A Different Perspective, chapter 14
Billie and I somehow managed to arrive at San Francisco airport that night, on time just as the last boarding call was announced. Tre and Mike stood near the gate, both looking utterly pissed off at how close we were cutting it, but they soon got over it as we boarded the plane. Since it was my first time to New York, Billie let me have the window seat so I could look out when we arrived and he took the one more towards the aisle. Tre and Mike sat across from us, bickering with each other over the pettiest shit and they kept up their bickering until they both finally fell asleep. I looked down at my watch, yawning a little as it blinked 11:21. I knew I was supposed to sleep during most of this flight to avoid an immense case of Jet Lag, but I couldn't help but glance over at Billie Joe, who was bundled up in his seat fast asleep. He looked so cute as his eyelids fluttered from shifting around in the seat so much; he was such a restless little sleeper and as I contemplated this, I could feel myself slowly slipping until I fell asleep..
"Wake up!" Someone shook my arm lightly. "Hayleigh, wake up.."
"Hmm..?" I mused, rolling my head up and slowly opening my eyes to see Billie so close to my face that our noses were almost touching. I smiled, lazily. "You're so weird, Armstrong." Billie smiled a bit before bringing his head backwards and poking my leg.
"We're here. You slept the whole way," Billie said, getting to his feet. I yawned, getting out of my seat as well and grabbing my carry-on bag. Couldn't forget that, now could I?
"You should have waken me," I said, as we headed towards the back of plane. "I wanted to see us fly over New York."
"Nah," he said, shaking his head slightly. "You're cute when you sleep." I couldn't help it - a cheesy grin spread wide across my face as the flight attendent helped us out. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I turned around and jumped in Billie's arms, hugging him. He looked a bit surprised, but he ran his hand through my hair for a second before we parted and I happily bounced off towards the baggage claim.
"Sleep well?" Tre asked, smirking and I nodded, sort of sheepish.
"Yes.. Yes I did," I said, waiting patiently for my bags to come around, but.. they never did. I watched as Tre grabbed his, Mike his and finally Billie's plopped down onto the rotating belt - but not mine.
"Um, Hayleigh?" Billie said, looking up at the clock.
"Yes?" I snapped, impatient now. Where the hell were my bags?
"I think you're bags might have been lost.." I sighed, and looked over at him.
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," I muttered. I didn't mean to snap at poor Billie, who had done nothing, but I couldn't help it. It's a good thing I put everything that had a little more importance to me in the carry-on bag.
"Why don't we go report it.." Mike said, looking between Billie and I. Tre didn't hesitate to follow like he normally did, but instead was right behind Mike, muttering something to himself.
"I'm sorry, I'm just a little frustrated.." I murmured.
"It's okay, I'm pissed off, too. This set us behind schedule and we have to be at the TRL studio in twenty minutes," Billie muttered bitterly. I was fuming as Tre and Mike came back over to us, Mike sighing.
"They apologized, but said there's nothing they can do about it. I gave 'em Hayleigh's cell number and they said they'll call later if they find it," Mike explained. I was fuming. How could they fucking loose my bag? See this - this is why I hated flying. "Why don't we catch a cab to the hotel and we'll deal with this after the show?"
"Yeah.." I muttered, bitterly. First day of the trip and things were already going badly. Great. I hoped this wasn't how the rest of the trip was going to go.
We piled into one cab since Tre had insisted on saving money, which was something that baffled me since he was what? A multimillionaire? Well, whatever logic Tre might have had seemed to be somewhat helpful since the cab driver drove like a bat out of hell and we were at the Belligio in less than five minutes. Billie's hand had been placed firmly on my knee, so that a few times in the ride he'd squeeze it and I'd look over to see his face stark white. I guess he wasn't too fond of cabs. Billie paid for the fare and we all grabbed our bags out of the back, well all except me seeing as I didn't have a bag anymore and my purse was at my side the whole time. I was paranoid of loosing that, too.
"I can't believe we're staying at the Belligio," I said, my eyes wide as I stared in awe. Mike chuckled softly as we started to walk towards it.
"Did you honestly think we were going to stay in some shitty motel 6?" He teased and I shook my head.
"Well, no," I admitted, "But I didn't necessarily think we were going to be stay here. I'm sorry, this whole thing is kind of new to me."
