Human Wreckage [01]

We pulled into Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, and immediately were dumbfounded by all the amazing buildings.

"Wow,"I gasped as we rolled past a few theaters, and made our way to the other side of the city.

We eventually made it to the apartment. I was surprised how nice it was; I didn't think he'd be able to afford a place like this, but didn't question it. We got out of our vehicles and looked up at the building.

"Did you see a sign for the office?" Bob asked.

I shook my head. "No, but maybe that guy knows," I said averting my eyes to an older man using a grill.

Bob shrugged, and gestured for me to follow, and slowly walked up to the man. The man looked at him and gave a warming smile.

"You lost?" he asked, a southern drawl playing on his voice.

Bob shook his head. "Nope, but I was wondering if you knew where the office was?"

The man's smile grew even more. "My wife is the owner of these apartments. Go right through the patio door," he said pointing to an open door beside the entrance door.

Bob smiled. "Thank you very much."

He nodded and went back to his steaks on the grill.

Bob and I followed the man's directions and before walking through the patio door, he hesitated and gently knocked on the frame.

"Come on in," an older woman said, as she peeked her head around the kitchen wall.

We walked through the apartment, and she greeted us with a fresh plate of cookies.

"Hello dears. Help yourself to some cookies," she smiled sweetly.

"Thank you," I said returning the smile.

"What brings you here?" she asked.

"We both got jobs at Reprise Records," Bob stated.

"Oh, lovely," she said, probably having no clue what Reprise was. "I suppose you'd like your keys, so you can go and get settled."

"That'd be wonderful," Bob said politely.

We got our keys and settled down in our apartment. Using our common sense we put our beds in the apartment first, and started unloading the rest of the furniture. When the furniture was all loaded into the rooms, and placed accordingly, it was dark as could be outside; which was pretty light considering all the lights surrounding us.

"You want to finish in the morning?" Bob asked.

I nodded. "Might as well," I said with a yawn.

In the morning we did finish up our unpacking, and then we headed off to Reprise Records at 12:45 for a one o'clock interview.

