Better Man

Because of Vegas, Tre wasn't available to attend Billie Joe's 34th birthday party on the 17th of February, three days after Valentine's. But, being the best friend he was, he threw a small get together at his house as soon as he returned to the Bay Area with Caroline in tow.

Armed with a keg, a cooler filled with fruity drinks for the ladies and the game of Twister, Tre had a party set up for a king.

A king for a day. Pun intended, of course.

It was the first party of any sort that Caroline had gone to without her 'boys' amidst the guest list. While she was sitting on the couch's armrest in Tre's living room, holding a Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade in her hand, watching as the birthday boy got tangled with his wife and Mike, The Sinners' lead singer felt a little pang of guilt.

Was she delving into Tre's life too quickly and not focusing enough on what she needed to be doing in her life? If she was, the guys would talk to her about it, right? Or, were they feeling burnt out already and just didn't care?

She hoped not. Not after how hard they'd worked to get this far.

Frowning, she brought the bottle to her lips and sighed, tipping it back and letting the tingly, red liquid pour into her mouth, lathering her tongue in a faint film of tasty goodness that spilled down her throat, tingling even more.

And, lost in thought.

Though, lost in thought wasn't a location she remained long in when she felt a rough hand on her knee. Jumping a little in surprise, she shifted her hazel eyes up to see Billie Joe smiling at her, stumbling to get to his feet as Adrienne plopped down beside her one the couch cushion, laughing.

"Hey, your turn," Billie Joe announced, pointing at the Twister mat on the floor with his thumb over his shoulder.

"Uh...okay. Hold my drink." She passed off her drink to Green Day's lead singer and kicked off her red Converse so that she was barefoot.

She just hated socks.

Standing alone on the polka-dotted mat with her hands on her hips as Tre passed the spin dial thingy to Adrienne to join his girlfriend, then looking through the small handful of guests.

"Who will take on Mighty Tre Young?" he bellowed, pounding on his chest like the famed ape.

Caroline gave him a nudge to his waist with her elbow and he smirked.

"...and Caroline Kong!" Tre added, as Mike stepped up. "You just went."

"Yeah," Mike replied with a shrug. "But it don't look like anyone else is willing to take you on."

"Sad, but true," Tre snickered. "Alright!" he bellowed once more, pointing his right index finger, daringly, at Adrienne. "Spin the Dial of Doom!"

Caroline simply mirrored the older woman's actions by shaking her head with a laugh. Adrienne set the dial board thing on her lap and made the first spin.

"Right foot, red." Simple enough. "Left hand, green." Okay. Not bad, still. "Right foot, red. Wait, your feet are already there...uh...left foot, yellow."

This went on for a while, all three on the mat maintaining incredible stamina. Mike was rather surprised at how he managed not to fumble over what he was doing, given the tight proximity he was with Caroline, who he still considered his crush. Though, recently, he had assured himself he was fine with it all. That, yes, she was an attractive woman who made him smile and laugh and think. That made his heart palpitate and his stomach tighten in knots. Good, pleasant knots. But he was also happy that his best friend had that same woman in his life.

God knows Tre could use all the luck in the romance department that he needed. The poor guy had so much trouble keeping just one woman in his life without somehow mucking it up.

For Tre's sake, Mike wished him and Caroline would work out and last.

"Oh ho ho!" Billie Joe exclaimed as Caroline and Mike both noticed Tre slip over how his feet were crossed. "Is he--? Is he--?!"

THUD.

Tre was down. He fell back on his ass, rolling onto his back.

"Oh, yes! Mighty Tre Young knocked down in his prime!" Billie Joe laughed, holding Caroline's drink in front of his mouth like a microphone and he was a sports commentator.

"Aw, damn," Tre muttered, crawling off the mat and sitting on the floor beside it.

"One down, two to go!" Billie Joe squealed like a child. "Who. Will. Come. Out. On. Top?"

Mike snickered and rolled his eyes as Adrienne spun the dial once more. "Left hand, yellow."

"There can be only one!" the green-eyed guitarist added, giddily.

"Alright, Highlander. Chill the fuck out," Adrienne commented, slapping her husband on the back of the head, then smirking as she spun again. "Left foot, blue."

Mike's leg crossed over Caroline's and the both of them were practically laying on top of each other, while kinda sorta...well, not laying. He could feel her breath on his shoulder and a little on his neck and he was sure that if they got tangled any further, he might just collapse, but not due to the hard positioning.

But due to the hard...uh...um...well...you get the picture.

Right?

And sure enough, Adrienne had to call out, "Right hand, red."

And there it was. The closeness and tangled mess of limbs that had nothing, whatsoever, to do with sex was still getting to Mike all the same. He could tell because of how tight his pants were starting to feel on him. He had to forfeit, or else the next spin might put him closer to Caroline, and she, too, would realize just how hard this was all getting for him.

