Billie Joe Armstrong is my step-father... and I hate it [EDITING]

16. Say Goodbye [Edited]

I let Kage test the waters with how easy it would be to get out of the dinner on Sunday and as it turned out, it was near impossible. Kage was intending to use football training as his excuse but mom told him that he had all week to sort it out and that he had promised to be there, therefore he had to and if he even thought about skipping it, he'd be grounded for the week. There went my excuse of last minute Juilliard training - I had even arranged a fake phone call I would have with Danny, who rang me to find out the outcome of the situation.

I had told him everything that she had told Kage. He was sympathetic enough, but he also added, "You never know, you might find it was worth it to go. You get along with at least one of them, you could at least say goodbye to him."

That reminded me of how much I didn't want to see Joey. Neither of us had spoken to each other about what happened on Friday morning. Neither of us had spoken to each other, period. When we saw each other, we just avoided eye contact and moved past each other. I hadn't seen him the rest of that Friday, seeing as I was with Aiden and that Saturday, he even resorted to pretending that he didn't feel well to get out sitting with me in the kitchen.

I didn't even want to think about what it would be like at dinner.

On top of that, things hadn't been great with Billie and I either. I wasn't sure if it was because he was reaching the end of the line with me or not, but I noticed he wasn't as quick to come back with something smart whenever I made sly quips at him. He now just looked a bit annoyed and glanced towards my mom, as though to remind himself why he was putting up with me in the first place. Something told me that I should feel bad about that, but I didn't - but at least we weren't shouting at each other.

There were no arguments kicking off but the tension was so terrible, we all almost wished there was, just to settle the air.

Seeing as Billie went to the effort of booking somewhere quite fancy for us to eat, I decided to make an effort with how I looked. After Aiden had taken me out the night before, I had learned how to dress up a little more and I picked out a nice dress that reached just above my knees - an off the shoulder, floral print dress with a pale blue background shade I had bought a while ago but never had the excuse to wear. My makeup was a lot more natural this time compared to the dark makeup I wore around my friends. I paired it off with a pair of heels Andy had given to me and I looked more elegant than I had ever felt. I rarely dressed like this for anyone - Billie should count himself fortunate I'm making an effort at all.

Kage evidently didn't feel the same way. Dressed in a white T-shirt, his football jacket, a pair of jeans that obviously hadn't been washed and beat down Adidas trainers, he looked as though he'd rather be anywhere else. Knowing my younger brother though, it was more of a protest against having to dress up and go somewhere fancy rather than to make a statement about his feelings towards the engagement. Kage didn't do fancy.

The Armstrong boys were meeting us there, so our mother rounded us up in the kitchen before we left. I walked in first and she praised me on making an effort, her face lighting up when she looked at me but falling instantly when Kage stormed in after me.

"Kage, couldn't you at least try to look nice?" she sighed. She herself looked fantastic, wearing a red cocktail dress that brought out the colours in her cheeks, hair and eyes. Even Hollie was dressed nicely in a frilly little dress - Kage stuck out like a sore thumb.

He rolled his eyes and slumped his shoulders, the way most teenage boys would when being told off. "This is me looking nice, mom," he groaned, looking exhausted already.

"That's not true, I've seen you dress much nicer than this before. I know you have nicer clothes up there," mom scolded him, crossing her arms. "You know, Bille went to the effort of organising this night for us, you could at least take a leaf out of Grace's book and try."