Balancing Acts (sequel to You're My Little Secret), chapter 4
Adrienne wasn't sure what surprised her more; the fact that Ava was standing on her front porch on that particular sunny day in June, or that Ava had a genuine smile on her face. A smile that hadn't been directed at her in a very long time, and a smile she found herself becoming more and more leery of.
"Ava?" She asks in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
Ava just grins wider, pushing past her sister and dropping her bag off in the front hall. "We," She pointedly begins, strolling into the kitchen for a soda, "Are going on vacation my dear sister."
Adrienne's confused look causes Ava to inwardly giggle as she pops the tab on her drink. "Vacation?" She finally ventures to ask. "Ava, what are you talking about?"
Reclining against the counter, Ava casually shrugs. "We can't seem to get along in this zip code, so, I thought we could travel to one where we do."
"Of course, that makes total sense," Adrienne grumbles, shoving her sister out of the way as she begins pulling random things out of the cupboards for dinner. "I had forgotten that you're such a believer in 'change your location, change your mindset'. Sort of like feng schui, but for your soul."
"It's all about balancing out the good energy, baby!"
Adrienne looks less than convinced as she opens her mouth to protest. "I can't just pick up—"
"Easy woman, easy!" Ava playfully cuts in, hoisting herself up on the countertop before Adrienne could push past her one more time as she made her way around the kitchen. "Before you say no, hear me out."
Ava looks slightly relieved when Adrienne nods in her direction, granting her permission to speak. "I'm not talking about going on a cruise or going to some deserted island for the summer... " She explains as her older sister finally turns to look at her, genuine interest on her face this time instead of suspicion or first signs of stress. "I'm talking about taking the boys and going to see Mom and Dad for a week, maybe a week and a half."
A snort makes its way from Adrienne's mouth as she runs a hand through her long hair. "Mom and Dad's? Are you kidding? That's not exactly the location I had in mind for a vacation. At least not for one that promises restoration."
"Oh I completely agree, but it really makes the most sense," Ava half laughs, "Because think about it, Mom is always complaining about how she never sees her children, let alone her grandchildren. If we went at the end of June that would get her off our backs until at least Christmas." Adrienne nods slightly as Ava continues, "And because I'm granted ten days worth of vacation in the summer, I was thinking we could wait and go in a few weeks when the boys are done with school. Plus, by then the guys will be back in the studio full time, and I don't know about you but I would rather be in Minnesota than here for the first week as they work through the initial bugs, blah blah blah."
"You really think this is going to work?" Adrienne mumbles, leaning a hip against the counter. "You think going away for a week is going to solve our problems?"
Ava shrugs. "I just think that maybe we need some time away from what's been going on around here. We can drink some margaritas, watch Mom and Dad bicker... you know, all that bonding stuff we used to do before it got so bad."
Adrienne rolls her eyes, put off by her sister's easy-going disposition. "I'm glad you're so nonchalant about everything."
"Adrienne, that's not—"
"-Because I feel like you're implying that everything is my fault and this is your way of pacifying me."
Resisting the urge to sigh in frustration, Ava slides off the counter and walks over to Adrienne, gripping the top of her arms for emphasis. "I think you and I just need some time for us, blame set aside. We can talk, bitch slap each other, drink... I mean we'll have to drink anyway because well, Mom will be there. But doesn't that sound kind of nice? A break from the fighting? A break from Tre and Billie?" Ava leans a little closer. "I mean, this is all their fault anyway, right?" She jokes, earning a small smile from Adrienne.
Adrienne stares at Ava for a moment, noting the sincerity and a hint of desperation that makes her leeriness fade into the background. She was excited at the prospect of going away for a while, of going home. No matter how much either sister joked, they couldn't deny that being at home with their parents always made them feel so safe and happy. She also liked the fact that Ava had been the one to initiate this vacation; she appreciated the effort, the gesture.
"You really want to do this?" Adrienne finally asks, as Ava continues to grip her arms, trying to read into the critical expression on her older sister's face.
Ava nods affirmatively. "If I didn't want to I wouldn't have asked."
Gently shrugging herself out of her sister's embrace, Adrienne leans over the counter to grab the cordless phone. "Alright, well, we better call Mom and see what her plans are for the end of June... "
"You tell her," Ava insists when Adrienne begins to shove the phone in her direction. "Last time I told her we were coming she practically deafened me with her shrieking, and then the worrying immediately followed."
Both sisters simultaneously cringe at the thought. "Uhh, lets wait until after dinner to call then," Adrienne finally decides, hanging the phone back up and turning to Ava. "You wanna stay? For dinner, I mean."
Ava nods happily, slightly surprised at the invitation. "Sure, especially if you're making something good."
"I'm making meatloaf."
Playfully frowning, Ava replies, "You can't win them all I guess." She giggles, ducking when a potholder is thrown in her direction. "But really, I'm happy to stay. Mainly because it means I don't have to cook tonight."
"No, but you do get to help with dishes."
Ava jerks her head back. "S'why you have a dishwasher in the house."
"It's actually broken. I need to call and have it fixed," Adrienne grumbles, glancing over at the appliance in question.
"Oh, I was talking about your husband," Ava replies blandly, watching as a second potholder is thrown in her direction.
Adrienne rolls her eyes in response, leaning over to turn on the oven. "Why don't you make yourself useful and decide what you want with the meatloaf."
"I get to pick a side dish?" Ava asks in awe, the sound of her phone distracting her briefly. "Can it be anything I want?" She continues to joke as she moves out of the kitchen and into the front hall where she had thrown her bag. She grabs for the obnoxious device, checking the ID and decidedly silencing it before returning to Adrienne's side.
"Who was it?" Adrienne asks, glancing up from where she was cutting up onions. She had a good idea of who it was but was willing to continue to play nice for the sake of the rest of their evening together.
"Tre," Ava mumbles casually, almost brushing the subject off. "I'll call him back later."
It was yet another small gesture, but one that Adrienne appreciated nonetheless. "Will you grab me an egg and some milk from the fridge?" She asks Ava, watching as the young girl moves gracefully across the floor.
"So," Ava starts, grabbing the requested items from the fridge and turning back to her sister, "I'm thinking about applying to this law firm downtown."
"Yeah?" Adrienne replies curiously. "Why a law firm?"
As Ava went to answer, she found herself grinning a little. For the first time in a long time, this felt right. It felt right to be talking with Adrienne about things she hadn't shared with anyone yet, or even to share anything at all that came to mind. She had missed this, the bantering, the mutual trust. It was like the animosity had vanished for the time being, leaving in its wake a promise at righting where she and Adrienne had gone wrong. Ava found herself willing to do almost anything to make this feeling last.
