Road To Acceptance

They walked to Mike's house, Billie's arm around Kali.

"Do you know if he's still there?" She asked.

"Who? Jeremy?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know... We'll see."

"I guess so..." Billie opened the door for her, and they made their way to the basement.

It was a grungy room that smelled vaguely of cigarettes, pot, and alcohol. There was a makeshift stage with the guys' instruments set up. A beat up couch, chair, coffee table, and fridge faced the stage.

Mike sat on the couch, absently plucking his bass. John was at the drums, drumming on the wall, and Tre was sitting upside-down in the chair, drinking a beer.

To Kali's disappointment, Jeremy was in the corner, crying his eyes out, surrounded by beer cans. When he saw her, he jumped up, destroying Tre's fortress.

"Hey! Jackass..." Tre yelled. Jeremy ignored him, ran to Kali, and hugged her tightly.

"Baby I love you so much." He squeezed her tighter. "Don't leave me..." He held her even tighter.

"Jeremy. I can't breathe." She tried to push him away, but he just clung to her even more.

"Jeremy... You're hurting me." He held on tighter.

"Jeremy Daniel, let me go. Seriously, you are hurting me." Billie pulled him off.

"Why are you leaving me?" Jeremy whined. He was slightly drunk...

"We already went over this." Kali answered.

"Can I talk to you?"

"You are."

"No, I mean... outside?" She sighed.

"Sure."

They walked out onto Mike's porch, and Kali sat on the railing.

"Are you leaving me for Billie?" Jeremy asked. She sighed again.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Why are you leaving me for that fucker? I fucking love you, Kali! I have always been the best boyfriend-"

"What? No. You don't return my calls, you blow me off... But you expect my life to revolve around you!"

"And you think Billie's going to be better?"

"He's a hell of a lot better than you! He cares about me. He-"

"He's just going to cheat on you too! Just like I did-"

"You cheated on me?" Kali gaped at him.

"Baby, I-"

"No. We are over." Jeremy grabbed her arm.

"No. I won't let you go." He held on to both arms tightly.

"Stop. Please. You're hurting me." She whimpered. He dug his fingers into her upper arms.

"Stop, please, Jeremy."

"No. You're not leaving."

"Please, stop. You're scaring me."

"You're not leaving me," he said and forcefully yanked her off the railing.

"What the fuck, Jeremy!" Mike said from the doorway. He walked over and pushed Jeremy off Kali. Mike called for Billie, who ushered Kali inside.

"Are you okay?" He asked. She bit her lip and nodded.

"Yeah..." She blinked a few times to try to prevent the tears.

"You don't look okay." A single tear escaped. She quickly wiped it away, hoping Billie didn't notice.

"Kali...?" No such luck. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. He stared into her blue eyes.

After a while he sighed and slid his hands down her arms. She flinched as he touched the slight bruises. Billie frowned and lifted her sleeves. Hate flickered across his face.

"He didn't..." Billie started, and trailed off.

"No... Not really."

They heard Mike yell something like "You don't go near her, you fucking fucker!" Someone slammed the gate.

"Kali," Billie said. She shook her head.

"I'm fine." She tried to smile.

"Why don't I believe you?" He put two fingers under her chin and pressed his lips against hers.

"You can cry. It's okay," he whispered. She shook her head.

"No. I really can't. Not in front of John and Tre."

"They're not even here." As if sensing his name, Tre burst in dragging John along.

"What's up, bitches!" Tre yelled. Billie shook his head and turned back to Kali.

"What about in front of just me?" She bit her lip and nodded. Billie took her hand and led her to Mike's room, locking the door behind them.

She let herself cry silently. She collapsed on Mike's bed. Billie sat on it and held her close. After a few minutes, she had herself back under control.

"Thanks, Billie."

"No problem..." She stayed in Billie's arms.

"Kali, did he... did he hit you?"

"No... I think I overreacted. He just really fucking scared me."

"What did he do?"

She relayed the previous events to him.

"Shit, Kali..." He paused and looked her in the eye. "You know I'd never hurt you... Right?" She nodded.

"I know."

"Emotionally, physically-"

"I know, Billie."

"Never." She laughed and kissed him.

"I know..." He brushed her light brown hair away from her face.

Someone knocked loudly.

"Come on, fuckmonkeys! We still need to practice!" Tre yelled.

"Goddamnit, Tre! Wait one fucking minute!" Billie called back. They heard Tre chuckle and walk away from the door.

Billie leaned in and kissed her. His tongue bed for entrance to her mouth, which she willingly gave. They fought for dominance, but Kali eventually let Billie take it. She quietly moaned as his wonderfully calloused fingers glided down her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened...

He lay her on the bed and, propping himself up with one hand, gently caressed her cheek with the other.

After awhile, they slowly broke apart, adding a few brief kisses.

"Please tell me I'm not dreaming..." Billie whispered. Kali grinned and shook her head.

"If you are, I definitely am..." He smiled and kissed her again.

"We better get back..." Kali murmured. Billie shook his head childishly.

"I want to stay here."

Someone knocked again.

"Tre, I said-" Billie yelled.

"It's not Tre. It's Dianne," a girl said from the other side of the door. Billie paused, his eyes widening.

"You didn't break up with her?" Kali hissed.

