It Wasn't

There stood the long entrance to the mall. Billie Joe was trying to keep his cool, but his eyes betrayed him. What had happened? What would happen? What was it? Questions swirled around inside his head. The only logical answer to all of them was that whatever happened was wrong. It shouldn't have happened. He shouldn't have felt anything when Alice was near. So why was his heart beating so damn fast? He looked around at the shops as they walked, hoping to find something to distract him. Soon enough, he spotted his savior.

"Hey," he tried to say nonchalantly, "Ice cream anyone?"

"I fucking scream for ice cream!" Mike laughed. "Baskin Robbins owns you all." Tre could not argue with ice cream, or anything sugary for that matter. Dragging Robyn next to him, he found the nearest path to Baskin Robbins.

In a cheap imitation, Mike grabbed Billie's arm and dragged him along cooing, "Oh Robbie." Tre threw him a dirty look, but said nothing. Rolling her eyes, Alice lagged in the back, delaying her steps as she went. She wanted to be near him; she would do anything to be close to him. But was it worth destroying herself for it?

"Come on Allie!" Robyn called, "Save me!" Alice laughed and ran to try and free her sister from Tre's octopus grip.

"Damn Robbie." She said, "You're boyfriend's strong!" Tre smirked proudly and Robyn giggled.

"Well of course, why do you think he's my boyfriend?" she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Billie Joe, after managing to escape Mike's arms, joined them.

"Geez," he groaned. "Can't you two keep your hands to yourself?" Mike snuck up behind Billie and sneezed, making Billie Joe jump a foot into the air.

"I don't know about them, but I can't keep my hands off you." He whispered jokingly. Billie deciding to play along turned around and kissed his best friend on the lips. A few passersby pointed and stared, but they were ignored. Robyn came back and pulled Mike and Billie off each other.

"We want ice cream today, not next week!" she chided playfully. The men pretended to pout, but they walked without argument to Baskin Robbins. Once inside the ice cream shop, more hell broke loose.

"I want vanilla!" Tre whined, despite the employees repeated claim that they were out of vanilla ice cream and that more would arrive within the next one hour. Robyn whispered something to Tre, and he became calm. "How about butter pecan?" he asked the man at the counter. Thankfully for the company, Tre got his three scoops of butter pecan with rainbow sprinkles in a chocolate waffle cone.

Alice and Mike both got chocolate, Billie Joe got cookie dough, and Robyn got banana-mango. Instead of eating inside the shop, they decided to walk around and wreak havoc on shoppers while eating their ice cream. This went very well for a while, but they decided to stop after Mike nearly killed someone's bubbe.

Robyn and Alice dragged the guys into a shoe store. Robyn claimed she needed to refill her shoe closet and Alice just wanted some new sandals.

"Hey Robbie!" Alice called, "Did you find anything good on that side?" After hearing silence, she wandered over to where Robyn was and found out exactly why she was speechless. Mike, Billie Joe, and Tre had all rolled up their pant legs, put on pantyhose, and were wearing high heels. A traumatizing sight at the very least.

"Oh... oh my fucking God." Robyn stuttered, attracting the attention of the three strange men.

"Yeah," Tre smirked, "You are fucking a God." Robyn did not reply to this because all of her attention was focused on his legs. He noticed.

"Do these shoes make my butt look big?" Billie giggled. Tre slapped him on the ass.

"Nope. As perfect as ever." He said seriously. Unable to hold it in any longer, everyone cracked up. Alice knocked over a shelf, Mike collapsed on the floor, Robyn backed into a store assistant and Tre and Billie were holding onto a shoe-rack for support.

They left the shoe store much earlier than the girls had planned due to the, um, annoyance, of the manager. Oops.

"What should we do now?" Alice asked her sister, who seemed to have glued herself to Tre.

"I don't know. Let's go find a CD store. Does anyone need anything?"

"I need some new picks." Billie provided. Mike nodded in agreement.

"Where should we go?" he asked. Clueless, they looked around for a while, trying to find a music store. Billie Joe was the first to find one.

"Sam Ash!!" he yelled, running into the store. The others followed and Tre ran right past him, to the very back.

"Tre!" Robyn groaned and went after him. Alice, Billie Joe, and Mike looked around them for a mere few seconds before splitting up into three different directions.

Mike found the guitars and strummed away, surrounded by fascinated fans and shoppers. It felt so good to be making music. At this point in his life, he was making music, thinking about Britney, or trying not to think about Britney. Britney. The pain still stung and he played faster, the anger coming out through the vibrations of the guitar.

Billie Joe went immediately to get his guitar picks. He looked down at the ones available and frowned in thought. A shadow fell over the shelf. Looking up, he saw Alice next to him. He quivered and his heart rate increased. She moved towards him, not knowing anymore whether or not she was controlling herself.

