Things dragged by like nails on a chalk board. My advice to Mike was to just continue ignoring Mae's text, and he couldn't of agreed more.

The three boys were on their tour. I couldn't be there as much as I wanted- but it was on my TV live at home. Well...while I continued to pack.

"Is this thing mine?" I asked Willow, walking past the TV and picking up an old elephant ornament on the desk.

"That's my dead grandmothers,"

"Right..." I mumbled, placing it back down. "Is this?" Then picking up a similar object. This time a black cat stretching.

"None of those are yours Echo,"

"Right." I placed it back down, looking around at the living room. None of this stuff was really mine now that I notice. "I didn't have a lot of decorational stuff here did I,"

"You never liked ornaments," Willow shrugged with a smile, before picking up a resin deer. "Take this if you want?"

"I don't need charity," I nodded my head, declining the deer. "Guess I just never realised a lot of this stuff was never really me,"

The room was silent. Apart from the music in the background from the television. Occasionally I looked over to watch.

Pretty much all of my stuff was packed. Ready to go.

Willow had even asked Austin to move in once I was gone. She told me she'd gotten so use to company she wouldn't know how to cope alone, guess I couldn't argue. It's not like I could say she's replacing me when I'm leaving.

~

The last day of my work before officially shutting down my tattoo place was hard working. I'd had so many clients book in for the last day, so many staff already left ready for new jobs ahead. Things hadn't been that hard to do since it first opened.

The place was offically going to be up for rent after my leaving. Once hours ended. I still had to stay behind, packing up my office as my office phone stayed plugged, Billie on the line.

"Y'know If you told me you needed to pack up your tattoo shop too I would've helped you,"

"I know Billie," I smiled, although he didn't know it. Placing another framed sketch deisgn into the box. "That's exactly why I didn't tell you,"

"Oh come on, I could've helped you! You should've let me help you-"

"-you had a tour to focus on,"

"I am good at multi tasking y'know,"

Rolling my eyes with a grin, I stepped down from the chair having un hung all my designs. Beginning to grab everything important from the desk draws.

"Did you watch our show today?"

"Course I did," I chuckled, dropping hand fulls of random shit into boxes. "Why would I ever miss it?"

"It sucks you couldn't of been in the crowd y'know- you'd love it in there. It's way better than Gilman y'know,"

"What, with all the drunk, sweaty and shouting people?"

"That was Gilman summed up to a T! You'd love being in the crowd I swear!"

"You wouldn't even be able to see me from that big stage. Your crowds are huge," I told him positively. Still rummaging around the draws.

"I so would! I'd spot you out in a second!"

"Your eyes aren't that good Billie Joe,"

"Psh! They so are!"

I shook my head, forgetting he was just there on the phone. Instead turning my head shake into words he could hear. "What ever you say Billie Joe,"

"Well you'll get the chance to be in our crowds when you join on tour, so we'll see then,"

"Well I guess we will,"

~

Two days later

Green days tour in New Jersey had came to an end. All my stuff was fully packed. Basically everything was set ready to start another life of moving around with a band on tour. Then once another new life. At home, home home back at California.

I mean. Billies car was outside. He was carrying my stuff back and to from inside to his car. As I stood in the living room teary eyed, my hands on willows shoulders reciting the most dramatic of goodbyes to her.

"You have to call me really regularly," she repeated. Her hands on my shoulders too. "Like really regularly. Not like how you use to when you lived in California. Like really-"

"-I will!" I couldn't help but laugh, chocking a little on the tears.

Ignoring Billie who walked in and out the door, I pulled Willow into an embracing hug. I was really gonna leave her here in this place. I felt rubbish about it all.

Of course I wasn't regretting my choice. Either way I'd be leaving someone I loved. But sometimes even when you know you're doing the right thing, it still hurts to get through it.

So I said my goodbyes to my only really best friend. Hugging her a million and one times before finally getting into Billies car. Feeling so familiar in deja vu when I was waving her goodbye through a window as the verchile driver away crying. And when she was out of my sight, I sniffed looking over at Billie.

"That sucked,"

"What, me moving all your stuff?"

"No- having to say goodbye to Willow," I corrected, ignoring his comment.

When Billie didn't reply, I looked over at him. He pulled his lips back like he was refraining from saying something. Or something I'd said had put him on mute. "What?" I asked, a little nervous.

"You're not..." he lost his voice for a second, continuing with driving. "Re thinking your choice... are you?"

"What? Of course I'm not Billie- no no not at all," I smiled to him trying to wipe my eyes so he wouldn't think I was crying about making a wrong choice, though he wasn't even looking.

But he let out a long heavy sigh of relief. "Scared me there,"

"I'm happy with my choices- but no one said it was gonna be easy to leave again y'know?"

He nodded understandingly, turning the car to the next street as we continued to talk. With a heavy and a dwelling feeling on my chest I couldn't help but feel like I had traded one out for the other.

Billie drove us to the air port straight from where we had been. All of there important things from there 'temporary house' had been taken away in a moving truck making their own way to where we would next be staying. And after this, it would be trip to trip, flight to flight from tour to tour.

Mike and Tre met us at the air port with their own suitcase of things. Tre and I still being awkward.

With all our flight tickets in our hands we'd caught our flight just in time. Having lost Mike and Tre somewhere in the airport. Whilst finding our designated seats that was when I finally caught on to something.

My seat wasn't beside Billie. Billie had sat down almost straight away with Mike. So when I realised that my designated seat was beside Tre. My stomach couldn't of dropped any further down.

