"I've Done Twins", chapter 39
Two Months Later...
"Oh, my God. Zombie! Kill it!" Tre shouted as Mike stumbled into the studio looking like the Living Dead.
"Shut the fuck up, Tre. I'm in no fucking mood for fucking laughing."
Tre piped down instantly. Billie looked over at Mike and smiled weakly.
"Ryan?" He asked. Mike nodded.
"Don't get me wrong, I fucking love him. I love him with everything that's inside me... but all he ever fucking does is CRY!" He moaned. "His day consists of crying, pooping, eating, sleeping. Repeat-fucking-cycle."
Tre couldn't but laugh and thank God that Frankito was past that.
Billie pat Mike's back. "It'll be OK, buddy. It'll get better."
"It's been like this for weeks! I don't think I can take anymore of this..." Mike said, "I'm going nuts."
"It'll get better," Billie repeated.
"Hmm," Mike groaned. "It's terrible. I forgot what it's like. Estelle was NEVER like this. She didn't wake up at all hours of the night to scream. She didn't poop everything out..."
"Aren't diapers just gross?" Tre shuddered, "Wait until they start wetting the bed. It's just..." He stopped and shuddered. Unfortunately, Frankito was still in the bed wetting stage. "Kids aren't easy."
"I know," Mike said. "Just a reminder, guys: I've had a kid before. But she was good. Estelle was an Angel. Ryan's just a..."
"Shit?" Jason suggested. Tre jumped back in his drum set.
"Fuck! When did you get here?!"
"He's not a shit," Mike said, "He's just a pain in the ass. He's ruining everything. He's broken everything, he's fucked up my fiancée..."
"How?" Billie laughed.
"Leah hasn't had a decent nights sleep in AGES! It's taken everything out of her. We don't have time for...y'know... our own time..."
"Giggity giggity," Tre grinned. Jason laughed.
"You guys aren't much help," Mike snapped, turning on the amp for his bass. "Let's just get this over with."
Leah had just sat down on the couch with a coffee and her magazine when she heard a high-pitched squeal from Ryan's room.
"Ah!" She grunted, standing up. Climbing up the stairs, all she could hear was Ryan's cries. "Alright! Alright! Baby, it's OK. Mummy's comin'...ya little shit," She murmured the last part under her breath. She came into Ryan's room. Her blonde haired blue eyed baby was still sobbing. She picked him up and carried him downstairs. They played (basically just stretching and kicking about) before just retreating to sitting on the couch. The house was silent. Silence. Nothing. Nothing could be heard except for breathing, the sound of Leah turning pages and whenever she put her coffee mug down. No words could express how glad Leah was to have coffee back. She'd missed it so much. A while later, Jess came around with Hayley. They played about with Ryan, who already knew he was a hit with everyone and commonly took advantage of it. Tre, Billie, Jase and Mike came home about an hour after that. Mike went and said hello to Ryan first, who was in his crib sleeping. As Mike presumed he would be. When he came into the kitchen, he grabbed a coke and stood there, drinking and contemplating whether or not he'd trust Tre to look after Ryan for just one night.
He knew he couldn't ask Billie. Billie would rather crawl a mile over broken glass then watch Ryan after what he'd seen and heard. Leah came in with three empty coffee mugs. She put them on the counter and wrapped her arms around Mike's waist. Mike put one arm around her and used the other to lean against the counter.
"Hey, honey, how are ya?" He asked, kissing her forehead.
"Tired," She smiled. "To be honest. How are you?"
"Fine," He lied. Truth is, he wasn't fine. He wanted the sexy, 'naughty' Leah back. He wanted his alone time. He wanted time with his daughter. He wanted to be able to go out with his mates for a beer. He wanted his old life back. But he wanted Ryan, too.
"Guess what!" Leah said, as she pulled away from Mike.
"What?"
"That's hardly guessing, now..." She teased.
"You were abducted by anal probing aliens?"
"Hm...no. But I'll tell you if that happens. Courts offered to watch Ryan! Isn't that great, Mikey? We can be alone."
