Communion

Today, was another year closer to turning thirty for Rose. But surely enough, her twenty-sixth birthday came, and it came quickly.

As she sat up in her bed that morning, something wonderful was wafting in the air from the downstairs kitchen. She flared her nostrils, taking in the sweet aroma of her husband's love for her and fatty sizzling grease. She rolled her eyes with a smile as she fell back and slouched down into her pillows and down feather-stuffed comforters.

She knew today was going to be great, because that feeling lingered in the air right along with that fatty grease. With laziness and weakness she contemplated whether she'd attempt to get out of bed right now, even though the clock on her bedside table read 12:34 PM. But the smell of that breakfast did arouse her senses, very much.

Especially since she had gone on an empty stomach for near sixteen hours now.

As she pushed herself to get up, she flung her duvét off onto her husband's unoccupied side of the canopeed bed and swung her bare feet over to rest on the floor. The floor tremored like a nearing stampede as her three year old daughter came trolloping into the room in a much excited manner. "Mawmmy! Mawmmy! Birfday! It' birfday! Habby birfday!"

Rose began to giggle as she lowered her arms so that her daughter could easily run into her embrace. She lifted her and placed her upon one knee and held her against her bosom with a smile on her face. "Thank you, 'Chelle!" Rose laughed before planting a kiss on the young girl's forehead.

"Welcom'. I got birfday pwesent, you," Michelle laughed as though it were her own birthday.

"You got me a birthday present?" Rose repeated her daughter as her face lit up and her eyes went wide.

Michelle just nodded her head with a smile as she turned her gaze towards the bedroom door at the sound of her father coming down the upstairs hall. "God damn it!" Tre yelled softly.

Rose started to laugh again as Michelle jumped down off her lap. She leant back on the bed, getting a clear view out into the hallway and her husband struggling with what appeared to be a bed tray loaded with food. Rose laughed again as she covered her mouth mischieviously and bit her tongue.

"Very funny..." Tre called down the hall as he spotted his wife laughing at his struggles.

"Michelle hon, go help your dad." At her mother's request, Michelle went running down the hall as Rose laughed once again and collapsed back on the bed restfully.

Some seconds later, Papa Cool came sauntering in with a bed tray he placed down on the end table of Rose's side of the bed. He gave her a look of frustration that quickly faded to a smile. "Breakfast is served mademoiselle," he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed and brought his lips to linger over hers.

Rose opened her gaze to an eyelet and subdued a smile as she lifted her head and planted her lips upon her husbands. "Thank you..." she breathed against his cheek after kissing him.

"Happy birthday..." he replied her in a soft tone as he heard his daughter come in shortly afterwards. His wife and he turned their gaze towards the end table where Michelle had promply just set down a glass of orange juice.

"I bwot oran' juice," Michelle said in her sweet young voice.

"Thank you honey," Rose answered her daughter as she turned her gaze back to her husband's eyes, which hovered above her own. Tre gave her his well known baring teeth smile that is intentionally maniacal, yet humorous.

Rose poked her tongue childishly out of her teeth at her partner who looked bemused. "Mmm...your tongue is sexy," Tre incited to his wife in his normal horny nature as he flicked his tongue at her.

"Frank..." Rose laughed as she gave him a playful hit for talking that way in front of their daughter.

"I'm sorry," Tre reciprocated. He brought his lips down firmly on her neck before they were interrupted expectedly.

"Mawmmy, look, I calor picter for you," Michelle said as she held up a single sheet of lined paper, and eagerly awaited her mother's attention.

Rose gasped as she took site of her daughter's drawing. She began to sit up, forcing her husband to crawl back on the bed, off of her. "Michelle..." she said faintly as she held her hand out to grab this drawing that was no more than a scibble of vivid bright crayon. "Honey, it's beautiful. Thank you so much."

"Welcom'," Michelle replied her mother as her young cherubic face grew flushed with happiness.

"That's very pretty Michelle," Tre complimented.

"T'ank you."

"You're welcome." Tre smiled at his daughter with contentment.

