Heart-Shaped Box

"I can't help it," Billie Joe murmured, kissing her and holding her. "I love you so, so much...I was so afraid that you didn't feel the same..."

Kemmy tried to wriggle free, but Billie Joe wouldn't let her go.

"I don't want to lose you..."

Kemmy started to push him away. "Billie, don't you get it? We can't be together! It doesn't matter how much we care about each other, or how we feel - it doesn't matter," she emphasized. "You're a really amazing person, I'm not gonna lie, and I really like you, but we can't let this relationship go any deeper - we have to just end it."

"Too late," Billie Joe said darkly.

"We can still come out of this okay. It might hurt, but we have to end it... please...I don't want anything to happen to Green Day. If the press found out that we were still together, they might not let you off easy this time - they can't dismiss it as just a friendly kiss or anything, it'll mess everything up!"

"What can I do?" Billie Joe begged. "What can I do to make you stay?"

Kemmy drew breath. She was seeing a side of Billie Joe she'd never seen before - weak, scared, afraid of losing something important to him. Her heart melted.

"I could mess up - one more time," she said slowly. "But you'd have to promise me that you'd let this whole thing go... and find someone else. That's one thing I've learned about sacrifice... sometimes it's not just losing something you love...it's giving it to someone else. Billie...there's someone else out there meant for you...and maybe someone for me. I don't have a choice, Billie..." her voice came out broken.

"Just once," Billie Joe promised. "Once, and then I'll try to forget this whole thing..."

They kissed, with as much passion as they could have kissed with in a lifetime, their whole relationship burning and flashing like a firework behind their closed eyes.

*~*~*

"Kemmy?!"

Kemmy and Billie Joe broke apart, suddenly.

Tre and Cassie stood outside the car, their eyes wide.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Tre asked in a low voice.

"Please, Tre, it's not what you think," Kemmy snapped, getting out of the car. "Don't--"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Cassie cried, throwing up her hands. "But more importantly, why were you just kissing him? In a parked car? Don't think we don't know what you were about to do --"

"She's right, guys, it's not what you think," muttered Billie Joe, straightening his tie and getting out of the car.

"Sorry, Tre," whispered Kemmy. "I have to go." She looked at Cassie. "I was going to tell you... after this was all over. But I guess that time is now, so... now you know."

Cassie didn't say anything. She just hugged her.

In tears, Kemmy asked, "can I borrow your car?"

"Sure. Tre and I will take you back," Cassie replied, giving her an encouraging smile. Kemmy smiled back, but still looked sad.

They all got in Tre's car except Billie Joe, who just stood outside his car, looking broken.

"What a night," Tre muttered, before pulling away.

*~*~*

"What happened back there?" Cassie asked.

"Well, Billie Joe took us to the restaurant, as planned, to meet up with you guys. But then he started talking about how I was avoiding him and stuff, and I kinda had, you know, because I didn't want to fall for him. It didn't really work but he was really hurt about it and I accidentally told him why I was avoiding him and well, he started kissing me, and I told him we had to end it, but I ended up kissing him one last time, and then you guys showed up..."

"Wow," Cassie said simply.

"Billie's not going to let it go that easily," Tre predicted grimly. "You gotta stay away from us for a while, Kem. I'll drive to your house instead of you coming to mine - but you can't have face-to-face contact with him...if anything, use the phone."

"K." Kemmy just sat in the backseat, wiping the tears away with a tissue. She sniffed. "I can't believe I'm crying over this whole stupid mess..."

"You cared about him," Tre told her. "Though I don't think you realized it until today...you really did care."

"Maybe..." Kemmy looked out the window.

*~*~*

"Hey, Tre, we need to hang out sometime," Cassie said as they got out at Tre's.

"But of course," Tre agreed. "When and where...tomorrow too soon?"

"That'd be great." She gave Tre a peck on the lips. "See ya."