"Welcome to Reprise Records," the receptionist said with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"We've got an interview at one," Bob said scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"Robert Bryar, and Isabella Mason?" she asked looking up at the two of us.
We both nodded in response.
"If you could take a seat, Richard should be out shortly," she smiled politely.
"Thank you," We muttered as we turned to the chairs.
"Billie! Wait!" I heard someone shout. I watched the carpeted hallway, and saw black shoes appeared, I slowly made my way to the face, and realized it was Billie Joe Armstrong.
I nudged Bob and gestured toward the hall. He looked at me and grinned. "You're such a fangirl," he whispered.
"Shut up," I murmured.
Billie sighed and sat down across from Bob and I.
"Billie, what the fuck?" I looked up and saw Mike standing there red faced, and angry.
"I need a break, just go and finish up bass," Billie said running a hand through his hair.
I tried not to stare, but my efforts were useless, Billie caught on to my occasional watching.
"Robert Bryar?" the receptionist called out.
Bob looked at me and half smiled.
"Have fun," I smiled.
"Fuck you," he muttered.
"Asshole," I replied.
Billie was now watching me, and I couldn't help but to blush. I felt like a total school girl, I shouldn't be all excited to see my idol, but I couldn't help it. Thankfully my phone rang, to distract me.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Honey?" I heard my mother's voice on the other end.
I put my head into my hand, and rested my elbow on my knee. "What?" I said sharply.
"Where are you? We went over to your house and you've just disappeared," she said, her voice caring a sarcastic worried tone.
"Why should you give a shit?" I hissed, and glanced at Billie, whose eyebrows were raised. He wasn't hiding that he was eavesdropping, but I could have cared less.
My mother sighed. "Honey, we're worried about you."
"Stop calling me honey!" I said a little too loudly, catching the attention of passing workers. "You've never cared about me. You just sat back, and figured I'd grow up by myself. You've never ever, ever deserved to have me as your daughter. Get this straight, I hate you," I said hanging up my phone and throwing it in my purse.
Billie watched me intently, and I ignored his presence. Instead of dealing with Billie staring, I decided just to get out of the building, I figured Bob wouldn't be done anytime soon. I got up and walked out into the hot LA air. The smell of exhaust filled my nostrils as I slid down the side of the building, and rested my forehead against my knees.
"You okay?" Someone asked as they passed by.
"Fine, thanks," I said and looked up to see Billie blocking out the sunlight.
He shook his head with a gentle laugh. "You are not fine. The way you were talking in there, now that's clearly not fine, more like pissed beyond recognition."
I shrugged. "Believe what you want."
He sat down beside me and looked up at the sky. "I will, and I'd like to hear why you're pissed."
"Why should I think you'll keep it to yourself, and not go tell Mike or Tre," I said, and nearly covered my mouth.
Billie chuckled. "I see you know who I am."
I blushed, and nodded.
"Who are you?"
"Your worst nightmare," I said grimly.
"I'm serious," he said meeting my gaze. "You know I'm Billie Armstrong."
I sighed, "Isabella Mason."
"Very nice to meet you," he said extending his hand.
I gently shook it, and my heart raced. I'd just touched Billie Joe! Okay, I really need to control my fan-girl side. "You too," I muttered.
"Now, I promise on my father's grave that I will not tell anyone," he said looking me square in the eye.
I sighed and told my story for the near hundredth time.
He looked at me wide eyed. "Your parents disowned you?" he said flabbergasted.
I nodded. "They try to get me to come back, but it's like why the fuck would I go back there, and plus, I'm 24 years old. I've been on my own since I was 10, I think I'm fine by now," I said picking at a loose string on my pants.
"That's some heavy shit," Billie said. "I don't get how some parents can treat their kids like shit, I mean I have Jake and Joey, and I can't imagine every harming them."
I nodded. "I know, it's hard to imagine anything like that, but I guess I'm living proof of it."
Billie frowned, and looked up as a shadow engulfed me. I looked up to see Bob standing there with a smile on his face. "Your turn," he stated extending a hand to help me up.
"Nice to meet you Bella," Billie said getting up himself.
"You too Billie," I said smiling. "I'll probably see you around."
He nodded, and followed Bob and I back into Reprise. I walked back into the interview room, making sure I didn't have any dirt stuck to my ass before I walked into the room.
"Hello Isabella," Richard said standing up and shaking my hand.
"Please, call me Bella," I said politely.
He nodded and gestured for me to sit down across from him. "I just want to say, from your resume, I'd like to say I'm very, very impressed. I've never seen such a qualified person walk through these doors. We'd like to welcome you to Reprise Records," he said standing up once again.
"Oh my gosh," I said with a huge smile. "Thank you so much! I look forward to starting!"
"You're very welcome. We'll see you next Monday at 9 a.m. sharp," he said with a smile and shook my hand once more, before we left the room.
I headed back down the hallway and once I was out of eye shot of Richard, and in the lobby I jumped excitedly.
"You got it?" Bob asked, surprised at how fast my interview was.
I nodded. "Right away too. He was impressed with my resume and I got it!" I shouted.
"Congrats," Billie said from behind.
I turned and smiled. "Thanks."
He nodded. "I think you'll be working with us, considering our sound tech just gave up on us."
"How did you know I was applying for sound tech?" I asked, and looked back at Bob who shrugged with a smug smile.
"Look forward to seeing you Monday," he said and turned back down the studio hallway.
I collapsed on the couch once we got back to the apartment. "Today was tiring," I stated.
Bob laughed. "The most you did was carry up 4 boxes, that's not exactly tiring."

I smiled. "So?"

"So you're a lazy bum," Bob said sitting next to me.

"So what? I got a job, and I met my idol today," I said. "I'm single, and in LA, what more could I ask for?"

"Nothing I guess," Bob laughed.

"Ah! I have to tell Frankie!" I exclaimed, pulling out my phone.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Frank!"

"Bella!" he screeched. "How are you?"

"Wonderful. We finally made it to LA, and I got a job."

"Congrats," he said happily.

"What about you?"

He sighed, "Gerard is trying to get me to join his band."

"But you're with Pencey," I said, nearly outraged.

"I know, but the guys are now pushing me into leaving and joining Gerard," he stated.

"Wow," I said. "Has Gee come up with a name?"

"He said that you came up with the name My Chemical Romance, and I guess is going with that," Frankie said.

I smiled, I knew somewhere inside he still cared about me. I never thought he'd take my band name, but hey, you never knew how famous they'd become. "Tell him thanks," I said.

"Will do Bells," he said, I could hear him strumming on his acoustic in the background.

"You will not believe who I met today," I said happily.

"Who?" Frank asked excitedly.

"Billie Joe Armstrong!" I exclaimed.

"No fucking way!"

"I know, and next Monday I get to work with Green Day, because their sound tech quit on them."

