‹ Prequel: Green Porcupine
Sequel: Meant to be ›
So Close Yet So Far
So Close Yet So Far
"Come over." Ramona hisses on the phone.
"What?"
"Bianca and my dad went out, and Franky is at Claudia's." she hisses.
"What about Josh?"
"He's asleep and he's a heavy sleeper."
"You sure?"
"Yeah come over." she insists.
"Alright, I'll be over as soon as I get a free shot to the door."
"Great." She says hanging up the phone.
Joey goes over to his CD player and sets it so it turns off at eleven thirty, which is the time he usually goes to bed. Luckily for him, his parents were going out with Tre, Bianca, Mike and Cassie tonight as well so all he had to worry about was Jakob. He creeps down past the living room to find his younger brother distracted with a noisy video game. He puts on his shoes and heads out the door.
As he walks briskly towards the garage he realizes that he can't take a car because his parents would definitely notice so he walks the two streets to Ramona. He knocks on the door and it opens almost instantly and he's pulled in by his girlfriend.
"Happy to see me." he says after they break from a passionate kiss.
"You know it." She says as she pulls him toward the stairs.
"Hmm I like where this is going." He says as they make their way up the stairs.
As they enter her room, Ramona practically pounces Joey. The passionate kisses intensify as their clothes fall to the floor.
"You brought a condom, right?" Ramona asks as she takes off her bra.
"Uhh yeah." Joey says shoving his hand into his pocket to get it.
"Great." She says as she puts her lips against his yet again.
*
Joey pulls the condom off and tosses it aside.
"I've been wanting that." She murmurs into his ear. He smirks.
"Me too." She pecks at his neck until they fall asleep.
"Ramona!" Joey hisses.
"Mmm." She says waking up, she sees its daylight. "Oh fuck."
"Don't worry, it's only four in the morning, but I need you to get off me." she gets up quickly. She watches as her boyfriend fumbles around her room to get dressed.
"Love ya, I'll see you later." He says picking up his shoes as he kisses her goodbye.
Ramona gets up and puts on her boxer shorts and a loose t-shirt and goes back to bed once she sees through her window that Joey successfully got out.
*
Bianca heads into Ramona's room to put away some of her laundry, as she goes up to the closet something catches her eye from under the bed. She panics for a moment, not sure what to do.
"Tre!" she calls down the hallway.
"Yeah babe." He calls back.
"Can you come here?"
"Where is here?"
"Upstairs." She says as he heads to her voice.
"Yeah what's up?" he asks casually as he nears Ramona's room.
"That!" she points at the small item under the bed.
"Oh god."
*
"I'll see you later." She leans forward and kisses Joey goodbye before getting out of the car. She gets inside the house and it's really quiet.
"Anyone home?!"
"Yeah, I need to talk to you." her father's voice says clearly. She walks into the kitchen and sits at the table with him.
"What's up?" he sighs.
"I know you had sex with Joey last night." Her jaw drops, how could he possibly know, Joey snuck out without being heard, "I found the condom under your bed, and I'm pretty sure I heard someone leaving early this morning."
"Oh god." She says putting her face in her hands dreading the conversation about to take place.
"I called your mother."
"Oh great, she knows too."
"Yes, and she thought it would be best if you went back to New York."
"What! No, I can't go back there!"
"That's what I said and we agreed to let you stay here because no matter where you are there will be guys, might as well be the son of someone we trust."
"Please Dad, I really don't want to have this conversation."
"Well too bad, we're going to have it. I'm not happy about what you did at all, but I know there's no way I can stop you from doing it again." He says slowly, "I can only ask you to be responsible and use a condom."
"We always use a condom! We're not stupid!"
"Last night wasn't the first time?!" he says about to have a heart attack. "How long has this been going on?!"
"We did it for the first time on Joey's birthday." She says meekly.
"But that was a month ago!" he exclaims, "So you've been sneaking around for a whole month!"
"Well it's not like I can go up to you and say Hey Dad, I had sex with Joseph Armstrong!" she spits.
"I know." Tre says calming down. "Alright, the bottom line I'm not giving you the okay to have sex just if you choose to have sex, be responsible, use a condom and don't let any guy pressure you into doing it without one, or doing it if you don't want to."
"I know dad." She says hoping this is the end of the conversation. She stands up and Tre doesn't stop her, "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, yeah, you were bound to grow up sometime." He mumbles as he puts his head in his hands as she leaves the kitchen.
"Hey." Bianca says walking into the kitchen.
"Oh uhh hey." Tre says rubbing his eyes.
