Front Porch Story
Front porch
The next afternoon I walk over to Billie's garage.
"Oh hey Nesser." Billie says taking off his guitar.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" I ask a little annoyed.
"It's your name isn't it" Mike states in his know-it-all voice.
"Well yeah, my last name."
"It's easier then calling you Adrienne all the time" Billie teases.
"Call me Adie."
"Like the number 80?" Mike says while laughing.
"If you say so." I shrug off his teasing and sit at the drums. "No drummer today?"
"Well Al called this morning saying he wasn't coming back anytime soon." Billie says still a little ticked off that Al ditched Green Day, "But we have this guy, Tre coming in a few minutes."
"Cool."
"You know him?" Mike asks looking at me funny.
"No, Tre who?" I reply looking at Mike.
"Oh, his name is Tre Cool, so I thought you knew him when you said cool." Mike rambles.
"So do want to play some Ramones songs until Tre comes?" Billie asks me.
"Oh, why don't we play the new songs you wrote last night?" Mike suggests, "Oh how did it go . . . I know that we're world's apart, But I just don't seem to care, These feelings in my heart, Only with you I want to share."
"I don't want to play that song right now." Billie says sternly to Mike.
"What's that song about?" I ask looking at Billie Joe with great interest.
"No one." He mutters. At that moment a green haired guy walks into the garage.
"I know I'm running late, but that's no excuse to replace me." he whines in a childish voice.
"Oh, I'm not replacing you; I'm just hanging out here." I say in a twitchy way. The green haired person walks up to the drum set where I sat.
"Shoo, groupie."
"I'm not a fucking groupie!" I yell making him jump back. This strange guy looks at Billie confused.
"You heard her; she's not a fucking groupie. Ladies and gentlemen Tre Cool." Billie Joe says mocking my new green haired friend. I listen to them play a few songs and I realize that Tre is positively insane, yet he's the most amusing drummer I've ever seen. That week I spent in Billie's garage listening to them play.
***
Thursday night, Tre and Mike just left and I was about to head home myself when Billie stopped me.
"Adie, woulyouliketogooutwithme?" he murmurs nervously.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" I say looking at him with fascination.
"Adie, I was wondering if you would like to go out with me?" he asks as he runs his hand through his hair.
"Yeah, of course" I say; I've had a secret crush on him for a while now.
"Really?" he asks in slight disbelief.
"Yeah, just tell me, what were the songs you didn't want to play last week." I demand dying to know what Mike was trying to sing the day I met Tre.
"Okay" Billie says as he runs back into his garage to his guitar. "The first song I wrote was Only of You."
I wish I could tell you
But the words would come out wrong
Oh if you only knew
The way I felt for so long
I know that We're world's apart
But I just don't seem to care
These feelings in my heart
Only with you I want to share
The first time I caught a glimpse of you
Then all my thoughts were only of you
I hope that when time goes on
You will think the same about me
Many nights awake I lie
I only wish that you could see
I know that we're only friends
I hope this feeling never ends
If I could only hold you
It's the only thing I want to do.
"Wow, that's a really good song." I say in disbelief that he wrote such a song for me.
"I wrote a second one called The One I Want, but I don't think you'll like this one as much."
Sitting in my room last night
Staring at the mirror
I couldn't find a reason why
I couldn't be near her
'Cause you are the one that started
To make me feel this way
And every night I'm thinking
About the words you say
Pictures going through my mind
When we're together
All these long and sleepless nights
Will I ever get better
Now you know how I feel
This love is forever
You make my life seem so unreal
Will I ever get better?...
"You're a liar; I liked that song just as much as the first one." I say leaning in and giving him a kiss. We spend the evening on my front porch, I found out he's had a crush as long as I had a crush on him. We end up just sitting, leaning against the brick wall of the house staring up at the moon.
"Wake up! You little slut!" my mother screamed as she yanked me by my hair, pulling me out of Billie's embrace and into the house.
"Mom, you're drunk!" I yell at her as she locks Billie out of the house, I hear him knocking franticly against the door trying to get to me.
"You're sleeping around with the neighbour boy! You're going to whined up pregnant and unhappy!" she managed to slur out.
"Mom! We fell asleep on the porch that's all! And I'm not going to end up a teen mother like you did! Jeez, you act as if I'm the worst thing that ever happened to you!"
"Don't talk to me like that! I'm your mother!" she yells as she slaps me across the face.
"Well start acting like it!" I retort as I run up to my room, pack up some of my stuff and run out of the house.
"Are you okay?" Billie Joe asks looking at my glowing red cheek.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I say, wiping the tears out of my face.
"Where are you going?" he asks pointing at my backpack.
"My dad's"
"But I over-heard you say that your mom was a teen-mother."
"My dad stuck around till I was four, then he moved to Minnesota."
"How the hell are you going to get to Minnesota?"
"My dad travels between Minnesota and California for his work, so right now he's here for two weeks, so I'm going to stay at his apartment." I say determined to get away from the drunk known as my mother.
"It's 2AM, why don't you just stay at my house?" Billie offers as he takes my bag. I look around at the abandoned street.
"Alright, I'll go to my dad's tomorrow." Billie leads me into his house.
"You can sleep in my room; I'll sleep on the couch or something."
"Oh no, its okay I'll sleep on the couch." I say quickly.
"I won't let you. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you sleep on that gosh-forsaken couch? Besides, I usually end up sleeping on the couch more nights than in my bed."