"Wow. You know where I'm going to put this, 'Chelle?" Rose spoke giddily as she stepped up off the bed.

"W'ere?" she asked with curiousity.

"Right here. In this frame," Mama Cool replied as she picked a sizely 11x11 frame up off her vanity table. Removing the back from the frame, Rose slipped the sheet neatly in over the glass and resealed it, placing it back down on the table top. "There, doesn't that look nice?"

Michelle nodded her head. "I wike it!"

"Me too. Thanks angel," Rose chuckled, leaning down to pick the young girl up. Doing so, Michelle swung her arms up to attach them around the back of her mother's neck. As Rose stood up with her daughter she gasped slightly as she clumsily released Michelle lightly back down on her feet.

Tre's eyes went wide as he rushed to his wife's side, placing one hand on the small of her back, and the other under her shoulder. "Are you alright hun?"

Michelle was obviously fine, but Rose stood upright slowly with her husband's help and looked him in the eyes. "Yeah, I think so. I just feel a bit weak."

"Well I made you some breakfast. So come over here and eat it," Tre instructed as he lead his wife back over to the bed and sat her down. He found himself his own spot on the bed next to her and reached in front of her to grab her a piece of bacon off the tray sitting on the end table.

"Thanks babe. This looks great," Rose murmured as her husband began to feed bacon to her lips. She began to consume it hungrily and after swallowing down the entire piece, she laughed, yet again.

"What's so funny?" Tre asked his wife as he turned to his daughter who was intently watching Rose and himself.

"It's cold," Rose informed him.

"Oh," Tre answered. "Well maybe that's 'cause you didn't eat it right away."

"I know. I'm not complaining."

"That's okay...YOU'LL EAT IT ANYWAYS!" Tre joked in a creepy voice as he waved his finger in his wife's face.

"You know it..." Rose smiled as she began to work into her cold rubbery eggs.

"I got a surprise for you hon. Right Michelle?" Tre cooed as he looked for his daughter to nod her head in agreement.

Rose looked at her daughter, and sure enough she did. "What surprise? What did you do Frank? Uhoh, you're up to something," Rose said warily. "Is your daddy up to something Michelle?"

Michelle nodded her head again.

"It's not 'what I did'. It's 'what didn't I do'," Tre replied his wife with smugness as he raised his eyebrow at her.

"Well, what didn't you do?" Rose smiled as she returned a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I think you'll find out once you go downstairs," Tre giggled and then drove his hand over his perspiration-soaked forehead with a sigh.

"Oh, now I really want to know," Rose said anxiously.

"You'll see," Tre replied her.

Sure enough, after Rose finished her cold but love-made breakfast they all went downstairs. Rose sauntered into the foyer cautiously at first, followed close-knittly by her husband and daughter who both bore smiles on their faces. "I don't even want to look," Rose laughed as she walked into the living room with her hand up over her eyes nervously.

"It's okay," Tre said assuringly as he grabbed his wife's wrist gently and pulled her hand off of her eyes.

After her husband had stolen her hand from covering her vision, Rose squinted her eyes shut and slowly let them open. "Oh my God..." she gasped as she looked about the room.

Tre left her side in the living room's doorway and continued into the room to explain to her all that she way seeing. "Okay Rose, I woke up really really super early this morning to do this for you. I put all the streamers up and everything while you were still snoozin' upstairs. And I had the banners made for you yesterday," Tre explained in a ramble as he pointed at a few scattered banners about the room, reading simply: "Happy Birthday Rose".

"Oh my God, Frank..." Rose gasped as she placed her hand on her chest and let her eyes inspect every carefully planned detail of what her husband had done for her. Looking at one far side of the room, she spotted a long table set up with two large empty bowls and about three hundred glasses neatly placed on a blue table cloth.

"Let me finish!" Tre laughed.

"Wait um, why so many glasses?" Rose asked as she pointed at the table.

"Well, the guests need something to drink from..." Tre huffed sarcastically and rolled his eyes as he began to snicker under his breath.

