A few weeks later.

"Your rooms surprisingly clean..." Willow mumbled, walking straight into my room.

I looked up from her at my sketch pad. Raising my eyebrows to ask what she wanted.

"What's with the clean floor?"

What was with the clean floor? A lot of my stuff had been organised together ready to be packed away.

The flight was next week, I still some how hadn't broken the news to Willow. After informing my employees at the tattoo shop that the building would be going up for rent some time soon some days before leaving. So they could get an early start on looking for a new job- I didn't just wanna drop them like that. I've been working with some of these people for years? I mean- c'mon. I'm not evil.

Yet I looked back up at Willow. She smiled at me still oblivious to the fact this was by each day turning less into my room. "Turning a corner?"

"More like my room was getting too cramped," I let out a chuckle, shaking my head and looking back down to the sketch book.

I dragged the pencil lightly over the sketch paper, carefully shading around the petal of some dumb rose. For some reason, it was the basics for peoples first tattoo.

"You've even organised everything?"

I looked up, Willows head in my closet. Before dropped the sketch pad and leaping up off the bed. Pulling her back slightly out from peaking in the closet. "Stop being nosy!"

"Jeez Echo- what's wrong with you?" She asked, confused at my reaction.

Sure, sometime soon I'd have to tell her. Considering how close things were to actually happening. But right now supposedly wasn't the best time.

As Willow and I stood still looking at one another. There was a knock on the front door downstairs. I took it as an opportunity to leave the weird situation I created, leaving the room quickly and making my way down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Willow asked behind me.

"Door."

I got to the front door, opening it to find Billie Joe. Willow stood behind me wanting to know who was at the door.

"Well hello there?" I asked slightly confused.

"Thought I'd stop by," He shrugged, digging in his back Jean pocket. Before pulling a little slip of paper out. "Give you this,"

I took the slip confused. Willow leaning over my shoulder peering at what it was.

My heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach when I realised it was the plane ticket. And it only continued to go down when Willow questioned it.

"Why do you have a plane ticket?"

By now my heart had basically dropped out my ass. I looked over at Billie who widened his eyes realising I hadn't told Willow yet.

"Well... I think I'll be leaving." Billie tried to quickly escape, spinning around.

"Wait a second!" Willow shouted to him.

I heard him breath out before spinning back around slowly.

"Why did you give Echo a plane ticket?"

Billies eyes looked at me. As if to say you tell her, I'm not.

And I knew I'd now have no choice but to be honest. Thanks to Billie Joe.

Willows eyes slowly floated over on to me. Waiting for a response from someone. Plane ticket in my hand. I looked back down at it. The date specifically.

"I made my mind up," I told her, looking back up. "Y'know... about going with Billie or staying?" Her eyes were still the same. She didn't seem happy, or sad. So I continued to blubber. "I decided to go with him- like you said I'd be an idiot not to,"

After a few seconds of silence, Billie chirped in.  "Can I go yet?"

"No," Willow spoke first fo Billie, before looking at me. "When did you decide this?"

"Just a little while ago- I was gonna tell you I wasn't gonna not but-"

"-Why didn't you tell me after you decided?"

"I didn't know how! I was just nervous of how to say it- I wasn't thinking Willow,"

She pursed her lips, looking down at the plane ticket still in my hand. "When do you leave?"

"Around next week,"

"Oh,"

Looking back over at Billie, who was awkwardly just standing there obviously waiting to leave this weird situation. I sighed, smiling to him. "You can leave now Billie,"

He breathed out. "Thank God- I'll call you later." Before making his way from the front door and back over to his black car parked shortly up the street.

I closed the door, closing my eyes trying to take a breath of air before looking back over at Willow. She was still stood the same, looking at me the same. I wish I could tell what she was thinking.

"So... you're going huh?"

