Yes, Ma'am || B.J.A.

-thirty seven-

It was opening night of American Idiot.

It was rather nerve wracking and everyone in the cast and crew were definitely nervous and anxious. Although there wasn't nearly as much tension as I thought there would be. After our little 'Homecoming' performance, we all had gotten to know each other on a better, personal level. Billie had booked an event room at a pub downtown for after the show, so I guess everyone was looking forward to that. I was definitely gonna need a drink or two after tonight. 

I hadn't really seen much of Billie today but I wasn't too worried. Mike had let me know that Billie liked to be on his own before a show, to keep to himself and not get psyched out or anything. I respected that.

"Nervous?" Van spoke up as he had walked over to me. 

"Is it that obvious?" I chuckled.

"Only a little. But you're gonna kill it tonight, don't even worry" he smiled reassuringly.

I grinned at this. "You mean, we're gonna kill it" I held my fist out, to which he laughed and bumped his fist against mine. 

It was now five minutes until show time and my anxiety was getting the better of me. Call me a little bitch, but not having my support system with me right now was getting the better of me. Cody was out sitting in his seat with Ashley and her boyfriend, waiting to see us perform. Mike, Tre, Jeff, and the two Jason's were off together prepping for the show, and Billie. Well, I have no idea. 

As we were all getting into positions for the show to start, I was approached by my nemesis', so to speak.

"Hey Melina, can we talk?" Tracey asked, Jordan standing next to her. I hadn't spoken to either of them since our altercation a while back. They kept their distance and so did I. I was used to their dirty looks and snide comments. But this time it was different. They weren't trying to intimidate me. They just looked... awkward. 

"Yeah sure." I nodded. 

"We wanted to apologize for how rude and obnoxious we've been to you the past few months." Tracey said. 

"I think we acted that way because we were intimidated by you. And when you secured yourself a main role, we were furious" Jordan added. 

"Yeah, so we're sorry. It probably doesn't mean much, but we truly are" Tracey spoke, small sympathetic smiles were on their faces. 

I shot them a small smile as well. "Well thank you, that means a lot. And I'm not good at holding grudges so, truce?" I asked, holding my fist out. 

They laughed at my gesture and took turns bumping my fist with their own as we agreed to call a truce. Hell, maybe even one day we could be friends. I was good with being civil. 

"Alright everyone in positions? We got a minute till show time!" Billie Joe announced, making his presence known to everyone. I smiled as I saw him. He still looked anxious which was understandable. This was huge for him. And I got to be apart of it. I wanted to do him proud. 

I waved goodbye to Tracey and Jordan as they took off to the side stage, we all wished each other good luck. Everyone was in proper position and Billie came over towards me, we were a little far off from the rest of the cast. 

"You ready?" Billie asked, voice a little gruff due to how tense he was.

"You better believe it" I smiled at him reassuringly. 

"That's my girl" he finally smiled, pecking my lips before taking off to his spot. 

The lights went out and the curtain was raised. All I could hear was clapping and deafening cheers. Goosebumps broke out all over my skin. This was it.

And then, an all too familiar riff started. 

"Don't wanna be an American Idiot...."

. . .

The show had been absolutely amazing! Everyone from cast to crew was giving everything they had and anytime he could, Billie was smiling at everyone apart of the show and nodding his approval. 

We had just wrapped up Whatsername and now everyone was on stage for the finale. Good Riddance. Everyone took a seat on the stage while the main characters played acoustic guitars and sang.

Billie, of course started us off.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road,

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

Van, better known as Johnny continued.

So make the best of this test and don't ask why

It's not a question but a lesson learned in time. 

Lucas, better known as Will, joined in with Van.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,

I hope you had the time of your life

Now it was Carl (Tunny) and  Layla's (The Extraordinary Girl) turn.

So take the photographs and still frames in your mind,

Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time

Marlee who played Heather was next

Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial

And finally, me. I made sure to look over at Billie for my part.

For what it's worth, it was worth all the while.

He smiled brightly at me, making me smile right back. My group all joined together to sing.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,

I hope you had the time of your life

We all strummed away at our guitars as everyone cheered for us. We moved around and performed for the cast as well, getting everyone into it. 

When we walked back to the front of the stage, Billie and I were standing next to each other, front and center for the grand finale. Billie did the honors of wrapping it up.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,

I hope you had the time of your life

We finished playing and received a standing ovation. I couldn't stop the huge smile that graced my face and clearly no one else in the cast could either. Especially Billie. He looked like a kid on Christmas. We all took a bow and when we came back up I looked at Billie. 

"You did it" I smiled proudly. 

He shook his head with a grin. "We did it" 

. . .

A/N: BAM. Hello there. 

Okay, I won't lie to you. School has been kicking my ass but I've been doing pretty stellar grade wise which has made me push aside writing. And by doing that, I fell out of love with this story. I had no real ideas for it. It's near the end of the book too which makes that sad for me cause I really REALLY want to finish it but I don't wanna write shit chapters. Plus, I can feel that most people have ditched this book and I don't really blame you.

To the people that have stuck by me however, thank you so damn much. It really, really means a lot to me and I'm sorry for how long my updates have taken me. I can't really promise faster updates on this due to how stressful and busy my life has become but I'm gonna try harder. 

Thanks for reading and please let me know what ya think! Have a good day/night/week/month/life! <3

Rage & Love ~