"Guests?" Rose squeaked out. "Frank, you did not..."

"Oh I did..." Tre informed her, as he came back over to where she stood with their three year old daughter. He picked Michelle up, gave her a kiss on the forehead and returned to looking at Rose who was standing in silence with an unsure look upon her face. "What?"

"I really appreciate this honey. God do I ever...b-but don't you remember what Billie did to me?" Rose asked him as she shook her head.

"Billie's not coming..." Tre replied foolishly.

"Frank! That's not what I meant. I meant don't you remember how he forced me to be the center of attention, when I told him I couldn't do it?" Rose asked, refreshing her husband's memory to it. "I can't do it. I can't."

"Oh yes, I remember. Of course I do, Rose. But it's your birthday! You have to have a party! I've spent a long time on this! You can do it!" Tre whined as though he felt hurt by the response she was giving him.

"I'm sorry, you're right," Rose replied her husband as her face lightened and she looked down at herself.

"And just wait until you see your birthday cake! It'll arrive later with my other surprise," Tre winked.

Rose smiled at the amount of thought her husband had obviously put into her birthday. Whatever chemical in the brain creates the feeling of love, Rose had plenty of it right now. "Aw, you did this all for me?

"Yes."

"Oh...what the hell am I gonna wear?"

"Aw honey, forget about that! You already look beautiful," Tre complimented his wife and turned his head back to look at his daughter, whom was still sitting calmly in his grasp. "Right 'Chelle?"

"Mawmmy pretty," Michelle answered her father as she nodded her head more than assuringly.

"Aw, thank you sweetie," Rose said to Michelle. "I must look like a bed head right now though."

"Of course you don't," Tre assured his wife as he put Michelle down and she ran out to the kitchen. "Well...don't I get a kiss for all my hard work?"

Rose melted and at a short pace found her lips pressed firmly upon Tre's. "Mmm..." the two of them sighed in unison. As their lips parted Rose nodded her head, "Thank you. I'm going to go back upstairs, go to the bathroom and get ready."

"Oh no, thank you," Tre insisted as he gave her another wink and a smile. Rose smiled at him flirtatiously before she turned away to go get ready. He lingered in the living room doorway, listening to her giggle all the way up the stairs.

***

That evening, Billie Joe Armstrong's cousin, fourteen years his junior, stood in the living room in a chic yellow Armani gown, surrounded by guests galore. After near suffering a panic attack, she could only be thankful that most everyone had already wished her a happy birthday.

Alcohol was served for the contentment of the guests; they would come to expect it with their higher than life social statuses.

Green Day's frontman was a no-show at his cousin's party and Rose was not shocked or upsetted by this one bit at this time. She had come to expect he wouldn't show his face around there again. Especially after what happened that day in Redwood National Park. And the way he had almost disclosed to her husband that Mike and she had slept together one time.

Thank God Billie didn't know the rest.

She had basically 86ed him from her home, but without using words. He knew he wasn't welcome there.

As she rested her back against the beverage table, she balanced between her fingers, a champagne glass, filled with sparkling tonic water and a garnishing of lemon riding its crystal rim. She eyed Tre across the room, conversing with an eleven year old Frankito. And as her eyes travelled the guests, a three year old Michelle, speaking with none other than, her illegitimate brother. Ryan.

Seeing Ryan there came as a shock to Rose and her eyes now eagerly searched for his bassist father in the sea of faces.

The house was alive with music and Reprise Exec's; most were beginning to get buzzed from champagne and the delightfully large bowls of margarita and piña colada on the table.

After having searched for Mike like he were Where's Waldo?, Rose found him sitting on the chesterfield next to a very attractive young woman. She savored a polite sip from her champagne glass as she adverted her attention to her husband leaving the room subtly yet not secretly with Frankito. A grin expressioned her face as she let her emerald pupils fall back on Mike and the young nameless woman.

She took another sip of her tonic water as she felt her lips and throat uncomfortably dry. Perhaps due to the amount of hydration she was losing in this room that was stressing her and making her pour heeps of perspiration.

