Cricket, chapter 13
Marcus and Kiefer sat on the couch watching some fucked up game show.
"Dude you're gonna lose very last penny," Marcus said to the TV.
"Marcus, y'know that only BLACK people win these," Kiefer said as seriously as he could, trying not to laugh.
"And only white guys win the white girls if they win their white hearts," Marcus countered. Kiefer looked at him weird.
"One, I was joking. And two, are you talking about GAMESHOWS?"
"It is a fucking gameshow, Kiefer."
"What? What the hell are you talking about?"
"With gameshows, you gotta be the smarter one if you want the prize. And Kiefer, I know you want that prize."
"I don't want money Marcus. My life is perfect enough for me. Cash doesn't make me happy or sad or anything at all."
"I ain't talkin' bout money."
Kiefer eyed him.
"Marcus?" he began, sitting up straight with a suspicious tone in his voice.
"Yes?"
"I'm beginning to think you're up to something."
"Am I? Do I need to be?"
"What the hell?"
"Kiefer I know when you are hiding something. You can tell me. Are you lying?"
"Course not!"
"I knew it," Marcus muttered. Kiefer shook his head. He hated himself for saying 'course not'. That was everyone's way of finding out if he was lying or not.
"Marcus, I..."
"I knew something was up, dude. Just cause I'm black don't mean I'm stupid. It's not like I'm the Nazi Mullet Man! I'm just a black guy with a mohawk. Now tell me."
"Y'know, you're REALLY annoying when you wanna be!"
"How d'you think I get my juicy gossip, Hothead?"
"Cause you're black," Kiefer mumbled, trying to avoid the subject. Marcus grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.
"I am good like that, huh? Thanks Kief. I'm blushing," Marcus bragged.
Kiefer sighed with relief.
"I'M GOOD, LIKE THOSE MORMONS, KIEFER. I'm huggable too. I LOVE Mormons." Kiefer's stomach did a quick flip. Marcus had guessed.
"Marcus is this conversation going ANYWHERE, cause I'm starting to..."
"...Get pissed off at me because I think you still have the hots for Christina? Well that's where this conversation IS going Kiefer. And I hate to break it to ya, buddy, but she only likes you as a friend!" Marcus said pissed-off-ly.
Kiefer bit his lip painfully and said nothing. Marcus, realizing how sensitive Kiefer was to this stuff, looked down at his feet.
"Damn Kiefer. I'm sorry man. I didn't mean that. What I meant was that I know you love her, but you gotta wait. High school couples don't usually last that long, so you probably got a chance. Y'know? I had a girl once, her name was Ashleigh. Boy, was she awesome. I wanted her by my side my whole life. I wanted her to marry me, she wanted to marry me. I thought we were always gonna be there for each other ALWAYS. Then she left me for some football dude. Damn, I loved her so fucking much, but she left me and y'know what? She moved on, I moved on, and we're both happy."
Kiefer stared at him suspiciously.
"Didn't you only know that girl for only a day when we all went to John Swett for that football game?" Kiefer snorted.
"SHUT UP, MAN! But, Kiefer, the point is that if YOU don't get Christina, you'll get a girl a gazillion times better."
"If I only had the nerve," Kiefer began to sing.
"NO WAY MAN! I'M OUTTA HERE!!!" Marcus shouted, covering his ears. "No Wizard of Oz here! La la la! ICE ICE BABY! Leave me alone!"
* * *
Billie and Christina were walking home from the hill, hand in hand. He smiled. If something was hurting him, only Christina could fix it. His eyes were red and puffy from crying. He shook his head and sighed. He missed his dad. If he had one wish, he'd wish to have his dad back. Sadly, this wasn't a movie or a TV show. This was real life. Which meant that Andy was gone for good.
He began shivering. Christina felt this and slipped her arms around his waist.
"You cold baby?"
"Naw."
"You ok?"
"Yaw."
"Billie I know it hurts. I really do. But please, for you and your dad, think of the good times you shared."
Billie's eyes widened.
...He and his dad had gone fishing. After a while, Billie's line went taut. He tried reeling it in, but instead fell into the water. Andy dived in to help, and once they caught the fish, they discovered that it wasn't a fish. It was a tire! When the two had come home, drenched from head to toe, Ollie had asked them what they caught. Billie and Andy grinned and proudly showed her their tire.
Billie couldn't help but laugh. It was so stupid, but so special to him because it was the most vivid he could remember.
...Billie ran into his father's arms after being beaten mercilessly at school. After he asked what's wrong, Billie spilled his guts. Two girls had beaten him up because they were "in love" with him.