"We have a BUBBLE!" Ava declares with certainty as she paces in front of the coffee table that Tre currently had his feet propped up on. The two were at his house once again, Tre having just put his son to bed when Ava came tearing through the house, pulling him into the den and insisting he listen to her new findings. So there he was, sitting in the middle of the couch, remote in hand and a confused look on his face.
"A bubble?"
Ava nods furiously, still pacing. "And it all makes sense!"
"It does?" He mumbles, wondering specifically what parts he should be listening to, and what exactly he could block out because she tended to ramble when she was sorting out the odds and ends in her head anyway. Ava was still pacing, hands on her hips, looking as though she just discovered the cure for a sleepless night.
"We're inclusive, we leave people out!"
Tre flips the television on just as Ava turns to face him, pressing 'mute' all in the same motion. "I'm sorry, but are you supposed to include twelve other people in a monogamous relationship? Because I'm pretty sure that's called an or—"
"We need to make more of an effort to be aware of other people," She insists, slapping the back of her left hand against her right palm for emphasis.
On either side of her hips Tre could make out the baseball game he was trying to watch on his wide screen television. "I think you're a bit too concerned about what your sister thinks."
"This has nothing to DO with Adrienne," Ava insists, tapping her fingers against her hips in thought. "Well, it sort of does, as she is one of the people that we exclude... but this is something I thought of on my way home. And I think maybe this is one of the things that Mike was trying to get me to see the other night."
When Tre doesn't reply, his eyes slight averted, Ava grumbles, walking over to him and snatching the remote from his hand. "I know the television is on dumbass, I can see the reflection in the painting above your head."
His bottom lip automatically puffs out. "Ahh, come on, the—"
"We're going on vacation in two weeks and that'll do its part to help, but we do need to make more of an effort in the meantime. This is really important to me, it's important that I mend my relationship with Adrienne."
Tre does react this time, opening his arms and motioning her to him in concern. "Come here."
"What?" Ava asks, "I'm on a roll here, I'm trying to—"
"No, no. Just, come here," He insists again. "You've had a really long day of acting crazy and before I commit you I just want you to come over here and we'll watch some baseball and I'll pet your hair—"
"I don't want you to pet my hair, I want you to get behind me on this."
When Tre's eyebrow cocks in smugness at what she's just said, she holds a hand up. "I apologize for my choice of words. I want you to SUPPORT me on this. How's that?"
Tre shrugs. "I liked it better when you were talking about your behind."
Ava sighs, walking a few steps and plopping down next to him. "You really think I'm crazy for wanting to make things okay? For trying to figure this out?"
Tre eyes the remote in her hand, licking his lips. "I don't think you're crazy, I just think that your inherited craziness tends to emerge like a bad sidekick when you adopt missions like these."
"Like a bad sidekick? Wow, your creativity is really unstoppable when it comes to metaphors."
Tre snorts and in one swift motion he had secured the remote again, turning away from Ava's protesting hands as he flipped the game back on. "Whoo!" He whoops, still fending off his girlfriend's arms as she flails and practically climbs on top of him. "Just let me watch ten minutes of this game and then I'll listen to you talk incessantly about your sister... it's not like she doesn't get brought up every OTHER night of the freakin' week." Ava giggles as Tre exaggerates his words in mock annoyance. She finally stops batting at him, instead settling for snuggling into his side.
They sat quietly for a few moments, Ava bored, Tre entertained. As she blurred out the game in front of her she began thinking about her relationships, about the give and take between Tre and her, and then between her and Adrienne. She couldn't understand her sister's reasoning for wanting her to be careful, maybe because she was so far beyond any sort of reasoning when it came to Tre. She acted on what she felt, and she loved him unconditionally.
"Love you," Ava declares after a minute, his eyes still darting across the screen as she emerges from her thoughts.
Tre glances down as she tilts her head up, grinning a little from behind her long eyelashes. He lived for these kinds of sentiments; random ones that made his heart speed up just a little faster. "Love you too," He replies just as softly, planting a kiss on her lips that lasted a few peaceful seconds.
It was during moments like these that he knew that he would fight for her with everything he had. He wasn't sure why, but his instincts to protect her were raging strong on this particular evening, just like they had been in the past weeks, teasing and playful fighting aside. He saw hints of underlying weakness in her eyes sometimes, and he knew deep down that Adrienne held more cards than anyone cared to mention. She had mangled their relationship before and she could do it again, but this time he wasn't going down without a fight.
Mike was decidedly moving slow with Lauren, having had quite a few failed relationships in the past years. Some of these relationships he wanted to forget, some he still wished he could go back and change, and some yet that only ached dully in the back of his mind after too much drink or too many lonely hours at home. Mending relationships seemed to be a common theme in the group lately, a thought that made Mike chuckle to himself as he wandered downstairs to make coffee one morning.
Lauren had left early for her shift at the hospital, and since then he hadn't been able to fall back asleep. He wished sometimes he could shut off his mind, block off impending and sometimes doom-ridden thoughts, but he couldn't. He never had been able to, even when he was younger. He could remember kids from his high school, and other close friends, practically lining up to seek his advice about school, parents, relationships, friends, the list going on and on. He enjoyed being the dependable and trusted friend, but sometimes he wished he had more time to himself. Unfortunately though, when he did, he usually ended up overanalyzing anything and everything he could get his mind wrapped around. Today, the overanalyzing began with Lauren. Although, he didn't particularly mind that she was the one consuming him on this bright and humid morning.
As the warm fragrance of coffee filtered through the air Mike shut his eyes and thought of Lauren's smile, her laugh. He found himself growing more and more familiar each day with her likes and dislikes, her unique personality quirks, and in general the little things that made her tick. He thought about her passion for helping others, her love for the kids she treated and the establishment she worked for. She really was a beautiful person, inside and out.
Mike's eyes drew open as the coffee finished brewing, his long arm already reaching up over the sink for a mug. He couldn't help thinking through the course of his dating years after his divorce, that he always seemed to find beautiful and goal-oriented women to spend time with. It seemed that he always managed to date women consumed with their own schedule, and who had a drive to make a difference in other people's lives.
He thought back to his most recent relationships; Sidney, a passionate lawyer that he had seen on and off for almost two years. It was from Sidney that he had learned that some women, no matter what they said, never wanted to settle down. That lesson stung, but he had managed to pick up and move on. After that it was Kate, someone he had quickly fallen into step with. She worked in the next town over as an aide for individuals with special needs. His fast-forming attachment to her ended just as quickly as it started, however, as she was still hung up on her ex-husband. He remembered the baggage he carried for so long after Anastasia, and even though he felt for her situation, he didn't really see their future working out through long talks about past relationships and things that never came to be.
Fast-forwarding back to the present, to Lauren, he thought about the day he first met her. It was at Estelle's parent-teacher conference, Lauren escorting her niece to school as her sister was out of town for the week. Estelle and Lauren's niece, Julia, were in the same class and sometimes sat together at lunch. Mike had immediately been drawn to her the moment Lauren walked in the classroom, he was drawn to the way she had moved elegantly across the room. He remembered thinking that she was classically beautiful with soft skin and glossy lips. He thought it was refreshing to see a woman who wasn't hidden somewhere under a mass of hair products and heavy eyeliner.
