They Changed My Life, chapter 2

Billie Joe twiddled with his guitar nervously. I could tell that he wanted to play good tonight; there was a rumor going around that there was a record company guy in the crowd.

"You guys'll do fine-don't worry," I reassured him.

He shrugged, fingers still working at the strings. Tré asked me where Erin was, but before I got a chance to answer, Green Day was being introduced. I went back to Billie Joe and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Good luck!" I shouted over the amplified voice.
"I'm gonna need more luck than that," he said as he pulled me close and gave me a kiss on the lips.

"Go on!" I said, pushing him away after a moment. "You guys go kill them!"
The guys ran out, riling up the crowd. You could tell they were a favorite, the way the crowd cheered. Billie Joe grinned, and then put his hands up in a quieting gesture.

"Okay, kids," he started. "This is a new song I wrote about a new, special person in my life, and I hope you guys like it! Here goes. One Thousand Hours."
After the opening notes, Billie began to sing in his beautiful voice. "Starlit night/ The moon is shining bright/ You are the one that I need..."

The crowd went nuts, loving the song. The energy that radiated off the stage was amazing; definitely no other band that played there that night held a candle to it. Billie Joe smiled at me, and I gave him a huge grin. He knew exactly how to make me feel special, and I loved that about him.

When the song ended, the crowd went wild, cheering like mad. I gave Mike a thumbs-up sign when he looked over at me. You could tell that the band loved that the fans loved their music. They played more songs, mostly stuff off of their EPs, but some new stuff, too, like the song they played for me the first time I heard them practice, "Welcome To Paradise," which got everyone dancing.
When they came off the stage, sweaty, but pleased with their performance, I threw myself into Billie Joe's arms.

"When did you find the time to write that?" I asked.
"A good magician never tells his secrets," he informed me.
A gave him a puzzled look, and Tré told me, "I always say that Bill's song writing is the closest thing to magic you'll ever see. Ya' know... magic, magician?"
I laughed as a man with dark glasses came up to Billie Joe and tapped him on the shoulder.
"You guys are Green Day, right?"
Billie Joe nodded, favoring the guy with a smile.
The guy whipped off his glasses and pumped Billie Joe's hand. "That's wonderful! You guys were great! Lots of energy, good music-I like it!" he proclaimed enthusiastically.
Still smiling, Billie said, "Hey, that's cool. We're glad you liked it!" Mike and Tré nodded.
"Well, I liked you guys so much, I want to sign you a record deal. I'm from Reprise."

Everyone's mouth dropped open.
"Are you're serious? I mean-you're not just fucking with us, are you?" asked Mike.
The guy grinned good-naturedly. "Nope-I'm the real deal. By the way-I'm Rob Cavallo. And you are?"

Everyone introduced themselves excitedly. Rick took the guys to the bar to talk, and Erin and Jess came up to me. As the foursome walked away, I heard Billie inform Rob that they were going to be a great band. I smiled.
"What's going on? They buying drugs?" Jess asked.

I was still in a daze, staring at Rick's back. I was finally snapped out of my stupor by a tug on the hair by Erin.
"Just a bit spacey," she said, grinning. "What's going on?"
I glanced back over. "You see that guy right there?" I asked, pointing. "Well, he's from Reprise. He wants to sign the guys a record deal."
The girls' mouths dropped. "Are. You. Serious?" Erin demanded.
I laughed, and we slapped our hands together. The guys walked back about thirty/forty-five minutes later, their faces split into grins.
"Well?" I pressed. Bill answered by sweeping me into a giant hug.
"Reprise!" he shouted joyously. "A record deal with Reprise!"

After Erin and Tré shared a triumphant kiss, and Mike and Jess high-fived. After the excitement died down, Mike looked at us with a serious expression on his face.

"Before we do anything, though, I want to check this guy out-make sure he's really from Reprise." What he said made sense. We all went into the pit then, to listen to the current band.

Several bruises and drinks later, we went to the small bar. Tré and Erin were making out, and Jess was chatting up some cute guy. Billie and I were content just to stand and bob our heads to the pulsing, angsty music.
Meanwhile, Mike was acting a bit out of character, downing shot after shot after shot.

