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

“Diana. There’s a nice name.”

“I can’t believe you’ve only thought of two guys names.”

“It’s GOING... to be... a girl. I can fell it in my guts. A mother knows.” I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t believe they were still going on about this. It had been continuing since mum had brought it up. But what was really irratating me was Jessica. She knows. She knows everything. I glanced over at Joey, who kept his eyes glued on the t.v. I noticed Jakob looking at me. I gave him a sour glare, which caused him to look away.

Sorry little shit.

And I thought Billie was bad. At least I know, if it were him, he wouldn’t go telling his mates about it. I made a mental note to slaughter that boy.

“Maybe I should go retro, y’know? Maybe my wedding dress could be... blue” mum said, changing the subject sparatically. “Maybe it doesn’t even need to be a normal colour, maybe it could be a metallic colour!”

“Just make it white, Sammie” Billie sighed, obviously fed up with her constant planning. “I can’t believe I’m re-marrying already...”

“Why, you’re not having second thoughts, are you?” mum asked, turning her head to look at him. “I’m gettnig carried away, aren’t I? I knew it, I knew I shouldn’t have went flying into the news and stuff...” Billie pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her.

“No way, Sammie. You’re the love of my life.”

“Yea, that’s probably what you said about Adrienne too” she muttered.

“Hey, don’t pin that divorce on me!” Billie said, pushing her playfully.

“Who’s Adrienne?” Hollie asked, looking up from her fake tea party.

“No one, sweetie” mum said.

“But I want to know” Hollie ordered.

“She’s my mum” Joey said.

“Ohhhh. Where is she now?”

“God knows, as long as she’s away from here” mum muttered, careful not to let the boys hear her. Mum can be a jealous sort of person in situatinos. This happened to be one of them.

I was sitting on the floor, leaning against one of the armchairs with Joey right behind me, my knees drawn up to my chest. Joey got up off the sofa, walking out of the room toward the kitchen. I sprang up to follow him. I saw him leaning against the table. He defintely looked distressed about something. Like something was really getting to him, eating away at him. I knew what that felt like. He sighed and looked at the ground. I could only assume what he was thinking about. I walked into the kitchen.

“Are you thinking about what Jessica did?” I asked, closing the kitchen door. He looked up, startled.

“Wha- oh... yea” he said, closing his eyes as to try and make the thought go away.

“I didn’t know until today” I said. “What was she doing out in the rain anyway?”

“I dunno, does that really matter?” Joey asked. I shook my head.

“No...” I said, only barely making a sound out of my mouth at all. “I was just... I was just trying to figure out how she got us at first.”

“We might as well not let her get to us” Joey said. I looked at him, as if he were mad.

“I don’t want to be known as a slut, Joey” I snarled. “This could even break my mum and your dad apart, and as much as I hate Billie, it will totally ruin my mum.”

“Yea, I suppose...” Joey said. “We’re not the only ones to consider here.”

“And next thing y’know, we’re gonna have a kid to glue our two families together” I said. Silence fell between us.

“I know” he said, eventually breaking the silence. “And then where will we-?” The door opened and Billie walked in. He stopped when he saw us.

“Am I... butting in on something here?” he asked.

“No” Joey answered, unable to make eye contact with his own dad.

“Don’t lie... what were you two talking about?” Billie asked, suspisciously.

“Nothing, dickhead” I snarled suddenly. He looked at me.

“That means you were” he said. He looked at his son. “C’mon... is it about Sammie?”

“No, dad. You know I like Samia” Joey replied, stubbornly.

“It was me, alright?” I lied. “It was about me talking about the marriage.” Billie stood there and I could tell he didn’t believe it.

“Yea... whatever” he said. “Hey, Gracie, what kind of chocolate does your mum like?”

“You mean... you don’t know?!” I asked, clasping my hands over my chest and speaking in a tone of fake shock.

“Oh, c’mon, Grace. We never actually had a conversation about chocolate” Billie said, in a pleading tone.

“Then go have one now” I said, with fake innocence.

“... that’s actually a good idea, thanks Gracie!” he grinned and rustled my hair when he walked past me. I screamed in digust when he touched me, giving him a death glare as he left.

“Hey Sammie! I was just wondering... what’s your favourite kind of chocolate?”

I simply rolled my eyes when I heard him talking. I pulled myself onto the kitchen worktop and looked at Joey, who didn’t respond to my glance.

“So, you were say-?”

“-love you.”

“... huh?”

“You didn’t let me finish last time” he said, turning to look at me. “Remember?”

I blinked. I tried to think back...

“There can’t be an us” I said, “It just can’t happen.”

“So... is this some odd breaking up thing?” Joey asked.

“It’s way to risky” I said.

“But Grace, I l-!”

“-love you.”

I looked back at him. “N-no... I told you, there can’t be-!”

“I’m not saying there has to be” Joey said, shrugging. “I’m justsimply saying what I feel. I love you.”

I gulped and resisted the urge to cry. “Don’t...”

“But I am.” I closed my eyes and tried to change the scene in my head. This wasn’t happening.

This wasn’t happening.

“This... you weren’t thinking about Jessica, were you?” I asked.

“Hell no, I was just... thinking about... how you took it. It made me feel really bad, Grace. You make it like me being in love with you is some jacked up piece of crazy shit, like it was all fake and it was mad just to think about you” Joey said. I gulped.

“Sorry...” I muttered, looking at the ground.

“Don’t say sorry” he said, lifting up my head with his hand. I tried to downcast my eyes. It didn’t work because I ended up looking into his eyes again. “Don’t do it again, Gracie.”

“B-but-!”

“Seriously... don’t.” I sat there, mesmorized. I listened for a while. Nothing seemed to be stirring in the living room.

So I lunged forward and kissed him. And I kissed him deeply. And he kissed me back.

I broke it apart before running away.

“Gracie! Grace!” I ran up the stairs, trying to ignore his calling, no matter how much I wanted to run back to him. I ran into my room and shut the door, trying to block out the world. I threw myself onto the bed, letting the tears ooze down my face. I curled up tight.

Because that’s what love is. It can make you, but it will break you.