonna try and find someone to fill the void when I knew that exactly what I wanted was somewhere; I just had to be patient." I could feel Billie's breath on my neck, so I knew he had turned to face my back.

"I guess I just don't understand how you find me to be so amazing," I said more to myself, feeling somewhat apathetic.

"What happened to you?" Billie asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"You used to be so confident! Where did that go?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "When I decided to disappear, I just shut off. Kelsey thinks she knows me, but she knows 'Ellie, the shell of Grace'. I know who I was and I know that I've changed. If I hadn't left, I would still probably be my old self. But we can't change the past."

"Sometimes I wish we could."

I turned back to face Billie, and I knew he was being totally serious and open with me. I set my hand on his cheek, pulling him close and leaning my forehead against his.

"I wish we could too. Let's just move forward, okay?" I was done with feeling down about us. Why should I, when we had the chance to be together after everything we've dealt with?

"Alright," he nodded, brushing the hair out of my eyes with a smile.

After the show in Denver that night, we caught wind of a party at some club nearby, so that's where we went.

"Don't have too much fun while I'm getting a drink," Billie told me once we walked into the club and I nodded.

As I wandered through the dance floor, Billie and Mike were at the bar and Tre had disappeared.

"Hey, Grace!" I heard a familiar voice and I whirled around, my eyes widening at the sight of Greg.

"Hi! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the summer and I heard a pretty cool band was playing, and now I'm here."

"What band?" I asked.

"Green Day. You heard of them?"

I nodded knowingly.

"What are you doing up here?" he nearly yelled into my ear so I could hear over the music.

"I'm passing through with my boyfriend," I answered in a loud voice, standing on my toes so he heard.

"Wanna go outside? I can't hear you!"

I nodded again and we made our way through the crowd and out into the cool night air.

"So, why are you here?"

"I'm passing through with my boyfriend and a couple of friends on the road."

"Oh," Greg nodded and I cringed slightly, feeling a nasty headache coming on, but he noticed.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, my head just hurts."

"Do you want something to help?" Greg offered.

"You have aspirin?" I asked, feeling better already.

"Yeah," he nodded, handing me a bunch of small pills that I didn't recognize.

"Thanks," I said after dry swallowing the pills.

We talked for a few more minutes, then went back inside.

[Billie Joe]

I looked around the club, a beer in hand as I scanned for Grace. Tre, who was to my left, pointed her out and my jaw dropped.

She was in the middle of the dance floor, her hands in the air as she danced with a guy I felt like I knew. Then I realized it was the guy from her English Lit class that had hit on her.

"Dude, you gotta go stop her," Mike told me, and Tre nodded in agreement.

I put my beer on the counter and pushed my way through the sea of people, stopping when I got to Grace.

"Billie!" she laughed, a weird smile on her face as she swayed with the music.

"Are you alright?" I asked, watching her suspiciously.

"Yeahh, I'm peachy! It's super hot in here though. Let's get outta this place," she told me, letting go of the guy and grabbing my hand.

I walked her outside, then watched her spin around.

"Seriously Grace, what's going on with you?"

She stopped twirling and came over to me, tangling her fingers in my hair and kissing my neck. I didn't know what to do. She said she wanted to take things slowly.. But what the hell is this?

"Let's go to the hotel," she purred against my skin, letting her hands flow over my body and I had to fight back a groan. I had definitely missed her touch.

"I want you right now," she said firmly and that definitely caught my attention.

I pushed her back gently, knowing this was all wrong. Then I noticed somethings I had seen a lot when I lived in the warehouse.

"Are you high?" I asked in a serious voice, making her giggle.

"Noo!" she shook her head fervently.

"I had a headache, Greg gave me some pills, and now I feel great!"