I Was Only Dreaming

*Jessie' POV*

The oven beeped and I look the chicken out of the oven. It smelled kind of like lemon. Ollie went to go pick up Brad and had left me in charge of the kitchen. I failed to tell her that I am as incompetent as a hundred-year old retard went it comes to cooking. But I did pretty well, seeing as how the house wasn't burnt to dust and the cops weren't in the house.
Mike and Billie emerge from the basement as I put the chicken on the table in the dining area. There were five place settings, because Tre had to go home. Along with the chicken, there were green beans (Mike cut them...so it's not my fault if a green bean has just a hint of blood in it), potatoes, and a chocolate cake (store-bought, obviously) for dessert.
Ollie had Mike and Billie clean up a bit, so they both shaved and wore similar long-sleeved shirts and black jeans. I had a feeling that Ollie or Brad would make a crack about how they dressed alike.
I went upstairs and put on a short, black tank top dress with red chucks. I put on some eyeliner and mascara and did my hair in a messy bun. Hopefully I wouldn't look too dressy. I then looked at myself in the full-length mirror. With that face you'll never look dressy I thought.
I jogged down the stairs where Mike was watching TV and Billie was dozing off on the couch. I turned my head towards the door when I heard squeaky brakes. Uh oh.
I sat down next to Mike on the couch and muted the TV. The door unlocked and Ollie stepped inside, talking to someone. The someone was a tall man, about Ollie's age, with short, dark-brown hair. He had on loose grey jeans, a button-down blue shirt with the first few buttons undone. And Nikes No, I don't him at all.
Ollie ushered the man into the living room. "Billie, this is Brad. Brad, this is my son, Billie." Billie just looked up at Brad, nodding his head slightly.
Brad grinned yellow teeth. "From what Ollie tells me, I feel like I already know ya, Billie Joe."
Billie just stares at Brad. "You don't know me. And it’s Billie, please."
Ollie looks uncomfortable, so she moves on. "This is Billie's friend, Mike."
Mike doesn't even look at Brad. "The pleasure's all yours." I mentally grin at Mike, as that was something I would do.
When Ollie introduces Brad to me, though, he has this evil kinda grin on his face. The kind of grin that reminds you of an insane person going to kill you.
I avoid his eyes as we sit down to eat. I am between Billie and Mike, thank God. We eat and Ollie tries to keep the conversation going between the five of us, but mostly she talks and we answer with 'Yeah', 'Nope', and 'Uh-huh'. Quite lively. Brad talks to Ollie, but completely ignores Billie and Mike. As for me, Brad scares me. If he isn't looking at Ollie or his dinner, he's looking at me. He smiles at me, or just simply stares. It’s very frightening. Makes me hope I am never alone in a room with him. Mike notices too, and keeps a firm grip on my hand under the table. Where I would be without him, I will never know.
I just hope that it doesn't get too out of hand and Mike starts something. Mike has always been protective of me, ever since we met. I remember once, there was this jerk who was trying to hit on me. When he put his hand on my hip, Mike went and cussed him out. Mike's the not the kind to lose his temper, but if he sees someone kicking a puppy, he'll tackle them and break their leg (not that that has ever happened). That's just who Mike is. And that's what I love about him.
Ollie serves dessert, which Brad scarfs down. Billie smiles a little bit, then leans closer to me and whispers, "Shit, he eats like he hasn't eaten in weeks. He sure doesn't look like it though."
I stifle a giggle, just now realizing that Brad is just a tad bit overweight. Brad looks up, chocolate frosting on his nose. He looks at Billie, then at me, and then Billie again. "What was that?" He asks.
Billie smiles at me. "Nothin'."
"I heard you say something, what was it?" I see Brad's eyes get angrier.
Ollie places a hand on Brad's forearm, signaling for him to calm down, but he shakes it away.
"What did you say?" Brad demands.
Billie looks at me, and for the first time since last night, he looks happy. "I was just commenting to Jessie about your fat ass."
Ollie's jaw hits the floor. "Billie Joe!"
Brad takes a deep breath. Then he glances at me, his eyes smoldering. Two words pass through my brain as I see Brad lean over the table at Billie. Oh shit
Brad grabs Billie by the collar, Mike lets go of my hand and lunges between the two. Ollie grabs onto Brad. And I just sit and watch. I hear dishes hit the floor. A head hit the table. Ollie screaming for all this to stop. I get up, taking the rest of my chocolate cake, and head up the stairs to my room. I hear a crash, someone cursing, and a door slam. I run over to my window and see Billie running down the street.
I hear someone coming up the stairs, and then a knock on my door. I expect it to be Ollie, wanting me to find Billie, or to apologize to Brad, or to her. But it's Mike. As soon as I open the door, he pulls me into his arms. He says 'I'm sorry' several times. It's not really Mike's fault that Brad is an idiot and Billie took advantage of that.
Mike lets go of me when we hear someone downstairs yelling. It's Ollie, either yelling at Brad or Billie. Probably Brad. Mike plants a kiss on my lips and takes my hand. He leads me downstairs, quietly past the kitchen where Ollie is throwing away broken dishes. We go outside, where Brad is sitting on the front steps. Mike leads me past him, and he ignores us. Mike opens the passenger door to his car for me, then he gets in. He pauses before turning on the engine.
"I'm really sorry for what happened."
I look at Mike, now realizing he has a bruise underneath his left eye. "It's okay. But tell me, who won?"
Mike laughs and shakes his head. "I'll give it to Billie. Brad doesn't have one strong bone in his body."
I smile. I'm glad that Billie could take Brad down. It makes me feel a little more secure. "Did you notice how he was looking at me at dinner?" I ask.
"Yeah, there's a child molester if I ever saw one. I wouldn't worry about it. I doubt he'll try anything like that with me and Billie ready to kick his ass."
Mike gives the key in the ignition a twist and pulls out of the driveway.
"Where are we going?" I ask him.
"Nowhere in particular," Mike answers.
We ride in silence for a while until I turn on the radio and the Ramones are one of Mike's cassette tapes. We sing along for the whole ride. When Mike stops the car, we are at the beach. I smile at him. It's been years since I've been here. As soon as I step out if the car, I feel someone hug me tightly from behind. I'm startled, so I let out a little screech. I turn around to face Tre, grinning in my face. "That was awesome! I totally got ya!" Tre high-fives Mike, as I push the green-haired monster off of me.
"Good God, you people!" I exclaim, punching Tre in the stomach. He fakes pain and Mike pretends to be concerned. I roll my eyes.
Tre brought me a red swimming suit (he said he got in from some girl), and after I changed, he immediately picked me up and threw me into the surf. I responded by pretending to drown, then dunking him when he came in after me. Mike watched our antics from the sand. We then tried to build the world's biggest sand castle. But Tre ruined it by sitting on it.
We stayed there until about midnight, then Mike drove us home. I fell asleep on the ride home and Mike carried up to my bed.