"Y'know what, Billie boy?" Andy had said.
"What?"
"Never underestimate the power of a woman."
Billie smiled. He looked at his girlfriend lovingly and kissed her tenderly. Christina smiled back. They approached Billie's house.
"Well I guess I should go," Christina muttered unenthusiastically.
"No, no. You can stay for as long as you want. You're always welcome in my house."
Christina smiled.
"Always?" she asked.
Billie fell to his knees and stared up at her with puppy-dog eyes, cradling her hand gently in his own.
"Please stay? I already lost one person I loved tonight," he asked sadly, holding his hand out to her.
"Oh, how can I resist that face, Billie Joe Armstrong?" she sighed, grinning as she took his hand. Billie squealed with delight and kissed her.
"C'mon, baby!"
They walked inside. Everything was dark. On the counter was a note.
Billie:
Your father and I have gone out. We'll be back tomorrow while you're at school.
xxx Mom
Billie's eyes lit up with anger. Truthfully, Christina was kinda scared when she saw this.
"He..." Billie snarled quietly. "Is...not..."
Christina gazed up at him fearfully, hugging him tighter.
"...MY FUCKING FATHER!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. He let go of Christina and stormed up to his room. He threw himself onto his bed and sobbed into the pillow.
Christina crept up the stairs and into his room silently. Even from downstairs, she could hear him sobbing. It broke her heart to see Billie in this state. She rubbed his back comfortingly and he seemed to relax a bit, but he still looked awful.
"Billie..."
"SHE MARRIED THAT BASTARD! OUT OF EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WHOLE FUCKING WORLD, SHE HAD TO MARRY HIM !"
"Shit, Billie."
"It's like they both are trying to replace Dad. I hate it."
"Y'know they can't do that. No one can ever replace him, no matter how hard they try or how seriously they believe they have," Christina said. "And I think I know exactly what would make you feel better."
She kissed him, and he kissed her back, for a long time. They were laying together, Christina wrapped in Billie's arms. Silently, they just gazed up at the ceiling, thinking about God-knows-what. Then, Christina suddenly jumped away from his grasp and turned her back on him.
"Baby?" he muttered bewilderedly.
She reached into her pocket and fumbled through it for a few seconds before pulling out something that surprised Billie.
"A CONDOM? You were carrying this all along?"
"Thought we might need it Billie. You've waited till I was ready. And I really appreciate it. So I'll give you what you want."
Billie smiled at her, appreciative of her offer. Without saying a word, he took her in his arms and brought her upstairs.
* * *
"BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG?"
"Who...where...are you?" Billie muttered. He found himself backing into a wall. He was cornered by whoever, whatever it was.
A figure clothed in white approached him. Billie squinted, blinded by the light it emitted.
"DAD!?"
"Yessir," the figure said. He outstretched his arms. Billie grinned and ran into Andy's arms, nearly knocking him over.
"Dad, I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too buddy boy."
"You haven't been with me?" Billie's face fell.
"Course I have!" Andy chuckled. "But I'm a spirit! You just don't acknowledge me!"
"Dad, so, y'know everything that's happened since...?"
"Yup."
"I've always wanted this opportunity, Dad. To talk to you. To be with you."
"Same here, buddy."
Andy drew Billie into a big hug. After a long silence, Andy smiled and ruffled his son's hair.
"You're a senior in high school now. Wow, I can't believe it."
"Yeah, but I think I'm gonna drop out."
"Sweet Children?"
"How'd you know?" Billie asked.
"Billie, who's the all-knowing dead guy here?" Andy chuckled.
"Dad, you think it's a good idea?"
"I say go for it. I can see success. Hell, in a few days, I bet ol' Larry Livermore's gonna come knockin' on your door to offer you a record deal."
"Isn't Larry the guy who owns Lookout! Records?" Billie asked. "He's Tre's neighbor, too, isn't he?"
"That's the one," his father assured him.
Billie sighed. Another silence followed, another peaceful moment of him bathing in his father's love, just absorbing the warmth of his love into his shaken heart, trying to make up for the seven years lost.
"Billie, you don't know how proud I am of you."
"I make you proud cause I love you Dad. I still don't know how I got on without you."
"Don't worry bout me, son. I'm happy. Well, it would be much better if we were all together, but hey. It'll happen." Andy smiled.
"Yeah."
Billie closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
"Dad?"
"Yes?"
"If you can tell the past, can you see the future too?"
