1987, chapter 2
"Hello, Miss McLeod," said all four teenagers.
"Good morning, how may I help you four?" asked Miss McLeod.
"Uh... Well, Tre accidentally let out a really big snort in class and made us laugh and Mr. Bell sent us to your office." said Billie.
"Hmm, I see. Mr. Wright, why did you snort?"
"It's Mr. Cool and Uh... I was trying not to laugh and I couldn't hold it so I snorted. Not on purpose though, I swear." said Tre.
"Okay, so why were you trying not to laugh, Mr. Cool?"
"I... uh... Billie, got told off by Mr. Bell, and I found it kinda funny, the look on Billie's face, I mean." said Tre.
"Mr. Armstrong, why did you get told off?"
"I uh Well, I was ta—"he started but was interrupted by me.
"It was my fault Miss McLeod. I was telling Billie... about my... " I took a deep breath... "About that night, exactly one year ago." I said, "And Billie was just saying sorry about what happened and yeah... "
"Oh, I see, sorry you had to bring that up Miss Mackenzie, would you like to go home?" Miss McLeod asked me.
"Umm, not really, I'd really like to have the company of them," I said as I motioned to the guys.
"I see, well, how about I let you all have the rest of the day off?" said Miss McLeod.
"Really? That would be really great Miss McLeod, thank you." I said.
Miss McLeod gave us all exit passes and we left the school and went to the park.
I sat on a swing and starting swinging a little bit.
"So uh, what were you telling Billie about that happened one year ago?" asked Tre.
"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to Ash," said Mike, seeing the way I was looking down at my shoes trying to avoid the question.
"No, it's okay, I knew I would have to talk about it sooner or later... " I said.
Everyone looked at me waiting...
"Okay, well, last year, on 17th January, my dad and I were on our way to my grandmas, and well, all I remember is seeing a flash of light and hearing a big CRASH, and when I woke up I was still in the car and I heard screaming and sirens and saw flashing lights. I looked over at my dad and saw the blood, and I tried to move, but I had broken my leg, arm and 4 ribs. My dad died on the way to the hospital. I lived, but I nearly died, they lost my heart beat for around 3minutes... " I said, trailing off.
They were all staring at me shocked.
"Oh my fucking god." said Tre. "I'm sorry."
I just looked at my shoes. Mike came over and put his arm around me and whispered in my ear, "Sorry, Ash, I didn't know... "
I nodded. "It's okay."
"So uh, can we go to Gilman? I know it doesn't open for another 2 hours, but I just feel like going there... And, I'm pretty sure Laurence will let us in, considering you are playing tonight and you have to set up." I said.
"Sure, good idea" said Mike.
***
"Hey Laurence, let us in dude!" yelled Billie as he banged on the door.
"Hang on Billie." Replied Laurence.
I was so busy running around like a mad chicken to try and cheer Ash up, that I didn't even notice the door had swung open and Laurence was standing there.
"TRE!" I heard Billie call.
"Huh?" I said looking up as I realised that the others had gone inside. "Oh whoops" I said.
"Tre, you dork," said Ashleigh smiling, but I could tell she was only smiling with her mouth, not her eyes, and not her heart, she was sad, I hated seeing her like this.
I smiled at her and gave her a big hug. "Weeeee!" I said as I spun around in circles after I had broken the hug. "ARGH!" I tripped over a cord.
Everyone laughed, even Ashleigh, and I could see in her eyes, that she was a little happier.
The guys and I got up on stage and started setting up, while Ash just sat at the bar.
"Laurence, can I please have a root beer?" asked Ashleigh.
"Sure, coming right up." he said.
"Thanks," she said while reaching for her wallet. "How much is that gonna cost?"
"Nothing, it's on the house." he smiled and winked.
She smiled back. "Thanks Laurence!"
The guys and I had finished setting up so we joined Ash at the bar.
"That took you almost... " she counted. "4 root beers, and... " she counted more. "40 minutes." she said laughing. I smiled. 'She has a beautiful smile' I thought.
I picked up the half full root beer and skulled it, grinning.
"HEY! That was mine... " she said.
"Hehe, sorry!" I said.
Later that night...