Mike was stunned. "What? How? Why? Billie..."
"Billie said he'd love to," Leah smiled. Her smile faded when Mike looked utterly lost. "Aren't you...happy?"
"No, no, baby. Of course I'm happy! But...Ry will drive Billie insane."
"Not much of a drive," She grinned. "Besides, who cares?! We get time to ourselves! It'll be great."
"Hm...OK," Mike smiled, kissing her lips softly. "But only because I want this time to ourselves."
She giggled deviously. "Oh, we will."
"There's gotta be a catch," Mike said. "No way in Hell would Billie just WANT to watch Ryan."
"No, no catch. But THAT'S not ALL! They offered to have him for TWO... WHOLE NIGHTS!"
Mike practically ran into the lounge room and kissed Billie.
"Welcome back to our humble home, Sir Ryan," Billie cooed, carrying Ryan into the house.
"Make me carry all this shit..." Courtney hissed acidly under her breath. "You take Ryan...stupid Billie..."
Billie was acting like a natural as he carried Ryan around. He was talking in baby talk and bouncing him up and down. Ryan loved his Uncie Billie. He giggled and squeaked about as Billie talked random baby shit to him.
Courtney dumped everything in the lounge room. "I already regret saying I'd do this."
"It would be hard not to," Billie said, looking away from Ryan, who was sucking on his fingers. "You saw her. Leah looks a mess. Her hair was dirty and she had those massive rings under her eyes and I swear I saw a blemish pimple thing on her neck."
"Billie, they're called hickys," Courtney laughed. "Mike and Lee still have SOME passion in their relationship."
"What? The occasional vampire-neck-sucking moment? Ooh, yeah, don't get much more passionate then that."
Courtney smiled at him sarcastically. "Will you help me set up with portable cradle thing, please? I don't think this is a one-man job."
"It says nothing on there about it being a one-woman job though," He said.
"Just get over here, please," Courtney chuckled. "Smart arse."
Tre flopped onto the couch and flicked on the TV.
"Tonight's special report - Does chocolate really cause acne? Find out after this..."
"Here that, Jessica? Chocolate is bad."
"Hah," Jess laughed, coming into the lounge room with her mouth full of chocolate. "They can go to Hell then. And burn."
She sat in between Tre's legs, her back against his chest.
"Chocolate," He said, opening his mouth. Jess popped some into his mouth with a slight giggle. She sighed, feeling utterly complete. Jessica Greenwood - sitting with her beloved boyfriend's arms tightly around her and resting on her stomach (with her fingers interlocked sorta awkwardly on top), with chocolate watching TV - could not possibly be anymore happy.
"Tonight in music news, The Living End will be over in California for work on their new album..."
The news report couldn't finish. Jess interrupted with a squeal. Tre jumped.
"Jesus fucking Christ, Jess! Are ya tryin' to kill me?"
"The Living End!" Jess shouted. "Did you not hear him?"
"Yes I heard him. Big deal."
"This is it," Jess gasped, "My chance...my chance with Chris Cheney."
Tre frowned, "Ahem. Last I checked you were currently taken by...oh...say...me? Maybe."
Jess giggled deviously. "Oh, yeah, I know. But... Chris Cheney! He's Australian, Tre. He's got points already."
"Oi, I can be Ozzie, may-te," Tre protested in an over-exaggerated accent.
"Whatever, dude."
Tre grinned innocently. "Guess you're in luck. It's Go-Cart night down at the studio. TLE will supposedly be there."
Jess squealed and hugged Tre. "I'VE GOTTA FIND SOMETHING TO WEAR!"
"I don't wanna go..." whined Mike.
"Mike! Go-Carts! Racing! Fun!" Leah said. "We've gotta go. Please? Pwitty pwease?"
Mike groaned and stood up. He looked at the clock. If he WAS going to go into the studio, he had three hours until he had to be there. "Lee... you promised that I'd get the special treatment tonight."
