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It was October 30th and two eleven year old boys were sitting in the park talking about how much fun they were going to have the next night. It was the first time that Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt would celebrate Halloween together. True, they were friends for over a year, but Billie's father died the year before in September, so Billie didn't want to have any fun that year. But this time, nothing would get in the way of fun on Halloween. "Come on, BJ, please tell me what you're gonna be, pleeeaaaase." Mike whined, sitting down on a swing. Billie giggled and shook his head, his curly hair flying everywhere. "Nope, it's a surprise, you'll see tomorrow." He said, sitting beside his friend who pouted and stuck his tongue out. "Please!!! I told you what I'm gonna be!" Mike said, practically begging now. "No, and besides, being a werewolf is nothin', what I'm gonna be is going to blow your werewolf brains!" Billie said, kicking his legs into the air as he swung back and forth. Mike opened his mouth to speak, but stopped at the sound of his name being called. "Mike! Come on, honey, it's time to go home!" His mother called from her car. Mike sighed and stood up, running and waving goodbye to Billie.

Billie Joe waved goodbye to his friend and walked down the sidewalk, heading home. Luckily, his house was only a couple of blocks away and his mom was okay with him walking. He couldn't get his mind off of last Halloween. He stayed home and watched tv with his mom. He was too sad to want to do anything. He always got mad at the other kids who were dressed up as zombies or ghosts, just anything that was dead. He was mad because they weren't really dead, but his daddy was. He knew that those kids just have to wash the dead off of their face and they were alive again, but no matter how hard he would scrub, the dead will never come off of his dad. Every time a kid came up with blood on their face, he would want to start crying. A couple of times, he did, but all the other times, his mom would tell him not to cry. Finally, the door rang and his mom was in the bathroom, so he had to answer the door. When he opened, there were two kids, a big black cat and a zombie. The kid dressed as a zombie screamed, "I'm a dead guy!!!" at the top of his lungs. Billie stared at the kid for a while as his mother ran out, gave the kids their candy, and closed the door. As soon as the door shut, Billie let out the held back tears and ran to his room. He didn't leave his bedroom for two days after that.

Billie felt tears in his eyes as he crossed the street. He hated that night, he hated that kid, and he hated death. Why did the good people have die and the bad people get to live? It didn't make sense to this little kid. He opened his front door and walked up the stairs. He ignored his brothers and sisters who kept saying hello. He didn't want to talk to anyone, he just wanted to be alone. He closed his bedroom door and locked it. He sat on his bed and held his chin in his hands. Soon enough, the tears in his eyes slowly started sliding down his cheeks. He wiped them away quickly as he heard a knock on the door. He walked forward and unlocked it. "You can come in." He said in a small voice as he walked back to his bed. The door opened and he watched as his mom walked in. "Are you okay?" She asked, smiling. He shook his head and looked at the floor, fighting back tears again. "What's wrong?" She said, shutting the door and sitting next to him. "Nothing." He mumbled. She wrapped an arm around him and said, "Something must be wrong, you're not okay, you just said so. Now what is it?" He looked up at her and laid his head on her shoulder. "What if I don't want to do Halloween this year? I don't want to make Mike sad, and I really want to, but all the other kids dressing up as dead people.... I don't like it." He said, his voice sinking to a whisper at the end. She held him tight and he closed his eyes. "I think you should do it. It'll be fine. Just ignore all the other kids. They don't know what you're going through." She said. Billie nodded and rubbed his eyes. "Okay, I'll do it. Because I know that if I don't, Mikey'll get sad. He doesn't like being alone on Halloween, it scares him." Billie said, sitting up. "And I'm gonna have the best costume ever!" He said, smiling. His mom laughed and stood up. "And what is that going to be?" She asked. He smiled wider and shook his head. "I said it to Mike, and I'll say it to you. It's a secret." He said. She laughed again and walked away.

So when the next day finally came, Billie stared into the mirror, giggling at his reflection. "I look funny." He said, his eyes locked on the frilly pink skirt. His sister, who helped him get ready for the most part, shrugged and said, "You wanted it." He nodded, but laughed again when he saw his face. "But do I have to wear the make up? It feels gross." He asked. She nodded and stood behind him. "Yes, if you wanted to be a girl, you had to have the make up." She explained. He cocked his head and stuck out his hip. "Ugh, okay." He said. His sister smiled and walked to the closet. "And if you really want to be a girl, you can't use a plastic bag for your candy... you gotta use this." She said, holding out a sparkly pink bag. Billie shook his head quickly in disagreement. "No. No way." He said. She shrugged, turning around. "Okay... if you really don't want the costume to work..." She told him. "Wait!" He said. She smiled and spun around. "Give me the bag." He mumbled shifting his high heeled feet. His sister laughed as she handed him the bag, watching as he reluctantly took it.

