Balancing Acts (sequel to You're My Little Secret), chapter 1

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Ava stared over the top of the classified section, fixing a glare on the person making the obnoxious rapping sound. A one said Tre Cool sat at the other end of the kitchen table, tapping a pen along to a song playing on the radio as he completed the crossword in the Sunday paper. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, intent on the task at hand.
"Hey baby what's a four letter word for... " He trailed off as he caught sight of his girlfriend's annoyed look. "Wha?"
She shook her head. "You're doing the pen tapping thing again."
He grinned his usual shit-eating grin as he leaned dangerously back in his chair, the two wooden legs still on the floor groaning under his weight. "I'm glad you're not one of those girlfriends who knit-picks all the time."

Tre didn't miss the flash of amusement that passed behind her eyes at his sarcastic remark. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" She grins back sweetly, noting his look of panic as he glances down at his overly expensive watch.
Standing up suddenly, the chair tottering unsteadily behind him, he grabs for his car keys. "Shit, I was supposed to meet the guys in the studio twenty minutes ago," He mumbles. Ava leaned up to accept a quick kiss from him before he tears towards the door but not before calling out, "Love you! See you later!"

Once he was gone Ava sat and listened to the silence humming through the rooms in her apartment for a few minutes, enjoying the peace before she went about picking up and completing various weekend tasks she didn't get to the day before. She stretched her muscles as she moved through her place, feeling the humidity of the morning beginning to sneak in, making the air quality seem stuffy and stale.

Back in the kitchen she started to load the dishwasher, glancing up at the calendar that was hanging on the wall. "I can't believe it's almost June," She mumbled to herself as she loaded the last coffee mug and latched the door shut. Still feeling sluggish Ava wandered into the bathroom, hoping that a nice long shower would jumpstart her day.


Meanwhile Tre had just reached the studio, muttering to himself as he hurried through the lobby. "Sorry I'm- "
"Yeah, yeah... you're always fucking late," Billie Joe cuts in as the drummer finally makes an appearance. "It's almost expected of you now."
Tre jerks his head in acknowledgement, knowing better to just shut up as he sets his water bottle down next to a pile of extra equipment. "Are we picking up where we left off yesterday? 'Cuz I like the direction we were going with that last song we were working on."
Billie nods slightly, looking a little sleepy and a little agitated. "Mike and I were actually just talking about a charity benefit we were just invited to perform at towards the end of this month."

Tre turns his attention to the bassist who is half perched on a stool, having yet to say anything. "The problem is," Mike mumbles, "Is that it's scheduled for the same week you're planning to take your kids on vacation."
Billie can see the frown already forming on Tre's usually bright features. "That's why we were leery to accept," Billie puts in, as Mike nods, "We weren't sure whether or not you wanted to change around your plans again. And understandably so, we know you've had to do that a few times now."
Tre rubs at his eyes, feeling annoyance rise up in his chest. "It's just hard to plan a vacation with Lisea's schedule in New York and Frankito's schooling... " He trails off, exhaling loudly, "And they're really looking forward to it too. I hate having to disappoint them."

Mike nods sympathetically. "We understand, man."
"Which benefit is it for?" Tre asks, suddenly remembering that Billie hadn't volunteered that information.
"It's to celebrate the tenth anniversary of VH1's Save The Music program," Billie supplies, knowing that this is either going to make or break his decision.
"Fuck," Tre grumbles in disbelief, casting around the room as if the plaques and hanging wires on the wall would make up his mind.
Mike glances at Billie, both remaining quiet as Tre works through the new information. "Dude, you don't have to decide now," Billie finally says, cutting into the silence, "We just wanted to make you aware of the offer."
"Is this something management is pushing for us to do?"
The tallest of the three shrugs. "They're always encouraging us to promote ourselves to all and any age groups," Mike mumbles, "But ultimately, it's up to us because it's our down time. You know that."

Tre frowns at his answer, taking some comfort in the familiarity of his drumstick twirling around his fingers. "Which is why we should do it," He grumbles in annoyance, "We haven't exactly been out in the public a lot since coming off the American Idiot tour."
"That's not true," Billie argues, "I've been on TRL and—"
"Can we just play?" Tre cuts him off suddenly, rather irritated for it only being ten in the morning. He hated having to be the one to make these kinds of decisions because in the end someone always felt let down, whether it be his kids or someone else's kid.
Billie nods to Mike who is already picking up his bass. "Yeah, let's start with track nine again," He mumbles, "Count it off."

