Suprise 17th Birthday Party of Your Life!, chapter 1
"Party on!" I screamed as my friends and I were dancing to my American Idiot cd.
"Turn it DOWN!" my mom yelled, so we all stopped and turned the music down. I suddenly heard a knock at the door. Wondering who on earth it could be, I opened the door to this woman standing there.
"May I help you?" I asked.
"Are you Erica?"
"Yes," I answered slowly.
"Follow me to the school yard," she asked, which was only two doors down from my house. As soon as we got to the gates, I was told to close my eyes, so I did. We kept walking and when we stopped, I opened my eyes to see a big bus. The woman told me to go in, so I did. When I got to the top of the stairs, I saw none other than Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool waiting for me with a surprise 17th birthday party.
I was in a total state of shock and disbelief, so I said "somebody do something totally and completely insane so I know this is really happening." It's like they were waiting for me to say something like that because Mike and Tre nodded to Billie, who had looked back. Billie walked toward me and lightly kissed on the lips. "HOLY SHIT! My first kiss from Billie Joe Armstrong! Wow!" I exclaimed excitedly.
"Your first?" questioned Billie.
"Yeah, why?" I replied slowly.
"Well here, let me make it more enjoyable," Billie said as he kissed me deeply. It seemed like it lasted for ever.
"Wow, Billie Joe, that was . . . amazing," I whispered. He just smiled and nodded.
Tre quickly jumped in and said, "well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" So Mike, Tre, Billie, and I sat down on the couch when I remembered my friends at my house.
"Guys," I said, "my friends are still at my house."
"Oh, why don't we go to your house then?" Mike suggested.
"No," I complained in a whiny voice.
"Why not?" Tre asked.
"My friends would go insane, and I wouldn't get to talk to you guys."
"Oh," Billie said understandingly.
"Why don't we come tomorrow then?" Tre suggested. We all agreed that tomorrow would be better. I gave Mike and Tre a hug, and when I got to Billie, I sort of blushed and gave him a shy smile while saying bye. After I got back to my house, my friends asked me what happened. I told them it was one of my old friends, who I now hated for not talking to me in forever. So my party went on, as my mind was some where else. . .
I told my mom about meeting Green Day, and she said a friend of hers at work set it up. I told her everything, except the kiss, cause I knew she would freak out.
The next day I got up quite early, so I would have time to get ready and look good and presentable. Green Day showed up at my house this time. When I got to the top of the stairs, Mike and Tre were both sleeping, so Billie was waiting for me alone. I gave Billie a huge hug, which, I think, we both enjoyed. I had looked over at Tre and Mike, who were both strewn on the couch and floor. I looked at Billie and asked "do you wanna have some fun?"
"Hell yeah!" he answered.
"I'll need two buckets and some ice cold water," I told him. We found the buckets in the back of the bus and we filled them with my hose.
"On the count of three," Billie told me. "One." "Two." "THREE" we both said loudly together. I dumped my bucket on Tre while Billie dumped his bucket on Mike.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!?!" Tre yelled as he got up, soaking wet.
Mike looked like he quite enjoyed it, "at least I don't have to take a shower now," Mike said with a smile. Billie and I were still rolling on the floor laughing at Tre.
Mike and Tre put on dry clothes and asked what was for breakfast. "I can make pancakes and eggs," I suggested. But Tre was being picky, and didn't want that, but everyone else agreed, so I made pancakes and eggs for Mike, Billie, and myself, as Tre had cereal.
After breakfast, we debated on where to go when BJ stopped Tre and Mike arguing and said "why don't we ask Erica?" So everybody turned to me.
"Why don't we go to the park? I love the river that flows through it," I suggested. Everybody agreed, so we left. As soon as we got there, I got off the bus first, followed by Billie, Tre, and Mike. Tre dragged Mike to the jungle gym, leaving Billie and I alone.
Billie looked around, and finally said "why don't we go by that river you were talking about?" So I led him to the river, where I took off my shoes and socks, and rolled up my pants, sticking my feet in the water. Billie looked at me and asked if I liked my 17th birthday. I told him it was fantastic, and meeting him made it even better. "I'm glad you enjoyed it" he said.
It was silent for a little while, until Billie asked if I had a boyfriend, and then he immediately apologized. "Don't apologize," I said, "I don't mind you asking. As a matter of fact, I don't," I answered, kind of shyly.
"Why not?" Billie asked.
"A lot of guys I know don't like me. The only guys I can get are the school pervs," I answered in a low voice.
"Well, all the other guys are idiots," Billie emphasized. I got up and went over to the empty theatre-pavilion and sat down, remembering all the previous times I had been here, all the hurt and anger. "What's wrong?" Billie asked, concerned, breaking my trance.
"Oh, nothing, it's just . . . this is usually where I go to get away from everything."
'Everything', Billie thought, 'what happened?' I had gotten up again, and looked over the railing of the pavilion, at the river only 10 Feet away. Billie got up and stood beside me, probably wondering what I was thinking. The silence was broken with Billie's question, "I hope you didn't mind me kissing you yesterday?"
"No, I quite enjoyed it. I was surprised and kind of in a state of shock, so I don't think I was fully there to enjoy it," I responded. I looked at Billie, who I knew was looking at me. We made eye contact, and I didn't look away, like I usually do. No, I loved looking into his deep green eyes. They gave me a sense of comfort and they made me feel safe. Billie came closer and kissed me again. He must have seen something in me because he just let me stay in has arms as long as I wanted to. I felt safe. I felt like someone finally cared.
My thoughts were interrupted by Tre, who was running at Billie and me at full speed. After almost crashing into us, Tre announced that he was bored and he wanted to do something else, so we all got in the bus again. No one knew where to go next, so we decided to go back to their hotel in Lansing, only an hour and a half drive from the park.
During the drive, Mike and Billie played poker, while I listened to the radio. After a little while, Tre came up to me and asked what was up. I gave him my usual answer, "the sky."
"Ha, ha, ha, so funny I forgot to laugh," Tre said sarcastically. After a few minutes, Tre asked "Do you like Billie Joe?"
"What?" I replied, shocked.
"You heard me, yes or no," Tre demanded.
"I like Billie for a friend, yes, but I never really thought of him being anything more," I lied. 'As a matter of fact, I had thought about it ever since he kissed me yesterday' I thought to myself.
"Well, I think Billie likes you, a lot," Tre informed me, "He couldn't stop talking about you last night."
"Really?" I asked, kind of surprised.
"Yeah. And between you and me, he was talking about you in his sleep, Tre informed me quietly.
"Seriously? What was he saying?" I asked curiously.
"All I'm gonna say is that he sees something in you that I don't think he's saw in any other girl before," Tre told me as he walked off. 'Wow' I thought, 'maybe. . . Nah, I'm going to make this into more than it really is and I'm going to ruin a good friendship. I'm overreacting, and Tre has been known to pull awful pranks,' I mentally yelled at myself.
I laid down on Billie's bed, starting to day-dream. Eventually I fell asleep, just to have the same nightmare again. I'm running down a long, empty hospital hallway, and as I pass different rooms, different people appear saying different things. I pass my step-mom, she yells "You Bitch! You're ruining my life!" I pass my dad, he yells "You're not welcome at my house anymore!" I pass my mom, she yells "Damn you Erica! Why did you do that? My screwed up life is all your fault!" I pass my sister, she yells "Fine! I'm never talking to you again!" then she slams the door. Dived into about 4 rooms are kids from school laughing and pointing at me. I see the light at the end of the hallway. When I get there, I'm looking down at a huge cliff. All those people start coming after me, so I have no choice but to jump.
While in mid-air, I woke up to Billie Joe putting a cold cloth on my forehead. I try to sit up, but Billie told me to relax and calm down. "I heard tossing and turning and muffled noises, so I came to see what was wrong. I come back here to find you in a cold sweat tossing and turning. If you don't mind me asking, what were you dreaming about?" BJ asked, concerned.
looked up at Tre and Mike, who were still standing behind Billie, so Billie turned around and politely asked them to leave, so they did. Billie turned back to me and asked "What happened?" I told him everything about my nightmare, including how they haunted me almost every night.
By the time I got done talking, I was crying and Billie had me on his lap and in his arms. While I was crying on his shoulder, Billie whispered "It'll be ok. I'm here now," softly in my ear. After 20 minutes, I finally calmed down. I just lay down, not knowing what to do. Billie lay down next to me, putting his arms around my waist. As we lay facing each other, we made eye contact again. While looking deeply into each other's eyes, he drew me closer, whispering "everything's fine. I'm here. It'll be ok" in my ear.
