Save Battery City

Dreams again?

"Come on, Chaz, let's go." Mike was grabbing my arm, trying to pull me onto the Traveller. 

"Are we sure about this?" I asked.

"No, of course not," he replied. "Now come on." He yanked on my arm, causing me to step on the Traveller. There was a suffocating light and we were somewhere completely different. Mike was next to me. He smiled and we adventured into the city.

-

Hayley sat up, confused. That was a weird dream, she thought to herself. She looked around for the boys. Billie was sitting on the edge of his bed watching tv, but everyone else was gone.

"Morning," he said.

"Where are the others?" Hayley asked.

"Getting breakfast. Frank wanted McDonald's again, so they went to get, like, Big Macs or some shit. I dunno."

Hayley stretched. "Of course they are," she joked. "Whatcha watchin'?"

"House Hunters. It was on, and I was bored," Billie replied. "What do you wanna do today?"

"Not sure yet. Maybe just walk around, I guess. I mean, I'm loving everyone's low pants, not gonna lie."

Billie nodded and kept watching tv. They both stared at the screen for a little while longer before Gerard came inside.

"Hey, guys," he said. He put a bag of food on the table before sitting down with Billie and Hayley.

"Ooh, I'm starving," she said, standing up and looking in the bag. There was some sushi in there. She smirked and grabbed a California roll and sat back down.

"Happy?" Gerard joked. He nudged her shoulder.

"Very. Thanks."

The news came on after the other show. Mostly just boring stuff about politics and stock prices. There was a holiday, though. One Hayley had only really heard about but never celebrated.

"As you all know, tomorrow is Halloween, but more importantly, September is next," explained the news lady. "And we all know the tragic thing that happened then."

Hayley sensed Billie tense up. "What's wrong, Billie?"

"Nothing, just..." Billie trailed off. "September..." He sighed. "When I was a kid, my dad died on the first, and since then, it's always been the worst month of the year."

Hayley pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry. You wanna go get some lunch to cool off?"

"Hang on-" Billie was staring at the tv. "What-Why-"

His, Tre's, and Mike's faces were on tv.

"Is that-"

"Shshsh."

The news lady continued. "September first marks the day Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong lost his father. We all give him love for this hard day for him."

"How-how did they know that?" Billie said, astonished. "There's no way...I never told anyone except you."

"Come on," Hayley said. "Let's go get some fries or something, and you can tell me everything."

Billie nodded. "Okay. That sounds good."

"Can I come?" Gerard asked.

"I completely forgot you were there," Hayley laughed. "Billie?"

"I mean, I guess," Billie mumbled. "I'd much rather just be with you..."

"That's totally fine," Gerard smiled. "You guys have fun."

"Thanks, Gee," Hayley smiled back. She stood up off the bed and walked over to the door. "Come on, Billie."

Billie got up off the bed, too, and followed her out. "Hey, thanks for looking after me, Hayley. It really means a lot."

"Of course, man." She lightly punched his arm, making him smile a little.

They stopped at a nearby burger joint.

"Better than McDonald's?" Hayley teased.

Billie thought for a minute. "I don't know," he joked.

They two sat in silence for a few minutes while they ate until Billie's phone rang.

"Hello?" he asked, putting it on speakerphone.

"Hey, Billie, where'd you and Hayley go?" asked Frank's voice.

"Did Gerard not tell you?" Billie replied. "We went to get food at a burger place. We'll be back soon."

"How long? Tre needs help carrying his shit to the motel."

"What shit?"

Frank sighed. "He bought a drumset. He says he always wanted to learn it."

Hayley looked up at Billie as he sighed, too.

"I'll just tell him you're on your way."

"Okay," he replied. "That works, I guess." He hung up after saying bye.

"So..." Hayley said, awkwardly. "Are we gonna finish our stuff first, or do you wanna head back? I'm fine either way."

"Let's stay and eat. I need this break from everyone."

"Hey, Billie, I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"I had a weird dream last night. I dreamt I was some guy and some other guy was trying to go back into the past with me and then we ended up...here, I think."

"Do you remember any names?" he asked.

"I remember a guy named 'Mike.' Not the Mike you know, a different one. And he called me 'Chaz.'"

"I've heard that name before...I don't know. We'll have to look into it later."

"Yeah, good idea."

Let's go deal with Tre and his drumset."

Hayley nodded and they made their way back to their motel.