Estelle practically tugged his arm off trying to get his attention after that, but he was hooked, he had to talk to her. Mike grinned to himself remembering the way he had nonchalantly approached the table that garnished the cookies and juice, almost knocking a young boy out of the way as he seemed to take forever to pick out a damn cookie. Lauren had been talking to one of the other Mom's who was working behind the refreshments table, but he could see her watching him from the corner of her eye where he was hovering a foot away.
"Excuse me," He could hear himself saying, feeling rather impolite about interrupting the two ladies, but he had to introduce himself. He wasn't going to let this opportunity pass him by.
She turned curiously, making him catch his breath. She was beautiful, stunningly so. "Yes?" She asked in return, eyes sweeping over his face as if trying to paint a recollection of who he could be or what he could want.
Admittedly, he was nervous. As he was approaching the table he had tried to think of a few harmless opening lines, practically pounding the side of his head as Tre's cheesy pick-up lines floated through, ones that the three men exchanged in amusement on the tour bus sometimes, but ones that he would never dare try on a woman. He would certainly be slapped, and he would deserve it. In the end, he had just thrown caution to the wind and hoped that whatever came to mind would be suitable.
"I'm Mike," He mumbled, extending his hand. "My daughter Estelle talks a lot about Julia, I think they're becoming quite good friends."
He could tell she appreciated the common ground to work from. "Oh Estelle, okay, Julia has mentioned your daughter before too." And then finally what Mike was hoping for, a name. "I'm Lauren, Julia's Aunt," She offered, her small hand coming to rest in his.
Eventually, after some small talk over the art projects decorating the classroom, he had asked her out for coffee. She had told him later that she had immediately been drawn to him, that he seemed kind and sort of harmless. He had pretended to be offended, but in all actuality he had been told that most of his life. He really was harmless too; he had just had bad luck in relationships. In fact, he was still convinced that Billie Joe had written the song "Nice Guys Finish Last" just to poke fun at him, but Billie swears up and down he would do nothing of the sort.
Mike did a few neck rolls as he once again came back to the present, still leaning against the sink as he stared out in his backyard. He took a few sips of his lukewarm coffee, softly cursing himself for letting so much time get away from him. As his mind lulled through the schedule for the day, he stopped, swearing loudly at the kitchen counter.
"Ahh fuck me, I'm going to sing that song all day now."
The day before Ava was set to depart for Minnesota she was busy packing in her room, surprised when she heard the doorbell sound. Tre was supposed to come over later, but he wouldn't ring the doorbell, he had a key. Curiously she walks through her apartment, peering through the peephole and jerking her head upon identifying who was standing on the other side.
Pulling the door open Ava regards the spikey-haired man with suspicious eyes. "Hey Bill... what are you doing here?" She asks, noting the black helmet he was carrying in his right hand.
He grins in return, semi-amused that she looked so leery about welcoming him in to her apartment. "Are you busy?" He simply asks, foregoing the forced introductions. He and Ava weren't much for small talk these days anyway.
Ava stares at her brother-in-law for a brief moment, still looking slightly bewildered at this unannounced visit. "Uh, I'm just packing for my trip—"
"Good, come on," Billie insists, waving for her to follow him. "I want to take you for a ride."
She watches him turn to go, ready to laugh. "You want to take me for a ride? What the fuck are you talking about?"
Billie turns to look over his shoulder. "Get your shit and come on," He insists again, not waiting for her response.
Closing the door, Ava hurries back inside, grabbing her purse and keys and sliding into a pair of shoes sitting in the hallway. Rushing outside she locks the door to her apartment, turns, and then comes to a dead stop when she sees Billie throwing his leg over a motorcycle sitting in her parking lot.
"Oh hell no."
Billie slides on his sunglasses, grinning happily. "You like my new toy?" He asks, rubbing his palms over the handles gingerly, staring down at the bike between his legs like it was his newborn child.
"Please tell me Tre didn't buy one too," Ava mumbles, taking a few steps closer, finally smirking in amusement as she notices something particularly interesting about his new purchase. "By the way, the bike is about twice as big as you. Can your feet even touch the ground, or do you need a step stool? Perhaps training wheels?"
His response is to shove a helmet in Ava's direction, followed by a gruff, "Just shut the fuck up and get on."
Ava shrugs innocently, accepting the helmet and trying to swallow more comments about munchkins and leprechauns riding around on Harleys. Using his shoulder as leverage, Ava throws a leg over the scorching hot leather seat and situates herself. Finally, Billie glances over his shoulder as he secures his own helmet. She honestly couldn't believe he would sacrifice his hair to this kind of seemingly cheap thrill.
"You ready for this?" He asks, as if they were going to be embarking on an exciting quest.
"I guess," Ava mumbles unenthusiastically in return, hands barely gripping his sides as the engine roars to life, Billie easing it carefully from the parking space.
For a while they zoomed through the familiar streets of Berkeley, enjoying the scenery and the warm sunshine beating down on their backs. But then Billie took them down a few winding back streets that were easy to get mixed up in, and ones that Ava happened to be unfamiliar with, making her feel slightly uncomfortable now that she couldn't identify her surroundings. She hated admitting to herself that she sometimes had some serious control issues.
When Billie eased up to a stop light somewhere in South Berkeley, Ava leaned forward, pulling at the side of Billie's helmet so she could be heard. "If you're taking me somewhere to be killed I'm going to be severely upset."
Billie just laughs in return, the bottoms of his shoes resting against the street as he waits for the light to turn back again. He sensed that Ava was waiting for a more informative response, this being her way of asking him exactly where they were or where they were going. He recognized this because Adrienne used sarcasm and flippancy as a method of getting him to talk all the time. And like he did with Adrienne, Billie set out to screw with Ava's mind a little simply by seeming aloof and unresponsive. It gave him a sense of control when usually he was just along for the ride, and to be honest, it amused the fuck out of him when Ava sat back again with a small huff. She had just assumed that he was a dumbass when he didn't pick up on her simple cues, and maybe it really was better that way. He wasn't planning to jump through hoops for her, not after all this time.
A few streets later Ava began to recognize her surroundings once again, a frequent visitor to Emeryville and Mike's café. She figured that's exactly where they were going as Billie veered through town, en route down Hollis Street.
"Land!" Ava jokingly proclaims when Billie kills and the engine and climbs off the bike.
He glares down at her. "I'll have you know that car veered at me, not the other way around."
"And the side of the building?" Ava replies, raising an eyebrow as she swings her leg over the seat and stands up. "Did that veer at you too?"
