I was just standing there, alone. I was on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. I was waiting, waiting for something, anything. I didn’t know where I was going or even what I was doing standing there in the middle of the street.

It was late. Really late. The sky was devoid of any clouds, but there was one star that I could see. I made a wish. It was hardly a wish though. I wished for a miracle.

A miracle? What was I thinking? Miracles never happen. Even so, I wished for one.

I didn’t wish for anything in particular. It was a very vague wish. My exact words were, “I wish, I wish for an escape.” I wanted a break away from my life. I wanted to get away from reality because in truth, reality truly does bite.

I had run away from home. This wasn’t the first time that I had left home without telling anyone, I had run away many times before. I always came back, but tonight I was contemplating never go back again. What was the use? My grades sucked and my parents had just recently divorced.

Unfortunately, my mom (Isabel) had remarried and I hated my new “dad.” Ha! Dad? I laughed at the though of him being referred to as a dad. There were many ways to describe this man who had recently married my mom, but it seemed that one word in particular summed it up: Sadistic. He hated me and loved to see me miserable. The only reason my mom had remarried was because she was scared that she would end up alone.

At last, I made up my mind. I was leaving: this town full of my memories, my misery, and my childhood was no longer a haven, it was a living hell. I was off…or at least I was, had I not been watching my shoes strike across the pavement as I walked…instead I was stopped by a barrier…a barrier in the form of a person. In fact, it was a person.

*************************************

I looked up to see my best friend, Billie. “Sam, you weren’t going to leave? Were you?” he asked. He had a worried look on his face. This was the second time this week he had caught me leaving Berkeley. Billie and I had known each other ever since we were babies. He was one of my best friends along with Tre and Mike. Billie was only two inches taller than me which made him 5’7. He had green eyes and reddish brown hair which was currently dyed black. Billie was in a band along with Mike and Tre called, Green Day.

“…I don’t know…maybe. Why don’t we run away, just you and me?” I asked, already knowing his answer.

“Sam, you know we can’t run away,” he said raising his right eyebrow at me. He gave me one of those looks that said “you’re crazy.” I was used to these looks. Billie always gave me his “special” looks when he spoke to me. It was sort of a habit for him.

“Why? Why can’t we just leave? This place only holds all of our bad memories. There’s nothing left here for us.” I pleaded hoping to change his mind. Despite practically begging Billie, I knew he would never agree to leave Berkley. There was too much here for him. The truth was he had a loyalty issue holding him back, his mom. She was extremely sick, on the verge of dying at any minute. His dad was already dead and he couldn’t leave his mom here all alone, not now, not when she needed him the most. Billie always visited his mom at the nursing home at least once a week. I tried to go visit Billie’s mom as often as I good, seeing that I was a close friend of the family.

“This place also holds a bunch of good memories and you know I can’t leave…not with my mom being sick and all. Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

I finally gave in after a while of just standing there staring at each other. I always did with him. Billie was the real reason. My best friend, this mere boy was the only thing that kept me from leaving. He walked me home. During those few minutes of walking by his side, I felt this warmth inside and I never wanted it to end.

“I’ll see ya at school tomorrow, ‘kay?” Billie said giving me another one of his worried looks. “Don’t run away…not with out me, of course.” He said grinning. 

“…I won’t. Don’t worry. No one ever does anyways.” As I said this, his smile faded away.

“I do…” He said reassuringly, before muttering something that I couldn’t quite make out. I brushed it off as nothing and walked inside after saying goodbye.

Billie Joe’s Point of View

I walked outside for a quick smoke. I wasn’t usually that big of a smoker, but lately my mom had been really sick and the cigarettes were like an “escape” for me. I started walking. I wasn’t heading for anywhere in particular, but I ended up on the corner of Boulevard of Broken Dreams. It always made me laugh when I passed by this street, mainly because of its name. I just stood there staring at the name of the street for a while until someone walked into me. It was just Samantha, but I feared that she might be thinking about running away again. I had caught her once already this week. “Sam, you weren’t going to leave? Were you?” I asked her, fearing the answer.

“…I don’t know…maybe. Why don’t we run away, just you and me?” she asked.

“Sam, you know we can’t run away,” I said raising an eyebrow, giving her one of those looks that said “you’re crazy.”

“Why? Why can’t we just leave? This place only holds all of our bad memories. There’s nothing left here for us,” she pleaded.

“This place also holds a bunch of good memories and you know I can’t leave…not with my mom being sick and all. Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

She finally gave in after a while. I walked her home. We didn’t talk the whole way there, but while we were walking next to each other I felt something. Not a bad something, but a good something, a happy something. A something that I hadn’t felt in a while, a something I needed., but like all good things this moment didn’t last very long as we soon arrived at her house.

“I’ll see ya at school tomorrow, ‘kay?” I said trying not to look worried. “Don’t run away…not with out me, of course.” I said grinning. 

“I won’t. Don’t worry…no one ever does anyways.” She replied, this time my smile fading away.

“I do…” I said reassuring her. “…I love you” I mumbled hoping that she didn’t hear it. We said our goodbyes and then I had another cigarette before heading back home.