"Alright, if you insist."
"Oh hey Nesser." Billie says taking off his guitar.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" I ask a little annoyed.
"It's your name isn't it" Mike states in his know-it-all voice.
"Well yeah, my last name."
"It's easier then calling you Adrienne all the time" Billie teases.
"Call me Adie."
"Like the number 80?" Mike says while laughing.
"If you say so." I shrug off his teasing and sit at the drums. "No drummer today?"
"Well Al called this morning saying he wasn't coming back anytime soon." Billie says still a little ticked off that Al ditched Green Day, "But we have this guy, Tre coming in a few minutes."
"Cool."
"You know him?" Mike asks looking at me funny.
"No, Tre who?" I reply looking at Mike.
"Oh, his name is Tre Cool, so I thought you knew him when you said cool." Mike rambles.
"So do want to play some Ramones songs until Tre comes?" Billie asks me.
"Oh, why don't we play the new songs you wrote last night?" Mike suggests, "Oh how did it go . . . I know that we're world's apart, But I just don't seem to care, These feelings in my heart, Only with you I want to share."
"I don't want to play that song right now." Billie says sternly to Mike.
"What's that song about?" I ask looking at Billie Joe with great interest.
"No one." He mutters. At that moment a green haired guy walks into the garage.
"I know I'm running late, but that's no excuse to replace me." he whines in a childish voice.
"Oh, I'm not replacing you; I'm just hanging out here." I say in a twitchy way. The green haired person walks up to the drum set where I sat.
"Shoo, groupie."
"I'm not a fucking groupie!" I yell making him jump back. This strange guy looks at Billie confused.
"You heard her; she's not a fucking groupie. Ladies and gentlemen Tre Cool." Billie Joe says mocking my new green haired friend. I listen to them play a few songs and I realize that Tre is positively insane, yet he's the most amusing drummer I've ever seen. That week I spent in Billie's garage listening to them play.
***
Thursday night, Tre and Mike just left and I was about to head home myself when Billie stopped me.
"Adie, woulyouliketogooutwithme?" he murmurs nervously.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" I say looking at him with fascination.
"Adie, I was wondering if you would like to go out with me?" he asks as he runs his hand through his hair.
"Yeah, of course" I say; I've had a secret crush on him for a while now.
"Really?" he asks in slight disbelief.
"Yeah, just tell me, what were the songs you didn't want to play last week." I demand dying to know what Mike was trying to sing the day I met Tre.
"Okay" Billie says as he runs back into his garage to his guitar. "The first song I wrote was Only of You."
I wish I could tell you
But the words would come out wrong
Oh if you only knew
The way I felt for so long
I know that We're world's apart
But I just don't seem to care
These feelings in my heart
Only with you I want to share
The first time I caught a glimpse of you
Then all my thoughts were only of you
I hope that when time goes on
You will think the same about me
Many nights awake I lie
I only wish that you could see
I know that we're only friends
I hope this feeling never ends
If I could only hold you
It's the only thing I want to do.
"Wow, that's a really good song." I say in disbelief that he wrote such a song for me.
"I wrote a second one called The One I Want, but I don't think you'll like this one as much."
Sitting in my room last night
Staring at the mirror
I couldn't find a reason why
I couldn't be near her
'Cause you are the one that started
To make me feel this way
And every night I'm thinking
About the words you say
Pictures going through my mind
When we're together
All these long and sleepless nights
Will I ever get better
Now you know how I feel
This love is forever
You make my life seem so unreal
Will I ever get better?...
"You're a liar; I liked that song just as much as the first one." I say leaning in and giving him a kiss. We spend the evening on my front porch, I found out he's had a crush as long as I had a crush on him. We end up just sitting, leaning against the brick wall of the house staring up at the moon.
"Wake up! You little slut!" my mother screamed as she yanked me by my hair, pulling me out of Billie's embrace and into the house.
"Mom, you're drunk!" I yell at her as she locks Billie out of the house, I hear him knocking franticly against the door trying to get to me.
"You're sleeping around with the neighbour boy! You're going to whined up pregnant and unhappy!" she managed to slur out.
"Mom! We fell asleep on the porch that's all! And I'm not going to end up a teen mother like you did! Jeez, you act as if I'm the worst thing that ever happened to you!"
"Don't talk to me like that! I'm your mother!" she yells as she slaps me across the face.
"Well start acting like it!" I retort as I run up to my room, pack up some of my stuff and run out of the house.
"Are you okay?" Billie Joe asks looking at my glowing red cheek.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I say, wiping the tears out of my face.
"Where are you going?" he asks pointing at my backpack.
"My dad's"
"But I over-heard you say that your mom was a teen-mother."
"My dad stuck around till I was four, then he moved to Minnesota."
"How the hell are you going to get to Minnesota?"
"My dad travels between Minnesota and California for his work, so right now he's here for two weeks, so I'm going to stay at his apartment." I say determined to get away from the drunk known as my mother.
"It's 2AM, why don't you just stay at my house?" Billie offers as he takes my bag. I look around at the abandoned street.
"Alright, I'll go to my dad's tomorrow." Billie leads me into his house.
"You can sleep in my room; I'll sleep on the couch or something."
"Oh no, its okay I'll sleep on the couch." I say quickly.
"I won't let you. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you sleep on that gosh-forsaken couch? Besides, I usually end up sleeping on the couch more nights than in my bed."
"Alright, if you insist."