The Boys Next Door, chapter 8
(Note: In a recent page, I said that everyone was thirteen. That was a mistake. Everyone is actually sixteen)
After what seemed like a year, Tre and Mike came out of the backyard and sat next to Billie.
"LOOK WHAT I CAUGHT!" Tre said excitedly.
"A butterfly?" Billie raised an eyebrow.
"YA! HIS NAME IS BOB! ISN'T HE THE CUTEST THING!?!?!" Tre said, as he started poking the jar that held Bob inside. So that's Bob... Meh... I have better things to think about...
"Now, Tre, you don't want to scare the poor thing," Mike warned. "It's not used to seeing a large dick poking its finger at it."
"What does my dick have to do with this?"
"I wasn't talking about your dick, idiot."
"Well, now you've hurt it's feelings. SAY SORRY!" Tre cried.
"You want me to say sorry to YOUR DICK?" Mike asked.
"YES! It has feelings too, you know."
"What the fuck, man," Mike said, backing away slowly.
"Come on, Mike! I know you want too!" Tre said, wiggling his eyebrows. Mike sat there wide-eyed,
"You're one scary kid, Mr. Cool."
"Why thank you!" Tre said, as he flashed a scary smile. Mike turned his attention away from Tre,
"Hey, Billie? You alive? Heelllooo? Earth to Billie Joe!"
"Huston, we have a problem," Tre interrupted.
"Huh, what?" Billie asked, returning to Earth.
"Dude, you gotta stop zoning out like that. It's getting scary..." Mike said.
"Scary like my Aunt Angela, scary?" Tre asked, as he shivered when he said his aunt's name.
"No Tre, not THAT scary," Mike said.
"Oh... Well she IS scary... She tried to make me eat vegetables..." Tre said, shivering again. Mike and Billie gave Tre their famous, "What-The-Fuck," look.
"What? Vegetables are scary! They told me they'd come to life and take over the world! Don't you think that's scary!?"
"We would if we lived in your world," Billie Joe replied.
"You mean, my sick, twisted, scary, vegetable ruling, world," Tre corrected. Mike and Billie looked at each other and then back at Tre.
"Hey! It could happen!"
"Ok, whatever you say, Tre." Mike said, as he got up and walked towards the moving truck. He opened the back and hopped inside. A few minutes later, he came out with his bass guitar.
"You guys ready to practice?" he asked.
"YA! DRUM TIME! DRUM TIME!" Tre chanted, jumping up and down like a five year old.
"What about you, Bill?" Billie snapped out of his trance, once again, and managed to say,
"Oh uh, ya sure."
Mike and Billie walked in the garage, while Tre eagerly ran behind his drum set.
"Good thing your guys' parents brought your instruments and shit," Mike said.
"YAY! DRUM, DRUM, DRUM!" Tre screamed happily.
"Uh yeah, sure," Billie mumbled, as he started tuning his guitar. Tre started banging away on his drums, while Mike walked over to Billie.
"Are you okay, Billie Joe?" Mike began, "You're usually more enthusiastic when we're about to play."
"Uh ya, I'm okay. I'm just uh, tired. Yeah, tired."
"Okay then," Mike said, walking back to his spot. There's definitely something up with Billie. , Mike thought, I've known him since fifth grade. God, I know him better than I know myself! Hmm... I have to get it outa him somehow...
Tre began playing a random beat, while Mike jumped in with a catchy bass line. Soon after, Billie Joe started playing a soft guitar rhythm. As moments passed, their song was interrupted by a knock on the garage door.
"MOM! I ALREADY TOLD YOU! I DIDN'T STEAL YOUR PINK BRA!" Mike yelled towards the door.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't steal your mother's pink bra!" said a girl's voice from the other side of the door, "But she did say it was missing." Mike walked over to the door. He opened it and invited the girl in. As Billie looked up from his guitar, his eyes widened. IT'S HER!
"Sorry I interrupted you guys. I just wanted to see who was making that amazing music," she said.
"Amazing? Is that all you got? How about 'extraordinary' or 'breathtaking' or even 'heart stopping!" Tre said.
"Wow, Tre, since when do you know big words like that?" Mike asked.
"Spongebob," he replied. Everyone looked at him in shock.
"What? Spongebob is fucking awesome!"
"Uh huh. And so is the Lion King," Mike sarcastically said.
"Simba's my hero," Tre said, sighing at the thought of the lion.
"Just ignore Tre," Mike said to the girl, "He's a little high right now."
"NO, I'M NOT! YOUR JUST JEALOUS 'CAUSE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THE LION KING BEFORE!" Tre yelled.
"Oh, and I'm hurting so much inside," Mike joked. He threw a pillow at Tre, which caused him to shut up for a bit.
"So, what's your name again? I keep forgetting."
"Madison John."