"You're fucking lucky," Frank sighed.

I smiled. "Thank you," I giggled.

I could hear someone talking to Frank, and he sighed to me. "I've got to go, I will talk with you later. Bye Bella."

"Bye Frankie,"I said and hung up.

The next few weeks seemed to drag on, and once Monday rolled around, I was so excited to start work, I woke up at 5:30 in the morning. I was in the shower by 6:00, and out the door with Bob groggy by my side at 7:15. We were scheduled to arrive at work at 8:00, but I figured the earlier we got there, the more respect we'd earn for ourselves in the future. As we pulled up in Bob's car, I saw Billie and Mike standing outside chatting.

"Why good morning sunshine," Billie said to Bob with a laugh.

"Is there a Starbucks anywhere?" Bob asked with a yawn.

"Down the street," Mike said pointing to the one at the end of the block.

Bob smiled sleepily. "Thanks," he turned to me, "you want anything?"

"Iced Mocha, please," I said with a smile.

He nodded and headed off down the street, at a near jog.

"You guys are a cute couple," Mike said.

I laughed, and shook my head. "We're not together, we went to college together, and figured we might as well share an apartment, we're both dirt poor."

Mike rose an eyebrow. "Interesting."

"Sure. I actually just broke up with my boyfriend a couple weeks ago," I said playing with a button on my jacket.

Billie frowned. "How long?"

I had to think for a minute. "Six or seven years," I said frowning slightly.

"Holy shit!" Mike exclaimed.

I shrugged. "He didn't want someone stopping him from reaching his goal, and I guess I was that item he had to let go," I stated.

"That's bullshit," Billie stated.

I smiled slightly. "Whatever, I really don't care anymore. I guess we had our run of fun," I said running a hand through my hair.

"You deserve better," Billie said looking at me with a hard expression.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Gerard was pretty much the best thing that ever happened to me, but somethings just don't work out. Right?"

Mike looked at me for a long while. "If you've been with him for 6 years, and everything was fine, I'm pretty sure you could make it the rest of your life."

"Mike is right," Billie said.

"Here you go," Bob said handing me my icedmocha.

I smiled. "Thank you."

"You owe me $4.00," he said sarcastically.

"In your dreams, I buy you coffee all the time," I replied.

The doors of Reprise opened revealing Richard, with huge grin on his face. "Bella and Bob! Ready for your first day?" he asked overly enthusiastic about his new techs.

We nodded, and followed him into the building. He led us back into a recording studio, and started to explain every single button in the booth.

"Rich, I think we can help them," Mike said walking into the booth, and settling on the couch.

He nodded. "Okay, but if you have any questions or are concerned just let me know. Oh and I forgot to mention pay is every Friday," he said with another reassuring nod.

"Thank you," I said, and threw my purse on the chair.

When the door closed it immediately reopened, revealing a frazzled Tre Cool.

"I couldn't find any underwear," he stated sitting down next to Mike, and looked at me. "Hi!"

I laughed. "Hi."

"What's your name?" he asked curiously.

"Bella," I said trying to hold back a huge smile.

"I'm Tre," he smiled.

I nodded. "I know."

"Are you stalking me?" he asked, eyeing me up.

I shrugged. "Maybe."

"So, you're the one who was sitting in the tree last night," he said coldly.

I laughed. "I cannot climb a tree to savemy life."

He smiled. "Neither can I."

"Do you want to get started with recording?" Mike asked, looking at me and Bob.

"Sure," Bob said taking off his jacket.

We finished out the day at Reprise, and headed back to the apartment. I quickly checked the mail, and found a manila envelope with my name on it. I handed Bob his mail, and went straight to my bedroom. I ripped open the envelope and read the letter that came with it.

Bella,

I am really sorry that I had to break our relationship. I still love you more than anything. We just finished recording our first album. I sent you the final CD, with all the artwork, and everything. Please call me; I haven't talked to you in a long time. I love you so much

xoxo,

G.

I tipped the envelope over, and out fell the completed CD. I grabbed it with flimsy hands, and quick threw it in the player. I listened until the CD went straight back to the first, instrumental, song. I loved it. There was nothing to tear me away from listening to it for another 20 times that night. Within 3 times of listening, I'd memorized every word, and every song. He didn't know how much this CD meant to me. I wanted to tell him, but I was too afraid to call him. Listening to his voice was soothing, and just like a lullaby. I fell asleep, the CD still playing when I woke up.