"Your tutor is here," my mom told me as she walked back into the living room. I huffed slightly pushing myself up off of the sofa and leaving the room making my way to the front door.

I did not wanna see Billie today, not after everything that had occurred last time we spoke.

He told me there was a line between feeling hurt and jealous. I didn't even get to say anything to that, because he cut me off and said 'if you wanna stay in the halls for the rest of your music class time do it, I don't think I care anymore if you don't care,' and then he walked away.

I re opened the front door ready to be met with him. But as it opened I saw another familiar face.

"Oh lord it's you," I muttered. "Where's Mr Armstrong?"

I know I was dreading seeing the idiot. But I would have preferred him over Mr Callon.

"He's requested that I do your tutoring sessions today,"

"Sorry, I only work with Mr Armstrong." I smiled bitterly shutting the door and walking away.

I walked back into the living room taking my place on the sofa as my Dad looked over at me.

"Where's your tutor?" He asked, before there was a loud knock on the door.

My mom turned her phone off and stood up fast. "For goodness sake who is that!" She shouted walking back out of the living room.

"Oops." I mumbled before standing up and making my way up to my room. I heard the front door open before I grabbed my phone and rang Billie.

I heard my mom began to shout me as I tapped on my desk waiting for Billie to answer the call.

I ignored my mom and now my dad shouting my name before the phone stopped ringing.

"Hello? Billie! Hi! Look I know you're angry and whatever but-"

"-the person you're trying to contact is not able to take your call right now," I heard a female auto bot reply. "Leave a message after the tone, or you can-"

"-shut up." I mumbled ending the call. "That bastard won't even answer my calls,"

"Mallory!"

"Oh thanks Billie joe." I mumbled angrily throwing my phone down. "Yes!?"

"Get down here now!"

"I'm- I'm just- getting my guitar!" I stuttered before stumbling across my room and picking up the guitar I kept at the bottom of my bed. I looked down at my phone one more time as I saw it flash.

I put the guitar back and picked up my phone to see the text displayed on the screen.

Billie: Valentine- 2. Armstrong- 3.

"What a dick,"

~

I slowly played the song on the sheet, strumming the wrong string again as I cringed.

"No! No no no no! Start again,"

"Again? This is my third time?" I asked him looking up. "Can't I just carry on with the song?"

"No! You need to start again until you can get this perfect!"

"Well I can't do it perfect unless I work with Mr Armstrong!"

"We're both teachers!" He responded straining his voice in frustration. "It's you who can't do it right!"

"I can I just mess up sometimes!"

"What's all this shouting for?" My dad asked walking into the room where I sat on a chair with my guitar in my lap.

"Dad, can I stop tutoring sessions early? I feel really really really ill and nauseous,"

"No dice,"

"Dad! I'm gonna throw up! I tried my hardest this time and I can't focus if I'm not in the right mindset or the right health! I'll just be distracted by my ill pains and trying not to throw up on your lovely brown carpet," I pouted sadly. Although I despised the ugly brown carpet.

"You know your mom won't like if I do that,"

"Dad! I'm ill!"

He looked down at the watch on his wrist. "You only have twenty more minutes, can't you survive that-"

"-oh god," I mumbled widening my eyes.

"What?"

I covered my mouth quickly and held my stomach with the other hand. Pretending I was about to yack up... on his-

"Not my carpet not my carpet!" He shouted grabbing the guitar out my hand and pulling me up. "In the toilet in the toilet!" He continued opening the door and shoving me through it.

I ran up the stairs before letting go off my mouth and smiling slightly. "Sucker."

After a moment I heard the front door close again, guessing that must've been Mr Callon since I had just managed to escape the rest of my tutoring lesson. I walked into my room picking the phone off my bed and attempting to ring Billie again.

Once again he didn't answer.

Not the second time either.

Or the third.

I was starting to feel like I was becoming obnoxious again. Maybe he didn't want me calling him. Maybe I was just a student now. I know I always was, but he said there was more that caught his eye. Maybe now I lost it, because I kissed Tyler out of guilt.

There's no way he's just ignoring me like this- right?

I pulled out my laptop and searched up his name, it was just an attempt to find maybe a social media page. My idea was to just have a little meaningless stalk. Maybe see if what he said was true that I was the first time he had done something like this with a student.

But there was so much more than came up than just a social media.

It confused me, I kept seeing the name 'green day' repeat itself. What the hell even is that?

I scrolled down looking through all the tabs and links, seeing other names too like Mike and Tre. With no clue what that was either.

"Why does this word keep coming up?" I questionably asked myself out loud as I opened up another tab. Typing in 'Green day' to find its meaning.

Maybe it was a phrase. Or a figure of speech or something. I had never heard him say it before?

I pressed search, looking through some more links, Some videos, pictures, least to say I had no clue what was going on still.

"What are you hiding?" I asked myself, referring to Billie as I pressed on images.

That was when... a load of them popped up. I looked through a lot of them for a while, in most of them it consisted of three men. I could tell straight away which one was Billie joe, but the others? I had no clue who they were.

A lot of the photos looked like they had been took by someone else, someone else professional. Like... maybe a photo shoot. Until I came across a specific photo.

There was a boy, on the front of a stage with a blue guitar in his hands. Stickers all over it and the initials 'BJ' which must've meant that was Billie. His lips pressed against a microphone like he was... singing?

Another person behind them, on the drums. It was like the photo had been taken mid way through because his arms were blurry, he must've been drumming when it was taken.