"Now you see me, now you don't
Don't ask me where I'm at
'Cause I'm a million miles away
Treated like a forbidden heel
Don't say my thoughts are not for real
Or you won't see me again
Am I here or am I there
Or am I playing on the stairs
Am I in my room with my toys
I am the disappearing boy
When I walk in crowded rooms
I feel as if it is my doom
I know that I don't belong
In that room I see her
I see her and she's with him
I turn and then I'm gone
Don't call me up 'cause I'm not home
My whereabouts are now unknown
I vanished from all your joy
I'm the disappearing boy
I have my doubts
Of where I belong
It's something to think about
Don't call me up 'cause I'm not home
My whereabouts are now unknown
I vanished from all your joy
I'm the disappearing boy" sang Billie Joe.
The guys got off stage and walked down the short hallway to the backstage room, where I would be meeting up with them. I pushed my way through the crowd to the backstage door, and walked down the hallway to the backstage room. I opened the door with a BIG grin on my face.
"Hey Guys! Awesome show!" I said grinning.
"Thanks!" they all said, jumping up to hug me. Tre gave me a little kiss on the cheek, I blushed, and smiled.
We went out to the main area of Gilman and sat down at the bar.
"Hey Laurence, 4 root beers please," said Billie.
"Coming right up!"
"So, Ash, did you enjoy the show?" asked Tre.
"FUCK YEAH!" I said, and everyone near me gave me a weird look. "What?" I asked innocently. Making everyone turn and look in the other direction.
Tre laughed and hugged me. 'Aww, he is the cutest' I thought, as I kissed him on the cheek and he blushed.
Billie noticed and nudged Mike and pointed at Tre blushing like a girl. Mike laughed.
"What?" said Tre, giving them his infamous pouty puppy dog face.
I smiled at how adorable he was. And I then smiled at how much I liked him.
***
"I WANT BEER!" Tre yelled.
"Okay, Okay, God. Calm down Tre, your beer is coming. We just have to go out and buy some." I said laughing.
"Well, what are you waiting for Billie? Go get my beer!" said Tre.
"Go get it your self. I'm not your slave," was my reply.
Tre turned around, stuck his nose in the air, and said "FINE!" before walking out the door and down the street to the liquor store. I heard someone running down the stairs and turned around and saw Ash running to meet Tre. My heart sank a little, I really liked this girl. And she liked Tre... I know she likes me a little... she admitted it to me a few weeks back, sure she was drunk, but I think she meant it, she sounded pretty sober when she said it... stupid fucking love triangles, somebody always gets hurt—my train of thought was suddenly interrupted, when Mike came running from in his room screaming his head off.
"What the fuck, Mike?" I asked him, slightly shocked by his sudden appearance.
"I... I... I... I just thought of... a... new... song!" Mike managed to say in between breaths. "And, I... saw... a... spider!" Mike whimpered.
"Aww poor baby," I said while walking to Mike's room with a shoe. "Where's the spider Mike?" I asked.
"Umm... Over there" pointed Mike, who was hiding behind me.
I grabbed the shoe and whacked it against the wall, killing the spider.
"Thank you Billie," said mike smiling like a little kid.
"You're welcome Mikey," I said, hugging Mike.
I laughed as he skipped away. 'God, and I thought TRE was the fucking mental one, not Mike'.
"Treeeeeeeeeeeee!" I yelled.
Tre turned around to see who was calling. He spotted me and waved, then started jumping up and down. I laughed and started running to catch up with him.
"Hey Tre!" I said, "HEY THAT RHYMED!" I said, laughing.
"Omg, you're a poet! And don't you know it... ?" he said.
I smiled and kissed his cheek. "You know that you're one fucked up mental freak... right?" I asked.
"Sure do babe, you love me though... right?" Tre said, giving me his puppy dog eyes.
"Sure do!" I said as I kissed him on the cheek. 'Aww he's just too cute!' I thought.
We walked into the store about 10 minutes later, Tre pulled out his fake ID, and grabbed some beer, walked to the cashier, and brought the beer and walked out with me. We started walking home, hand in hand, and we walked up to the door, and he kissed me before opening the door, and greeting Billie and Mike with "I COME BEARING GIFTS OF BEER!"