As she stared at Mike, from the side of her eye, she saw an ice sculture of a rose sat next to her large vanilla icing cake in the corner of the room.

Rose jumped slightly when she felt someone tap her shoulder from behind her on the other side of the table. She turned around quickly and was met with the brown eyes of Tre's ex-wife, Claudia. "Oh hi..." she let out with a sigh of relief.

"Hey Rose, how's it hanging? Did I wish you a happy birthday yet?"

"Not bad actually. And yes you did," Rose replied as she scratched her forearm and gave a nonchalant grin.

"Are you sure? Hmm, you look like you could use a drink right about now," Claudia incited as she grabbed the ladle out of the lime margarita bowl and poured the pale green substance into her glass.

"No, I'm fine actually," Rose assured the taller woman as she drove the back of her hand over her forehead.

"Hmm..." Claudia let out whilst she was taking a greedy gulp of her margarita.

"Do you know where Frank went?" Rose asked Claudia as she placed her champagne glass down on the table and stared at the guests with paranoia.

"Downstairs with Frankito, I believe," Claudia said, placing her glass down after Rose had done so. "Why?"

"Oh, I don't know. No reason really." Rose turned her head away from Claudia as soon as the brown-eyed woman grazed her shoulder and began to walk away.

"Oh, there he is." Claudia pointed at her ex-husband as he came back into the room all smiles with Frankito at his side and a guitar in one hand. As Claudia met Tre and was out of ear shot range of Rose, she informed the drummer his wife was looking for him. Referring to him as the more personal, 'Frank'.

Rose grinned as her husband placed down the guitar he'd been holding; practically skipping over to her, he grabbed her, lent her back and gave her a melodramatic cliché kiss.

"Mmm..." Rose murmured with her husband's lips closed in over her own. The entire room watched with smiles, and as their lips parted, broke into applaud. Rose blushed and covered her face with humility. "Frank you embarrass me," Rose whispered with a red face.

"Aw, I'm sorry," Tre giggled. "I hope this can make up for it. Or, it'll probably embarrass you more. Yes. Yes it will actually."

"What? Hey, what's the guitar for?" Rose asked quizzically. Her face looked just as confused as she was feeling.

"Okay everyone, shut the hell up!" Tre boomed his voice at everyone in the living room. His request followed by ended conversations and giggling.

"Oh my God Frank, what are you doing?" Rose asked as she looked about the room nervously. Namely at someone who went by the name of Mike Dirnt. She stared at the blue-eyed bassist every few seconds whilst her husband built tension with keeping the room silent. Mike appeared to only be looking at this auburn-haired woman he was sitting with. Greatly mesmorized by this younger woman's beauty, Rose had no recognition of her and pondered why Mike wasn't looking back at she or acting like she even existed now.

Tre picked his guitar back up, threw the blue strap over his shoulder and grabbed a guitar pick out of his right pocket. "Okay Rose, I was kinda hoping Billie would be here for this, because it is relevent to our alb.... Oh yeah our album people! It's going to be out in a year or so! Make sure you buy it for everyone you know!" Tre said loudly, taking the time to advertise it even though most there were with the label anyways.

"Frank..." Rose sighed.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'll stop goofing off now! Anyways, I haven't discussed or confirmed anything with my band or anything. But I've already made up my mind that this song IS going to be on our next album," Tre informed the room as his introduction, speaking as he looked only in his wife's eyes.

"What?" Mike shrieked cluelessly as he came out of his certain trance with this woman. Others from Reprise were also curious as to what their little known friend named Tre Cool meant.

"Shut up Dirnt," Tre huffed sarcastically. "I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP!" Tre yelled again before the entire room went as silent as a squawking mouse.

Rose placed her hand up over her mouth at her husband's boldness.

"Okay good. Okay, this song I'm going to sing refers directly to my wife Rose. WHO NOBODY CAN HAVE, BUT ME!" Tre joked as he grazed his wife's arm territorially. "It was first recorded in 1957 by a little known man called Johnny Cash," Tre told, his voice changing to a country lingo as he said Johnny's name.