And I think as Tre looked up at me from his air port seat. He realised it too. I looked back at Mike and Billie who were sat two seats behind. Smiles stuck on their faces as they tried to look anywhere but me. But I didn't find this quite funny. Instead, I swallowed a breath, finally taking the seat beside Tre.

I couldn't exactly say anything to Billie like 'why'd you sit me beside Tre?' 'You purposely gave me the plane ticket with this seat, didn't you?' Right beside Tre. I wasn't looking to make things worse.

With Billies snickering behind my seat, I looked at Tre who was not looking at me. Rather, the small plane window.

What am I suppose to even say?

"What do you guys fancy for when we get off the plane?" I heard Mike ask, Tre and I turning to look through the crack between mine and his seat. Where Mikes face was.

"Eat?" Tre questioned. "I thought we were going straight to the house to unpack?"

Obviously him meaning the new 'temporary' house. I didn't exactly know how long this tour would last.

"Well I didn't grab anything before leaving, I'm starving. So pick a place," Billies voice from behind me stated. In a way that sounded like it wasn't up for discussion.

I looked at Tre. Whose eyes gleamed along with a grin, an opportunity in his brain of annoying someone. "Wanna know where me and Mike were while you were wandering around an airport trying to find us?" He asked Billie through the seat.

Although I couldn't see Billie. He didn't sound too static. "Where Tre?"

"Grabbing food. Maybe you should've been doing the same,"

"I wasn't hungry then," Billies voice mumbled quietly. I can only imagine he'd of crossed his arms along with the childish tone.

For a moment again, we all went silent. An airline assistant came around asking if everyone was alright or needed anything and what not. Some guy spoke through speakers of what to and not to do in any emergencies. It basically had taken a while before the plane actually had taken off from ground.

After a while of the flight, none of us really talked. Tre had been looking out that window for half an hour now. I looked through the crack of the seat at Mike. Whos eyes were looking down at a shitty looking magazine, ear buds in his ears. Diverting my eyes to Billie Joe, who had fell asleep with his mouth wide open.

I guess I had to speak to Tre some time. I mean- fate, right?

"Did you hear about what Mae sent to Mike?" I finally spoke up, my voice creaky in nerves.

Tre after a second realised I was speaking to him, looking over at me. "Mae?"

"Yeah... y'know mae. My old friend from ages ago?"

"You mean... Mikes old girlfriend Mike?" He squinted.

Close enough. "Yeah, did you see the text she'd sent Mike?"

Tre froze. His eyes flickering through the crack between our two seats. Leaning to look at Mike before back at me. "No? What did- what did she say?"

Finally, a conversation going somewhere. "She asked if he had been in contact with me. That they should have a catch up chat... or something like that,"

"Did he reply?"

"He asked me, I said he should probably just continue ignoring it. It seems like nothing good can come,"

Tre nodded, and I felt a defeat in me that I'd let our conversation draw to an end. Opening my mouth to try again, he'd just got there before me.

"Did you ever plan on talking to her again?"

I paused. He'd caught me off guard by asking a question, I ddint realise he was really listening to me. "Well... I never gave it thought," I shrugged honestly. "I didn't even think about reaching out to any of them,"

"That including us?"

I bit my lip.

We got far at least with out any digs. Until now.

"No Tre," I exhaled. "I didn't think there would be much use in reaching out. I didn't think you'd ever notice it,"

"So you didn't really plan on reaching out to anyone?"

"I... guess I didn't,"

"Not even your mom and dad?"

"Hate to say... I never gave them much thought either. I don't know a thing about them," I have a light hearted chuckle. "For all I know they could be dead,"

"Did they ever try to contact you?"

"Not that I know of... no," I didn't bother me. I guess any normal person would be annoyed. But then again. I ran away, they wanted me gone anyway. They were only angry because I did things my own way.

Tre and I's conversation didn't stay lively for long. It soon died down. And after that, we had very short, very brief, still awkward conversations.

But I was making progress. Little by little. And for everything changing that was happening now, that was enough.

The plane ride lasted hours, I'd slept through some half, borrowed Mikes shitty magazines for the other. Finally when we landed, Billie was shoved away and we got out of our plane seats.

"Jeez... my neck kills," Billie mumbled, reaching for his coat on the over head carrier above his seat.

I shrugged with a smile. "You fell asleep in an awkward position for most of the flight,"

As we made our way down the isle of the plane making our exit off, Billie continued behind me. "I've been lacking sleep, I needed that sleep,"

"Was it worth it?"

"No, my neck is killing me,"

Once grabbing all our luggage at the baggage carousel we made our way around and out the airport. The three boys had pulled some strings or whatever celebrities do, having a hire car at the ready in the airports car park.

The vehicle was a black full sized car. I didn't exactly know cars, but I knew it wasn't cheap at least.

We all climbed in. Our suite cases shoved in the boot and crushing Tre and Mike in the back seats. After a while of driving as Billie explained to me more about this tour, they'd pulled into a large house.

"And these are just temporary?" I asked as Billie parked the car, looking out the window at the house.

"It's nice huh?" Mike chuckled behind me.

"Nice?" I repeated, as I opened the car door. "It's huge to say it's temporary,"

"Well there is four of us," Tre replied, walking past with his suitcase wheeling behind him.

I looked over at Billie, who looked at me after Tres commented. Before he asked me. "Was that a dig or a reply?"

"I only wish I knew,"