"And miraculously, you lived to tell about it," Billie mumbles back, slowly and carefully sliding the helmet off his head.
Ava watches in amazement as the helmet is removed, his hair unscathed, resilient... and tall. She half expected him to bend and examine himself in the small mirror, but he didn't, he turned and gestured to the restaurant. "I wanted to buy you dinner before you left," He explained. "I know you like the food here and I told Mike to meet us later, but first, I thought we could spend some time talking, catching up."
"Alright, I don't know what kind of sickness you've acquired, but I'm not falling for whatever ploy awaits me on the other side of those doors."
Billie laughs, shrugging innocently. "Can't I just buy my favorite sister-in-law dinner once in a while?"
"Oh my GOD," Ava mumbles, taking a step back and placing a hand to her forehead. "You're dying and you don't know how to tell Adrienne!"
He rolls his eyes. "Oh for fuck's sake, Ava." And when she still doesn't waver from her suspicious stance, he caves, "Alright, get inside and I'll explain."
"Thought so," She murmurs, sidestepping him and welcoming the cool air conditioning that awaited them inside the restaurant.
Ava finds a booth, waving to a familiar waitress as Billie dutifully signs a few autographs and poses for a picture or four. He joins her shortly afterward, mentally thanking her for choosing to sit on the side of the table that faced the door. He didn't have to though, she knew the protocol; she went through these sorts of things with Tre all the time.
"Alright Rocker Barbie, we've ordered our drinks, spill," Ava finally mutters, giving him a rather toothy grin as he rolls his eyes and settles back against the booth.
"Well," Billie begins, slightly resenting the Barbie remark. "I initially wanted to take you out to, uh, sort of thank you for trying to make amends with Adrienne. She has been a lot happier these past few weeks since you asked her to go to Minnesota with you."
"And... " Ava motions impatiently for him to continue.
Billie sighs at her prodding. "And I was thinking about taking Adrienne away for our anniversary next month but I know the boys won't want to stay with my Mom for all that time. So, I was kind of hoping you and Tre wouldn't mind taking them for a few days, maybe more depending on how much Jake whines."
"That's it?" Ava asks, dropping her defenses for a moment. "Oh thank Jesus, I thought you did something stupid and needed me to cover your ass."
"Gee, nothing quite makes my day like you singing my undying praises," Billie sarcastically replies as the waitress sets down their beers.
When she's gone, Ava nods her head. "Of course I'll take the boys, you don't even have to ask."
Billie smiles. "Thanks," His expression is genuine, "I just didn't want to make reservations and stuff without making sure the kids had a place to stay."
The table goes silent for a moment, Billie and Ava choosing separate places on the wall to stare at. "Soo... " Billie trails off, lips puffed out as he exhales loudly, "Aren't ya gonna ask me where we're going?"
Ava shakes her head. "I don't want to know because then I'll probably tell Tre and he has a HUGE mouth."
"So you don't care?"
"Eh, you'll change your mind a million times before you book a place anyway."
Billie can see someone steadily approaching them. He nods his head, relieved, as Mike slides in next to Ava. "Hi Mikey," Ava greets the tall man, nudging him. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves, you're going to give people heart attacks being in here at the same time like this."
Mike grins, noting the fact that Ava looked happier than usual to see him. Billie had told him he could wait until they were done eating to join them but he figured it was safer this way; better safe than sorry was a good motto to use when it came to Ava and Billie. "Hi kid," He finally murmurs, nudging her back. "Hey Bill."
Billie murmurs a hello as Ava replies, "We already ordered but I bet if you went back there and put on your stern face then you could get us our food faster." She grins encouragingly as Mike chuckles.
"You can wait just like everyone else."
Ava pretends to pout, turning her attention back to the doorway just in time to see a familiar body walking through the door. "Did one of you invite Tre?" Ava murmurs, watching in confusion as he strides over to the table.
"Hey assholes... hey girlfriend," He greets the table pleasantly, indicating for Mike to move. "Get the hell out of the way Mike."
Mike glances up, affronted. "You can't sit with Billie just this once?"
Tre shakes his head. "No, I like to watch him eat. And it's easier to watch him eat from where you are."
Ava rolls her eyes as Billie glances up in confusion at the drummer's words. "What the hell are you talking about?"
As Mike stands Tre slides in next to his girlfriend, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "When you eat it's almost secretive, like you're hording it for later or something. It's hot and it makes me hard."
Ava quickly grabs Tre's face in alarm, studying his eyes. "Are you stoned?"
"No," Tre mumbles distractedly, trying to reach around her arms for her beer.
"Then did you and Jason drink those Sneaky Pete's again?" Ava asks, hands still secured around his cheeks as he squirms in place.
"Sneaky Pete's?" Mike echoes, confused. "What the hell is that?"
Tre whines as he slaps Ava's hands away, both ignoring Mike's question. "No, I just like Billie's eating habits is all."
"I don't even want to know what you three do in the studio," Ava finally mumbles, allowing Tre one sip of her beer until he could get one of his own.
"We spend most of our time drinking and fondling one another," Tre light-heartedly confirms, winking at his band mates who both roll their eyes in return.
Billie laughs at the look on Ava's face as Mike settles in next to him. "I guess I know why you're still working on the same song month after month... " She trails off as Billie interrupts.
"Hey, how did you know we were here anyway?" The raven-haired man asks after a moment of watching Ava wrestle her beer back from Tre.
"I called your house and Adrienne said you were taking Ava out."
Ava glances at Billie. "You didn't even bother to tell her you were doing something else? Now she's going to think we're planning something."
"I told Mike I was going to pick you up, not Adrienne," Billie murmurs turning to look at the sheepish bass player sitting next to him.
"I... I didn't know you were keeping it a secret," Mike replies apologetically. "I talked to her briefly this afternoon, she wondered where you ran off too, and she thought maybe you were with me."
Tre waves his hand at the conversation. "Doesn't matter, I invited her out anyway."
Sure enough, a few minutes later Adrienne was walking through the front entrance, grinning. "Hey!" Ava calls, glad to see that her sister had accepted Tre's invitation to join everyone.
"Hey," Adrienne replies, glancing at the limited seating space. "Should I get a chair or—"
"Nah." Tre dismisses her idea, grabbing her elbow and pulling her down next to him. She lands awkwardly on the booth, Ava being squished against the wall slightly as Tre shifts and throws his arm over the top of her shoulders.
"Everyone comfy?" Tre asks, Ava and Adrienne nodding as Mike hands the older sister a menu.
"Tre and I haven't ordered yet either so if you guys want to pick something I'll go in the back and put it in," Mike says just as the waitress comes back to get everyone more drinks.
Billie glances up at Ava as Tre and Adrienne huddle around the same menu, both trying to decide what to have. Ava smiles across the table at him, glad that everyone was here and willing to get along so well. It had been far too long since this had happened, but hopefully in a few weeks time it could go back to being like this constantly. They just needed to make a few adjustments here and there, and for this kind of peace, Ava was willing to do almost anything.
