Rebel Yell

It had felt like fifteen minutes or less after I fallen asleep that I was woken up by a hot chubby faced bus driver, grinning at me. I rubbed my eyes and checked the clock behind me to see that a whole two hours had passed by. Another thing I noticed was that the bus had stopped moving.

“Miss Madison, the boys wanted me to wake you up and tell you to go into the diner to eat food-now” the German sounding man patted the bed and I shot up quickly to certify to myself that he was telling the truth.

“Ok, thank you” I nodded and rubbed my eyes again, smudging the sleep that clung to my eyelids. I wondered how long we had been stationed here and I looked around to see that the sky had paled to a dark blue with the scatter of baby pink, filling in the gaps. I looked around for my shoes before making a break out of the comfortable bunk. However the painful cold feeling as my feet landed on the floor, made its way up to my bare arms. I shivered as I quickly shoved my feet into two black sneakers and grabbed my big baggy zip hoodie from off the side of Billie’s bunk. It felt bigger than I had remembered and the smell was of old soggy cigarettes, something which all my clothes were paying the price for whilst living on a bus of smokers.

The diner was brightly lit as I stepped out into the cool air and I could see people gathered around two of the booths. It was however Billie’s blue hair that stood out from the rest and I smiled cheerily at the man who was slowly again burning a hole in my sanity. My heart sped up as my mind went into overdrive of thoughts about him as I entered the diner. I desperately wanted to start something fresh with him but I know that it wouldn’t be reciprocated back. I would simply be another notch on a rock stars bedpost, an antidote in a biography when he became something greater than me.

“Rhodes is up again and looking I must say, much more refreshed” I was greeted by Tre who with all his faults of tardiness for sound checks was beyond the best at pulling through a hangover.

“Marci Madison, I heard what you did last night” I heard a shrill of Debbie’s voice over the chatter of the entire crew. Everyone’s beady eyes turned to me as she skidded over to me, wide smiled and looking rather green in the cheeks.

“Hi, Debbie” I squeaked out loud as she embraced me into a hug, her hair smelt like sick and I scanned the room to see the matching colours in other people’s faces.

“MORE THAN A FEEL-“she burped out loud and a memory of me cheering loudly sent my cheeks to burn a red as everyone looked towards me again. Loudly people began to laugh and cheer at me as I began to chuckle along with them before douche-bag Louie came over to join Debbie.

“why hello there-“ he pretended to look nervous about something and held out a napkin and pen. I really hated this guy. “could I have your autograph Billy Idol?” he smiled cheekily before throwing the napkin onto the floor. His face was a face that you just wanted to punch, it was so irritating. I was surprised to see him still not drunk because he was the worst person ever to get drunk with, even a little violent at times and I really did believe he was wrong for Debbie.

“Very funny Louie,” I patted his shoulder icily and he bowed at his performance,

“Debbie your food is here chick, I’d ask Marci to come join us however there looks like there is no room” I looked to the crowded booth behind the one we were stood next to and I grimaced. I would probably end up sitting in my own booth again.

“Its fine Louie she can sit with us. Plus Billie Joe did order for her” Mike lifted his head off the cold plastic table and Louie nodded as he pushed Debbie a little, back to her booth. I looked at Mike and he nodded to the booth seat next to him.

“I ordered you the pasta thing, it looked like a dish you’d like” Billie Joe threw the menu at me as I sat down. He sat smugly staring at me and I looked at him quizzical to his inside joke, he always had a complex look on his face whenever he spoke to me, something which I was rather concerned about.

“Thank you” I politely complemented and Tre giggled loudly throwing a paper napkin at Mike. “Do I have something on myself?” I pattered down the black jumped I had on and Billie smugly laughed again. “Would you mind telling me what is funny?”

“It’s not really funny but more ironic that you came out with my jacket on tonight and I seemed to have picked up this obscene thing” he lifted up my black Dirty Dancing jumper similar to the one I had around me but with the addition of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey doing their famous lift, with the pink words ‘I carried a watermelon’ splashed down one side. I checked quickly again to the one I was wearing, which had the faint lettering of ‘operation Ivy’ scrawled along the right side of the hoodie. I burst out laughing at my embarrassment of my cheesy memorabilia and he flung over the jacket towards me.

