The Questions We Ask, chapter 3

Until Zach just hugged him and pulled him out of the crack in the couch.

"What's up, buddy?" Zack asked.

"Nothing... Dude, your girlfriend's hot..." Tre whispered the last part.

"I heard you, too." I piped up.

"I know."

"Okay...so can someone go get Billie? He was my original idol... Oh, sorry, Mike. I love you as well, the bassist pulls the whole band together, like the glue." I said while turning red. I didn't want to make it seem that the two ones who basically got all the attention were the only ones I liked.

"It's okay...I'll go check on him." Mike said. He left back out the hall.

Billie's Point of View:

Pull it together, man! You've always known her, so why is it different now? Oh, yeah, maybe because it isn't pictures of her sent from her mom, maybe it isn't the worry of Adie catching me looking at those pictures, or maybe just meeting her for the first time since she was two. My favorite picture of us together is her playing with a rattle she's chewing on and my leg is in the picture. That's the biggest part of me that's ever been in a picture with her.

Mike came into the bathroom as I splashed cold water on my face.

"What's wrong, you're freaking the girl out, and this is her first time meeting you. She actually said that you were her original idol, dude. You have to make it up to her," he lectured.

"I know."

"Yeah, you do! And you know-- what? You know?"

"Yes, Mike, I know," I snorted. "She says I was her first idol."

"Yeah... okay, so are you coming out?" he asked. I nodded.

"Just give me another minute to gather my thoughts." I said quietly.

"Uh...okay, whatever, man. I'll be out there," he said as he went out the door. I thought of what I was going to say. 'Hi, Flamma, I'm so glad to see you again. Oh, and by the way, I left you and your mom when she needed me the most!' Sure. Or maybe, 'Flamma! Guess what? You know that dad your mom always says you've been wondering about? Oh, it's me! Hyuck, hyuck! Get that!' Oh, yeah. She sure will love me then. I took a deep breath and headed out the door.

When I got back into the room with her, tears stung my eyes, filled with pride and happiness. But then I got to thinking. What if she totally rejects me? I blinked back the tears and regained my coolness. No. She can't know just yet.

Flamma's Point of View again:

I wonder what's going on with Billie. Another thing that worries me in the back of my mind, as usual, is the nagging feeling that my dad left me. I wish I could know where he was.

No one's Point of View:

Hehe, if only she knew.

Flamma's Point of View:

Billie smiled at me.

"Can I hug you now? Or are you 'too cool' for that?" I asked with a laugh, obviously kidding. He nodded slowly and smiled. "You're kind of creeping me out..."

"Oh, he creeps out everyone!" Tre said with enthusiasm to rat out Billie.

"Yeah, like all of those random videos of Billie when he's drunk, or that one with...oh, gross that this comes into mind...King for a Day, when he actually reveals that he was wearing a leather thong...I threw up a little..." I shuddered at the memory, and Billie blushed again. "But then there's Tre, who sings All By Myself and Dominated Love Slave and who does...things..." I said suspiciously.

"But they're cool things, are they not?" he asked.

"Sure, seeing as your name ends with cool. Sure, I guess we can say that," I agreed. "Oh! I suddenly remembered my favorite video of Billie. It's that time when he sang She and in the beginning he said exactly this: 'Oh God, it's time to say goodbye now, I gotta say goodbye, gotta say goodbye now, gotta say goodbye, I'm gonna go and I'm gonna get on my Big Wheels, no I'm gonna go get my bicycle, no, I'm gonna get my scooter, no my scooter, no I'm gonna get my bicycle, I'm gonna get a, I'm gonna get on my, my, on my, on my Tonka truck, I'm gonna get my Tonka truck, I'm gonna, take it, oh, and I'm gonna go down the street, and I'm gonna smash up against a window, yeah, I am! I'm gonna smash up against a one! I'm gonna go and get smooshed, 'cause I got a pet rock, and I got a pet rock, too, I gotta pet rock and it's really cool, and I gotta pet rock and it's really like a, it's like a, like a, it's like a, it's like a, it's like a worry stone! It's a worry stone, you take it and you rub it, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you rub it, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, you worry, ya worry, SHUT UP!' Yeah..." I recalled.

"Um, yeah, I'm in the room." Billie waved his hand.

"Yeah, I know," I said.

"Weird, that's what he said earlier..." Mike mentioned. I didn't get it. "It's like you're...related or something..." At this, Billie went white. Absolutely and completely white.

"What's going on?" I questioned. "When he said we were related, he was only kidding...right, Billie?"

"U-uh, u-um, y-yeah. Y-yes, of c-course he w-was," he stuttered.

"Now you're scaring me," I told him. Tre tried a sexy smile.

"You won't be scared with me," he told me. He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, yeah, I'll just ditch my boyfriend!" I said mockingly.

"Really?!" Tre asked hopefully. I winked at my boyfriend behind me and turned back to Tre.

"Of course I will, now come 'ere, you big hunk of sexy!" I said in a smooth voice. I pulled in his face and gave him a big, long, passionate kiss. "There!" I said proudly. Tre looked like he was going to fall over. I held him up.

"Wow..." was all Mike could say. Billie looked a little mad, maybe even jealous? No, he has a wife, although he's still acting weird.

"Who's next?" I called. The guys pretended to fall over themselves making a line in front of me. All except Billie. I went over to him. "How about you, mister?" I teased.

"No, it's okay," he said briefly. He turned from me and sat on the arm of the couch. I shrugged and went through the 'kissing line'. Of course the only one I meant was Zach. But Billie bothered me, he just sat there, not talking, not joking or commenting, or even flinching when Tre tripped again and hit him.

"Are you okay, Billie?" I asked. He nodded.

"I have to go," he muttered in a sad voice. He left, yet again, and I heard his footsteps trudge away. I looked at all of the guys and they all shrugged. I did, too, then I followed. I ran down to nearly the end of the hall, then turned where I had just seen him turn. Good thing I'm on the track team, or I'd never be able to catch him. I finally caught up.

"Billie, what's wrong?" I asked. He flinched at his name. "Billie?" He gritted his teeth and sighed.

"The truth or some excuse for me to leave?" he asked pitifully.

"The truth," I told him straight.

"You won't believe me."

"Yes I will, you're acting sad enough, now spit it out." I awaited it. He finally sighed.

"Okay," he said. "What would you say if I told you that I knew your father?"

"I'd be angry to see that thing for him leaving me, but happy all the same. If I met him, that is."

"Oh. Well, what if I told you that you had two half-brothers?"

"I'd say, yay for babysitting!" I laughed. "Now what's up?"

"Flamma, Flannery..." he started.

"Wait," I interrupted. "How do you know my name?"

"Flannery, I'm...I'm your...I'm your father."