Just then, a knock sounded from the front door. "It's Mike! Oh he's gonna love this!" Billie said, racing to the door. When he opened his friend took a step back. "Uh.... Beej?" He asked. Billie giggled and ran out of the house. "Come on!" He shouted. Mike caught up to Billie and cleared his throat. "So um... Billie, why are you a... girl?" He asked. Billie laughed. "Because it's fun, and my mama said it's not easy being a girl, the only thing that isn't easy is walking around in these shoes." Billie said. Mike raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly. "Okayy thenn....." He said. Billie looked at Mike and smiled. "All you had to do was put a mask on. I had to have my sisters tug at my hair and poke at my face with all kinds of things." He said. Mike looked Billie over and tilted his head to the side in curiosity. 'Well... he does look good in a skirt...' Mike thought. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he gasped. Thank goodness the mask covered his blush. Billie looked at him and frowned. "What's wrong?" He asked. Mike rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. "Nothing... let's go." He said.

Billie giggled and followed Mike down the street. "Why did we leave when it's still light out?" Billie asked, looking around at the almost empty streets. "Because, if we leave earlier, we get more time to get candy... duh!" Mike said, laughing a little. "Okay, that makes sense then." Billie replied. The two began going door to door, and even though it was still light out, there were still other kids running up and down the sidewalks. Billie Joe tried very hard to ignore all the kids who were dressed up as zombies or ghosts, but it became difficult as the night reached darkness and there were many kids dressed like that. It seemed like there were more kids dressed as dead things than the year before. Mike soon caught onto his friend's discomfort and grabbed his hand. "Hey, BJ, what's wrong?" He asked. Billie looked at his friend, tears began streaming down his cheeks, little bits of eyeliner washing down with them. "I don't like it." Billie told him in a quiet vioce. Mike raised an eyebrow and released his friend's hand. "Don't like what?" He pressed. Billie looked at the ground and frowned. "I don't like all those kids who dress up as dead things... it's not funny...." He mumbled. Mike gasped, looking around at all the kids. He had been oblivious to the costumes before, but now, it just hurt to look at. "Come with me." He whispered into his friend's ear.

Billie followed Mike to the Pritchard household and shut the door behind him. "What are we doing here?" Billie asked. Mike shrugged and looked around. "It was getting late anyways, and I didn't want you to have to look at them anymore. You're right, it's not funny. I think it's mean." He told him. Billie nodded and rubbed his eye, sending make up smearing all down his cheek. Mike sighed and grabbed Billie's hand again. "Come here." He told him. They went to the bathroom, and Mike got a cloth wet with cold water and started gently rubbing the make up off of Billie's face. "Better?" Mike asked. Billie nodded and looked at his feet. "Yeah, that stuff kept getting into my eyes." He mumbled. The two boys walked to the backyard and sat on the porch. It was then that Billie took off the shoes to reveal blistered and bleeding feet. "Hmm.... that hurts. I'm not wearing those ever again." Billie said, laughing a little. Mike laughed too, laying back and closing his eyes. "Mikey..." Billie whispered. Mike sat up again and turned to him. "What?" He asked. Billie shrugged and looked around. "Take the mask off. I don't like it when you're not you." He told him. Mike replied in taking off the mask and tossing it to the side. Billie couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Mike's hair sticking up at all ends. Mike laughed too and rubbed his hair down.

The two quieted their laughter and sighed, both laying back against the wood. "Mikey... I miss my dad... but I feel like he's not dead... he's just on a really long trip and his flights keep getting delayed. I always imagine him coming through the door and giving me a big hug." Billie told Mike. Mike looked at Billie and frowned. He knew that it was never going to happen, and it just made him feel bad. He was never going to see his daddy again, and already, his mom was out looking for new guys. Mike wanted to be there for Billie so bad, but seeing there wasn't much he could do, he could only sit back and be the shoulder to cry on. "It'll be okay, Bill, don't worry. You'll get better, and promise me you'll tell me if I can do anything to help." Mike said, turning to look into Billie's eyes. Billie returned the glance and nodded. "Yeah, because you're my best friend and I wont be able to do this without you." He said, smiling just a bit. Mike smiled back and gasped as Billie gripped onto his hand tight. "I don't know what to do now, Mikey... I'm scared that I can't make it without my dad." Billie whispered. Mike sat up and hugged Billie real tight. "It's okay, I promise. I mean, you've made it a year, haven't you? You'll be okay, as long as we stick together." Mike said.

Billie nodded and laid his head on Mike's shoulder. "Okay. Then don't leave... ever." He said, rubbing his eyes. Mike smiled, wrapping an arm around Billie's shoulder. "I wont." He said. Billie sat up and turned to Mike. "Promise." He said. Mike glanced at Billie and stuck his pinky finger out. "Pinky promise, Billie." He said. Billie smiled and wrapped his pinky around his friend's. "Thank you, Mikey. I love you." Billie said, snuggling his best friend. Mike smiled and closed his eyes. "Hmmm... I love you too, Billie Joe." He told him. The two laid there in silence for almost an hour before Mike's foster parents came out and said that Billie's mother called and wanted him to come home. Billie frowned and stood up to leave, but was yanked back down. "Mikey... what?" He asked. He looked at his hand and smiled, seeing their pinky fingers still linked together from their promise.