Half Wit

Emelie walked in the house and yawned. Outside it was completely dark except for the lights shining in the garden so the people would see where they were walking. She hung up her coat and looked around the hallway, expecting her father to run towards her and pull her in a breath-taking hug as soon as he knew she was home before he would interrogate her about her whereabouts and why she was home so late. But after a few minutes of standing in the hallway, wondering when her father would come out, Emelie sighed and gave up before she walked towards the living room where she heard the television play.

“I'm home just so you know,” Emelie said, waving at her father who was sitting just in front of the television, watching what Emelie recognized as the Grammy's. Her mother smiled at her from on the couch and patted the seat next to her, asking her to sit down without saying a word. Emelie shrugged and sat down next to her mother, asking what was going on.

“Its the top 20 of best Grammy performances, right now they're at number 4 and we haven't see Green Day yet so yeah...” Adrienne explained, nodding towards Billie who waved his hand in a way to tell her to be quiet so he could hear what the lady was saying. Emelie chuckled and shook her head, standing up and whispering to her mother that she was going to her room.

Adrienne nodded and followed her but went into the kitchen instead, opting to grab a cup of coffee while Billie was busy watching the Grammy's anyway.

“Hey Adrienne!” Billie Joe yelled from the living room (where he was probably jumping up and down while pointing at the TV by now) “I'm on TV!” he added. Adrienne sighed and shook her head while she filled her cup with freshly-made coffee (courtesy of Billie Joe himself really). When she walked back into the living room, Billie was sitting as happy as he could in front of the television, watching himself play “American Idiot” during the Grammy's.

“We're on number 1!” he said excited, which wasn't exactly healthy for him at this hour at the night but what did Adrienne care, his smile was worth gold and he would tire himself out in a few hours anyway. Hyperness did that to you. She nodded and smiled as she saw her husband on television, doing what he was doing best while enjoying it as much as he could.

“What's with all the screaming down here?” Emelie asked as she came back downstairs with an empty cup in her hands. Adrienne smiled and nodded towards the TV before Emelie groaned and turned her back to it and marched towards the kitchen in order to avoid seeing her own father on the TV.

“Forget that I asked. I need more coffee,” Emelie muttered under her breath as she walked away from the living room without a second thought and entered the kitchen, filling her cup with coffee. After getting all excited about seeing himself on the screen, Billie had calmed down and decided that he needed a drink. His feet carried him into the kitchen where he saw his daughter stand against one of the counters with a half-empty cup of coffee in her hands, clearly day dreaming and not noticing she was still in the kitchen. He smiled at her and whistled, which resulted in Emelie jumping up a little and shaking her head out of her reverie before she turned her eyes towards her father and shot him a tired smile.

“Isn't it a little late to drink coffee?” he asked her, pointing at her cup of coffee. Emelie frowned and looked from the coffee to her father and back again, not believing he had just said that.

“Isn't it abnormal for you to freak out whenever you see yourself on television?” she shot back. Billie winced and smirked, pointing his finger at her.

“Good one,” he said winking before he took out his own cup and filled with coffee. Emelie nodded and smiled satisfied, knowing that her dad would always challenge her to say something witty back. It was their way of challenging each other ever since she grew too old to play hide and seek (even though she still played it when she was on tour with the band but that was besides the point.)

“As always,” Emelie said with a small smile on her lips, feeling rather proud of herself. Billie gave her a peck on the cheek and left the kitchen again while sipping from his coffee.

“Damn this is great coffee! Who made it!?” he asked, stopping in the middle of the doorway as he looked over his shoulder at Emelie. The younger girl shook her head and chuckled a little at her father.

“You did dad, as always...” Emelie muttered the last part, knowing that she shouldn't even try to make the coffee since her dad was very specific about it and only he could make the 'perfect' coffee according to him. Billie Joe and his coffee is just the same as Tré Cool with his Cheech, the same precision was needed to satisfy him. Billie Joe smirked and walked out of the kitchen leaving Emelie alone in the room, shaking her head at her father.

*

“Oh yeah, by the way dad. What would you say if I told you 'I want to learn how to play bass'?” Emelie asked her father as she sat on the counter of the kitchen, seeing her father enter the kitchen again to refill his own cup of coffee.

“I would ask 'why bass' and then you would probably explain it to me,” Billie Joe said with a small smile as he didn't face her but filled his cup instead. Emelie sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, wondering how she would say this. But before she could say something, Billie realized she had said 'bass' instead of just 'guitar', which caused him to jump up and almost drop his coffee cup on the floor before he faced her.

“You want to learn bass?” Billie Joe asked with wide eyes, not believing that his daughter wanted to learn bass. He faked a hurt look on his face and took a step backwards in order to emphasize his shock.

“Yeah...since Mike is so much hotter than you and stuff...” Emelie said, trying to stifle her laugh as Billie Joe's shocked look only got worse when she mentioned that little detail about Mike “And since I have a fetish-”

“Wow, wow, wow, wow, hold up there! First, its creeps me out when my own daughter says one of my best friends is hot..and second..bass?” Billie Joe interrupted Emelie in the middle of her sentence.

