Pieces of Truth

[Grace]

I woke up on the floor of the bathroom in just a shirt and my underwear, and when I looked in the mirror I was mortified. There was lipstick and eyeliner all over my face, like someone had tried to make me look like a clown.

"What the hell happened last night?" I asked myself, rinsing off all of the makeup.

Opening the door, I walked out and didn't see Billie in bed so I checked the clock. It was barely 9 a.m. I put on some sweatpants and went to the basement, finding him down there, sitting at the piano smoking a cigarette.

Before I could even get a word out, Billie beat me to it.

"Sit down. We need to talk," he said, not looking away from the keys.

I sat on the couch, feeling like I did whenever my dad reprimanded me when I misbehaved.

"You dropped acid last night," he told me, running a hand through his hair.

"No.. I think I'd remember if I did. Sure, I got really, really shitfaced, but I didn't--"

"You did. I called Kelsey."

I shook my head, feeling totally ashamed.

"What did I do?" I was hesitant to ask.

"Nothing too horrible, I've seen and probably done worse. You talked to the fridge and got on the roof.. When I tried to get you in, you screamed and said you hated me, called me some shit, stuff like that.. Then you locked yourself in the bathroom and talked to who knows what the whole time."

"Billie.." I had no idea what to say to him.

"No! You're so against doing drugs, but you go out and come home at four a.m. tripping balls!" he snapped at me with a mocking tone.

"I was fucking drunk, what do you want me to say?" I replied in the same tone, "I have to get going.. My class is starting soon."

"Skip it," Billie told me and I gaped at him.

"I'm not skipping a class. I have to turn in my paper."

"Fine. Don't bother coming back after," he seethed, turning back to face the piano.

"I won't," I answered, getting up and walking to the stairs, "You know... Even though I did do acid, it's not like you haven't done anything worse. At least I was here with you, who kept me from being an idiot and getting hurt. I want to let you know that I appreciate it."

I quickly changed, got my stuff for class and left the house.

After I got out of my lecture, I didn't really know where to go. Billie obviously needed to cool down, so I went and sat up on Tightwad Hill to do some reading for my classes.

I wasn't gonna go home and beg for Billie's forgiveness for something I don't even remember doing. I was on the Hill for a good two hours, where I got a lot of work done in peace. By the time the sun started to set, I was planning where I would go next. I was thinking to my dad's, to be honest.

Almost ready to go, I saw Billie walking up the grassy hill, his eyes on his feet as he approached and sat beside me.

"It's not safe for you to be here alone so close to dark.. You never know what can go down. But I had a feeling you'd be here," he muttered.

"So? I thought you didn't want to talk to me, which is why you told me not to come home."

"I didn't mean it. I would never kick you out.. I was just mad, and it was the first thing to fly out of my big mouth."

"Sometimes your big mouth has a point. I know I'm not into drugs right now, but when I was to that point where I was so drunk I could barely see, my conscience wasn't exactly there to say stop," I told him, hoping he'd get it.

"I know that. I shouldn't even be mad, because I do stupid shit when I'm drunk too. I was wondering if you'd come with me so I can get this fixed," he said suddenly, pulling at the collar of his shirt so I could see the evidence of one of those drunken nights.

"Of course I will," I nodded, "So, are you still mad at me?"

I wanted to be sure that we were okay.

"As soon as you left, I really thought about what I had said and what you said. I'm glad that you came home so I was able to keep you safe, because that's really all I care about," he admitted and I smiled, giving him a sweet kiss.

"Ready to go?" he asked, grabbing my backpack as I got up.

"Yep!"

Seeing as Billie and I drove separately, we met up at a tattoo shop where a friend of his worked. They talked up until Billie was in the chair, having decided to get some drawing of a pink, old school car on his chest to cover Zeke.

I sat on a stool beside him, holding his hand and watching him squirm the whole time, ignoring how hard he was squeezing my hand. When it was finally finished, this guy, Ty, bandaged it up and turned to me.

"So what will you be getting?" he asked and I shook my head in response.

"None for me, thanks," I smiled politely.

"What? Too good for one?" Ty rolled his eyes and Billie just watched me.

"Actually, I've got one that means a lot," I pulled up the sleeve of my sweatshirt so the guy could see what was on my wrist. I could tell I had just earned a ton of respect.

