When He Came Around, chapter 33
Since the day of the concert was approaching, Mercedes and Mike decided to give the twins a birthday party on the next day... the twenty-sixth, since the guys couldn't re-schedule the concert. Claudia had agreed to have a mini-party on the day of, and Liam and Joey had a sleepover with Frankito; leaving Mercedes free to come along, at Mike's request to the show.
On the evening of the concert, Mercedes was sitting with Mike and the rest of the men in the room. They were all a little quieter than usual, mostly due to Billie Joe. Adrienne hadn't called or anything since she left and he'd been leaving messages with on her abandoned cell phone daily. He mostly just sat there, strumming his guitar.
Mercedes was watching them all and didn't have much to say, but that didn't mean that she didn't have anything on her mind. She had only spoken to Adrienne once and that wasn't entirely productive. Although Adrienne wasn't angry or anything, what was worse was that she was silent. It was as if Adie had turned into some kind of monk, reflecting on all aspects of her feelings rather than voicing them. And perhaps that happened to everyone at one point or another. And even more to the point, maybe it was best for the relationship between Billie and Adrienne.
Looking down at her watch, Mercedes noticed that it was a quarter after six. The sound of screaming fans demanding punk music could be heard and Mercedes wondered if anyone could ever get tired of it. And as she looked around the room at the three men, thinking back to how they started and looking where they were today, she knew the answer to her question. Hell no!
Mercedes sighed and stood up. "Mike... I'm just going to run off for a bit, there's something that I wanna do... I'll be back in a few minutes."
Mike looked at her and nodded. "Sure."
Mercedes exited the room and then looked down the hallway and spotted a security guard. She remembered that his name was Alex and she went up to him, a determined smile on her face.
*
"So you made it?"
The girl in her late teens turned around and was looking at the older, pregnant woman with the vibrant green eyes. "Holy shit... I remember you... " the young woman started.
"It's Allie, right?" Mercedes asked.
Allie looked around her at first to make sure that she wasn't just seeing things. "Yeah... so wait... are you actually Mike Dirnt's... "
"Not so loud... I'm only inviting you."
"Huh?"
Mercedes watched the girl before her. She was wearing mostly black and red, but had 'Green Day' written on her arm. Smiling, Mercedes motioned for her to follow. "The guys are in the back... they're all really nice actually and they are a little restless. I thought you'd like to meet them."
Allie's face dropped. "Are you serious?"
"Trust me... I wouldn't go all this way to find you if I was."
"Well Mercedes, you thought right. Lead the way."
Mercedes smiled and with Alex accompanying them, they managed to make it through the crowd and finally backstage. The entire time, Allie was completely freaking out. After all, it was Green Day. "Oh my fucking god," was all she kept saying. "This is so fucked up! I can't believe I'm meeting Green Day."
"Here we are," Mercedes said, standing on the other side of the door. She opened it and Allie took a deep breath.
Mercedes gently took Allie's arm and pulled her inside; it seemed that Allie had been frozen to the spot when the door opened. "So you're Allie," Tre said, standing up and walking towards her.
"Shit. They know my name," she whispered a loud.
"And you know ours, so we're even," Billie Joe said standing up.
Mercedes smiled and leaned against the wall behind her as she watched as Allie just fell into place with the Green Day men. She just kept asking them a million questions and when it was time for the guys to get ready, Tre cleared his throat. "So... we're definitely going to be seeing you, considering that you're going to be in the front row."
"Front row!" Allie screamed.
"Fuck front row... would you mind watching from the sides... Mercedes is going to be there," Mike added.
"That's alright with you guys? I can stay?" she asked, completely in awe.
"Of course you can. Like I've said before, we have the best fucking fans in the fucking universe. Our fans kick the most ass," Billie stated firmly.
Allie looked up at Mercedes and smiled at her. "Thank you so much! I seriously can't believe that I bumped into you and all this happened."
Mercedes smiled in return. "You'd be surprised at how things just... happen."
Mercedes immediately locked eyes with Billie Joe and then winked before she turned her attention to Mike. The tall man was grinning at his beautiful wife and then walked over to her and slipped his arm around her shoulders and neck. "You guys coming?" one of the stage operators asked.
Mike reluctantly took his arm away from Mercedes' warm skin and then kissed her softly before following Tre and Billie out of the room. "Don't screw up," Mercedes joked.
Mike turned and gave her one last look, rolling his eyes and then closing the door softly behind him. "I couldn't thank you enough."
