The Innocent Can Never Last

Will It Ever End?

Billie's POV

It was eleven o'clock in the morning, two days after our explosive first performance on Gilman Street. I was sleeping peacefully on my bed, when I was suddenly woken by a loud crash, and the obnoxiously loud voices of Mike and Tre. I sat bolt upright in bed, as the two of them came plowing through my bedroom door, looking like they had just chugged ten cups of coffee apiece. "What the hell are you idiots doing?" I asked groggily, as I sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"It's time to wake up, BJ!" Tre shouted. "While the day is still new!"

"Who cares? I'm tired," I said, slumping back against my pillows, as Tre began jumping on my bed.

"That's what coffee is for, Bill!" Tre shouted, as he jumped around excitedly.

"Yeah, me and Tre both had like, five cups, and we've been up since six this morning," Mike said. "We've been getting ready for the barbecue, and you'd be doing the same, if you had any courtesy."

"Is that why you guys smell like toilet bowl cleaner?" I asked, as a strong smell of bleach hit my nostrils.

"Yep! We were assigned to clean the bathrooms!" Tre said, still jumping on the bed. "You should be helping us!"

"Yeah, right, it's too early," I said, rolling over to face the wall.
We sat there in silence for several seconds, before Mike yawned and said, "Have you called Emma yet?"

"No, why do I have to call her?"

"Because you need to invite her to the barbecue," Mike said.

"Why do I have to do it? Why can't you?" I asked.

"Because Emma's pissed at me because I haven't called her in like, three weeks," Mike said. "You need to do it."

"No, you do it. Now screw off, I'm trying to sleep," I said, kicking Tre off of my bed, as I pulled my blankets over my head and closed my eyes. I heard Tre hit the floor, and then Mike sighed, and said, "I guess we're not wanted, Tre. Come on, let's go."

I heard the two of them get up and leave the room, closing the door behind them. I sighed, and settled down into my bed, and I was almost completely asleep once more, when the door suddenly crashed open again. There was a loud crack, and I felt something hard connect painfully with the back of my head, which quickly exploded in pain.

"What the hell, man?" I shouted, jumping out of bed, holding my head in my hands.

Mike was standing in the doorway, laughing hysterically, as I hopped around, screaming in pain. "What did you do?" I shouted, looking around the room, trying to figure out what had hit me.

I ripped back some of the blankets on my bed, and out fell the big house phone, looking ever so innocent, laying there on the bed. "You hit me with the phone?" I said, and Mike laughed even harder.

"Call Emma, goddammit," Mike said, as I continued to rub the back of my head, which was still throbbing.

"Fine, geez, but get the hell out," I said, and Mike laughed yet again, as he went skipping off down the hallway.

Making a mental note to never let Mike drink that much coffee ever again, I sat down on the bed and dialed Emma's number. The phone rang several times, before I heard someone pick up, and there was a familiar "Hello?" on the other line.

"Hey, Emma, it's Billie," I said, leaning back into my pillows, trying to ignore the pain in my head.

"Hey, what's going on?" Emma asked pleasantly.
"Well, I was calling to invite you to a barbecue, actually," I said. "A bunch of us guys are going to be cooking out this afternoon, and all that shit, and I wondered if you wanted to come?"