Billie Joe Armstrong Is My Step-Father...and I Hate It

I woke up the next morning and my head was filled with awful buzzing. I had a dreamless sleep after running away. I was half expecting a dream though, after... well, that. I rolled over on my side and checked the time.

“Oh, its half one” I muttered, rolling on my side again. Then I violently turned to check the time again, just in case I was wrong. “HALF ONE?! Fuck!” I threw myself out of bed. Dance class was in exactly half an hour. I tore out my celtic dress again and forced myself out of my night clothes and into my dress. I gave my hair a quick comb, grabbed my dancing shoes and fled down the stairs. I skidded to a stop atthe kitchen door, ready to tell my mum off. But she wasn’t there. I checked the living room. All I saw was Billie, sprawled across the sofa. Not even Kage or Hollie were there. Alright. I admit, I was mildly confused. And my mildly confused, I mean fucking very confused.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, cluelessly.

“Oh, you look nice” he said, lazily, from the sofa. “Your mum told me to tell you that your dance class was cancelled today.” He continued to stare, absent mindedly, at the t.v after telling me this. I stood there.

“You didn’t answer my question” I said. “Where is everyone?”

“Well” Billie said, looking at me. “Everyone woke up early this morning, stupid enough. Sammie took Kage and Hollie shopping with her”, he broke of the give me a confused shrug when I gave him a questioning look, “And Joey and Jakob went out with their friends.”

“At this time? It’s a bit early” I said. Then I looked at him. “What? No crack stash you’d like to smoke whilst mum isn’t here?”

“Hell no, I’m at that stage were I start to worry about my heart” he said, smiling ever so slightly. Why would he smile about that?

“So... everyone’s gone... except me and you?” I asked.

“That’s the case” he said. “Wanna sit?”

“No, I do not want to sit!” I seethed. “Why would they just... ne-yah, I’m leaving!” I stormed upstairs. How dare they all just leave me here with... with him?!

Suddenly, an idea sprang. It wouldn’t get me back on Billie, but it would help with my plan to make Joey’s life a living hell. I grabbed my phone and the piece of paper I wrote Rosalette’s number on, coz I knew it wouldn’t be on my arm forever. I dialled it and listened to it ring a few times.

“Hello, you’ve reached JJ, who has Rosie’s phone at the moment and won’t give it back, how will you pay me, sex or drugs?”

“JJ? It’s Grace, remember?” I asked, slightly put off by his answering but never-the-less, glad to hear his voice again. It was nice to hear someone other than mum, Billie, Kage, Hollie, Joey or Jakob.

“Oh, hey Grace! I didn’t know it was you there” he said, his tone ten times brighter. I heard him tell someone it was me before talk to me again. “What is it you want?”

“I heard you took Joey out somewhere?” I asked.

“Ohhh, yea. He’s here. Why, you wanna talk to him?” he asked.

“Fuck no. I wanna know if I could come over” I said.

“Oh, yea, hang on...” he broke off, asking the others something before returning. “Everyone says they’ll be happy to see you again, when would you like to make this appointment, ma’am?”

“Oh, go to hell” I laughed. “Where are you now?”

“At John’s house” he said. “I’ll come lift you over.”

“Hang on, you know how to drive? Do you have a drivers liscence already?”

“Do I fuck? Nah. But I drive real careful, the police ain’t gonna give a shit, are they?” he answered.

“I suppose” I said, uneasily. “Right, I’ll be waiting for you.”

“See you later, babes” he said, hanging up. I rolled my eyes.

I got changed out of my dress into some skinny jeans, a ratty pair of converse and some scruffy t-shirt. I tied my hair back and put on the slightest hints of make up until JJ finally made an appearance. Mum was still out getting food to stuff ourselves with.

“Going out” I told the slump on the sofa. He yawned in response so I just left him to it. I climbed into JJ’s car and I made fucking sure I was strapped in. I didn’t trust this boy for shit if he was going to drive.

“Hey sugar” he greeted me, with a wide grin. It was a nicer grin that before. Not the perverted one he usually had.