We laid there together for the next 45 minutes, neither awake nor asleep, both kind of in a trance. The bus jolted as it came to a stop. We got up and got off the bus.
As we entered the hotel, I was amazed at the lobby and pool area off to the side. The lobby was set up like a wood cabin filled with wild game and furs. The pool area, off to the right, was set up like an ocean beach in Hawaii, a tropical drink stand and tropical decorations everywhere. The hotel had 3 levels; all were centered around the open pool area. We went to our room, walking into the presidential suite, it was huge and magnificent. It had a mini-kitchen and 2 rooms off of the main setting area with the TV and video games. Billie had one bedroom and Tre had the other, while Mike was left with the pull-out bed in the couch. Each side room had a TV in it, so Billie took me to his room to watch TV.
There was nothing interesting on TV, so Billie pulled out his radio. He asked me what I wanted to listen to, so I said "honestly?"
"Yeah, anything you want!" BJ replied.
"Ok, I know this may be awkward, but I want to hear 'Extraordinary Girl'! It's one of my all-time favorite songs," I informed him.
"Really?" he asked, kind of shocked.
"Yeah, I absolutely love it," I said in a low voice.
"Well, we don't need this then," BJ said as he put his radio away and pulled out his guitar.
"You're really gonna play it for me? You would do that for me Billie Joe?" I asked, excited and shocked at the same time.
"Yeah, anything for an 'extraordinary girl'." he said as he started playing. I enjoyed every minute of it because we kept eye contact, and I knew he meant everything he said. When he was done, I applauded and thanked him, giving him a huge hug. "Why don't you play me something?" BJ asked.
"My instrument is at my house" I replied.
"My guitar isn't good enough?" Billie pouted.
"No, it's awesome! It's just. . . I don't play guitar, I play flute," I said shyly.
"Wow! I never would have thought of you playing flute!" Billie said, surprised.
"Yeah, my flute is my life. I am a total bandgeek. The only bad thing is that I only know how to play a flute," I said disappointed.
"Well, why don't we fix that then?" Billie suggested, pulling me on his lap. He asked if I wanted to learn how to play is guitar, and I said I would love to. He got his guitar and showed me how to hold it while my back is towards him while I'm on his lap. After 2 hours, of guitar lessons that day, I could play 3 notes. BJ said "Wow! Fast learner. I'm impressed." I gave a shy smile and looked away, embarrassed. Billie took his hand and put it under my chin, making me look at him. We made eye contact, and he kissed me gently. I smiled, so after seeing me smile, he smiled, happy that I was happy. I put my arms around his neck, as he put his arms around my waist. We just sat there holding each other, enjoying every minute of it.
After awhile, BJ asked me if I wanted to go get my flute at my mom's house. I agreed. We got in the black sports car he rented and took off. By now, it was 4:00 and I hadn't talked to my best friend Charlene since the day before. I pulled out my cell, and when BJ asked me who I was calling, I told him. "Oh," he said understandingly. I dialed her number and we talked for 15 minutes. I hung up as BJ pulled into my driveway. I was just about to get out when he asked "Do you have school tomorrow?"
"No, "I replied, confused, "school ended 3 weeks ago, and I already graduated. Why?"
"Good, grab any stuff you may need over the next few says." BJ told me.
"Ok," I replied excitedly. My mom wasn't home, so I used my house key to get in. I grabbed a few sets of clothes, my flute and sheet music, and all my CDs that I liked. I put all my stuff in my duffel bag and went back out to the car, where Billie Joe was waiting for me.
"So, did you get everything you need?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm all ready to go!" I replied excitedly.
"Good, would you mind not coming back here for awhile?" BJ asked nervously.
"I would love to get away from this place," I replied with relief.
"Would you like to stay with me for, I don't know, quite awhile?" he also asked nervously.
"Are you asking me to move in with you?" I asked, shocked.
"Yeah," he replied with a sigh.
"You know, I would love to move in with you! Finally, freedom from my parents. I'm gonna leave a note on the door, I'll be right back." I said, trying to contain my excitement. The note to my mom read "Mom, moved out. If you need me, call my cell. Tell dad I moved out. - Erica."
I ran back to the car, got in, and buckled my seat belt. BJ asked if I was ready to go, and I told him I was. Now, it was 4:45, and BJ suggested getting dinner, and I agreed that was a good idea. We stopped at a Coney Island, and ordered right away.
While we were waiting, Billie came over and sat by me. I really liked him, so I got a bit nervous. BJ looked over at me and asked, "Are you Ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" I replied, trying to hide the tremble in my voice.
"It just seemed like you tensed up when I sat by you, that's all ." he responded nonchalantly. After a few more minutes of silence, he asked if I was ok again.
"Honestly, I'm nervous as all hell" I said quite bluntly.
"Why? Because of me?" BJ quizzed me.
"Yeah," I shyly replied.
"You shouldn't be, it's just me."
"I know, that's why I'm nervous." I responded, even more shyly than before. I looked up at Billie Joe, who I knew was looking at me. We made eye contact, then Billie Joe kissed me. I smiled and blushed.
"Are you still nervous?" BJ asked me.
"I'm better," I laughed. I got butterflies in my stomach as he weaved his hand through mine for the first time. He looked at me and smiled, and of course I smiled back. Our food came and we ate. Half way through my Coney, I was getting full. I wanted to be polite, so I finished it. When we got done, I went to pay for my food, but Billie insisted on paying, so I let him.
We got in the car, when I thanked him for dinner. "No problem, I always love to pay for an amazing girl's dinner." I smiled and blushed. Now it was 6:00, and BJ asked me what I wanted to do.
"I still owe you a song on my flute, remember?" I reminded Billie.
"Oh yeah, why don't we go back to the hotel and you cam play me that song," he suggested.
"Ok, sounds great!" I said excitedly. We rode back to the hotel with the radio on, singing along to every song we knew.
When we got there, I grabbed my duffel bag from the back seat and we went to Billie's room. Billie and I walked in to see Mike and Tre playing video games. I dropped my duffel on the floor, startling them.
"Why the hell do you have that?" Mike asked me, confused. I turned to Billie, who explained to Mike and Tre that we would be sharing Billie's room. Mike and Tre agreed. I bent down to grab my stuff, but BJ took it before I could. I looked up and he smiled at me, so I smiled and thanked him.
We went in to Billie's, sorry, our, room to put my stuff away when Billie said "I had a great time tonight."
"So did I. I really enjoyed spending tome together," I couldn't believe what I had just said. 'He probably thinks I'm getting clingy' I thought to myself.
"Yeah, I enjoyed our time together too," Billie said, kind of glad I said something first. I searched my bag for my flute, music, and stand, and when I couldn't find them, I cursed loudly. Billie came over to help me find it, and he did. I put my flute and stand together, then I sat my sheet music on my stand. I warmed up with a few scales, then I asked Billie what kind of a song he wanted to hear.
"Hmmm. How about a march?" he replied thoughtfully. So I picked a march that didn't have many rests for the flute part and I played it. This was one of my favorite pieces. It was a few years old, so I could play it almost perfectly.
When I got done, Billie looked at me in amazement and told me "That was one of the best things I have ever heard!"
"Thank you!" I said, kind of embarrassed. Billie walked up to look at my music. Noticing my flute had no transposition to his guitar, he pulled it out and we played it together. Mike and Tre walked in, but we only noticed them after we were done, because they applauded like crazy. They told us how good we sound together, we thanked them and then they left.
BJ and I both agreed that we didn't want to play anything more, so we put our instruments away. I lay down on the bed, tired and thinking of the days events. BJ came up to me and lay beside me, then asked me what I was thinking. "I'm thinking this is the best day of my life," I told him, as I looked straight into his eyes.
Without breaking eye contact, "Yeah, mine too," he agreed. I smiled and snuggled closer to him. He held me, and I never wanted him to let go. We both fell asleep like that, full clothing, shoes still on, the whole 9 yards.
I awoke the next morning from my nightmare again. When I opened my eyes, Billie wasn't there. I got up and heard someone taking a shower, I figured it was BJ. I went into the kitchen to get something to drink, only to find BJ in his boxers searching the mini-fridge. "Morning," I said sleepily.
Startled, he turned around quickly and said "What the fuck? You scared the shit out of me!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to," I apologized.
"Ah, its ok, I forgive you" he said coolly. "Want something to drink while I'm in here?" he asked me.
"Sure, anything cold will do," I responded.
"Here, is flavored water OK?" he asked.