"Ava?" She asks in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
Ava just grins wider, pushing past her sister and dropping her bag off in the front hall. "We," She pointedly begins, strolling into the kitchen for a soda, "Are going on vacation my dear sister."
Adrienne's confused look causes Ava to inwardly giggle as she pops the tab on her drink. "Vacation?" She finally ventures to ask. "Ava, what are you talking about?"
Reclining against the counter, Ava casually shrugs. "We can't seem to get along in this zip code, so, I thought we could travel to one where we do."
"Of course, that makes total sense," Adrienne grumbles, shoving her sister out of the way as she begins pulling random things out of the cupboards for dinner. "I had forgotten that you're such a believer in 'change your location, change your mindset'. Sort of like feng schui, but for your soul."
"It's all about balancing out the good energy, baby!"
Adrienne looks less than convinced as she opens her mouth to protest. "I can't just pick up—"
"Easy woman, easy!" Ava playfully cuts in, hoisting herself up on the countertop before Adrienne could push past her one more time as she made her way around the kitchen. "Before you say no, hear me out."
Ava looks slightly relieved when Adrienne nods in her direction, granting her permission to speak. "I'm not talking about going on a cruise or going to some deserted island for the summer... " She explains as her older sister finally turns to look at her, genuine interest on her face this time instead of suspicion or first signs of stress. "I'm talking about taking the boys and going to see Mom and Dad for a week, maybe a week and a half."
A snort makes its way from Adrienne's mouth as she runs a hand through her long hair. "Mom and Dad's? Are you kidding? That's not exactly the location I had in mind for a vacation. At least not for one that promises restoration."
"Oh I completely agree, but it really makes the most sense," Ava half laughs, "Because think about it, Mom is always complaining about how she never sees her children, let alone her grandchildren. If we went at the end of June that would get her off our backs until at least Christmas." Adrienne nods slightly as Ava continues, "And because I'm granted ten days worth of vacation in the summer, I was thinking we could wait and go in a few weeks when the boys are done with school. Plus, by then the guys will be back in the studio full time, and I don't know about you but I would rather be in Minnesota than here for the first week as they work through the initial bugs, blah blah blah."
"You really think this is going to work?" Adrienne mumbles, leaning a hip against the counter. "You think going away for a week is going to solve our problems?"
Ava shrugs. "I just think that maybe we need some time away from what's been going on around here. We can drink some margaritas, watch Mom and Dad bicker... you know, all that bonding stuff we used to do before it got so bad."
Adrienne rolls her eyes, put off by her sister's easy-going disposition. "I'm glad you're so nonchalant about everything."
"Adrienne, that's not—"
"-Because I feel like you're implying that everything is my fault and this is your way of pacifying me."
Resisting the urge to sigh in frustration, Ava slides off the counter and walks over to Adrienne, gripping the top of her arms for emphasis. "I think you and I just need some time for us, blame set aside. We can talk, bitch slap each other, drink... I mean we'll have to drink anyway because well, Mom will be there. But doesn't that sound kind of nice? A break from the fighting? A break from Tre and Billie?" Ava leans a little closer. "I mean, this is all their fault anyway, right?" She jokes, earning a small smile from Adrienne.
Adrienne stares at Ava for a moment, noting the sincerity and a hint of desperation that makes her leeriness fade into the background. She was excited at the prospect of going away for a while, of going home. No matter how much either sister joked, they couldn't deny that being at home with their parents always made them feel so safe and happy. She also liked the fact that Ava had been the one to initiate this vacation; she appreciated the effort, the gesture.
"You really want to do this?" Adrienne finally asks, as Ava continues to grip her arms, trying to read into the critical expression on her older sister's face.
Ava nods affirmatively. "If I didn't want to I wouldn't have asked."
Gently shrugging herself out of her sister's embrace, Adrienne leans over the counter to grab the cordless phone. "Alright, well, we better call Mom and see what her plans are for the end of June... "
"You tell her," Ava insists when Adrienne begins to shove the phone in her direction. "Last time I told her we were coming she practically deafened me with her shrieking, and then the worrying immediately followed."
Both sisters simultaneously cringe at the thought. "Uhh, lets wait until after dinner to call then," Adrienne finally decides, hanging the phone back up and turning to Ava. "You wanna stay? For dinner, I mean."
Ava nods happily, slightly surprised at the invitation. "Sure, especially if you're making something good."
"I'm making meatloaf."
Playfully frowning, Ava replies, "You can't win them all I guess." She giggles, ducking when a potholder is thrown in her direction. "But really, I'm happy to stay. Mainly because it means I don't have to cook tonight."
"No, but you do get to help with dishes."
Ava jerks her head back. "S'why you have a dishwasher in the house."
"It's actually broken. I need to call and have it fixed," Adrienne grumbles, glancing over at the appliance in question.
"Oh, I was talking about your husband," Ava replies blandly, watching as a second potholder is thrown in her direction.
Adrienne rolls her eyes in response, leaning over to turn on the oven. "Why don't you make yourself useful and decide what you want with the meatloaf."
"I get to pick a side dish?" Ava asks in awe, the sound of her phone distracting her briefly. "Can it be anything I want?" She continues to joke as she moves out of the kitchen and into the front hall where she had thrown her bag. She grabs for the obnoxious device, checking the ID and decidedly silencing it before returning to Adrienne's side.
"Who was it?" Adrienne asks, glancing up from where she was cutting up onions. She had a good idea of who it was but was willing to continue to play nice for the sake of the rest of their evening together.
"Tre," Ava mumbles casually, almost brushing the subject off. "I'll call him back later."
It was yet another small gesture, but one that Adrienne appreciated nonetheless. "Will you grab me an egg and some milk from the fridge?" She asks Ava, watching as the young girl moves gracefully across the floor.
"So," Ava starts, grabbing the requested items from the fridge and turning back to her sister, "I'm thinking about applying to this law firm downtown."
"Yeah?" Adrienne replies curiously. "Why a law firm?"
As Ava went to answer, she found herself grinning a little. For the first time in a long time, this felt right. It felt right to be talking with Adrienne about things she hadn't shared with anyone yet, or even to share anything at all that came to mind. She had missed this, the bantering, the mutual trust. It was like the animosity had vanished for the time being, leaving in its wake a promise at righting where she and Adrienne had gone wrong. Ava found herself willing to do almost anything to make this feeling last.
"We have a BUBBLE!" Ava declares with certainty as she paces in front of the coffee table that Tre currently had his feet propped up on. The two were at his house once again, Tre having just put his son to bed when Ava came tearing through the house, pulling him into the den and insisting he listen to her new findings. So there he was, sitting in the middle of the couch, remote in hand and a confused look on his face.
