Status: Completed

Best Thing In Town

Good Vibrations

"How the fuck you doin' tonight, Buffalo?!" Billie Joe screamed into his microphone. The crowd went wild and he grinned, looking down at 'Blue' and getting himself situated to strike the first chord. "That's what I wanted to hear!"

Him and the guys immediately went into 'American Idiot'; watching the crowd moshing in the front, some holding up lighters in that cliche way. Tre was his usual Wind Up Monkey-self, banging insanely at the drums while Mike stood with his legs spread apart, plucking at his bass and bobbing his head to the beat, making a face to show how into it he was.

"Welcome to a new kind of tension / All across the alien nation / Where everything isn't meant to be okay / Television dreams of tomorrow / We're not the ones who're meant to follow / And that's enough to argue!"

Billie Joe stepped away from the mic and walked closer to drums, looking up at Tre and then over at Mike as he lifted his guitar up close to his face, strumming it without even looking.

They played the hits from American Idiot and a few of their classics, including a cover of the Ramone's 'Blitzkrieg Bop.' When they finished, machines on either side of the stage spewed a shower of confetti over the audience that was screaming and cheering. Tre jumped down from the drumming platform to join the other two, near falling on his ass as he did so. The three of them put their arms around each other's shoulders, bowed and waved as they headed off the stage.

Robbie Takac, the bassist for the Goo Goo Dolls gave Mike a high five that turned into a hand shake. "Good job, man."

"Thanks." Mike nodded and slapped both Billie Joe and Tre on the shoulder as they went backstage with grins on their faces. Their set rocked. And now they could kick back while the Goo Goo Dolls went on and played. The voice of Johnny Rzeznik welcoming everyone to the concert and asking the audience to give the Green Day guys another hand, echoed toward the backstage area.

Billie Joe had picked up a bottle of beer at that point and smirked. "That kicked ass."

"Sure did. Too bad no hot chicks threw their panties on stage," Tre joked.

Mike laughed as he picked up a beer for himself from the cooler and leaned up against the wall, managing to get an angle to watch the show from back where he was, when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. As if in slow motion, his head turned and he looked down at the person behind him, taking them in with his jaw dropping in surprise.

"Hey," Audrey smiled. "Good show."

Mike closed his mouth and began to smile as well. Subconsciously his beerless hand went to her shoulder and touched it gently. "Thanks. And...you look...different. I mean, great."

She looked like a completely different person. Audrey was dressed in a silky black kimono dress -- that caused Mike to try not to be obvious about glancing at the cleavage it provided -- and black, knee-high boots. Her light brown hair was down at her shoulders and curled a little at the ends. She wore make-up that accented the shape of her face; not a lot, just enough to make it look natural. And her glasses were missing.

Audrey dipped her head and smiled. "Heh...thanks."

"You want a beer or something?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, I can't stand beer."

"Oh, well, uh...there's not much of anything else here. Sorry."

"That's okay."

"Hey! It's the interviewer lady!" Tre called out as he walked up to the two of them, holding a beer in his hand. "Want a beer?"

Audrey shook her head but Mike answered. "She doesn't drink beer."

"Well, then, why don't you go somewhere that serves something other than beer?" Tre gave Mike an obvious wink, patted Audrey on the shoulder and then walked away only to jump on Billie Joe's back shouting, "We fuckin' rocked!"

"Lifestyles of the rich and famous, huh?"

Mike chuckled and nodded. He then bit his lip and fell silent as he looked over at the guys while trying to figure out whether he should ask Audrey to go somewhere else for a drink or not. As he opened his mouth to speak, her cell phone rang.

"Sorry." She pulled it out of her purse and turned her back to him, which he took advantage of to catch a look of her behind. Nice. "Hello? Hey, Meem. What? Yeah, I could pick some up later tonight. Tops is open 24/7 and I'm not sure what time I'll be back exactly. Yeah. Sure..." she was quiet for a moment. "Hey, honey. Late. Yeah, I'll be back late. I know, baby. I love you. See you later."

She hung up her phone and turned back to him with a smile. "That your boyfriend?" he wondered with a smile of his own while feeling somewhat downtrodden.

"Boyfriend? Heh, no," she shook her head with a laugh. "That was my grandma asking me to pick up a gallon of milk when I get home..."

"...Oh."

"And my daughter, Kat."

He focused his gaze and felt his chest lift a little. "Daughter? Hey, that's cool. I have a daughter, too. How's old's yours?"

"Four. Yours?"

"Eight. Her name's Estelle." Suddenly Mike felt a little better. "Uh, I was wondering...if maybe you'd like to leave and go somewhere for something to drink."

"A Friday night in Buffalo? It shouldn't be too hard to find someplace."

"That a yes?" he wondered hopefully.

"Yeah. It'd be fun. It's been a while since I've gone out anyway," she admitted, placing her phone back into her purse. "Um...do you want me to drive? I drove here and I guess I already know where places are around here, and not you."

"Sure, yeah. Let me tell the guys and I'll meet you."

"Okay," Audrey nodded.

As she walked away, Mike damn near got a hot flash watching her hips sway. He couldn't help but smile like a fool as he headed over to Billie Joe and Tre who had migrated over to the complementary cooler to help themselves to another beer.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna get going..."

Billie Joe turned and looked Mike up and down. "Huh? Why? Where ya headed?"

"And can we come?" Tre added, slurring a little.

"I'm gonna go somewhere to get a drink with Audrey. And no, you can't come."

"Party-pooper. Haven't you heard two's company, three's a crowd and four's more company?"

Billie Joe slapped Tre on the chest and shook his head. "Nah, Mike's gonna try and get some ass. 'Bout time too. You need to get laid. Just make sure you do it right or she might write something bad about us..."

Mike's face soured and just walked away. "You guys should cut back on the beers," he snipped. He headed out the side door into the parking lot of the venue where he could see Audrey in the dark, standing beside her car. She waved over to him and he scurried across the parking lot to her car. It wasn't anything special. Just a maroon, 1995 Dodge Spirit.

"I know it's nothing you're used to driving in, but welcome to my life." She slid into her side of the car and hit the automatic lock.

Mike slipped into the passenger seat and smiled as he looked over at her. "The car's fine," he assured. "So...where to?"