"Perfect," I said. He came and sat down next to me, handing me my water.
"You know what?" BJ asked me.
"What?" I answered curiously.
"I never got you a birthday present. Would you mind one now?" he asked me.
"You don't need to spend money on me. I've gotten the best birthday present of all, meeting you," I said.
"Well, tough, cause I got you something anyway," BJ said smiling. He handed me a bag with a card, which said "Happy belated birthday. I really hope you enjoyed it. Love, Billie Joe Armstrong" I thought 'how sweet', and I gave him a hug and said my birthday was wonderful.
"Come on, open it!" BJ shoved the bag towards me eagerly. I took out all the tissue paper to find "A beginner's guide to guitar" book, a mix CD he put together, an a framed photo of himself.
When I thought I had gotten everything, Billie pulled out a tiny box. I was now in even more shock than before, but I managed to grab a hold of the box and open it. I found a guitar pick on a silver chain. "That was the first pick I used when we recorded our first album and went on our first tour," Billie explained.
Almost crying, I gave him a huge hug and told him he shouldn't have.
"But I wanted to," Billie said to me.
"I know, but-" Billie cut me off with "take it, I REALLY want you to have it."
"OK," I finally agreed. BJ put the necklace on me and I promised that no matter what, I would never take it off.
"Good, this way I'll always be with you," he said happily while smiling. I told him that I was going to go take a shower and I would be out shortly. He said he'd have breakfast ready when I got out.
Sure enough, he did. He made omletts and toast. 'Damn,' I thought, 'he's an awesome cook,' and I told him so. "Thank you" he answered, gratified.
"Where's Mike and Tre?" I asked curiously.
"Oh, Mike is visiting with some relatives for the next few days and Tre's out with his girlfriend for awhile, who knows how long that could be?" he said sarcastically. "So we're here all by ourselves for the next few days, what do wanna do?" he asked.
"I'm not sure, but I do know I have rehearsal tonight. We're producing in 2 weeks." I responded, kind of worried.
"What are you talking about?" BJ asked, confused.
"Oh, sorry. I'm in a play at the city's institute of arts. We're producing the show in 2 weeks. We have rehearsal every 2 days," I informed him.
"Oh, do your parents know?" Billie asked, seemingly concerned.
"I don't know and I couldn't care less," I said.
"Oh, well, we have until what time to do something?" he asked.
"3:00-5:00 is rehearsal. You can come and watch it if you like," I said hopefully.
"Good. Wanna catch a movie or something?" he suggested.
"Sure, a movie sounds excellent!" I said excitedly.
"Lets go!" Billie said, as we left. We got to the theatre and he asked me what kind of movie I wanted to watch. He suggested a scary movie, so that's what we got. We got one large popcorn, and two medium drinks. We got in the actual theatre and the movie started right away. Half-way through the movie, BJ asked "Are you having fun?"
"Yeah, its awesome," I replied shyly.
"Good," he said, satisfied. He put his arm around me and pulled me close. Instinctively, I looked at him, and we made eye contact in the dark theatre. Just like usual when we made eye contact, he kissed me. But this was no ordinary kiss, this was a deep, passionate, understanding kiss. We both smiled when we were done, and we continued to watch the movie.
When it was over, it was time for my rehearsal. I gave him horrible directions, and when we finally got there, I apologized a million times.
"Don't worry, I can't give directions worth shit either," he laughed. After rehearsal, he told me I was wonderful. I thanked him and we drove back to the hotel.
When we got back to our room, I plopped down on the couch in exhaustion. BJ came over and picked my head up off the couch as he sat down, laying my head on his lap. "You know what?" he asked me out of the blue.
"What," I said.
"Can you sit up for a minute?"
"Yeah, sure," I said, sitting up.
"Here, come closer," he said, pulling me close.
"What?" I asked curiously.
'Wow, I'm actually going to say this' Billie Joe thought as he said "Erica, you're the most wonderful girl I have ever met. You're the first girl I'm going to say this to and actually mean it."
"What?" I said eager to hear what it was.
"Erica, I . . ., I love you," Billie Joe said, relieved.
"Oh, Billie Joe, I love you too," I said, also relieved to say something I had been holding back since we first kissed.
"Do you truly mean it?" BJ asked me nervously.
"Yeah, why?"
"Would you mind me proving how much I love you?" he wisped in my ear.
"No, not at all," I whispered back, knowing exactly what he meant and exactly what was going to happen. BJ picked me up and carried me to our bed, where he laid me down gently. Billie knew I was a virgin, I had told him and it was kind of obvious, seeing as he gave me my first kiss. But its ok, BJ knew how to handle it.
"BJ," I whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Be careful with me," I whispered while looking him straight in the eye.
"Don't worry, leave everything up to me, I'll be gentle," he reassured me. He continued to undress me. Billie kept it very simple, no fancy tricks or anything. He kissed me deep and long, and when just the right moment came, he stopped kissing me to see the reaction on my face. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, first at pain, then at enjoyment. He asked of I wanted him to stop, but I said no, please, keep going. Billie Joe kept his eyes on my face at all times, to see my reaction to everything, to know if he was hurting me or not.
A few hours later when everything was done and we were laying under the covers, BJ asked "Well, did you enjoy it?"
"Billie Joe Armstrong; that was. . . breathtaking. I wouldn't want to loose my virginity to anyone else but you," I turned to face him. Once again, we fell asleep in each others arms, satisfied. I had my nightmare again, except this time, Billie Joe was there at the end of the hallway, to catch me. I collapsed in his arms. He gently laid me down as he fought everybody coming towards us. He took me into an empty room and he locked the door. He laid me down and tended to me until everybody outside left. He found a rope ladder to go down the cliff with. We went down the rope ladder, with me on his back, piggy back style. We made it down safely, and that's when I woke up to movement from BJ.
I opened my eyes to see BJ getting up to take a shower. I sat up and he turned around, surprised I was up. We made eye contact, and I started crying. "What's wrong?" BJ asked, concerned.
"I had that dream again," I sobbed into his shoulder.
"Don't worry, it'll be ok, everything's alright," he comforted me.
"I know, this time, my dream was different," and I told him about the ending and how he saved me.
"Here, you lay here while I take a shower, I'll be back out in ten minutes, tops," he promised.
"OK," I said, trembling. It seemed more like hours, but when he came back out, he got dressed and came over and sat by me. I sat up and thanked him.
"For what?" BJ asked gently.
"For saving me. You got me out of my parents reach, and along with me graduating, nobody can torture and hurt me anymore," I explained.
"No problem, babe. If it helps you, I'll do it," he said soothingly, as he pulled me on his lap to give me a hug. BJ told me to go take a shower, we're going somewhere special.
After I got out of the shower, BJ had my clothes laid out on the bed. I was almost dressed, I had everything on except my shirt, when BJ came in and scared the shit out of me by coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. I turned around and kissed him, when I stopped to tell him I had to get finished getting ready.
"Why get dressed when your clothes are gonna come right back off again?" BJ said playfully. I giggled as BJ laid me down and took off my pants. This time, BJ led me playfully, not as serious as last night. 20 minutes later, we got dressed, again. After that, we went to the kitchen for some breakfast, which was cereal.
He told me, after we ate, to grab my purse and head down to the car, where he'd meet me. When he finally got in, he had my flute and music and his guitar.
"What are you doing with those?" I asked, confused.
"You'll see," he led me on. Billie started the car and we left. After 20 minutes of driving, we were at a corporate building, where Billie handed me my flute and music when we got out, and he grabbed his guitar.
"Where are we?" I asked Billie, taking his hand in mine.
"We are at a recording studio," Billie looked at me and replied.
"Why?" I asked confused.
"Well, I thought we sounded awesome the other night, so I called my producer and set a few things up," Billie said, excitedly.
"Ok," I said, still kind of shocked. We walked in to meet BJ's producer, who wanted to hear us, so he brought us to a sound room. We played the march, just like before. When we were done, the producer asked if we could play something more concert-like, so I picked out an overture. We played that and when we were done, the producer was in total shock. "That was amazing!" he said. Billie went and talked to him for a minute, then he called me over.
"Hey babe, would you mind recording a song with Green Day?" Billie asked.
"No, of course not, I would love it!" I excitedly responded.
"Excellent!," BJ said to me, "We'll talk more later, right now I'm kind of busy," BJ told his producer.
"OK, how about a few months, will that be ok?"
"Yeah, sure," BJ replied as we walked out.
"Well, Erica, you're going to be on the next Green Day album, how does it feel?" BJ jokingly asked as we got into the car.
