Call It What You Like - I Don't Care, chapter 15

I had convinced Billie Joe to go to a different Café, telling him that Starbucks was packed and I'd rather be somewhere a little quieter.

We ended up going to a small café just down the street from the Starbucks we were at.

When we walked into the place we noticed Tre, tucked away in the corner, looking at a magazine but clearly not absorbing a single piece of information from it.

As we entered the café, Tre looked up and noticed us. Billie Joe ordered drinks for all of us and led us over to the table where Tre was sitting.

"I thought you were going to Mike's," Billie Joe said as he pulled up a chair and sat next to Tre.

I sat down next to Billie Joe and Joey and Jakob sat on the other side of the table and started talking about random things... Like the fact that Joey's hair had now grown down to his shoulders; apparently Jakob was going to aim for a similar look.

"He wasn't home," Tre said, not really giving his full attention to the conversation he was having, more just looking at Billie Joe kind of weirdly, as though he felt sorry for him.

"Oh...That's weird..." Billie Joe said.

"Yeah..." Tre said slowly, still looking at Billie Joe and thinking about something else.

After we had finished our drinks, Billie Joe went to pay while Joey and Jakob went to the bathroom.

Tre leaned towards me and said quickly and quietly, "Does he know?"

I instantly knew what he was talking about, "No, he suspected it but I told him that Mike would never do that..." Now that I think about, that really wasn't a smart thing to do...

"Nice one Bella. Have you talked to Adie?" he asked me.

"I've talked to her and Mike a few minutes ago, it was Mike that she cheated on Billie Joe with and I told them that if they don't tell him soon that I'll do it for them," I replied, glancing up to make sure Billie Joe was still over at the counter.

"Mmm...Billie Joe is gonna KILL Mike when he finds out..." Tre sighed.

"I just hope they tell him soon..." I said as Billie Joe began to make his way back over to the table. A moment later Joey and Jakob came back from the bathroom and we left again.

We walked down the street to where Billie Joe's car was and got in. Billie Joe started the car and drove off down the street, back towards his house.

Once we arrived there Joey and Jakob ran into the lounge room to watch TV.

Me and Billie Joe had nothing to do so we decided to watch with them for a while, that was until I noticed Billie Joe looking over at me with a hint of longing on his face. He changed the way he was sitting and gave me a seductive look.

I grinned at him and said loudly, "God I feel tired...I'm gonna go sleep for a little while." I winked at him as I stood up and walked upstairs. I went into his bedroom and sat down on the bed.

About 10 minutes later Billie Joe silently entered the room grinning at me. Well... Such a romantic way of doing things.

Without saying a word Billie Joe pushed me down onto the bed and started kissing me.

***

About half an hour later Billie Joe got out of bed and pulled his clothes back on. I stood up and got dressed too.

Billie Joe went back downstairs to Joey and Jakob while I still lay on his bed re-calling what had just happened.

All of a sudden I couldn't help but start thinking about Adie and Mike. I knew I should just leave it and let Mike and Adie tell Billie Joe themselves but I still had a feeling that they weren't going to...

As I sat there, thinking I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and Billie Joe walked into the room.

"I'm sorry for *cough* waking you up but Joey says there's something he wants to ask both of us..." Billie Joe said, sitting down on the end of the bed and waiting for me to move.

"Um, ok," I replied getting up and walking downstairs with Billie Joe.

We walked through the lounge room where Jakob was giggling at some TV show and into the kitchen where Joey was sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal (Um... Ok)

Billie Joe and I sat at the table and waited for Joey to talk, both wondering what this was all about.

"Chill dad, don't look so worried, I just want to ask you guys something," Joey said smoothly.

"Ok, so shoot, what do you need to know?" Billie Joe replied.

"I just...Um. Was wondering, are you two, like, together?" Joey asked nervously.

Billie Joe glanced over at me and then back to Joey, "You don't have a problem with it do you?" Billie Joe asked him slowly.

Joey looked taken aback for a second before smiling and replying, "No, I just wanted to know," and continued eating his cereal.

***

At exactly 10 past 12 the next day we were all down in the basement. Billie Joe was helping Joey out with some weird song he wanted to learn on guitar and Jakob and I were over the other side of the room, Jakob showing me pretty much everything he could play on the drums.

After a while the doorbell rang. Billie Joe was still helping Joey with some stuff so I decided to go and let Adie in.

I ran upstairs and to the front door. I opened the door and let Adie in without saying a single word. She muttered a small "thanks," and walked past me to the basement, completely avoiding eye contact.

She walked downstairs and sat on the lounge and listened to the rest of Joey's song. Once he had finished Adie congratulated him and told him and Jakob to go and get their bags.

"Thanks for looking after them," Adie said to Billie.

"No problem, I'm glad to see them anytime," Billie Joe replied with a smile.

It broke my heart to see him talking to Adie like this, not knowing that she was secretly with his best friend and they were both lying to him.

This REALLY won't be pretty when he finds out.

Adie and the boys left so Billie Joe and I were left alone once again. Billie Joe sat down on the lounge and pulled me down next to him.

"I'm bored," he muttered, kissing me lightly on the cheek.

"So am I, what is there to do?" I asked him.

"I dunno, hey, can you play any instruments?" he asked.

"Uh...My granddad taught me how to play the piano when I was little but that's it."

"Cool, I'll teach you how to play guitar," he said, grinning excitedly.

"Oh god Billie Joe, I'm way to un-co..." I said slowly.

"Don't worry, so am I." He winked at me and pulled me onto his lap. "It's easier to help you if
I'm on this side," he said.

"Yeah, ok Billie."