"You'll get used to it," he assured me and all I could help but think was, Damn right I could get used to this.Since Tre had been the one to book the rooms, he saw it that he should be the one to get the room keys. Mike and Billie were a little concerned, but I couldn't see why. I mean, all Tre had to do was check in and get the two keys. Simple, right? Wrong. Tre sat there, arguing with the clerk as Billie tapped his foot, impatiently. Time was dwindling down and they had to be at the studio in less than then minutes for hair and makeup.
"Hey, I booked this and I'm just as much of a deserving client as that guy-" Tre pointed to some random guy enjoying an ice cream cone against the wall.
"Sir, if you'll please calm do-"
"NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN," Tre shouted to where everyone in the lobby turned to look at them. Tre was fuming for some reason, although those reasons were unknown as he lowered his voice. A few moments later, he stalked over to us, muttering to himself as he handed Billie and Mike a room key. "They lost our reservations and the only room they had left was a one, full sized bed in non-smoking."
"Isn't this fucking special," Billie muttered, shaking his head.
"We'll deal with it. We have to go like.. now," Mike said, his eyes gazing at the clock for a split second. We piled up on the stairs, thinking it wouldn't take as much time, but seven stories later it was a completely different story. We all panted as we struggled to find 709.
"Okay, what the hell? All I see are the seven-twenties.." Billie said, trying to regain his breath. I tugged on his arm and led them down the hall, round a corner and to our room. It wasn't hard to figure out where it was with a sign that said 700-715 with an arrow pointing the direction. Tre slid his key through and waited for the door to unlock. He pushed down on the handle and we all went inside, throwing our suitcases down onto the floor in a bit of a rush.
"Are you going to TRL with us?" Billie asked me, and I half-heartedly declined.
"I should prolly hang around here and wait for the airport to call.. Maybe take a nap because it's taking every ounce of my strength to stay awake," I explained and Billie looked disappointed. I kissed his forehead lightly. "I'll make it up to you when you get back, okay? And I'll be sure to watch the show." His slight frown quickly faded into a smile as he nodded.
"C'mon," Mike said, nudging him. "We have to get going." Billie nodded and gave me a quick kiss, following after Tre and Mike. The door swung shut behind them and I threw myself backwards onto the bed. Peace and quiet at last..
I laid there in bed, waiting for TRL to come on and yawning. If it didn't come on soon, I was afraid I was going to miss it all together and I wanted to catch the guys before I fell asleep. My eyes shifted over to the clock and I waited, anxiously until I heard the opening music on MTV. Finally, I thought, sitting upwards and resting my back against the headboard. The VJ was saying something.. random and unimportant to the point where I found myself slowly, slowly dozing off. Until I heard him say something about Green Day and my ears perked up. I forced my eyes open, smiling as Tre bounced into view, Mike and Billie walking calmly behind him. When Tre, as well as the audience, had finally calmed down, the interview began.
"So, the Fans love you - we all love you here at the studio, and now that you guys are finally finished touring, are you going to start working on the next album? Or take a well deserved break?" The VJ asked, folding his arm over his notecards. Billie looked at him for a second and I could tell he was a bit annoyed - I mean, I would be, too. That had to have been, what? The 8892883900 time answering that question?
"Well, we're going to try and spend some time with our families and take the next album on slowly," Billie said, nodding and forcing a smile.
"Speaking of families, I heard you've recently got a divorce from your wife," The VJ added in casually and Billie's eyes lowered for a split second, nodding once again.
"Yes, but I have a girlfriend, so-" Someone cut him off with a 'Boooooooo.' I looked at the screen, my nose twitching in anger. "Yes, yes.. Sorry," he said, turning around to face the crowd. The little teenie girls screamed out their high pitched wails; like nails on a chalkboard, I swear.
"Good, that's good.." The VJ said, nodding and that's all I heard before my eyes slowly drifted closed and I was out.
- - -
"Babe.." The voice whispered softly in my ear. "Babe, wake up. We're back.." I felt someone push back my hair from my face and my eyes fluttered open. Billie was leaning over, looking down at me.
"Oh hey," I said, sleepily as I rubbed my eyes and sat up. "I didn't mean to fall asleep.. What time is it?"
"Around eight," Billie said and I stretched out.
"Eight? Oh shit," I said. "I missed the rest of your guys' interview. Billie, I'm so sorry.." He shrugged.
