They Changed My Life, chapter 8

She gaped at me. I had never hit her before, and I swung again. Unleashing the rage that had built up over the years, I hit her again and again, blindly. Eventually, Billie Joe and Mike pulled me off of her.
"Omigosh, Lizzie! Are you, like, alright?" asked one of her friends.
Ripping free of the boy's grasp, I ran. I didn't care where I was going, as long as it was away from Elizabeth.
"You're going to be in SO MUCH trouble when I tell mom!" I heard Elizabeth scream behind me.
About ten minutes later, I collapsed on a park bench. I had tears running down my face from a mixture of rage and exhaustion. A little while later, just as I knew they would, Tre', Billie Joe, and Mike joined me. Billie Joe sat on my right, and put a friendly arm around my shoulder. Mike sat on my othe side, and after he handed me my pick back, Tre' plopped onto the sidewalk in front of me. We were all silent for a moment, and then Mike asked, "I take it you have a sister, and that's her, huh?" I nodded, a tear spilling down my cheek. Mike wiped it away, and I smiled at him.
"She seems like a bitch," Billie Joe muttered.
"Yeah," I said, my voice low. "She always puts me down and makes me feel bad about myself."
"There's nothing wrong with you," Billie Joe said firmly.
I looked into his breathtaking eyes and had a sudden urge to kiss him. Unfortunately, Tre' ruined the moment by brightly adding, "He's right. I think you're the first girl to ever get into a fight on her first day at Pinole."
Mike sighed, standing up. "Hate to say it guys, but we've got band practice, and we need all the help we can get."
Tre' snorted. "Speak for yourself. There is none better than Tre' Cool."
The rest of us stood up, and Billie Joe looked at me. "Uh-you wanna hang out for awhile, and listen to us jam?"
I looked over at Mike and Tre'. They didn't look mad at him for asking or anything, so I agreed. We walked back to the student parking lot where Billie Joe's car was. Mike and Tre' piled into the back, and I rode shotgun. Surprisingly, they live somewhat close to me.
"We don't really have a fancy place, but it's nice," Billie Joe admitted.
I smiled at him. "I'm sure it's fine."
He smiled back and switched off the engine. He unlocked the door, and the strong smells of pot and sweat hit us as soon as we walked inside. Billie Joe looked at me somewhat sheepishly as I took in the cluttered room. I gave him a reassuring smile, and he seemed to relax. He cleared off a place on the couch for me, and as I settled on it, the guys got the equipment ready. Tre' tapped his drums. One, two, three, and they started. I could only sit in shock as they jammed through the song enthusiastically. One of the things that amazed me the most was Billie Joe's voice. As he sang, "Some call it slums, some call it nice" (which I assumed was about this place, ) he smiled, thoroughly ebjoying himself. Mike was jumping around with the bass, and Tre' went crazy on the drums. Instead of acting like they had an audience on one, they went all out, playing for an imaginary crowd of millions. Billie Joe was absolutely phenomenal on the guitar too, I might add. He smiled at me, and I could sit there, stunned, as they went through song after song. When they stopped, Billie Joe looked at me a little nervously.
"Did we sound alright?"
I looked at him with a dazed expression on my face, and startled everyone by jumping up and screaming, "HOLY FUCK! ALRIGHT? YOU GUYS KICKED MAJOR ASS!"
They all smiled. "I get we really didn't sound too bad with a reaction like that," Mike said.
I shook my head vigorously. "You guys are going to be famous one day."
After that, we all just hung out. The guys would play a song evry now and then, but not like before. They were mainly just fooling around. Tre' played a lovely little song he called, 'All By Myself'. Later, Billie Joe pulled a few joints out.
"Want one?" he offered.
I shook my head,

(no, no more drugs in my life, )

And Tre' laughed. I gave him a look and Billie Joe said, "If she doesn't want one, she doesn't want one, Tre'. If you don't shut up, I won't give YOU one of these little lovelies. And if that's still not enough, I'll take away your masturbation priviledges." Tre' stopped laughing very quickly.
After awhile, I asked wht time it was.
Billie Joe glanced down at his watch and said, "ABout eleven."
"WHAT?!" I exclaimed, jumping up.
"Estelle's got a beddy-by time," Tre' taunted.
I flipped him off and turned to Billie Joe and Mike. "I've got to go. My mom's gonna kill me anyway for beating up my sister, and now I'm out past ten. I'll see you guys lat-"
Billie Joe stood up and touched my arm. "Screw her! You're an adult now, you can make your own choices."
I looked over at Mike and Tre'. Tre' was dozing off and Mike smiled at me and said, "Come on-stay awhile."
I looked back at Billie Joe and smiled shyly. "Well... If you're sure it's okay..." He slid his hand down my arm and grabbed my hand. "I'm sure."
We smiled at each other, and he pulled me over to the couch. Tre' was on the floor now, with his head propped up under a pillow, and Mike was in one of the armchairs, reading 'The Rolling Stone'. Billie Joe put his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned against him. Mike threw the magazine on the slightly messy table and said, "That'll be us one day" as he flipped the TV on to MTV. As we watched the videos, I grew drowsy. After awhile, Billie Joe whispered, "Come on-let's go to bed." We stood up, and I followed him down the hallway to a room.