“Yeah, didn't you hear me the first time I said it?” Emelie asked, raising an eyebrow and picking up her own cup of coffee which was standing besides her.

“But..but..but..I don't play bass! Mike does!” Billie whined, waving his arms in the air to make it more dramatic. Emelie raised both of her eyebrows now and looked at her father with a disbelieving look.

“Wow..no shit Sherlock,” she said, rolling her eyes a little. Billie Joe opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he pressed his lips together and stamped with his foot on the floor like a five year old.

“But Mike plays bass!” he repeated, whining as he started to turn around 360° on the same spot. Emelie bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing at his behaviour.

“Yeah..your point is?” Emelie asked slowly, wondering what the point of all his complaining was really.

“It's not me!” he said, faking some tears in his eyes as he made eye contact with Emelie who looked at her father disbelieving of what he had just said. Emelie looked at him with a raised eyebrow and her mouth half open as she blinked a couple of times.

“Excuse me?” she said after a few second of silence between them. Billie bit his lip nervously and started to fiddle with his t-shirt as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“I always hoped to be the one to teach you how to play guitar first,” he mumbled darkly under his breath, blushing a little as he refused to meet her eyes. Emelie made a small 'o' with her mouth and then smiled at her father.

“What?” Emelie asked, looking at her father in disbelief. She had thought about his reaction to her question but never expected him to say something like that.

“I always wanted to be the one to teach you your first instrument. Something that I'm actually good at,” Billie Joe admitted shy, refusing to meet his daughters eye as he fiddled with his wedding ring (an annoying habit he had picked up whenever the band had an interview and he wouldn't know what do say). Emelie bit her lip and wrapped her arms around her small waist as she thought about it. Before he could react, she jumped off the counter she was sitting on and went over to hug him.

After she pulled back, she kept her arms around his neck and shot him a small smile, finally managing to make eye contact with her father's green eyes.

“You can still teach me guitar dad, I just want to learn bass too,” Emelie said with a smile “and as fast as possible since me and my friends are thinking of starting a band.” she quickly added with a blush appearing on her cheeks. “Not that we'll actually end up doing it in the end but whatever.” she muttered under her breath, biting her lip a little. Billie Joe smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze.

“As long as you don't learn it from a hobo..or something! I'm fine with it,” he said, winking at her. Emelie's face dropped as she suddenly looked down, sadness reflecting in her eye.

“Oh...” she muttered, “So..no Mike then?” she questioned, smirking a little.
“Definitely, certainly..Mike,” Billie said, nodding and laughing as he shook his head and walked out of the kitchen.

*

“Oh god, are you stalking me or something?” Mike asked, frowning at Emelie with half a smile on his lips as she was standing in front of his door. She wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her coat closer against her body and chuckled before nodding.

“Yeah, didn't you know?” she shot back, gladly stepping inside the warm house as Mike motioned her to enter. Emelie shivered once more before removing her coat and hanging it on the hanger at the wall.

“Why are you here?” Mike asked, walking in front of her as he leaded her towards the living room.

It was a small but cozy room. The two main colours were red and white. White being the walls, the carpet and the pillows covering the red couch in the corner of the room. Emelie smiled and sat down, looking at the glass coffee table in the middle of the carpet.

“Dad was talking about pink tourbusses again and I just had to get out.” Her eyes followed Mike walking around in the kitchen, getting everything to prepare some coffee. Mike chuckled and shook his head, muttering something that Emelie couldn't understand because of the distance.

After a few minutes Mike walked into the living room with two cups of coffee in his hands. One for him and one for Emelie, who took it in her both hands and held it as if she was trying to transfer the warmth to her own body.

“Even though I absolutely love that little excuse of yours -,” Mike started, but he was cut of by Emelie before he could continue.

“I want you to learn me bass,” She said shy, blushing a little.

Mike fell silent for a bit, looking away from Emelie as he thought about it. He knew that Billie wanted to be the first to teach her a musical instrument. Emelie opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, thinking of the right words to say something.

“You know how he is. He'd be disappointed,” Mike whispered, looking at his hands before facing Emelie.

“I already talked to him about it and he made a scene. But agreed with it as long as I don't learn it from a hobo..or something,” she laughed, “Yes he said that with those exact words.”

Mike didn't look all to surprised at the reaction of Billie Joe in Emelie's words and chuckled a little himself. He sighed and leaned back on the couch rubbing the bridge between his eyes as he thought about it. His other hand held the coffee cup securely clenched so it wouldn't spill any of the liquid.

“I guess I could teach you...” Mike muttered, putting his cup on the little coffee table as he locked eyes with Emelie, who suddenly had a big smile playing on her lips.

The young girl jumped up from the couch and hugged Mike as tight as she could. Mike laughed a little and ruffled her hair, wrapping his own arms around her as he returned the hug.