"Oh, God, Mike. That's the only thing on your mind," She scoffed, walking into the kitchen.
"Well, yes at the current moment it is," Mike snapped, "It's been a while, Lee Lee."
She came back in with an apple and bit into it while rolling her eyes. "And it hasn't killed you."
"I've died a little inside."
Leah tried not to laugh, but failed. "We'll make a deal then, if we can go for Go-Cart night...I swear on my soul that you can have your wicked way in the end."
Mike pretended to ponder the thought. "Hm, you have yourself a deal. Just as long as you don't take ages to get ready."
"I don't take ages to get ready!"
At The Studio...
Ronnie was playing on the floor with Ryan while Billie, Mike, Jason and Tre prepped each other up for the races. Jess was running around trying to find Chris.
Sadly, Leah came into the main room, where the races were and looked upset.
"What's wrong, Lee?" Courtney asked.
"I went down and saw Sheryl. She said The Living End went home for the night a couple of minutes ago."
Jess fell to her knees. "No..." She squeaked. "Chris..."
Tre didn't notice his girlfriend, he just continued hurling insults at Jase about his shit-house granny driving.
"Jess?" Billie asked. "You OK?"
"I'll be fine," She sighed, standing up. "I'm just gonna go sob in the corner for a moment."
Leah smiled weakly. Courtney looked pretty bummed out and Hayley looked pissed.
"Who finishes work at seven o'clock at night?" Hayles snapped. "Why not eight?"
"I've gotta go to the bathroom..." Jess sighed. "Where is it?"
"Third door down the hallway to your left," Ronnie said, waving a stuffed toy above Ryan's hands.
"Thanks."
The girls listened to Tre and Jason fight (or, in Billie's mind, flirt) until they heard Jess squeal. Leah was up like a shot and went to see what was wrong. Tre left his conversation and ran towards the toilets. Jess was standing with her back against the door, her hand on her heart and the 'oh my fucking God!' look on her face.
"I'm really sorry," Said a Aussie voice. "The lock on the bloody door doesn't work."
"I could recognize that voice anywhere," Leah gasped. "That's Scott Owen!"
Tre laughed. "You walked in on Scotty?"
"Tre?" 'Scott' said from inside the toilet. "Is that you?"
"The one and only," He grinned. Billie laughed.
"Haha, Jess walked in on Scott on the toilet and didn't die from the deadly fumes."
"Oi," Scott snapped, "You're shit doesn't exactly resemble the smell of roses either, Billie."
The toilet flushed and Scott came out, wiping his hands on his pants.
Leah's eyes nearly fell out of her head. Scott looked at the unfamiliar faces. He recognized Billie, Mike, Tre and Jason from a tour they went on. But the girls didn't look familiar.
"Hi," Leah said, stepping forward and holding her hand out. "I'm Leah Prescott."
"Hey... I swear I've seen you before," Scott smiled. "Hey! We met you in the pub in Brisbane!"
"Yeah," She grinned, "You remember."
"And you wouldn't give Trav your number."
"Hehe, I was going back to the States the next day," Leah laughed. "Or else I would've."
"Excuse me?" Mike spluttered. Billie rolled his eyes. Tre looked rather bored.
"SCOTT!" Another voice shouted. "C'mon, mate. What's taking so long?"
Chris Cheney came around the corner and caught a glimpse of everyone.
"Reunion and I wasn't invited?" He laughed.
"Hey, Chris!" Billie said happily. He and Chris got along very well on the tour they took together.
"Billie!" Chris said in the same tone. "Good to see you again, mate!"
Jess slammed herself back against the wall. Courtney grabbed Leah as a form as support. "I see him..." Courtney whispered. "He's...he's right...right there!"
"Stop it," Leah hissed, "You're acting like a stupid fucking teenie."
Chris shook hands with Billie, Mike, Tre and Jason. They talked for a second before Chris noticed two girls staring at him. Jess and Courtney. Hayley and Leah were just smiling.
"Twins," Chris said, "Cool."
Jess whimpered. Chris looked at her and held out his hand. "Hey, I'm Chris."