"Ok, and because I like you sitting there, but that's beside the point," He said cheekily.
He grabbed his guitar and showed me how to hold it. "Ok, what's a song that you like?"

"I dunno, which Green Day songs are easy?" I asked.

"Um...Good Riddance is fairly easy, Are we the Waiting, Hitchin' a Ride, most of Wake Me up When September Ends, Um... "

"Are the Waiting, I like that song," I replied.

After about half an hour Billie Joe had taught me all the basics and then taught me how to play the song.

"You're actually really good at this you know?" He asked me when we finished.

Pfft...Doubt it.

"If you say so," I muttered.

"No, really, I'm not kidding, you ARE good at it," Billie Joe said honestly. He smiled and lifted me off his lap so he could stand up and put the guitar away.

We went back upstairs and sat down on the lounge.

Billie Joe flipped through all the channels on the TV before turning it off and sitting the remote down on the coffee table, "There's nothing on," He whined.

"Meh."

"Ok...Can I ask you something?" Billie Joe asked me suddenly.

I nodded at him, giving him permission to ask me anything he wanted.

"Um...This isn't meant to make you feel uncomfortable but how you've never had any friends or anything? You know, you're really nice, really smart and fucking sexy and you've never had friends or a boyfriend, surely there would have been some one at your school who liked you."

I thought for a moment, wondering whether I should tell him all this or not, "If you want to know the truth, I never actually went to school, my mother got me a private tutor, she wanted me to be the smartest kid around so I could get a really well-paid job. It was about when I was ten I started to realize how different my life was from everyone else's and that my mother was a controlling bitch."

I paused for a moment allowing Billie Joe to take this in. He nodded, telling me to continue.

"I started begging her to let me go to school like everyone else but she just started abusing me. So all I did for the first 18 years of my life was stay inside and study except for when we came to Cali to visit my family. And for the last 10 years I've been working as a pathologist, lawyer and as a local journalist. As a matter of interest I have no idea what I'm supposed to do at the end of the summer, my mum's gonna kill me..."

"Stay with me."

"What?"

"Why don't you just stay with me? You're fucking 28 years old; you don't have to do everything your mum tells you to." Billie Joe said.

"But Billie Joe...I just...Can't..."

"Why the fuck can't you?" he asked me.

"You're in the biggest band in the world; you have to go away from home for months at a time. What would I do?"

"Get a part time job doing something you really like and then I'll try and schedule that times that me and the guys are in the studio to be at the same time you're at work, then you'll never be lonely," Billie Joe said excitedly.

"And when you're on tour?" I asked.

"Come with me."

"Excuse me?" I asked, not believing what he had just said.

"We've finished recording the new album, it'll be out next month and then the month after that we'll start touring, you can come with us."

I just sat there and stared at him incredulously for about half a minute before he said, "Loosen up Bella, learn to live will you?"

Oooh, tactful isn't he?

"You're nearly half way through your life, you won't be young forever."

Ooooh...VERY tactful.

"Billie Joe, do you honestly expect me to just drop everything and travel the world with you just like that?" I asked him seriously.

"I guess not," he said quietly, looking away from my eyes...Damn that made me feel guilty...

"Billie Joe, I really would love to come with you... "

"So why can't you?" he asked, still staring at the floor.

"I can't believe that you would even ask me that Billie, that's mental, I have well paid jobs and a family that despite everything I still feel obliged to care for... I can't just drop my life and stay with you. I've never had anyone love me and I've survived fine..."

As hash as that sounded, it was the truth...

"You said you'd go out with me...So you're just going to ditch me at the end of the summer and go back home without a second thought?"

"Billie Joe, I have to be honest with you, no matter what it means, I'm not supposed to be here and I should never have gotten involved with you; I knew I'd only hurt you when I had to leave, I regret agreeing to stay with you but it seemed so right at the time..."

"But it's not right now that I've actually asked you to commit a little?"

"I already said, I'm sorry and I regret ever being involved with you, I should never have come here but I know now that with you touring soon I just can't stay here. And after we had that fight before I should have just stayed with my grandma because that was before we were even together and then one of this would have ever happened."

"So that's all there is? You're sorry that you had to be such a bitch; I don't suppose you ever took a second through all of this to just consider my feelings, did you?"

I opened my mouth to reply but without warning Billie Joe stood up and walked quickly upstairs and into his room, locking the door behind him.

As he turned around the corner to go upstairs I get a quick view of his face and I could have sworn I saw a tear roll down his cheek.

FUCK

I quietly crept upstairs and pressed my ear against his bedroom door. I could hear a slight rustling as the sheets were pulled back and Billie Joe lay down on the bed. For about a minute there as silence then I could just hear a light sobbing coming from Billie Joe.

At that moment my heart just about broke in two.. I so badly wanted to stay with him but I just couldn't...I knew it wouldn't work.

I quietly walked down the hallway and into my room. I had to talk to some one.

And considering the situation with Mike and Adie that wasn't exactly an option...

The only other person I thought I could trust...Tre...

I grabbed my phone and went downstairs. I flipped through the address book next to the phone and found Tre's number.

"Hello?" Came Tre's voice.

"Hi Tre, it's me, Bella," I forced out, choking back tears.

"Oh hi Bella, why are you calling me? Did something happen with Billie Joe?" he asked worriedly.

I launched into an explanation of our conversation earlier...

"And then he just ran upstairs into his room and started crying," I choked out as I began to sob into the phone.

"Bella, this is gonna sound a bit harsh but make up you mind will you, you either stay or you leave now. I hate seeing my best friend being upset and whether you're fighting or not he won't be the same if you leave."

With that he hung up the phone leaving me to think about what he had said.

I had to talk to Billie Joe.