She Is My Baby, I Love Her So, But It's Too Late Now, I've Let Her Go, chapter 4
Three Weeks Later
"Baker Street, Baker Street, BAKER STREET!"
Tre's head was spinning as he finished his shot. It was now Friday, and Baker Street Noise had just finished their final set of the competition. The judges were about to announce the winners. And tonight, Billie Joe had decided to tell Bailey Jade who he really was.
"Ooh, they're back." Tre squealed to no one in particular. Bailey slipped onto the barstool next to him.
"You what?" She asked him.
"The judges are ready, and Mike will be looking for you." Slurred Tre. Bailey glanced at the stage.
"Crap. See ya later." Bailey waved to Tre, sprinting off to the stage, wobbling slightly on her spiky boots, her ankle healed up but still slightly sore. Mike caught her arm, and swung her up, raising several cheeky whistles from the crowd at the front as they peeked up Bailey Jade's skirt. She flipped her middle finger at them, an equally cheeky grin on her face. Mike leaned towards his band.
"Don't worry. You have totally won this, easy." He slung his arms around Chalky and Bailey, squeezing their shoulders gently. Bailey nodded; she could see Dave and Gerard passing on the same message to their bands. Her breathing and pulse began to quicken the old, familiar tugging at her stomach. "Please, not now." She begged herself. She really didn't need to have a panic attack now, in front of everybody. Nibs recognised the signs, and slipped his hand into Bailey"s. Bailey flicked a watery smile at him, the contact calming her down slightly. Nick Ryan stepped up to the mike.
"And the winners of this year's NuRock Battle of the Bands are... Baker Street Noise!"
The moshing crowd went even wilder; it was easy to see who they had wanted to win. Mike chuckled slightly at the kids. They were just standing there, stunned expressions on their faces. He nudged them gently. Bailey stumbled forward slightly, and was pushed to the mike by Nibs, Chalky and PeeWee. She shot them a mock filthy look.
"Oh thanks guys." She stepped up to the Mike. A roadie handed their guitars to them, as Nibs settled himself behind the drum kit.
"Uh, we'd just like to say thank you to all the judges, and to all you guys who have supported us, and I think the biggest thank you will have to go to our fantastic coach, Mike Dirnt," she flung out an arm to him. "And, screw it, I can't be bothered to mention everyone, so, THANK YOU EVERYBODY. You fucking well ROCK!" They launched into "Thank You", a song Bailey and Nibs had written the previous week, with some help from Mike.
Mike realised he was in great danger of being knocked out by Chalky, slinging his guitar round and round, so he decided to find Billie Joe and Tre. Mike could remember how much blood had come from Bailey"s head two weeks ago when Chalky had accidentally smashed her head with the said guitar- it soaked deep into the fabric of Mike favourite t shirt, when he had carried the unconscious Bailey to the ambulance.
It didn't take him long to find his own bandmates. Billie Joe had his arm slung around his wife, Adrienne, and a beer in the other. Mike leaned over and gave Adie a quick kiss hello on the cheek.
"Hey, Adie. I didn't realise you were coming out here. Are Joey and Jakob...?"
"Staying with my parents." Adie finished, returning Mike's kiss with a friendly grin. She gestured to the stage. "These kids are absolutely amazing. Billie Joe barely stopped talking about them on the way here, and that girl singer reminds me of someone, but I can't think who... Oh God." Adie had obviously spotted the sozzled Tre Cool heading towards her. Sure enough, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the mosh pit.
"Sorry, Bill, just borrowing your missus." Tre called. "C'mon, Adie, let's mosh!"
Mike took a swig of Billie's beer.
"Hey!" Billie Joe complained.
Mike gave him a bashful grin. "Sorry. Really thirsty."
Billie Joe shook his head, and looked back to the stage. Bailey Jade and Nibs had swapped over, Nibs now singing something that sounded (and from his energetic actions, LOOKED) rude, and Bailey was playing the absolute shit out of the drums. Billie Joe felt a lump rise in his throat. It rose every time he tried to look at, or talk to Bailey. He shook his head again, and grabbed his beer away from Mike. He drained the half-empty pint in one go. He glanced at the stage, where Baker Street was now leaving, then back to Mike.
"You going to congratulate them?"
"Yeah. You comin"?"
"Uh-huh. Just let me rescue my wife, first."
"Good luck with that."
Back in the dressing room, Bailey, Nibs, Chalky and PeeWee were going mental. PeeWee was doing back flips off the sofa, Chalky was cartwheeling around the room, and Bailey and Nibs were hugging each other maniacally as they leapt around the room. Mike opened the door, to nearly having his teeth knocked out by Chalky, getting his back broken by PeeWee, and getting bowled over by Bailey and Nibs. Mike caught his young band with his long, strong arms around their necks, and pulled them into a massive group hug. Tre burst in and leapt on them, shrieking "Big hug, big hug!" Bailey squawked as he leapt onto her shoulder.
