No One Knows (Sequel to 16) (Completed)

Chapter 1: See You Tonight

Billie's POV

"You alright Bill?"

The night was buzzing. I could feel the energy around me as if it had been injected into my bloodstream, leaving my body shaking from fear and uncontainable excitement. 

Only getting on the stage at Gilman could do that to you. 

I gave a smile and nodded to Mike. He looked to Tré and then there was nothing but a bright light amongst a mass of churning bodies in the dim. I blinked, once, then twice.

"We're Green Day. This is Don't Leave Me." 

I couldn't hear anything after that except for my voice and Blue and Mike and Tré and my heartbeat pounding in my ears. It was a blur like it always was, over so fast and leaving me standing there, feeling myself return to consciousness. There were drunken shrieks of praise and vague applause and I heard Mike tuning up for the next one, but I felt that twinge. It was the one I always got when I knew she was there. 

Casting a hand over my eyes I gazed over the cluster of sweaty people in the cramped space, searching for that face which was seared into my mind's eye. I stopped when I recognised the wide, toothy grin of Mona, who was waving frantically and looking fantastically out of place in a sparkly mini-dress. I swept my sight just directly to her right and I found her, and she looked like she had been watching me carry out this charade because she smirked and gave me a little wave. Her eyes reflected the shifting shadows of the figures around her and her lips broadened into a real smile when we started up again. She ran her fingers through her hair and thrashed her body in that way which I knew so well, but it was strange to see her from a distance rather than being beside her. She was wearing one of my "The Who" shirts. 

I didn't look at her again until we got off the stage. We both knew that she freaked me out when I was performing. I couldn't exactly say why. 

"You guys were great! Seriously I'm coming to all your shows now, you've gained a fan!" Mona gave us all huge hugs when she came bounding up to us, causing Mike to make a weird spluttering noise in the back of his throat and turn pink. I think he could never forget the time he gave her a right big kiss in the 5th grade. She slapped him so hard that her handprint was visible as a crimson welt on his cheek for a good couple of hours. 

Annabel materialised behind her. 

"Your E string was flat in I Was There, but besides that you were alright." 

"Oh I'm sorry mademoiselle, please write down any complaints and submit them to our opinions box at 1224 Stick It Up Your Ass street, Gofuckyourself."

"Very funny but you're way too broke to have an address at Gofuckyourself Tré, that place is prime real-estate."

"Little shit." I laughed, giving her hair a scruff and throwing my arm around her, pulling her to me. She elbowed me but just soft enough for me to know better. 

"We'll meet you guys outside." I called to Mona and the boys as we began to worm our way through the crowd to the door. They waved us off and then migrated with the rest of the mob towards the stage as the next set came on. 

The air was crisp but still warm, considering it was late in April and spring was in full swing. Not that spring was anything stupendous in Rodeo, considering not a lot grows. We made our way behind the building to sit on a wall that opened out onto a empty field. After climbing up I gave her a cigarette, popped one in my own mouth and the usual end to the night began. 

"You were really good Billie." She breathed after a little while, her voice soft and sincere. 

"Thank you."

The usual quiet, fragmented chatter drifted between us like smoke on the breeze, such as some lines from a book she was reading or a vinyl I had seen in Berkley. I liked those conversations, the ones as warm and light as the air. She went silent for a moment though, as if thinking about something. Then she touched my arm, making me jump and grab her wrist, barring her movement. She didn't try to escape from my hold, only looked at me with those bright eyes in deep concern.

"How's it?"

I let her go then, easing my jacket sleeve up to expose the blackening mass of bruises on my forearm. 

"It's alright."

She studied it carefully, her fingertips tracing over the stained skin.

"Did he say why?"

"No, he just gets a kick from it I suppose." I sounded hollow and I felt it to, pulling my arms into my chest.

"I fucking hate him." She spat. I whipped my head to face her, stunned. She was staring straight ahead and her fingers were trembling as she inhaled long and hard, her other hand gripping the edge of the wall so forcefully that her knuckles were turning white. Despite the sombreness of it all I couldn't help my mouth curling into a smile. 

"Something about you's different."

Her face snapped to mine. 

"What?"

 I considered her thoroughly, the light freckle or two on her nose that had appeared from the California sun, her sooty, matted lashes, her frowning lips which were always pink like that champagne my mother used to buy. Her hair was the same, long, soft and the colour of milk chocolate (or muddy puddles, as she insisted). Then it dawned on me.

"You have a new piercing!" My fingers pinched the rim of her ear on which was a sparkling companion to her usual earring dangling modestly from her lobe. There it was, a silver ring jutting out of top. 

"Quit it! No one knows yet..." She blushed, smacking my hand away and pulling her hair down to cover it. I was quick to pull it out of the way. 

"I like it!"

She glanced sheepishly up at me. "You do?"

"Yeah!" I flicked my thumb over it grinning, watching a hint of a smile tweak her lips.

"Fuck, you're like Sherlock Holmes or some shit. Either that or you keep tabs on my ears."

"I keep tabs on you in general I reckon."

She smiled genuinely then, and we both sat in silence. Summer, creeping slowly and tantalisingly closer, was on my mind. 

I had no idea what the next few months would bring...

A/N alright here's a little opening. it's set about 4 months after 16 left off. thanks for reading!