"It's absolutely wonderful!" I replied as I buckled in. I had a grin on my face the whole drive home. That night, once again, we fell asleep cuddling together on the couch watching TV.
2 WEEKS LATER:
"You'll be great, don't worry," BJ soothed as I was extremely nervous and shaking before my play performance. I had full costume and make up on, nervous as all hell, and other than that, I was ready to go. You would think that after eight years of band concerts, this would be a breeze. But if I screwed up, I couldn't blame it on anybody else, like you can in band concerts.
I went on stage, said my lines perfectly and did exactly what I was supposed to, while BJ watched from backstage. After the one scene I was in, I left the stage and went to BJ who said I was awesome, just like he had done for the last three performances. He held me and comforted me. I got back on stage for curtain call, and after the black out, I went to take everything off.
Like usual, the girls dressing room was packed, so I hurried and got undressed and left. I found BJ waiting for me on stage, "Why didn't you take your make-up off this time?" he asked curiously.
"Too many people, and I was starting to feel claustrophobic," I replied tiredly. We exited backstage, only to find my dad standing there, waiting for me.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, aggravated.
"What does it matter? What's with all the make-up, you look like a hooker," he said, slurred. I could tell he was drunk.
"The stage lights bleach your face, so you have to put on extra make-up to look normal and not bleached out," I said coolly.
"Bull shit!" my dad yelled, coming closer to BJ and I, "it does not you lying bitch!"
"What right do you have to say anything about it? You leave for three years and expect to come back controlling what I do?" I asked pissed off.
"Yeah, I'm still your dad," he said with authority.
"No, you're a father. Dads don't kick their kids out for being themselves and not talk to their kids in three fucking years!!" I said, even more pissed.
"You will listen to me, damn it!" my father demanded.
"Back off!" Billie jumped in.
"Who the hell are you?" my father asked.
"I'm her boyfriend and you can back off and leave her alone. She doesn't need you. As a matter of fact, she doesn't even want you around!" Billie Joe defended me.
"Who are you to talk to me like that?" my father demanded.
"I'm protecting my girlfriend, which is the love of my life, from her father who only gives a rat's ass when it's convenient for him," BJ responded.
"Why," my father said, coming at Billie. I jumped in front of him, taking the blow to the face. My father looked at what he had just done and ran off.
"Oh my god!" Billie said, very concerned.
"BJ, don't go after him, he doesn't know where I live, remember?" I told BJ softly.
"Yeah, I remember. No offense or anything, but your dad really is a jackass who needs to get a life," BJ said as he picked me up and carried me out to the car, where he pulled out his first aid kit and fixed the cut and bruise on my face.
"Why did you do that, this injury could have been worse?" BJ asked.
"I couldn't stand the thought of him destroying something else I loved," I replied weakly. BJ looked straight into my eyes, then he gently kissed me. I winced at my busted lip.
"Oh, I'm sorry," BJ said apologetically.
"It's OK, I'll go through anything to get a kiss from you," I said as I smiled. BJ smiled back, then he started the car. We left and arrived at the hotel that night around 9:00 pm. BJ carried me into the hotel, then into our bed. Once again, he apologized. "It's ok, and, thank you," I said shyly.
"For what?" BJ asked, confused.
"For defending me. You don't know how much that meant to me. You also don't know how long it's been since someone defended me," I responded.
"Well, anything for my 'extraordinary girl'" he replied with a smile. BJ called me that ever since I asked him to play "Extraordinary Girl" for me. Anyway, I was tired, so I got undressed and put on my PJ's. While BJ was in the bathroom, I laid down on top of the covers, falling asleep almost instantly. BJ came in and put the covers over me, and he changed himself and crawled under the blankets. He fell asleep with his arms around my waist.
6 MONTHS LATER:
"That was great crew," the producer said through the mike. We were recording the next Green Day record, with my flute solo in one of the songs. BJ took me back to California, where we got an apartment together. I was finally happy, and with this flute solo, I was getting paid good money. For once in my life, I didn't have to stretch pennies to make ends meet.
Anyway, Billie successfully taught me how to play guitar, so for our six month anniversary, he got me a red and black guitar, while I got him a new gold and silver watch. Anyway, we were doing OK, and I did my damndest to forget my past, which I did.
BJ told me we were going on a vacation, so I picked a few outfits to go, and packed my bags after we got home from the studio.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"You'll see once we get there," he responded playfully. We put our stuff in the taxi and went to the airport. BJ got our tickets and we boarded the plane. We landed a while later. BJ got a rental car and we found a hotel.
"Where are we?" I asked, whiney and pleading.
"You'll see, once I take you where I want to." We got in our room, put our bags down, and Billie dragged me back out again, locking the door behind him. We got in the car, and he told me to close my eyes for about 5 minutes. When I was told to open them, I got he 2nd surprise of my life.
I was at the park with the river where Billie Joe and I really started talking. "Come on, lets go," BJ ushered me politely. As 2nd nature, I went to the theatre-pavilion and sat down.
"Hey Erica, remember what you said to me last time we were here together?" BJ asked me quietly in my ear.
"Yeah, I said this is the place I go to get away from everything, why?" I asked confused.
"Well, then I was wondering what 'everything' was. Even though I didn't know, I had an instinct that you weren't like any other girl. You were special, and I was right. Now I know what 'everything' is, and you know what?" BJ asked me
"What?" I curiously asked.
"I still feel the same way about you now then I did back then. Some relationships loose important things over time, but not this one. I still love you now like I loved you when I first kissed you," BJ told me, while looking deeply into my eyes.
"Really, BJ? You mean it?" I asked softly.
"Yeah, every word," BJ replied. I gave him a hug, and he pulled me onto his lap. We held each other for a little while until Billie told me to get up. Confused, I stood up. BJ reached in his pocket and pulled out a tiny box, and got on one knee. Right then, I knew what was happening.
"Erica Ann Taylor, will you give me the honor of becoming my wife?" Billie looked up, smiling.
I had started to cry, but I managed "Billie Joe Armstrong, I would gladly marry you!" Billie slid the diamond engagement ring on my finger and stood up to hug me. He held me until In stopped crying, when he looked looked straight into my eyes and kissed me deeply.
"I wanted to do this somewhere meaningful, and I couldn't think of a better place, now you can have a happy memory here," Billie explained.
"Oh, Billie, its perfect!" I said shakily.
"Great," Billie smiled. Billie led me back to the car, then he drove to the hotel. We got in and BJ picked me up and carried me to the bed, and gently laid me down. I unbuttoned his shirt, and he unzipped my hoodie. After he had undressed me, he kissed me long and deep.
"Billie, do you remember the first time we did it?" I asked
"Yeah, it was your first time so you asked me to be careful, so I was. I tried to keep it simple, why?" Billie answered quietly, stopping to look me in the eye.
"Well, I still have the anticipation and adreniline rush every time we do it, just like our first time," I replied, smiling.
"Good," BJ smiled and kept going.
Hours later, Billie asked me if I was satisfied.
"Very, and again, it was breathtaking, just like our first time," I looked over and smiled.
BJ pulled me closer and noticed I still had his guitar pick around my neck, so he asked, "Have you ever taken that thing off?" pointing to the pick around my neck.
"No, I wanted you to be with me always. I told you, I'll never take it off," I smiled and blushed.
Billie smiled back and said, "Well, I'll always be with you in the flesh now."
"But I'm still never going to take the necklace off," I said as I closed my eyes and fell asleep with Billie Joe holding me close.
1 YEAR LATER:
"Oh my god, Billie! There are a million people out there!" I said nervously as I was getting ready to go on stage with BJ, Tre, and Mike. We were on tour for the album we just put out, with my flute solo and some of my guitar playing.
Billie, Mike, and Tre went on stage and played a few songs before Billie introduced me with "OK, will you give my wife, of 6 months ago, a big round of applause. She is, and always be, the love of my life, ERICA ANN ARMSTRONG!!"
The crowd went wild as I entered with my flute, that I had had since 5th grade, and my guitar that BJ got me. We played our song-including my flute solo- and when we were done, the crowd went even wilder than before. In the next few songs, I played Billie's guitar (I loved playing his guitar instead of my own) while he played mine. I took the pick off my necklace and started using it. BJ looked up and saw me, and smiled, satisfied. At the very end, we thanked everybody for coming and left the stage.
"Wow, that was amazing," I said exausted.
"Yeah, I know, but you made it even better," BJ said to me while kissing my sweaty neck.
"You know, I really love my new life with you," I said, meaning it.