Mercedes turned her attention back to the girl before her. "It's seriously okay... it's my pleasure. Besides, you seemed cool as it was, so I couldn't very well just walk away."
"Well you could have. Most people do," Allie retorted.
Frowning, Mercedes tilted her head. "Well I'm not one of them. I know I just met you, but don't be a stranger."
Allie looked up at the woman and was so grateful. Allie's mom was mostly about school and work and never took the time to understand her. Her father was just the same and she was indeed the black sheep amongst her family and cousins and siblings. Not to mention school was a huge torture to her...
"Mercedes."
Both Allie and Mercedes turned and saw a woman standing in the doorway. "And then a ghost walked into the room," Mercedes whispered back with a smile. "I'm glad you decided to show up."
Adrienne walked in and closed the door behind her. "Who's that?"
"This is Allie. Allie, this is Adrienne Armstrong."
Allie thrust out her hand and Adrienne smiled politely when she took it. "Listen, Allie, do you mind if I talk with Mercedes for a moment, in private?"
"No," Allie started. "Not at all."
"Thanks."
"Allie," Mercedes began. "If you turn to your right when you get out, just go straight and someone will be there to bring you to the side of the stage. The guys are probably going to be there soon enough. We'll meet you there."
Allie nodded with a huge grin and then exited the room and following the instructions that Mercedes had given her. When the door was shut, Mercedes turned her attention back to Adrienne. "I'm assuming that you got my message?"
Adrienne nodded and sat down. "I did... and I finally listened to Billie's messages that he'd been leaving me. I'm sorry Mercedes. I really am."
Mercedes took a seat beside Adrienne. "It's okay to feel sometimes Adrienne... and it's alright to doubt as well. We're human... but maybe doubting Billie Joe is another thing. He's a great guy... "
"Exactly. And you love him."
Mercedes watched the dark haired woman before her. "I do. But I love Tre as well. And I am married to Mike. Not to mention that your friendship is worth more to me than most things in the world. Adrienne... no matter what I feel for Billie, I have too much respect for both you and Mike to ever do anything, as well as a conscience. And at the point, Billie's the same."
Adrienne remained silent for a few minutes, and for Mercedes, it was the longest minutes of her life. She didn't want to say anything, but when she heard the opening chords for 'American Idiot', she noticed Adrienne perked up. "From a woman's point of view, Billie's perfect... and he could get any woman in the world practically."
"As could Mike. Yet, they won't take any other woman would they?"
Adrienne smiled and nodded. "No."
"You're damn right Adrienne. And besides, you're too hot for Billie to ever want to take his eyes off of you. Now please... why don't we go watch what our husbands do best."
Adrienne nodded and stood up at the same time as Mercedes. But what had caught Mercedes off guard was when Adrienne turned and pulled Mercedes into a hug. "Thanks. You're my best friend," she told her.
Mercedes smiled and returned the hug. "And you know that I feel the same."
As the two woman pulled away, Mercedes held the door open for Adrienne and the two of them walked down the corridors and the music kept getting louder and louder. "Does Billie know that I'm here?" Adrienne asked.
"He hasn't one clue."
Adrienne only nodded and then lights appeared and Mercedes could make out Allie from the far right. Waving to her, Allie returned the wave and Adrienne and Mercedes walked over to her and stood beside the younger girl.
As they set straight into 'Jesus of Suburbia', Mike had turned to look at Mercedes... only his blue eyes widened when he saw Adrienne standing beside her. Grinning, he motioned to Tre, who turned and mimicked Mike's reaction. Smiling, the two band members waited until Billie stopped talking. When the green-eyed singer stopped, Mike nodded his head in Adrienne's direction and Billie, confused, turned and looked over at the side of the stage.
"Adie?" he said to himself.
Adrienne had caught Billie Joe mouthing her name and smiled. She raised up her hand and waved back, mouthing an 'I love you'.
It was hard for Billie Joe to swallow the dryness in his mouth. His eyes remained glued to her and knowing that he might suffer for it after, he looked at the crowd and then to Mike and Tre, who both were wearing knowing smiles. Looking back to the crowd, Billie's mind was made up. "Fuck it."
Throwing his guitar clean off his body, Billie sprinted towards his wife and within milliseconds had her wrapped up in his arms and kissing her passionately, as if it was the last kiss that they would ever have to share. "I love you Adie," he whispered in her ear as she cried softly against him, muttering apologies for leaving him and ever doubting him. Billie Joe felt as if his heart would burst and smiled. "Adie... shut up," he grinned as he kissed her once more.