"A bubble?"
Ava nods furiously, still pacing. "And it all makes sense!"
"It does?" He mumbles, wondering specifically what parts he should be listening to, and what exactly he could block out because she tended to ramble when she was sorting out the odds and ends in her head anyway. Ava was still pacing, hands on her hips, looking as though she just discovered the cure for a sleepless night.
"We're inclusive, we leave people out!"
Tre flips the television on just as Ava turns to face him, pressing 'mute' all in the same motion. "I'm sorry, but are you supposed to include twelve other people in a monogamous relationship? Because I'm pretty sure that's called an or—"
"We need to make more of an effort to be aware of other people," She insists, slapping the back of her left hand against her right palm for emphasis.
On either side of her hips Tre could make out the baseball game he was trying to watch on his wide screen television. "I think you're a bit too concerned about what your sister thinks."
"This has nothing to DO with Adrienne," Ava insists, tapping her fingers against her hips in thought. "Well, it sort of does, as she is one of the people that we exclude... but this is something I thought of on my way home. And I think maybe this is one of the things that Mike was trying to get me to see the other night."
When Tre doesn't reply, his eyes slight averted, Ava grumbles, walking over to him and snatching the remote from his hand. "I know the television is on dumbass, I can see the reflection in the painting above your head."
His bottom lip automatically puffs out. "Ahh, come on, the—"
"We're going on vacation in two weeks and that'll do its part to help, but we do need to make more of an effort in the meantime. This is really important to me, it's important that I mend my relationship with Adrienne."
Tre does react this time, opening his arms and motioning her to him in concern. "Come here."
"What?" Ava asks, "I'm on a roll here, I'm trying to—"
"No, no. Just, come here," He insists again. "You've had a really long day of acting crazy and before I commit you I just want you to come over here and we'll watch some baseball and I'll pet your hair—"
"I don't want you to pet my hair, I want you to get behind me on this."
When Tre's eyebrow cocks in smugness at what she's just said, she holds a hand up. "I apologize for my choice of words. I want you to SUPPORT me on this. How's that?"
Tre shrugs. "I liked it better when you were talking about your behind."
Ava sighs, walking a few steps and plopping down next to him. "You really think I'm crazy for wanting to make things okay? For trying to figure this out?"
Tre eyes the remote in her hand, licking his lips. "I don't think you're crazy, I just think that your inherited craziness tends to emerge like a bad sidekick when you adopt missions like these."
"Like a bad sidekick? Wow, your creativity is really unstoppable when it comes to metaphors."
Tre snorts and in one swift motion he had secured the remote again, turning away from Ava's protesting hands as he flipped the game back on. "Whoo!" He whoops, still fending off his girlfriend's arms as she flails and practically climbs on top of him. "Just let me watch ten minutes of this game and then I'll listen to you talk incessantly about your sister... it's not like she doesn't get brought up every OTHER night of the freakin' week." Ava giggles as Tre exaggerates his words in mock annoyance. She finally stops batting at him, instead settling for snuggling into his side.
They sat quietly for a few moments, Ava bored, Tre entertained. As she blurred out the game in front of her she began thinking about her relationships, about the give and take between Tre and her, and then between her and Adrienne. She couldn't understand her sister's reasoning for wanting her to be careful, maybe because she was so far beyond any sort of reasoning when it came to Tre. She acted on what she felt, and she loved him unconditionally.
"Love you," Ava declares after a minute, his eyes still darting across the screen as she emerges from her thoughts.
Tre glances down as she tilts her head up, grinning a little from behind her long eyelashes. He lived for these kinds of sentiments; random ones that made his heart speed up just a little faster. "Love you too," He replies just as softly, planting a kiss on her lips that lasted a few peaceful seconds.
It was during moments like these that he knew that he would fight for her with everything he had. He wasn't sure why, but his instincts to protect her were raging strong on this particular evening, just like they had been in the past weeks, teasing and playful fighting aside. He saw hints of underlying weakness in her eyes sometimes, and he knew deep down that Adrienne held more cards than anyone cared to mention. She had mangled their relationship before and she could do it again, but this time he wasn't going down without a fight.
Mike was decidedly moving slow with Lauren, having had quite a few failed relationships in the past years. Some of these relationships he wanted to forget, some he still wished he could go back and change, and some yet that only ached dully in the back of his mind after too much drink or too many lonely hours at home. Mending relationships seemed to be a common theme in the group lately, a thought that made Mike chuckle to himself as he wandered downstairs to make coffee one morning.
Lauren had left early for her shift at the hospital, and since then he hadn't been able to fall back asleep. He wished sometimes he could shut off his mind, block off impending and sometimes doom-ridden thoughts, but he couldn't. He never had been able to, even when he was younger. He could remember kids from his high school, and other close friends, practically lining up to seek his advice about school, parents, relationships, friends, the list going on and on. He enjoyed being the dependable and trusted friend, but sometimes he wished he had more time to himself. Unfortunately though, when he did, he usually ended up overanalyzing anything and everything he could get his mind wrapped around. Today, the overanalyzing began with Lauren. Although, he didn't particularly mind that she was the one consuming him on this bright and humid morning.
As the warm fragrance of coffee filtered through the air Mike shut his eyes and thought of Lauren's smile, her laugh. He found himself growing more and more familiar each day with her likes and dislikes, her unique personality quirks, and in general the little things that made her tick. He thought about her passion for helping others, her love for the kids she treated and the establishment she worked for. She really was a beautiful person, inside and out.
Mike's eyes drew open as the coffee finished brewing, his long arm already reaching up over the sink for a mug. He couldn't help thinking through the course of his dating years after his divorce, that he always seemed to find beautiful and goal-oriented women to spend time with. It seemed that he always managed to date women consumed with their own schedule, and who had a drive to make a difference in other people's lives.
He thought back to his most recent relationships; Sidney, a passionate lawyer that he had seen on and off for almost two years. It was from Sidney that he had learned that some women, no matter what they said, never wanted to settle down. That lesson stung, but he had managed to pick up and move on. After that it was Kate, someone he had quickly fallen into step with. She worked in the next town over as an aide for individuals with special needs. His fast-forming attachment to her ended just as quickly as it started, however, as she was still hung up on her ex-husband. He remembered the baggage he carried for so long after Anastasia, and even though he felt for her situation, he didn't really see their future working out through long talks about past relationships and things that never came to be.
Fast-forwarding back to the present, to Lauren, he thought about the day he first met her. It was at Estelle's parent-teacher conference, Lauren escorting her niece to school as her sister was out of town for the week. Estelle and Lauren's niece, Julia, were in the same class and sometimes sat together at lunch. Mike had immediately been drawn to her the moment Lauren walked in the classroom, he was drawn to the way she had moved elegantly across the room. He remembered thinking that she was classically beautiful with soft skin and glossy lips. He thought it was refreshing to see a woman who wasn't hidden somewhere under a mass of hair products and heavy eyeliner.
