I Left My Heart in San Diego

"So tell me, in very specific detail, what happened," Billie said.

I smiled and snuggled down into my pillows, adjusting my phone at my ear so as to best relay the very specific details of what happened in Cue-Ball's office earlier this afternoon. "Well, we arrived, and he was like 'it's very nice to meet you' in an overly-professional voice."

"Yikes. You think maybe he has a thing for your mom?" Billie suggested.

"Billie Joe Armstrong! That's disgusting! I would most likely kill myself in the event that my mother started dating my school's principal," I said, making fake gagging noises.

"Or you could just run away and come live with me," Billie murmured.

"You're too close, Billie. If I ran away to your house, it would be too easy for my mom to come harass me about running away and shit," I reasoned.

"Oh, you heard that? Whoops...." Billie trailed off.

I chuckled. "Was I not supposed to?"

"No," Billie admitted.

"Wow. Billie Joe Armstrong doesn't want me to hear something he said. That must be a first," I teased, wanting so badly for him to come sneaking in my window. Dammit. I really was being becoming obsessed...SHIT.

"Shit," I muttered.

"What?" Billie asked. Fuck, did I say that out loud?

"Oh, nothing," I said hastily, hoping to God he wouldn't question why I just cursed under my breath.

"I may not not know you very well, but I know girls almost too well, and I can tell that it's not nothing, Arizona," Billie said.

I sighed. "It's just that...."

"That what? It's okay, you can say it. I'm sure I've heard worse from girls before."

"It's just that I'm starting to become obsessed with you. I suddenly started drawing your eyes in the middle of Cue-Ball's office today, Billie. Your eyes. I haven't done that since my last boyfriend two months ago," I explained, suddenly feeling very vulnerable.

"I wouldn't consider it a bad thing yet," Billie said, trying to calm me.

"Why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because," Billie answered. "Two months isn't a very long time."

"Billie," I said, "I was with this guy for a year and a half. He was my longest relationship ever."

"Shit."

"Yeah. And we had some pretty shitty times," I said.

"Well, think of it this way," Billie said. "You said 'starting to.' That implies you're not completely obsessed yet. And as long as you're not clingy-obsessive, it's okay."

I smiled. "Thanks, Billie."

"For what?"

"Knowing just what to say to make me feel better," I said.

Billie laughed. "Now that is a first," he said. "I almost never know the right thing to say."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Well, I'm glad you do. I gotta go. Alan's taking us all out to dinner to celebrate his first paycheck."

"Alan?" Um...

"Oh, Alan's my oldest brother," Billie explained, probably feeling a little foolish.

"Do you have any other siblings?"

"Yeah, I'm the youngest of six."

"Holy shit! The youngest of six?!" I exclaimed.

Billie laughed. "Yeah, six. It takes some getting used to. I'm sure you're going to meet at least one of them if you keep coming to practices."

"Probably more than likely. I'll let you go. Have fun!" I said.

"I will. I'll text you, okay?"

"Why would it not be okay?"

Billie laughed again. "I don't know. Later."

"Yeah, bye," I said, hanging up my phone. Talking with Billie always left a smile on my face.

"Arizona!" my mom called from downstairs. "Come down here! There's someone I want you to meet." I sighed. Who could my mother possibly want to introduce to me?

I left my room and walked downstairs, setting my phone on vibrate and shoving it in my pocket. I entered the family room to see my mom and some short-haired, muscular guy sitting on the couch next to her, holding her hand. Another new boyfriend, no doubt.

"Hi," I said to him, smiling at him and giving him a small wave. "Mom, who's this?"

"Aran Hettinger. A-R-A-N, just like the generic name, just spelled different," he answered casually, his emotions and voice not betraying anything pertaining to why the hell my mother wants me to meet this guy. Unless...no. She wouldn't do that to me, to us. We've only just moved in. This is still only the first day my mom and I are living in San Diego. So it's very probable that he's someone from back home, in which case that wouldn't be so bad.

"Arizona Willows. I assume that you know my mom somehow," I said cautiously.

"Of course he does. He's not just some random hitchhiker off the street, Arizona," my mom snapped. I shot her a look and turned back to Aran. He didn't seem terrible, but he'd only spoken two sentences to me.

"I figured as much. But why the hell do you want me to meet him? He's not another one of your boyfriends, is he?" I retorted.

"That's precisely what he is, Arizona, and you would do well to watch your mouth around him."

"What, you don't want your precious bullshitted image of me to be ruined? Well it's too late for that, Mom," I said, my voice dripping with rage.

She stood up, hands curled into fists. "Arizona Leigh! You are my daughter, and you will do as I tell you up until the very last second before you turn eighteen! Since that is some time away, you will do as I say, or you will face some serious consequences! Do you understand?!" she shrieked at me.

"Fuck off, Mom! You've never given two shits about what I've done, why start now?!" I shrieked back, knowing exactly how to win this screaming match.

"Because I was afraid to move! I didn't want to move, Arizona, but I had to if we wanted to keep being able to have money in our pockets on a regular basis!"

"Well, now the truth is out," I said, no longer screaming. I crossed my arms over my chest.

My mom sat back down, Aran's hand on the top of her back. "And I'm still afraid for you, Arizona. That guy I saw in your bedroom this morning? He didn't look like the type of person you should be hanging out with. He looks just like Charlie," she commented.

"Billie Joe is nothing like Charlie," I growled, narrowing my eyes at my mother.

"And how can you deduct this? You've known this guy for all of a day, Arizona."

"This little family meeting isn't about me. Can we just get to the point?" I asked, eager to get away from my mother before I stood up and punched her. Or did anything worse...

"Gladly. I just wanted you to meet Aran," my mom said, settling back into the couch and taking Aran's hand again, visibly fuming.

"Why?" I asked monotonously, leaning forward on my elbows.

"Because you're going to be seeing a lot more of me," he said, smiling slightly, trying to break the tension my mother and I left in the air from our screaming match.

"Please don't tell me that he's moving in."

"You're damn right he is," my mom said. I opened my mouth to speak but she cut me off. "And I don't want to hear another word out of you, Arizona. I would appreciate it if you left us alone here. I don't care where you go, as long as you don't get yourself into any trouble."

I settled back into the couch, not intending to go anywhere, just to spite her. Aran turned to me. "Could you please leave us alone? We need to talk," he said.

"Surely, Aran," I said, standing up and walking over to the coat closet. I shoved my arms through the sleeves and flipped my mom off as I walked out the door.

As I slammed the front door behind me, I turned right out of the driveway, and headed for a certain garage door, the slight darkness illuminating the light spilling out from underneath it.