"C-c-..." Jess's shaking hand shook his. "I'm.... J-j-jess."
"How sad. I also once had a stuttering problem," He joked. Tre cracked up laughing. Jess glared at Tre then at Chris.
"I don't have a stuttering problem," She said more confidently, "I'm just nervous."
She shook his hand with a tighter grip. "Pleasure to meet you, Chris."
"You get over ya nerves quick," Scott joked.
"Which is more then we can say for Courtney," Mike grinned looking behind Leah's shoulder at Courtney. Who was staring at Chris like he was an alien.
Chris stared back for a moment, but then he noticed something. Courtney wasn't even blinking.
"Oh, fuck," He laughed, "I think I broke her!"
Courtney kept staring. "Um, Chris..." Leah interrupted, "This is Courtney. She's my sister. You'll have to excuse her, she has...retardiosus."
"Oh," Chris looked surprised. "Never heard of it. What's the symptoms?"
"It's something you're born with," Tre grinned. "Some kids are just...'special'."
"Courtney, may I have a word?" Billie asked, gritting his teeth.
"No," Courtney squeaked, "But you can buy a vowel."
"NOW, Courtney."
Leah stepped aside and Courtney walked away with Billie into another, private room.
"Go Cart night is it?" Scott asked.
"Yeah," Tre nodded. "Wanna join in?"
"Fuck yeah, I do! But, we had better get Andy," Scott pulled out his cell and started dialling Andy's number.
"Andy? You say?" Leah smiled evilly. "Oh, yes, Andy MUST come."
"Behave, Leah," Jason teased. She giggled.
"I will," She said. "Jason - I'm engaged."
Mike took Leah in his arms and kissed her cheek. "That's my girl."
"Engaged?" Chris asked incredulously. "You only look like you're nineteen!"
"I am at heart," She grinned. "Here's the bigger news, I have a son too."
Chris nearly fell over. "You're joking?! God, woman. How old are you?"
"Twenty-six."
"That's still kinda young," Scott said. "But it's better then nineteen."
"Nineteen," She sighed jokingly, "Those were the days."
Scott looked in dream-world too. "They WERE the days, indeed."
"Could you have made that anymore obvious?" Billie hissed.
"What?" Courtney asked innocently.
"You're fucking lust for Chris. Courtney, I was standing in the room."
She opened her mouth to speak, but Billie cut her off.
"What the hell has he got that I haven't?"
"An Aussie accent?"
Billie glared at her, smiling innocently. "I'm being serious, Courtney."
"Billie, it's just..." She tried to think as quickly as she could. "You would've done the same thing if...if a naked Angelina Jolie came into the room!"
"I don't even know who the fuck that is!" Billie hissed. "Let alone what she looks like."
"Get back into the mainstream," She hissed back. Billie's jaw dropped.
"How dare you!"
"Oh, get over it Billie. You KNOW I love you, for Christ's sake. Chris is just a...a very attractive man."
"Is he now?" Billie growled, "I can TELL by the way you LOOK at him. Next you'll be jumping into bed with him."
Courtney narrowed her eyes. "While we're on this topic, then, Mr Armstrong, let's TALK about you and Hayley..."
Billie looked down, everything playing clearly in his mind again.
"I thought you were over that," He croaked.
"I am. But I'm just proving a point. If I want to look at someone else - I will. Besides, it's Chris. He's the best fuckin' guitarist ever."
Billie glared jokingly. "Thanks."
"No offence, Hun. But Chris could KICK your arse."
She sauntered over to Billie and put her arms around his neck. Billie wrapped his arms around her waist and pecked her lips.
"You don't need to worry," She grinned, "I'll let Chris know that I ADORE you."
"I don't want to lose you," He explained, "Especially not to him. When he has black hair he looks TOO much like me for comfort."
Courtney grinned. "That's why I like him. He's the new Aussie Billie Joe. Batteries not included."
Billie kissed her lips again. "C'mon, before Tre and Jase jump to conclusions we had better get back out there."