"Did you talk to Ramona?"
"Yeah, never want to do that again." He mumbles. "My only hope is Frankito and Josh don't get caught."
"Well, how old were we? I was seventeen, and I'm sure as hell you had sex before me."
"Hey how dare you accuse me, well yeah I was almost sixteen when I first- I was your first?" she nods. "I'm honored."
"Did you tell Billie Joe and Adrienne yet?"
"No not yet." Tre says rubbing his face, "I'm not looking forward to that conversation either." He picks up the cordless phone and presses the correct speed dial number.
"Hello?"
"Hey Jake?"
"Yeah."
"Hey it's Tre, can I speak to either your mom or your dad?"
"Yeah sure." He pauses, "Mom! Dad! Phone!"
"Hello?" Adrienne's voice clearly says.
"Adie, hi, I need to talk to you about something."
"Go ahead."
"It's about Ramona and Joseph." At the sound of her son's name in full causes shock.
"Is everything okay?"
"Depends how you look at it." He sighs, "This morning Bianca found a used condom in Ramona's room."
"A-a condom?" Adie stutters. "But Joey was . . .in bed when we got home."
"I talked to Ramona, she admitted it. We all knew it was bound to happen." The line remains silent, "Adrienne? Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'll be fine, I'm just going to lie down for a while."
"Okay. Bye." Tre says hanging up the phone.
Adie goes up to her room and lies down to think. She remembered times of when Joey was just a baby, so innocent, now he was grown up and doing . . .stuff. She couldn't wait for Billie Joe to come home so she could talk to him. She ends up lying in bed for an hour until Billie comes home.
"Hey are you feeling alright?" he asks as he too lies down and wraps his arms around her.
"Bianca found a used condom in Ramona's room." She says clearly.
"What?" he says shocked as he pulls away.
"Joseph and Ramona had sex."
"Oh god." He says putting his hands over his face, in a stressful manor. "Did you talk to him?"
"No, I was hoping you'd do that." She says meekly.
"Yeah, yeah." He stutters, "It's a father son thing, oh god, I'd rather they just not get caught."
"Ignorance is bliss." She sighs.
"Well, I guess I should talk to him now before we become grandparents."
"Don't say that word." Adie hisses, "Not until they're at least twenty-two."
"Why twenty-two?" Billie asks in a joking manor.
"Because that's how old you were when we had Joey, it's the oldest we can go with out being hypocrites."
"You do know we can say until Ramona is twenty-five."
"I like the sounds of that." She says as she rests her head back on the pillow.
"And now for the dreaded conversation." Billie says as he leaves the room.
"Hey Dad, is Mom okay?" Jakob asks as he passes his father in the hall.
"Yeah, just leave her alone for now." He says as he continues down the hall to Joey's room. He knocks on the door.
"Enter at your own risk." Joey calls back. Billie Joe opens the door and steps in. "Hey Dad, what's up."
"We need to talk."
"Okay, what about?" he asks as he stands up a couple of feet away from his father.
"You and Ramona." Joey eyes his father suspiciously, "Bianca found a used condom in Ramona's room."
"Oh fuck."
"Oh fuck is right."
"S-so Tre knows too?"
"Yeah, he's actually the one who called your mom telling her what happened."
"Mom knows!" he shrieks. "Holy fuck, Tre is going to kill me."
"No he won't, stop being such a drama queen." Billie says rolling his eyes, "Even if he was going to kill you, you should've thought about that before you slept with his daughter!"
"Did you think I was never going to have sex? Die a virgin?"
"Well no, we just didn't expect it to come so soon."
"So soon? I'm sixteen!" he practically yells, "What about you! You were probably like twelve, by the way Mike talks about it!"
"Fourteen, nearly fifteen, happy?" he states, "And I regret it, I ended up hating that girl."
"Yeah okay well I don't hate Ramona and I find it hard to believe I ever will."
"Well that's besides the point." Billie says trying to get back on track, "You've been sneaking around so far, meaning I can't stop you from doing it again. As much as I would, but I'm not god. So here's the deal, use a condom every time and don't fuck up and get Ramona pregnant."
"I won't, I'm not stupid, we've been using condoms! Stop under-estimating us!"
"Another thing! Don't you dare pressure Ramona into anything! Got it?!" he says warningly, "I raised you to be a good person and if you act any less than a gentleman to Ramona I'll kick your ass then leave you alone with Tre so he can do whatever he sees fit! Got it?!"
"Got it."