"Good morning, how may I help you four?" asked Miss McLeod.
"Uh... Well, Tre accidentally let out a really big snort in class and made us laugh and Mr. Bell sent us to your office." said Billie.
"Hmm, I see. Mr. Wright, why did you snort?"
"It's Mr. Cool and Uh... I was trying not to laugh and I couldn't hold it so I snorted. Not on purpose though, I swear." said Tre.
"Okay, so why were you trying not to laugh, Mr. Cool?"
"I... uh... Billie, got told off by Mr. Bell, and I found it kinda funny, the look on Billie's face, I mean." said Tre.
"Mr. Armstrong, why did you get told off?"
"I uh Well, I was ta—"he started but was interrupted by me.
"It was my fault Miss McLeod. I was telling Billie... about my... " I took a deep breath... "About that night, exactly one year ago." I said, "And Billie was just saying sorry about what happened and yeah... "
"Oh, I see, sorry you had to bring that up Miss Mackenzie, would you like to go home?" Miss McLeod asked me.
"Umm, not really, I'd really like to have the company of them," I said as I motioned to the guys.
"I see, well, how about I let you all have the rest of the day off?" said Miss McLeod.
"Really? That would be really great Miss McLeod, thank you." I said.
Miss McLeod gave us all exit passes and we left the school and went to the park.
I sat on a swing and starting swinging a little bit.
"So uh, what were you telling Billie about that happened one year ago?" asked Tre.
"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to Ash," said Mike, seeing the way I was looking down at my shoes trying to avoid the question.
"No, it's okay, I knew I would have to talk about it sooner or later... " I said.
Everyone looked at me waiting...
"Okay, well, last year, on 17th January, my dad and I were on our way to my grandmas, and well, all I remember is seeing a flash of light and hearing a big CRASH, and when I woke up I was still in the car and I heard screaming and sirens and saw flashing lights. I looked over at my dad and saw the blood, and I tried to move, but I had broken my leg, arm and 4 ribs. My dad died on the way to the hospital. I lived, but I nearly died, they lost my heart beat for around 3minutes... " I said, trailing off.
They were all staring at me shocked.
"Oh my fucking god." said Tre. "I'm sorry."
I just looked at my shoes. Mike came over and put his arm around me and whispered in my ear, "Sorry, Ash, I didn't know... "
I nodded. "It's okay."
"So uh, can we go to Gilman? I know it doesn't open for another 2 hours, but I just feel like going there... And, I'm pretty sure Laurence will let us in, considering you are playing tonight and you have to set up." I said.
"Sure, good idea" said Mike.
***
"Hey Laurence, let us in dude!" yelled Billie as he banged on the door.
"Hang on Billie." Replied Laurence.
I was so busy running around like a mad chicken to try and cheer Ash up, that I didn't even notice the door had swung open and Laurence was standing there.
"TRE!" I heard Billie call.
"Huh?" I said looking up as I realised that the others had gone inside. "Oh whoops" I said.
"Tre, you dork," said Ashleigh smiling, but I could tell she was only smiling with her mouth, not her eyes, and not her heart, she was sad, I hated seeing her like this.
I smiled at her and gave her a big hug. "Weeeee!" I said as I spun around in circles after I had broken the hug. "ARGH!" I tripped over a cord.
Everyone laughed, even Ashleigh, and I could see in her eyes, that she was a little happier.
The guys and I got up on stage and started setting up, while Ash just sat at the bar.
"Laurence, can I please have a root beer?" asked Ashleigh.
"Sure, coming right up." he said.
"Thanks," she said while reaching for her wallet. "How much is that gonna cost?"
"Nothing, it's on the house." he smiled and winked.
She smiled back. "Thanks Laurence!"
The guys and I had finished setting up so we joined Ash at the bar.
"That took you almost... " she counted. "4 root beers, and... " she counted more. "40 minutes." she said laughing. I smiled. 'She has a beautiful smile' I thought.
I picked up the half full root beer and skulled it, grinning.
"HEY! That was mine... " she said.
"Hehe, sorry!" I said.
Later that night...