Estelle practically tugged his arm off trying to get his attention after that, but he was hooked, he had to talk to her. Mike grinned to himself remembering the way he had nonchalantly approached the table that garnished the cookies and juice, almost knocking a young boy out of the way as he seemed to take forever to pick out a damn cookie. Lauren had been talking to one of the other Mom's who was working behind the refreshments table, but he could see her watching him from the corner of her eye where he was hovering a foot away.
"Excuse me," He could hear himself saying, feeling rather impolite about interrupting the two ladies, but he had to introduce himself. He wasn't going to let this opportunity pass him by.
She turned curiously, making him catch his breath. She was beautiful, stunningly so. "Yes?" She asked in return, eyes sweeping over his face as if trying to paint a recollection of who he could be or what he could want.
Admittedly, he was nervous. As he was approaching the table he had tried to think of a few harmless opening lines, practically pounding the side of his head as Tre's cheesy pick-up lines floated through, ones that the three men exchanged in amusement on the tour bus sometimes, but ones that he would never dare try on a woman. He would certainly be slapped, and he would deserve it. In the end, he had just thrown caution to the wind and hoped that whatever came to mind would be suitable.
"I'm Mike," He mumbled, extending his hand. "My daughter Estelle talks a lot about Julia, I think they're becoming quite good friends."
He could tell she appreciated the common ground to work from. "Oh Estelle, okay, Julia has mentioned your daughter before too." And then finally what Mike was hoping for, a name. "I'm Lauren, Julia's Aunt," She offered, her small hand coming to rest in his.
Eventually, after some small talk over the art projects decorating the classroom, he had asked her out for coffee. She had told him later that she had immediately been drawn to him, that he seemed kind and sort of harmless. He had pretended to be offended, but in all actuality he had been told that most of his life. He really was harmless too; he had just had bad luck in relationships. In fact, he was still convinced that Billie Joe had written the song "Nice Guys Finish Last" just to poke fun at him, but Billie swears up and down he would do nothing of the sort.
Mike did a few neck rolls as he once again came back to the present, still leaning against the sink as he stared out in his backyard. He took a few sips of his lukewarm coffee, softly cursing himself for letting so much time get away from him. As his mind lulled through the schedule for the day, he stopped, swearing loudly at the kitchen counter.
"Ahh fuck me, I'm going to sing that song all day now."
The day before Ava was set to depart for Minnesota she was busy packing in her room, surprised when she heard the doorbell sound. Tre was supposed to come over later, but he wouldn't ring the doorbell, he had a key. Curiously she walks through her apartment, peering through the peephole and jerking her head upon identifying who was standing on the other side.
Pulling the door open Ava regards the spikey-haired man with suspicious eyes. "Hey Bill... what are you doing here?" She asks, noting the black helmet he was carrying in his right hand.
He grins in return, semi-amused that she looked so leery about welcoming him in to her apartment. "Are you busy?" He simply asks, foregoing the forced introductions. He and Ava weren't much for small talk these days anyway.
Ava stares at her brother-in-law for a brief moment, still looking slightly bewildered at this unannounced visit. "Uh, I'm just packing for my trip—"
"Good, come on," Billie insists, waving for her to follow him. "I want to take you for a ride."
She watches him turn to go, ready to laugh. "You want to take me for a ride? What the fuck are you talking about?"
Billie turns to look over his shoulder. "Get your shit and come on," He insists again, not waiting for her response.
Closing the door, Ava hurries back inside, grabbing her purse and keys and sliding into a pair of shoes sitting in the hallway. Rushing outside she locks the door to her apartment, turns, and then comes to a dead stop when she sees Billie throwing his leg over a motorcycle sitting in her parking lot.
"Oh hell no."
Billie slides on his sunglasses, grinning happily. "You like my new toy?" He asks, rubbing his palms over the handles gingerly, staring down at the bike between his legs like it was his newborn child.
"Please tell me Tre didn't buy one too," Ava mumbles, taking a few steps closer, finally smirking in amusement as she notices something particularly interesting about his new purchase. "By the way, the bike is about twice as big as you. Can your feet even touch the ground, or do you need a step stool? Perhaps training wheels?"
His response is to shove a helmet in Ava's direction, followed by a gruff, "Just shut the fuck up and get on."
Ava shrugs innocently, accepting the helmet and trying to swallow more comments about munchkins and leprechauns riding around on Harleys. Using his shoulder as leverage, Ava throws a leg over the scorching hot leather seat and situates herself. Finally, Billie glances over his shoulder as he secures his own helmet. She honestly couldn't believe he would sacrifice his hair to this kind of seemingly cheap thrill.
"You ready for this?" He asks, as if they were going to be embarking on an exciting quest.
"I guess," Ava mumbles unenthusiastically in return, hands barely gripping his sides as the engine roars to life, Billie easing it carefully from the parking space.
For a while they zoomed through the familiar streets of Berkeley, enjoying the scenery and the warm sunshine beating down on their backs. But then Billie took them down a few winding back streets that were easy to get mixed up in, and ones that Ava happened to be unfamiliar with, making her feel slightly uncomfortable now that she couldn't identify her surroundings. She hated admitting to herself that she sometimes had some serious control issues.
When Billie eased up to a stop light somewhere in South Berkeley, Ava leaned forward, pulling at the side of Billie's helmet so she could be heard. "If you're taking me somewhere to be killed I'm going to be severely upset."
Billie just laughs in return, the bottoms of his shoes resting against the street as he waits for the light to turn back again. He sensed that Ava was waiting for a more informative response, this being her way of asking him exactly where they were or where they were going. He recognized this because Adrienne used sarcasm and flippancy as a method of getting him to talk all the time. And like he did with Adrienne, Billie set out to screw with Ava's mind a little simply by seeming aloof and unresponsive. It gave him a sense of control when usually he was just along for the ride, and to be honest, it amused the fuck out of him when Ava sat back again with a small huff. She had just assumed that he was a dumbass when he didn't pick up on her simple cues, and maybe it really was better that way. He wasn't planning to jump through hoops for her, not after all this time.
A few streets later Ava began to recognize her surroundings once again, a frequent visitor to Emeryville and Mike's café. She figured that's exactly where they were going as Billie veered through town, en route down Hollis Street.
"Land!" Ava jokingly proclaims when Billie kills and the engine and climbs off the bike.
He glares down at her. "I'll have you know that car veered at me, not the other way around."
"And the side of the building?" Ava replies, raising an eyebrow as she swings her leg over the seat and stands up. "Did that veer at you too?"
"And miraculously, you lived to tell about it," Billie mumbles back, slowly and carefully sliding the helmet off his head.