"No, I did. She just hasn't quite figured it out."

"What! Billie-"

"Billie Joe, can we talk?" Dianne called.

"Um... Just a second!"

"What do you want me to do?" Kali asked frantically.

"Shh... Can you climb out that window-"

"I am not climbing out the window!"

"Okay okay... Fine, just stay here. I'll bring her in..." Kali nodded.

Billie walked to the door and let a blonde girl of about 16 years in. She walked to the center of the room and adjusted her bra. She blew a bubble with her gum and flipped her hair before speaking.

"Billie, you've been kind of distant lately," she said.

"Dianne, we're over," Billie stated simply.

"So I think we should talk."

"Dianne, we're over."

"So I was thinking to myself the other day, right? And I thought 'How can I thank Billie for being such an awesome boyfriend?' And then I said, 'have sex with him!'"

"Dianne, we're over."

"And I think I'm ready for you, Billie! So-"

"DIANNE!"

"What, honey?" She blew a bubble.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, babe." She blew another one.

"We are over."

"What?"

"You and I are over."

"What? Is this about that slut Kali?"

"Don't call her a slut!"

"It is about her, isn't it? You're leaving me for her."

"No, it's not-"

"Whatever, Billie. I can't believe you! I can't believe I was going to have sex with you!" Dianne started to cry.

"I loved you, Billie. I know we were only going out for two weeks, but I loved you. But you go be with a whore. You deserve her."

"She is not a whore!"

"Whatever. I'll see you later." She went over to Kali and kissed her cheeks.

"Bye, Kali. Love you. Call me." She waved to Kali and left.

Kali and Billie were left staring after her.

"What was that all about..." Billie murmured.

"Was she high?" Kali asked slowly.

"I don't know."

Tre bounded up to the doorframe.

"Hey, fuckbunnies. Now can we practice?"

"Sure. Let's go," Billie said.

***

Tre and Kali sat on the couch, drinking beer while the guys practiced. Tre was, of course, upside-down.

Sweet Children finished the song, and Kali and Tre cheered.

"Thank you very fucking much!" Billie said into the mic. "This last song is called 'Paper Lanterns.'"

Kali and Billie smiled at each other. Their eyes never lost contact throughout the song.

"Thank you Mike's basement! I'd like to thank my family, the Gilman, and a very special... no... amazing girl. My muse, Kali Soriano!" She blushed, and John and Mike whooped.

Tre gasped.

"Billie! I thought what we had was special!" He pretended to cry.

"I'll always love you, Tre!" Billie said as he put Blue away. Tre ran upstairs, still fake sobbing. Everyone laughed, and Billie walked over to Kali.

"Hey," he said as he pulled her off the couch.

"Hey yourself. Nice little speech there." Billie smiled.

"So what was this meeting about?" Mike asked John. Billie turned and put his arm around Kali's waist.

"Um... I don't remember..." John said. Mike and Billie smiled.

"Hey, what time is it?" Kali asked suddenly.

"Almost midnight," Mike answered, smiling at Kali and Billie knowingly.

"Fuck... Ali's gonna flip a shit..."

"Ali?" John asked.

"My mom... Can I use your phone, Mike?"

"Sure. You know where it is." Kali and Billie walked upstairs. She sat at the counter.

"Hey, Kal?"

"Yes, Bill?"

"Shut up... Anyway, would you want to stay at my house tonight?"

"Yeah." She smiled and dialed her number. Billie was silent as she talked.

"Hello?" Josh, Ali's boyfriend, answered.

"Oh... Hello, Josh," Kali said back.

"Do you know what time it is?!?"

"Yes I know what time it is." She rolled her eyes.

"Why are you calling this late!?!"

"Just tell Mom I'm staying at Billie's house."

"Billie Joe? Ollie Armstrong's son? Is she okay with this?"

"Yeah, Ollie's okay with it."

"You can't go. I won't allow it."

"Shut the fuck up, asshole. You're not my father."

"Language, Kali Danielle!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just tell her."

"Give me their number."

"Mom knows Ollie's number. Why do you need it?"

"Just give it to me."

"You don't need it. Just-"

"I forbid you to-"

"Just if she worries or gets freaked out, tell her I'm at Billie's!" Kali yelled.

"Why do you need to go over there?"

"It's almost September. Tell her that, too."

"Why does that make any difference?"

"I always spend a lot of time there around September."

"And why is that?"

"It's a fucking tradition, asshole."

"Language! And you are not allowed-"

"Okay whatever. I'll see you later."

"This conversation is not over!"

"Yeah, it really is. Bye." She hung up and rolled her eyes again.

"Josh is such a dick..." She said.

"Josh...?"

"Ali's boyfriend." He nodded.

"God I hate him... Has your mom ever thought of getting remarried?"

"Is Ali-"

"No..."

"Oh... No, thankfully, she hasn't. Nobody will replace my dad."

"Nobody ever could. No matter how hard they tried." There was a pause.

"Do you remember your dad?" Billie asked.

"A little. Bits and pieces of days."

"You were only five..." Kali nodded sadly.

"Yeah... Did I tell you... Did I ever..." She cleared her throat. "Did I tell you I saw it?"

"Saw what?"

"I saw my daddy die..."