Billie Joe took a deep breath before entering with Adie. He fixed a huge smile on his face as he came in, yelling his congratulations over the noise. Bailey Jade smiled at him as he introduced Adie.
"Hi, I'm Bailey Jade, it's so nice to meet you!" Bailey hugged Adie. She turned to Billie Joe. "Thanks for all your help, Billie Joe!" She squeaked, pulling him into a hug. Billie Joe hesitated, before hugging Bailey Jade tightly, and releasing her quickly.
Tre pulled several bottles of champagne from somewhere.
"C'mon, I'm not drinking by myself!" He called loudly.
"Doesn't stop you normally!" Bailey answered cheekily, swapping her boots for her Sketchers. The others laughed, as Tre pretended to whack her over the head with one of the bottles of Cristle. Tre handed a glass to Mike, Billie Joe, Adie and the kids and kept one for him. Billie Joe shook his head, and took the glass away from Bailey Jade, the closest to him.
"Uh-uh, no teenie drinking, thank you!" Bailey glared at him in outrage. She looked at Mike and Tre pleadingly. They both shrugged helplessly.
"Gotta agree with Bill on this one, Bailey." Mike said
"Sorry, Bee." said Tre. "I tried."
Bailey just grunted, before pulling the boys out of the room. "Okay, whatever," she called over her shoulder. "We'll just find someone who"ll let us celebrate. DAD" Bailey acted sarcastically.
Billie Joe tried to grab Bailey's arm, but missed, trapping his hand in the door. He swore violently. His wife chuckled.
"God, I think they've been hanging out with you guys for too long. You're starting to rub off on them." Adie remarked.
The drunk Tre Cool looked up from the sofa, where he was tossing bottle corks up and trying to catch them in his mouth. One bounced off his nose.
"Yeah, but in Bailey Jade's case, it's hereditary, right? I mean look who her dad is." Tre pointed to Billie Joe. Adie stared at her husband aghast. Billie Joe froze, like a rabbit in headlights. Tre slapped himself around the head. Mike grabbed the drunk drummer, and pulled him out of the door, leaving Billie Joe and Adie alone.
"Shit, I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?" Tre whined, slamming the door.
Adie just gazed at her husband. "Is it true?" Adie whispered.
"Adie- please... "
"Billie Joe Armstrong! Is Bailey Jade really your daughter or not?"
Billie Joe nodded. "Robbie confirmed it. I didn't want to say anything until you were here and... "
"Does Bailey know?" Adie interrupted. Billie Joe shook his head.
"How the hell could you?" Adie screeched.
"Adie, please, I was going to tell you... "
"No, Billie Joe. I'm not fucking talking about you not telling ME! I'm talking about you hanging out with this beautiful, lovely, sweet girl for over a month, and not even telling her about a little fact that could totally change her life!"
"Adie, I swear, I wanted to tell her, but it was hard... I kept trying to tell her but I could never find the right time. I mean, she got on great immediately with Mike and Tre, but she and I just didn't click and... "
"Well, maybe she just sensed you were lying to her!"
"Don't be so fucking stupid, Adrienne!"
"Don't call me stupid, Billie Joe. I'm not the one who abandoned his daughter- his first child- for fifteen years, then gets so goddamn scared he can't talk to her to tell her who he really is!"
"And who is he?" Bailey Jade spoke from the door. Mike and Tre and the boys appeared behind her. Mike spoke first.
"I swear Bill, I tried to keep her away but... "
"WHO THE HELL IS HE?" Bailey was screaming now, her gorgeous hazel eyes filled with tears.
"What's going on?" Nibs asked. Mike shrugged again, before trying to shoo the boys from the door. They didn't move.
"Who is he?" Bailey repeated, calmer and quieter this time. Adie held up her arms.
"How much have you heard, sweetie?" Adie asked Bailey gently.
"Everything. But I need to hear it from him."
"Tell her, Billie." Adie's dangerous tone dared Billie Joe to refuse. Billie Joe turned to Bailey, tears in his eyes as well.
"Bailey Jade, please. I didn"t want to have you find out like this."
"You didn't want me to find out at all. Because you don't want me. And you sure as hell don't need me- some scraggy foster bitch ruining your global success." Bailey spat out the last sentence with pure ice in her voice. Billie Joe looked as though he had been punched.
"Bailey, no, that's not true... " Billie Joe walked to her, but Bailey pushed him away. She turned to Mike and Tre, hanging their heads in shame.
"Did you know?" Bailey whispered.
"Bee... " Tre began. Bailey cut across him.
"Did you or did you not both know about this?"
Both men nodded. "We did." Mike admitted. Billie Joe stepped towards Bailey again, but was pushed away again.