"Me too, and with you in it, its absolutely amazing!" BJ smiled and looked me in the eyes.
"Turn it DOWN!" my mom yelled, so we all stopped and turned the music down. I suddenly heard a knock at the door. Wondering who on earth it could be, I opened the door to this woman standing there.
"May I help you?" I asked.
"Are you Erica?"
"Yes," I answered slowly.
"Follow me to the school yard," she asked, which was only two doors down from my house. As soon as we got to the gates, I was told to close my eyes, so I did. We kept walking and when we stopped, I opened my eyes to see a big bus. The woman told me to go in, so I did. When I got to the top of the stairs, I saw none other than Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool waiting for me with a surprise 17th birthday party.
I was in a total state of shock and disbelief, so I said "somebody do something totally and completely insane so I know this is really happening." It's like they were waiting for me to say something like that because Mike and Tre nodded to Billie, who had looked back. Billie walked toward me and lightly kissed on the lips. "HOLY SHIT! My first kiss from Billie Joe Armstrong! Wow!" I exclaimed excitedly.
"Your first?" questioned Billie.
"Yeah, why?" I replied slowly.
"Well here, let me make it more enjoyable," Billie said as he kissed me deeply. It seemed like it lasted for ever.
"Wow, Billie Joe, that was . . . amazing," I whispered. He just smiled and nodded.
Tre quickly jumped in and said, "well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" So Mike, Tre, Billie, and I sat down on the couch when I remembered my friends at my house.
"Guys," I said, "my friends are still at my house."
"Oh, why don't we go to your house then?" Mike suggested.
"No," I complained in a whiny voice.
"Why not?" Tre asked.
"My friends would go insane, and I wouldn't get to talk to you guys."
"Oh," Billie said understandingly.
"Why don't we come tomorrow then?" Tre suggested. We all agreed that tomorrow would be better. I gave Mike and Tre a hug, and when I got to Billie, I sort of blushed and gave him a shy smile while saying bye. After I got back to my house, my friends asked me what happened. I told them it was one of my old friends, who I now hated for not talking to me in forever. So my party went on, as my mind was some where else. . .
I told my mom about meeting Green Day, and she said a friend of hers at work set it up. I told her everything, except the kiss, cause I knew she would freak out.
The next day I got up quite early, so I would have time to get ready and look good and presentable. Green Day showed up at my house this time. When I got to the top of the stairs, Mike and Tre were both sleeping, so Billie was waiting for me alone. I gave Billie a huge hug, which, I think, we both enjoyed. I had looked over at Tre and Mike, who were both strewn on the couch and floor. I looked at Billie and asked "do you wanna have some fun?"
"Hell yeah!" he answered.
"I'll need two buckets and some ice cold water," I told him. We found the buckets in the back of the bus and we filled them with my hose.
"On the count of three," Billie told me. "One." "Two." "THREE" we both said loudly together. I dumped my bucket on Tre while Billie dumped his bucket on Mike.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!?!" Tre yelled as he got up, soaking wet.
Mike looked like he quite enjoyed it, "at least I don't have to take a shower now," Mike said with a smile. Billie and I were still rolling on the floor laughing at Tre.
Mike and Tre put on dry clothes and asked what was for breakfast. "I can make pancakes and eggs," I suggested. But Tre was being picky, and didn't want that, but everyone else agreed, so I made pancakes and eggs for Mike, Billie, and myself, as Tre had cereal.
After breakfast, we debated on where to go when BJ stopped Tre and Mike arguing and said "why don't we ask Erica?" So everybody turned to me.
"Why don't we go to the park? I love the river that flows through it," I suggested. Everybody agreed, so we left. As soon as we got there, I got off the bus first, followed by Billie, Tre, and Mike. Tre dragged Mike to the jungle gym, leaving Billie and I alone.
Billie looked around, and finally said "why don't we go by that river you were talking about?" So I led him to the river, where I took off my shoes and socks, and rolled up my pants, sticking my feet in the water. Billie looked at me and asked if I liked my 17th birthday. I told him it was fantastic, and meeting him made it even better. "I'm glad you enjoyed it" he said.
It was silent for a little while, until Billie asked if I had a boyfriend, and then he immediately apologized. "Don't apologize," I said, "I don't mind you asking. As a matter of fact, I don't," I answered, kind of shyly.
"Why not?" Billie asked.
"A lot of guys I know don't like me. The only guys I can get are the school pervs," I answered in a low voice.
"Well, all the other guys are idiots," Billie emphasized. I got up and went over to the empty theatre-pavilion and sat down, remembering all the previous times I had been here, all the hurt and anger. "What's wrong?" Billie asked, concerned, breaking my trance.
"Oh, nothing, it's just . . . this is usually where I go to get away from everything."
'Everything', Billie thought, 'what happened?' I had gotten up again, and looked over the railing of the pavilion, at the river only 10 Feet away. Billie got up and stood beside me, probably wondering what I was thinking. The silence was broken with Billie's question, "I hope you didn't mind me kissing you yesterday?"
"No, I quite enjoyed it. I was surprised and kind of in a state of shock, so I don't think I was fully there to enjoy it," I responded. I looked at Billie, who I knew was looking at me. We made eye contact, and I didn't look away, like I usually do. No, I loved looking into his deep green eyes. They gave me a sense of comfort and they made me feel safe. Billie came closer and kissed me again. He must have seen something in me because he just let me stay in has arms as long as I wanted to. I felt safe. I felt like someone finally cared.
My thoughts were interrupted by Tre, who was running at Billie and me at full speed. After almost crashing into us, Tre announced that he was bored and he wanted to do something else, so we all got in the bus again. No one knew where to go next, so we decided to go back to their hotel in Lansing, only an hour and a half drive from the park.
During the drive, Mike and Billie played poker, while I listened to the radio. After a little while, Tre came up to me and asked what was up. I gave him my usual answer, "the sky."
"Ha, ha, ha, so funny I forgot to laugh," Tre said sarcastically. After a few minutes, Tre asked "Do you like Billie Joe?"
"What?" I replied, shocked.
"You heard me, yes or no," Tre demanded.
"I like Billie for a friend, yes, but I never really thought of him being anything more," I lied. 'As a matter of fact, I had thought about it ever since he kissed me yesterday' I thought to myself.
"Well, I think Billie likes you, a lot," Tre informed me, "He couldn't stop talking about you last night."
"Really?" I asked, kind of surprised.
"Yeah. And between you and me, he was talking about you in his sleep, Tre informed me quietly.
"Seriously? What was he saying?" I asked curiously.
"All I'm gonna say is that he sees something in you that I don't think he's saw in any other girl before," Tre told me as he walked off. 'Wow' I thought, 'maybe. . . Nah, I'm going to make this into more than it really is and I'm going to ruin a good friendship. I'm overreacting, and Tre has been known to pull awful pranks,' I mentally yelled at myself.
I laid down on Billie's bed, starting to day-dream. Eventually I fell asleep, just to have the same nightmare again. I'm running down a long, empty hospital hallway, and as I pass different rooms, different people appear saying different things. I pass my step-mom, she yells "You Bitch! You're ruining my life!" I pass my dad, he yells "You're not welcome at my house anymore!" I pass my mom, she yells "Damn you Erica! Why did you do that? My screwed up life is all your fault!" I pass my sister, she yells "Fine! I'm never talking to you again!" then she slams the door. Dived into about 4 rooms are kids from school laughing and pointing at me. I see the light at the end of the hallway. When I get there, I'm looking down at a huge cliff. All those people start coming after me, so I have no choice but to jump.
While in mid-air, I woke up to Billie Joe putting a cold cloth on my forehead. I try to sit up, but Billie told me to relax and calm down. "I heard tossing and turning and muffled noises, so I came to see what was wrong. I come back here to find you in a cold sweat tossing and turning. If you don't mind me asking, what were you dreaming about?" BJ asked, concerned.
looked up at Tre and Mike, who were still standing behind Billie, so Billie turned around and politely asked them to leave, so they did. Billie turned back to me and asked "What happened?" I told him everything about my nightmare, including how they haunted me almost every night.
By the time I got done talking, I was crying and Billie had me on his lap and in his arms. While I was crying on his shoulder, Billie whispered "It'll be ok. I'm here now," softly in my ear. After 20 minutes, I finally calmed down. I just lay down, not knowing what to do. Billie lay down next to me, putting his arms around my waist. As we lay facing each other, we made eye contact again. While looking deeply into each other's eyes, he drew me closer, whispering "everything's fine. I'm here. It'll be ok" in my ear.