"Yup. When I need to, cause it's like fast-forwarding a movie."
"What am I gonna be like?" Billie asked, his eyes shining with excitement.
Andy chuckled. "You're gonna love it, son. As long as you don't screw up."
"So what am I like?"
"I'll let you find that out for yourself."
Suddenly, a low whistle sounded in the distance, and Andy sadly looked away. Billie hugged himself closer to his dad and tried to drown out the whistle, not wanting to know what the whistle was for.
"Dad?" he murmured, clutching Andy's shirt.
"Billie Joe," Andy hushed him. "Make me proud, son."
"DAD? W-w-where...?"
"I gotta go. Make me proud."
Billie's beautiful green eyes became clouded with confusion and fear... He began to shiver.
"Dad, don't leave me. Please, I need you," he muttered. "I'm still pretty much a kid."
"Son," Andy sighed, putting his hand on Billie's shoulder. "I know you'll make me proud. Here, just so you remember." And he placed a guitar pick necklace in his hand.
Billie watched painfully as his dad began to fade away and the whistle growing louder.
"Dad! No! Don't leave!" Billie cried out. He found himself unable to move, to stand up and go after Andy. A veil of darkness began to form around his eyes. He kept calling out for Andy before his throat began to hurt and he blacked out.
* * *
"Billie?" a soft voice awakened him.
"No! No! Huh? What? Where am I?" Billie groaned. He rubbed his eyes and gazed up at a concerned Christina.
"You were mumbling and shivering really bad. You ok, Bill?"
Billie didn't say anything. He just turned back into his pillow and kept one hand on the back of his head. Christina knew better than to force it out of him, so she just played with his hair lovingly.
"Do you wanna hug?" she asked. She saw his head move up and down slowly. Before she could blink an eye, he had laid his head on her shoulder. His eyes were shadowy, almost closed, and he had a stone-cold expression on his face. His arms wrapped slowly around her shoulders and he sighed defeatedly.
That's when he felt something begin to slide out of his hand. He glanced down at his hand, just out of curiosity. Then he drew back suddenly from Christina, worrying her more.
She stared at him, trying to figure out why he was like this. He must've had a really weird dream. He had his back turned to her and was staring into his hands.
"Billie? What is it?" she finally asked. He turned to her, silently, and opened his clenched fist. In it was a guitar pick necklace.
"Dude you're gonna lose very last penny," Marcus said to the TV.
"Marcus, y'know that only BLACK people win these," Kiefer said as seriously as he could, trying not to laugh.
"And only white guys win the white girls if they win their white hearts," Marcus countered. Kiefer looked at him weird.
"One, I was joking. And two, are you talking about GAMESHOWS?"
"It is a fucking gameshow, Kiefer."
"What? What the hell are you talking about?"
"With gameshows, you gotta be the smarter one if you want the prize. And Kiefer, I know you want that prize."
"I don't want money Marcus. My life is perfect enough for me. Cash doesn't make me happy or sad or anything at all."
"I ain't talkin' bout money."
Kiefer eyed him.
"Marcus?" he began, sitting up straight with a suspicious tone in his voice.
"Yes?"
"I'm beginning to think you're up to something."
"Am I? Do I need to be?"
"What the hell?"
"Kiefer I know when you are hiding something. You can tell me. Are you lying?"
"Course not!"
"I knew it," Marcus muttered. Kiefer shook his head. He hated himself for saying 'course not'. That was everyone's way of finding out if he was lying or not.
"Marcus, I..."
"I knew something was up, dude. Just cause I'm black don't mean I'm stupid. It's not like I'm the Nazi Mullet Man! I'm just a black guy with a mohawk. Now tell me."
"Y'know, you're REALLY annoying when you wanna be!"
"How d'you think I get my juicy gossip, Hothead?"
"Cause you're black," Kiefer mumbled, trying to avoid the subject. Marcus grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.
"I am good like that, huh? Thanks Kief. I'm blushing," Marcus bragged.
Kiefer sighed with relief.
"I'M GOOD, LIKE THOSE MORMONS, KIEFER. I'm huggable too. I LOVE Mormons." Kiefer's stomach did a quick flip. Marcus had guessed.
"Marcus is this conversation going ANYWHERE, cause I'm starting to..."
"...Get pissed off at me because I think you still have the hots for Christina? Well that's where this conversation IS going Kiefer. And I hate to break it to ya, buddy, but she only likes you as a friend!" Marcus said pissed-off-ly.
Kiefer bit his lip painfully and said nothing. Marcus, realizing how sensitive Kiefer was to this stuff, looked down at his feet.