"Frank, don't you dare," Rose cut into his speech.

"Today and tonight has nothing to do with Johnny. It's all about my Rose; a woman I've been married to for the past six years," Tre continued, ignoring his wife. "Oh yeah and thanks to Mike for this idea too." Tre paused as he let his persona grow less comical and more sincere. "Rose, I had a really hard time thinking up a present for you. Mike gave me a suggestion and I sort of took what he said and altered it a bit."

Rose gazed at Mike with confusion after hearing her husband say this. Mike finally took notice of Rose and gave her a smile your best friend would offer you. Yes, your best friend.

Tre continued when his wife looked back at him. "So here you go Rose. This is for you."

"Oh my God...no," Rose gasped.

"Just gotta tune her up quickly," Tre mumbled do himself. "Okay. Okay there." The professional drummer began to strum his guitar gently, as everyone, namely Rose, looked on with enthusiasm and much interest. And after a few quiet notes Tre's unique and distinct voice began to fill the villa with its pleasantness.

I found him by the railroad track this morning,
I could see that he was nearly dead,
I knelt down beside him and I listened,
Just to hear the words the dying fellow said,
He said they let me out of prison down in Frisco,
For three long years I've paid for what I've done,
I was trying to get back to Oakland,
To see my Rose and get to know my daughter,

Give my love to Rose please won't you mister,
Take her all my money, tell her to buy some pretty clothes,
Tell my girl her daddy's so proud of her,
And don't forget to give my love to Rose,

Tell them I said thanks for waiting for me,
Tell my girl to help her mom at home,
Tell my Rose to try to find no other,
For I won't ever let her live alone,

Mister here's a bag with all my money,
It won't last them long the way it goes,
God bless you for finding me this morning,
And don't forget to give my love to Rose,

Give my love to Rose please won't you mister,
Take her all my money, tell her to buy some pretty clothes,
Tell my girl her daddy's so proud of her,
And don't forget to give my love to Rose...

The final chord on his guitar tremored as much as Rose's bottom lip quivered whilst tears streamed down her face. She smiled and quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand, still with her old phobia of crying in front of anyone.

"I love you Rose," Tre added audibly for the entire room to hear as he removed his guitar and set it down in a corner. He came back over to his wife and hugged her. "I love you."

Rose bowed her head and hid it in the crevice of Tre's shoulder blade. She whispered for his ears and his ears alone. "Thank you Frank. Thank you so much. I love you."

Tre looked up from his wife and smiled at a crowded room who were just beginning to let their applauds die down. "I think I'm getting lucky tonight," he announced to the room, being only able to refrain himself from being himself through the length of one romantic song.

Rose looked up as well and laughed as she playfully hit her husband. The guests laughed in unison with the couple and returned to their conversations with each other.

"Lookie here too sexy," Tre added as he lifted up his dress shirt in the back to reveal his wife's name, tattooed across his lower back.

Rose covered her mouth in shock as she touched her fingers to his bare skin and observed the intricate detail of his body art. It was a thornless rose with two leaves wilting off its stem where Rose's name was written on it like morning dew reflecting the sunlight. Rose gasped, "Oh my God."

"You like?"

"I love!"

"Good, I'm glad," Tre beamed as he hugged his wife again, lifting her a foot off the ground in the process.

"You're really putting that on Green Day's next album?" Rose asked with excitement; her green pupils wide and her face brightened as her tears began to dry.

"Sure we are," Tre cooed as he nodded his head. "It'll be on there, even if I have to kick Billie and Reprise's asses to Honk Kong. Controlling son of a-" Tre cut himself off before he was obviously going to say something nasty about Billie Joe.

"Shh..." Rose hushed her husband as she stared at the room of Reprise Exec's.
"Wow. You've never done that for me before though," Rose said as she adverted her gaze to the center of the room where Mike sat with the beautiful hazel-eyed woman.

"I know, I know. I love you lots though Rose. I hope I make that obvious. Sometimes I know I can get wrapped up in stuff, like our new album. That's a given though," Tre explained.