After a few solid hours of working through riffs and chords, the three took a break. Billie had just grabbed for his water bottle, laughing at something Tre had said when he noticed Adrienne standing on the other side of the glass doors, waving. He quickly motioned for her to come in, walking over a few cords on the floor as he pressed a kiss to her lips.
"Hey, this is a nice surprise," He murmurs, smiling as his wife.
"I'm not interrupting 'creative time', am I?" She asks, pushing a few curly cues from her eyes as Billie beams at her playful mocking.
"Nah, we just decided to break for lunch."
Adrienne grins, holding up a brown bag. "Well perfect, because I brought lunch for everyone."

Upon hearing this Tre quickly hurries over, pressing an innocent kiss to her cheek. "You're my favorite person in this building right now," He mumbles happily, his sour mood from earlier seemingly alleviated as he greedily grabs the bag she's holding and walks over to the table Mike is lounging at. "Look Mikey boy, lunch!" Tre's voice easily carries around the cluttered room.
Billie Joe shakes his head at Tre's behavior, turning back to his wife. "Thanks," He says, staring into her familiar eyes. "But why are you really here?" He teases playfully.
She grins back sheepishly as he takes another step closer, running his hand down her arm. "The air conditioner isn't being fixed until two and I honestly could not stand being in that sauna for another moment."
"Ahhh... where are the boys then?"
"With Ava," Adrienne explains, "I dropped them off a little bit ago at the University because there's some summer exhibit she thought they might enjoy going on this week."

Tre turns at the mention of his girlfriend. "Speaking of Ava, do you know if she heard about the job at the paper?" He mumbles as Adrienne's eyebrows pull.
"Which job?"
Tre swallows the bite of pasta salad he had been chewing on, wondering suddenly if he just should have kept his mouth shut. "Oh, um, she had an interview last week with a newspaper downtown. It was for a managers position... I thought maybe you talked to her this morning after I did... I thought maybe she had heard... " He trails off dumbly, looking imploringly at Mike for help.
"You really shouldn't talk without running what you're going to say by someone first," The bassist murmurs, flinching as Adrienne looks slightly perturbed. But then again, she always looked slightly perturbed lately when the topic of Ava was brought up. Mike had noticed, but cared not to speak of, the tension that had been building between the two sisters.
"Oh, no, she hasn't said anything to me about it."

Adrienne tried to maintain her composure, but everyone in the room could tell she was pissed. Billie frowns at his wife's reaction. "I'm sure she just forgot to mention it—"
"It's fine Billie," She cuts in; forcing a smile, "Let's just eat lunch, huh?"
He nods slowly to himself as she quickly maneuvers around him and plops down next to Mike at the small table. "So," Adrienne manages as she reaches for a paper plate, "How's the new stuff for the album coming along?"


Later that evening Ava was sitting in her apartment, beginning to feel sleepy from the days events when Tre came thundering through the door, gaining her attention.
"Christ, you sound like a herd of elephants," She teases, not even bothering to move as she watches the blonde man clumsily slide his shoes off and trample over to the couch. He playfully sits down on top of her, grinning when she groans under his weight. "You big cow," She protests, shoving at his back, "Get off... of me, that is."
Tre smirks, sliding off his pajama-clad girlfriend and making himself comfortable as he leans back into the couch. "How was your day?" She asks a moment later, eyes glued to a rerun of CSI as she leans into his side.
"It had its ups and downs, like usual," He yawns, his words sounding rather bland, "Although, I think I opened a can of worms with your sister."

This catches Ava's attention as she looks over imploringly. "Oh god Tre, what did you do?"
He smirks. "Hey, give me some credit—"
"You don't deserve any... what did you do?"
Leaning forward he readjusts the pillow behind him, pulling Ava back against him as they settle in together. "I asked if you had mentioned to her about whether or not you got that job with the newspaper."
Ava silently waits for the next part, glancing up in curiosity when he doesn't say anything more. "And?"
Tre shrugs. "And that was it, she got pissed because you apparently hadn't told her about it."