"Damn Kiefer. I'm sorry man. I didn't mean that. What I meant was that I know you love her, but you gotta wait. High school couples don't usually last that long, so you probably got a chance. Y'know? I had a girl once, her name was Ashleigh. Boy, was she awesome. I wanted her by my side my whole life. I wanted her to marry me, she wanted to marry me. I thought we were always gonna be there for each other ALWAYS. Then she left me for some football dude. Damn, I loved her so fucking much, but she left me and y'know what? She moved on, I moved on, and we're both happy."
Kiefer stared at him suspiciously.
"Didn't you only know that girl for only a day when we all went to John Swett for that football game?" Kiefer snorted.
"SHUT UP, MAN! But, Kiefer, the point is that if YOU don't get Christina, you'll get a girl a gazillion times better."
"If I only had the nerve," Kiefer began to sing.
"NO WAY MAN! I'M OUTTA HERE!!!" Marcus shouted, covering his ears. "No Wizard of Oz here! La la la! ICE ICE BABY! Leave me alone!"
* * *
Billie and Christina were walking home from the hill, hand in hand. He smiled. If something was hurting him, only Christina could fix it. His eyes were red and puffy from crying. He shook his head and sighed. He missed his dad. If he had one wish, he'd wish to have his dad back. Sadly, this wasn't a movie or a TV show. This was real life. Which meant that Andy was gone for good.
He began shivering. Christina felt this and slipped her arms around his waist.
"You cold baby?"
"Naw."
"You ok?"
"Yaw."
"Billie I know it hurts. I really do. But please, for you and your dad, think of the good times you shared."
Billie's eyes widened.
...He and his dad had gone fishing. After a while, Billie's line went taut. He tried reeling it in, but instead fell into the water. Andy dived in to help, and once they caught the fish, they discovered that it wasn't a fish. It was a tire! When the two had come home, drenched from head to toe, Ollie had asked them what they caught. Billie and Andy grinned and proudly showed her their tire.
Billie couldn't help but laugh. It was so stupid, but so special to him because it was the most vivid he could remember.
...Billie ran into his father's arms after being beaten mercilessly at school. After he asked what's wrong, Billie spilled his guts. Two girls had beaten him up because they were "in love" with him.
"Y'know what, Billie boy?" Andy had said.
"What?"
"Never underestimate the power of a woman."
Billie smiled. He looked at his girlfriend lovingly and kissed her tenderly. Christina smiled back. They approached Billie's house.
"Well I guess I should go," Christina muttered unenthusiastically.
"No, no. You can stay for as long as you want. You're always welcome in my house."
Christina smiled.
"Always?" she asked.
Billie fell to his knees and stared up at her with puppy-dog eyes, cradling her hand gently in his own.
"Please stay? I already lost one person I loved tonight," he asked sadly, holding his hand out to her.
"Oh, how can I resist that face, Billie Joe Armstrong?" she sighed, grinning as she took his hand. Billie squealed with delight and kissed her.
"C'mon, baby!"
They walked inside. Everything was dark. On the counter was a note.
Billie:
Your father and I have gone out. We'll be back tomorrow while you're at school.
xxx Mom
Billie's eyes lit up with anger. Truthfully, Christina was kinda scared when she saw this.
"He..." Billie snarled quietly. "Is...not..."
Christina gazed up at him fearfully, hugging him tighter.
"...MY FUCKING FATHER!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. He let go of Christina and stormed up to his room. He threw himself onto his bed and sobbed into the pillow.
Christina crept up the stairs and into his room silently. Even from downstairs, she could hear him sobbing. It broke her heart to see Billie in this state. She rubbed his back comfortingly and he seemed to relax a bit, but he still looked awful.
"Billie..."
"SHE MARRIED THAT BASTARD! OUT OF EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WHOLE FUCKING WORLD, SHE HAD TO MARRY HIM !"
"Shit, Billie."
"It's like they both are trying to replace Dad. I hate it."
"Y'know they can't do that. No one can ever replace him, no matter how hard they try or how seriously they believe they have," Christina said. "And I think I know exactly what would make you feel better."
She kissed him, and he kissed her back, for a long time. They were laying together, Christina wrapped in Billie's arms. Silently, they just gazed up at the ceiling, thinking about God-knows-what. Then, Christina suddenly jumped away from his grasp and turned her back on him.
"Baby?" he muttered bewilderedly.
She reached into her pocket and fumbled through it for a few seconds before pulling out something that surprised Billie.