We laid there together for the next 45 minutes, neither awake nor asleep, both kind of in a trance. The bus jolted as it came to a stop. We got up and got off the bus.
As we entered the hotel, I was amazed at the lobby and pool area off to the side. The lobby was set up like a wood cabin filled with wild game and furs. The pool area, off to the right, was set up like an ocean beach in Hawaii, a tropical drink stand and tropical decorations everywhere. The hotel had 3 levels; all were centered around the open pool area. We went to our room, walking into the presidential suite, it was huge and magnificent. It had a mini-kitchen and 2 rooms off of the main setting area with the TV and video games. Billie had one bedroom and Tre had the other, while Mike was left with the pull-out bed in the couch. Each side room had a TV in it, so Billie took me to his room to watch TV.
There was nothing interesting on TV, so Billie pulled out his radio. He asked me what I wanted to listen to, so I said "honestly?"
"Yeah, anything you want!" BJ replied.
"Ok, I know this may be awkward, but I want to hear 'Extraordinary Girl'! It's one of my all-time favorite songs," I informed him.
"Really?" he asked, kind of shocked.
"Yeah, I absolutely love it," I said in a low voice.
"Well, we don't need this then," BJ said as he put his radio away and pulled out his guitar.
"You're really gonna play it for me? You would do that for me Billie Joe?" I asked, excited and shocked at the same time.
"Yeah, anything for an 'extraordinary girl'." he said as he started playing. I enjoyed every minute of it because we kept eye contact, and I knew he meant everything he said. When he was done, I applauded and thanked him, giving him a huge hug. "Why don't you play me something?" BJ asked.
"My instrument is at my house" I replied.
"My guitar isn't good enough?" Billie pouted.
"No, it's awesome! It's just. . . I don't play guitar, I play flute," I said shyly.
"Wow! I never would have thought of you playing flute!" Billie said, surprised.
"Yeah, my flute is my life. I am a total bandgeek. The only bad thing is that I only know how to play a flute," I said disappointed.
"Well, why don't we fix that then?" Billie suggested, pulling me on his lap. He asked if I wanted to learn how to play is guitar, and I said I would love to. He got his guitar and showed me how to hold it while my back is towards him while I'm on his lap. After 2 hours, of guitar lessons that day, I could play 3 notes. BJ said "Wow! Fast learner. I'm impressed." I gave a shy smile and looked away, embarrassed. Billie took his hand and put it under my chin, making me look at him. We made eye contact, and he kissed me gently. I smiled, so after seeing me smile, he smiled, happy that I was happy. I put my arms around his neck, as he put his arms around my waist. We just sat there holding each other, enjoying every minute of it.
After awhile, BJ asked me if I wanted to go get my flute at my mom's house. I agreed. We got in the black sports car he rented and took off. By now, it was 4:00 and I hadn't talked to my best friend Charlene since the day before. I pulled out my cell, and when BJ asked me who I was calling, I told him. "Oh," he said understandingly. I dialed her number and we talked for 15 minutes. I hung up as BJ pulled into my driveway. I was just about to get out when he asked "Do you have school tomorrow?"
"No, "I replied, confused, "school ended 3 weeks ago, and I already graduated. Why?"
"Good, grab any stuff you may need over the next few says." BJ told me.
"Ok," I replied excitedly. My mom wasn't home, so I used my house key to get in. I grabbed a few sets of clothes, my flute and sheet music, and all my CDs that I liked. I put all my stuff in my duffel bag and went back out to the car, where Billie Joe was waiting for me.
"So, did you get everything you need?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm all ready to go!" I replied excitedly.
"Good, would you mind not coming back here for awhile?" BJ asked nervously.
"I would love to get away from this place," I replied with relief.
"Would you like to stay with me for, I don't know, quite awhile?" he also asked nervously.
"Are you asking me to move in with you?" I asked, shocked.
"Yeah," he replied with a sigh.
"You know, I would love to move in with you! Finally, freedom from my parents. I'm gonna leave a note on the door, I'll be right back." I said, trying to contain my excitement. The note to my mom read "Mom, moved out. If you need me, call my cell. Tell dad I moved out. - Erica."
I ran back to the car, got in, and buckled my seat belt. BJ asked if I was ready to go, and I told him I was. Now, it was 4:45, and BJ suggested getting dinner, and I agreed that was a good idea. We stopped at a Coney Island, and ordered right away.
While we were waiting, Billie came over and sat by me. I really liked him, so I got a bit nervous. BJ looked over at me and asked, "Are you Ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" I replied, trying to hide the tremble in my voice.
"It just seemed like you tensed up when I sat by you, that's all ." he responded nonchalantly. After a few more minutes of silence, he asked if I was ok again.
"Honestly, I'm nervous as all hell" I said quite bluntly.
"Why? Because of me?" BJ quizzed me.
"Yeah," I shyly replied.
"You shouldn't be, it's just me."
"I know, that's why I'm nervous." I responded, even more shyly than before. I looked up at Billie Joe, who I knew was looking at me. We made eye contact, then Billie Joe kissed me. I smiled and blushed.
"Are you still nervous?" BJ asked me.
"I'm better," I laughed. I got butterflies in my stomach as he weaved his hand through mine for the first time. He looked at me and smiled, and of course I smiled back. Our food came and we ate. Half way through my Coney, I was getting full. I wanted to be polite, so I finished it. When we got done, I went to pay for my food, but Billie insisted on paying, so I let him.
We got in the car, when I thanked him for dinner. "No problem, I always love to pay for an amazing girl's dinner." I smiled and blushed. Now it was 6:00, and BJ asked me what I wanted to do.
"I still owe you a song on my flute, remember?" I reminded Billie.
"Oh yeah, why don't we go back to the hotel and you cam play me that song," he suggested.
"Ok, sounds great!" I said excitedly. We rode back to the hotel with the radio on, singing along to every song we knew.
When we got there, I grabbed my duffel bag from the back seat and we went to Billie's room. Billie and I walked in to see Mike and Tre playing video games. I dropped my duffel on the floor, startling them.
"Why the hell do you have that?" Mike asked me, confused. I turned to Billie, who explained to Mike and Tre that we would be sharing Billie's room. Mike and Tre agreed. I bent down to grab my stuff, but BJ took it before I could. I looked up and he smiled at me, so I smiled and thanked him.
We went in to Billie's, sorry, our, room to put my stuff away when Billie said "I had a great time tonight."
"So did I. I really enjoyed spending tome together," I couldn't believe what I had just said. 'He probably thinks I'm getting clingy' I thought to myself.
"Yeah, I enjoyed our time together too," Billie said, kind of glad I said something first. I searched my bag for my flute, music, and stand, and when I couldn't find them, I cursed loudly. Billie came over to help me find it, and he did. I put my flute and stand together, then I sat my sheet music on my stand. I warmed up with a few scales, then I asked Billie what kind of a song he wanted to hear.
"Hmmm. How about a march?" he replied thoughtfully. So I picked a march that didn't have many rests for the flute part and I played it. This was one of my favorite pieces. It was a few years old, so I could play it almost perfectly.
When I got done, Billie looked at me in amazement and told me "That was one of the best things I have ever heard!"
"Thank you!" I said, kind of embarrassed. Billie walked up to look at my music. Noticing my flute had no transposition to his guitar, he pulled it out and we played it together. Mike and Tre walked in, but we only noticed them after we were done, because they applauded like crazy. They told us how good we sound together, we thanked them and then they left.
BJ and I both agreed that we didn't want to play anything more, so we put our instruments away. I lay down on the bed, tired and thinking of the days events. BJ came up to me and lay beside me, then asked me what I was thinking. "I'm thinking this is the best day of my life," I told him, as I looked straight into his eyes.
Without breaking eye contact, "Yeah, mine too," he agreed. I smiled and snuggled closer to him. He held me, and I never wanted him to let go. We both fell asleep like that, full clothing, shoes still on, the whole 9 yards.
I awoke the next morning from my nightmare again. When I opened my eyes, Billie wasn't there. I got up and heard someone taking a shower, I figured it was BJ. I went into the kitchen to get something to drink, only to find BJ in his boxers searching the mini-fridge. "Morning," I said sleepily.
Startled, he turned around quickly and said "What the fuck? You scared the shit out of me!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to," I apologized.
"Ah, its ok, I forgive you" he said coolly. "Want something to drink while I'm in here?" he asked me.
"Sure, anything cold will do," I responded.
"Here, is flavored water OK?" he asked.
"Perfect," I said. He came and sat down next to me, handing me my water.
"You know what?" BJ asked me.
