The Life of Mallory Winston [A Billie Joe Armstrong's Daughter Fanfic]

Chapter 56: In the Air...?

TIME SKIP TO THURSDAY

I'm not gonna lie, this week has absolutely sucked. It's just been this endless cycle. I go to school, getting continually bullied, even more so now that people think I'm fucking the Billie Joe Armstrong, and Joey's more angry now than he was before now that I told everyone who his Dad is.

Then, after the nightmare that is school, I go to the hellhole I call home. There everyone treats me weird; seems my parents told my siblings about Billie and I's fictional relationship. Things are pretty shitty right now, and all I want is for it to be Sunday so I can see the one person who doesn't hate me, the one person who actually cares.

I need to see him.

"Hey! Mal!" Mariella's voice breaks through my loud thoughts and I turn to face her warily. I've been pushing her away so she doesn't get dragged down with me, but dammit, she's persistent and won't leave me be.

"What?" I attempt to snap, but it doesn't come out as mean, I just sound tired. She matches my pace and walks beside me as we make our way to the auditorium for rehearsal, one of our final ones ever since this weekend is our last set of shows.

"I'm just...worried about you Mal..." She says, meeting my gaze nervously. "I know you were in the hospital on Sunday, and I know you've got some drama going on, and..." She sighs loudly, and I find myself unable to look away from her. She looks so flustered and nervous, so entirely out of her element for someone usually so confident.

"I just really like you Mal, and it scares me to see you like this..." Mariella mumbles the words, and they make my heart skip a beat.

"...see me like what?" I ask quietly after a long moment, and looks up at me once again, struggling with her words.

"Like...like...like you're on the verge of a breakdown at any moment...like you're keeping everything trapped inside of you..." I nodd slowly when she speaks; she really does know me well. But I don't know how to answer her, and she surprises me by taking my hand in hers, locking our fingers together.

But I don't break away and my heart starts thrumming; clearly as much as I've wanted to push her away there's still a part of me that really cares about her.

"I just...don't want to lose you Mal..." She says quietly, and we both just stop walking, me looking at our intertwined hands.

"When- what's Joey's dad's name?" She asks in a quiet tone, and I respond just as quietly while looking at my feet, hoping she can't tell how flustered and embarrassed I'm feeling with her holding my hand.

"Billie."

"Right, Billie," she laughs musically, then her vocie turns serious again. "When Billie was looking for you, I got so scared...and then when that ambulance showed up..." I watch her close her eyes and shudder slightly, shocking me to say the least.

I didn't know my hospitalization effected her this much.

I didn't realize she cared so much.

"And they wheeled you out, you looked dead...I though you were dead...and then your parents were yelling at Billie, and everything just seemed so wrong; he seemed so scared and upset...I was so scared Mal..."

She's almost in tears at this point, and I can feel myself close to crying as well. I can't believe I didn't realize how much I hurt her.

"I'm so sorry Mary..." I manage to choke out, almost instinctively wrapping her in a tight hug. She hugs me back instantly, burying her face in my shoulder, me mirroring the action, heart continuing to thrum in my chest as I'm filled with too many overwhelming emotions.