Emelie pulled back from the hug and smiled at Mike, happy to know that he actually wanted to teach her bass, even though her father was still a little disappointed in the fact that it wasn't him. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and noticed a small blush creeping up his cheeks as she did.

“Mike?” the voice of Brittney came from the hallway before the young woman walked in the living room, not looking all to surprised to see Emelie there. Her hair was tangled and her cheeks flushed red from the cold outside. She was still wearing her long brown coat and her small purse was still in her hands as she shot a smile at Emelie before focusing on Mike.

“Hi there darlin',” Brittney said as Mike stood up from the couch and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and giving her a soft kiss on the lips to greet her. Emelie looked at the couple with a sweet smile, happy to see that Mike had finally found someone who loved him back equally.

Pulling back from the kiss, Brittney smiled and locked eyes with Mike.

“How was your day?” she asked, taking off her coat and hanging it over the chair before she placed her purse on the table and leaned against it, facing Emelie and Mike.

“I just roped Mike into teaching me bass,” Emelie said with a smirk, looking sly at Mike who rolled his eyes with a small smile on his face before he took a chair and sat down, pulling Brittney on his lap.

“Pink tour bus?” Brittney asked, sighing a little as she looked at Emelie from Mike and back again. Brittney knew pretty well that Emelie would gladly threaten the guys to paint their tour bus pink if she wanted something that had to do with either the band or music in general.

“Hey that's a good idea! Why didn't I use it?” Emelie asked herself, frowning and looking away from the couple in front of her. Brittney giggled a little and shook her head, giving Mike another peck on the lips before she freed herself from his grip and retreated back to the kitchen.

“Are you staying over for dinner honey?” she asked from the kitchen. Emelie looked up from the spot on the floor she was staring at and thought about it.

“No its okay. It's already pretty late and dad said I shouldn't stay too long. He really worries too much but yeah, you know him. I don't think he trusts Mike with me after the night we spend on the couch...” Emelie shrugged, winking at Mike and sighing. “I should be getting home,” she muttered under her breath, looking around where she had left her coat.

“I'll let you out,” Mike winked, giving Brittney another small loving kiss on the lips before he followed Emelie out in the hallway. Emelie gave Mike another hug before she wrapped her own thin arms around her slender body and walked out of the door, waving at Mike before she walked off the driveway and onto the street. Mike looked at her retreating body and smiled a little before he quickly closed the door behind him so the cold wouldn't enter the warm house.

Emelie walked home, she knew pretty well that it was rather dangerous with the fog hanging around and the fact that it was already turning dark made it only more dangerous. She looked around the neighbourhood and smiled slightly. All the houses were mansions, belonging to the richer people. When she was younger, she was always surprised there were people in the same street with bigger houses than she one she lived in. But now, it didn't anymore.

She yawned slightly and looked at her watch, seeing that it was already getting pretty late. And how later it got, the more dangerous too. Emelie sighed and looked down at the pavement and her feet, focusing on where she was walking instead of looking around at all the houses and cars parked on the driveway's.

Emelie stopped walking as she felt slight vibration in her pockets. She frowned and got out her cellphone. It was an older one, still without photo camera, MP3 or all those new things installed in it. All she needed it for was sending text messages and calling so why bother to buy a new one that had all of those if she didn't need them anyway.

“Emelie? Hi!” an excited voice said as Emelie picked up the phone. She smiled and shook her head before she continued walking, she could recognize that voice anywhere.

“Yeah, hi to you too Lyra.” Emelie chuckled as she kept the phone a little away from her ear since her friend was talking so loud.

“Guess what!?” Lyra asked, clearly excited for some reason Emelie didn't know at the moment. She sighed and walked up the driveway towards the front door, using her free hand to get out the key to the door so she wouldn't have to wake up her father or mother.

“I don't know. But will you tell me?” she asked sweet as she struggled to get the door open. Sighing, she leaned against the door for a moment, trying to push it open that way.

“I can play a new Green Day song on my guitar!” Lyra answered quickly, sounding rather excited about it. Emelie yawned a little and gave another push against the door with her back so it would open but just when she wanted to, the door behind her opened itself, causing her to loose her balance and fall on the ground so she was facing the ceiling.

“What are you doing on the floor?” Billie asked, hovering above and pointing at his 16-year old daughter laying on the floor, her red cheeks and pink lips marked with the cold and a cellphone attached to her ear.

“Since you opened the door before I did, causing me to fall on the floor since I was pushing it with my back,” Emelie said, getting up. “What, no I was talking to my dad,” she said to her phone. Billie Joe could hear faint chattering at the other side of the phone before Emelie carefully held it away from her ear, wincing a little at the high-pitched voice.

“Yeah, I'll tell him...no you can't have one of his guitars I told you a thousand times!” Emelie walked up the stairs as her father looked at his daughter, looking dumb-fouled and wondering who his daughter was talking too and why she or he wanted one of his guitars.