"I love you, Adrienne..." "I love you too, Mike"

"Good morning Mrs. Armstrong and Mr. Arms...Dirnt?"
"Good morning, Doctor" we said in unison, blushing violently, not looking at him.
"Where you...erm, kissing?"
We looked at each other and nodded shyly.
"Oh" was his comment. "But Mrs," he said, looking at Adie, "aren't you married?"
"Are you a Green Day fan?" I asked him.
"Well, yes, but I don't get what this means with... "
"Then please, just shut up with my husband, ok?" She was pleading with her eyes.
"Only if I can get you autographs" He smiled.
We smiled back. Fans. All the same.
"Sure" and we signed him some postcards.
He smiled again and was about to say something when I stopped him, looking at Claudia. She was paler than usual, but her eyes were open. She was looking at me and I could tell that her stare was kind of empty.
I stopped the doctor who was already walking away.
“Hey, she woke up!”
The doctor visited her and in the end we heard her saying a very weak "thanks".

Adrienne went to call Tre and a few minutes later he flew in the room next to her bed. The following week I helped Tre, he needed to be cheered up a bit and finally, after a long time, Claudia could leave the hospital. Of course she had to stay at my house, so I didn't have a single chance to talk to Adie.

Three weeks later.

I talked to Tre about my "secret."
"Oooh, so ya guys kissed again!! Whoohoo!! Did ya get laid? Maybe, in the bathroom?"
"Tre, for God's sake, no, we just kissed and that fucking doctor walked in! Now. I haven't talked to Adie yet, what should I do?"
"Don't know..." He thought for a moment, then he went back watching TV.
"Since when you liked Spongebob, Tre?"
"Are you kidding?" he said, "he's my hero! I'm his lover!"
We looked at each other and then bursted out laughing.

Suddenly the door bell rang. I walked to the door, and as soon as I opened it somebody pushed me, hard, and I fell to the floor.

I opened my eyes to see the person who did it and my eyes met those eyes. I started to shake. Those eyes were full of anger, and I could see that person was very upset, disappointed, hurt and angry. I felt being punched in the stomach, I didn't have the time to react, and I cried in pain.

That eyeliner... smudged by the tears.

Another fist reached my nose and it started bleeding. The light in those eyes that used to brighten the green, was gone, replaced by dark sadness and anger.
Another fist reached my stomach, leaving me no time to react.

The well known eyeliner had been washed away by the tears.
"B-Billie..." I managed to say
"You son of a bitch!" was his answer, along with another kick.
Tre finally came to the rescue..
"Billie, what the fuck are you doing?"
He kept hitting me, until Tre managed to stop him, and keep him still.
"Just fucking leave me, alright?" yelled Billie.
"Bill, mate, what the fuck were you doing?" I said, touching my bleeding nose.
"You fucked her! And you two didn't tell me! She was MY girlfriend! You fucking fucked her, son of a bitch! You asshole! I thought you were my best friend, not a fucking betrayer! I hate you!"
He kept yelling things like these, while my eyes filled with tears, and I looked down, not being able to say anything.
After a whole 5 minutes of yelling, Billie fell to the floor, sobbing and crying.
"I thought you were my friend..." he whispered.
I was able just to ask him "When...did she...tell you?"
"Right now, bitch."
I was taken aback from this. We never argued that hard.
He started speaking.
"I asked her...multiple times, in these years. I asked her who she lost her virginity to...but she kept saying no one. At least, no one I knew. I asked her kindly...lovingly. Like I always did...the I found out that she lost her virginity after I met her, the week before we started dating...but never, EVER in my life, I would have thought that THAT guy was YOU!"
He finished and he was yelling again, anger rising again into him.
"Finished now?" I asked coldly. Uh-oh. What was happening? I wasn't supposed to be so cold to my best friend. Or ex-friend?
"Yes, and you know what?"
"Come on, are you gonna tell me that I'm out of Green Day?
"No asshole, what's going on in your brain, a monkey war?"
What the fuck, I thought.
"Then what?"
"I don't want to see you. Ever again."
"W-what?"
"Joking, dumbass. But for the next 2 months don't fucking talk to me. I don't want to receive any vital signs from you, so stay the fuck away from me AND from my wife!"
Then he stood up, and stormed out before I had the chance to reply.
Great. Now, what was I supposed to do!?
I looked at Tre, who had tears in his eyes.
"You're fucked, mate," Tre whispered softly.
"I know!" I yelled. I didn't really want to yell to Tre. I saw the tear he was trying to hold so desperately falling down his cheek. But why was HE crying? He wasn’t the one in the shit, he wasn’t the one in pain.
"What the fuck is the problem with you? What did I do to you so you can yell to me? I even helped you!" Now I get it. He felt my pain, and he was sorry for me. He was suffering with me.
"Sorry... " I answered and I fell to the floor on my knees, crying. I had lost my best friend. I had lost the love of m life. What could I do?
Tre knelt down in front of me and took my face in his hands so I was looking at him in the eyes. He wiped away my tears with his thumb. Geeze, he's being weird. I'd never seen him so serious.
His blue eyes connected with mine and I felt our friendship growing stronger, it was very weird. I had never felt that way about my best friend.
I tried to understand what those eyes were saying, but the only thing I could see was a mix of feelings. Sadness. A little bit of anger. He was upset, also. And sorry. And then something I had never seen in him before. Something very similar to love, but I couldn’t really tell. Of course, friendly love, but there was something else I just couldn’t get.
In the meanwhile, I noticed that he was still holding me near, my face in his hand, and we were still knelt down on the floor, but I also noticed that we were nearer than before, and we were slowly getting nearer. Long seconds passed by, in silence, while I kept looking into his blue eyes.

"Mike..." he broke the awkward silence.
"We're best friends, right?" He said. I nodded.
"Well, let me tell you, that I'll always be there for you, any problem, I'll be by your side, no matter what."
His words made a couple more tears fall down my cheeks, instantly wiped away from him. I hugged him tight and then I heard him saying something I expected, but I hoped not to hear.
"I love you, Mikey."
I jumped up.
"What?!" I nearly screamed, blushing.
Blushing? Hold on, this is not normal. Not at all.
He laughed slightly.
"You idiot," he said "As a friend!"
"Whoa, Tre, man, you scared me!"
"Why you blushed, then, mate?"
"I don't know!"
"Sorry," he said still laughing.
"It's ok."

But deep inside, I knew why I blushed. But right then, I just couldn’t figure it out. Or maybe I just didn’t want to admit it.