"What?" I answered curiously.
"I never got you a birthday present. Would you mind one now?" he asked me.
"You don't need to spend money on me. I've gotten the best birthday present of all, meeting you," I said.
"Well, tough, cause I got you something anyway," BJ said smiling. He handed me a bag with a card, which said "Happy belated birthday. I really hope you enjoyed it. Love, Billie Joe Armstrong" I thought 'how sweet', and I gave him a hug and said my birthday was wonderful.
"Come on, open it!" BJ shoved the bag towards me eagerly. I took out all the tissue paper to find "A beginner's guide to guitar" book, a mix CD he put together, an a framed photo of himself.
When I thought I had gotten everything, Billie pulled out a tiny box. I was now in even more shock than before, but I managed to grab a hold of the box and open it. I found a guitar pick on a silver chain. "That was the first pick I used when we recorded our first album and went on our first tour," Billie explained.
Almost crying, I gave him a huge hug and told him he shouldn't have.
"But I wanted to," Billie said to me.
"I know, but-" Billie cut me off with "take it, I REALLY want you to have it."
"OK," I finally agreed. BJ put the necklace on me and I promised that no matter what, I would never take it off.
"Good, this way I'll always be with you," he said happily while smiling. I told him that I was going to go take a shower and I would be out shortly. He said he'd have breakfast ready when I got out.
Sure enough, he did. He made omletts and toast. 'Damn,' I thought, 'he's an awesome cook,' and I told him so. "Thank you" he answered, gratified.
"Where's Mike and Tre?" I asked curiously.
"Oh, Mike is visiting with some relatives for the next few days and Tre's out with his girlfriend for awhile, who knows how long that could be?" he said sarcastically. "So we're here all by ourselves for the next few days, what do wanna do?" he asked.
"I'm not sure, but I do know I have rehearsal tonight. We're producing in 2 weeks." I responded, kind of worried.
"What are you talking about?" BJ asked, confused.
"Oh, sorry. I'm in a play at the city's institute of arts. We're producing the show in 2 weeks. We have rehearsal every 2 days," I informed him.
"Oh, do your parents know?" Billie asked, seemingly concerned.
"I don't know and I couldn't care less," I said.
"Oh, well, we have until what time to do something?" he asked.
"3:00-5:00 is rehearsal. You can come and watch it if you like," I said hopefully.
"Good. Wanna catch a movie or something?" he suggested.
"Sure, a movie sounds excellent!" I said excitedly.
"Lets go!" Billie said, as we left. We got to the theatre and he asked me what kind of movie I wanted to watch. He suggested a scary movie, so that's what we got. We got one large popcorn, and two medium drinks. We got in the actual theatre and the movie started right away. Half-way through the movie, BJ asked "Are you having fun?"
"Yeah, its awesome," I replied shyly.
"Good," he said, satisfied. He put his arm around me and pulled me close. Instinctively, I looked at him, and we made eye contact in the dark theatre. Just like usual when we made eye contact, he kissed me. But this was no ordinary kiss, this was a deep, passionate, understanding kiss. We both smiled when we were done, and we continued to watch the movie.
When it was over, it was time for my rehearsal. I gave him horrible directions, and when we finally got there, I apologized a million times.
"Don't worry, I can't give directions worth shit either," he laughed. After rehearsal, he told me I was wonderful. I thanked him and we drove back to the hotel.
When we got back to our room, I plopped down on the couch in exhaustion. BJ came over and picked my head up off the couch as he sat down, laying my head on his lap. "You know what?" he asked me out of the blue.
"What," I said.
"Can you sit up for a minute?"
"Yeah, sure," I said, sitting up.
"Here, come closer," he said, pulling me close.
"What?" I asked curiously.
'Wow, I'm actually going to say this' Billie Joe thought as he said "Erica, you're the most wonderful girl I have ever met. You're the first girl I'm going to say this to and actually mean it."
"What?" I said eager to hear what it was.
"Erica, I . . ., I love you," Billie Joe said, relieved.
"Oh, Billie Joe, I love you too," I said, also relieved to say something I had been holding back since we first kissed.
"Do you truly mean it?" BJ asked me nervously.
"Yeah, why?"
"Would you mind me proving how much I love you?" he wisped in my ear.
"No, not at all," I whispered back, knowing exactly what he meant and exactly what was going to happen. BJ picked me up and carried me to our bed, where he laid me down gently. Billie knew I was a virgin, I had told him and it was kind of obvious, seeing as he gave me my first kiss. But its ok, BJ knew how to handle it.
"BJ," I whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Be careful with me," I whispered while looking him straight in the eye.
"Don't worry, leave everything up to me, I'll be gentle," he reassured me. He continued to undress me. Billie kept it very simple, no fancy tricks or anything. He kissed me deep and long, and when just the right moment came, he stopped kissing me to see the reaction on my face. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, first at pain, then at enjoyment. He asked of I wanted him to stop, but I said no, please, keep going. Billie Joe kept his eyes on my face at all times, to see my reaction to everything, to know if he was hurting me or not.
A few hours later when everything was done and we were laying under the covers, BJ asked "Well, did you enjoy it?"
"Billie Joe Armstrong; that was. . . breathtaking. I wouldn't want to loose my virginity to anyone else but you," I turned to face him. Once again, we fell asleep in each others arms, satisfied. I had my nightmare again, except this time, Billie Joe was there at the end of the hallway, to catch me. I collapsed in his arms. He gently laid me down as he fought everybody coming towards us. He took me into an empty room and he locked the door. He laid me down and tended to me until everybody outside left. He found a rope ladder to go down the cliff with. We went down the rope ladder, with me on his back, piggy back style. We made it down safely, and that's when I woke up to movement from BJ.
I opened my eyes to see BJ getting up to take a shower. I sat up and he turned around, surprised I was up. We made eye contact, and I started crying. "What's wrong?" BJ asked, concerned.
"I had that dream again," I sobbed into his shoulder.
"Don't worry, it'll be ok, everything's alright," he comforted me.
"I know, this time, my dream was different," and I told him about the ending and how he saved me.
"Here, you lay here while I take a shower, I'll be back out in ten minutes, tops," he promised.
"OK," I said, trembling. It seemed more like hours, but when he came back out, he got dressed and came over and sat by me. I sat up and thanked him.
"For what?" BJ asked gently.
"For saving me. You got me out of my parents reach, and along with me graduating, nobody can torture and hurt me anymore," I explained.
"No problem, babe. If it helps you, I'll do it," he said soothingly, as he pulled me on his lap to give me a hug. BJ told me to go take a shower, we're going somewhere special.
After I got out of the shower, BJ had my clothes laid out on the bed. I was almost dressed, I had everything on except my shirt, when BJ came in and scared the shit out of me by coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck. I turned around and kissed him, when I stopped to tell him I had to get finished getting ready.
"Why get dressed when your clothes are gonna come right back off again?" BJ said playfully. I giggled as BJ laid me down and took off my pants. This time, BJ led me playfully, not as serious as last night. 20 minutes later, we got dressed, again. After that, we went to the kitchen for some breakfast, which was cereal.
He told me, after we ate, to grab my purse and head down to the car, where he'd meet me. When he finally got in, he had my flute and music and his guitar.
"What are you doing with those?" I asked, confused.
"You'll see," he led me on. Billie started the car and we left. After 20 minutes of driving, we were at a corporate building, where Billie handed me my flute and music when we got out, and he grabbed his guitar.
"Where are we?" I asked Billie, taking his hand in mine.
"We are at a recording studio," Billie looked at me and replied.
"Why?" I asked confused.
"Well, I thought we sounded awesome the other night, so I called my producer and set a few things up," Billie said, excitedly.
"Ok," I said, still kind of shocked. We walked in to meet BJ's producer, who wanted to hear us, so he brought us to a sound room. We played the march, just like before. When we were done, the producer asked if we could play something more concert-like, so I picked out an overture. We played that and when we were done, the producer was in total shock. "That was amazing!" he said. Billie went and talked to him for a minute, then he called me over.
"Hey babe, would you mind recording a song with Green Day?" Billie asked.
"No, of course not, I would love it!" I excitedly responded.
"Excellent!," BJ said to me, "We'll talk more later, right now I'm kind of busy," BJ told his producer.
"OK, how about a few months, will that be ok?"
"Yeah, sure," BJ replied as we walked out.
"Well, Erica, you're going to be on the next Green Day album, how does it feel?" BJ jokingly asked as we got into the car.
