Green Eyed & Vindictive

There he was, a normal-looking middle-aged man with green eyes, sitting at the end of the bar in a pub ten miles out from his house. He wasn't drinking, he wasn't smoking. He just sat there in the swirling scent of smoke and alcohol.

The bartender would ask occasionally if he'd want anything, but the man kindly declined, trying to not succumb into memories and bad habits of yesterday. It was a rather quiet night at the pub, hardly anyone had showed up, but it was only seven, and it was only Monday. "Final time I'm gonna offer. If you don't buy somethin', you're gonna need to hit the road." The bartender had stopped wiping the counter and was giving the green-eyed man a hard look.

Standing up, the green-eyed man who millions knew by the name of Billie Joe, kicked the bar stool back so hard it skidded into the man sitting directly behind him. "Damn it, asshole!" the man started, standing up and shaking off what alcohol had spilled on his hands and shirt. He started for Billie Joe, intending to grab the back of Billie Joe's head and smash it against the bar top.

Using his fluid grace, Billie stepped aside in time before throwing one hard punch at the side of the stranger's head. "Don't fuck with a rock star, dude. I've got millions of people who'd come after you if you so dare lay one fat finger on me." At that, Billie Joe threw a couple of hundreds on the counter and walked out, smirking at the sound of angered slurs and cursing.

Hopping into his BMW, Billie Joe started it, pulling out and easily weaving into the early night traffic on Rodeo. He never knew why he liked pissing off random strangers for no reason, but it was a muse of his, and he didn't plan on giving it up soon.

Pulling into one of the few all-night diners in Beverly Hills and parking his car, he watched as the waitress flirted with one of the customers. It sickened yet amused him. Having been married for almost twenty years, he thought flirting was a tad strange, never really understanding it. Getting out of the car and locking it behind him, he walked into the diner and sat at the counter four seats down from the very apparent F.W.B.

Staring up at the menu board with a fervent stare, Billie Joe all but noticed the waitress making her way towards him. "What can I get you, sweetheart?" she asked, her lips smacking as she chewed her gum.

"Please don't call me that, and not to be extremely rude, learn to chew your gum with your mouth closed. It's rather displeasing to me and extremely disgusting," he replied, moving his gaze to the girl, who looked as if she was about to slap him. "I'd like a coffee, please." The girl just continued to stare at him until the diner door opened and in walked Mike, Billie's longest and closest friend.

"Don't chew your gum with your mouth open, Leslie. It's gross," Mike said, sitting down beside Billie Joe and giving the girl the stare down. "I'm sure my friend here just ordered something, and I'd suggest you do it. He's very temperamental."

"I couldn't give two shits about your friend, Dirnt," she said, going back to the man four seats down. Her sickening and nasally voice made Billie Joe's stomach churn, making him feel nauseated.

"I got your text," Mike said, standing up and walking behind the counter. He grabbed two coffee mugs and poured the fresher looking of the two pots of coffee into them. "What's going on?"

Handing Billie a mug, Mike came back around and sat back down beside him. Before answering, Billie took one long drink from his mug and looked into the blue-grey eyes of his best friend. "She's threatening to leave me again. Without the option to see the boys," he finally said, his right pointer finger and thumb rubbing his wedding band unconsciously.

"What happened?" Mike asked, smacking Billie on the arm and motioning for him to follow him outside. Throwing down a few dollars, the two men walked out. Lighting up a cigarette, Mike took a drag before handing it to Billie Joe who flicked it a couple times and took one as well.

"I hit her," Billie said bluntly, blowing the smoke out through his nose. "We started fighting, and I slapped her face. I intended to hit the wall, but she stepped in front of me and my hand connected with her instead. She's telling a few of her close friends a whole different story, though. The only one who seems to believe that she is actually in the wrong is Joey. He witnessed it."

"What do you plan on doing?" Mike asked, taking the offered cigarette from Billie Joe's outstretched hand. Shrugging, Billie Joe ran both his hands through his now chin-length black hair and sighed deeply.

For the next few minutes, the two friends never said a word. They just sat in front of the diner, one needing the company of a close friend, the other trying to sort through what to believe. Minutes turned into hours. Cigarette butts started piling up, and almost before they realized it, the sun was peaking over the horizon.

"You can crash at my place for a while. We'll head over later today and see if we can all talk through this and work everything out," Mike said, standing up and offering Billie Joe a hand. Taking it, Billie stood up as well.

"Keep this between you and me, all right? It's not that I don't trust Tre, but I feel as if it'd be better if this didn't get too out there in the knowing. I'm sure there'll be stories about it in the tabloids before we know it," Billie said, causing Mike to agree to keep it on the down low.

As the men slid into their respected cars, they drove into the oncoming morning towards Mike's house. Without knowing it, Billie Joe Armstrong, front man of the well-respected band Green Day, has just started his own demise.