On the evening of the concert, Mercedes was sitting with Mike and the rest of the men in the room. They were all a little quieter than usual, mostly due to Billie Joe. Adrienne hadn't called or anything since she left and he'd been leaving messages with on her abandoned cell phone daily. He mostly just sat there, strumming his guitar.
Mercedes was watching them all and didn't have much to say, but that didn't mean that she didn't have anything on her mind. She had only spoken to Adrienne once and that wasn't entirely productive. Although Adrienne wasn't angry or anything, what was worse was that she was silent. It was as if Adie had turned into some kind of monk, reflecting on all aspects of her feelings rather than voicing them. And perhaps that happened to everyone at one point or another. And even more to the point, maybe it was best for the relationship between Billie and Adrienne.
Looking down at her watch, Mercedes noticed that it was a quarter after six. The sound of screaming fans demanding punk music could be heard and Mercedes wondered if anyone could ever get tired of it. And as she looked around the room at the three men, thinking back to how they started and looking where they were today, she knew the answer to her question. Hell no!
Mercedes sighed and stood up. "Mike... I'm just going to run off for a bit, there's something that I wanna do... I'll be back in a few minutes."
Mike looked at her and nodded. "Sure."
Mercedes exited the room and then looked down the hallway and spotted a security guard. She remembered that his name was Alex and she went up to him, a determined smile on her face.
*
"So you made it?"
The girl in her late teens turned around and was looking at the older, pregnant woman with the vibrant green eyes. "Holy shit... I remember you... " the young woman started.
"It's Allie, right?" Mercedes asked.
Allie looked around her at first to make sure that she wasn't just seeing things. "Yeah... so wait... are you actually Mike Dirnt's... "
"Not so loud... I'm only inviting you."
"Huh?"
Mercedes watched the girl before her. She was wearing mostly black and red, but had 'Green Day' written on her arm. Smiling, Mercedes motioned for her to follow. "The guys are in the back... they're all really nice actually and they are a little restless. I thought you'd like to meet them."
Allie's face dropped. "Are you serious?"
"Trust me... I wouldn't go all this way to find you if I was."
"Well Mercedes, you thought right. Lead the way."
Mercedes smiled and with Alex accompanying them, they managed to make it through the crowd and finally backstage. The entire time, Allie was completely freaking out. After all, it was Green Day. "Oh my fucking god," was all she kept saying. "This is so fucked up! I can't believe I'm meeting Green Day."
"Here we are," Mercedes said, standing on the other side of the door. She opened it and Allie took a deep breath.
Mercedes gently took Allie's arm and pulled her inside; it seemed that Allie had been frozen to the spot when the door opened. "So you're Allie," Tre said, standing up and walking towards her.
"Shit. They know my name," she whispered a loud.
"And you know ours, so we're even," Billie Joe said standing up.
Mercedes smiled and leaned against the wall behind her as she watched as Allie just fell into place with the Green Day men. She just kept asking them a million questions and when it was time for the guys to get ready, Tre cleared his throat. "So... we're definitely going to be seeing you, considering that you're going to be in the front row."
"Front row!" Allie screamed.
"Fuck front row... would you mind watching from the sides... Mercedes is going to be there," Mike added.
"That's alright with you guys? I can stay?" she asked, completely in awe.
"Of course you can. Like I've said before, we have the best fucking fans in the fucking universe. Our fans kick the most ass," Billie stated firmly.
Allie looked up at Mercedes and smiled at her. "Thank you so much! I seriously can't believe that I bumped into you and all this happened."
Mercedes smiled in return. "You'd be surprised at how things just... happen."
Mercedes immediately locked eyes with Billie Joe and then winked before she turned her attention to Mike. The tall man was grinning at his beautiful wife and then walked over to her and slipped his arm around her shoulders and neck. "You guys coming?" one of the stage operators asked.
Mike reluctantly took his arm away from Mercedes' warm skin and then kissed her softly before following Tre and Billie out of the room. "Don't screw up," Mercedes joked.
Mike turned and gave her one last look, rolling his eyes and then closing the door softly behind him. "I couldn't thank you enough."
Mercedes turned her attention back to the girl before her. "It's seriously okay... it's my pleasure. Besides, you seemed cool as it was, so I couldn't very well just walk away."