"Frank. I know. And I'm behind you all the way. I know what your job entails you to do, and I am fine with it. I love you too," Rose replied with flushed cheeks.

"Thanks Rose. You seem a lot calmer now, you know that?" Tre pointed out to his wife.

"Hmm yeah, I guess I am a bit. I do feel a lot more calm. I still don't like people that much though," Rose said stubbornly and she lowered her eyebrows with an evil grin. "I'm too cool and rock star-ish for anyone."

"Hehe, you took the words from my mouth," Tre grazed his wife's arm before it was obvious he was going to walk away. "I'm just gonna go hang with Frankie for a few more minutes before we cut the cake, 'kay hon?"

"Sure Frank." Rose nodded in agreement, turning her gaze back towards a forty year old and still kicking attractive, Mike Dirnt.

"That kid's becoming quite the drummer," Tre added as he skipped off towards his eleven year old son.

Picking up her champagne glass once again Rose held it and squeezed it whilst looking at Mike. Almost to the point where she might have accidently broken it's thin stem. Mike stared at the woman almost as though he were under a spell. He looked at her like she were the light of his life.

And not Rose.

For some unodd reason Rose didn't mind looking at Mike. The next thing she sighted was the nameless young woman gesture her head to Mike in her direction. Mike stood up after that and started to make his way over to Rose with a grin. His eyes gazed downwards and weren't really on her all that much.

"Hey!" he called to her before he had actually made it over to the beverage table.

"Hi," Rose replied with a tremored voice as she fidgeted with a long diamond pendant in the shape of a guitar, dangling off a silver chain, strewn around her neck.

"How's it going?" Mike asked her as he grabbed for a glass he could fill with margarita for that woman whom was obviously his date.

Rose stood silent.

"What?" Mike asked as he grabbed for the ladel in the margarita bowl.

"Who's she?" Rose asked as she gestured her head towards the auburn-haired woman and ignored Mike's question.

Mike turned his head in the direction Rose gestured and he just smiled. "That's Holly," he said pridefully.

"Holly? Is she your new girlfriend?" Rose inquired.

"Yes. Yes she is actually," Mike answered as he scratched his chest plate nervously.

"Well, good for you Dirnt. She's very beautiful." Rose smiled and nodded her head as though she didn't care. "How come you never told me?"

"Well, I think the last time you and I really had a proper conversation, you threw a garden ornament at my car," Mike said with a smile as his cheeks became flushed.

"It was a flower pot actually," Rose corrected him. "But I'm sorry Mike, I never should have done that. That was very out of line."

"Hey, I forgave you way before I even got the damage bill for sixty-eight hundred dollars," Mike winked at her. "Billie would have done the same..."

"Hmm...Billie," Rose grumbled. Her face went blank like she had just gotten her negative feelings back again.

"Oh hey-" Mike said as he began to search his light-weight blazer for something.

"What?" Rose asked.

Mike pulled a small wrapped parcel out of one of the two pockets in his blazer and handed it to Rose. "Here..." he said, "...happy birthday."

"Oh wow, thanks Mike," Rose replied as she took the small parcel in one hand. She gazed down at it in its beautiful silver wrapping and then looked back up at Mike.

"You don't have to open it now. I know you've already been given a thousand gifts," Mike laughed subtly.

"Well thanks Mike," Rose nodded before looking past him and back at the woman on the couch again. She was sitting there curling her hair between her fingers with shifty eyes and every so often would give a nonchalant smile to Rose.

Rose bit her bottom lip and returned to looking at Mike once he took notice of her staring at Holly. "Are you okay?" Mike asked her in a serious tone. "And oh yeah, about the present-"

"Y-yeah, of course Mike. I mean...you have your life and I have mine, right? It's not like there ever was anything between us. I'm married and you have a right to basically anyone you want," Rose rambled before her face turned twenty shades of red.

"I'm sor-"

"No, please don't be sorry. I'm going to go be with my husband and my daughter now. You go be with your son and your wife. Or whatever the fuck you like to call her," Rose chastised bitterly with a blatant hint of jealousy in her voice as she walked off, leaving her gift behind on the beverage table.