"Fuck off. All of you, just fuck off and DIE." With that, Bailey ran out of the dressing room, into the night.
"Baker Street, Baker Street, BAKER STREET!"
Tre's head was spinning as he finished his shot. It was now Friday, and Baker Street Noise had just finished their final set of the competition. The judges were about to announce the winners. And tonight, Billie Joe had decided to tell Bailey Jade who he really was.
"Ooh, they're back." Tre squealed to no one in particular. Bailey slipped onto the barstool next to him.
"You what?" She asked him.
"The judges are ready, and Mike will be looking for you." Slurred Tre. Bailey glanced at the stage.
"Crap. See ya later." Bailey waved to Tre, sprinting off to the stage, wobbling slightly on her spiky boots, her ankle healed up but still slightly sore. Mike caught her arm, and swung her up, raising several cheeky whistles from the crowd at the front as they peeked up Bailey Jade's skirt. She flipped her middle finger at them, an equally cheeky grin on her face. Mike leaned towards his band.
"Don't worry. You have totally won this, easy." He slung his arms around Chalky and Bailey, squeezing their shoulders gently. Bailey nodded; she could see Dave and Gerard passing on the same message to their bands. Her breathing and pulse began to quicken the old, familiar tugging at her stomach. "Please, not now." She begged herself. She really didn't need to have a panic attack now, in front of everybody. Nibs recognised the signs, and slipped his hand into Bailey"s. Bailey flicked a watery smile at him, the contact calming her down slightly. Nick Ryan stepped up to the mike.
"And the winners of this year's NuRock Battle of the Bands are... Baker Street Noise!"
The moshing crowd went even wilder; it was easy to see who they had wanted to win. Mike chuckled slightly at the kids. They were just standing there, stunned expressions on their faces. He nudged them gently. Bailey stumbled forward slightly, and was pushed to the mike by Nibs, Chalky and PeeWee. She shot them a mock filthy look.
"Oh thanks guys." She stepped up to the Mike. A roadie handed their guitars to them, as Nibs settled himself behind the drum kit.
"Uh, we'd just like to say thank you to all the judges, and to all you guys who have supported us, and I think the biggest thank you will have to go to our fantastic coach, Mike Dirnt," she flung out an arm to him. "And, screw it, I can't be bothered to mention everyone, so, THANK YOU EVERYBODY. You fucking well ROCK!" They launched into "Thank You", a song Bailey and Nibs had written the previous week, with some help from Mike.
Mike realised he was in great danger of being knocked out by Chalky, slinging his guitar round and round, so he decided to find Billie Joe and Tre. Mike could remember how much blood had come from Bailey"s head two weeks ago when Chalky had accidentally smashed her head with the said guitar- it soaked deep into the fabric of Mike favourite t shirt, when he had carried the unconscious Bailey to the ambulance.
It didn't take him long to find his own bandmates. Billie Joe had his arm slung around his wife, Adrienne, and a beer in the other. Mike leaned over and gave Adie a quick kiss hello on the cheek.
"Hey, Adie. I didn't realise you were coming out here. Are Joey and Jakob...?"
"Staying with my parents." Adie finished, returning Mike's kiss with a friendly grin. She gestured to the stage. "These kids are absolutely amazing. Billie Joe barely stopped talking about them on the way here, and that girl singer reminds me of someone, but I can't think who... Oh God." Adie had obviously spotted the sozzled Tre Cool heading towards her. Sure enough, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the mosh pit.
"Sorry, Bill, just borrowing your missus." Tre called. "C'mon, Adie, let's mosh!"
Mike took a swig of Billie's beer.
"Hey!" Billie Joe complained.
Mike gave him a bashful grin. "Sorry. Really thirsty."
Billie Joe shook his head, and looked back to the stage. Bailey Jade and Nibs had swapped over, Nibs now singing something that sounded (and from his energetic actions, LOOKED) rude, and Bailey was playing the absolute shit out of the drums. Billie Joe felt a lump rise in his throat. It rose every time he tried to look at, or talk to Bailey. He shook his head again, and grabbed his beer away from Mike. He drained the half-empty pint in one go. He glanced at the stage, where Baker Street was now leaving, then back to Mike.
"You going to congratulate them?"
"Yeah. You comin"?"
"Uh-huh. Just let me rescue my wife, first."
"Good luck with that."
Back in the dressing room, Bailey, Nibs, Chalky and PeeWee were going mental. PeeWee was doing back flips off the sofa, Chalky was cartwheeling around the room, and Bailey and Nibs were hugging each other maniacally as they leapt around the room. Mike opened the door, to nearly having his teeth knocked out by Chalky, getting his back broken by PeeWee, and getting bowled over by Bailey and Nibs. Mike caught his young band with his long, strong arms around their necks, and pulled them into a massive group hug. Tre burst in and leapt on them, shrieking "Big hug, big hug!" Bailey squawked as he leapt onto her shoulder.