"Now you see me, now you don't
Don't ask me where I'm at
'Cause I'm a million miles away
Treated like a forbidden heel
Don't say my thoughts are not for real
Or you won't see me again
Am I here or am I there
Or am I playing on the stairs
Am I in my room with my toys
I am the disappearing boy
When I walk in crowded rooms
I feel as if it is my doom
I know that I don't belong
In that room I see her
I see her and she's with him
I turn and then I'm gone
Don't call me up 'cause I'm not home
My whereabouts are now unknown
I vanished from all your joy
I'm the disappearing boy
I have my doubts
Of where I belong
It's something to think about
Don't call me up 'cause I'm not home
My whereabouts are now unknown
I vanished from all your joy
I'm the disappearing boy" sang Billie Joe.
The guys got off stage and walked down the short hallway to the backstage room, where I would be meeting up with them. I pushed my way through the crowd to the backstage door, and walked down the hallway to the backstage room. I opened the door with a BIG grin on my face.
"Hey Guys! Awesome show!" I said grinning.
"Thanks!" they all said, jumping up to hug me. Tre gave me a little kiss on the cheek, I blushed, and smiled.
We went out to the main area of Gilman and sat down at the bar.
"Hey Laurence, 4 root beers please," said Billie.
"Coming right up!"
"So, Ash, did you enjoy the show?" asked Tre.
"FUCK YEAH!" I said, and everyone near me gave me a weird look. "What?" I asked innocently. Making everyone turn and look in the other direction.
Tre laughed and hugged me. 'Aww, he is the cutest' I thought, as I kissed him on the cheek and he blushed.
Billie noticed and nudged Mike and pointed at Tre blushing like a girl. Mike laughed.
"What?" said Tre, giving them his infamous pouty puppy dog face.
I smiled at how adorable he was. And I then smiled at how much I liked him.
***
"I WANT BEER!" Tre yelled.
"Okay, Okay, God. Calm down Tre, your beer is coming. We just have to go out and buy some." I said laughing.
"Well, what are you waiting for Billie? Go get my beer!" said Tre.
"Go get it your self. I'm not your slave," was my reply.
Tre turned around, stuck his nose in the air, and said "FINE!" before walking out the door and down the street to the liquor store. I heard someone running down the stairs and turned around and saw Ash running to meet Tre. My heart sank a little, I really liked this girl. And she liked Tre... I know she likes me a little... she admitted it to me a few weeks back, sure she was drunk, but I think she meant it, she sounded pretty sober when she said it... stupid fucking love triangles, somebody always gets hurt—my train of thought was suddenly interrupted, when Mike came running from in his room screaming his head off.
"What the fuck, Mike?" I asked him, slightly shocked by his sudden appearance.
"I... I... I... I just thought of... a... new... song!" Mike managed to say in between breaths. "And, I... saw... a... spider!" Mike whimpered.
"Aww poor baby," I said while walking to Mike's room with a shoe. "Where's the spider Mike?" I asked.
"Umm... Over there" pointed Mike, who was hiding behind me.
I grabbed the shoe and whacked it against the wall, killing the spider.
"Thank you Billie," said mike smiling like a little kid.
"You're welcome Mikey," I said, hugging Mike.
I laughed as he skipped away. 'God, and I thought TRE was the fucking mental one, not Mike'.
"Treeeeeeeeeeeee!" I yelled.
Tre turned around to see who was calling. He spotted me and waved, then started jumping up and down. I laughed and started running to catch up with him.
"Hey Tre!" I said, "HEY THAT RHYMED!" I said, laughing.
"Omg, you're a poet! And don't you know it... ?" he said.
I smiled and kissed his cheek. "You know that you're one fucked up mental freak... right?" I asked.
"Sure do babe, you love me though... right?" Tre said, giving me his puppy dog eyes.
"Sure do!" I said as I kissed him on the cheek. 'Aww he's just too cute!' I thought.
We walked into the store about 10 minutes later, Tre pulled out his fake ID, and grabbed some beer, walked to the cashier, and brought the beer and walked out with me. We started walking home, hand in hand, and we walked up to the door, and he kissed me before opening the door, and greeting Billie and Mike with "I COME BEARING GIFTS OF BEER!"