Ava continues to stare up at the ruffled man currently sinking sleepily in to the back of her couch. "Yeah, but... there MUST be something else. What'd you do? Make fun of her cooking? Swear in front of Jakob again?"
"I'm telling you Ava, this is all about you for once," He replies, grinning, "And it's actually a refreshing change."
She frowns, falling silent as the show comes back from commercial and Tre begins to doze off. Her brain began to mull over the past few weeks, and then months, noting that her sister had been pouting a little lately, distant even. But she had just chalked it up to whatever was going on with Billie, and the fact that the guys had started returning to the studio, slowly but surely putting in more and more hours every week. At least she hoped that was all it was, but when dealing with Adrienne, she just never knew what to expect.

Snuggling closer to Tre, Ava laid her cheek against his chest, vowing to sit down and talk with her sister soon. But for now there would be sleep.


The next morning on the way to work Ava calls over to Adrienne and Billie's to see if her sister was home. After two rings Adrienne's crisp voice echoes on the other end, signifying that she was probably downstairs in the kitchen. "Hey," Ava says into the phone, "What are you doing this afternoon around three?"
Adrienne is silent for a moment, not bothering to greet her sister again upon recognition that she was calling. "I have a hair appointment at one... I guess I'll be back by three. Why?"
"Because I thought I would stop by," Ava answers, deciding to keep her responses simple as to not rile her sister up with a confrontation...yet.
"Alright, well, come on by then," The older sister replies, stumbling through a muffled, "bye" as she hangs up.

Adrienne's seeming lack of enthusiasm to see Ava only made her that more determined to figure out what was going on. A little after three that afternoon she pulled up the gated driveway, noting Joey and Jakob playing in the sprinkler over on the side yard. "Hi guys," Ava calls her to her young nephews as they wave, quickly resorting back to taking turns running over the constant stream of cold water.

Entering through the side door Ava threw her purse on the counter, casting around her sister's home. "Aid?"
Adrienne appears suddenly, blue watering can in her hand. "Hi," She mumbles civilly, her long, dark hair cascading down her back for once.
Ava leans against the island, watching as her sister refills the watering can. "So... " She starts carefully, "What have I done this time to end up over on your short but esteemed shit list?"
The older sister's shoulders tense slightly as the sink is turned off and she turns slightly. "What do you mean?"

Ava frowns at her. "Look, if I have the balls to ask, you should have the balls to answer me. Did I do something wrong?"
Adrienne's jaw locks in a clean line as the watering can is plopped down not two inches from where Ava's hands are resting. "I'm surprised you even noticed at all," She finally answers back, a biting in her voice that Ava recognized because she felt it in the back of her throat too.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" She asks boldly.
"It means," Adrienne grumbles, "That you've had your head so far up Tre's ass for the past six months that I'm surprised you're even able to function without him around."

The younger woman had sensed it had something to do with her boyfriend, it usually did, but the wording her sister chose seemed quite unnecessary. "Care to elaborate?" She asks, surprised that her tone came out so level and steady. It sure didn't represent the burning anger in her chest that she was beginning to feel.
"It means exactly that," Adrienne snaps back in mocking laughter, "Ever since the guys stopped touring after Christmas you've barely come up for air to even bother committing yourself to anything but what Tre is doing."
Nodding her head a little, Ava sighs. "I'm very sorry you feel that way, but—"
"You don't bother telling me about job interviews you have, when you're sick, when stuff is going on at work... I have to hear everything secondhand from Tre, or Mike even. Mike knows more about your life than I do!"

Rubbing at her forehead Ava tries to remain in control of her splaying emotions. "My job interview last week wasn't a big deal," She says quite calmly, "And the reason I don't tell you about most of them is because it's embarrassing enough to be denied a position that I really want, but it's even worse to have to go back to your family and tell them that you didn't get the job. Do you see what I mean? When I have a real lead on something, I promise, you'll be the first to know."
"It's not just that," Adrienne finally murmurs, more annoyed than before, "It's everything. Every spare moment that you're not at work or you're not out with friends you're with him... you hardly come over any more, or when you do you're on the phone with him... "

Coming around the side of the counter Ava grasps her sisters trembling hands. "Listen to me," She mumbles, dipping her head so that Adrienne has to look at her. "I love Tre and I'm sorry if you feel that I spend an obsessive amount of time with him, but all of this relationship stuff is still pretty new for us. Don't you remember when you first met Billie and all you wanted to do was be around him and talk to him?" Ava waits for her sister to nod before continuing, "Well, that's how I feel for Tre. Yeah, it's gross, but we haven't grown out of that stage yet where spending ridiculous amounts of time together isn't fun anymore. We enjoy being together, we enjoy—"
"But you can enjoy other things as well without letting him consume you, without letting your relationship with him get in the way of your relationships with everyone else," Adrienne cuts in, ripping her hands away and moving to lean back against the sink.