Billie Joe took a deep breath before entering with Adie. He fixed a huge smile on his face as he came in, yelling his congratulations over the noise. Bailey Jade smiled at him as he introduced Adie.
"Hi, I'm Bailey Jade, it's so nice to meet you!" Bailey hugged Adie. She turned to Billie Joe. "Thanks for all your help, Billie Joe!" She squeaked, pulling him into a hug. Billie Joe hesitated, before hugging Bailey Jade tightly, and releasing her quickly.
Tre pulled several bottles of champagne from somewhere.
"C'mon, I'm not drinking by myself!" He called loudly.
"Doesn't stop you normally!" Bailey answered cheekily, swapping her boots for her Sketchers. The others laughed, as Tre pretended to whack her over the head with one of the bottles of Cristle. Tre handed a glass to Mike, Billie Joe, Adie and the kids and kept one for him. Billie Joe shook his head, and took the glass away from Bailey Jade, the closest to him.
"Uh-uh, no teenie drinking, thank you!" Bailey glared at him in outrage. She looked at Mike and Tre pleadingly. They both shrugged helplessly.
"Gotta agree with Bill on this one, Bailey." Mike said
"Sorry, Bee." said Tre. "I tried."
Bailey just grunted, before pulling the boys out of the room. "Okay, whatever," she called over her shoulder. "We'll just find someone who"ll let us celebrate. DAD" Bailey acted sarcastically.
Billie Joe tried to grab Bailey's arm, but missed, trapping his hand in the door. He swore violently. His wife chuckled.
"God, I think they've been hanging out with you guys for too long. You're starting to rub off on them." Adie remarked.
The drunk Tre Cool looked up from the sofa, where he was tossing bottle corks up and trying to catch them in his mouth. One bounced off his nose.
"Yeah, but in Bailey Jade's case, it's hereditary, right? I mean look who her dad is." Tre pointed to Billie Joe. Adie stared at her husband aghast. Billie Joe froze, like a rabbit in headlights. Tre slapped himself around the head. Mike grabbed the drunk drummer, and pulled him out of the door, leaving Billie Joe and Adie alone.
"Shit, I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?" Tre whined, slamming the door.
Adie just gazed at her husband. "Is it true?" Adie whispered.
"Adie- please... "
"Billie Joe Armstrong! Is Bailey Jade really your daughter or not?"
Billie Joe nodded. "Robbie confirmed it. I didn't want to say anything until you were here and... "
"Does Bailey know?" Adie interrupted. Billie Joe shook his head.
"How the hell could you?" Adie screeched.
"Adie, please, I was going to tell you... "
"No, Billie Joe. I'm not fucking talking about you not telling ME! I'm talking about you hanging out with this beautiful, lovely, sweet girl for over a month, and not even telling her about a little fact that could totally change her life!"
"Adie, I swear, I wanted to tell her, but it was hard... I kept trying to tell her but I could never find the right time. I mean, she got on great immediately with Mike and Tre, but she and I just didn't click and... "
"Well, maybe she just sensed you were lying to her!"
"Don't be so fucking stupid, Adrienne!"
"Don't call me stupid, Billie Joe. I'm not the one who abandoned his daughter- his first child- for fifteen years, then gets so goddamn scared he can't talk to her to tell her who he really is!"
"And who is he?" Bailey Jade spoke from the door. Mike and Tre and the boys appeared behind her. Mike spoke first.
"I swear Bill, I tried to keep her away but... "
"WHO THE HELL IS HE?" Bailey was screaming now, her gorgeous hazel eyes filled with tears.
"What's going on?" Nibs asked. Mike shrugged again, before trying to shoo the boys from the door. They didn't move.
"Who is he?" Bailey repeated, calmer and quieter this time. Adie held up her arms.
"How much have you heard, sweetie?" Adie asked Bailey gently.
"Everything. But I need to hear it from him."
"Tell her, Billie." Adie's dangerous tone dared Billie Joe to refuse. Billie Joe turned to Bailey, tears in his eyes as well.
"Bailey Jade, please. I didn"t want to have you find out like this."
"You didn't want me to find out at all. Because you don't want me. And you sure as hell don't need me- some scraggy foster bitch ruining your global success." Bailey spat out the last sentence with pure ice in her voice. Billie Joe looked as though he had been punched.
"Bailey, no, that's not true... " Billie Joe walked to her, but Bailey pushed him away. She turned to Mike and Tre, hanging their heads in shame.
"Did you know?" Bailey whispered.
"Bee... " Tre began. Bailey cut across him.
"Did you or did you not both know about this?"
Both men nodded. "We did." Mike admitted. Billie Joe stepped towards Bailey again, but was pushed away again.
"Fuck off. All of you, just fuck off and DIE." With that, Bailey ran out of the dressing room, into the night.