I bit my bottom lip, looking down at the plane ticket instead of her. "I didn't know how to word it,"

"Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"I was scared you'd be upset-"

"-Echo I wanted you to go,"

I looked back up at her. "Oh, thanks?"

"No." she laughed slightly with a head shake. "Not like that. I meant- I told you I didn't want you to let this opportunity pass you,"

But my point still applied? "But I didn't want to upset you,"

"I want you to be happy with Billie I-"

"-Willow, you're not listening to what I'm saying,"

She squinted at me. A sort of panic look, before I repeated myself for the third time. Soft tone, worried expression.

"I didn't want to upset you,"

Her mouth opened. For a few seconds it hung there, no noise coming out. Until she sealed her lips again. She gave a sigh, a smile and a shrug in that order. Before hugging me.

In her own way, admitting her defeat.

~

I watched Billie looking down at the guitar, going over and practicing his songs. The electric guitar wasn't plugged in, he said he was just practicing. But I liked to watch, it was nostalgic and nice.

He sat on the bed he slept in in this temporary house, I sat on a desk chair admiring his talent.

Mike and Tre must've been somewhere else, I hadn't seen them when coming over today.

Tre and I were still... iffy. I guess I was still working towards what I lost, since he still wasn't 'ready' to have a real conversation with me.

The flight was only in a few days, since Willow knew she'd been helping me pack. Which was way easier to do when you've got help I'll say.

Zoning out thinking about everything new and yet still old going on, I hadn't realised Billie had stopped playing his guitar until he spoke to me.

"Earth to Echo?"

I flickered my eyes up at him. "Huh?"

"I asked you a question- but you didn't look like you heard,"

"You did? Oh, I must've-" I chuckled slightly, shaking my head. "-I guess I must've zoned out. What did you ask?"

"How's packing been? Y'know... like I said if you need any help-"

"-Don't be silly, you've got a whole tour to go on to soon, Ive got it,"

Billie, like explained, of course started his grand tour in New Jersey. Meaning in a few days he'd be in a tour three nights in a row. Then a nights break, then the flight. His schedule was pretty crammed in and busy. Safe to say he did not have time to help me pack like he wanted to think.

"It's only three nights- y'know I can find time if you need it's-"

"-Billie Joe," I looked over at him. Trying to be serious. But he smiled over at me and I couldn't help but break a laugh. "It's. Fine,"

"Whatever you say," he shrugged, before looking back down at his guitar.

After a maybe around what felt like five more minutes of Billie Joe playing chords after chords on his guitar. There was a knock on the door before it opened. To reveal Mike with his hand on the door handle.

Billie rolled his eyes, placing the guitar down. "Can I help you Dirnt?"

"Not you I'm after," Mike smiled sarcastically at Billies eye roll. Before his eyes looked over at me.

I double checked he was actually looking at me and not Billie. "M-me?" I stuttered slightly, pointing at my own chest in confusion.

He nodded with a laugh. "You Echo- can I borrow you?"

"What's this for?" Billie questioned before I could answer. Looking up at Mike offended he would dare steal his only company.

"I just gotta show her something Beej." Mike defended. Before eyes back on me. I nodded, pushing myself off the ground and smiling at a confused Billie Joe before making my way out his room and following Mike.

"Did I do something?" I half joked leading behind him on the landing.

"Question,"

"Okay?"

"Did you ever keep in contact with your old friendship group?"

"Did I?" I repeated confused, following him down the stairs. We walked past Tre who sat watching telivision from the sofa making our way down to the basement stairs. "You mean Kennedy and everyone?"

"Yeah, y'know. Kennedy, Mae... and that other one? I forget her name,"

"Layla?"

"Yes! Layla. Did you ever stay in contact with them?"

Once reaching the basement floor, Mike went over to a stool. Picking up his phone.

"I didn't have a phone Mike," I laughed awkwardly, equally confused. "I didn't stay in contact with anyone. Not to mention that group fell apart with in five minutes before I'd left,"

"They did?" He squinted, squatting down sitting on the stool behind him, eyes still on me. "No one told me that?"