“Hi” I responded, as he began to drive off down the road. “So, why didn’t you invite me over again?”

“You were asleep, we didn’t wanna disturb you” he laughed.

“Hm, well... understood but try to sleep in for once in your life” I said. “I thought I was totally fucked this morning.”

“And why would you think that?”

“I thought I had dancing class. I swear, next time I get a bombshell like that, I’ll take it out on someone” I said, knowing who exactly I would like to take it out on.

“Oh, your dancing. How’s that going?” he asked.

“Fine” I responded. “There’s the odd sprianted ankle but that’s it.” We got into a conversatin about Lady Gaga, which lead into Glee getting tangled into it until we reached John’s house. It was a suburban house, painted a rich cream colour. Rosalette bounced out, grinning.

“I knew you’d call! I thought you’d died or something” she laughed. “C’mon in!”

“I don’t think you have the authority to invite people into my house, dearest Rosie” John barked from the doorway. “But yea Grace, c’mon in.”

We sat up in John’s room, Rosalette had bought sugar filled things in three plastic bags. Rosalette talked non-stop about different things. Things in which the others knew about, but I didn’t. Ifelt a little excluded but they kept trying to draw me into it by explaining things and what they were talking about. And it was kinda confusing because I wanted to understand but it lead to a lot of questions. I just sat there, listening to them rant about different things. Joey refused to make any contact with me, in fact, it was a result if he even looked at me. The rest seemed oblivious to this, talking away about different things. Finally, a subject I understood but didn’t actually feel right talking about... popped up out of no where.

“I never asked, do you like Billie Joe?” Leon asked me. “I was meaning to ask you that.”

“Yea, you never told us” John said, looking at me. Suddenly, five pairs of eyes were staring at me, including Joey. I blinked and gulped. What do I say? What do I say?! I couldn’t just say I hated him. But if I lie, Joey was sure to correct me. I fought down the urge to shudder. I bit my bottem lip.

“Well he’s... he’s... I don’t... I don’t know how to...” I stammered, tripping over my own words.

“Starstruck?” JJ asked, raising his eyebrows, bemused.

“Wha- hell no!” I said. “It’s... well... it feels weird having him around I suppose.”

“I would feel that way too. Having Billie wander through your house after youtook a shower, I mean that would be-... no offense, Joey!” she had broke off in her sentence by getting a “look” from Joey.

“How are you and Joey getting along then?” Leon inquired. For the first time since we’ve been here together, I caught Joey’s glance but I looked away hastily. I merely shrugged.

“Have you guys fallen out?” Rosalette asked. Joey muttered something and I glared over at him coz I made out the words “cowardly” and “bitch”. “Alright, something going on here. What is it?” Niether of us answered. Joey refused to look at me and I refused to look at him.

“Do we have to talk about this?” Joey finally said, in a very snappy tone. Rosalette looked a bit tooken aback to be be talked to in a sharp tone before glaring at him.

“What’s gotten into you?” she asked, unamused.

“Nothing, Rosie. I’m sorry” he muttered.

“You fucking well better be” she hissed.

“Who’s up for strip poker?!” JJ yelled randomly, throwing the cards everywhere.

“JJ! Fuck, what are you playing at, your gonna have to lift them now!” john snapped.

“Noooo. Never” he said.

“Why do you have playing cards in your room?” I asked. Rosalette sighed before rolling her eyes.

“They’ve played it before. Of course, JJ cheated so I had to give a lap dance to Joey” she said. For some reason, my stomach twisted in a horrid type of way.

“Oh, really?” I said, dryly, forcing a tight smile.

“Yea. Did you enjoy it, Joey?” she asked, a crafty smirk over her face. I didn’t hear Joey’s answer. I didn’t want to hear it. My stomach twisted awfully and my heart was thupping madly as if enraged by something. I felt my hands curl up into fists and my palms were sweating. The acidic rage started to boil again. I gulped down the swear words that threatened to spill out.

Ha. You’re not JEALOUS of Joey, I told myself. No way. Never.