Ava was quickly losing her patience at the stupidity of this discussion. "I think you're being quite unreasonable here Adrienne."
"How so?" Her sister snips, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Do you know how many times I've taken the backseat to Billie Joe over the years?" Ava finally says, a hint of anger emerging. "And that's fine Adrienne, I understand, he's your husband after all. And that's what I'm asking you to do here; to understand that this is the first relationship that I'm really passionate about... to understand that this is the real deal. I really can't apologize enough for the fact that I supposedly haven't learned how to balance the different relationships in my life yet, but you have to be patient with me just like I've always been with you. I mean, isn't that what sisters are supposed to do?"

Adrienne glares across the small space, watching her younger sister try to rationalize the situation. "Don't you think it's sad this is all we can think to talk about? That we can't conjure up anything else to talk about besides Tre?"
Ava practically growls in frustration as she slams her hands down on the counter, ability to reason lost in the rant she was about to unleash. "Stop trying to blame Tre for our inability to communicate, it's bullshit! I'm sorry that I don't want to hear about the baby situation anymore, and I'm sorry you're mysteriously sad all the time and just happen to be really good at covering it up. Lately, those seem to be the only things you want to complain about, that and my absence in your life. And you know I love you and you're my sister, but Adrienne, come on... you need to realize that things change and priorities shift. I'm going to have mature relationships that don't involve you, that don't require me to constantly hang around you anymore, to dedicate all of my spare time to you. I'm sorry if that's a difficult loss for you to adjust to, but I had to grow up sometime. And yes, we may have drifted apart in the process, but maybe it's because I'm sick of feeling like I can't talk about Tre, I can't talk about one of the most important people in my life just because you bring up the fact that I'm 'obsessive' over him every time I do. And maybe, just maybe, it pisses me off that you assume the reason our relationship is decaying is because his and mine is flouring... what a horrible thing to assume. And to top things off, you make the face you're making right now, that disgusted face that tells me you would rather chop off your fingers than listen to me even say his name. Well, guess what, all those years I listened to you talk about Billie Joe made me want to slice my wrists wide open too, but did I? No! Because you needed me and I was there, I was your rock. And now, when I finally get some stability in my life, when I finally feel like I'm working towards something good, you pull out on me. You suddenly disappear. What gives Aid, huh? Why is it we can only find satisfaction in talking about bad shit when there's good stuff going on too?"

And there it was, six months of issues laid right out on the kitchen counter. Adrienne had glared a hole through the wall about two minutes ago when Ava had gone off, her dark stare relentless even after the room fell silent. "But Ava that's exactly my point... do we have to suffer just so you and Tre can flourish?"
Ava's face turned even darker as Adrienne spoke, her hands clenched around the edge of the counter. "Just fucking say it Adrienne, just say it... you don't like me with Tre. You never have, and you never will... just fucking say it."
"Fine, I don't like you with Tre," Adrienne shrugs, watching as Ava grabs up her purse in a collected rage she hadn't seen from her in a while.

Ava practically snorts at her sisters confession, a confession she had been waiting for ever since last year when she and Tre had made their relationship public. In the beginning Adrienne was supportive but Ava knew in the back of her mind it was always going to come down to an ultimatum, she was always either going to have to pick Adrienne or Tre. She couldn't have both. "You know what the irony of this situation is?" She asks her older sister, immediately earning her attention, "The irony of you loathing Tre and me being together takes me back to the earlier years when you and Billie were first married... and the many years that followed after that when I couldn't tolerate the mere sight of him. Now maybe, as you stand loathing the man I love, you can sympathize with the confliction Billie and I always had," She pauses to scowl, "And then maybe you can build yourself a bridge and get over it just like I had to when I realized I was doing nothing but driving you away."

Not giving her sister a chance to respond, Ava marched from the house, slamming the door rather recklessly behind her. The sound of that door exploding against the frame would stick with both of the sisters for a few minutes afterwards as Ava got back in her car and as Adrienne went back to mulling around the house. But the harsh words that had been spoken would ring even more loudly in their minds for days to come.

And so, a silent war had been waged.