Billie Joe Armstrong is my step-father... and I hate it [EDITING]

7. Outlaws [EDITED]

It took surprisingly little persuasion for my mother to let me go over to Andy's house. I think she was so overwhelmed by the idea of me having actual friends in my school, especially girls, that she was willing to let me go to Canada if it meant hanging out with them. Andy told me to bring stuff to sleep in and I relayed the message onto my mother, who told to be careful but to have fun.

As I was leaving, I did hear her say to Billie, "Maybe having friends will change her, make her see things in a different perspective." It took me a moment to hold back from going back in there and insisting it wouldn't, but I did want to go to Andy's party. Starting an argument with my mom about her boyfriend probably isn't the best course of action to take.

Andy had been on the phone to me, telling me to be sure I arrived early so that she could "help me get ready", which I soon found out consisted of dressing me, doing my hair and whipping on several layers of make up - all of it hers and all of it scarily expensive by the sounds of it. I was a little apprehensive seeing as I never dressed or even tried to emulate Andy's style but she was adamant that this would be the plan and that was that.

I followed the directions Andy had given me as carefully as possible, though her accent and slang was exceedingly hard to follow so I managed to draw information out of Joey about where he lived without telling him where I was going, seeing as they were neighbours.

I don't know what I expected - I knew Andy was well off. Everyone knew that. Even so, when I drew up to the gaudy black gates closing off the property, I couldn't help but gawp at the sheer size of her house. It was probably the biggest house I had ever been near. The front garden seemed to stretch out into a field, with a fountain, a koi pond with a bridge planted over it and several artistic looking statutes dotted throughout it. The house itself was like a Victorian mansion made out of elegant red brick, the mahogany front door looking as though it had been freshly polished that day. The windows were all massive and on the second floor, just above the front door, there was a large balcony looking out onto the street.

I pulled up next to a rather clean and sleek Audi car that looked new and I couldn't help but feel like I really didn't belong here or that my presence was an insult to such a grand looking place.

There was an over the top pull door bell and I almost laughed as I pulled on the rope, hearing the sound echoing inside. It took a few moments (seeing as she probably had to walk a mile just to get to the front door in such a big house) for Andy to let me in but when she opened the door, she greeted me as though she hadn't seen me in weeks, giving me a massive bear hug and pulling me inside.

"I thought you weren't going to come!" she told me, hauling the huge door closed behind us as we stepped into the shiny marble floor in her front hallway.

I gave her a confused look. "It's only six," I pointed out and she started to laugh, shaking her head.

"Honey, it takes us hours just to even consider being ready to go out," she told me, pulling me up a staircase that curved along the circular wall in her front hallway.

Emily, Idina and Lisa had already arrived - Emily was sat on the floor in front of a wall that seemed to be made entirely out of mirrors and Lisa was sat in a pool of make up products on the bed, busying herself with texting someone and Idina was stood debating between three different dresses to wear.

Once they had all greeted me, I asked, "I thought it was only going to be a few of us here?"

Andy shut her bedroom door behind her, walking towards one of the mirrors and pulling it open, exposing a large walk in wardrobe behind it. "Oh, it is," she told us. "But the guys always tell other people and other people tell other people and... Well, you know how it is."