"Okay right now, I'm about to have a panic attack, so just stay out of my face." Billie Joe says leaving the room, he really needed a cigarette for the first time that month.
"What?"
"Bianca and my dad went out, and Franky is at Claudia's." she hisses.
"What about Josh?"
"He's asleep and he's a heavy sleeper."
"You sure?"
"Yeah come over." she insists.
"Alright, I'll be over as soon as I get a free shot to the door."
"Great." She says hanging up the phone.
Joey goes over to his CD player and sets it so it turns off at eleven thirty, which is the time he usually goes to bed. Luckily for him, his parents were going out with Tre, Bianca, Mike and Cassie tonight as well so all he had to worry about was Jakob. He creeps down past the living room to find his younger brother distracted with a noisy video game. He puts on his shoes and heads out the door.
As he walks briskly towards the garage he realizes that he can't take a car because his parents would definitely notice so he walks the two streets to Ramona. He knocks on the door and it opens almost instantly and he's pulled in by his girlfriend.
"Happy to see me." he says after they break from a passionate kiss.
"You know it." She says as she pulls him toward the stairs.
"Hmm I like where this is going." He says as they make their way up the stairs.
As they enter her room, Ramona practically pounces Joey. The passionate kisses intensify as their clothes fall to the floor.
"You brought a condom, right?" Ramona asks as she takes off her bra.
"Uhh yeah." Joey says shoving his hand into his pocket to get it.
"Great." She says as she puts her lips against his yet again.
*
Joey pulls the condom off and tosses it aside.
"I've been wanting that." She murmurs into his ear. He smirks.
"Me too." She pecks at his neck until they fall asleep.
"Ramona!" Joey hisses.
"Mmm." She says waking up, she sees its daylight. "Oh fuck."
"Don't worry, it's only four in the morning, but I need you to get off me." she gets up quickly. She watches as her boyfriend fumbles around her room to get dressed.
"Love ya, I'll see you later." He says picking up his shoes as he kisses her goodbye.
Ramona gets up and puts on her boxer shorts and a loose t-shirt and goes back to bed once she sees through her window that Joey successfully got out.
*
Bianca heads into Ramona's room to put away some of her laundry, as she goes up to the closet something catches her eye from under the bed. She panics for a moment, not sure what to do.
"Tre!" she calls down the hallway.
"Yeah babe." He calls back.
"Can you come here?"
"Where is here?"
"Upstairs." She says as he heads to her voice.
"Yeah what's up?" he asks casually as he nears Ramona's room.
"That!" she points at the small item under the bed.
"Oh god."
*
"I'll see you later." She leans forward and kisses Joey goodbye before getting out of the car. She gets inside the house and it's really quiet.
"Anyone home?!"
"Yeah, I need to talk to you." her father's voice says clearly. She walks into the kitchen and sits at the table with him.
"What's up?" he sighs.
"I know you had sex with Joey last night." Her jaw drops, how could he possibly know, Joey snuck out without being heard, "I found the condom under your bed, and I'm pretty sure I heard someone leaving early this morning."
"Oh god." She says putting her face in her hands dreading the conversation about to take place.
"I called your mother."
"Oh great, she knows too."
"Yes, and she thought it would be best if you went back to New York."
"What! No, I can't go back there!"
"That's what I said and we agreed to let you stay here because no matter where you are there will be guys, might as well be the son of someone we trust."
"Please Dad, I really don't want to have this conversation."
"Well too bad, we're going to have it. I'm not happy about what you did at all, but I know there's no way I can stop you from doing it again." He says slowly, "I can only ask you to be responsible and use a condom."
"We always use a condom! We're not stupid!"
"Last night wasn't the first time?!" he says about to have a heart attack. "How long has this been going on?!"
"We did it for the first time on Joey's birthday." She says meekly.
"But that was a month ago!" he exclaims, "So you've been sneaking around for a whole month!"
"Well it's not like I can go up to you and say Hey Dad, I had sex with Joseph Armstrong!" she spits.
"I know." Tre says calming down. "Alright, the bottom line I'm not giving you the okay to have sex just if you choose to have sex, be responsible, use a condom and don't let any guy pressure you into doing it without one, or doing it if you don't want to."
"I know dad." She says hoping this is the end of the conversation. She stands up and Tre doesn't stop her, "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, yeah, you were bound to grow up sometime." He mumbles as he puts his head in his hands as she leaves the kitchen.
"Hey." Bianca says walking into the kitchen.
"Oh uhh hey." Tre says rubbing his eyes.
"Did you talk to Ramona?"
