And the Stars up Above - Chapter 13

January 8th, 1987
Mike

Mike arrived to Jason’s house long before Billie Joe did. Mike’s legs were much longer, which meant Mike was faster than Billie. Usually Mike waited for Billie to even things out, but today he didn’t. He wanted to show Billie Joe that he wasn’t as great as Billie thought he was, and he couldn’t think of a better way. At least not right now.

He rang the doorbell and took a few deep breaths so he would be able to speak when Jason opened. He was still panting from running. He heard steps from the inside but no one came to open. He frowned and rang the bell again, longer this time. After a few seconds he heard a man’s voice shouting something from inside, but he couldn’t make out the words. Then he heard quick steps approaching the front door. Mike took a step backwards to make room for the door to swing open. He heard someone grab the handle from the other side, and then the someone opened the door and revealed himself to be Jason. Jason looked surprised to see Mike.

“Hi there buddy. Care to join me and Billie for school?” Mike said.
“Yeah sure. Where is Billie?” Jason said searching with his eyes for Billie.
“Oh he’s coming, we had a competition and…well… besides, he doesn’t really know the way to your house. But he’ll be here eventually. Let’s go inside and wait.” Mike said and took a step towards the door to go inside. From out of no where Jason’s arm came to stop him.
“My dad is home. He’s not… he’s not very good with people.” Jason said and pushed Mike backwards. Jason stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
“What do you mean ‘not good with people’? I want to meet him! You know, it’s pretty weird that we’ve been friends for like, almost a year now and I still haven’t met your father!” Mike said while stepping towards the door again, stretching out his arm to grab the handle. Jason slapped Mike’s arm away and shook his head.
“You’re lucky you haven’t. Trust me Mike, you don’t want to meet him.” Jason said, grabbed Mike by his hand and dragged him off of the porch.
“Come on, let’s go find Billie.” Jason said and continued to drag Mike by the hand. Mike pulled his hand back.
“I can walk on my own, you know.” He said. “And what’s so bad about your father?”
“Nothing.” Jason said. Mike was just about to continue questioning Jason when Billie showed up. When he saw Jason and Mike standing outside Jason’s house he stopped, bent over and put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
“Your such a…” pant. “good friend, you know” pant. “Mike.” pant. “Leaving me…” pant. “like that…” pant. “when you know…” Billie finally caught his breath. “that I don’t know the way to Jason’s house. What if I had got lost? Huh? Did you think of that?” Billie stared at Mike, who didn’t answer, he just stared back.
“Fucking moron…” Billie muttered under his breath and walked the last steps to where Mike and Jason were.
“Are we going to school or what?” he snapped “or were you planning on standing here all day?” he said and crossed his arms. He was not looking at Jason, he was staring straight into Mike’s eyes and Mike got a feeling that this was going to be one of those days when Billie Joe ignored Jason. Billie Joe did that sometimes, when he felt that he was left out in some way. Mike sighed.“Yeah, let’s go. Come on, Jason.”

And the Stars up Above - Chapter 12

January 8th, 1987
Mike

Mike left his house long before he had to. His stepfather, Steve, was having breakfast and Mike didn’t feel like talking to him. Therefore Mike had left about an hour before he had to. He decided to go on a walk. He stuck his hand deep down the pockets of his only pair of jeans. He quickly left the house behind him, walking towards a playground he used to play at as a kid. He shivered from the cold and regretted only putting on a t-shirt. Mike needed to think, and he needed to think alone. He knew he was a burden to his stepfather and he didn’t want to bother him, seeing as he actually wasn’t his kid. But he hadn’t been able do much but stay with him when his mum had left, and Steve couldn’t just leave Mike. They did get along nowadays though, they hadn’t when his mum was still in the picture. But they were pretty much forced to get along now, since they only had each other. Mike had had to admit that Steve wasn’t as bad as he had thought. Mike hadn’t been much more than a kid when his mum left, even though it wasn’t much more than two years ago. Mike wasn’t a kid anymore. He might not be an adult, but he was definitely not a kid and he knew he could take care of himself.

Mike arrived to the playground as he stated this. He slowly walked over to the swings and sat down on the one to the left. Mike always sat on this swing, and Billie always sat on the right one. This was their playground. When they occasionally did do something else but play their music they went here. They didn’t speak much when they were here; they just sat and enjoyed the silence. This was also Mike’s thinking place. He liked the silence and the four trees that never seemed to care if there was no wind; they were always swaying. Kids didn’t come here often, Mike didn’t know why. He remembered that he had loved playing here as a kid. Maybe it was because there weren’t many families with kids in this area anymore.

Mike was staring at the ground, thinking about his problem when he heard steps behind him. He knew who they belonged to without having to look up. The steps came closer until they were right next to him. Mike avoided looking at the person, who sat down on the right swing.