And then the last one, holding another guitar. By the look of it he must've been bass, but also having a microphone in front of him which it looked like he was currently not using. Instead he was looking down at his guitar.

If I needed any more proof which I'm pretty sure I don't, I would say it looks like Billie joe Armstrong did in fact use to have a band.

And by the looks of it... they went quite far.

So why throw it away and be a music teacher to work with snotty kids? Maybe they weren't even good, maybe they were shit.

"I guess I should listen huh," I muttered pressing the thumbnail of a video. Titled 'basket case'

I listened to it. I listened to a few more... well... I actually danced to a lot more.

They were good, they were great. They were brilliant. And that was my music teacher- I had kissed that dude! But... now he was angry at me.

But why did they stop? They had so much going?

I picked up my phone and typed in a message to Billie.

Me: green day?

And set it back down, but to my surprise I instantly reply as my phone dinged.

Billie: what are you talking about?

Me: Ringing any bells? Green day?

Billie: what are you doing?

Me: just some research, flicking through a few things, that band huh?

He took a while to reply, until my phone froze and loaded with a calling display. "Look who's ringing now," I smiled answering the call. "Yellow?"

"What are you doing," he asked quickly. Sounding paranoid.

"I was having a little browse, until I came across a few things. I did a little research and... well- a band? Interesting,"

"Mallory- stop looking-"

"-Why should I?"

"What?"

I smiled slightly before repeating myself. "Well... y'know? Why should I stop? You think you're smart until things come back around,"

"Things come back around? Seriously? Me being smart? Me sending Mr Callon earlier wasn't me being smart it was things coming around- for you!"

"You're still angry?"

"Now will you please just stop looking though my past?" He asked, his voice a little on edge. I almost felt bad.

I paused for a moment. Maybe this was the wrong time, but I hadn't been able to piss this guy off in a long while. "What was that thing you said?"

"Hmm?"

"Y'know... how did it go?  Valentine two? Armstrong.... three?"

"Alright alright three all, is that what you wanted?"

God... he really did sound annoyed with me. Maybe I am just a student to him again. He sounded like he really just didn't want me digging up his past...or maybe anything at all to do with him.

"You was actually really good y'know..." I softly said, feeling a little upset.

"Mallory I-"

"-Alright look. I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't know how to take it when you took an interest in me. I thought it was at first you just testing me. Then I thought it was you- playing games or something. Then you told me it wasn't and I didn't know what to do. This isn't easy for me Billie. You're my teacher and I'm surrounded with mix signals. What you do confuses me, what you say confuses me more. I didn't know you was gonna take that to heart with what happened with Tyler. I kissed him and it meant nothing it-"

"-so when we kissed. That meant nothing too? Do you always just kiss people and it means nothing? You move on to the next-"

"-Billie, no of course not! When you kissed me it meant everything,"

"Everything?"

"It meant something to me okay! You're the only teacher I consider listening to- I've had a bad reputation I've took pride in my whole life! And I've threw it away for you. I do my work for you. I actually listen in classes for you. I do this extra work, extra lessons, tutoring at home for you. Because you believed in me when I didn't even believe in myself and it meant something to me. Because you mean something to me- and- and the kiss does. The way you cut off my mom when she's nagging about me does. The way you quickly save my ass when I'm in trouble with other teachers does. It all does!"

"...but?"

"But... you're my teacher Billie. You're my teacher,"

"And that's... all I am?"

"Of course not. You're Billie. You're Billie Joe before anything. But, after that, you're also my teacher... and I can't ruin your career when you was the only one who put me back on my tracks." I sighed. Closing the laptop and laying back down on my bed with the phone to my ear. "I can't ruin your life after you may have fixed mine,"

"So what- you wanna stop this?"

"That's the problem. I don't wanna stop what we have... I don't know what to call it... but I like it. It feels fun, and nice. And I don't wanna... I don't wanna loose that. But I don't wanna forget that it's your career on the line and me you're risking it for, Billie I'm not worth risking your career for,"

"Why would you say that?"

"I'm not,"

"Mallory, do you think if I really thought you wasn't worth risking my career for I would've already done it? No, of course not. My career is already on the line, which means that I think you're worth it, okay?"

"And what happens if you loose your job over me? You'll want nothing to do with me- being the student who ruined your life. I've heard the little stories that go like this before," I leaned the side of my face on the bed as I looked over at the display of notes Billie and I had set up last time he tutored me. We even did them in colourful post it notes. And pens.

"Bullshit, I'm not like that. I thought you knew this?"

"My heart knows it, doesn't mean I don't worry,"

"Worst comes to worst I loose my job,"

"Yeah. Because of me,"

"I don't care Mallory. I care about you, and your education and where you're heading. I care about that shit,"

"But you should care about your job, not me,"

"My job as a teacher is to care about you. And your learning,"

I sighed. There felt like there was no winning with him, but I didn't want to give in.

I didn't like giving in. I knew I had to because he was really set on not letting me think I wasn't worth it. But that didn't mean I was accepting it. Giving in and accepting are different things.

I guess the same as being hurt and being angry.

Fine lines, but they're there.

"But what do we do with the feelings?" I let myself ask.

"What do you mean?"

"You said I hurt you. You hurt because you care, you even told me just now you cared. So what do we do?"

He let out a breath. I know this was more hard for him than it was me. I knew that. It sucked for him and me. But what can we do?

"I guess we'll just have to take our feelings. Keep them a secret and leave it at that,"

Nothing I guess.

What can you do?

Sometimes... its best for everyone you literally do nothing.
And leave it at that.