"It's cool, wasn't that interesting anyway," he said, sitting down next to me. "I would have rather been here, enjoying New York with you." I smiled, lazily and returned the smile. "There's a party later at some club downtown that we were invited too and I'd really like it if you came." I honestly didn't want to go. I mean, I was still exhausted and the airport had yet to call, but I'd missed TRL with Billie and I felt so bad for him. He was looking at me with those wondrous emerald eyes of his, almost pleading with me, but not wanting to force me into anything I didn't want to do that I caved in, forgetting how I was feeling. I had to stop being so selfish.
"Yeah, sure.." I said, nodding and he smiled again. Maybe if I had listened to my instincts, things wouldn't have take their turn for the worse..
"Wake up!" Someone shook my arm lightly. "Hayleigh, wake up.."
"Hmm..?" I mused, rolling my head up and slowly opening my eyes to see Billie so close to my face that our noses were almost touching. I smiled, lazily. "You're so weird, Armstrong." Billie smiled a bit before bringing his head backwards and poking my leg.
"We're here. You slept the whole way," Billie said, getting to his feet. I yawned, getting out of my seat as well and grabbing my carry-on bag. Couldn't forget that, now could I?
"You should have waken me," I said, as we headed towards the back of plane. "I wanted to see us fly over New York."
"Nah," he said, shaking his head slightly. "You're cute when you sleep." I couldn't help it - a cheesy grin spread wide across my face as the flight attendent helped us out. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I turned around and jumped in Billie's arms, hugging him. He looked a bit surprised, but he ran his hand through my hair for a second before we parted and I happily bounced off towards the baggage claim.
"Sleep well?" Tre asked, smirking and I nodded, sort of sheepish.
"Yes.. Yes I did," I said, waiting patiently for my bags to come around, but.. they never did. I watched as Tre grabbed his, Mike his and finally Billie's plopped down onto the rotating belt - but not mine.
"Um, Hayleigh?" Billie said, looking up at the clock.
"Yes?" I snapped, impatient now. Where the hell were my bags?
"I think you're bags might have been lost.." I sighed, and looked over at him.
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," I muttered. I didn't mean to snap at poor Billie, who had done nothing, but I couldn't help it. It's a good thing I put everything that had a little more importance to me in the carry-on bag.
"Why don't we go report it.." Mike said, looking between Billie and I. Tre didn't hesitate to follow like he normally did, but instead was right behind Mike, muttering something to himself.
"I'm sorry, I'm just a little frustrated.." I murmured.
"It's okay, I'm pissed off, too. This set us behind schedule and we have to be at the TRL studio in twenty minutes," Billie muttered bitterly. I was fuming as Tre and Mike came back over to us, Mike sighing.
"They apologized, but said there's nothing they can do about it. I gave 'em Hayleigh's cell number and they said they'll call later if they find it," Mike explained. I was fuming. How could they fucking loose my bag? See this - this is why I hated flying. "Why don't we catch a cab to the hotel and we'll deal with this after the show?"
"Yeah.." I muttered, bitterly. First day of the trip and things were already going badly. Great. I hoped this wasn't how the rest of the trip was going to go.
We piled into one cab since Tre had insisted on saving money, which was something that baffled me since he was what? A multimillionaire? Well, whatever logic Tre might have had seemed to be somewhat helpful since the cab driver drove like a bat out of hell and we were at the Belligio in less than five minutes. Billie's hand had been placed firmly on my knee, so that a few times in the ride he'd squeeze it and I'd look over to see his face stark white. I guess he wasn't too fond of cabs. Billie paid for the fare and we all grabbed our bags out of the back, well all except me seeing as I didn't have a bag anymore and my purse was at my side the whole time. I was paranoid of loosing that, too.
"I can't believe we're staying at the Belligio," I said, my eyes wide as I stared in awe. Mike chuckled softly as we started to walk towards it.
"Did you honestly think we were going to stay in some shitty motel 6?" He teased and I shook my head.
"Well, no," I admitted, "But I didn't necessarily think we were going to be stay here. I'm sorry, this whole thing is kind of new to me."
"You'll get used to it," he assured me and all I could help but think was, Damn right I could get used to this.Since Tre had been the one to book the rooms, he saw it that he should be the one to get the room keys. Mike and Billie were a little concerned, but I couldn't see why. I mean, all Tre had to do was check in and get the two keys. Simple, right? Wrong. Tre sat there, arguing with the clerk as Billie tapped his foot, impatiently. Time was dwindling down and they had to be at the studio in less than then minutes for hair and makeup.
"Hey, I booked this and I'm just as much of a deserving client as that guy-" Tre pointed to some random guy enjoying an ice cream cone against the wall.