“Hi Bill.” Mike said, still not looking at the person.
“Hi.” Billie Joe’s voice answered. “What are you doing here this early?” he continued.
“I needed to think.” Mike said and raised his head to meet Billie Joe’s gaze.
“About what?” Billie said and turned his head away and set his swing swinging.
“I’m gonna move out.” Billie stopped his swing and turned to Mike again. “It’s not fair that Steve has to pay for me. I can take care of myself now, so I figured…” He didn’t finish the sentence; he knew that Billie would get what he meant. Billie didn’t answer at once; he seemed to be thinking things over.
“Where are you going to live?” he asked.
“I… I don’t know. Yet. But I’ll think of something soon enough, don’t worry about it.” Mike said with confidence. Billie shook his head with a smile.
“You’re not moving before you know where you’re going to live, I hope?” he said, still smiling.
“Of course not! I’m not that stupid you know.” Mike said and slapped the side of Billie’s head. Mike returned Billie’s smile and then they went silent for a couple of minutes, until Billie Joe broke the silence again.
“How are you going to… survive? You know, what are you gonna live by? Are you going to get a job or something?”
“I guess… There’s not much else to do, is there?” Mike said with a shrug. Billie Joe sighted.
“What?” Mike said and frowned.
“No, I just… You know, sometimes I just wish I was more like you.” Billie Joe said. Mike rolled his eyes.
“Billie, you don’t want to be me. Trust me.” Billie shook his head and stared at Mike in disbelief.
“No, but you’re always kind, like now for instance, you think about your stepfather instead of yourself. You know that you will have a hard time living by yourself, having to earn your own money, but still you want to do it, because you want to help another person.” Mike opened his mouth to answer but Billie cut him off.
“No, I’m not finished yet! So, you’re self-sacrificing, and on top of that, you’re smart! You could get great grades in school if you wanted to; I never could no matter how hard I try. And-“ Mike cut him off.
“That’s not true.”
“See, you’re humble as well!” Billie Joe blurted out.
“Oh come on, cut it out already!” Mike said and rose from his swing, taking a few steps away from Billie. “Let’s go and get Jason, then we can go to school.” Billie sighed and rose from his swing as well and walked over to Mike.
“Besides…” Mike said “you only said those things so I’ll like you.” He said, hit Billie’s shoulder and started running.
“Last one to Jason’s house is a dead chicken!” he shouted.
“No, Mike! You cheated! Hey, wait up!” Billie said and rushed after him.“Wait up you fucking cheating moron!”

And the Stars up Above - Chapter 11

September 12th, 1986
Mike

“Yo, Jason!” Mike said and punched Jason’s shoulder a bit harder than he had intended to.
“Ow! What the fuck Mike? That fucking hurt!” Jason said, rubbing his shoulder. Mike shrugged.
“Whatever man, you’ve got two of ‘em. Anyways, Billie and I have got a name for the band now!” Mike said and leaned against Jason’s locker, shutting it while doing so.
“Oh well that’s just fantastic, now get the fuck away from my locker, will you? You see, some of us can’t be rock stars and therefore have to go to school, to get a good education and become lying lawyers.” Jason said in his most sarcastic voice. Mike raised an eyebrow, Jason didn’t seem too happy today. Mike studied him, trying to make out what was wrong. A bruise on his arm and a small cut right above his left eyebrow caught his sight. Jason often had bruises and small cuts; he had had several the first time they met too. Mike had assumed that they were the doing of John, and he had never realised that the bruises and cuts hadn’t stopped appearing after John started to leave Jason alone.
“Hey, what’s up with the cut?” Mike nodded towards it. “I thought John had stopped bugging you?” Jason’s hand rose and gently touched it.
“Oh, he has. This is from… I walked into a door.” Jason said and looked straight into Mike’s eyes as if to challenge him to believe him or not. Mike did believe him; somehow picturing Jason walking into a door wasn’t very hard. It wasn’t even hard to picture him walking into several doors. Or walking straight into the same door several times. Mike smiled; Jason walking into a door several times was a pretty hilarious thought.
“What’s so great about it? You try walking into a door and you’ll see how much fun it is!” Jason snarled. Somehow, Mike thought the idea of both of them walking into the same door several times was even funnier; he started to laugh.
“What the fuck is wrong with you man!?” Jason shouted. Apparently he couldn’t see the funny side of it.
“No… but it’s… just…” Mike said gasping for air. “you know… like, a door… and we…” Mike bent over and held his stomach. Jason pushed him aside, causing Mike to fall since he didn’t see it coming.
“Whatever man.” Jason said and grabbed the books that he needed from his locker which he had pushed Mike away from. He closed it, shot another glare at the laughing Mike on the floor, locked his locker and started walking towards the classroom, muttering how stupid Mike was.

September 12th, 1986
Billie Joe

Mike had gone to tell Jason about the new band name and Billie Joe had gone to be on time for the first class for once. But when he was outside the classroom door he didn’t feel like being on time anymore, and he decided to join Jason and Mike in the joy they must be feeling over the band name. Or at least the joy Mike must be feeling, for some reason Jason didn’t really seem all that interested in their band.

Billie Joe came around the corner into the hallway in which Jason’s locker was located only to find Mike lying on the floor, doing something that Billie Joe didn’t really know if he wanted to know what it was. Jason was nowhere to be found. Billie Joe walked over to the shaking Mike and poked him with his foot.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Billie asked. Mike looked up at him and now Billie could see that he was laughing.
“Jason… the door, and he…I…” Mike gasped. Billie didn’t understand a thing.
“Okay, just pull yourself together man. Jason walked through a door, or what are you saying?” At ‘through’ Mike started laughing even more. Billie sighed.
“I’m waiting” he said. Mike sat up, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again he was completely calm.
“Jason said that he had walked into a door and I saw before me how he walked into a door over and over. And then he said that I should try walking into a door, and then I saw us walking into the door together.” Mike said.
“Well that is pretty hilarious” Billie said, with a smile. Mike nodded with an even bigger smile.
“It is, isn’t it? But Jason didn’t think so; I think he’s pretty mad at me right now. But it’ll pass, there’s nothing to worry about.” Mike said and rose.
“What do you say about us walking into a door- I mean go to our class?” Mike said and nudged Billie. Billie laughed.
“Sure man, let’s go.”