"A CONDOM? You were carrying this all along?"
"Thought we might need it Billie. You've waited till I was ready. And I really appreciate it. So I'll give you what you want."
Billie smiled at her, appreciative of her offer. Without saying a word, he took her in his arms and brought her upstairs.
* * *
"BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG?"
"Who...where...are you?" Billie muttered. He found himself backing into a wall. He was cornered by whoever, whatever it was.
A figure clothed in white approached him. Billie squinted, blinded by the light it emitted.
"DAD!?"
"Yessir," the figure said. He outstretched his arms. Billie grinned and ran into Andy's arms, nearly knocking him over.
"Dad, I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too buddy boy."
"You haven't been with me?" Billie's face fell.
"Course I have!" Andy chuckled. "But I'm a spirit! You just don't acknowledge me!"
"Dad, so, y'know everything that's happened since...?"
"Yup."
"I've always wanted this opportunity, Dad. To talk to you. To be with you."
"Same here, buddy."
Andy drew Billie into a big hug. After a long silence, Andy smiled and ruffled his son's hair.
"You're a senior in high school now. Wow, I can't believe it."
"Yeah, but I think I'm gonna drop out."
"Sweet Children?"
"How'd you know?" Billie asked.
"Billie, who's the all-knowing dead guy here?" Andy chuckled.
"Dad, you think it's a good idea?"
"I say go for it. I can see success. Hell, in a few days, I bet ol' Larry Livermore's gonna come knockin' on your door to offer you a record deal."
"Isn't Larry the guy who owns Lookout! Records?" Billie asked. "He's Tre's neighbor, too, isn't he?"
"That's the one," his father assured him.
Billie sighed. Another silence followed, another peaceful moment of him bathing in his father's love, just absorbing the warmth of his love into his shaken heart, trying to make up for the seven years lost.
"Billie, you don't know how proud I am of you."
"I make you proud cause I love you Dad. I still don't know how I got on without you."
"Don't worry bout me, son. I'm happy. Well, it would be much better if we were all together, but hey. It'll happen." Andy smiled.
"Yeah."
Billie closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
"Dad?"
"Yes?"
"If you can tell the past, can you see the future too?"
"Yup. When I need to, cause it's like fast-forwarding a movie."
"What am I gonna be like?" Billie asked, his eyes shining with excitement.
Andy chuckled. "You're gonna love it, son. As long as you don't screw up."
"So what am I like?"
"I'll let you find that out for yourself."
Suddenly, a low whistle sounded in the distance, and Andy sadly looked away. Billie hugged himself closer to his dad and tried to drown out the whistle, not wanting to know what the whistle was for.
"Dad?" he murmured, clutching Andy's shirt.
"Billie Joe," Andy hushed him. "Make me proud, son."
"DAD? W-w-where...?"
"I gotta go. Make me proud."
Billie's beautiful green eyes became clouded with confusion and fear... He began to shiver.
"Dad, don't leave me. Please, I need you," he muttered. "I'm still pretty much a kid."
"Son," Andy sighed, putting his hand on Billie's shoulder. "I know you'll make me proud. Here, just so you remember." And he placed a guitar pick necklace in his hand.
Billie watched painfully as his dad began to fade away and the whistle growing louder.
"Dad! No! Don't leave!" Billie cried out. He found himself unable to move, to stand up and go after Andy. A veil of darkness began to form around his eyes. He kept calling out for Andy before his throat began to hurt and he blacked out.
* * *
"Billie?" a soft voice awakened him.
"No! No! Huh? What? Where am I?" Billie groaned. He rubbed his eyes and gazed up at a concerned Christina.
"You were mumbling and shivering really bad. You ok, Bill?"
Billie didn't say anything. He just turned back into his pillow and kept one hand on the back of his head. Christina knew better than to force it out of him, so she just played with his hair lovingly.
"Do you wanna hug?" she asked. She saw his head move up and down slowly. Before she could blink an eye, he had laid his head on her shoulder. His eyes were shadowy, almost closed, and he had a stone-cold expression on his face. His arms wrapped slowly around her shoulders and he sighed defeatedly.
That's when he felt something begin to slide out of his hand. He glanced down at his hand, just out of curiosity. Then he drew back suddenly from Christina, worrying her more.
She stared at him, trying to figure out why he was like this. He must've had a really weird dream. He had his back turned to her and was staring into his hands.
"Billie? What is it?" she finally asked. He turned to her, silently, and opened his clenched fist. In it was a guitar pick necklace.