“I’m so sorry” I apologised through giggles, his eyes lit up as I started to zip down his hoodie. “But really I think that showing a bit of your feminine side would really pick up girls?” he pulled a face as I slide of his jacket.

“Why are you taking of my jacket for? I don’t need it and plus it suits you” he wavered his hand for me to put on the hoodie and without a hesitance I pulled the woolly hoodie back around my arms.
“Thanks, yours feels so much warmer than mine” he smiled as the waitress came over with four plates of food. I caught his eyes as they looked at me, they were so large tonight. Not the bad large but pretty large, the type of eyes you could sit and look at for hours on end due to the brightness and beauty of something so mundane. He must have noticed I knew he had been staring because his face hit the food that was placed in front of him. My cheeks reddened a little and a plate of steak and chips was pushed under my nose.
“Steak and fries dear?” the waitress in the pink uniform asked me and I looked dumbfounded as if she had just asked me to explain Einstein’s theory on space and time. Billie looked towards Mike who had his head in his arms on the table.

“Mike” I nudged him lightly to which he jumped up lightly with eyes looking quite tired and still bloodshot. I shuffled over the plate of steak and I could see his face pale from the strong smell. He better not be sick on me, I thought and instead of sitting there like a target I asked him, “Mike do you need me to move?” he looked up like I had just read his mind and he nodded without speaking. I pushed myself away from the booth as the waitress put down what seemed my own food and Mike dashed away.

“Mike should really stay of the shots; they are not good for him at all” Tre innocently picked odd fries from Mike’s dish whilst tucking in to his own food. “Rhodes is holding up better and she didn’t even drink through college however I could never see Mike getting it off with the librarian” My mouth dropped at Tres still oblivious innocence to the fact that he had just let on that they had been talking about me. I looked to Billie who had now engrossed himself into rearranging his burger, I tutted loudly and he slowly looked up to me.

“Is it ok?” he nodded down to the food in the hope to steer the conversation and I laughed at his innocence too. They could really play it well, the innocence thing,

“It’s fine, thanks. Don’t worry you can tell Mike I said that later” Billie’s face became redder and I chuckled to myself. Really I was flattered by their conversations about me and the look on Billie’s face was priceless. I stabbed my fork into the creamy pasta in front of me and stuck a piece in my mouth as I watched Billie give Tre a not so inconspicuous punch in the leg. From then the situation only got better, Tre looked at Billie with a stunned look and thumped him back on the shoulder to which Billie shoved Tre into the glass window. I burst out laughing as the two fought like kids in front of me. This though only encouraged them to continue the fighting. “Do you guys fight like this about everything?” I asked as Tre landed Billie another pinch on the arm.

“This isn’t fighting Marc, this is just revenge” Billie flicked Tre’s nose like you would do with a cat and Tre looked at Billie as he tried to work out another painful counter movement.

“Revenge because Billie gets touchy about his fucking love issues” Tre smiled as Billie’s eyes bulged out at him. I had never seen Billie Joe get so embarrassed at a single statement. That was until I pieced the conversations together and a brick plummeted in my stomach, my smile faded and I gulped as Billie rubbed his neck nervously.

“I think I have just puked my spleen up in the bathroom, is that good?” I looked at Mike that had regained some colour in his cheeks and I eased up a little.

“I don’t think you have puked up your spleen Mike, so don’t worry” I smiled and he nodded as I stood up for him to sit down for his food.

“what the hell is up with Shaggy and Scooby doo ?” he acknowledged the more quieter men in front of us and I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t think that mentioning my thoughts at the moment would help Billie Joe’s face regain a normal colour or even help Tre’s now growing pang of guilt.

“Something about revenge, I think it might have been that Tre tried to steal one to many of Billie’s fries” I muttered to Mike and Billie smiled in my direction at my ignorance to Tre’s last comment. However I bent my head forward and continue to eat my food as the many questions circled my brain.

I think it was safe to say that the evening grew a little bit more awkward after that. Every time Billie and I looked at each other one of us would look away sharply, unable to gain the courage to open up that Pandora’s Box.