"Oh, my God. Zombie! Kill it!" Tre shouted as Mike stumbled into the studio looking like the Living Dead.
"Shut the fuck up, Tre. I'm in no fucking mood for fucking laughing."
Tre piped down instantly. Billie looked over at Mike and smiled weakly.
"Ryan?" He asked. Mike nodded.
"Don't get me wrong, I fucking love him. I love him with everything that's inside me... but all he ever fucking does is CRY!" He moaned. "His day consists of crying, pooping, eating, sleeping. Repeat-fucking-cycle."
Tre couldn't but laugh and thank God that Frankito was past that.
Billie pat Mike's back. "It'll be OK, buddy. It'll get better."
"It's been like this for weeks! I don't think I can take anymore of this..." Mike said, "I'm going nuts."
"It'll get better," Billie repeated.
"Hmm," Mike groaned. "It's terrible. I forgot what it's like. Estelle was NEVER like this. She didn't wake up at all hours of the night to scream. She didn't poop everything out..."
"Aren't diapers just gross?" Tre shuddered, "Wait until they start wetting the bed. It's just..." He stopped and shuddered. Unfortunately, Frankito was still in the bed wetting stage. "Kids aren't easy."
"I know," Mike said. "Just a reminder, guys: I've had a kid before. But she was good. Estelle was an Angel. Ryan's just a..."
"Shit?" Jason suggested. Tre jumped back in his drum set.
"Fuck! When did you get here?!"
"He's not a shit," Mike said, "He's just a pain in the ass. He's ruining everything. He's broken everything, he's fucked up my fiancée..."
"How?" Billie laughed.
"Leah hasn't had a decent nights sleep in AGES! It's taken everything out of her. We don't have time for...y'know... our own time..."
"Giggity giggity," Tre grinned. Jason laughed.
"You guys aren't much help," Mike snapped, turning on the amp for his bass. "Let's just get this over with."
Leah had just sat down on the couch with a coffee and her magazine when she heard a high-pitched squeal from Ryan's room.
"Ah!" She grunted, standing up. Climbing up the stairs, all she could hear was Ryan's cries. "Alright! Alright! Baby, it's OK. Mummy's comin'...ya little shit," She murmured the last part under her breath. She came into Ryan's room. Her blonde haired blue eyed baby was still sobbing. She picked him up and carried him downstairs. They played (basically just stretching and kicking about) before just retreating to sitting on the couch. The house was silent. Silence. Nothing. Nothing could be heard except for breathing, the sound of Leah turning pages and whenever she put her coffee mug down. No words could express how glad Leah was to have coffee back. She'd missed it so much. A while later, Jess came around with Hayley. They played about with Ryan, who already knew he was a hit with everyone and commonly took advantage of it. Tre, Billie, Jase and Mike came home about an hour after that. Mike went and said hello to Ryan first, who was in his crib sleeping. As Mike presumed he would be. When he came into the kitchen, he grabbed a coke and stood there, drinking and contemplating whether or not he'd trust Tre to look after Ryan for just one night.
He knew he couldn't ask Billie. Billie would rather crawl a mile over broken glass then watch Ryan after what he'd seen and heard. Leah came in with three empty coffee mugs. She put them on the counter and wrapped her arms around Mike's waist. Mike put one arm around her and used the other to lean against the counter.
"Hey, honey, how are ya?" He asked, kissing her forehead.
"Tired," She smiled. "To be honest. How are you?"
"Fine," He lied. Truth is, he wasn't fine. He wanted the sexy, 'naughty' Leah back. He wanted his alone time. He wanted time with his daughter. He wanted to be able to go out with his mates for a beer. He wanted his old life back. But he wanted Ryan, too.
"Guess what!" Leah said, as she pulled away from Mike.
"What?"
"That's hardly guessing, now..." She teased.
"You were abducted by anal probing aliens?"
"Hm...no. But I'll tell you if that happens. Courts offered to watch Ryan! Isn't that great, Mikey? We can be alone."