"Sir, if you'll please calm do-"
"NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN," Tre shouted to where everyone in the lobby turned to look at them. Tre was fuming for some reason, although those reasons were unknown as he lowered his voice. A few moments later, he stalked over to us, muttering to himself as he handed Billie and Mike a room key. "They lost our reservations and the only room they had left was a one, full sized bed in non-smoking."
"Isn't this fucking special," Billie muttered, shaking his head.
"We'll deal with it. We have to go like.. now," Mike said, his eyes gazing at the clock for a split second. We piled up on the stairs, thinking it wouldn't take as much time, but seven stories later it was a completely different story. We all panted as we struggled to find 709.
"Okay, what the hell? All I see are the seven-twenties.." Billie said, trying to regain his breath. I tugged on his arm and led them down the hall, round a corner and to our room. It wasn't hard to figure out where it was with a sign that said 700-715 with an arrow pointing the direction. Tre slid his key through and waited for the door to unlock. He pushed down on the handle and we all went inside, throwing our suitcases down onto the floor in a bit of a rush.
"Are you going to TRL with us?" Billie asked me, and I half-heartedly declined.
"I should prolly hang around here and wait for the airport to call.. Maybe take a nap because it's taking every ounce of my strength to stay awake," I explained and Billie looked disappointed. I kissed his forehead lightly. "I'll make it up to you when you get back, okay? And I'll be sure to watch the show." His slight frown quickly faded into a smile as he nodded.
"C'mon," Mike said, nudging him. "We have to get going." Billie nodded and gave me a quick kiss, following after Tre and Mike. The door swung shut behind them and I threw myself backwards onto the bed. Peace and quiet at last..
I laid there in bed, waiting for TRL to come on and yawning. If it didn't come on soon, I was afraid I was going to miss it all together and I wanted to catch the guys before I fell asleep. My eyes shifted over to the clock and I waited, anxiously until I heard the opening music on MTV. Finally, I thought, sitting upwards and resting my back against the headboard. The VJ was saying something.. random and unimportant to the point where I found myself slowly, slowly dozing off. Until I heard him say something about Green Day and my ears perked up. I forced my eyes open, smiling as Tre bounced into view, Mike and Billie walking calmly behind him. When Tre, as well as the audience, had finally calmed down, the interview began.
"So, the Fans love you - we all love you here at the studio, and now that you guys are finally finished touring, are you going to start working on the next album? Or take a well deserved break?" The VJ asked, folding his arm over his notecards. Billie looked at him for a second and I could tell he was a bit annoyed - I mean, I would be, too. That had to have been, what? The 8892883900 time answering that question?
"Well, we're going to try and spend some time with our families and take the next album on slowly," Billie said, nodding and forcing a smile.
"Speaking of families, I heard you've recently got a divorce from your wife," The VJ added in casually and Billie's eyes lowered for a split second, nodding once again.
"Yes, but I have a girlfriend, so-" Someone cut him off with a 'Boooooooo.' I looked at the screen, my nose twitching in anger. "Yes, yes.. Sorry," he said, turning around to face the crowd. The little teenie girls screamed out their high pitched wails; like nails on a chalkboard, I swear.
"Good, that's good.." The VJ said, nodding and that's all I heard before my eyes slowly drifted closed and I was out.
- - -
"Babe.." The voice whispered softly in my ear. "Babe, wake up. We're back.." I felt someone push back my hair from my face and my eyes fluttered open. Billie was leaning over, looking down at me.
"Oh hey," I said, sleepily as I rubbed my eyes and sat up. "I didn't mean to fall asleep.. What time is it?"
"Around eight," Billie said and I stretched out.
"Eight? Oh shit," I said. "I missed the rest of your guys' interview. Billie, I'm so sorry.." He shrugged.
"It's cool, wasn't that interesting anyway," he said, sitting down next to me. "I would have rather been here, enjoying New York with you." I smiled, lazily and returned the smile. "There's a party later at some club downtown that we were invited too and I'd really like it if you came." I honestly didn't want to go. I mean, I was still exhausted and the airport had yet to call, but I'd missed TRL with Billie and I felt so bad for him. He was looking at me with those wondrous emerald eyes of his, almost pleading with me, but not wanting to force me into anything I didn't want to do that I caved in, forgetting how I was feeling. I had to stop being so selfish.
"Yeah, sure.." I said, nodding and he smiled again. Maybe if I had listened to my instincts, things wouldn't have take their turn for the worse..