"Well you could have. Most people do," Allie retorted.
Frowning, Mercedes tilted her head. "Well I'm not one of them. I know I just met you, but don't be a stranger."
Allie looked up at the woman and was so grateful. Allie's mom was mostly about school and work and never took the time to understand her. Her father was just the same and she was indeed the black sheep amongst her family and cousins and siblings. Not to mention school was a huge torture to her...
"Mercedes."
Both Allie and Mercedes turned and saw a woman standing in the doorway. "And then a ghost walked into the room," Mercedes whispered back with a smile. "I'm glad you decided to show up."
Adrienne walked in and closed the door behind her. "Who's that?"
"This is Allie. Allie, this is Adrienne Armstrong."
Allie thrust out her hand and Adrienne smiled politely when she took it. "Listen, Allie, do you mind if I talk with Mercedes for a moment, in private?"
"No," Allie started. "Not at all."
"Thanks."
"Allie," Mercedes began. "If you turn to your right when you get out, just go straight and someone will be there to bring you to the side of the stage. The guys are probably going to be there soon enough. We'll meet you there."
Allie nodded with a huge grin and then exited the room and following the instructions that Mercedes had given her. When the door was shut, Mercedes turned her attention back to Adrienne. "I'm assuming that you got my message?"
Adrienne nodded and sat down. "I did... and I finally listened to Billie's messages that he'd been leaving me. I'm sorry Mercedes. I really am."
Mercedes took a seat beside Adrienne. "It's okay to feel sometimes Adrienne... and it's alright to doubt as well. We're human... but maybe doubting Billie Joe is another thing. He's a great guy... "
"Exactly. And you love him."
Mercedes watched the dark haired woman before her. "I do. But I love Tre as well. And I am married to Mike. Not to mention that your friendship is worth more to me than most things in the world. Adrienne... no matter what I feel for Billie, I have too much respect for both you and Mike to ever do anything, as well as a conscience. And at the point, Billie's the same."
Adrienne remained silent for a few minutes, and for Mercedes, it was the longest minutes of her life. She didn't want to say anything, but when she heard the opening chords for 'American Idiot', she noticed Adrienne perked up. "From a woman's point of view, Billie's perfect... and he could get any woman in the world practically."
"As could Mike. Yet, they won't take any other woman would they?"
Adrienne smiled and nodded. "No."
"You're damn right Adrienne. And besides, you're too hot for Billie to ever want to take his eyes off of you. Now please... why don't we go watch what our husbands do best."
Adrienne nodded and stood up at the same time as Mercedes. But what had caught Mercedes off guard was when Adrienne turned and pulled Mercedes into a hug. "Thanks. You're my best friend," she told her.
Mercedes smiled and returned the hug. "And you know that I feel the same."
As the two woman pulled away, Mercedes held the door open for Adrienne and the two of them walked down the corridors and the music kept getting louder and louder. "Does Billie know that I'm here?" Adrienne asked.
"He hasn't one clue."
Adrienne only nodded and then lights appeared and Mercedes could make out Allie from the far right. Waving to her, Allie returned the wave and Adrienne and Mercedes walked over to her and stood beside the younger girl.
As they set straight into 'Jesus of Suburbia', Mike had turned to look at Mercedes... only his blue eyes widened when he saw Adrienne standing beside her. Grinning, he motioned to Tre, who turned and mimicked Mike's reaction. Smiling, the two band members waited until Billie stopped talking. When the green-eyed singer stopped, Mike nodded his head in Adrienne's direction and Billie, confused, turned and looked over at the side of the stage.
"Adie?" he said to himself.
Adrienne had caught Billie Joe mouthing her name and smiled. She raised up her hand and waved back, mouthing an 'I love you'.
It was hard for Billie Joe to swallow the dryness in his mouth. His eyes remained glued to her and knowing that he might suffer for it after, he looked at the crowd and then to Mike and Tre, who both were wearing knowing smiles. Looking back to the crowd, Billie's mind was made up. "Fuck it."
Throwing his guitar clean off his body, Billie sprinted towards his wife and within milliseconds had her wrapped up in his arms and kissing her passionately, as if it was the last kiss that they would ever have to share. "I love you Adie," he whispered in her ear as she cried softly against him, muttering apologies for leaving him and ever doubting him. Billie Joe felt as if his heart would burst and smiled. "Adie... shut up," he grinned as he kissed her once more.