Mike was stunned. "What? How? Why? Billie..."
"Billie said he'd love to," Leah smiled. Her smile faded when Mike looked utterly lost. "Aren't you...happy?"
"No, no, baby. Of course I'm happy! But...Ry will drive Billie insane."
"Not much of a drive," She grinned. "Besides, who cares?! We get time to ourselves! It'll be great."
"Hm...OK," Mike smiled, kissing her lips softly. "But only because I want this time to ourselves."
She giggled deviously. "Oh, we will."
"There's gotta be a catch," Mike said. "No way in Hell would Billie just WANT to watch Ryan."
"No, no catch. But THAT'S not ALL! They offered to have him for TWO... WHOLE NIGHTS!"
Mike practically ran into the lounge room and kissed Billie.
"Welcome back to our humble home, Sir Ryan," Billie cooed, carrying Ryan into the house.
"Make me carry all this shit..." Courtney hissed acidly under her breath. "You take Ryan...stupid Billie..."
Billie was acting like a natural as he carried Ryan around. He was talking in baby talk and bouncing him up and down. Ryan loved his Uncie Billie. He giggled and squeaked about as Billie talked random baby shit to him.
Courtney dumped everything in the lounge room. "I already regret saying I'd do this."
"It would be hard not to," Billie said, looking away from Ryan, who was sucking on his fingers. "You saw her. Leah looks a mess. Her hair was dirty and she had those massive rings under her eyes and I swear I saw a blemish pimple thing on her neck."
"Billie, they're called hickys," Courtney laughed. "Mike and Lee still have SOME passion in their relationship."
"What? The occasional vampire-neck-sucking moment? Ooh, yeah, don't get much more passionate then that."
Courtney smiled at him sarcastically. "Will you help me set up with portable cradle thing, please? I don't think this is a one-man job."
"It says nothing on there about it being a one-woman job though," He said.
"Just get over here, please," Courtney chuckled. "Smart arse."
Tre flopped onto the couch and flicked on the TV.
"Tonight's special report - Does chocolate really cause acne? Find out after this..."
"Here that, Jessica? Chocolate is bad."
"Hah," Jess laughed, coming into the lounge room with her mouth full of chocolate. "They can go to Hell then. And burn."
She sat in between Tre's legs, her back against his chest.
"Chocolate," He said, opening his mouth. Jess popped some into his mouth with a slight giggle. She sighed, feeling utterly complete. Jessica Greenwood - sitting with her beloved boyfriend's arms tightly around her and resting on her stomach (with her fingers interlocked sorta awkwardly on top), with chocolate watching TV - could not possibly be anymore happy.
"Tonight in music news, The Living End will be over in California for work on their new album..."
The news report couldn't finish. Jess interrupted with a squeal. Tre jumped.
"Jesus fucking Christ, Jess! Are ya tryin' to kill me?"
"The Living End!" Jess shouted. "Did you not hear him?"
"Yes I heard him. Big deal."
"This is it," Jess gasped, "My chance...my chance with Chris Cheney."
Tre frowned, "Ahem. Last I checked you were currently taken by...oh...say...me? Maybe."
Jess giggled deviously. "Oh, yeah, I know. But... Chris Cheney! He's Australian, Tre. He's got points already."
"Oi, I can be Ozzie, may-te," Tre protested in an over-exaggerated accent.
"Whatever, dude."
Tre grinned innocently. "Guess you're in luck. It's Go-Cart night down at the studio. TLE will supposedly be there."
Jess squealed and hugged Tre. "I'VE GOTTA FIND SOMETHING TO WEAR!"
"I don't wanna go..." whined Mike.
"Mike! Go-Carts! Racing! Fun!" Leah said. "We've gotta go. Please? Pwitty pwease?"
Mike groaned and stood up. He looked at the clock. If he WAS going to go into the studio, he had three hours until he had to be there. "Lee... you promised that I'd get the special treatment tonight."
"Oh, God, Mike. That's the only thing on your mind," She scoffed, walking into the kitchen.