In a swift movement, Mike closed his blue eyes and gave way, letting his knees buckle and lifting up his hands so that he fell at Caroline's side.

"Ohh!" Billie Joe groaned out a laugh. "We have a winner!"

Think gross thoughts, Mike, the bassist thought to himself. Think of your mother naked. Think of falling into a pile of shit. Think of eating shit. Think of your mother naked and eating shit off her ass, damnit!

"You are the champion, my friend..." Billie Joe began to sing as he held Caroline's right arm up like she was Rocky and she'd just won the greatest boxing match ever. "What do you have to say to your components who failed miserably?" he asked, holding her own bottle up to her like a microphone. Still.

"Uh," she laughed. "Well, the better man definitely one. Too bad this man has a vagina. Booyah!" she added with a laugh and a lame karate chop.

Mike finally rolled onto his back, thankful his budding erection had subsided, while he watched as Tre stood up and linked his arm around Caroline's waist, kissing her on the cheek.

What a kick to his self-esteem.

But then, something nice happened.

Caroline broke away from Tre momentarily and leaned forward onto the mat, reaching her hand out to Mike. "Need some help?" she questioned, lightheartedly.

Letting a smile spread across his lips, Mike nodded. "Sure. Thanks." He took a hold of her hand, smiling more to himself about how smooth her skin was while wondering if every inch of her skin was just as smooth.

Standing up with Caroline's help, he said his thanks which she just shrugged off with an, "It was nothing. Just helping a friend in need."

She considered him her friend.

Well, holy fuck. That was definitely a good thing. And he was thankful to be that, at least.

* * *

As February began to deteriorate, Caroline was spending less and less time sleeping at the apartment she was sharing with Dave, Nick and Nef. Tre had already given her a few drawers in the dresser in his bedroom, along with some space in his closet. And it wasn't like it was an awkward thing for Caroline to be there, considering Tre's ex-wife's bedroom was down the hall, because Claudia was dating a man who would also spend the night from time to time.

It was definitely not the atypical living arrangement. But it worked for them just fine, and that was all that mattered.

One night, at the very end of the month, Tre was lying on his side just as Caroline was doing, both facing each other in bed.

"You look pretty," he commented lazily.

She smiled, appreciatively, reaching her hand out and brushing her fingers along his temple. "You look pretty, too," she teased.

"Thank you. Must be my new moisturizer."

They giggled a little as Tre wiggled his eyebrows, which let Caroline know he was up to something.

"What?"

"Ever play 'Stand It'?"

"What's that?"

"It's a game. Wanna play?"

"How do you play?" Caroline asked.

"Like this," Tre replied as he pulled the bedsheet up over their heads and made sure he held it tightly above them.

And then he farted.

And it was horrible.

"How long can you stand it?" Tre chuckled.

"Omigod!" Caroline coughed, pinching her nostrils closed as fast as she could. "Oh, c'mon, that's just gross," she groaned. "Let me out of here." Kicking her feet at the bottom of the sheet, she eventually spilled out onto the floor below with a thud.

Tre pulled the sheet down and inched over to the edge of the bed, wincing. "Sorry," he apologized. "But you gotta admit. It's a great game."

Caroline scrunched her nose up and made a gagging face. "No, that was just...eww," she shuddered. "You're so fucking gross."

* * *

Pinning Caroling up against the recording booth wall, Tre grinned as the two of them went at it like a pack of wild rabbits.

"Ahhh shit..." Tre grunted in the aftermath of it all.

They both took a breather, resting in that slightly awkward position with her pinned against the wall by his body, with him keeping her hoisted up. Slowly, however, he pulled out and let her feet touched back down to the ground.

As he pulled up his boxers and pants, doing up his fly, he smirked as how Caroline had to step back into her own underwear and jeans. Before she had the jeans up over her ass, he took the opportunity and slapped his hand across her ass. As soon as her jeans were buttoned, she punched his arm playfully.

"Watch it, Nutclops."

"Hey!" he whined. "You don't seem to mind the lone ball."

Caroline twisted her mouth into an impish grin as she grabbed a hold of the collar of his T-shirt and pulled him close to her. "I don't," she assured. "In your case, less is more, Mr. Tre Horny," she added, making slight reference to something they must've been talking about earlier.

"Well, I'm sorry about that. But when I get you alone, I am not responsible for the dirty thoughts in my mind. Or the dirty words and sentences and paragraphs that come out of my mouth."

Tilting her head to the side, Caroline wrapped her arms around Tre's neck and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Care?"

"Hmm?"

"I know I haven't actually said it, officially, yet...but..." he trailed off, staring down his nose and into her eyes only to have her staring back. "I love you."