He mentally cursed himself for wanting this. He moved towards her as well. She was trapped between him and the shelf. She was trapped, but she didn't want to escape. They took in their surroundings. No one else was there. They took their chance.

The kiss. It was like lightning, frightening and beautiful all at once. Alice didn't care that he was only kissing with his body. She wanted to be near him. She wanted it all her life. It was long and rough, but somehow perfect. Billie knew it shouldn't be, but he didn't want this kiss to end and he knew Alice didn't either.

Minutes had passed that seemed like decades, but neither pulled away. Through the eruption of feeling, a familiar tune tinkled from nearby. Alice broke away from Billie Joe's embrace. Her cell phone. She dug into her purse and pulled it out.

"Oh! Hi Frank!" she said with a quivering voice. "Yeah, my throat's feeling better. Thanks."

Billie's chest was on fire. Was it jealousy? Perhaps. But there was also guilt. They both had someone. They were both betraying themselves and the people who cared about them.

"No, sorry Frank. Maybe some other time." He heard her say. There was a pause. Frank was saying something. "No, I'm out with my sister. We're at the mall. Sam Ash."

Frank was speaking again. "Yes! Definitely. We were at the shoe store and you would not believe what happened. Tre-- Oh? Okay. Yeah. I'll talk to you later. When you do get off from work? Great! I'll call you tonight. Bye Frank." She hung up her phone and looked up at Billie.

"Um, Billie. I need to tell you—" she started, but broke off, unsure of how to say it. The dreams. Those passionate nightmares of guilt and love that haunted her sleep. Before she could continue, Billie placed his lips upon hers, tenderly, and removed them just as quickly. She looked up and saw him turn deathly pale, staring behind her.

She turned around and saw Mike. Oh Lord. Her eyes were begging for silence, but his held flames licking up, ready to strike. He walked over to Alice and Billie Joe, a vision of the calm before the storm. Silently, he demanded an explanation.

Billie was the first to speak. "It was spur of the moment. It was stupid." He stuttered nervously. He didn't take his eyes off the ground. Alice observed that something must have happened in the past. She would find out later. She was sure of it.

Mike spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, "I've felt the pain. Your wife is like my sister and if you hurt Adrienne like that," he paused and then spat the name like it was something unpleasant in his mouth, "Brittney, hurt me, I will kill you. I will kill you and feel no remorse over your dead body." He turned to Alice.

"You're young, but old enough to know what you're doing" he spoke gently, like he was giving a child a warning. "I consider you my friend. Frank is a good guy. Don't let go of him. Don't let him down. Relationships are for two people. Not three." With a final glare, he went back to the guitars, his emotional outlets. Alice and Billie looked at each other once more and then went in separate directions. Alice busied herself with the instrumental CDs and Billie headed off to find Tre, wherever he was. Tre was a good friend. He would help Billie take his mind off of this, this fucking mess. And Billie thought he had a good idea of where to find him.

Now Tre had wandered over, for some strange reason, to the accordions. As Robyn watched in confusion, he picked up an accordion.

"Tre, I don't think you should." Robyn took a step towards her boyfriend, ready to take the instrument away if need be. God knows what he would do to the innocent little accordion. Tre jumped backward and she took another step.

"NO!" he shrieked, like a child being told to go to bed. He ran further away, and to the amusement and surprise of those around him, he started to play the accordion. It was some kind of obscure tune that he made up on the spot, but there was no doubt about it. Tre Cool did indeed know how to play the accordion. Robyn let out a delighted laugh.

"Robbie, I love your laugh!" he yelled as he continued to play, attracting a crowd. Suddenly, he jumped down, set the accordion aside, and bowed down on one knee. Robyn's smile faded. What was going on? He took her hand and kissed it.

"Robbie. For the last ten years, through everything, you have always been there, in my heart and in my mind. I've married before, looking for love, finding it, but being shunned from it. I've lost and I've gained." Tre smiled. Robyn was fighting tears. He continued, "In the past five months, I've become certain that I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else. I have been the happiest man alive, because I had you. I want to have you forever. I want to be yours forever." Sincerity shone in his eyes, and he could barely see the look on Robyn's face. Dread. As though hoping that this wasn't happening. He kissed her hand again.

From his pocket, he removed a small velvet box and opened it. "Miss Robyn James, my angel, my love, will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Tre Cool?" A diamond set in platinum glistened against the black velvet. The crowd that had gathered to watch him play the accordion roared with approval. "Marry me, Robyn." He finished, looking up expectantly.

Robyn jerked her hand from Tre's. A tear slid down her face. She was speechless, but not with joy. The hope, the happiness on his face only made it harder for her. She had to say it.

"Tre." She choked, "I'm—I'm sorry." She turned and ran out of the store, leaving the drummer down on his knee and shattered inside and out.