Mike sighed as he stood back and felt like he had just let the love of his life walk right on out of it. He hadn't been sure about bringing Holly to Rose's birthday, and now he felt he had made the worst decision in the world.

Having already introduced his new love interest to Tre, Mike was beginning to feel like the smallest person in the room. Or possibly the world. He picked the tiny parcel up Rose had intentionally left behind and stuffed it back into his blazer pocket. Feeling stressed and embarrassed, he chugged back the alcoholic beverage in his hand, before he had even realised he'd done it. He looked down at his empty glass and sighed like he just didn't give a shit.

Pouring a new glass for his date, Mike returned to the couch and handed it to her with an eery silence.

"Did you wish her a happy birthday?" Holly questioned before she took a sip of her margarita.

"Uh yeah, I did," Mike replied as his eyes looked down upon the semi-long blue train of the Dior dress he had bought for Holly earlier that day. Very appropriate for the strangely formal theme of this Green Day family member birthday bash.

"I feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman right now," Holly laughed as she reclaimed Mike's hand in her own. "Except, you know what?"

"What?" Mike asked with a smile as he sighed and tried to forget about Rose.

Holly lent in close to Mike's face and whispered, "You're way sexier than Richard Gere, any day."

Mike's face lit up. "Do you wanna get out of here?" he asked suggestively as he raised his eyebrows.

Holly returned him a smile as she threw her long hair back over her shoulder and grabbed for her evening jacket strewn across the armrest beside her. "Sounds like a plan, Michael Pritchard. I mean, Mike Dirnt..." she giggled with a wink.

"Hmm yeah, Mike Dirnt," he replied sheepishly as they sat up off the chesterfield. "I'll be right back. I'm just gonna ask Tre if Ryan can spend the night. That way, you and I will have some one on one time."

"Rawwr!" Holly replied as she gestured her hands out at Mike like cat claws.

Leaving his woman's side, Mike began a nerve racking journey over to where his drumming friend Tré Cool, mingled with Rose. His wife of six years.

Tre saw his taller friend approaching before he even reached him. Parting from his wife, he met the blue-eyed bassist somewhere in the midst of the large decorative room, filled with guests. "Hey man," Tre shouted over the continuing background music as he gave Mike a friendly pat on the back.

"Hey Tre. I was wonderin', could Ryan maybe spend the night? I know it's Rose's birthday and all, but me and Holly are kind of in the mood..." Mike asked nervously. He'd been feeling so stressed lately over everything. Namely over Billie Joe, his best friend in the whole world, backstabbing him.

"Sure man. We have Michelle to look after anyways. Frankito is spending the night as well. And besides, Ryan's like a son to us," Tre added as he patted Mike on the back again.

That last sentence that came from the drummer's lips just about gave the bassist a heart attack. It felt like the last straw on an already troubled mind.

Mike gasped slightly as he stared at his shorter friend and suddenly felt confusion. He stood in silence for quite a few long moments before he spoke. "O-oh, ghat's great. 'hanks m-man."

"What?" Tre asked.

"I sid, gat's grat," Mike repeated only this time it came less audibly. He blinked as he stared at Tre and realized he couldn't make out his face anymore. It was followed by more confusion and then fear.

"Mike man, are you okay?"

"'Ine. F-fine, 'uck," Mike gasped, grabbing his head; a sharp pain ran right between his eyes. He began to stumble around and found himself leaning over on the back of the chesterfield for support.

"Oh my God! Man are you okay?" Tre asked with concern as he followed after his friend to the couch and placed his hand on Mike's arm.

Rose looked up from conversing with her daughter and suddenly felt her heart drop to the center of the earth. Something was terribly wrong and she knew it. An overwhelming sense of guilt overtook her as she watched Mike in terror.

"R-Rose. S'it," Mike yelped. His face and body numbed before he collapsed to the floor and his world became swallowed and engulfed by darkness.

"MIKE!"