"Oh right! Madison. I remember now," Mike lied.
"Well, I think I should go. I don't want to be on the way," Madison said, as she began to walk towards the door.
"Wait," Billie Joe finally managed to say. Madison turned around and looked at him. "Uh... You can stay. You won't be on the way."
"You sure? 'Cause I don't want to-"
"I'm sure. Just sit," Billie said, pointing to an old bean chair.
"Alright," Madison replied. As she sat down, Tre started playing a beat. Soon after, all three boys were playing. Billie looked at Madison and saw that she was quite entertained, as she started dancing around the bean chair. He couldn't help but laugh. The song ended, and Madison fell back onto the chair.
"Wow, that was fucking awesome!" she told them. "Is that all you've got?"
"Hell no. We've got plenty more where that came from," Mike said.
"Before you play, I want to know some names here," Maddie said.
"Oh right," Mike began. "Okay, the dude hiding behind the drum set is Mr. Tre Cool."
"AWWWW! HE SAW ME! DARN IT!" Tre whined. Madison laughed and said,
"And who are you, Mr. All Powerful Guitar Man?" Madison asked, walking towards Billie.
"I'm uh, Billie Joe Armstrong," he said.
"Well, nice to meet you guys. Now play some more shit!"
"Okay, Tre, start us out," Mike said. They all waited a moment, but there was no drums to be heard.
"Tre?" they all said. As everyone looked, there was only a Treless drum set in sight.
"Where the hell did he go?" Mike asked.
"HAHAHAH! YOU CAN'T FIND ME!" Everyone started looking around, but Tre wasn't found.
"Tre, you've got five seconds to come out!" Mike exclaimed. "5... 4... 3... 2... -"
"Okay! Okay! Don't kill me, jeez," Tre said as he opened the closet door. "You'd think the closet would be the first place that people would look..."
"Just play," Maddie said.
"Fine. Be that way," Tre huffed, as he started drumming. The room was once again filled with the lively music of Sweet Children. Madison looked at Billie Joe. At first, she thought she was just admiring his playing, but it was more than that. Much more.
Billie looked up from his playing, and made eye contact with Madison. To his surprise, Madison smiled. Smiling back, Billie finally got his enthusiasim back into his guitar playing. While the music still went on, the two of them were lost in that one moment. The moment when they both realized that they wanted to be together. Mike looked over at Billie, then at Maddie. He finally understood what was wrong with BJ this whole time. Well, it wasn't what was wrong, it was what was right.
After what seemed like a year, Tre and Mike came out of the backyard and sat next to Billie.
"LOOK WHAT I CAUGHT!" Tre said excitedly.
"A butterfly?" Billie raised an eyebrow.
"YA! HIS NAME IS BOB! ISN'T HE THE CUTEST THING!?!?!" Tre said, as he started poking the jar that held Bob inside. So that's Bob... Meh... I have better things to think about...
"Now, Tre, you don't want to scare the poor thing," Mike warned. "It's not used to seeing a large dick poking its finger at it."
"What does my dick have to do with this?"
"I wasn't talking about your dick, idiot."
"Well, now you've hurt it's feelings. SAY SORRY!" Tre cried.
"You want me to say sorry to YOUR DICK?" Mike asked.
"YES! It has feelings too, you know."
"What the fuck, man," Mike said, backing away slowly.
"Come on, Mike! I know you want too!" Tre said, wiggling his eyebrows. Mike sat there wide-eyed,
"You're one scary kid, Mr. Cool."
"Why thank you!" Tre said, as he flashed a scary smile. Mike turned his attention away from Tre,
"Hey, Billie? You alive? Heelllooo? Earth to Billie Joe!"
"Huston, we have a problem," Tre interrupted.
"Huh, what?" Billie asked, returning to Earth.
"Dude, you gotta stop zoning out like that. It's getting scary..." Mike said.
"Scary like my Aunt Angela, scary?" Tre asked, as he shivered when he said his aunt's name.
"No Tre, not THAT scary," Mike said.
"Oh... Well she IS scary... She tried to make me eat vegetables..." Tre said, shivering again. Mike and Billie gave Tre their famous, "What-The-Fuck," look.
"What? Vegetables are scary! They told me they'd come to life and take over the world! Don't you think that's scary!?"
"We would if we lived in your world," Billie Joe replied.
"You mean, my sick, twisted, scary, vegetable ruling, world," Tre corrected. Mike and Billie looked at each other and then back at Tre.
"Hey! It could happen!"
"Ok, whatever you say, Tre." Mike said, as he got up and walked towards the moving truck. He opened the back and hopped inside. A few minutes later, he came out with his bass guitar.
"You guys ready to practice?" he asked.
"YA! DRUM TIME! DRUM TIME!" Tre chanted, jumping up and down like a five year old.