"Well, yes at the current moment it is," Mike snapped, "It's been a while, Lee Lee."
She came back in with an apple and bit into it while rolling her eyes. "And it hasn't killed you."
"I've died a little inside."
Leah tried not to laugh, but failed. "We'll make a deal then, if we can go for Go-Cart night...I swear on my soul that you can have your wicked way in the end."
Mike pretended to ponder the thought. "Hm, you have yourself a deal. Just as long as you don't take ages to get ready."
"I don't take ages to get ready!"
At The Studio...
Ronnie was playing on the floor with Ryan while Billie, Mike, Jason and Tre prepped each other up for the races. Jess was running around trying to find Chris.
Sadly, Leah came into the main room, where the races were and looked upset.
"What's wrong, Lee?" Courtney asked.
"I went down and saw Sheryl. She said The Living End went home for the night a couple of minutes ago."
Jess fell to her knees. "No..." She squeaked. "Chris..."
Tre didn't notice his girlfriend, he just continued hurling insults at Jase about his shit-house granny driving.
"Jess?" Billie asked. "You OK?"
"I'll be fine," She sighed, standing up. "I'm just gonna go sob in the corner for a moment."
Leah smiled weakly. Courtney looked pretty bummed out and Hayley looked pissed.
"Who finishes work at seven o'clock at night?" Hayles snapped. "Why not eight?"
"I've gotta go to the bathroom..." Jess sighed. "Where is it?"
"Third door down the hallway to your left," Ronnie said, waving a stuffed toy above Ryan's hands.
"Thanks."
The girls listened to Tre and Jason fight (or, in Billie's mind, flirt) until they heard Jess squeal. Leah was up like a shot and went to see what was wrong. Tre left his conversation and ran towards the toilets. Jess was standing with her back against the door, her hand on her heart and the 'oh my fucking God!' look on her face.
"I'm really sorry," Said a Aussie voice. "The lock on the bloody door doesn't work."
"I could recognize that voice anywhere," Leah gasped. "That's Scott Owen!"
Tre laughed. "You walked in on Scotty?"
"Tre?" 'Scott' said from inside the toilet. "Is that you?"
"The one and only," He grinned. Billie laughed.
"Haha, Jess walked in on Scott on the toilet and didn't die from the deadly fumes."
"Oi," Scott snapped, "You're shit doesn't exactly resemble the smell of roses either, Billie."
The toilet flushed and Scott came out, wiping his hands on his pants.
Leah's eyes nearly fell out of her head. Scott looked at the unfamiliar faces. He recognized Billie, Mike, Tre and Jason from a tour they went on. But the girls didn't look familiar.
"Hi," Leah said, stepping forward and holding her hand out. "I'm Leah Prescott."
"Hey... I swear I've seen you before," Scott smiled. "Hey! We met you in the pub in Brisbane!"
"Yeah," She grinned, "You remember."
"And you wouldn't give Trav your number."
"Hehe, I was going back to the States the next day," Leah laughed. "Or else I would've."
"Excuse me?" Mike spluttered. Billie rolled his eyes. Tre looked rather bored.
"SCOTT!" Another voice shouted. "C'mon, mate. What's taking so long?"
Chris Cheney came around the corner and caught a glimpse of everyone.
"Reunion and I wasn't invited?" He laughed.
"Hey, Chris!" Billie said happily. He and Chris got along very well on the tour they took together.
"Billie!" Chris said in the same tone. "Good to see you again, mate!"
Jess slammed herself back against the wall. Courtney grabbed Leah as a form as support. "I see him..." Courtney whispered. "He's...he's right...right there!"
"Stop it," Leah hissed, "You're acting like a stupid fucking teenie."
Chris shook hands with Billie, Mike, Tre and Jason. They talked for a second before Chris noticed two girls staring at him. Jess and Courtney. Hayley and Leah were just smiling.
"Twins," Chris said, "Cool."
Jess whimpered. Chris looked at her and held out his hand. "Hey, I'm Chris."