"But you were with Mae... weren't you?"

He gave a half shrug. "Things got weird once you left. She demanded to know where you were, I didn't give it up- we weren't a thing after that,"

I remembered Billie slightly mentioning it.

"What happened with Mae and Mike?"

"Mae left Mike because of how we wouldn't tell them anything,"

"Shit..."

"Mike didn't care that much," Billie shrugged. "He was more bothered about keeping where you were hidden then that,"

"Billie doesn't... talk much about when I left," I mumbled, throat slightly dry. "I guess he doesn't like to talk about it,"

"It was pretty hectic, the whole town was out looking for you. They had your face on printed papers, in shop windows, you were famous yourself," He tried to joke.

"He mentioned they looked around,"

"You kinda dissipated into thin air for the rest of us. No letter or no planned goodbyes. So the police were around our home town for a good few weeks. Although your friends let on you'd wanted to run away I guess it was police procedure to check anyway? So your parents went around, hackling everyone who ever spoke to you where you were, police did searches, the town held searches, no one could get a hold of you. So everyone was out searching for this girl hardly anyone really knew, and the only three of us who did know you knew you ran away,"

It's weird to hear about how your absence can affect other people. How when I was gone everyones lifes were flipped upside down. Like Mike had said, searching for this girl they'd never even heard of before. That must've been weird for a lot of people.

I guess I really did worry a lot more people than I realise, or intended.

"That must've been like mayhem huh? For a quiet town to suddenly get so hectic,"

"I'd seen people I'd never spoken to before looking around town. Like they'd find you dead in a ditch. I'd just follow behind the people looking, sort of smug on your behalf, knowing they'd never find out really what happened to you,"

I smiled at Mikes loyalty. "Didn't they question the spray paint on the walls in my name?"

He laughed, like I asked a silly question. "No one questions spray paint,"

"And where was Billie when everyone was looking?"

He shifted in his position. Grin wiping away as he looked at me awkwardly. "No one ever really saw him much for a while after that either,"

There was a few moments of silence. Sure it's weird hearing about how your absence affects people you don't know- but y'know what's worse? Hearing how it affects the people you did know. Inside and out. And not just that but how they knew you the same.

But Mike wasn't one to sit in a dull atmosphere, he spoke up once again ready to nudge subjects away from Billie. "It was pretty weird. I guess for everyone... even you huh?"

"Leaving home? Course it was weird. But I guess one thing about leaving is you don't have to deal with the consequences of what you're leaving behind,"

"But your friends, you say they weren't friends when you left?"

Mike circling back to the topic of my old friendship group made me feel like he had the intention of bringing something up on the subject. The thought of that put a knot in my guts. I guess you never escape the consequences for long huh? Or at least not long enough.

"They weren't?"

"They seemed to be together when you left. All sort of looking for you, trying to get in contact, asking people who you might've known,"

And then you have your third party of what absence can bring.
From one being the people you never knew knowing you.
From two to the people you did know hardly knowing them self anymore.
To the last. The people you did know, coming together in almost a mourning way once you're 'gone'.

Mike could tell I was confused, or he must've- since after a moment of silence he spoke back up continuing.

"Anyway," He spoke up again. "I'd gotten this a two months or three ago, thought maybe you'd like to see it,"

I looked over at Mike as he held his phone out for me to take. Confused, I took it into my own hand looking down at the screen. There on the screen in front of me, was a text from a Mae Ledger. Or more specifically, Mae.

"No way," I numbered. Averting my eyes down to the text she'd sent. How could she be so nonchalant and casual in a text to a person she'd hassled to be nosy about their friend?

'Hey Mike! Long time no talk :) if by chance you see this, maybe we could chat? There's a few things I've been meaning to ask you about. Obviously considering your bands uptake, are you still in Contact with Echo?'