"Just celefratin'," he assured us, his eyes bloodshot. I wasn't so sure.
"He'll be fine," Bill informed me sensing my discomfort. His breath tickled the back of my neck and his hands slid onto my waist. "He'll be better tomorrow, a touch hung over, but basically okay," he murmured, pressing his body into mine.
I smiled, and turned around to kiss him. He pressed me against the side of the bar kissing back, a bright light shining in his soulful eyes. I gasped, coming up for air a minute later. I had never shared a kiss so passionate. His eyes cut to the door and moved back to me, questioning. I nodded slightly, my heart racing.

As we headed outside, hand-in-hand, my mind tried to make sense of itself.
He wrote a song for you, it said. Stephen never did that, you never felt this way with Steven and you were going to get married to him!

We walked over to the park, and I was thinking maybe I had assumed incorrectly what we were going to do. Billie pushed aside some bushes, though, and a beautiful, private spot awaited us.

"It's usually just my place to think, ya know?" he said, shrugging.
We sat down, just arm in arm at first. Soon enough, though, we were sharing another one of those passionate kisses. I allowed him to slip of my shirt and bra, and I tugged at his belt.

Breathing heavily, Billie asked, "Are you sure you're okay with this?" which definitely sealed my answer. I kissed him, and he understood.

Afterwards, we stayed laid down on the soft dirt, holding each other.
"I love you, Billie Joe Armstrong," I said firmly, brushing a sticky dreadlock out of his face.

"I love you, too," he whispered, planting a kiss on my cheekbone.
As remarkable as everything had been, we needed to head back and check on everyone. We started off, never letting go of each other.

As Billie Joe and Estelle made their way back to Gilman, Mike was becoming very drunk, very fast. What's wrong with me? He wondered. I just got offered a record deal with Reprise! Why am I so miserable? But the truth was obvious-even to him in his drunken state.

Loneliness is a cruel, cruel mistress. She doesn't take any shit off of you, and constantly reminds you that all you have is her. What a bitch. He wasn't always alone. He had had a girlfriend, a rather good one in fact, but she had left him for all of the glitz and glamour of New York. He was over her, but at the moment, loneliness and self-pity engulfed him.

It sickened him to feel that way. He decided to take a walk outside. He needed to get away from the booze and get some fresh air. As he stood in the alley, dragging somewhat fresh air into his lungs, a cry caught his attention. He crept up behind a dumpster, listening intently.

"Get off of me, you bastards!" a sobbing woman demanded.
Peering around the dumpster, he saw a girl around his age being harassed by two guys. They were touching her, which-obviously-she did not want. In an attempt at self-defense, the girl kicked the guy touching her in the shins. He retaliated by giving her a bloody nose. That was all Mike had to see.

The girl started screaming, but the one guy pulled out a gun. "I'd shut the fuck up if I were you-" he started to suggest menacingly, but was interrupted by Mike stumbling drunkenly out of the shadows.

"What do you think you're doin'?" Mike demanded.
The girl's eyes widened in fright, and the two guys turned around, the one aiming the gun at him.

"Nothing-nothing at all. You didn't see anything."
"The fuck I didn't!" Mike exclaimed, moving closer.
The blond guy with the gun nodded to his darker haired friend. Darky let go of the girl, who scurried away, and came up to Mike. He lifted a fist, but Mike's reaction time was slowed by the alcohol in his blood stream. He saw stars as the guy's fist connected with his face.

"You didn't see anything," the gun guy said, pressing the weapon against Mike's temple.
"I'm gonna turn you assholes in," Mike slurred.
"I don't think so," Blondy said smugly, cocking the gun.
The other guy was nervous, though. He put a fidgety hand on his friend and asked, "You're not really going to kill him are you? I mean-he's not wroth it, right?"

To Mike's relief, the gun was taken off of his temple.
"Eh-Sarah or this guy, does it really matter? Besides-I don't like the lip he's been giving me." Grinning evilly as he turned around, he applied pressure to the trigger of the gun.

Mike sank to the ground, clutching the bullet hole in his stomach. Through his hazy vision he could see the guys running away.

Then everything went black.