"It's absolutely wonderful!" I replied as I buckled in. I had a grin on my face the whole drive home. That night, once again, we fell asleep cuddling together on the couch watching TV.
2 WEEKS LATER:
"You'll be great, don't worry," BJ soothed as I was extremely nervous and shaking before my play performance. I had full costume and make up on, nervous as all hell, and other than that, I was ready to go. You would think that after eight years of band concerts, this would be a breeze. But if I screwed up, I couldn't blame it on anybody else, like you can in band concerts.
I went on stage, said my lines perfectly and did exactly what I was supposed to, while BJ watched from backstage. After the one scene I was in, I left the stage and went to BJ who said I was awesome, just like he had done for the last three performances. He held me and comforted me. I got back on stage for curtain call, and after the black out, I went to take everything off.
Like usual, the girls dressing room was packed, so I hurried and got undressed and left. I found BJ waiting for me on stage, "Why didn't you take your make-up off this time?" he asked curiously.
"Too many people, and I was starting to feel claustrophobic," I replied tiredly. We exited backstage, only to find my dad standing there, waiting for me.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, aggravated.
"What does it matter? What's with all the make-up, you look like a hooker," he said, slurred. I could tell he was drunk.
"The stage lights bleach your face, so you have to put on extra make-up to look normal and not bleached out," I said coolly.
"Bull shit!" my dad yelled, coming closer to BJ and I, "it does not you lying bitch!"
"What right do you have to say anything about it? You leave for three years and expect to come back controlling what I do?" I asked pissed off.
"Yeah, I'm still your dad," he said with authority.
"No, you're a father. Dads don't kick their kids out for being themselves and not talk to their kids in three fucking years!!" I said, even more pissed.
"You will listen to me, damn it!" my father demanded.
"Back off!" Billie jumped in.
"Who the hell are you?" my father asked.
"I'm her boyfriend and you can back off and leave her alone. She doesn't need you. As a matter of fact, she doesn't even want you around!" Billie Joe defended me.
"Who are you to talk to me like that?" my father demanded.
"I'm protecting my girlfriend, which is the love of my life, from her father who only gives a rat's ass when it's convenient for him," BJ responded.
"Why," my father said, coming at Billie. I jumped in front of him, taking the blow to the face. My father looked at what he had just done and ran off.
"Oh my god!" Billie said, very concerned.
"BJ, don't go after him, he doesn't know where I live, remember?" I told BJ softly.
"Yeah, I remember. No offense or anything, but your dad really is a jackass who needs to get a life," BJ said as he picked me up and carried me out to the car, where he pulled out his first aid kit and fixed the cut and bruise on my face.
"Why did you do that, this injury could have been worse?" BJ asked.
"I couldn't stand the thought of him destroying something else I loved," I replied weakly. BJ looked straight into my eyes, then he gently kissed me. I winced at my busted lip.
"Oh, I'm sorry," BJ said apologetically.
"It's OK, I'll go through anything to get a kiss from you," I said as I smiled. BJ smiled back, then he started the car. We left and arrived at the hotel that night around 9:00 pm. BJ carried me into the hotel, then into our bed. Once again, he apologized. "It's ok, and, thank you," I said shyly.
"For what?" BJ asked, confused.
"For defending me. You don't know how much that meant to me. You also don't know how long it's been since someone defended me," I responded.
"Well, anything for my 'extraordinary girl'" he replied with a smile. BJ called me that ever since I asked him to play "Extraordinary Girl" for me. Anyway, I was tired, so I got undressed and put on my PJ's. While BJ was in the bathroom, I laid down on top of the covers, falling asleep almost instantly. BJ came in and put the covers over me, and he changed himself and crawled under the blankets. He fell asleep with his arms around my waist.
6 MONTHS LATER:
"That was great crew," the producer said through the mike. We were recording the next Green Day record, with my flute solo in one of the songs. BJ took me back to California, where we got an apartment together. I was finally happy, and with this flute solo, I was getting paid good money. For once in my life, I didn't have to stretch pennies to make ends meet.
Anyway, Billie successfully taught me how to play guitar, so for our six month anniversary, he got me a red and black guitar, while I got him a new gold and silver watch. Anyway, we were doing OK, and I did my damndest to forget my past, which I did.
BJ told me we were going on a vacation, so I picked a few outfits to go, and packed my bags after we got home from the studio.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"You'll see once we get there," he responded playfully. We put our stuff in the taxi and went to the airport. BJ got our tickets and we boarded the plane. We landed a while later. BJ got a rental car and we found a hotel.
"Where are we?" I asked, whiney and pleading.
"You'll see, once I take you where I want to." We got in our room, put our bags down, and Billie dragged me back out again, locking the door behind him. We got in the car, and he told me to close my eyes for about 5 minutes. When I was told to open them, I got he 2nd surprise of my life.
I was at the park with the river where Billie Joe and I really started talking. "Come on, lets go," BJ ushered me politely. As 2nd nature, I went to the theatre-pavilion and sat down.
"Hey Erica, remember what you said to me last time we were here together?" BJ asked me quietly in my ear.
"Yeah, I said this is the place I go to get away from everything, why?" I asked confused.
"Well, then I was wondering what 'everything' was. Even though I didn't know, I had an instinct that you weren't like any other girl. You were special, and I was right. Now I know what 'everything' is, and you know what?" BJ asked me
"What?" I curiously asked.
"I still feel the same way about you now then I did back then. Some relationships loose important things over time, but not this one. I still love you now like I loved you when I first kissed you," BJ told me, while looking deeply into my eyes.
"Really, BJ? You mean it?" I asked softly.
"Yeah, every word," BJ replied. I gave him a hug, and he pulled me onto his lap. We held each other for a little while until Billie told me to get up. Confused, I stood up. BJ reached in his pocket and pulled out a tiny box, and got on one knee. Right then, I knew what was happening.
"Erica Ann Taylor, will you give me the honor of becoming my wife?" Billie looked up, smiling.
I had started to cry, but I managed "Billie Joe Armstrong, I would gladly marry you!" Billie slid the diamond engagement ring on my finger and stood up to hug me. He held me until In stopped crying, when he looked looked straight into my eyes and kissed me deeply.
"I wanted to do this somewhere meaningful, and I couldn't think of a better place, now you can have a happy memory here," Billie explained.
"Oh, Billie, its perfect!" I said shakily.
"Great," Billie smiled. Billie led me back to the car, then he drove to the hotel. We got in and BJ picked me up and carried me to the bed, and gently laid me down. I unbuttoned his shirt, and he unzipped my hoodie. After he had undressed me, he kissed me long and deep.
"Billie, do you remember the first time we did it?" I asked
"Yeah, it was your first time so you asked me to be careful, so I was. I tried to keep it simple, why?" Billie answered quietly, stopping to look me in the eye.
"Well, I still have the anticipation and adreniline rush every time we do it, just like our first time," I replied, smiling.
"Good," BJ smiled and kept going.
Hours later, Billie asked me if I was satisfied.
"Very, and again, it was breathtaking, just like our first time," I looked over and smiled.
BJ pulled me closer and noticed I still had his guitar pick around my neck, so he asked, "Have you ever taken that thing off?" pointing to the pick around my neck.
"No, I wanted you to be with me always. I told you, I'll never take it off," I smiled and blushed.
Billie smiled back and said, "Well, I'll always be with you in the flesh now."
"But I'm still never going to take the necklace off," I said as I closed my eyes and fell asleep with Billie Joe holding me close.
1 YEAR LATER:
"Oh my god, Billie! There are a million people out there!" I said nervously as I was getting ready to go on stage with BJ, Tre, and Mike. We were on tour for the album we just put out, with my flute solo and some of my guitar playing.
Billie, Mike, and Tre went on stage and played a few songs before Billie introduced me with "OK, will you give my wife, of 6 months ago, a big round of applause. She is, and always be, the love of my life, ERICA ANN ARMSTRONG!!"
The crowd went wild as I entered with my flute, that I had had since 5th grade, and my guitar that BJ got me. We played our song-including my flute solo- and when we were done, the crowd went even wilder than before. In the next few songs, I played Billie's guitar (I loved playing his guitar instead of my own) while he played mine. I took the pick off my necklace and started using it. BJ looked up and saw me, and smiled, satisfied. At the very end, we thanked everybody for coming and left the stage.
"Wow, that was amazing," I said exausted.
"Yeah, I know, but you made it even better," BJ said to me while kissing my sweaty neck.
"You know, I really love my new life with you," I said, meaning it.
"Me too, and with you in it, its absolutely amazing!" BJ smiled and looked me in the eyes.