"Right on! Well if you ever want another, I'll be more than happy to do it," he smiled warmly.

"Thanks," I nodded, grabbing Billie's hand after he paid then we left.

"You're gonna have to take care of this for me, ya know? I got it for you," Billie told me as soon as we got to the house.

"Well, is it worth it?"

"What?"

"The pain," I clarified.

"Are you serious? I'd go through anything if I knew you'd be there after," he grinned, making me turn red and change the subject.

"I'm feeling like breakfast for dinner. How does that sound?"

"Uh, really good," Billie replied, "Oh and before I forget. Friday you and I are going to Los Angeles to do a photo shoot and interview for a local magazine there."

"What?!" I asked as I tried to light the gas on the stove.

"Yeah, the guy named Bryce and wanted to interview us about being in the East Bay music scene."

"Why us though? I mean, I understand you and the guys being interviewed."

"I guess this dude was at your show. He said that we're good representations of the Bay."

"Seriously? My band was for fun. We threw together a CD in a month and played one show."

"And apparently that's enough. You don't give yourself enough credit," Billie said and I laughed a little.

"What?"

"It's funny.. My dad told me basically the same thing."

"Well you should take our advice!"

Friday morning Billie and I got up early and drove the six hours to Hollywood, getting to our interview around noon, right on schedule.

The journalist, Bryce Thomas, seemed to have a lot of good questions, but most of them were for me. He seemed to be extremely interested in me more than what I was saying though.

"So Gray, oh wait, people call you that right? Is that ok?" Bryce asked, his light brown eyes watching me curiously. They were out of place with his light blond hair.

"Uh, only Billie Joe does.. It's kind of a long story," I told him as the three of us were doing our interview over lunch.

"Well never mind then! Grace, was it easier for your band to release an album with Billie helping you out?"

"We recorded and released all while Green Day was on their most recent tour, so Billie had no idea that I even started up a band.."

"Are you hoping for a deal with a label?" Bryce asked and I shrugged.

"Being a rock star is more Billie's forte. My friends and I did this whole thing because we were bored and wanted to get our music out there.. Not for fame or money."

"And that's really what it's about- reaching an audience," Billie finished for me.

We continued our interview, then went back to the offices for a photo shoot.

I wore a Green Day shirt and thrashed jeans, while Billie wore one of the Long Summer Nights shirts that Stella and I had made, along with his Dickies.

It was weird, but surprisingly fun posing with Billie. We had props like microphone stands, amps, and a bunch of other random musical things.

The picture that I ended up loving was of me standing on a huge amp, towering over Billie, who was innocently tuning a guitar. I was holding a pair of crash cymbals at the ready with a devious smile on my face. I asked to have a print and was accommodated by Bryce immediately.

When Billie and I left to go explore Hollywood Boulevard, he took notice of Bryce's actions.

"That guy was a little too into you for my liking.."

"Oh don't worry about it. We'll probably never hear from him again. Hey, let's go to the Amoeba on Sunset! I hear it's ridiculous," I grinned, making him to to the store with me.

We spent the day looking at the stars on the walk of fame and did other touristy things that surprisingly kept Billie unnoticed.

Deciding to stay the night in Hollywood, we got a hotel room then returned to the streets for dinner, ending up at a club or two and starting in on the drinks.

There was a game of bar trivia going on at one of the bars we hit, so we spent a few good rounds there before calling it a night, seeing as we were both pretty sloshed. Upon leaving the bar, Billie tried to go one way while I went the other.

"Where are you going?" he laughed, walking over to me.

"Uhh, our hotel!"

"Noo, it's this way!"

"Nuh uh!"

We argued, then began our walk stumble down Hollywood Boulevard, which was the polar opposite of how it was during the day once night had fallen. Locals were out and parties were literally everywhere.

"I think it's on this street," Billie said, pointing up to a street sign that said 'Argyle'.

"No! It's off Hollywood and Vine," I told him, like I was stating the obvious.

"Oh yeah! We're such lushes," he chuckled, crossing the street in his drunken stupor.

The next morning I was amazed to find that we were in our motel room; I had no idea how we had made it back alive.

"I can not drive home like this. I have the worst fucking headache of my life," Billie announced, making me cringe.

"Be quiet, you're too damn loud. We'll leave after lunch then.."

"I can do that," he smiled, "Let's go find some aspirin though."