"C-c-..." Jess's shaking hand shook his. "I'm.... J-j-jess."
"How sad. I also once had a stuttering problem," He joked. Tre cracked up laughing. Jess glared at Tre then at Chris.
"I don't have a stuttering problem," She said more confidently, "I'm just nervous."
She shook his hand with a tighter grip. "Pleasure to meet you, Chris."
"You get over ya nerves quick," Scott joked.
"Which is more then we can say for Courtney," Mike grinned looking behind Leah's shoulder at Courtney. Who was staring at Chris like he was an alien.
Chris stared back for a moment, but then he noticed something. Courtney wasn't even blinking.
"Oh, fuck," He laughed, "I think I broke her!"
Courtney kept staring. "Um, Chris..." Leah interrupted, "This is Courtney. She's my sister. You'll have to excuse her, she has...retardiosus."
"Oh," Chris looked surprised. "Never heard of it. What's the symptoms?"
"It's something you're born with," Tre grinned. "Some kids are just...'special'."
"Courtney, may I have a word?" Billie asked, gritting his teeth.
"No," Courtney squeaked, "But you can buy a vowel."
"NOW, Courtney."
Leah stepped aside and Courtney walked away with Billie into another, private room.
"Go Cart night is it?" Scott asked.
"Yeah," Tre nodded. "Wanna join in?"
"Fuck yeah, I do! But, we had better get Andy," Scott pulled out his cell and started dialling Andy's number.
"Andy? You say?" Leah smiled evilly. "Oh, yes, Andy MUST come."
"Behave, Leah," Jason teased. She giggled.
"I will," She said. "Jason - I'm engaged."
Mike took Leah in his arms and kissed her cheek. "That's my girl."
"Engaged?" Chris asked incredulously. "You only look like you're nineteen!"
"I am at heart," She grinned. "Here's the bigger news, I have a son too."
Chris nearly fell over. "You're joking?! God, woman. How old are you?"
"Twenty-six."
"That's still kinda young," Scott said. "But it's better then nineteen."
"Nineteen," She sighed jokingly, "Those were the days."
Scott looked in dream-world too. "They WERE the days, indeed."
"Could you have made that anymore obvious?" Billie hissed.
"What?" Courtney asked innocently.
"You're fucking lust for Chris. Courtney, I was standing in the room."
She opened her mouth to speak, but Billie cut her off.
"What the hell has he got that I haven't?"
"An Aussie accent?"
Billie glared at her, smiling innocently. "I'm being serious, Courtney."
"Billie, it's just..." She tried to think as quickly as she could. "You would've done the same thing if...if a naked Angelina Jolie came into the room!"
"I don't even know who the fuck that is!" Billie hissed. "Let alone what she looks like."
"Get back into the mainstream," She hissed back. Billie's jaw dropped.
"How dare you!"
"Oh, get over it Billie. You KNOW I love you, for Christ's sake. Chris is just a...a very attractive man."
"Is he now?" Billie growled, "I can TELL by the way you LOOK at him. Next you'll be jumping into bed with him."
Courtney narrowed her eyes. "While we're on this topic, then, Mr Armstrong, let's TALK about you and Hayley..."
Billie looked down, everything playing clearly in his mind again.
"I thought you were over that," He croaked.
"I am. But I'm just proving a point. If I want to look at someone else - I will. Besides, it's Chris. He's the best fuckin' guitarist ever."
Billie glared jokingly. "Thanks."
"No offence, Hun. But Chris could KICK your arse."
She sauntered over to Billie and put her arms around his neck. Billie wrapped his arms around her waist and pecked her lips.
"You don't need to worry," She grinned, "I'll let Chris know that I ADORE you."
"I don't want to lose you," He explained, "Especially not to him. When he has black hair he looks TOO much like me for comfort."
Courtney grinned. "That's why I like him. He's the new Aussie Billie Joe. Batteries not included."
Billie kissed her lips again. "C'mon, before Tre and Jase jump to conclusions we had better get back out there."