"Yeah, never want to do that again." He mumbles. "My only hope is Frankito and Josh don't get caught."
"Well, how old were we? I was seventeen, and I'm sure as hell you had sex before me."
"Hey how dare you accuse me, well yeah I was almost sixteen when I first- I was your first?" she nods. "I'm honored."
"Did you tell Billie Joe and Adrienne yet?"
"No not yet." Tre says rubbing his face, "I'm not looking forward to that conversation either." He picks up the cordless phone and presses the correct speed dial number.
"Hello?"
"Hey Jake?"
"Yeah."
"Hey it's Tre, can I speak to either your mom or your dad?"
"Yeah sure." He pauses, "Mom! Dad! Phone!"
"Hello?" Adrienne's voice clearly says.
"Adie, hi, I need to talk to you about something."
"Go ahead."
"It's about Ramona and Joseph." At the sound of her son's name in full causes shock.
"Is everything okay?"
"Depends how you look at it." He sighs, "This morning Bianca found a used condom in Ramona's room."
"A-a condom?" Adie stutters. "But Joey was . . .in bed when we got home."
"I talked to Ramona, she admitted it. We all knew it was bound to happen." The line remains silent, "Adrienne? Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'll be fine, I'm just going to lie down for a while."
"Okay. Bye." Tre says hanging up the phone.
Adie goes up to her room and lies down to think. She remembered times of when Joey was just a baby, so innocent, now he was grown up and doing . . .stuff. She couldn't wait for Billie Joe to come home so she could talk to him. She ends up lying in bed for an hour until Billie comes home.
"Hey are you feeling alright?" he asks as he too lies down and wraps his arms around her.
"Bianca found a used condom in Ramona's room." She says clearly.
"What?" he says shocked as he pulls away.
"Joseph and Ramona had sex."
"Oh god." He says putting his hands over his face, in a stressful manor. "Did you talk to him?"
"No, I was hoping you'd do that." She says meekly.
"Yeah, yeah." He stutters, "It's a father son thing, oh god, I'd rather they just not get caught."
"Ignorance is bliss." She sighs.
"Well, I guess I should talk to him now before we become grandparents."
"Don't say that word." Adie hisses, "Not until they're at least twenty-two."
"Why twenty-two?" Billie asks in a joking manor.
"Because that's how old you were when we had Joey, it's the oldest we can go with out being hypocrites."
"You do know we can say until Ramona is twenty-five."
"I like the sounds of that." She says as she rests her head back on the pillow.
"And now for the dreaded conversation." Billie says as he leaves the room.
"Hey Dad, is Mom okay?" Jakob asks as he passes his father in the hall.
"Yeah, just leave her alone for now." He says as he continues down the hall to Joey's room. He knocks on the door.
"Enter at your own risk." Joey calls back. Billie Joe opens the door and steps in. "Hey Dad, what's up."
"We need to talk."
"Okay, what about?" he asks as he stands up a couple of feet away from his father.
"You and Ramona." Joey eyes his father suspiciously, "Bianca found a used condom in Ramona's room."
"Oh fuck."
"Oh fuck is right."
"S-so Tre knows too?"
"Yeah, he's actually the one who called your mom telling her what happened."
"Mom knows!" he shrieks. "Holy fuck, Tre is going to kill me."
"No he won't, stop being such a drama queen." Billie says rolling his eyes, "Even if he was going to kill you, you should've thought about that before you slept with his daughter!"
"Did you think I was never going to have sex? Die a virgin?"
"Well no, we just didn't expect it to come so soon."
"So soon? I'm sixteen!" he practically yells, "What about you! You were probably like twelve, by the way Mike talks about it!"
"Fourteen, nearly fifteen, happy?" he states, "And I regret it, I ended up hating that girl."
"Yeah okay well I don't hate Ramona and I find it hard to believe I ever will."
"Well that's besides the point." Billie says trying to get back on track, "You've been sneaking around so far, meaning I can't stop you from doing it again. As much as I would, but I'm not god. So here's the deal, use a condom every time and don't fuck up and get Ramona pregnant."
"I won't, I'm not stupid, we've been using condoms! Stop under-estimating us!"
"Another thing! Don't you dare pressure Ramona into anything! Got it?!" he says warningly, "I raised you to be a good person and if you act any less than a gentleman to Ramona I'll kick your ass then leave you alone with Tre so he can do whatever he sees fit! Got it?!"
"Got it."
"Okay right now, I'm about to have a panic attack, so just stay out of my face." Billie Joe says leaving the room, he really needed a cigarette for the first time that month.