"What about you, Bill?" Billie snapped out of his trance, once again, and managed to say,
"Oh uh, ya sure."
Mike and Billie walked in the garage, while Tre eagerly ran behind his drum set.
"Good thing your guys' parents brought your instruments and shit," Mike said.
"YAY! DRUM, DRUM, DRUM!" Tre screamed happily.
"Uh yeah, sure," Billie mumbled, as he started tuning his guitar. Tre started banging away on his drums, while Mike walked over to Billie.
"Are you okay, Billie Joe?" Mike began, "You're usually more enthusiastic when we're about to play."
"Uh ya, I'm okay. I'm just uh, tired. Yeah, tired."
"Okay then," Mike said, walking back to his spot. There's definitely something up with Billie. , Mike thought, I've known him since fifth grade. God, I know him better than I know myself! Hmm... I have to get it outa him somehow...
Tre began playing a random beat, while Mike jumped in with a catchy bass line. Soon after, Billie Joe started playing a soft guitar rhythm. As moments passed, their song was interrupted by a knock on the garage door.
"MOM! I ALREADY TOLD YOU! I DIDN'T STEAL YOUR PINK BRA!" Mike yelled towards the door.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't steal your mother's pink bra!" said a girl's voice from the other side of the door, "But she did say it was missing." Mike walked over to the door. He opened it and invited the girl in. As Billie looked up from his guitar, his eyes widened. IT'S HER!
"Sorry I interrupted you guys. I just wanted to see who was making that amazing music," she said.
"Amazing? Is that all you got? How about 'extraordinary' or 'breathtaking' or even 'heart stopping!" Tre said.
"Wow, Tre, since when do you know big words like that?" Mike asked.
"Spongebob," he replied. Everyone looked at him in shock.
"What? Spongebob is fucking awesome!"
"Uh huh. And so is the Lion King," Mike sarcastically said.
"Simba's my hero," Tre said, sighing at the thought of the lion.
"Just ignore Tre," Mike said to the girl, "He's a little high right now."
"NO, I'M NOT! YOUR JUST JEALOUS 'CAUSE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THE LION KING BEFORE!" Tre yelled.
"Oh, and I'm hurting so much inside," Mike joked. He threw a pillow at Tre, which caused him to shut up for a bit.
"So, what's your name again? I keep forgetting."
"Madison John."
"Oh right! Madison. I remember now," Mike lied.
"Well, I think I should go. I don't want to be on the way," Madison said, as she began to walk towards the door.
"Wait," Billie Joe finally managed to say. Madison turned around and looked at him. "Uh... You can stay. You won't be on the way."
"You sure? 'Cause I don't want to-"
"I'm sure. Just sit," Billie said, pointing to an old bean chair.
"Alright," Madison replied. As she sat down, Tre started playing a beat. Soon after, all three boys were playing. Billie looked at Madison and saw that she was quite entertained, as she started dancing around the bean chair. He couldn't help but laugh. The song ended, and Madison fell back onto the chair.
"Wow, that was fucking awesome!" she told them. "Is that all you've got?"
"Hell no. We've got plenty more where that came from," Mike said.
"Before you play, I want to know some names here," Maddie said.
"Oh right," Mike began. "Okay, the dude hiding behind the drum set is Mr. Tre Cool."
"AWWWW! HE SAW ME! DARN IT!" Tre whined. Madison laughed and said,
"And who are you, Mr. All Powerful Guitar Man?" Madison asked, walking towards Billie.
"I'm uh, Billie Joe Armstrong," he said.
"Well, nice to meet you guys. Now play some more shit!"
"Okay, Tre, start us out," Mike said. They all waited a moment, but there was no drums to be heard.
"Tre?" they all said. As everyone looked, there was only a Treless drum set in sight.
"Where the hell did he go?" Mike asked.
"HAHAHAH! YOU CAN'T FIND ME!" Everyone started looking around, but Tre wasn't found.
"Tre, you've got five seconds to come out!" Mike exclaimed. "5... 4... 3... 2... -"
"Okay! Okay! Don't kill me, jeez," Tre said as he opened the closet door. "You'd think the closet would be the first place that people would look..."
"Just play," Maddie said.
"Fine. Be that way," Tre huffed, as he started drumming. The room was once again filled with the lively music of Sweet Children. Madison looked at Billie Joe. At first, she thought she was just admiring his playing, but it was more than that. Much more.
Billie looked up from his playing, and made eye contact with Madison. To his surprise, Madison smiled. Smiling back, Billie finally got his enthusiasim back into his guitar playing. While the music still went on, the two of them were lost in that one moment. The moment when they both realized that they wanted to be together. Mike looked over at Billie, then at Maddie. He finally understood what was wrong with BJ this whole time. Well, it wasn't what was wrong, it was what was right.