Ava watches in amazement as the helmet is removed, his hair unscathed, resilient... and tall. She half expected him to bend and examine himself in the small mirror, but he didn't, he turned and gestured to the restaurant. "I wanted to buy you dinner before you left," He explained. "I know you like the food here and I told Mike to meet us later, but first, I thought we could spend some time talking, catching up."
"Alright, I don't know what kind of sickness you've acquired, but I'm not falling for whatever ploy awaits me on the other side of those doors."
Billie laughs, shrugging innocently. "Can't I just buy my favorite sister-in-law dinner once in a while?"
"Oh my GOD," Ava mumbles, taking a step back and placing a hand to her forehead. "You're dying and you don't know how to tell Adrienne!"
He rolls his eyes. "Oh for fuck's sake, Ava." And when she still doesn't waver from her suspicious stance, he caves, "Alright, get inside and I'll explain."
"Thought so," She murmurs, sidestepping him and welcoming the cool air conditioning that awaited them inside the restaurant.
Ava finds a booth, waving to a familiar waitress as Billie dutifully signs a few autographs and poses for a picture or four. He joins her shortly afterward, mentally thanking her for choosing to sit on the side of the table that faced the door. He didn't have to though, she knew the protocol; she went through these sorts of things with Tre all the time.
"Alright Rocker Barbie, we've ordered our drinks, spill," Ava finally mutters, giving him a rather toothy grin as he rolls his eyes and settles back against the booth.
"Well," Billie begins, slightly resenting the Barbie remark. "I initially wanted to take you out to, uh, sort of thank you for trying to make amends with Adrienne. She has been a lot happier these past few weeks since you asked her to go to Minnesota with you."
"And... " Ava motions impatiently for him to continue.
Billie sighs at her prodding. "And I was thinking about taking Adrienne away for our anniversary next month but I know the boys won't want to stay with my Mom for all that time. So, I was kind of hoping you and Tre wouldn't mind taking them for a few days, maybe more depending on how much Jake whines."
"That's it?" Ava asks, dropping her defenses for a moment. "Oh thank Jesus, I thought you did something stupid and needed me to cover your ass."
"Gee, nothing quite makes my day like you singing my undying praises," Billie sarcastically replies as the waitress sets down their beers.
When she's gone, Ava nods her head. "Of course I'll take the boys, you don't even have to ask."
Billie smiles. "Thanks," His expression is genuine, "I just didn't want to make reservations and stuff without making sure the kids had a place to stay."
The table goes silent for a moment, Billie and Ava choosing separate places on the wall to stare at. "Soo... " Billie trails off, lips puffed out as he exhales loudly, "Aren't ya gonna ask me where we're going?"
Ava shakes her head. "I don't want to know because then I'll probably tell Tre and he has a HUGE mouth."
"So you don't care?"
"Eh, you'll change your mind a million times before you book a place anyway."
Billie can see someone steadily approaching them. He nods his head, relieved, as Mike slides in next to Ava. "Hi Mikey," Ava greets the tall man, nudging him. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves, you're going to give people heart attacks being in here at the same time like this."
Mike grins, noting the fact that Ava looked happier than usual to see him. Billie had told him he could wait until they were done eating to join them but he figured it was safer this way; better safe than sorry was a good motto to use when it came to Ava and Billie. "Hi kid," He finally murmurs, nudging her back. "Hey Bill."
Billie murmurs a hello as Ava replies, "We already ordered but I bet if you went back there and put on your stern face then you could get us our food faster." She grins encouragingly as Mike chuckles.
"You can wait just like everyone else."
Ava pretends to pout, turning her attention back to the doorway just in time to see a familiar body walking through the door. "Did one of you invite Tre?" Ava murmurs, watching in confusion as he strides over to the table.
"Hey assholes... hey girlfriend," He greets the table pleasantly, indicating for Mike to move. "Get the hell out of the way Mike."
Mike glances up, affronted. "You can't sit with Billie just this once?"
Tre shakes his head. "No, I like to watch him eat. And it's easier to watch him eat from where you are."
Ava rolls her eyes as Billie glances up in confusion at the drummer's words. "What the hell are you talking about?"
As Mike stands Tre slides in next to his girlfriend, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "When you eat it's almost secretive, like you're hording it for later or something. It's hot and it makes me hard."
Ava quickly grabs Tre's face in alarm, studying his eyes. "Are you stoned?"
"No," Tre mumbles distractedly, trying to reach around her arms for her beer.
"Then did you and Jason drink those Sneaky Pete's again?" Ava asks, hands still secured around his cheeks as he squirms in place.
"Sneaky Pete's?" Mike echoes, confused. "What the hell is that?"
Tre whines as he slaps Ava's hands away, both ignoring Mike's question. "No, I just like Billie's eating habits is all."
"I don't even want to know what you three do in the studio," Ava finally mumbles, allowing Tre one sip of her beer until he could get one of his own.
"We spend most of our time drinking and fondling one another," Tre light-heartedly confirms, winking at his band mates who both roll their eyes in return.
Billie laughs at the look on Ava's face as Mike settles in next to him. "I guess I know why you're still working on the same song month after month... " She trails off as Billie interrupts.
"Hey, how did you know we were here anyway?" The raven-haired man asks after a moment of watching Ava wrestle her beer back from Tre.
"I called your house and Adrienne said you were taking Ava out."
Ava glances at Billie. "You didn't even bother to tell her you were doing something else? Now she's going to think we're planning something."
"I told Mike I was going to pick you up, not Adrienne," Billie murmurs turning to look at the sheepish bass player sitting next to him.
"I... I didn't know you were keeping it a secret," Mike replies apologetically. "I talked to her briefly this afternoon, she wondered where you ran off too, and she thought maybe you were with me."
Tre waves his hand at the conversation. "Doesn't matter, I invited her out anyway."
Sure enough, a few minutes later Adrienne was walking through the front entrance, grinning. "Hey!" Ava calls, glad to see that her sister had accepted Tre's invitation to join everyone.
"Hey," Adrienne replies, glancing at the limited seating space. "Should I get a chair or—"
"Nah." Tre dismisses her idea, grabbing her elbow and pulling her down next to him. She lands awkwardly on the booth, Ava being squished against the wall slightly as Tre shifts and throws his arm over the top of her shoulders.
"Everyone comfy?" Tre asks, Ava and Adrienne nodding as Mike hands the older sister a menu.
"Tre and I haven't ordered yet either so if you guys want to pick something I'll go in the back and put it in," Mike says just as the waitress comes back to get everyone more drinks.
Billie glances up at Ava as Tre and Adrienne huddle around the same menu, both trying to decide what to have. Ava smiles across the table at him, glad that everyone was here and willing to get along so well. It had been far too long since this had happened, but hopefully in a few weeks time it could go back to being like this constantly. They just needed to make a few adjustments here and there, and for this kind of peace, Ava was willing to do almost anything.
